On September 1-3 the first ever Southern African Internet Governance Forum kicks off in Johannesburg in preparation for the global UN internet forum to be held in Kenya.

APC member in Kenya, the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN), which provides knowledge and information through a variety of innovative channels in remote communities throughout Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania has received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2011 Access to Learning Award.

Unused TV white spaces could be the way to get highspeed wireless internet to millions living outside major African cities. Manufacturers are gearing up for mass production of white space devices and now is the time to act. APC and partners are coordinating an important workshop for govt officials, regulators and professionals in October.

APC member PROTEGE QV in Cameroon has been participating in local Software Freedom days for years. This year, it is the African winner of the 2010 International Software Freedom Day.

APC and Canadian development agency IDRC are hosting this four-day workshop with expert participants from around the world in Johannesburg on July 7-10. This is a new strategic area for the IDRC to support applied policy-relevant research to help people adapt to the water-related impacts of climate change.

ICT4RD 2011 is the first African conference to apply ICT and practices to rural development taking place in Johannesburg on November 1-3. Organised by APC member SANGONeT, the deadline for proposals is July 29.

Tom MacMaster’s masquerading as blogger activist “Gay Girl in Damascus” was harmful, say APC in a statement, and endangers the right to use the internet anonymously.