On Monday 29 August 2005 the APC network lost someone who was a colleague, a leader and a friend. Chris Nicol, member of the APC council and also of the APC executive board, died in Barcelona after more than a year of struggling against cancer. For much of the time during this battle Chris was winning, continuing to work, travel and network when the difficult cycle of surgery and treatment left him with any spare time.

U ponedjeljak 29. kolovoza 2005., mi u APC mreži izgubili smo osobu koja je bila kolega, aktivist i prijatelj. Chris Nicol, član APC Savjeta kao i APC izvršnog odbora, preminuo je u Barceloni nakon što se više od godinu dana borio s rakom. Većinu tog vremena Chris je pobjeđivao, nastavljao raditi, putovati i povezivati se s ljudima kad god je imao vremena s obzirom na težak proces operacija i liječenja.

APC, the network of civil society organisations pushing for a pro-people thrust to the internet and ICTs (information and communication technologies), is gearing up for participation in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This UN-sponsored conference about information and communication gets underway later this year.

Wireless Technologies for Development has just got a new focus online — and that too in the planet’s third most widely spoken language, Spanish — with the launch of an information portal, WiLAC, that focuses exclusively on this theme. It is designed to support individuals, organisations, municipalities and businesses currently implementing community wireless connectivity projects, or those about to launch on this road.

APC’s member in Uruguay ITeM has been participating in the World Summit on the Information Society through its WSISPapers project it has developed. This project grew from the realization that in WSIS’s first phase, many Southern government delegates faced severe roadblocks in negotiating effectively. They found grappling with certain information and communication technology issues a puzzle, largely due to the lack of specific information resources to support their positions. The WSISPapers project is supported by IDRC’s research initiative PanAmericas.

Convincing business and government to ensure that modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) have no harmful impacts on their users is proving to be a difficult job. Besides, in the global village, non-uniform standards and a lack of compatibility among various systems are blocking people and technologies from communicating freely and working effectively.

Cambodia’s Community Information Center web portal — www.cambodiacic.org — is currently the only large web portal available in the Khmer language. Content is fed daily to this web portal, with an average of 15 articles coming in from media and non-media news sources.

After providing over 50,000 high quality refurbished computers, the UK not-for-profit Computer Aid International has now put down roots by opening a permanent office in Nairobi. Computer Aid International is a member of the APC.

APC’s new member WOUGNET, the Women of Uganda Network, is seen as well thought of within the women’s movement in that country. It works actively to support grassroots involvement in ICTs and facilitate access to information to those not connected. WOUGNET works out of a country where there is much to do regarding ICTs.

A Venezuelan organisation with a reputation for its high-level technical training in ICTs for over a decade in Latin America has joined the APC as member, raising hopes for enhanced reach and credibility for both sides of the new partnership in the region.