You might consider reading FAQ on APC membership first.

Why become part of the APC community?

APC membership is open to organisations and individuals anywhere in the world that share APC’s mission: to build strategic communities and initiatives for the purpose of making meaningful contributions to equitable human development, social justice, participatory political processes and environmental sustainability. Many groups support this mission, so why become an APC member?

Solidarity and community: Using ICTs for development and social equality

Direction Set by our Members: APC members define APC’s direction and focus. Member representatives comprise the APC Council, which is a governing body that establishes APC’s strategic priorities every four years. Each APC member organisation appoints a representative to Council, which meets regularly online and for a face-to-face conference every two to three years. Working groups are comprised of people from the APC community who share an active interest or expertise in a particular issue or project (e.g., ICT policy) and are set up as needed to make recommendations to APC.

Impact: Many of APC’s members have been creating and using computer networks to fight for social justice since the early 1980s and some were among the first in the world to provide transatlantic electronic communications for social justice groups. Since then, many of our members have been on the forefront of watershed technology projects and the drivers behind key policy changes in their countries. The APC network has been an active participant in high-level international ICT policy discussions, being granted Category 1 Consultative Status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1995.

Members work together under the APC umbrella at international and regional levels to influence ICT policy for the benefit of civil society and other groups using technology for social justice. Membership in APC expands our collective reach and amplifies the promotion of country and regional issues internationally.

Solidarity: APC members work actively to encourage civil society’s adoption of ICTs for development, social justice, internet rights, gender equality, women’s empowerment and the protection of the environment. By joining APC, you are adding your voice to an international network of like-minded people using ICTs to fight social injustice all over the world.

• APC is an international chorus of support for the use of ICTs for development, defense of human rights and environmental and social justice
• APC members support one another in their local campaigns
• APC strengthens the capacity of groups and individuals who face violation of their rights.

Community: APC is a facilitated community of like-minded organisations and individuals based in over 40 countries in five regions. We are a community of people who share the same vision and use the APC network and our communication channels as a trusted space to discuss, collaborate and make connections. APC is uniquely global-south oriented. Because the majority of APC members are from the global south, APC facilitates ICT activities from the developing world and it is a place where our common experiences resonate strongly.

An international profile: As a network, we work hard to actively promote our members’ work. Our trilingual website and our bi-weekly newsletters, which focus on the use of ICTs for social justice, human rights and development work by civil society, is widely circulated among development specialists, the NGO community and its financial supporters. APC members’ work is presented by APC at public events internationally.

• APC’s publications are read by a worldwide audience that uses and promotes ICTs for social equality and development
• APC can work with your organisation to produce news articles about your work in English, Spanish and French
• Stories about APC and its members are regularly picked up by portals of APC members around the world and other publications (such as BBC Online, the Digital Opportunity Channel)

Independence: APC members join APC network because it provides them with new opportunities to compliment their existing activities. However, they remain fully independent organisations in terms of status, financing, alliances and political messaging beyond our shared mission.

Building capacity

Peer support and information exchange: Many APC members have been offering ICT services to the NGO community since the early 1990s or even the 1980s. Members learn from each others’ experiences online and at face-to-face meetings.

• APC members learn from one another’s experiences, particularly in the area of technical support, campaigning, policy advocacy.
• Our workspaces function in English, which is the shared language of our member representatives. We encourage the set-up of workspaces in other shared languages and already have technical and information sharing lists in Spanish as well as English. * We provide simultaneous translation in English-Spanish at meetings when possible.

Collaboration: APC offers its members the chance to work collectively with other members and partners on joint projects. We facilitate networking and assist in matching and developing partnerships for project implementation.

• APC facilitates international projects for its members.
• APC’s workspaces can be used to find a project implementation partner or offer collaboration to member organisations and individual members in other regions, as well as for collaborative project development.
• Through its Membership Learning and Exchange Fund, APC helps members to facilitate collaboration, planning and learning.

Capacity-building services: APC facilitates face-to-face training opportunities for civil society organisations, technologists, advocates and policy makers in areas of ICT policy, internet rights, action research and ICT, gender evaluation of ICT initiatives, digital storytelling and secure online communications.

• APC organises online and face-to-face workshops designed to help members be more effective advocates in national and global ICT policy processes.
• APC offers gender evaluation training through face-to-face workshops and mentoring to organisations and individuals to ensure that ICT initiatives improve women’s lives and contribute to gender equality.
• APC works in collaboration with partners in facilitating internet rights training and support for at-risk human rights activists.

Building Resources for Civil Society: APC members create and collect resources to help make internet accessible and open to everyone.

• APC facilitates the development of materials for activists who want to use the internet strategically.
• APC members share workshops, training, materials, access to APC tools, online meeting platforms and mailing lists.

Becoming a Member

Are you or your organisation interested in becoming a member of the Association for Progressive Communications?

New member organisation
Read about the membership criteria and steps to becoming an APC member organisation

New APC affiliate (individual member)
Read about the criteria of individual membership and steps to becoming an APC affiliate

Write to membership@apc.org with all questions.