Digital inclusion

This article analyses the challenge of internet access faced by women and other marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By employing and training three technologists on Idjwi to take on a more active role in the management and technical development of the network, Ensemble was able to bolster community ownership of the network and enhance the skills, expertise and quality of life of this group of young people.

Published writing, sound recording, and most recently video are common manifestations of the same elemental impulse to speak and be heard – and to listen to what others have to say. The internet has proven to be a quickly adopted platform to amplify and democratise these media.

Earlier this month, the Jakarta State Administrative Court declared as illegal the internet shutdowns in Papua and West Papua enforced by the Indonesian government in 2019.

The sudden and dramatic advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic caught the world by surprise and left many floundering for responses, none more so than those in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector: the policy makers, regulators and internet and other ICT service providers.

The newly launched position paper, available in English, French and Portuguese, consolidates Coalition members’ assessment of, and positions on, the promotion, protection and exercise of human rights online in the context of COVID-19.

The “camp” format was chosen because of the fundamental role of human relations in the development of a community network, which is why we decided to make it a “barefoot” event, an immersive event, where we slept and woke up together over the course of several days, sharing and learning.

BOSCO Uganda held a national multistakeholder event in Gulu district, located in northern Uganda, 336 kilometres from the national capital, to demonstrate the potential of community networks to representatives of a wide range of sectors, including the government and regulators.