World Summit on the Information Society
In 2015, UNESCO put the concept of “Internet Universality” at the heart of its work to promote an internet that works for all. Internet Universality points to four “fundamental norms that have been embodied in the broad evolution of the Internet to date, and which provide a comprehensive way to understand how multiple different aspects are part of a wider whole.” These norms – known for short as the ROAM principles – are concerned with: Rights (R) Openness (O) Accessibility (A) Mu...
The publication “Human Rights in the Age of Platforms”, published by the MIT Press in November 2019, examines the human rights implications of today's platform society. “Today such companies as Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter play an increasingly important role in how users form and express opinions, encounter information, debate, disagree, mobilize, and maintain their privacy. What are the human rights implications of an online domain managed by privately owned platform...
Last week, writing about how we should review the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, I emphasised its vision – especially its opening call for a ‘people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society’ (or ‘digital society’ as I think we should now call it). You can take each of these three notions and analyse them for their meaning now and in the...
It’s fifteen years since the World Summit on the Information Society – and the United Nations is pledged to hold a review of what has happened since the Summit in 2025. But are the outcomes of the Summit still relevant today, after fifteen years of breakneck change in technology and services? How should the UN go about reviewing it? This week’s blog is the speech I made last week to ...
APC's 2018 Annual Report offers an engaging dive into one year in the network's life. However, as comprehensive as it is, it is just a sample of the multifaceted and tireless work we all do at APC. As APC's executive director Chat Garcia Ramilo said in her introduction to this report, it is a compendium of "stories about how APC collectively strives for change," from what Bishakha Dat...
Welcome to the 16th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks. 1. Events and conferences On 29 March, from 9:00 to 10:30 CET, Global Access to the Internet for All (GAIA), a research group within the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF), is having its regular gathering. Their notes will be available here as well as the video livestream of the event here. The ...
David Souter's blog returns from its winter break with a review of the fifteen years since the World Summit on the Information Society – and how it should be viewed in future. Starting with this instalment, the Information Society will be published twice a month. This post is a revised version of a presentation ...
Access to information and knowledge has been recognised as a key principle for achieving the WSIS vision since 2003. Information and knowledge for all are key for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals because they link to empowerment and mobility, enabling people to improve their lives. In this statement delivered at the High-Level Policy Session on Inclusiveness – Access to Information...
The African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) was announced this week as the winner of a 2017 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prize, awarded by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in a ceremony at the Geneva International Conference Centre during the annual WSIS Forum 2017. AfriSIG is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) an...
The voting for the WSIS Prize 2017 is open and APC is part of three of the nominated initiatives. The awards evaluate and recognise individuals and groups for outstanding success in implementing strategies that leverage the power of information and communications technology (ICT) as an enabler of development. You have until 30 April to cast your votes. These are the thr...
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2019
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