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Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) Press Kit

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GISWatch 2024 puts the spotlight on WSIS+20 as a space for reimagining horizons of dignity, equity and justice for our digital future 

Groundbreaking report showcases urgent calls to action from the global South

This special edition Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) on the theme of "WSIS+20: Reimagining horizons of dignity, equity and justice for our digital future”, arrives at a critical juncture as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is undertaking its 20-year review.

Twenty years ago, stakeholders gathered in Geneva at the first WSIS and affirmed a “common desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society.”

This special edition of GISWatch considers the importance of WSIS as an inclusive policy and governance mechanism, and what, from a civil society perspective, needs to change for it to meet the challenges of today and to meaningfully shape our digital future. It is produced in partnership with IT for Change, as well as through the valuable contribution of WACC Global. It is launching in May 2024 ahead of the WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting in Geneva.

Read GISWatch 2024 special edition on "WSIS+20: Reimagining horizons of dignity, equity and justice for our digital future"

What will you discover in the report?

With 10 full chapters, five thematic texts and a detailed introduction, this special edition brings together leading internet governance experts from around the globe, reflecting on the past 20 years of digital rights through analyses on the successes, failures and challenges of the WSIS process and outcomes in a changed context from a social justice and global South perspective.

Expert reports consider issues such as the importance of the historical legacy of WSIS, the failing multistakeholder system and how it can be revived, financing mechanisms for local access, the digital inequality paradox, why a digital justice framing matters in the context of mass digitalisation, and feminist priorities in internet governance. 

What are GISWatch authors are saying about our digital futures post-pandemic?

“What are the renewed visions of digitality – the bold alternatives that we want to forge for present and future generations? How can we weave together collaboration among the different actors, and a sense of community and solidarity from these visions? The reports contained in this edition are contributions that address these questions; a timely offering that we think can be a beacon in turbulent seas.”
– Preface by Valeria Betancourt (APC) and Anita Gurumurthy (IT for Change)

“Recognising that the benefits of digitalisation and connectivity are uneven and that structural asymmetries are emerging and worsening, the current context of multiple, overlapping crises prevents many from reaping the benefits of digital transformation.”
– Thematic report: “Reflections on WSIS+20: The value of WSIS moving forward and advocacy priorities for civil society” by Ana Neves, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia – Unidade FCCN

“For connections to be really meaningful for a population, it is essential to recognise value in the community production of knowledge, community understandings of the world, and the ways of life that inhabit unconnected territories.” 
– Thematic report: “What does “meaningful connectivity” actually mean? A community-oriented perspective” by Kathleen Diga (APC), Nils Brock and Bruna Zanolli (Rhizomatica)

“In the face of the past 30 years of digital transformation, we find ourselves at a critical moment. With the GDC and the WSIS+20 review, we have concrete opportunities to shape and co-create a digital space that is inclusive and safe for all, but in particular for those who have been pushed to the margins.”
– Thematic report: "Gender in global digital discussions: A timeline” by Paula Martins, APC
 

...and much more groundbreaking content can be found in the full special edition of GISWatch 2024, launching May 2024!

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Contacts for the media

About GISWatch

What is the Global Information Society Watch? 

GISWatch is a space for collaborative monitoring of implementation of international and national commitments made by governments towards the creation of an inclusive information society. It is a worldwide network of watchers, civil society activists monitoring the state of information and communications-related policies and how they affect their societies, positively and negatively. The network jointly publishes a book collecting thematic, regional and country reports. You can read more about it here.

What does GISWatch focus on? 

It focuses on monitoring progress made towards implementing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) action agenda and other international and national commitments related to information and communications. It also provides analytical overviews of institutions involved in implementation. 

So is it a publication? 

Yes, but not only. GISWatch is also a process and a network of civil society activists who advocate for policy focused on human rights and sustainable development both nationally and internationally. The long-term goal of the project is to build policy analysis skills and "habits" into the work of civil society organisations that work in the areas of ICT for development, democracy and social justice.

What is the ultimate goal of this process/network?

GISWatch aims to make governments and international organisations accountable for meeting the commitments they make.

Who launched this initiative?

GISWatch is an initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and partners. It follows up on APC's long-term interest in the impact of civil society on governance processes and its efforts to enhance public participation in national and international forums.

How many editions have been launched so far?

Fourteen regular GISWatch editions have been launched to date. Seven special GISWatch editions have also been published.

How many country reports does an edition include?

Most editions contain around 40 country and regional reports, along with a series of focused thematic reports by worldwide experts in each field.

How many authors have written for GISWatch?

Over 600 authors have written for GISWatch to date.

​​​​​​GISWatch in the press

Browse previous editions of GISWatch

GISWatch 2024 considers the importance of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) as an inclusive policy and governance mechanism, and what, from a civil society perspective, needs to change for it to meet the challenges of today and to meaningfully shape our digital future.

GISWatch 2021-2022 highlights the different and complex ways in which democracy and human rights are at risk across the globe, and illustrates how fundamental meaningful internet access is to sustainable development. The report deals with, among others, emerging issues in advocacy for access, platformisation, tech colonisation and the dominance of the private sector, internet regulation and governance, privacy and data, new trends in funding internet advocacy, and building a post-pandemic feminist agenda. 

GISWatch 2020 seeks to understand the constructive and destructive roles that technology can play in confronting the climate crises. It disrupts the normative understanding of technology being an easy panacea to the planet’s environmental challenges and suggests that a nuanced and contextual use of technology is necessary for real sustainability to be achieved.

GISWatch 2019 looks at the intersection between artificial intelligence (AI) and human rights, social justice and development. While pointing to the positive use of AI to enable rights in ways that were not easily possible before, this edition of GISWatch highlights the real threats that we need to pay attention to if we are going to build an AI-embedded future that enables human dignity.

GISWatch 2018 focuses on local access models, specifically, community networks as self-organised, self-managed or locally developed solutions for local access. The research draws on the idea that one of the keys to affordable access is giving local people the skills and tools to solve their own connectivity challenges.

GISWatch 2017 focuses on National and Regional Internet Governance Forum Initiatives (NRIs), now widely recognised as a vital element of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) process. A special edition of GISWatch was published as a companion edition to the 2017 GISWatch annual report, called “Internet governance from the edges – NRIs in their own words”.

Another 2017 special edition brings together analysis on the criminalisation of online expression from six Asian states: Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand.

GISWatch 2016 illustrates the link between the internet and economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs).

GISWatch 2015 presents stories from around the world on how the politics of sex and sexual rights activism take place online.

GISWatch 2014 tracks the state of communications surveillance around the world.

GISWatch 2013 explores women’s rights and gender through the lens of information and communications technologies, covering issues such as access to infrastructure, participation, online disobedience and sexuality online.

GISWatch 2012 focuses on internet and corruption online, including institutional reviews and mapping.

GISWatch 2011 focuses on internet rights as human rights. 

GISWatch 2010 addresses ICTs and environmental sustainability.

GISWatch 2009 reports on access to online information and knowledge – advancing human rights and democracy.

GISWatch 2008 tracks access to ICT infrastructure.

GISWatch 2007 explores citizen participation in ICT policy processes.

See the covers of all the GISWatch editions: 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021-2022 | 2024

See videos and coverage of GISWatch launches: 2018 | 2019 | 2020

About APC

APC is an international network of civil society organisations founded in 1990 dedicated to empowering and supporting people working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). We work to build a world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to the creative potential of ICTs to improve their lives and create more democratic and egalitarian societies. Visit us at https://www.apc.org/en