Global

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 f...

“Technologies have the potential to act as catalysts for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and help advance all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and constituent targets. At the same time, rapid technological change poses new challenges and can have unintended consequences,” stated co-moderator Nadia Tjahja from the Youth Coalition on Internet Governance during the openin...

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) welcomes the initiative by the IGF’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) to further develop ‎the IGF’s intersessional work on “Policy Options for Connecting and Enabling the Next ‎Billion(s)”. We appreciate the opportunity to share our perspectives on some of the key aspects oriented to building an enabling environment for acces...

Dear Mark Zuckerberg: What do the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a Danish member of parliament, and a news anchor from the Philippines have in common? They have all been subject to a misapplication of Facebook’s Community Standards. But unlike the average user, each of these individuals and entities received media attention, were able to reach Facebook staff and, in some cas...

There is a profound connectivity “gap” in many parts of the world, leaving over half the global population without internet access – 3.58 billion people currently have internet access, out of a total of 7.7 billion. This connectivity gap exists in urban, rural and remote unserved and underserved areas of many countries, particularly developing and least-developed countries. One very criti...

Developing connectivity projects that are “for the community with the community by the community” is crucial as we work to connect the next billion, stressed Jane Coffin of the Internet Society (ISOC) during today's meeting of the Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity (DC3). Established in 2015 to provide a space for collaborative, multistakeholder conversation on community network de...

This year’s Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) focuses on community networks. Community networks are “communication networks built, owned, operated, and used by citizens in a participatory and open manner.” This is a starting point. As the 43 country reports gathered here show, in practice, “community networks” can be hybrid systems, with different political and practical obj...

In 2015, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) started a community-driven process to showcase successful initiatives that address how the next billion people can be connected to the internet. The process, which focuses on four UN Sustainable Development Goals – Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy (SDG 7), Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), Industry, inn...