Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

Many governments have established funds dedicated to expanding connectivity to underserved communities, so-called Universal Service Funds (USFs) or Universal Service and Access Funds (USAFs).  The purpose of the paper is to examine advocacy efforts led by civil society in selected countries that have led to systemic changes in local policies and regulations, with a specific focus on the us...

In this edition, we celebrate the people and initiatives building collective knowledge together, such as the Community Network Seedbeds taking place in Argentina, and a series of manuals created from the collaboration among community network practitioners in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

These five manuals are the result of communities of practice that brought together community network practitioners from diverse countries. They aim to support community networks on key issues such as solar energy, circular economies, bamboo infrastructure and more. 

Around the world, communities are building alternatives to bridge the digital divide. And their contribution has been recognised recently: in this edition, we can discover tangible examples. Welcome to the 56th monthly round-up of developments impacting your community-based initiatives.

A diverse range of people with different backgrounds are building community networks in many countries in the LAC region. They are demonstrating that community networks can be a process in which technologies, communications and access are moulded to meet local realities, dreams and needs.

Meet community-led initiatives showing how networks can be built recognising the protagonism and autonomy of the diverse people and in support of a worthwhile future. Welcome to the 55th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access and community-based initiatives.

This first newsletter of 2023 features stories of important milestones from the community networks movement: diverse community initiatives flourishing in Asia, organisations seeding change around the world, the completion of the first-ever School of Community Networks in South Africa and more.

As we climb out of a pandemic that has redefined our advocacy priorities, the latest edition of GISWatch “ignites a renewed energy to reshape the sense of ‘us’ as a necessary force to imagine and work towards a digital future that we want in a post-pandemic world."