Closer than ever

APC understands that we are all dealing with unprecedented circumstances as we face the challenges, fear and uncertainty brought on by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know it impacts our work, our personal lives and the lives of those we care about. Each country is tackling the situation differently, so the contexts we find ourselves in are as diverse as the ways we find to navigate shifting conditions.

In these exceptional times, we wish to send our solidarity and appreciation for connecting with us. While we are distancing ourselves physically, we continue to stay closer than ever to each other and share tools and resources as well as support. We also want to examine how we can continue to promote human rights online in the context of a global pandemic. We are all facing this problem together but we know it affects different countries and communities in different ways. Therefore, we would like to channel the strength of our network to share some important resources that we hope will be empowering, enlightening and reassuring.

Below you will find articles and insights shared by our community, which has been working on human rights and technology issues for over 30 years. We will be updating these lists on a regular basis, so please feel free to connect with us if you have some resources to share.

 

 

Regulating freedom of association amidst the COVID-19 response in South Africa
Regulating freedom of association amidst the COVID-19 response in South Africa 02 December 2020 Tusi Fokane for CIPESA

The global infodemic accelerated in part by the COVID-19 pandemic has raised important debates on how best to respond to the proliferation of false and misleading information online.

Connected to care: Coronavirus and women's challenges in community networks
Connected to care: Coronavirus and women's challenges in community networks 25 November 2020 Lia Aroeira for GenderIT.org

GenderIT.org and APC's local access networks (LocNet) project team invited women who work in community networks to share their experiences in the times of COVID-19. This is one of the stories shared about acts of care in communication technologies during the pandemic.

APC at the IGF 2020: Daily highlights
APC at the IGF 2020: Daily highlights 12 November 2020 APCNews

The annual Internet Governance Forum, the United Nations’ most significant multistakeholder platform for discussing internet governance, is taking place from 2 to 17 November remotely. Here are some highlights on the participation of APC and its members. 

Citizen data and freedom: The fears of people living with HIV in India
Citizen data and freedom: The fears of people living with HIV in India 04 November 2020 Rosamma Thomas for GenderIT.org

India has the world's third-largest population with HIV, after South Africa and Nigeria. This report looked into the situation of people living HIV in India and how their plight was affected by the lockdown measures imposed as a means to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengthening community resilience and sustenance through digital intervention
Strengthening community resilience and sustenance through digital intervention 03 November 2020 Digital Empowerment Foundation

Shivkumari, an Internet Saathi from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, is currently producing 300 masks per day and supplying them to the local hospitals. At the time of writing, she had received an order for 16,000 masks from a government hospital, out of which she has delivered 2,500.

Inside the Digital Society: The IGF, but not as we know it
Inside the Digital Society: The IGF, but not as we know it 03 November 2020 David Souter

The global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) begins its fifteenth outing this week – but it’s an IGF the like we haven’t previously seen. Thanks to COVID-19, it’s online and it’s spread over two weeks.

African civic tech and COVID-19: Five emerging trends
African civic tech and COVID-19: Five emerging trends 28 October 2020

Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa shares a brief on how the African civic tech community has created several innovations or adapted and repurposed existing resources to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.

SMEX: Remote learning and the digital divide in Lebanon
SMEX: Remote learning and the digital divide in Lebanon 27 October 2020 Tala Ramadan for SMEX

With the onset of the economic crisis and the pandemic, education in Lebanon changed dramatically with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is taking place remotely on digital platforms. This abrupt shift to the digital realm has significant academic and social implications.

Privacy in the time of a pandemic: How is your data doing?
Privacy in the time of a pandemic: How is your data doing? 22 October 2020 Chenai Chair for GenderIT.org

This first piece in a three-part series using a feminist data justice perspective to understand artificial intelligence, privacy and data protection in South Africa looks at data and the right to privacy focusing on the current health pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and human rights
The COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and human rights 21 October 2020 APCNews

APC with members of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition called on authors from the region to develop a series of reports on the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and human rights. Read the summaries of the 19 papers here.

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