community networks

Colombia-based APC member Colnodo presented a statement at the Global Digital Compact thematic deep dive event on digital inclusion and connectivity. We spoke with Julián Casasbuenas about their experiences with community networks and civil society participation in the GDC process.

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.

In its statement, APC highlighted inclusive participation of communities in policy making, consideration of alternative solutions to connectivity that prioritise local and community-led responses, and a multistakeholder approach with differentiated roles and responsibilities.

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. 

In its statement to the Thematic Deep-Dive session organised to gather input for the Global Digital Compact, APC member organisation Derechos Digitales outlines a series of factors that must be taken into account in any attempts to increase digital inclusion and connectivity.

In its statement to the Thematic Deep-Dive session organised to gather input for the Global Digital Compact, APC member organisation Colnodo, based in Colombia, highlighted the contribution that can be made by community networks to connect the unconnected.

In the COVID-19 era, community networks became increasingly important in meeting the rising demand for affordable connectivity. In Kenya, where community networks are growing in size and number, there was a positive regulatory change in 2021. Read more in this piece from KICTANet.

Women have historically been underrepresented in the telecommunications policy and regulation spaces, but there has been a recent push to increase diversity in these fields, as Josephine Miliza of APC member organisation KICTANet reports.