digital inclusion

APC and its members gave statements at the Global Digital Compact's (GDC) thematic deep dive session on the theme of digital inclusion and connectivity. 

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 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.

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 this contribution to the thematic report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression to the UN Human Rights Council, APC emphasises how meaningful access to the internet impacts social and environmental justice and development.

This introductory brief produced by APC seeks to provide civil society organisations with an initial understanding of the strategic relevance of engaging in the UN-led Global Digital Compact process by developing inputs based on a long-term vision for what we want the internet to be.

Digitalisation by default excludes rather than includes people and requires analogue inclusion as well. It requires policy approaches that understand the causes of broader inequality in general, reflect the lived experiences of those excluded and address “digital” divides.