internet

Words change their meaning over time – but the words we use have lasting impacts on the ways in which we see things. This week I’m asking what we mean when we talk about the “telephone” (or “phone”). Some history (general and personal). And some questions about how that affects our current thinking. A brief history of the telephone Invented in the 1870s, but a luxury ...

It’s fifteen years since the World Summit on the Information Society – and the United Nations is pledged to hold a review of what has happened since the Summit in 2025. But are the outcomes of the Summit still relevant today, after fifteen years of breakneck change in technology and services? How should the UN go about reviewing it? This week’s blog is the speech I made last week to ...

This year's Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will take place from 25 to 29 November in Berlin, Germany. The overall theme of the event is "One World. One Net. One Vision." We are heading to Berlin to capture the activities and highlights of #IGF2019, and we hope to see you there. You can start by checking Social Media at the 14th IGF. For specific APC activity coverage, here are some guidelines ...

I have always been of the opinion that POLICY IS BORING, I say this every time I have the opportunity to be at gatherings where policy discussions, especially tech/internet  policies are held and I also ask myself all of these times, what can I do to make these conversations more interesting to the people who the outcomes of these conversations will benefit the most? Getting accepted ...

This blog post was originally published on the website of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG). I was really excited about my selection to participate in the 7th edition of the African School of Internet Governance which took place in the city of N’Djamena, Chad. The school hosted a diverse group of people from the African continent and outside the continent. The...

It's a while since APC published my last blog from 'Inside the Information Society': nine months or so. Now feels like the right time to begin the blog again, but with some changes. Quite a few people have told me that they've missed this blog, which is gratifying. I reply that I've been taking time out to reflect on how the 'Information Society' is changing, the changing ways in which it'...

This blog post was originally published on the website of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG). The African School on Internet Governance (AFRISIG) 2019 ran for six days in  N’Djamena, Chad. It is a yearly event that brings together people from across the continent to promote and strengthen active multistakeholder participation in internet governance in the ...

How can accessibility in rural areas of Africa be improved? What are the challenges for women and girls in terms of internet access? How are internet shutdowns affecting African users? These are some of the issues that Josephine Miliza, Sophie Ngassa and Amanda Manyame focus on, as African experts on internet access with a strong gender perspective. The three of them&nb...