internet

The Stockholm Internet Forum (SIF), an international forum for discussions on how a free, open and secure internet promotes human rights and development worldwide, has started in Stockholm.

Social Media Exchange (SMEX) is a registered Lebanese NGO that works to advance self-regulating information societies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). APCNews interviewed Jessica Dheere and Mohamad Najem, the co-directors of SMEX, which just joined the APC network.

Restrictions on internet access – commonly known as internet shutdowns – in north-west and south-west Cameroon are now in their 14th day. The restrictions ordered by the government of Cameroon have specifically targeted Anglophone regions. APC notes these shutdowns with grave concern.

African internet rights are at the core of APC’s work and will take another step forward with our new Africa policy regional coordinator, Sekoetlane Phamodi, who just joined APC.

National and regional Internet Governance Forum initiatives (NRIs) play a key role in internet governance. During a plenary session at the 2016 IGF, representatives of NRIs around the world shared stories of the progress they have made, the challenges they face, and the success they have achieved.

Almost three years ago, I published a blog post on CircleID titled “Internet Governance: Why Africa Should Take the Lead"    

In an effort to develop appropriate strategies for digital inclusion of women in northern Nigeria, CITAD undertook pilot research to understand the factors that inhibit the effective use of the internet by women in the region, with the support of an APC subgrant.

The latest edition of the Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) report will look at the role of the internet in realising economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs). It will be released at the Internet Governance Forum in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 9 December 2016.