Custom illustration by Paula Villar
Today you are receiving the second edition of Change in Motion, our special newsletter on the work and reach of the APC network. And it comes to you just as we are coming to the end of a year that has posed significant challenges for our community, and for civil society organisations and social movements broadly. Defending social, gender and environmental justice required a lot of resilience from our members, associates and partners at a time of weaponised technologies, growing concentrations of power stemming from collusion between authoritarian governments and big tech, and the environmental and community-level impacts of an extractive, colonial model driven by powerful actors across the globe. All this comes on top of funding cuts for resistance efforts and repression and disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining human rights defenders.
Yet this edition of our newsletter carries strong messages of hope for the next year. Recently, our members – a network comprising hundreds of people spread across more than 74 countries – shared updates on their work throughout 2025 during an APC online meeting. In this edition, we bring together some of the resources and stories shared in that space, noting that they are just a selection of highlights from the many inspiring updates. As you read this edition, you will see just how much has been done in diverse contexts.
This year, our members and partners supported Indigenous communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), backed activists in Myanmar, and defended digital rights amid genocide in Palestine and other countries. They developed free technologies to monitor the environment in Nigeria and Colombia. We celebrated the long-awaited release of activist and founder of APC member Motoon Alaa Abd el-Fattah in Egypt. Together we fostered community-centred connectivity alternatives and digital technologies rooted in the ways people live, defend their rights and safeguard their surroundings in Africa, Asia and LAC. We confronted technology-facilitated gender-based violence across the globe. We resisted authoritarianism in all these regions – online, on the streets and in the courts. We built shared agendas to amplify our voices in decision-making spaces, including those shaping internet governance and digital futures. We fostered what we believe to be a feminist internet, one that is safe and free for all, encouraging dialogue, reflection, collective action, alliances and much more.
This edition shows that resistance is not perfect, nor should it be idealised. But it is decentralised, collaborative, powerful and, above all, necessary. Inspired by one another, we carry on.
Building common agendas
After years of partnership, in 2025 the Mexican organisation REDES A.C. formally joined the APC network. In collaboration with APC and Rhizomatica, this year the organisation continues to implement several training programmes on information and communications technologies (ICTs) and community-centred connectivity – including the fifth edition of the International Programme of ICT Network Managers for Latin America and the first edition of this programme for Africa, developed jointly with the ITU.
From Brazil, Nupef Institute celebrated its 20th anniversary by launching a new website where you can find updates from an intense year of work in different areas – from close partnership with social movements and local communities to the launch of a special issue of the poliTICs magazine [available in Portuguese] in partnership with the executive branch of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. This issue focuses on the findings and analyses developed from the contributions sent to a public consultation on platform regulation.
The Latin American organisation Sursiendo was behind the official presentation of the Observatorio Latinoamericano de Amenazas Digitales, which gathered other APC members in the region defending human rights online. Its first report [available in Spanish] focuses on digital threats in the region. This year, they also shared an update of the directory of individuals and collectives working with free software design, highlighting the work in this area by various communities, especially from Abya Yala, as well as launching an interview series called "The People Behind the Technologies We Want".
This year our member Nodo TAU celebrated 30 years of bringing digital tools to popular sectors in Argentina.
In Africa, our member Pollicy, based in Uganda, hosted DataFest Africa 2025 in October. It was a celebration of creativity, data and collaboration among those determined to reclaim Africa’s digital and data futures, including several APC members and partners. "Reclaiming our data futures means rejecting the idea that our data is just another commodity. It means demanding that technology serve people’s well-being, not just profit," explained the organisation about this guiding theme.
Also fostering collaboration in the region, CIPESA successfully hosted the annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), which took place in Namibia in September. Many APC members from the region see FIFAfrica as an opportunity to nurture alliances that strengthen local struggles for digital justice.
Meanwhile, Rudi International, based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), hosted the sixth edition of HakiConf, attracting nearly 200 participants. The event has served as a critical platform for raising awareness and building advocacy around the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies.
In August 2025, a number of APC members gathered at the Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC), a hybrid event organised and hosted by APC member EngageMedia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Taking this regional gathering as an opportunity, we asked our members what gives them hope, what change they wish for, and how we can act together. Responses from 10 organisations in Indonesia, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea revealed a consistent message: building collective action and staying connected are essential.
Digital Empowerment Foundation celebrated the network expansion of the SoochnaPreneurs ("Information Entrepreneurs") to more than 2,000 locations across India now. The model focuses on training and empowering rural women to become digital entrepreneurs, strengthening a sense of ownership and leadership within the community, while bridging the digital divide, particularly in the last mile.
Also in India, Servelots and Janastu will be hosting their annual AnthillHacks event at the end of the year (from 15 to 28 December), bringing together communities, technologists, artists, environmentalists and thinkers along with the villagers to explore a shared vision: reclaiming and rebuilding the commons.
Our member Colnodo ended the year celebrating the launch of the Semilla Digital network in the Caribbean region of Colombia. The network is located in the municipality of Tuchín, which forms part of the San Andrés de Sotavento Indigenous reserve, renowned for its self-organisation and cultural heritage. Colnodo also strengthened its digital security training initiatives and improved a project that provides free and open source kits for environmental monitoring by local communities.
The Local Networks (LocNet) initiative, led by APC and Rhizomatica, advanced its work to foster meaningful community-centred connectivity in the Global South. The initiative involved several APC members, such as Colnodo, REDES A.C., ISEA, CITAD, Common Room and Zenzeleni. Some policy-making milestones were celebrated with the public launch of national strategies to advance this agenda in South Africa and Kenya, as well as the approval of a groundbreaking law in support of connecting underserved communities in the Philippines. Training opportunities and microgrants were also a tool mobilised by the initiative to support communities driving change in Kenya, South Africa and Indonesia, as well as to support women’s digital inclusion and local communities in the COP 30, and much more.
Centring human rights, gender and environmental justice
Over the past year, 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media has worked intensely to document, defend and amplify Palestinian digital rights during the ongoing war and genocide. Among many actions in advocacy, research and more, the organisation denounced the persistent censorship of Palestinian voices by Meta, exposed biased content moderation practices on LinkedIn, and promoted information on digital security for those at risk.
Exile Hub, an organisation dedicated to empowering human rights defenders, journalists and activists from Myanmar and Southeast Asia, joined the APC network in 2025. Throughout the year they have been sharing stories of their remarkable fellows on their website, such as Kyi, a 23-year-old student activist and proud member of Myanmar’s queer community, who stands at the intersection of the pro-democracy movement and LGBTQI+ advocacy; and Ma Khaing Yin Mon, a former businesswoman who is living in a conflict zone, promoting Indigenous language education and advocating for women’s health, among others.
A recent report released by Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) denounced that sextortion cases in the Philippines are growing, disproportionately affecting women, girls and members of the LGBTQI+ community – while also highlighting what needs to change.
The policy brief “Safeguarding Digital Rights”, from the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), recommends reforms to protect structurally silenced women, like women human rights defenders (WHRDs), people with disabilities and sex workers, tackling pressing issues such as surveillance, privacy violations and data misuse – which is especially relevant ahead of the country's elections.
Our Kenya-based member KICTANet continues to shape Kenya's and East Africa’s digital future through advocacy, multistakeholder dialogue and community-driven innovation. In 2025, among many actions, they advanced digital rights work through the Lexicon Initiative, localising safety tools in Swahili and Sheng to tackle technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). The initiative follows research from a couple of years ago, which revealed that TFGBV in the country is often perpetrated in local languages, yet most online content moderation systems and algorithms are not designed or trained to detect harmful expressions in these languages.
From Nigeria, MAJI expanded its environmental monitoring project, upgrading the DATACAB real time portal as a way to facilitate evidenced-based discussions, facts-based advocacy, and data-oriented sensitisation and awareness raising.
Unwanted Witness is building a digital rights movement of young people across the East African region through the Unwanted Witness Privacy Moot Court competitions. This year's programme started in January 2025 and ended in September, reaching over 700 people including university students, judicial officers, scholars, data protection regulators and lawyers in the region.
The International Association of Women in Radio and Television-Kenya (IAWRT-K) launched a digital platform focused on the monitoring and mapping of attacks against female journalists in Africa. The launch brought together media professionals, law enforcement officers and the Pan African Lawyers Union from the West, Central, East and Southern Africa regions and was an opportunity to make a call to action to tackle the problem.
Metamorphosis Foundation's “Disinfo Radar” was selected among the 30 solutions presented at the Paris Peace Forum 2025. In an era of coordinated operations using manipulative information and disinformation, Disinfo Radar shifts the focus from reactive countering to proactivity – by anticipating narratives and explaining the risks they pose.
From Bulgaria, BlueLink Foundation has been engaging religious communities on climate action, which included holding a conference and launching a book this year. “Religion has a growing potential as a driving force for engagement with climate change. This is particularly true in the context of increasing public and political support for conservative and traditionalist world views and messages, which mark the political scenes of Bulgaria and other EU members,” highlights the organisation.
A GenderIT.org special edition launched in November provides critical insights that have emerged from the 10 research projects carried out under the Feminist Internet Research Network's third cycle. They illustrate the complexities of technology-facilitated gender-based violence and how it intersects with the hierarchy of identities and belongings shaped by various geopolitical, nationalist and socioeconomic factors.
A joint endeavour between APC and the digital media social enterprise Chambal Media is delving into the realities of gendered disinformation in rural India, bringing to the spotlight the lived experiences of women and gender-diverse persons in the country.
Collectively shaping digital policies and processes
rom Lebanon, our member SMEX used Human Rights Day (10 December) to reflect on a year of advocacy for digital rights, especially focusing on the West Asia and North Africa region. Gathered in this piece, their reflection denounces ongoing violations, while making recommendations for urgent change.
In recognition of its groundbreaking work, APC member Software Freedom Law Center, India (SFLC.in) was honoured with the EFF Award for Defending Digital Freedoms in 2025. Over the past decade, SFLC.in has actively engaged in strategic litigation, policy interventions, capacity building and grassroots collaboration in India.
The Centre for Multilateral Affairs (CfMA) released the report “Examining the Governance Frameworks and Gender Dimensions of Artificial Intelligence Policy in Uganda”, as well as the policy brief “Advancing Inclusive and Contextually Relevant AI Policies in Uganda”, which offers recommendations such as ensuring equitable representation of women and marginalised groups in AI policy-making bodies and conducting gender and human rights impact assessments to inform policy development.
CITAD, in partnership with the LocNet initiative, hosted a webinar to mark the first anniversary of the Nigerian National Strategy for Community-Centred Connectivity Initiatives. The webinar brought together regulators, social enterprises and civil society organisations who work to deliver, contribute and continue to advocate for community networks in Nigeria, to share progress and chart next steps for last-mile connectivity, explained the British High Commission, Nigeria, a supporter of the initiative, in their social media.
In Paraguay, TEDIC aimed a spotlight on an Anti-NGO law posing major setbacks and concerns for democracy. They also took part in joint submissions of reports to the UN, denouncing the violations in the country and region.
This year, our new member REDES A.C. also focused both on acting at the national level and on forging regional and international alliances in support of local communities. Part of the results of its efforts can be seen in its contribution to the process of reforming the Mexican Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law and in the publication “Public Connectivity Policy in Mexico: Recommendations to Preserve What Has Been Achieved” (available in Spanish). They can also be seen in this statement written by many hands during the National Gathering of Community, Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Media “Sembrar la Palabra, Cosechar Autonomía”, which brought together more than 80 communicators from community radio, video, film, digital activism, networks and community telephony.
Our member Derechos Digitales, which celebrated 20 years of commitment to human rights in LAC this year, launched a new edition of their “Latin America in a Glimpse” series, focusing on what two decades have meant and what the future can bring for our communities. They also have strengthened their international advocacy across the WSIS+20 review process, UN AI governance processes, and other multilateral spaces, bringing Latin American perspectives into global debates.
APC, diverse member organisations and partners continued to offer recommendations ahead of the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly to complete the WSIS+20 review, which just took place on 16 and 17 December in New York. One of APC's priorities was to push forward a dedicated focus on financing, as we believe that without it, the implementation of WSIS goals will continue to stall.
Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, this GenderIT.org edition reflected on its legacy and asked how feminist movements can shape the future of gender equality in today’s digital age. Across diverse contexts, the articles highlight gaps, celebrate resilience, and call for the reimagining of a gender-just future.
Strengthening our collective holistic safety, care and digital resilience
Driven by our member Pangea, the Electronic Reuse Federation works to empower and engage people around the world to create local communities that bootstrap reuse and guarantee final recycling of electronic devices. It fosters a circular economy, boosts digital inclusion and reduces e-waste. In 2025, the organisation worked on the eReuse.org software for the initiative.
The Open Culture Foundation launched the Open Tech Garage this year, completing tool assessments for 21 open-source software tools and producing corresponding fact sheets.
May First recently launched "Cutting The Cord", a publication addressing the dependence of our movements on Big Tech and the need to grow an autonomous technology ecosystem. The organisation is also promoting the “Rise Against Big Tech” campaign, which focuses on individuals and organisations that are ready to move to hosting providers more aligned to the values of collaboration, transparency, equity, community control and democracy.
A report produced by Sursiendo in partnership with May First offers a crucial and urgently needed collection of “Actions for environmental justice from autonomous and community-based technological infrastructures".
Navegando Libres por la Red is a programme run by Ecuador-based Taller de Comunicación Mujer that seeks to promote the exercise of the rights of women, girls, boys, adolescents and LGBTQI+ people in the field of technology, in order to contribute to the construction of a feminist internet (available in Spanish).
Based in Costa Rica, Código Sur provides web services for Abya Yala (Latin American) organisations. They have been organising campaigns related to free technologies and privacy, such as this one focusing on digital resistance and this one on queer fiction (both available in Spanish).
Our "Building a Free Internet of the Future" interview series, which highlights the experiences and perspectives of individuals and communities supported by the NGI Zero (NGI0) grants, featured interesting initiatives on free software, open data, open hardware and open standards this year, such as a project that helps people move beyond being map users to become open-source map creators.
Originally launched in English, the Internet Shutdown Game is now available in Spanish. The game is a tool for raising awareness about the different tactics used to restrict internet access, as well as improving participants' understanding of internet infrastructure, blocking procedures, and the alternatives to circumvent them.
Before you go
This is the second edition of our special quarterly digest on the impact of the APC community. As we wrap it up, we hope to carry the achievements of 2025 into the new year and strengthen our collective action. This digest will also be available on apc.org in Spanish and French, in addition to English. Republishing and new translations are more than welcome – please contact us at communications@apc.org if you can help spread the word about our network’s impact. If you're part of the APC community, you can use the same email address to send us your highlights for possible inclusion in the next issue of this digest.
And if you’d like more frequent updates, sign up for our APCNews newsletter, published every two weeks. Thank you, and see you in the next edition, coming your way in March 2026. In the meantime, we wish everyone a 2026 that rewards our resilience and collective action for a better future.