[APCPrensa] New training helps civil society understand ICT policy

[Karen Higgs]

PRESS RELEASE 
NO EMBARGO


New training pack helps civil society organisations understand how ICT
policy decisions affect their work 


JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 11 2003 -- APC and CTO are proud to
announce the
release of the "ICT Policy for Civil Society" training pack.  The pack
includes a curriculum and accompanying materials to build the capacity
of civil society organisations to understand and engage policy and
regulation related to information and communication technologies (ICTs). 

ICTs offer new ways of sharing information and building networks.  They
create significant opportunities for learning, building communities,
strengthening institutions, promoting transparency and participation,
campaigning and organising. Policy environments have direct impact on
these opportunities, and on civil society organisations' ability to take
advantage of them, particularly as internet and other ICTs are
increasingly regulated.  For example, unless policy and regulatory
frameworks break the stranglehold held by state or privately-owned
telecommunications monopolies (the case in many developing countries)
affordable internet access is not likely to become a reality. This is an
obvious example, but there are many others.  

Few citizens are aware of the policy developments taking place at the
global, regional and national levels that can impact on their ability
and/or potential to use ICTs as a tool, let alone own or control the
production and application of these technologies locally.  The goal of
this course is to build and strengthen civil society organisations'
awareness of, and confidence to engage in, internet policy processes.  

Leopold Rwevemamu from Tanzania took a course offered by APC using the
curriculum last month because, as the coordinator of DigIT Africa, a
non-profit promoting the use of ICTs for development, he wanted to
ensure that Tanzania's new ICT policy (http://www.moct.go.tz/ict)
"doesn't just gather dust on the shelves like other policies".  He says
he found the module on 'How laws and policy are made' particularly
useful. "The whole process was clearly mapped out as to where to lobby
to change and or make policy," he told APC. "I feel confident to do
lobbying at any level now." 

The pack includes a curriculum and training modules and materials that
can be used for either a five-day course or as stand-alone sessions
combined to meet specific training needs.  

Intended users:
Primarily civil society organisations who are concerned with the use of
and access to ICTs to promote development and human rights and who want
to advocate for more enabling policy environments.  The materials can be
easily customised and adapted to address specific audiences, for example
media workers, human rights organizations, internet service provider
associations or freedom of expression advocates.  It is also suited to
the needs of parliamentarians and private sector entities that want to
understand ICT policy better.

Course objectives:
To build the capacity and confidence of citizens to understand policy on
ICT issues and to engage in ICT policy processes so that they can: 
§	Improve their understanding of how laws and policies are made
including of the main ICT policies and policy-making institutions at
national, regional and global level
§	Demonstrate an understanding of the main elements of internet and ICT
technology, markets and governance
§	Explain key ICT policy areas, including universality, intellectual
property, language issues, indigenous knowledge and open source software
§	Demonstrate knowledge of the relevance of civil liberties issues in
the Information Age
§	Promote issues of inclusion, gender and development within ICT policy
§	Develop an advocacy strategy to get involved with ICT policy in their
country

Open content and plans for the future:
The curriculum and materials are freely available for any person to
download from the internet and use. APC asks that any adaptations,
translations or modifications be sent to apc-policy at apc.org so that they
can be shared as well. APC and our partners will be adding more modules
on different themes over time and customising the curriculum to suit
different geographic locations and audience such as journalists. We'll
also be providing versions in Spanish and French before the end of 2003. 

Training:
The course has so far been offered in Southern and Eastern Africa to a
range of stakeholders including trainers of trainers. We hope to run the
course in Latin America shortly.

Find out more about "ICT Policy for Civil Society" training pack: 
Visit: http://www.apc.org/english/capacity/policy/curriculum.shtml

To receive more information or to arrange training, please contact:
Claire Sibthorpe, APC Communications and Information Policy Programme
Manager
Email: 	apc-policy at apc.org
Tel: 	+27 11 726-1692 (South Africa)
Fax: 	+27 11 726-1692

Valeria Betancourt, APC Latin American ICT Policy Monitor Coordinator
Email: 	derechos.lac at apc.org
Tel: 	+593 2 222-8815
Fax: 	+593 2 255-9440 (Ecuador)

==============================================================================
The "ICT Policy for Civil Society" course has been developed by the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) with the support of the
Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). It is part of our
work to help civil society understand and ICT policy:
http://www.apc.org/english/capacity/policy/index.shtml

ABOUT APC: The Association for Progressive Communications is an
international network of civil society organisations dedicated to
empowering and supporting groups and individuals through the strategic
use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially
internet-related technologies. APC and its members pioneer practical and
relevant uses of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing
countries. 
APC: http://www.apc.org

ABOUT CTO: The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation is a
partnership between Commonwealth governments and telecommunications
businesses to promote ICT in the interests of consumers, businesses and
social and economic development.
CTO: www.cto.int