[APCPress] [APCNews] APCNews - February 2004 - No. 39

Mon Feb 9 19:33:12 GMT 2004

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           *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
      Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
                - January 2004 No. 39 -
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
-- IMPORTANT DATES --
-- WHAT'S NEW ON THE APC WEBSITE --
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -

Open Forum of Cambodia, Cambodia: New intellectual property law forces 
Cambodians to start developing their own Khmer-language software

"We envision, in 2007, a country where Cambodians can learn and use 
computers in their own language, a country that does not have to change 
to a new language in order to use computers!" say the activists behind 
the new KhmerOS initiative.

Until now, computer use in Cambodia has been mostly in English, and 
mostly using unlicensed copies of Microsoft Windows products. However, a 
new Cambodian intellectual property law means that a user will have to 
purchase a license for each copy of software sold by companies such as 
Microsoft and that's unaffordable for most Cambodian computer users. 
This new portal coordinated by APC member, Open Forum of Cambodia, gets 
together some previously isolated developers and is starting out by 
providing Khmer translations of well-known free software programmes such 
as Mozilla (the powerful web browser and mail programme). But the 
eventual goal is to create a full applications package under GNU/Linux, 
"which has 90% of all applications which 100% of all users need". Find 
out more about the motivation behind KhmerOS.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17264

CEPES, Peru: Farmers and local government in rural Peru use free APC 
software

CEPES, one of APC's newest members, has trained participants in a 
rural-urban information service to set up a portal and exchange 
agricultural information from six telecentres in remote area of the 
northern Peruvian sierras. A replication of the course is being 
organised for staff at the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture's offices in 
the same region. The technology of choice is APC's free software, APC 
ActionApps.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17062

ALIN-EA, Kenya: Stakeholders meet to discuss an all-inclusive 
information society in Kenya

Kenya needs a workable and all-inclusive ICT policy and this is only 
possible through a partnership approach. This was the conclusion of a 
stake holder’s forum held in Nairobi in November 2003 that brought 
together members of the government, the private sector and civil society 
organizations interested in ICT policy issues to deliberate on an all 
inclusive information society in Kenya and Kenya's participation at the 
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). - ALIN-EA
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17258

Women'sNet, South Africa: Advancing rural women's empowerment in 
Southern Africa through ICTs

Women'sNet, an APC member in South Africa, is hosting a regional 
workshop to be held in Johannesburg in February which will bring 
together women's organisations, government officials, and gender and 
development practitioners and researchers, involved in gender and 
information and communication projects and initiatives.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17279

ITeM, Uruguay: Choike at the Fourth World Social Forum - Coverage in 
English and Spanish

Reports and news on the fourth edition of the World Social Forum, which 
had its venue for the first time in Asia from the portal on southern 
civil societies. This year the Forum, held in Mumbai, focused on 
imperialist globalization, religious sectarianism, identity politics and 
fundamentalism, castes, racism and social exclusion, patriarchy and 
militarization. - Choike
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/eventos/1.html (English)
http://www.choike.org/nuevo/eventos/3.html (Spanish)

RITS, Brazil: World Social Forum 2004 - Coverage in Portuguese

With the support of Avina Foundation, APC member in Brazil, Rits, was 
able to send a team to the IV World Social Forum, in Mumbai, India, from 
January 16 to 21. The special coverage was published in the hotsite 
"Rets - Edição Especial Fórum Social Mundial". Even before the WSF had 
started, the hot-site was releasing information about the concerns, 
expectations and opinions the event was generating.

The RITS team which included Paulo Lima (our Executive Director), 
Graciela Selaimen (Infomation and Communication Director) and editor, 
Fausto Rego, produced daily coverage focusing on the most interesting 
and relevant seminars and workshops. There were also exclusive 
interviews, photos and reports of what was going on at the WSF, all 
produced for a Brazilian civil society audience. – RITS
http://fsm2004.rits.org.br.

c2o, Australia: D3 tested at Australian Centre for the Moving Image

D3 - a prototype public multimedia interactive created by APC member in 
Melbourne, c2o- is a storytelling engine which explores a sense of place 
by mapping trails through a city. - c2o
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=16342

Intercom, Ecuador: ICT4D newsletter from Ecuador gets facelift

Since 1997, Intercom - Ecuanex, APC member in Ecuador, has published 
'Conexión' a newsletter featuring resources and news on the use of 
internet for the democratisation of communication and human development. 
  Now since edition no. 58, thanks to the support of the International 
Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), Conexion will be 
getting a face-lift which will include full-colour printing and new 
in-depth sections. Published three times a year and with an increased 
distribution, Intercom will broaden its ICT for development coverage. 
Please write to comunicacion at ecuanex.net.ec with comments, contributions 
or to subscribe.
Conexion: http://conexion.ecuanex.net

BlueLink, Bulgaria: APC member in Bulgaria is a finalist in the 
Stockholm Challenge

APC is delighted to announce that BlueLink's project "Regional 
Environmental Content Sharing in the South Eastern European (SEE) 
Region" has made it to the final of the Stockholm Challenge Awards for 
pioneering IT projects worldwide. The platform designed for non-profit 
users became one of the nine finalists of the "Environment" category 
selected from over 900 applicants for the annual awards. Another APC 
member StrawberryNet is a partner in the successful project which is 
based on a content exchange replication process developed by APC and 
made possible using APC's free software, the APC ActionApps.

See the finalists: 
http://www.challenge.stockholm.se/finalists.asp?Ar=2003&key=39KV85332
The content sharing project: http://www.see-environment.info
BlueLink: http://www.bluelink.net
APC ActionApps: http://www.apc.org/actionapps

StrawberryNet, Romania: Wealth of information about Romanian 
non-government organisations goes online

CENTRAS in collaboration with APC member, the StrawberryNet Foundation, 
has launched the first tri-language database of non-governmental 
organisations in Romania", RO_NGO.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17401

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-- NEWS FROM APC -

New Member: Montreal-based action and communication network becomes APC 
member

Alternatives -the Action and Communication Network for International 
Development- joined APC in November 2003. Alternatives is based in 
Montreal, Canada, and works on a regional, national and international 
level with non-governmental organisations defending the interests of 
vulnerable populations; specifically, labourers, women and young people 
constructing a more environmentally conscious, humane and democratic 
society.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17336

New Member: Computer Aid International joins APC

Based in the UK, Computer Aid the largest and most experienced 
non-profit in the world which supplies professionally refurbished 
computers to not-for-profit organisations in developing countries. They 
have provided over 25,000 quality computers to progressive organisations 
in the South working to bring about social and economic change. This 
year, Computer Aid is focusing their work on less-developed countries 
and to increase provision to and via rights based organisations and 
women-led initiatives. They also plan to focus on training and computer 
refurbishment as a means for self sustainability. Computer Aid is APC's 
first new member of 2004!
Computer Aid International: http://www.computer-aid.org/

APC at the World Social Forum 2004, Mumbai: A Personal Account from 
APC's African Policy Coordinator

Emmanuel Njenga Njuguna of APC's Africa ICT Policy Monitor project has 
been involved in various global policy-making processes on communication 
rights issues. He gives us his impressions of the World Social Forum as 
he went to Mumbai to run an ICT Policy for Civil Society' workshop for 
Forum participants.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17333

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-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --

No more back-room deals for .br (Brazil)

There's a new openness since the Lula government came to power at the 
beginning of 2003 and began working hand-in-hand with Brazilian civil 
society to change the way the internet is being governed in Brazil. It's 
been announced that the committee which handles all Brazilian-registered 
website addresses will be chosen in public online elections. For the 
first time since the .br registry was created in 1995, members of civil 
society will be elected and can participate directly in the 
deliberations. -- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17286

Management Committee Elections to be held via the internet, with digital 
certification

The Brazilian government has decided to support this transition to a new 
internet governance structure for the administration of ".br". ITI and 
Abong outline the process which involves elections and the nominations 
of candidates from civil society, government and the science and 
technology sectors in this article translated into English by APC. - 
ITI/Abong
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17353

NEW PUBLICATION: A new book from APC - "ICT Policy - A Beginner's Handbook"

APC's new book lays out the issues and dispenses with the jargon to 
encourage more people to get involved in ICT policy processes.
It's a book for people who feel that ICT policy is important but don't 
know much about it, e.g. a government official worried about a gap in 
her technical knowledge of how the internet works, a human-rights worker 
concerned that his need to send secure email is being challenged by 
national government policy, a citizen fed up with paying exorbitant 
rates for dial-up internet access and ready to organise...

It's not a map but it *is* a compass.
"ICT Policy - A Beginner's Handbook" will be available in 2004 in Spanish.
Find out more about the new handbook: 
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=16108

An interview with the editor of "ICT Policy: A Beginner's Handbook"

APCNews asked the editor of APC's new book "ICT Policy: A Beginner's 
Handbook" Chris Nicol to comment briefly on the motivation behind the 
handbook which was published in December. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=16109

NEW PUBLICATION: "The Other Side of the Divide" - Voices from Latin 
American and the Caribbean speak out about the social impact of ICTs

RedISTIC (Networking on the Social Impact of ICTs) is a coalition made 
up of groups that work on information society-related issues 
(communication, knowledge, wisdom, etc.) in Latin American and the 
Caribbean. The first achievement of RedISTIC is the publication of the 
book "The Other Side of the Divide: Latin American and the Caribbean 
Perspectives on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)".
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17331

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-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --

APC ActionApps is one of the top 10 open source tools for e-Activism

APC's free content management system designed specifically for 
progressive organisations to publish news automatically and share 
content at the click of a button has been nominated one of the best open 
source software tools that can be used by activists to spread the 
message and promote interaction by e-newsletters, forums, blogs, and 
online petitions.

Compiled by Dan Bashaw and Mike Gifford in an article for the 
Democracies Online Newswire APC ActionApps came out tops along with 
other well-known applications like PostNuke, Twiki and WebCards.
http://www.openconcept.ca/index.php/Top10

ItrainOnline News: New modules

The ItrainOnline partnership has recently released nine new Multimedia 
Training Kit (MMTK) units on the following topics: open source software; 
OpenOffice.org; radio browsing; reporting on HIV/AIDS; and older and 
refurbished computers.

All materials are available on the ItrainOnline site at: 
http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/mmtk/index.shtml
If you would like a copy of the materials on CD-ROM please e-mail 
mmtk at apc.org

UNESCO joins the ItrainOnline initiative

UNESCO has joined six expert organisations in the ItrainOnline 
initiative, an online service that aims to tackle challenges faced by 
civil society organisations and individuals who want to take advantage 
of ICT to meet their missions. This initiative was created to help 
internet and computer users sharpen their individual skills and play a 
key role in bridging the knowledge gap. APC is one of the six partners 
in the initiative.
http://www.itrainonline.org

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-- WOMEN & ICTs -

Women's Electronic Network Training Workshop in India

Nineteen women from all over India participated in the Women's 
Electronic Network Training Workshop in India (WENT-IN) where they 
trained in planning effective web-based information services, and in 
using online communication tools to advance their networking and 
advocacy work. - APC WNSP
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=16344

Gender Evaluation of ICT projects (GEM) Workshop in Seville, Spain

"The Andalusian Institute for Women decided to invite the GEM team after 
learning about the tool via the website where it is now in English, 
Portuguese and Spanish," said Dafne Sabanes Plou, regional coordinator 
for GEM in Latin America. - APC WNSP
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=17359

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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --

Special edition of the ICT Policy Monitor in Latin America and the 
Caribbean highlights 2003

A special end of year edition featured the sections, materials and 
content which were most developed in 2003 and those that have had the 
largest and most positive impact on policy work taking place in LAC at 
this time.
“El boletin”: http://lac.derechos.apc.org/boletines.shtml?x=16184 (in 
Spanish)

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-- IMPORTANT DATES --

Thetha on ICT Policy Organisations and Processes
11 February 2004, Johannesburg, South Africa

Do you know your acronyms - PNC-ISAD, GCIS, MPCC, DoC, Convergence, 
ICASA, WSIS, etc.? This meeting will seek to explain the range of 
national ICT organisations and processes, and work towards a network for 
sharing information between civil society organisations to become more 
engaged in this regard. The aim is to exchange information, and if 
possible, coordinate fuller involvement of civil society organisations 
in ICT processes. This meeting forms part of Thetha - The SANGONeT ICT 
Discussion Forum, and is organised in conjunction with the Open 
Knowledge Network. http://www.sangonet.org.za

Advancing rural women's empowerment: ICTs in the service of good 
governance, democratic practice and development for rural women in Africa
February 23-25 2004, Johannesburg, South Africa

The workshop will bring together women's organisations, government 
officials, and gender and development practitioners and researchers, 
involved in gender and information and communication (ICT) projects and 
initiatives to identify the how ICTs have been used to deal with real 
issues that rural women face like food security, conflict situations, 
drought, land, health, economic well-being, and so forth, explore and 
strategise how participating organisations can strengthen their own 
information and communications work, etc
http://womensnet.org.za/dimitra_conference

Africa Source: African Free and Open Source Software Developers Meeting
March 15-19 2004 Namibia

This practical workshop will, for the first time, bring together free 
and open source software (FOSS) developers from across Africa. During 
the five day event, participants and facilitators will share technical 
skills and experiences, discuss key challenges in realizing FOSS 
projects, and develop concrete strategies for strengthening the nascent 
community of FOSS technologists  working in African contexts. Confirmed 
meeting participants include experts with a wide range of knowledge  in 
key areas, including DIY wireless networking, customized GNU/Linux 
distributions, hardware assembly and repair, large-scale web 
development, and multi-media web casting. Deadline for applications is 
February 6
http://www.tacticaltech.org

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-- SITES OF INTEREST --

Asociación Afecto - fighting child abuse in Colombia
This site is dedicated to preventing all types of mistreatment of 
children and adolescents in Colombia and raising awareness in the 
general public on the issues.
http://www.afecto.org.co/

Capital & Class magazine online
The Conference of Socialists Economists (CSE) is an international, 
democratic membership organisation committed to developing a materialist 
critique of capitalism, unconstrained by conventional academic divisions 
between subjects. APC member in London, GreenNet, has developed the 
online archive of their Capital & Class magazine. The site is built 
using APC's free content management system, APC ActionApps which allows 
visitors to search or browse quickly through more than 2000 articles 
from past C&C issues as well as and download them in the high quality 
PDF format.
http://www.cseweb.org.uk/

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-- WHAT'S NEW ON THE APC WEBSITE --

**APC ActionApps has a new address**
http://www.actionapps.org

Following more and more interest world-wide to use APC's free software, 
we now have a new website address! However, www.apc.org/actionapps still 
continues to function.

APC ActionApps allows anyone to publish online without knowing any 
programming or learning specialised software. It's a content management 
system design specifically for progressive organisations.  And because 
it is being developed and adopted all over the world APC ActionApps 
software is available in English, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, 
Romanian, Japanese and German.

Got a question about the ActionApps? Check out the new frequently asked 
question section developed by Canadian free software activists, the 
Commons Group. Articles cover everything from a basic introduction to 
in-depth notes for free software programmers: http://actionapps.org/faq/

APC ActionApps documentation is collected here: 
http://actionapps.org/aa/doc/

Try out the APC ActionApps! Take a test drive in our sandbox: 
https://actionapps.org/aa/admin/ (user id and password: demo1 / demo1)

A one-page introduction to the APC ActionApps: 
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=16314

**The APC Press Room**
http://www.apc.org/english/press/index.shtml

Visit the press room to:
-Download informative background material (primers)
Our frequently updated primers in more than three languages cover all 
major areas of APC's work - our ICT policy work, the APC prizes, etc, 
etc. They are short (usually one page long) and designed for you to be 
able to print them out and keep them as concise reference materials.
-Visit our press release archive
-Join our press lists in English and Spanish

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APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are
distributed monthly by APC, the Association for Progressive
Communications (APC), the international Internet community
for peace, human rights, development and the environment.
APCNews Archive: http://www.apc.org/english/news/apcnews/

CopyLeft. 2004 Association for Progressive Communications
(APC). Permission is granted to use this document for personal
use, for training and educational publications, and activities
by peace, environmental, human rights or development
organizations. Please provide an acknowledgment to APC.

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