[APCPress] APCNews - September 2006 - No. 68

Tue Sep 12 11:19:56 BST 2006

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                *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
           Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
                     September 2006 No. 68
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- APC IN THE NEWS --
-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
-- SITES OF INTEREST --
-- IMPORTANT DATES --
-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC --
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS –-

ALTERNATIVES, RDC: Alternatives supports a multilateral initiative for 
ICT advocacy

Alternatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is undertaking 
information and communication technology-related activities in 
collaboration with partners. Since last June, Alternatives has been 
elaborating a feasibility study and advocating for an open access 
internet backbone in the DRC. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040051

C2O, Australia: Me, myself and i... the Summit

C2O coordinator Andrew Garton critically reports on the iSummit 2006 
that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June. The 19-page PDF 
entitled "Me, myself and i... the Summit" presents, in a slick format, 
useful references to the open source and open content movements. It also 
takes an in-depth look at video content dissemination and licensing 
models. A must-read to understanding today's copyright and copyleft 
issues. - Open Channel (with c2o)
http://rights.apc.org/documents/isummit_2006.pdf

CECS, South Africa: Marrying FOSS with math, South African teachers find 
useful skill upgrade

South African-based Community Education Computer Society has been 
working on a project for an ICT training course for 'computer literate' 
high-school mathematics teachers, in Gauteng, South Africa. APC member 
CECS is itself an ICT training organisation, established in 1985. A 
pilot workshop took place on May 13, 2006. "I learned about techniques 
in drawing question papers, techniques I never knew existed," said one 
participant teacher. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039910

FANTSUAM, Nigeria: Building a vulnerable children's service in Nigeria

APC’s member in Nigeria, Fantsuam Foundation, has launched a vulnerable 
children's service as part of its rural HIV/AIDS programme intended to 
tackle prevention gaps head-on, with the help of multimedia. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039831

LANETA, Mexico: Women and ICT: Finding (and finding oneself with) technology

LaNeta is one of APC's members that is firmly investing in providing 
information and communication technology training. One of its most 
recent successful experiences had women as the protagonists. LaNeta is 
providing a response to the “need for common spaces for women to 
participate, reflect, and raise awareness on ICT and gender issues,” as 
Olinca Marino, general coordinator of the Mexican organisation told 
APCNews. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040019

NODO TAU, Argentina: Training and social journalism, tools for change

Nodo TAU, APC's member in Rosario, Argentina, adapts and applies Paolo 
Freire's model of popular education to its information and communication 
technology training. Blackboard and chalk made room for a monitor and 
mouse, but the underlying principle is the same: learners bring about 
change. Nodo TAU goes a step further, disseminating journalistic work 
produced in workshops through the enREDado community news portal. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039891

NODO TAU, Argentina: Computing workshops with neighbours to bridge the 
digital divide in Rosario

For a second year in a row, the neighbours of the western area of the 
city are participating in computing workshops. Within the framework of 
this initiative that arises from the participatory budget, 800 people 
were trained last year and the objective is to reach over 1500 
neighbours this year. The municipal government adopts an approach “from 
the perspective of human rights, popular participation and a greater 
democratisation of society.” APC member, TAU, was once again called on 
to train the trainers from the perspective of popular education. - Nodo TAU
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039893

PANGEA, Spain: When talking about gender and ICT stops being surreal

Influencing gender and information and communication technology policies 
requires a lot of patience and perseverance. And above all, the 
conviction that it is possible to affect change. The women’s space from 
APC member Pangea has took on the arduous task of incorporating the 
topic into the Catalonian political agenda. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040042

STRAWBERRYNET, Romania: Strawberry fields grow horizontally

A strawberry field is basically kind of a horizontally-connected 
strawberry network,” says Mihály Bakó, when trying to explain how his 
environmental non-governmental organisation came up with its name: 
Strawberrynet. APCNews met with APC's Transylvanian member in Sfantu 
Gheorghe, Romania, in early September 2006. Read the details about ICT 
policy, Romanian style. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039971
Strawberrynet profile: http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039973

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-- NEWS FROM APC --

ANNUAL REPORT 2005: APC Annual Report 2005

What were the highlights for the APC network in 2006? Find out more in 
our annual report - just out. Download in pdf (3.1 mb). The Spanish 
version will be out in September. – APC
http://www.apc.org/books/apc_ar2005_EN.pdf

NEW PRIZE LAUNCH: APC launches new international free software prize

A new prize, the APC Chris Nicol FOSS Prize, was launched on Friday 
August 25 in Mexico City. The biennial $4,000 USD prize will be awarded 
to a person or group doing extraordinary work to make it easy for 
ordinary computer users to start using free and open source software 
(FOSS). – APC
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039700

CONDOLECENSE: Michael de Beer, friend and partner of APC, died on August 
6, aged 33

APC received the very sad news that our long-time friend and 
collaborator, Mike, died earlier last month.  - APC blog
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5039458

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-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --

STATE OF PLAY ARTICLE: Alcatel bags EASSy tender, all eyes watch over 
who really won

French telco giant Alcatel has bagged the tender for the Eastern Africa 
Submarine Cable System, an initiative to connect countries along the 
eastern coast of Africa, via a high bandwidth fibre optic cable system 
to the rest of the world. It is considered a milestone in the 
development of information infrastructure in the region. But what is 
really happening on the ground to make sure the important 'open access 
model' is implemented? – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039869

WSIS FOLLOW-UP: Getting impatient with GAID: Calls for clarity on the plans

Like six blind men trying to understand what an elephant is all about, 
comprehending the Global Alliance for ICT and Development is still a 
challenge for most. But is it impatience, or is the GAID slow in taking 
off? – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040017

LOCALISATION ARTICLE: Bitter-sweet: Mixed feelings about working to 
Indian language solutions

Unlike its parent-organisation, the New Delhi-based Sarai.net is young, 
full of ideas and peppy. Not that the institution it grew out of is not 
full of ideas; but it has an old-world air about it, while Sarai fits in 
with the trendy, cyber-generation in an unusual way. APCNews met with 
Ravikant from Sarai.net to discuss localisation issues. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039912

NEW POLICY PORTAL: Website on information and communication policy in 
Uruguay launched

The Third World Network (ITeM) and the law and legislation programme 
office of the World Association of Community Radio Stations in Latin 
America and the Caribbean (AMARC-LAC) have put a new portal online to 
support the participation of all relevant actors in the processes of 
definition and implementation of ICT policies in Uruguay, South America. 
  – ITeM
http://infoycom.org.uy/

ARTICLE: Intervention in rural areas of Bangladesh through ICT

It is widely believed that information and communication technology 
(ICT) can play an important role in poverty alleviation in rural 
Bangladesh. Development Research Network (D.Net) has developed a model 
and experiments providing livelihood information through common access 
(rural information centre) point. - Bangladesh ICT policy monitor
http://bangladeshictpolicy.bytesforall.net/?q=node/198

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-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --

BETINHO PRIZE SPECIAL: MetaRecycling - "Noisy environments, unstable 
computers and curious people"

The Metarecyclers consider that computers are craft artifacts that must 
be used with creativity. They not only have displayed a natural vocation 
for experimentation, the finalists of APC's 2005 Betinho Prize also 
populated recycling centres all over Brazil. APCNews reports on this 
open, free and self-organised movement from Brazil. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040031

Read the full APCNews-generated series:

Part II: MetaRecycling - Computers as craft products
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040033

APCNews asks, Felipe Finseca responds
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040037

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-- WOMEN & ICTs –-

ARTICLE: When talking about gender and ICT comes down to earth

Influencing gender and information and communication technology policies 
requires a lot of patience and perseverance. And above all, the 
conviction that it is possible to affect change. The women’s space from 
APC member Pangea has took on the arduous task of incorporating the 
topic into the Catalonian political agenda. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040042

ANNOUNCEMENT: Take back the tech! Interconnections between violence 
against women and ICTs

The Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking 
Support Programme (APC WNSP) issued out a call to Take Back the Tech! 
during a panel at the KnowHow conference that was held in Mexico City 
from August 23-26. Feminists shared their stories and thoughts about how 
women can take control of technology to challenge violence against 
women. – APC WNSP
http://www.apcwomen.org/knowhow

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-- APC IN THE NEWS --

WFN: WFN and NCC lose church communication pioneer
10 August 2006

Michael de Beer was not too young to be a pioneer in digital church 
communication. He was too young to die. At age 33 Michael passed away 
from an apparent heart attack. – World Faith News
http://www.wfn.org/2006/08/msg00109.html

BALANCING ACT: SAT3 – Regulators ask for “transparency on pricing and 
good governance”
By Russell Southwood, 31 July 2006

Last week over 30 policy-makers, regulators and operators met in
Johannesburg to discuss what will happen when the self-awarded
monopolies of Africa's SAT3 consortium members comes to an end in June 
2007. – Balancing Act
http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=3714

TECTONIC: Ethiopian activists promote FOSS
By Staff Writer, 11 July 2006

APC (Association for Progressive Communications) and CATIA joined forces 
with the Ethiopian Free and Open Source Network (EFOSSNET) to host a 
series of workshops over the next 10 days to promote the use of free and 
open source software in that country. - Tectonic
http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1054

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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --

ICT FOR THE POOR PUBLICATION: International Food Policy Research 
Institute. Although technological innovations, such as cellular 
telephones and wireless broadband access, are playing an important role 
in building ICT levels globally, strong inequality still remains. The 
rapid growth of ICTs in developing countries is partly a result of very 
low initial access, and therefore in absolute terms developing countries 
are still well behind the developed world in access to ICTs.
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib40.asp

GENDER TOOLKIT FOR JOURNALISTS: The Gender Toolkit for Journalists is 
designed to raise awareness in news rooms worldwide of gender inequality 
and the crucial role that media can play to promote a balanced and 
non-stereotyped portrayal of women.
http://www.cpu.org.uk/cpu-toolkits/gender_reporting/index.html

TOOLS FOR CITIZEN JOURNALISTS: Website on software, hardware and other 
tools revolutionising journalism.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tools_for_citizen_journalism

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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --

JOB OPENING: WITNESS and Global Voices are looking for a part-time human 
rights video editor who can be based anywhere in the world and would be 
willing to work at least ten hours a week on a short-term basis for our 
pilot project. In short, the person would be responsible for curating 
and aggregating online human rights videos from various sources and 
providing editorial and contextual information on those videos in a blog 
like format.
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org

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-- SITES OF INTEREST --

CKDU-FM in Halifax has operated almost entirely on open source software 
since 2003. The radio station of eastern Canada is in the process of 
creating a website that documents how and why it does this.
http://ckdu.dal.ca/ckdu-os

ICT BAROMETER is the first ICT e-magazine in Bangladesh. It is bringing 
latest ICT news from around the globe. You can also visit the web-based 
news service.
http://www.ictbarometer.com

The NEW MEDIA LAB (NML) at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, 
proposes a resourceful website for journalists and/or bloggers alike. 
The NML rolls out several media projects using free and open source 
software platforms in partnership with civil society organisations and 
mainstream media.
http://nml.ru.ac.za/

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-- IMPORTANT DATES --

SEPTEMBER 14-16: Wizards of OS 4 conference
Berlin, Germany
http://www.wizards-of-os.org/

SEPTEMBER 26-28: Philippine open source conference 2006
Shangri-la Manila, Philippines
http://www.philosc.com/about_the_conference.html

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-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC –-

You can meet up with APC and/or APC WNSP (APC women's programme) 
representatives at the events below during the next two months. Write to 
events at apc.org to obtain contact information. See you there!

SEPTEMBER 11-15: Highway Africa
Grahamstown, South Africa
www.highwayafrica.ru.ac.za/

SEPTEMBER 14-15: Digital citizen indaba on blogging
Grahamstown, South Africa
http://dci.ru.ac.za/

OCTOBER 22-25 (+ 10 day training): Dharamsala Wireless event
Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India

OCTOBER 25-27: The World Congress on Communication for Development
Rome, Italy
http://www.devcomm-congress.org/worldbank/public.asp?idmacro=2

OCTOBER 28-29: ItrainOnline partners meeting
Rome, Italy
http://www.itrainonline.org/

OCTOBER 30 - NOV 2: Internet Governance Forum
Athens, Greece
http://www.intgovforum.org/

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APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are distributed 
monthly by APC -- a worldwide network supporting the use of internet and 
ICTs for social justice and sustainable development since 1990.

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Some rights reserved: Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial Licence 2.0
Association for Progressive Communications (APC), 2006