[APCPress] APCNews - October 2006 - No 69
Frédéric Dubois
frederic at apc.org
Wed Oct 11 09:00:19 BST 2006
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*APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
October 2006 No. 69
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- MEDIA & BLOGGING --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- ENVIRONMENT & ICTs --
-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --
-- 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, Canada: Turning points in the DRC
Only just emerging from a civil war, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo has for many years proved difficult for development initiatives to
work in. This is especially the case when dealing with ICTs, which many
people do not consider a developmental imperative. But as the
Canadian-based APC member Alternatives has found, it is possible to get
a foothold in difficult terrain. – Chakula
http://africa.rights.apc.org/en-chakula.shtml?x=5040480#drc
COLNODO, Colombia: A commitment to the social use of ICTs
For Colnodo, APC member in Colombia, its commitment to the “strategic
use of the internet for development” takes a variety of forms: from work
with the government in the policy realm, to training for women, and
resource exchange with community media. APCNews spoke to Olga Paz,
administrative and projects coordinator, about various Colnodo activist
campaigns for the democratisation of information and communication
technologies (ICTs). The encounter took place in London at the ICT
policy portals meeting organised by APC in late June. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041387
FMA, Philippines: Brand new Filipino free software coalition to push for
“nation of creators”
A consortium of socially-aware free and open source software advocates
was launched on Software Freedom Day, September 16 2006, at the
University of the Philippines. Commonly referred to as Bukas (which
means ‘open’), it consists of seventeen organisations, which share the
view that FOSS has become a political imperative in light of the actual
Filipino “intellectual property” regime. “Information technology should
make us not just a nation of users but a nation of creators. This can be
done much better with Linux,” a founding member declared at the launch.
– FMA
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041462
WEB NETWORKS, Canada: Drupal usability report made available
Web Networks' report on the usability of the content management system
Drupal is now available on drupal.org. APC Canadian member Web Network
has developed this detailed and professional report with the support of
APC's ActionKit project. - Web Networks
http://drupal.org/node/83806
WOUGNET, Uganda: ‘Now we have made a noise’
The goal of the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) is to promote the use
of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by women’s
organisations in Uganda. Set up in 2000, APC member WOUGNET has been a
lead actor in bringing a gender focus to ICT policy in Uganda, open
source software and the World Summit on the Information Society. Read
the interview with WOUGNET’s director and the organisation’s ICT
programme manager. - Chakula
http://africa.rights.apc.org/en-chakula.shtml?x=5040480#uganda
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-- NEWS FROM APC --
LAUNCH OF APC’s ANNUAL REPORT 2005: APC keeps campaigning, sees tangled
wires in the ICT world
2005 will be the year the Association for Progressive Communications
remembers most for the World Summit on the Information Summit. But, says
the just released Annual Report 2005, that event -which culminated in
Tunis in November of 2005- was like a struggle to finding the forest
among the trees. Read about the issues APC grappled with and the key
highlights from our worldwide membership in the downloadable report,
available in English and shortly in Spanish. - APC
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041171
Download the APC Annual Report 20005:
http://www.apc.org/books/apc_ar2005_EN.pdf
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRAINING: Working in triangles to get projects moving
From September 3-8, APC people descended on Pruhonice, a small town
just outside Prague for the annual board and management meeting. While
the first focused on APC governance issues, the management part of the
meeting got under way with a training session. Rob Purdie from iMPORTANT
PROJECTS joined the APC folk from as far as Cambodia, the USA and South
Africa for two very specific reasons: to explain the different project
management concepts out there, and apply some of them to APC’s reality.
- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041178
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-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM: APC puts up the fight for an open access,
equal opportunity and educative internet
APC is viewing the inaugural meeting of the Internet Governance Forum
(IGF) - which and will be held in Athens from October 30 to November 2 -
as a "vitally important event”. "For the first time in a global policy
forum, governments, civil society, the private sector and international
organisations can address public policy issues concerning the internet
on an equal footing," said APC’s policy programme head Willie Currie. -
APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041512
SOCIAL WATCH REPORT: “Call it digital divideS,” major study suggests
Unequal access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) has
generated new inequalities, according to Social Watch -a coalition of
400 non-governmental organisations present in 60 countries and
coordinated by APC member the Third World Institute (ITeM). This year's
report, the eleventh edition, finds there is an urgent need to reform
the current international financial structure to fulfil national and
international commitments to eradicate poverty and promote gender
equity. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041176
“CATALYSING POLICY ADVOCACY, THE GOAL,” INTERVIEWS SUGGEST
For nearly three years the Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa programme
(CATIA) has worked towards strengthening the context for the vibrant
adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in
Africa. The programme has been set up with nine components, each with
its particular advocacy aim.
APC led the component on African-led advocacy for ICT policy reform. Our
aim was to achieve increased access to affordable ICTs in Africa,
particularly for the poor and those in rural under-serviced areas and we
wanted to stimulate and support accelerated ICT policy and regulatory
reform in five African countries through supporting existing initiatives
and developing the capacity of informed advocacy groups and individuals
from the private sector, consumer groups and civil society, and the media.
APC’s Africa ICT policy monitor’s newsletter “Chakula” has come up with
live interviews with CATIA participants that offer a unique lens for
touring Africa’s ICT side. Read about Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria and
Kenya in this section and about the DRC and Uganda in the ‘News from
members’ section of this newsletter.
FREE SOFTWARE: Agents for change in Ethiopia
Promoting open source software has been the advocacy focus for the
Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) programme in Ethiopia. CATIA
animators from the Ethiopian FOSS network EFOSSNET explain the work that
need to be done in Ethiopia’s telecom sector. - Chakula
http://africa.rights.apc.org/en-chakula.shtml?x=5040480#ethiopia
MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY: Making it newsworthy in Senegal
In Senegal, few journalists have access to technology for their
day-to-day work, and ICTs seldom make it into the news. Which is why the
CATIA intervention in that country chose to focus exclusively on
developing the capacity of the media to use and write about ICTs. Now it
has launched its own television show. CHAKULA spoke to CATIA’s animator
in Senegal, Coura Fall, and Eco journalist Jacques Iyok... - Chakula
http://africa.rights.apc.org/en-chakula.shtml?x=5040480#senegal
COMMUNITY RADIO: Getting people talking in Nigeria
In a country of 130-million people, Nigeria has only one community radio
and no policy on community broadcasting in place. Yet there are hopeful
signs that things are changing. - Chakula
http://africa.rights.apc.org/en-chakula.shtml?x=5040480#nigeria
ICT POLICY ADVOCACY: Trusting in the process in Kenya
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANeT) is a multi-stakeholder network
of civil society, private sector and media ICT actors. For the past two
years it has been lobbying for better ICT policy in Kenya, and has grown
into a formidable force in the country. As the network grows in power
and influence, problems can sometimes be amplified. How does KICTANeT
hold it all together? - Chakula
http://africa.rights.apc.org/en-chakula.shtml?x=5040480#kenya
To subscribe to Chakula:
http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/chakula
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-- MEDIA & BLOGGING --
CONFERENCE: Highway Africa & Digital Citizen Indaba
A team of APC bloggers came up with original perspectives on Africa’s
biggest media and blogging events, which took place in mid-September
2006 in Grahamstown, South Africa. From posts explaining why African
journalists have a hard time reporting properly on ICT policy issues to
stories about the challenges faced by African media, many different
facets are posted and commented on the APC blog by the prolific blog
queens of the APC Africa Women team and the Egyptian free speech
campaigner Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Read some excerpts here.
COMMUNITY MEDIA: Let the people speak! Days of hope and optimism
By Sally-Jean Shackleton
Tracey Naughton started off the session on community media at the
Highway Africa conference with an old recording of the ANC’s radio
station. As the speakers crackled with an Mkhonto we Sizwe song,
delegates sat in silence. – APC blog
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5040281
THE HIGHWAY: Paradigms are overrated
By Alaa Abd El-Fatah
People use the Highway as a paradigm for the internet, but the African
highway tends to ignore the pedestrians who must cross it. – APC blog
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5040323
JOURNALISM: Why journalists are not writing about ICT
By Virginia Kuria
It emerged yesterday, that a lot of journalists are shying away from
covering ICT news and projects because they do not understand the
complex terminology and jargon used by ICT project teams. – APC blog
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5040271
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-- WOMEN & ICTs –-
WORKSHOP REPORT: Burma technology skills training workshop
“Enhance the information and communication technology (ICT) skills of
self-taught Burmese techies, that’s what we’re here for,” explained APC
WNSP staff member Cheekay Cinco. Cinco was one of very few women
trainers present in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai for the Burma
technology skills training workshop that was held at the end of August.
- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041165
INTERVIEW: Robots, software and pedagogy: How gender matters in education
Heidi Schelhowe is a professor for “Digital Media in Education” at the
Computer Science Department of the University of Bremen, Germany.
Interaction and interactivity are main concepts in her research and
teaching, plus the constant efforts to create interesting and
provocative gender aware knowledge environments. GenderIT.org speaks
with this seminal thinker, educator and technologist about gendered
dimensions of software, robots and creating transformative pedagogic
environments. – GenderIT.org
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?w=a&x=94889
INTERVIEW: Wireless networks: Neither the territory of men nor women
Cris Ojeda, a network technician and collaborator of APC-member Nodo Tau
in Argentina, recounts her experience at a wireless roaming network
training project carried out in Paraguay. Cris was the sole female
participant, and reflects on the expectations for this workshop from a
gender perspective. – GenderIT.org
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?w=a&x=94890
TOOLS WORKSHOP REPORT: Gender and ICTs in education and communication
More than 40 educators debated the importance of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) in edu-communication processes at a
recent workshop held in Sao Paulo. The benefits of emerging ICT tools
and platforms were analysed, including their democratising potential and
gendered environment. The workshop was conducted through a Gender
Evaluation Methodology. – GenderIT.org
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?w=a&x=94891
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-- ENVIRONMENT & ICTs –-
IT-powered civil protest turns polluting gold-miners away
In an unprecedented act of civil and internet activism, the villagers of
a small mountain village in Bulgaria succeeded to prevent an
environmentally devastating gold mining project. Despite the pressure
from the corporation, the federal authorities and the police, the local
community was victorious: the Canadian Martern mining company pulled out
at the end of the summer 2006. - Za Zemiata, Bluelink Network
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040970
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-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --
BETINHO PRIZE SPECIAL: An interview special from APCNews on the 2005
Betinho Prize finalist, International Peace Observatory
IPO, Colombia: Communication technologies, weapons against war in Colombia
In the midst of an armed conflict, organising an audiovisual
communication workshop for youth does not tend to be a priority for
groups working in the area. Nevertheless, for the International Peace
Observatory, a Colombian organisation that was a finalist for the
Betinho prize in 2005, it is essential that small farmer communities -
who are the first victims of the war - be able to tell their stories.
APCNews spoke to Laura Lorenzi, president of the IPO, about how new
technologies can become arms in the struggle against the war. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041399
Also part of this series:
CEMINA, Brazil, joint-winner 2005: The voices of women and communities
through radio telecentres
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039388
(published in August 2006)
FLACSO-Chile, joint-winner 2005: Seeing and transforming the world
through community telecentres
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5038855
(published in July 2006)
METARECYCLING, Brazil, finalist: "Noisy environments, unstable computers
and curious people"
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040031
(published in September 2006)
About the APC Betinho Prize: http://www.apc.org/english/betinho/index.shtml
THE NEW APC FOSS PRIZE: Why should I care at all about free software?
In September 2006, APC launched a new prize called the Chris Nicol FOSS
Prize. It's meant to encourage projects that make use of innovative free
and open source software technologies in their activities. Brazilian
journalist Luisa Gockel - working with APC's Brazilian member The Third
Sector Network (Rits) – asked coordinator Karel Novotny why the ordinary
user should care about this relatively new F-O-S-S acronym. – APC blog
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5041447
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-- APC IN THE NEWS --
EURACTIV.COM, Belgium: Internet Governance
2 October 2006.
Almost a year after the 16-18 November 2005 World Summit on the
Information Society, the EU and the US seem to have resolved their
conflict over the control of the servers at the heart of the internet.
[…] The Association for Progressive Communications (APC), an
international network of civil society organisations, said: "The
Internet [...] must be seen as a global public infrastructure. In this
regard we recognise the Internet to be a global public good and access
to it is in the public interest, and must be provided as a public
provision."
http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/internet-governance/article-142724
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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
IMPROVING HEALTH, CONNECTING PEOPLE: The role of ICTs in the health sector
of developing countries. A study shows that ICTs have enormous potential
as tools to increase information flows, disseminate evidence-based
knowledge, and empower
citizens. ICTs have been used to enable remote consultation through
telemedicine; encourage collaboration among health workers; and support
more effective health research. Pilot projects have demonstrated
outcomes such as improved health system productivity and reduced
mortality rates. Yet ICTs have not been widely used to advance equitable
healthcare access, and there are still few ICT users amongst
professionals and communities in developing countries.
http://www.asksource.info/pdf/framework2.pdf
2006 FREE SOFTWARE AWARD: The Free Software Foundation announced a
request for nominations for the 2006 Free Software Award for Projects of
Social Benefit. This award is presented to the project or team
responsible for applying free software, or the ideas of the free
software movement, in a project that intentionally and significantly
benefits society in other aspects of life. Send nominations to
<award-nominations at gnu.org>, on or
before October 31 2006.
http://www.fsf.org/news/social-award-2006
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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
HARAMBEE PROJECT: Call for small grants applications
The Harambee project coordinators are announcing a small grants facility
to provide a number of sectoral based networks and communities in Africa
with funding for the development of greater collaborative capacity.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5040897
GENDERIT.ORG CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS: The team behind GenderIT.org, an
important and singular website that engages with issues around gender &
information and communication technology (ICT) policies, is building a
pool of freelance writers. The GenderIT.org pool of writers is open for
advocates, journalists, bloggers, researchers, and people working in the
field of gender, development, communication rights and/or ICT polices.
Applicants should: be proficient in Spanish and/or English; have good
writing skills and a good grasp of women's and media and/or
communication rights in their region; some ability to offer a
feminist/gender analysis on ICT policy is also desirable. Please share
your interest in joining us, your experience with gender and/or ICT
policy, a sample of your work (article, research or analytical writing)
and your CV. Send a short email in English or Spanish with all details
outlined above to genderit at apcwomen.org with subject line “Application:
Pool of writers”.
http://www.genderit.org
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR YOUNG SCHOLAR AWARDS to attend the CPRsouth
conference, January 19-21, 2007
LIRNEasia is seeking applications for fifteen awards to be handed out to
young scholars attending the inaugural conference of Communication
Policy Research south (CPRsouth). This initiative is intended to be a
vehicle for building capacity in communication policy research in the
Asia Pacific in the first instance, and then in the South. Each award
comprises of (a) free registration for a two-day pre-conference tutorial
on ICT policy and regulation research in the Asia Pacific, to be held on
January 17-18, 2006, (b) cost of travel to and from Manila, and (c)
accommodation and meals at the conference venue for five nights. All
incidental costs will have to borne by the participants. Email your
applications by or before October 15, 2006 to info at cprsouth.org.
http://www.lirneasia.net/about/cprsouth
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-- SITES OF INTEREST --
STRONG ANGEL 3: This website looks into ICT solutions for disaster,
relief and contingency planning situations.
http://www.strongangel3.net/
CITIZEN SHIFT: This is a website run by a tiny team at the National Film
Board of Canada. It includes several short films and web initiatives
meant to tell the stories of those using the film camera and other media
to empower youth.
http://citizen.nfb.ca/onf/info
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-- IMPORTANT DATES --
OCTOBER 19: Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) Asian-Pacific
regional meeting
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
http://www.un-gaid.org
OCTOBER 22-25: AirJaldi Summit 2006 - Empowering communities through
wireless networks
Dharamsala, India
http://summit.airjaldi.com/
NOVEMBER 12-15: FOSS at Work
Manila, Philippines
http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/foss-at-work/
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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!
OCTOBER 15-16: InfoAndina: Strategic evaluation and planning workshop
Lima, Peru
http://www.condesan.org/infoandina/
OCTOBER, 16-19: World Summit on the Information Society follow-up (UNESCO)
Paris, France
http://www.unesco.org/wsis
22-23 OCTOBER: One year after the UN Millennium Summit
Global security and sustainable human development
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
OCTOBER 22-25 (+ 10 day training): AirJaldi Summit 2006
Empowering communities through wireless networks
Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India
http://summit.airjaldi.com/
OCTOBER 25-27: The World Congress on Communication for Development (WCCD)
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 - NOVEMBER 2: Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
Athens, Greece
http://www.intgovforum.org
NOVEMBER 8-10: Forum ICT4D research in contribution to the Millennium
Development Goals
Lima, Peru
NOVEMBER 9-11: Money and Movements
Oaxaca, Mexico
http://www.awid.org/moneyandmovements
NOVEMBER 11-17: AMARC world community radio conference
Amman, Jordan
http://amarc9.amarc.org/
NOVEMBER 12-14: Women and ICT Task Force meeting
Paris, France
http://www.unicttaskforce.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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