[APCPress] APCNews - February 2007 - No. 72

Thu Feb 1 10:27:51 GMT 2007

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                *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
           Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
                     February 2007 No. 72
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2007 --
-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- ENVIRONMENT & ICTs –-
-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
-- SITES OF INTEREST --
-- IMPORTANT DATES --
-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC --
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS –-

ARID LANDS INFORMATION NETWORK-EAST AFRICA (ALIN-EA), Kenya: 
International campaign against Coca-Cola hits WSF

The giant multinational soft-drinks Coca-Cola Company is in trouble, 
thanks to an international campaign to hold Coca-Cola accountable for 
destroying lives, livelihoods and communities. The campaign initiated in 
India puts pressure on the Coca-Cola Company and links human rights, 
environmental justice and labour rights. – ALIN-EA
WSF coverage: International campaign against Coca-Cola hits WSF
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5053863

BLUELINK, Bulgaria: Debate over the third sector’s involvement in ICT 
policy decision-making in Bulgaria

The integration of environmental sustainability in information and 
communications technology (ICT) policy was a major focus at the national 
consultation on ICT policy in Bulgaria, led by BlueLink and the State 
Agency for Information Technology and Communications. The consultation, 
backed by small grants offered by APC to support national policy 
consultations in different parts of the world, took place in Sofia on 
December 13 2006. - BlueLink
http://www.bluelink.net/en/menu/news.shtml?x=11474

BYTES FOR ALL, South Asia: Tragedy as Pakistan police raid and 
erroneously detain owner of internet phone start-up. Still jailed and 
his wife suffers miscarriage

Blind use of authority, high-handedness by intelligence agencies, 
yawning gaps in policies and misleading rules and regulations all 
converged on Pakistan in early December, when the Federal Investigation 
Agency and staff of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority raided the 
offices of small VoIP start-up in Islamabad. Read the full story and 
join the campaign. – BytesForAll
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5047404

CEPES, Peru: Huaral Valley: Wireless technology for traditional Peruvian 
agriculture

Huaral is a coastal valley in Peru with a desert climate where it never 
rains. But it’s being irrigated by information. CEPES, APC member in 
Peru is working with farmers to prove that the creative use of 
information and communication technologies (ICTs) can improve the lives 
of small-holders in an entire region, if not beyond. APCNoticias 
(APCNews’ Spanish counterpart) spoke to Maicu Alvarado of CEPES in 
December 2006 at the Latin American APC members’ meeting about the 
latest news on this rural development work which has now been underway 
for six years. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053816

INSTITUTE FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY, Philippines: To the barangay... taking 
relevant FOSS software to local government

Can free and open source software make a difference to the way in which 
local government functions in the Philippines? Manila-based Institute 
for Popular Democracy, an APC-member, believes it can. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053855

SANGONeT, South Africa: SANGONeT... attempting a rescue of poorly 
performing telecentres

APC member SANGONeT features in a recently released report titled South 
Africa: Rescue Attempt On Poorly Performing Telecentres. In this report 
released by South Africa's major business-oriented daily, Business Day, 
strong criticism of telecentres is advanced. “Of 133 telecentres set up 
by the Universal Service Agency, many are underused, entirely 
dysfunctional or have turned into private businesses benefiting the 
people appointed to run them,” it says, before explaining that 
"Sangonet, a body that helps development agencies use IT in the 
communities they serve, is driving the telecentre overhaul." – APC blog
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5053903

VOICE, Bangladesh: Hunger... and aid: Shades of the hidden truth from 
Bangladesh

Monga, is a famine-like situation, most strongly observed in several 
northern districts of Bangladesh, and has been recurring every year for 
decades. The two months of monga between September and October are 
marked by a dire lack of food, due to the absence of non-agricultural 
employment and the agricultural lean-season coinciding. The misery of 
millions of poor people for years on end, is, in fact and essentially, 
not an economic problem but a political one. A new book on this and the 
politics of aid... released at the WSF by APC's newest member in 
Bangladesh, VOICE. – VOICE
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5053809

WEB NETWORKS, Canada: Canadian non-profit techies make major 
contribution to Drupal

With the WebFM module, Web Networks, APC-member in Toronto, has made a 
major contribution at the end of 2006 to the an open source content 
management system called Drupal. With simple-to-use drag and drop and 
folder creation and deletion functions, WebFM is increasingly becoming 
popular with unions and associations like the APC, says Web Network's 
executive director, Oliver Zielke. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053896

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-- NEWS FROM THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2007 --

 From January 20 to 25 2007, thousands of people from non-profit 
organisations, labour unions and self-organised groups joined together 
to participate in the 7th edition of the World Social Forum. For the 
first time, it was held on African soil, in Nairobi, Kenya. A team of 
writers from Kenya, Zambia, Denmark and other locations have provided 
APC with live coverage, even though communication conditions were 
especially difficult. Other articles selected here come from the 
independent press agency Inter Press News Service.

IPS ARTICLE: A tale for two forums

Nairobi and the Swiss resort of Davos are set apart not only physically 
– ideologically too the Davos economic forum’s belief in conventional 
“Trickle Down” is a world apart from the WSF’s faith in building 
“Another World”.  – INTER PRESS NEWS SERVICE 
http://ipsterraviva.net/TV/Nairobi/en/viewstory.asp?idnews=809

ARTICLE: Slum activism at the WSF

In Punwami there are 35 toilets in total, and four computers. No 
internet is available, and the computers are mostly used for playing CDs 
which contain preventive HIV information. Walking around Pumwani, I 
visit a small para-legal office. Para-legals are people who receive 
basic training in human rights and the law, in order to give legal 
advice to other people in the community. – Rikke Frank Jorgensen for APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053807

ARTICLE: Another world is not possible without women

Another world is not possible without women who yesterday demanded for 
their rights at the ongoing World Social Forum in Nairobi. “We want our 
rights” chanted the women participating in the women’s rally organised 
by the Feminist Dialogue Coordinating Group. Over 500 people took part 
in the march around Kasarani Stadium. - APC WNSP
http://www.apcwomen.org/news/index.shtml?x=95088

ARTICLE: Wanted: Toilet-training at the WSF

The private yet very important room! The toilet is one room that every 
human being -- regardless of race, social status or gender -- can never 
avoid. To most people, visiting the washroom requires high degree of 
secrecy. Yet, often, this secrecy is seldom given priority especially in 
public places. – Magdaline Nkando in the APC blog
http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5053784

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-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --

INTERVIEW: Is Tunisia calm, now that the storm is gone?

In Nairobi, where the World Social Forum 2007 was taking place, Rikke 
Frank Jorgensen interviewed Souhayr Belhassen, Tunisian activist and 
outspoken human rights advocate on Tunisia's current human rights 
situation since the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS) held 
in Tunis in November 2005, where Tunisian government targeted 
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) time and again. “The situation has 
gotten worse and worse, since the Summit. I think we are being punished 
for WSIS. It’s hardly possible for us to work anymore. A large number of 
sites are being blocked, email is not working, phones are cut off, NGOs 
are harassed, and meetings are prevented from taking place. How can you 
work under these circumstances?” she asks . Souhayr is losing hope that 
change will ever happen in Tunisia. And the fact that hope is dying is 
actually the worst part. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053804

REPORT: The power of the internet: UN adopts convention on people living 
with disabilities in record time

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a landmark disability 
convention that will benefit ten per cent of the world’s population. “It 
is the most rapidly negotiated human rights treaty in the history of 
international law; and the first to emerge from lobbying conducted 
extensively through the internet” by the community of people living with 
disabilities, the Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. The convention 
covers rights to education, health, work and a range of other protective 
measures for people with disabilities. - UN
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20975&Cr=disab&Cr1=

ARTICLE: India joins Creative Commons camp of building sharable knowledge

Chair of the global Creative Commons network, Joichi Ito, has welcomed 
India into the network of countries that offer alternatives to "all 
rights reserved" approaches of copyright, saying this was a significant 
country to offer such alternatives. - IANS
http://news.sulekha.com/nlink.aspx?cid=402680

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-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --

ARTICLE ON THE USE OF DIGITAL AUDIO: Getting a voice in cyberspace

In campaign mode, everyone understands the importance of getting a voice 
in the media. The problem is, the mainstream media often trivialises or 
misunderstands your cause. So? You needn't just sit back and groan. 
Technology is today increasingly placing the tools in the hands of those 
who want to wield them. And it's getting simpler, more affordable and 
freer all the time. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053237

INTERVIEWS: Wireless technology and blogging in Africa

Following an APC-coordinated meeting on wireless internet technology in 
Africa last December, John Dada from Nigeria and Alaa Ahmed Seif 
al-Islam of Egypt gave interviews to the BBC World Service. Here they 
are in mp3 files. Both were broadcasted on the BBC's Focus on Africa 
programme in December 2006. - BBC WORLD SERVICE Focus on Africa
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5051839

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-- WOMEN & ICTs –-

CALL TO ACTION: National gender and ICT policies in Uruguay

In Uruguay, the National Women’s Institute led a consultation process 
with a range of social actors to develop the first “National Plan for 
Equal Opportunities and Rights”. One of its chapters specifically 
includes gender as a strategic priority. “It’s a big step forward on the 
long journey towards consolidating a national strategy for digital 
inclusion,” says GenderIT.org contributor Cecilia Gordano. 
“Nevertheless, the timidity with which this need is addressed leads one 
to believe that pieces of this puzzle are still missing.” - GenderIT.org
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?apc=---e--1&x=95065

ANALYSIS: Gender and ICT policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Re-thinking 
ICT development through gender

Lamija Kosovic examines the country's current ICTs situation in light of 
post-war reconstruction efforts, particularly to the need to integrate 
gender concerns by both the women's national machinery and civil society 
organisations. - GenderIT.org
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?apc=---e--1&x=95059

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-- ENVIRONMENT & ICTs –-

BOOK REVIEW: Challenging The Chip: Labour rights and environmental 
justice in the global electronics industry

If you believe in the power of technology for our development, here's a 
book you just can't afford to miss. “Challenging The Chip” is a 
2006-published book on labour rights and environmental justice in the 
global electronics industry. The 357-page book is structured in three 
parts that look at global electronics, environmental justice and labour 
rights, and electronic waste and extended producer responsibility. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053232

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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --

THREE ICT WORKSHOP REPORTS

Solomon Islands ICT strategy
This 2003 report by Stork, Leeming, and Biliki was published in the 
Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries. 
http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/research/ejisdc/vol12/v12p5.pdf

New Guinea National ICT workshop
This 2004 report by Stork and Leeming was published by the UNDP.
http://www.undp.org.pg/documents/PNG_National_ICT_Workshop_Report_2.12.2004_final.pdf

The impact of ICT on rural development
This 2005 report by Chand, Leeming et al. Was published by the 
University of the South Pacific
http://www.usp.ac.fj/jica/ict_research/pfnet_case_study/pfnet_intro.html

BOOK: Towards an inclusive future: Impact and wider potential of 
information and communication technologies. This book answers the 
following question, among others: Why the inclusion of “Design for All” 
principles in standards will become as commonplace as reference to 
quality standards.
http://www.cost219.org/inclusive_future

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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --

MOBILE TECH COLLABORATION: APC-member Ungana-Afrika is setting-up a 
mobile technology program and looking to partner up. Ungana-Afrika has 
started implementing the first phase of its capacity building programme 
focusing on mobile technologies, that will aim at supporting different 
stakeholders to utilise mobile technologies in their development 
initiatives. During this phase, a short research study and a high-level 
programme concept will be implemented. The project is supported by Open 
Society Foundation for South Africa. Currently Ungana-Afrika is 
approaching relevant stakeholders and initiatives for future 
collaboration purposes.
Expressions should be sent with a short definition of the 
organisation/project and your ideas for possible collaboration to 
info at ungana-afrika.org.
More information: http://www.ungana-afrika.org/projects/mobile.htm

ICT4D COLLABORATIVE REPORT: BytesForAll launches draft report on the use 
of technology for development in Bangladesh

APC member in South Asia, BytesForAll, has launched its 'ICT4D Status 
Report 1.0', a document looking into the use of information and 
communication technology for the purpose of development. Areas covered 
are localisation/open content development, updates on the telecentre 
movement, access and infrastructure issues, community radio development 
and e-governance in the context of Bangladesh. 
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5053857

LABOUR RADIO PODCAST: Radio LabourStart has been relaunched in a new and 
more accessible format

You can now listen to labour radio broadcasts on your PC or mp3 player 
(such as an Apple iPod). Also, radio LabourStart is set to expand over 
the next few days and weeks. They are always interested in labour audio 
material.
http://radio.labourstart.org

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-- SITES OF INTEREST --

CAMPAIGN WEBSITE: Preserve Nature in Bulgaria!
A campaign site, developed by BlueLink, warns citizens of potential 
threats to protected areas, exposed nature-destroying projects and 
provided web-tools for rapid response.
http://www.bluelink.net/en/menu/news.shtml?x=11475

NEW COLLABORATIVE LIBRARY: Online library for practical knowledge 
launched. Howtopedia, a Swiss non-profit organisation, supported by 
Practical Action and the International Network for Technical Information 
(INTI), aims to establish a major collaborative platform for simple 
technologies. They are convinced that sharing low-tech know-how across 
borders and organisations is essential for an independent and 
self-sufficient form of sustainable development.
http://www.howtopedia.org

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-- IMPORTANT DATES --

FEBRUARY 12-14: ICT policy workshop offered by the APC and the 
International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD)
Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.iicd.org
http://rights.apc.org

FEBRUARY 13-14: Open consultation of the multisectorial assessment group 
of the Internet Governance Forum
Geneva, Switzerland
http://www.intgovforum.org

FEBRUARY 27-28: Strategic meeting of the Global Alliance for ICTs and 
Development (GAID)
Santa Clara, San Francisco, USA
http://www.un-gaid.org/

MARCH 26-30: ICANN meeting
Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.icann.org/

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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!

FEBRUARY 3-10: APC staff meeting
Cape Town, South Africa

FEBRUARY 12-13: UNESCO Roundtable on Information and communication for 
development
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23422&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

FEBRUARY 12-14: APC-IICD policy workshop
Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.iicd.org

FEBRUARY 13- 14: Internet Governance Forum Multistakeholder Advisory 
Group -
Open Consultation
Geneva, Switzerland
http://www.intgovforum.org

FEBRUARY 18-20: Building Communications Opportunities Alliance (BCO) 
partner meeting
Johannesburg, South Africa
http://www.bcoalliance.org

FEBRUARY 26-28: Communications Regulators´ Association of Southern Africa
(CRASA)  annual general meeting
Windhoek, Namibia

FEBRUARY 27-28: GAID (Global Alliance for ICTs and Development) strategy 
meeting
Santa Clara, San Francisco, USA
http://www.un-gaid.org/

MARCH 4: International Studies Association Annual Conference
Chicago, USA

MARCH 4-5: Indicators Workshop (organised by IDRC)
Singapore, Singapore
http://www.idrc.ca/

MARCH 7-10: CREA for violence against women and ICTs campaign
Delhi, India

MARCH 12-17: Tricalcar (LAC Wireless) project coordination meeting
Huaral Valley, Peru

MARCH 20 -23: GEM workshop for IREACH Cambodia Project
Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

MARCH 26-30: ICANN meeting
Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.icann.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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Attribution-NonCommercial Licence 2.5
Association for Progressive Communications (APC), 2007