[APCPress] APCNews - March 2007 - No 73
Frédéric Dubois
frederic at apc.org
Wed Mar 14 08:42:22 GMT 2007
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*APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
March 2007 No. 73
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --
-- ENVIRONMENT & ICTs --
-- APC IN THE NEWS --
-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
-- SITES OF INTEREST --
-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC --
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS –-
ALTERNATIVES, Democratic Republic of the Congo: New report on internet
infrastructure in the Congo
Montreal-based Alternatives is in the final sprint to release a report
on the development of internet infrastructure in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. The feasibility report by this APC member focuses on the
set-up of a national internet backbone as well as on the content of a
national information and communication technology policy for Africa’s
third largest country. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058365
BYTESFORALL, South Asia: Bytes for All to review Pakistan’s IT policy
Bytesforall.org, in collaboration with the Association for Progressive
Communications is planning to conduct "Review of Pakistan’s IT Policy
and IT Action Plan”. This brand new initiative by APC’s member in South
Asia will be undertaken from a civil society perspective in order to
identify the gaps and analyse their implications on community use of
information and communication technology. - Bytes for All
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058583
FUNREDES, Dominican Republic: Funredes redefining its action lines
Funredes, APC member in the Dominican Republic, is in the process of
transition towards work which, in its words, “will involve more
reflection than action.” APCNews spoke with Funredes’ director Daniel
Pimienta about the new focus of the organisation.– APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058586
UNGANA-AFRIKA, South Africa: Ungana-Afrika connecting paralegal centres
in rural South Africa
APC-member in South Africa, Ungana-Afrika, is in the middle of a rural
connectivity initiative that targets paralegal advice centres.
Communication capacity is being beefed-up in the rural area of South
Africa. Ten advice centres are already on Ungana-Afrika’s eRiders
roadmap. And they're moving fast. - Ungana-Afrika
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058594
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-- NEWS FROM APC --
APC CHRIS NICOL FOSS PRIZE 2007: Last chance for nominations
The nominations for the prize will be collected until the end of March
2007. The APC Chris Nicol FOSS Prize recognises initiatives that are
making it easy for people to start using free and open source software
(FOSS). The prize will be awarded to a person or group doing
extraordinary work to make FOSS accessible to ordinary computer users.
The APC FOSS Prize has been established to honor Chris Nicol, a long
time FOSS advocate and activist who for many years worked with APC. We
are looking for initiatives that:
* improve the accessibility to, knowledge of and/or usability of FOSS
* are user-oriented
* are documented so that others can learn from and replicate the model
* have demonstrable impact and have increased the number of people using
FOSS on a day-to-day basis
THE PRIZE IS OPEN TO: Any person or group anywhere in the world who
supports or promotes user-oriented free and open source software. The
application form must be completed in either English or Spanish however
there are no language restrictions regarding the language of the
project. Small-scale activities are encouraged to apply.
THE PRIZE: US$ 4,000.00 may be shared by up to two initiatives at the
jury's discretion.
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: March 30, 2007
MORE ABOUT THE APC CHRIS NICOL FOSS PRIZE:
http://www.apc.org/english/chrisnicol
http://www.apc.org/espanol/chrisnicol or write to ‘fossprize at apc.org‘
ICT POLICY: A BEGINNER’S HANDBOOK: Now out in French!
This flagship book by APC is a must. It lays out the issues and
dispenses with the jargon to encourage more people to get involved in
issues related to information and communication technology (ICT) and
policy. The new French version is part of APC's efforts to make French
its third full official language before the end of this year. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058625
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-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
POLICY ADVOCACY: 'Consumers shouldn't subsidise South African telephone
monopoly'
It's time to stop subsidising monopolies like Telkom, argues APC's
director Anriette Esterhuysen. That's after Telkom told South Africa
daily, the Financial Mail, that too much competition in the provision of
international bandwidth in Africa could be bad for business. - Fibre for
Africa.net
http://fibreforafrica.net/main.shtml?x=5057602&als[MYALIAS6]='Consumers%20shouldn't%20subsidise%20Telkom'&als[select]=4887798
STUDY CITES APC: Communication, a cornerstone of development policy
A study commissioned by UK's international development agency lists the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in the top ten
organisations survey respondents identified as networks they find are
valuable resources of information relevant to their international
development work. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058367
PAPER SERIES ON OPEN ACCESS: Open access needs effective demand
APC is supporting the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East
and Southern Africa to develop a series of papers that discuss issues
concerning open access fibre optic systems and how they can benefit from
universal access programmes in Africa. In this paper, CIPESA's Vincent
Bagiire questions whether open access will bear much fruit if universal
access does not begin to create effective demand. - FibreForAfrica
http://fibreforafrica.net/main.shtml?x=5056029
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-- STRATEGIC USES & CAPACITY BUILDING --
APC LATIN AMERICAN WIRELESS MEETING: Going autonomous with wireless networks
“Tricalcar” is a Spanish abbreviation that stands for Weaving Wireless
Community Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean. But much more
than an abbreviation, it is in fact a project. It brings together ten
partner organisations that are all dedicated to training Latin American
computer network administrators in building and administering community
wireless networks. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058345
MEDIA MONITORING SOFTWARE: Keeping track of what media's saying via
African software
The South Africa-based Media Monitoring Project has developed the first
version of a software application which will evaluate gender-sensitivity
in online media. "Media monitoring is relevant to all countries, both
those with advanced and less advanced media sectors," claims project
coordinator Sandra Roberts. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058349
E-LEARNING: Great success for e-learning modules on information management
Over 45,000 Information Management Resource Kits (IMARKs) – e-learning
modules on information management - have been distributed by the Food
and Agriculture Agency, UNESCO and partner organisations such as APC
worldwide. The kits consist of a suite of distance learning resources,
tools and communities on information management. IMARK learning
materials are being developed as a series of modules available online
and on CD-ROM. - UNESCO
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23973&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
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-- ENVIRONMENT & ICTs –-
E-WASTE I: Impacts, challenges and the role of civil society
That information and communication technologies (ICTs) have a valuable
role to play in building a more fair, just, and sustainable world is
well established. APC is a firm believer in the power of these tools to
transform lives and communities. And yet, while the benefits of
expanding access to ICTs are many, there are negative impacts as well,
such as the problems associated with a growing volume of e-waste. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5057923
E-WASTE II: UN agencies and industry launch network on e-waste
Several United Nations agencies, partners and technology companies are
setting up a consortium aimed at extending the life of computers and
other electronic equipment, reducing pollution and improving the
salvage, which is turning into a growing problem worldwide. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5058413
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-- APC IN THE NEWS --
FINANCIAL MAIL, South Africa: The cause of the trouble
The concern in "Undersea wrangling" (Features January 26) about Telkom's
profitability being undermined in the event of new submarine cables
being laid on Africa's east and west coasts is misplaced. Telkom's
profitability has been subsidised by SA consumers since it received a
period of exclusivity in 1996, which has yet to be broken by the entry
of the second national operator, Neotel. – Financial Mail
http://free.financialmail.co.za/07/0202/front/lettg.htm
OPEN SOURCE OBSERVATORY, European Union: A Brief Overview – Open Source
Software in Romania
Since 1989, many things have changed in Romania, including computers,
and the way how other nations perceive the country. Romania is better
known for its “Dracula figure” than for its IT involvement. The APC
European Internet Rights Project’s Country Report on Romania concluded
in 2000 that “the main obstacles to public Internet access in Romania
are economic, educational and cultural. Romania has made the first steps
to develop high-capacity networking infrastructure in order to achieve
high quality public Internet access. However the high costs together
with low living standards will still limit access in the near future.
The regulation of legal aspects of information matters may lead in time
to attempts to restrict or control the freedom of public Internet
access.” – Open Source Observatory
http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/5016/470
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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
REPORT: How small and medium sized enterprises in Africa cope with ICTs
A group called Research ICT Africa! (RIA) has published a new chapter in
its 2006 report 'Towards an African e-Index: SME e-Access and Usage
Across 14 African countries'. The survey carried out between the last
quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006 explores the impact of ICT
on private sector development, and how ICT can contribute to a vibrant
small and medium sized enterprises (SME) sector and economic growth in
the context of developing economies. The countries covered included
Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia,
Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
http://www.researchictafrica.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=504
GENDER EQUITY INDEX: The Social Watch 2007 Gender Equity Index (GEI) has
been presented in the context of the 51st Session of the UN Commission
on the Status of Women in early March. The GEI was developed to measure
inequities in different areas of women's and men's everyday lives around
the world. The 2007 GEI ranks 154 countries on the basis of gender gaps
in economic activity, education and empowerment. This year's GEI report
additionally focuses on progress or regression in achieving gender
equity over the 2004-2007 period.
http://www.socialwatch.org
FREE SOFTWARE IN COLOMBIA: The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and another international agency published case studies as part
of its International Open Source Network initiative. The "Empowering
Local Communities - Colnodo, Colombia" case study looks at APC’s member
in Colombia.
http://www.iosn.net/foss/case-studies
PRIVATE SECTOR ICT POLICY PORTAL: e-Brazil portal launched in February 2007
The e-Brazil portal brings together information and discussions
related to the use of information and communication technologies ”to
build a more equitable and more competitive Brazil” said a recent press
release by the Development Gateway Foundation, the main promoter of this
new website. – e-Brasil
http://www.e-brasil.org.br
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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
NEW SOFTWARE FOR NETWORKED COMMUNITIES: A Brazilian grouping of
researchers, businesspeople, and persons interested collective
intelligence have created the Collective Intelligence Institute (ICO) in
order to disseminate this concept throughout Brazilian society. It
recently released a piece of free and open source software called ICOX.
It is a tool meant to help manage networked communities.
http://www.ico.org.br/ico_eng.htm
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-- SITES OF INTEREST --
BLOG ON UN STATUS OF WOMEN MEETING: A temporary blog was created to get
the word out about the UN meeting on the status of women that was
concluded in early March 2007.
http://statusofwomen.wordpress.com
ONEWORLD IN INDONESIA: A new civil society web portal and development
news centre, Satu Dunia - OneWorld Indonesia, was launched in February
2007 in Jakarta.
http://satudunia.oneworld.net/
ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT WEBSITE: A website that attempts to regroup all
significant projects in India using ICTs for rural development has
recently been made public. http://www.ict4rd.net.in
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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!
MARCH 12-16: Tricalcar Latin America and the Caribbean wireless project
coordination meeting
Lima, Peru
MARCH 15-17: Workshop with rural producers
INPADES and PARM LAC
Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
MARCH 20 -23: Gender Evaluation Methodology workshop for the IREACH
Cambodia project
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
MARCH 22: Panel discussion on women trafficking
APC WNSP participating
Buenos Aires, Argentina
MARCH 26-30: ICANN meeting
Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.icann.org/
APRIL 9-13: Ourmedia conference VI
Sydney, Australia
http://www.ourmedia07.net/
APRIL 15-17: APC Asia member meeting
Sydney, Australia
APRIL 19-20: Second national encounter of women mayors
APC WNSP participating
Buenos Aires, Argentina
APRIL 23-MAY 4: AFNOG/AfriNIC/ISOC Africa meetings
Abuja, Nigeria
http://www.afnog.org/
Apr 27-29: Yale University access to knowledge II conference
New Haven, USA
http://research.yale.edu/isp/eventsa2k.html
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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.
Subscribe to APCNews: http://lists.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/apcnews
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Association for Progressive Communications (APC), 2007
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