[APC Africa-ICT-Policy Monitor] [APCNews] APCNews - November 2005 - No. 57
Karen Higgs
khiggs at apc.org
Mon Nov 7 20:18:56 SAST 2005
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*APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
- November 2005 No. 57
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- APC @ WSIS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
-- IMPORTANT DATES --
-- SITES OF INTEREST --
-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC THIS MONTH --
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
FANTSUAM FOUNDATION, Nigeria: Fantsuam takes the lonely road to rural
wireless internet
APC member, the Fantsuam Foundation, remains a lone player in rural
wireless internet service in northern Nigeria. Represented by Ochuko
Onoberhie, the Fantsuam Foundation was one of the new trainers at an
IDRC-APC South African Wireless Workshop, held in mid-September 2005.
Fantsuam was also identified as a strategic partner for the next round
of trainers for the West African version of this workshop. Through these
various capacity building events, Fantsuam is working to act as a
sub-regional resource centre for wireless training. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2083722
TAU, Argentina: In the classroom, the computer alone can't perform magic
Getting computers *into* schools is just not enough. The challenge that
remains unfulfilled is for the community to feel a sense of 'ownership'
of the equipment and to use it to meet their needs, says an Inter-Press
Service feature from Argentina. Prior to the World Summit on the
Information Society, governments of Latin America have pledged to double
the current number of schools, libraries and community centres hooked up
to the internet by the year 2007. But officials themselves admit that
it's not enough to simply hand out computers and Internet connection,
without training or course content. "In order for this technology to be
used, it is essential to provide training, create networks among
organisations, and promote access for the most marginalised sectors as
well," says Carolina Fernández of APC member, TAU. – IPS News
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=30658
INSTITUTO DEL TERCER MUNDO (ITeM), Uruguay: WSIS PrepCom 3 - Actors from
the South debate in view of the summit
The Third World Institute (ITeM) organised the panel debate “WSIS within
the context of global ICT governance processes”, during the third
meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
Preparatory Committee (19-30 September, Geneva, Switzerland). The
purpose of this panel was to present and debate from the outcomes of
ITeM’s project “WSIS Papers”. This project intends to contribute to
involve different actors of Southern countries in debates, negotiation
and policy definitions within the WSIS process, thus providing
visibility to the perspectives and specific needs of the developing
world. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2144624
OPEN FORUM OF CAMBODIA, Cambodia: Training over 300 FOSS-literate
computer teachers
APC member Open Forum and the National ICT Development Authority of the
Cambodian government recently received support for training 300 computer
end-user teachers to attain proficiency in using free and open source
software such as OpenOffice, and 30 GNU/Linux administrators (for whom
Open Forum is developing training materials in Khmer). If the present
rhythm of training is maintained, more than 350 teachers will be trained
in Phnom Penh and at least six other provinces in teacher training
centres and NGO offices before the end of the year. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2115750
INSTITUTO DEL TERCER MUNDO (ITeM), Uruguay: From here, where? Looking
ahead after the WSIS
During the Tunis World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), APC
member ITeM will organise an event titled "Framing WSIS in global
governance processes: Linkages and follow-up". Panelists will take a
closer look at the WSIS's outcome. Its impact on the global and regional
level will be analysed and framed in the context of current information
and communication technology (ICT) global governance processes. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2129318
BYTES4ALL, South Asia: Battleground of ideas -- FOSS is hotly debated
The mailing list of South Asian APC member BytesForAll recently played
host to a strong and, at times, polemical debate on proprietary software
versus free and open source software (FOSS). One key perspective came
from Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation. He
commented: "The choice between free (freedom-respecting) and proprietary
(user-subjugating) software is not a technical choice. It is an ethical
and political issue about people's freedom. To be neutral on issues that
merely concern technology is fine. To be neutral on ethical and
political issues about freedom is nothing to
be proud of." – APCNews
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/6971
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-- APC @ WSIS --
Ready for Tunis: Tin-can antennas, free software, and e-riding models
From demo-ing cantennas (low-cost antennas made out of used tin cans)
for community wireless training programmes to highlighting gender
issues, from co-organising a citizens' summit to blogging our
impressions in English, French and Spanish, the Association for
Progressive Communications has lots of plans for our participation in
the second World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) at Tunis in mid
November 2005. Free software workshops and conferences featuring
e-riders are only some of the many inputs invested by the many APC
participants.
APC will be producing two APCNews/APCNoticias specials direct from WSIS
and for the first time, original content in French. Watch our for our
trilingual English-Spanish-French blogs!
At the time of writing, over 50 participants from APC are planning to be
at Tunis. This includes 31 representatives from 18 APC members from
around the world. There will be three main areas of focus for APC.
* The Tunis Documents, where negotiations are at in relation to the two
Documents for Tunis: the Political Chapeau (now called 'the Tunis
Commitment') and the Tunis Agenda for Action. "APC's particular focus is
on financing mechanisms for ICTD and internet governance," says Karen
Banks, APC’s WSIS coordinator.
* Civil Society -- the forgotten stakeholder. In addition to APC's
emphasis on financing mechanisms and internet governance, APC also plans
to "prioritise civil society participation in post WSIS outcomes". This
will be reflected both in principle (by way of language in the
documents) and in practice (civil society participation in national,
regional and international processes).
* The Human Rights Agenda -- how this issue impacts on the summit as a
whole, what activities are planned to highlight human rights in the
'Information Society' and plans for solidarity actions with local
Tunisian organisations.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2239851
APC at WSIS: http://www.apc.org/english/wsis
ARTICLE: Summitry and strategies: Taking a close and critical look at
Tunis 2005
In November 2005, the United Nations' World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) will meet for the last time in Tunis. In this article for
Index on Censorship , APC's WSIS coordinator Karen Banks points out that
in its five year history, the summit has failed to redress the
North-South "digital divide". Consensus at WSIS has been elusive: the
private and public sectors hold diametrically opposing views on issues
such as market fundamentalism, free and open-source software, and
intellectual property rights reform; while on issues of financing and
internet governance, agreement between governments has been split along
North-South lines. It remains to be seen whether civil society groups
participating in the summit will be able to shift attention away from
these competing interests towards human rights issues. - Eurozine.com
http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2005-10-19-banks-en.html
EVENT: Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS)
A Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS) will be held in
Tunis, on November 16-18, 2005, coinciding with the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS). The CSIS will be another milestone in the
long tradition of UN conferences and Summits being complemented with
events organized by citizen groups. The CSIS objectives are twofold:
Firstly, to send a strong message of support and solidarity from
international civil society to the local civil society and citizens; and
secondly, to address the main issues being debated at the WSIS, from the
perspective of citizen groups and the public. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2084689
ARTICLE: Different technology multinationals, one destination - Tunis
Big companies on the technology business have known for long that the
dissemination of information and communication technologies can promote
democracy, but that it can also be a very profitable business. Seeking
new potential markets, they send their best lobbyists to pressure
governments and international agencies into using their products. Paulo
Lima, director of APC's Brazilian member RITS has something to say about
some of these participants in the upcoming multi-stakeholder summit. -
Planeta Porto Alegre
http://www.planetaportoalegre.net/publique/cgi/public/cgilua.exe/web/templates/htm/1P4OP/view.htm?user=reader&editionsectionid=251&infoid=10386
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-- NEWS FROM APC --
NEWS: APC gets its first woman chair person
APC members meeting in Bulgaria in October elected the new APC executive
board 2005-7. For the first time, the APC chair is a woman, as are more
than half of the board members. This is good news for an organisation
where traditionally governance has been a male-dominated arena. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2249500
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-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --
EVENT: Africa Source II set to take off in early 2006
Africa Source II will be an eight-day hands-on workshop at the beginning
of January 2006 and is aimed at building the technical skills of those
working with and within NGOs in Africa. Key to the programme is to
resolve how to use FOSS applications to handle information, publish
content using citizen's media tools and engage supporters; and how FOSS
can increase accessibility through localisation, translation into local
language and dialects. Applications for joining this event were accepted
till October 24, and preparations are now underway. Africa Source is
co-organised by APC. – APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=1976724
ARTICLE: Making websites accessible for the rest of us
On the internet, you find websites in hundreds of different languages
and dialects, in all shapes and designs. If diversity in audio, photo,
text or video content is the living proof that the internet is a space
for true expression and creation, certain web development standards need
to be applied for the content to reach and be shared by people at the
margins of mainstream communication channels. During a well-attended
workshop entitled ‘Inclusive development and ICTs/universal design for
all’, hosted by APC in Varna, Bulgaria in October, Hiroshi Kawamura of
the DAISY Consortium presented a set of practical tools that can make
the internet work for the rest of us. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2249035
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-- WOMEN & ICTs --
NEW PAPER: Digital Dangers: Information and Communication Technologies
and Trafficking in Women
On the 'information superhighway', humans too are being trafficked now.
Just how and how much the internet and other ICTs are implicated in
trafficking is the subject of this issue paper by the APC Women's
Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) produced in cooperation with the
Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). It explores three
pivotal questions: Does the role of ICTs matter or is it a fashionable
distraction from serious counter-trafficking work? Can we talk of
trafficking in images or does trafficking only apply to people? Is the
consideration of privacy in relation to ICTs contrary to
counter-trafficking work or is it part of a broader movement to create
safety and freedom for individuals and communities? Finally, the paper
asks what action can and is being taken. Written by Kathleen Maltzahn,
who has worked on trafficking issues since 1992, this is part of a
series of forthcoming papers from the APC WNSP examining ICT from a
gender perspective.
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?w=r&x=91637
BLOG: New media for new times - Keeping track via a group blog in Bangkok
With moods that range from bouncy, to curious and overwhelmed, a team of
APC bloggers -- a little irreverently, in keeping with the trend of this
fast growing popular medium -- kept track of what's happening at AWID,
an international meeting of women that drew 1800 participants to
Bangkok. The Association for Women’s Rights in Development’s
International Forum on 'How does Change Happen?' brought together an
amazing diversity of women and men united in the goal of advancing the
rights of women globally, organisers said. Participants included
feminist activists, development practitioners, human rights defenders,
trade unionists, government representatives, policy makers, students,
researchers and community organizers from 120 countries, comprise the
biggest gathering for women’s rights this decade. And this is reflected
in the issues coming out of this group blog.
http://www.livejournal.com/community/apcwomen_awid05/?skip=10
NEWS: Another look at scientific and technological progress
It is interesting that during this new Association for Women's Rights in
Development (AWID) Forum that is being held in Bangkok, Thailand,
numerous workshops and even an intervention at the plenary have been on
scientific and technological advances, which are bringing along great
changes regarding nature and the conception of human life. There were
however also interventions on the modification of life that can seem
aggressive and once again oppressive for women. In the two workshops
presented by the Center for Genetics and Society and Our Bodies
Ourselves, both from the United States, great concerns arose relating to
genetic testing, choosing the sex of babies, selective abortion rendered
possible thanks to ultrasound technology, and the technology to select
sperm to produce boys or girls. – APC WNSP/WMP
http://www.apc.org/espanol/news/index.shtml?x=2229551
NEWS: Communicators and activists from the women’s and feminist movement
focus on the relationship between Gender and ICT
The women’s movement knows just how handy new ICTs can be when it’s time
to coordinate its own movement, lead campaigns, lobby, and have
political effect. Nevertheless there are difficult access barriers for
these technologies that are not limited to infrastructural or
cost-related issues, but are trapped by power relations and inequalities
that leave these tools out of the reach of millions of people, most of
which are women. The workshop that tackled this subject during the 10th
Feminist Encounter held in Serra Negra, Sao Paolo, Brazil, aimed to
raise awareness about the relationship between gender and ICTs though an
open dialogue with the participants, composed of a majority of
journalists, community radio producers, social communicators, and
women’s and feminist movement activists. - APC WNSP
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2264776
AWARDS: In Bangkok, time for awards... and knowledge-sharing
Pallitathya Help-line Centre -- an innovative call centre for the
underprivileged -- received the 2005 Gender and Information and
Communication Technology (GICT) award on October 27, 2005 at Bangkok,
Thailand. Sponsors of the contest are APC's Women's Networking Support
Programme (APC WNSP) and the Global Knowledge Partnership. These awards
are supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
and the Department for International Development (DFID), UK. Besides the
Bangladesh venture, the 30 other entries for this Asia-Pacific prize
threw up a runner-up from India. Putting ICTs in the Hands of the Poor
is an interactive community ICT centre in North India. The other
runner-up was eHomemakers, a network for home-based business from
Malaysia. A knowledge-sharing session was also organised along with the
award ceremony. - APC WNSP
http://www.genderawards.net/the_awards/2005.htm
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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
An OpenOffice suite that's free and offers freedom
Just after its fifth birthday, OpenOffice.org project came out with the
long-awaited free software product OpenOffice.org 2.0 suite. It took a
couple of years to develop, and is available in 36 languages and runs on
Windows, GNU/Linux, Sun Solaris, Mac OS X (X11) and several other
platforms and can be downloaded from the OpenOffice.org website.
http://www.openoffice.org/index.html
List of new and improved features:
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/2.0/index.html
Open source news for Africa
Tectonic calls itself "Africa's source for open source news". And it
does quite live up to its name. It has a number of diverse news items on
how free and open source software (FOSS) is making its dent -- from the
earthquake relief effort in Pakistan, to elsewhere in the globe.
http://tectonic.co.za/
Jakob Nielsen's alertbox
An analysis of intranet portals found slimmer information architectures
and a renewed emphasis on fresh content and useful applications. Past
findings, including those on role-based personalisation, were confirmed.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/portals.html
Two petitions against European data retention
In order to stop plans of information control, it is essential to form a
broad coalition of opponents. To that end, any organisation representing
citizens, professionals or businesses is asked to sign the new Joint
Declaration on Data Retention which clearly speaks out against any kind
of blanket data retention.
http://www.JointDeclaration.com
If you are concerned about the European plans for data retention, you
can sign an alternative petition initiated by European Digital Rights
(EDRI - www.edri.org) and alert as many people as you can to support
this campaign. The signatures will be sent to the European Commission
and the European Parliament.
http://www.dataretentionisnosolution.com/
i-Witness: Journalists shaping the information society
This website offers journalists tools to report on the information
society, and a place to discuss the challenges and opportunities they
face. It features debate, news and resources such as an expert database
-among them, people from the APC network- for journalists working on the
upcoming second WSIS.
http://www.panos.org.uk/iwitness/
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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
Panos looks for a Fundraising Coordinator
The Panos Institute in London (Panos London) stimulates informed and
inclusive public debate around key development issues in order to foster
sustainable development. It is working to promote an enabling media and
communications environment worldwide. Its priority issues are: media and
communications, globalisation, HIV/AIDS, environment and conflict. Panos
sees gender as integral to all these. The main responsibilities of the
Fundraising Coordinator are: to assist in the development and
implementation of the fundraising strategy; to coordinate the
development of fundraising initiatives. Closing Date: 21 November 2005
For full job description, go to:
http://www.panos.org.uk/about/vacancydetails.asp?ID=1049
Global translations via the internet for non-profits
In the global village, you can still find roadblocks placed by language
to be almost invincible. To battle the linguistic divide and foster
understanding, a new initiative called Translations for Progress has
come up with an unusual way out. Based in cyberspace, and working with
volunteers, this project is "an on-line database that links language
students interested in volunteering with overseas NGOs that don't have
the budget to accommodate professional translators." Brendan Luecke of
Translationsforprogress.org recently introduced the project saying, "By
linking the needs of these two groups, Translations for Progress aims to
support the development of better communication within the international
grass-roots community, improving the ability of organizations to meet
their goals, and to help today's students become more actively involved
in social issues early on."
http://translationsforprogress.org
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-- IMPORTANT DATES --
NOVEMBER 16-18, 2005 (Tunis, Tunisia):
WSIS - The World Summit on the Information Society
http://www.itu.int/wsis/
NOVEMBER 16, 2005 (Tunis, Tunisia):
Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS)
http://www.crisinfo.org/
NOVEMBER 29-DECEMBER 2, 2005 (Bangalore, India):
FOSS.in, a major free and open source software meet for techies, users
and campaigners from the free software and open source worlds.
http://foss.in/2005/
DECEMBER 5-9, 2005 (Bangalore, India):
OURMedia / NUESTROSMedios. 5th International Conference Democracy and
the Media.
http://www.ourmedianet.org/
DECEMBER 5-10, 2005:
Women's Electronic Network Training (WENT)
2005 WENT Africa training workshops aim to build the capacities of women
and their organisations in Africa to utilise ICTs in social development
work and policy advocacy. APC-Africa-Women held the first WENT Africa
workshop in 2003 with a focus on the strategic use of ICTs.
http://www.apcafricawomen.org/went2005
JANUARY 19-20, 2006 (Oxford, UK):
E-campaigning forum
This event aims to share expertise, explore where eCampaigning is going,
strengthen the eCampaigning community and increase capacity to use new
media to stimulate change.
http://www.ecampaigningforum.com/
MAY 18-19, 2006 (Eindhoven U. of Technology, the Netherlands)
PERSUASIVE
First international conference on Persuasive technology for human
well-being. 18-19 May 2006. Eindhoven University of Technology, the
Netherlands. Can computers help fight obesity? Can technology motivate
you to waste less energy? Can communication devices help overcome racial
prejudice? Can a virtual agent persuade you to break your smoking habit?
Can a mobile phone help you study? Can a robot challenge you to perform
rehabilitation exercises? PERSUASIVE 06 is aimed at exploring technology
in the service of human well-being.
http://www.persuasivetechnology.org/
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-- SITES OF INTEREST --
A Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS) will be held in
Tunis, on November 16-18, 2005, coinciding with the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS).
http://citizens-summit.org/
Manal and Alaa Bit Bucket -- www.manalaa.net -- an Egyptian blog set up
in early 2004, promoting free expression and human rights, was one of
eight finalists chosen for a weblog contest by the German radio station
Deutsche Welle, under its freedom of expression category. Manal and Alaa
have been working with the APC in the field of FOSS (free and open
source software). Their site contains blog posts which they wrote "about
our experience as part of the pro-democracy movement in Egypt". It also
includes detailed accounts of street protest, political rallies,
elections monitoring, police brutality, the picketing of court houses in
order to get activists released, secret meetings and the like. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2215375
MetaReciclagem is a decentralised methodology to reappropriate
technology for social change.
http://xango.metareciclagem.org/ [Portuguese]
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-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC THIS MONTH --
You can meet up with APC and/or APC WNSP (APC women's programme)
representatives at the events below during November 2005. Write to
events at apc.org to obtain contact information. See you there!
Nov 13-15: Tunis, Tunisia
Resumed PrepCom 3 WSIS
http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/pc3/#re
Nov 16-18: Tunis, Tunisia
WSIS Summit, Phase II
http://wsis.org/
Nov 16-18: Tunis, Tunisia
Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society
http://www.citizens-summit.org (No information at time of publishing)
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2084689
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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. APCNews
Archive: http://www.apc.org/english/news/apcnews/
Some rights reserved: Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial Licence 2.0 - 2005
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
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