No subject

second phase, known as PrepCom 2, took place in Geneva. The February meeting 
focused on three issues: financing mechanisms, internet governance and the 
Political Chapeau and operational part (in short, a reaffirmation of the 
Geneva Declaration and a plan of implementation of the Geneva Action Plan).

APC has selected some of the key documents and resources on the discussions 
around the WSIS process so far. Several APC representatives were in Geneva 
for Prepcom 2 and in the next APCNews, we'll be featuring reports and 
interviews from that crucial midway meeting in the run-up to Tunis.

APC and other civil society-produced news related to WSIS is collected 
online: http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/

--EXTRA--

UPDATE: World Summit on the Information Society: A very long road

An overview of the WSIS process from 2003 until February's PrepCom 2 from 
the APC, summarising the issues at stake. -- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31093

SURVEY: APC research on developing country participation in WSIS

APC is undertaking a major study on developing country participation in the 
second phase of the WSIS. This study builds on the analysis of developing 
country involvement in information and communication technologies (ICT) 
decision making in the 'Louder Voices' report, published in 2002, and on a 
review of African participation in the first phase of WSIS which APC 
undertook last year. The survey is taking place in English, Spanish, French 
and Portuguese. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30749


--INTERNET GOVERNANCE--

The term "internet governance", while undefined, rather vague and partly 
confusing, stands mainly for the global technical management of the core 
resources of the internet: domain names, website addresses, internet 
protocols and the server system that keeps the internet running around the 
world. The big question at WSIS is who and how should these key resources 
for humanity be managed.

The first phase of WSIS agreed to pursue the dialogue on internet governance 
in the Declaration of Principles and Action Plan adopted on 12 December 
2003, with a view to preparing the ground for a decision at the second phase 
of the WSIS in Tunis in November 2005. In this regard, the first phase of 
the Summit requested the United Nations Secretary-General to establish a 
Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). The WGIG has been asked to 
present the result of its work in a report "for consideration and 
appropriate action for the second phase of the WSIS in Tunis 2005."


RESOURCES: Working papers of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)

The issue papers are the first of a series of 'draft working papers' 
prepared by WGIG members, reflecting the preliminary findings of various 
drafting teams. They have been prepared according to a list of issues, which 
was developed at the first meeting of WGIG in November 2004. The purpose of 
the drafts is to provide a basis for the ongoing work of the group. They are 
therefore not to be seen as chapters of the final WGIG report, but rather as 
raw material that will be used when drafting the report. The draft working 
papers have been published here for public comment, so they will evolve, 
taking into account input from governments and stakeholders. Additional 
draft working papers will be made available in this section. -- Working 
Group on Internet Governance
http://wgig.org/working-papers.html

REPORT: An opinion report on the UN working group leading the debate

Carlos Afonso, former chair of APC and member of the UN body charged with 
coming up with a definition of what 'internet governance' should 
encompass -amongst other tasks- wrote an opinionative report on the first 
meeting of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance, held in November 
2004 in Geneva. The report was published for the first time in English this 
February though it is from December. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30629

STATEMENT: Internet Governance Caucus statement

The Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus presented this statement during 
PrepCom 2 of the WSIS in Geneva. The Caucus expresses its support for the 
Working Group on Internet Governance's multi stakeholder approach. "We 
believe that legitimate and successful Internet Governance can only be 
achieved if all concerned or affected groups have an opportunity to 
influence the outcome of governance processes." - Internet Governance Caucus 
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30818

REPORT: Beyond ICANN vs. ITU?: How WSIS tries to enter the new territory of 
internet governance

Internet governance has become one of the most controversial issues in the 
WSIS process. While the subject was a marginal one at the WSIS start 
(PrepCom1, Geneva, June 2002), it has moved step by step from the periphery 
of the debate into its centre. By Wolfgang Kleinwächter. - UN ICT Task Force
http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/documents.pl?do=download;id=422

PRESENTATION: Internet governance - Issues and concerns for civil society

A presentation made by Alan Alegre, of the Foundation for Media Alternatives 
(FMA), APC member in the Philippines, at the South Asia Regional 
Consultation on WSIS in January 2005.
http://itforchange.net/WSIS/dhaka/dhaka-internetgov-alegre.pdf

REPORT: Who rules the internet? Understanding ICANN

Who looks after the billions of web addresses that make up the internet? Why 
are web addresses only in English? Should countries manage their own country 
code names? At the moment it seems that the internet is free, democratic and 
unstoppable. But a closer look reveals controversies... These critical 
issues will be debated in November 2005 at the World Summit on the 
Information Society. Journalists are all too aware of the importance of 
being able to freely access and exchange information. That's why the media 
has a responsibility to analyse and report on the politics of the 
internet. - Panos London
http://www.panos.org.uk/files/wsistoolkit1.pdf


--FINANCING THE INFORMATION SOCIETY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (FINANCIAL 
MECHANISMS)--

The Plan of Action adopted at the WSIS in Geneva 2003 requested the 
Secretary General of the United Nations to create a Task Force to study the 
issue of financial mechanisms for information and communication technologies 
for development (ICTD) and present a report to facilitate discussions in the 
second phase of WSIS. One of the key issues debated was the relative weight 
of private and public sector finance in financing ICT for development. How 
the new balance between public and private and the inclusion of 
community-driven roles and financing translates into practice will be of 
critical importance to the future  of the information society and the role 
of ICTs in supporting the achievement of national development goals and the 
MDGs.

REPORT: APC involvement in the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms

"There was a view in the Task Force that perhaps the underlying reason that 
existing financial mechanisms were not being fully exploited by developing 
countries had to do with fundamental information asymmetries regarding how 
these financial mechanisms worked as well as a lack of coordination in the 
utilisation of the financial mechanisms for ICTD", says Willie Currie, APC 
policy programme manager, who attended two Task Force meetings. "What is 
required is a new mechanism that can provide developing countries with 
disinterested policy advice and unbiased information about how financial 
mechanisms work." -- APC
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30736

STATEMENT: APC and partners demand public investment in global networks

In a powerful statement which criticised the UNDP-convened task force on 
financing the global information society as inadequate, APC Bread for All, 
the CRIS Campaign, APC member in Uruguay Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM), 
IT for Change, and the Gender Caucus called for the "extension of network 
infrastructure to all excluded women and men everywhere" and outlined 
recommendations for moving forward. Read the statement:
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30761

RESOURCES: Papers for WSIS second phase

The international community has expressed, in several fora, its worries 
concerning the effects of access and knowledge gaps in Southern countries 
and the need to find additional financial mechanisms, with a solidarity 
criteria, that would allow more citizens to benefit from ICTs. The central 
aim of this documents, prepared by APC member Instituto del Tercer Mundo 
(ITeM), is to present financial strategies for promoting information 
societies within a "Global Public Goods" conceptual framework. - ITeM
http://wsispapers.choike.org/documentos/41.html (in English, Spanish and 
French)

DEBATE: Financing the information society in the South

APC member Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM) and Third World Network (TWN) 
organised a debate on the mechanisms to finance information and 
communication technologies for development which took place on February 21 
within the context of the second meeting of the PrepCom-2 of the WSIS Tunis 
phase.- Choike
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2697.html

PAPER: Financing the Information Society in the South - A global public 
goods perspective

This paper from 2004 -prepared for APC by Pablo Accuosto and Niki Johnson of 
the Instituto del Tercer Mundo- sets out to look at the question of 
financing the provision of ICT in the South, within the context of the 
United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society, and advocates 
adopting a "global public goods" perspective on the issue. - APC 
http://rights.apc.org/documents/financing.pdf

REPORT: Who pays for the Information Society? Challenges and issues on 
financing the Information Society

This booklet is in two parts. The first part is a critique of the debates 
and work on financing so far conducted by the WSIS. The second part focuses 
more on proposals and aims to give a certain number of inputs to the WSIS 
debate, especially on the issue of international public financing or 
official development aid. Bread for All, together with APC and other 
organisations, presented a powerful statement before the UN demanding public 
investment in global networks (see above). - Bread for All
http://www.ppp.ch/cms/IMG/Financing_IS.pdf


--REGIONAL AND THEMATIC WSIS MEETINGS--

ACCRA: Second WSIS Africa Regional Preparatory Conference

The Second WSIS Africa Regional Preparatory Conference, whose theme was 
"Access - Africa's key to an inclusive Information Society", took place from 
28 January to 4 February in Accra, Ghana. The outputs from Accra constitute 
Africa's contributions to the WSIS meetings scheduled in Geneva during 
PrepCom 2. The results of the Accra meeting also formed the basis for 
Africa's negotiations towards WSIS Phase II in Tunis. Participating in the 
conference were representatives of African governments, delegates from many 
other countries and international organisations, and people representing 
African private sector and civil society, including members of the APC 
team. -- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31070

WSIS Gender Caucus: Summary of recommendations to the Accra Conference

The WSIS Gender Caucus places great importance in aligning the WSIS 
preparatory process and outcomes with achievements of the Millennium 
Development Goals and urges governments and the international community to 
acknowledge and treat the integration of gender equality and women's rights 
in the information society and ICTs as a fundamental issue. Read the 
recommendations:
http://www.choike.org/documentos/recomm_accra.pdf

DHAKA: South Asian Regional Consultation on the WSIS

APC member Bytes for All had an active participation to tThe WSIS 
Consultation in Dhaka that was jointly organised by APC, One World South 
Asia and Bangladesh Friendship Education Society (BFES) from 5 to 7 January, 
2005. The consultation It focused on three major topics: internet 
governance, financial issues to ICT for development projects and ICT policy 
in South Asia. Resolution of Dhaka WSIS Consultation and the decisions 
adopted at ICT policy consultation meeting:
http://www.bytesforall.net/index_html/dhaka_consultation


--TOWARDS TUNIS--

The second phase of the UN world summit will take place in Tunisia 16-18 
November 2005. The choice of the seat of the meeting is highly 
controversial. Tunisia has one of the worst records in freedom of expression 
and the state jails political dissenters and engages in active surveillance 
and censorship of email and websites.

NEWS: Monitors express serious concerns over continued free expression 
violations in Tunisia

A joint monitoring visit to Tunisia undertaken by members of the 
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has found serious cause 
for continuing concern about the current state of freedom of expression and 
of civil liberties in Tunisia, including gross restrictions on freedom of 
the press, media, publishing and the Internet. The visit was the first of 
the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group and was organised in preparation for 
WSIS. - IFEX
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/63999/

PANEL: Bloggers and cyber-dissidents offer advice

Reporters Without Borders was in Geneva during PrepCom 2 with a delegation 
of cyber-dissidents and bloggers in order to put a face to the repression 
against internet users in some of the countries that will be parading at 
this conference, and in order to present five recommendations for online 
free expression. - Reporters Without Borders
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12584

NEWS: What do communication rights mean to people on the ground when they 
are denied them?

A recent APCNews article reported on a presentation by Sihem Bensadrine of 
the National Council for Tunisian Freedom, a Tunisian activist who painted a 
grim picture of the state of internet rights in her country. -- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30525


--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --

BlueLink, Bulgaria: Manual on "Strategic use of internet for civil society 
organisations" published

BlueLink, APC member in Bulgaria, has developed and published a manual on 
the strategic use of internet for civil society organisations (CSOs). The 
manual teache CSOs how to work effectively in electronic network, and how to 
improve and optimize significantly their work using ICTs. The manual aims to 
fill in the gaps in the knowledge of the CSOs on the opportunities that the 
electronic communication offers via internet, and to explore the options of 
their effective use in organizations' work. The guide includes tips on how 
to communicate in mailing lists, how to build a useful and representative 
website, on-line activism, and more. - BlueLink
The manual is in Bulgarian and it is available at: 
http://www.bluelink.info/documents/bluelink_manual-2004.pdf [Bulgarian]


BlueLink, Bulgaria: Plug in environmentalists' demands to the National 
Parliament

An on-line coalition of major Bulgarian environmental organisations aims to 
stop the passing of a bill by the Bulgarian parliament that threaten the 
environment. New amendments in the current Biodiversity Protection Act and 
the Protected Areas Act threatens to seriously destroy the existing fragile 
conditions and to allow land-sale, building and logging in protected areas. 
The campaign site, designed by APC member in Sofia, BlueLink, offers an 
option to participate in an on-line petition. By signing and sending an 
e-mail to the Parliament and the Prime-minister, visitors to the campaign 
site demand that the government reconsiders the harmful amendments. - 
BlueLink
The campaign is available at: http://bluelink.net/np-campaign/ [Bulgarian]


Bytes for All, South Asia: Reporting on Asia Source Camp '05 in Bangalore

Frederick Noronha of Bytes for All, APC member in the South Asian region, 
was in Bangalore attending the Asia Source Camp, held from January 28 to 
February 4 in India's technology mecca. "You might end up wondering what's 
really happening at the Asia Source", wrote Frederick at the time. "Amidst a 
lot of geeky talk, late sleepless nights, a bizarre-and-mirth-generating 
dance session, and people-to-people networking ... there's also a lot of 
events happening on parallel tracks." Asia Source was an international 
'camp' intended to promote free and open source software (FOSS) among civil 
society in the region. You can read Frederick's regular updates and articles 
from the spot here: 
http://www.bytesforall.net/index_html/copy_of_asia_source_05


Computer Aid International, United Kingdom: Southern Africa Regional office 
opened in Johannesburg

Beginning a process of regionalisation APC member Computer Aid International 
in January 2005 opened its Southern Africa Regional offfice in Johannesburg, 
South Africa. Co-located at the premises of another APC member, Women'sNet, 
the new Computer Aid office will support existing and future partners in 
Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, 
South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.- Computer Aid International
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30444


Open Forum of Cambodia, Cambodia: Interview with Chilean expert leading team 
of Cambodian free software activists

Javier Sola was just "passing through" Cambodia, when he decided to make a 
u-turn in his life. It was there that he decided to stay on. Now he believes 
he can help localise the language of the region which he can sketch the 
characters of, to explain its complexity. "I decided my social goals, and, 
based on social goals, looked for software," said Sola, who works for APC 
member Open Forum of Cambodia. - -- Frederick Noronha, Bytes for All
http://www.tacticaltech.org/node/219


Pangea, Spain: Special conference to celebrate 10 years connecting people

Spanish APC member, Pangea, has been at the service of the community of 
people and organisations that work for social change for more than a decade. 
It has dedicated itself to this by facilitating communication through e-mail 
and conferences, internet and web connections. On 9 March 2005 Pangea will 
commemorate this with a special conference attended, as distinguished 
guests, by Julian Casabuenas (Colnodo) and Dafne Plou (APC Women's 
Networking Support Programme). - Pangea
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31072


SANGONeT, South Africa: First annual "ICTs for Civil Society" conference and 
exhibition

The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT), APC member in South Africa, 
will host its first annual "ICTs for Civil Society" conference and 
exhibition from 1-3 March 2005 in Johannesburg. Given the ever-increasing 
interest in and importance of ICT issues to the civil society organisations 
(CSOs) sector, the SANGONeT conference will focus specifically on the ICT 
challenges facing the CSOs sector, highlighting and promoting practical 
benefits, opportunities and lessons learned to date. The conference is aimed 
at senior staff and technical employees in the CSO sector as well as 
individuals who work with these organisations, including international 
funding agencies, the private sector and government. - SANGONeT
Refer to the conference website for the draft conference programme and 
registration information: http://www.sangonet.org.za/conference2005
Comments on conference from David Barnard, Executive Director of SANGONeT:
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30823


Women'sNet, South Africa: Recording women and girls, telling stories, 
broadcasting

APC member in South Africa, Women'sNet, is launching a number of innovative 
projects concerning women, internet and media. "Recording Women & Gender 
Issues" builds capacity for collaborative gender programming in the 
community radio sector. "She-Bytes" is a new audio website featuring dramas 
and public service announcements were created by girls aged 12 to 16 
covering different themes and are in a range of South African languages. 
Read more about these gender and technology initiatives and others. - Women'sNet
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31063


--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

-- NEWS FROM APC --

APC at the World Social Forum 2005

In late January, APC was one of thousands of organisations and individuals 
from 119 countries present in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre 
for the fifth annual gathering of social movements, NGOs, and progressive 
groups who believe that "another world is possible". This webpage focuses on 
debates, panels, workshops, and stories at the forum that debate and 
illustrate the use of internet and information and communication 
technologies (ICTs) for social justice and development.
http://www.apc.org/english/wsf2005/


--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --

Open letters from APC to the WSIS Task Force on Financial Mechanisms

APC was invited to form part of the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms for 
ICTD, which was established at the World Summit for the Information Society 
in Geneva in December 2003. In the process of participation, APC registered 
a number of concerns about how the Task Force's compressed process was 
impacting on the content of its findings and conclusions. This led to an 
exchange of open letters between APC and the United Nations Development 
Programme (UNDP), the convenors of the Task Force.

Read the first open letter from APC to the chair of the TFFM - 7 December 
2004:
http://rights.apc.org/documents/tffm/apc_letter_ttfm_071204.pdf
Read the UNDP response to APC's letter - 10 December 2004:
http://rights.apc.org/documents/tffm/apc_letter_ttfm_undpresponse101204.pdf
And the second open letter from APC to the UNDP and TFFM - 12 December 2004:
http://rights.apc.org/documents/tffm/apc_letter_ttfm_121204.pdf


--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --

What can Creative Commons and open content do for Africa?

Creative Commons could be a very useful initiative in West Africa, but there 
are a number of challenges that need to be taken into consideration before 
we will see any significant African participation in the global movement. 
This was the general consensus of participants at a workshop held by the APC 
in collaboration with the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra, 
Ghana at the beginning of February. On March 4, the APC, in collaboration 
with the Link Centre at Wits University, is running a workshop to bring 
together lawyers, policy experts and innovators to discuss what the South 
African Creative Commons licence should look like. This open workshop aims 
to make South Africa the first country in Africa to adapt Creative Commons.- 
APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31065


Free software camp in Asia brought together non-profits and grassroots 
hackers

In late January, India's technology mecca Bangalore became the venue for an 
international 'camp' intended to promote free and open source software 
(FOSS) among civil society. Asia Source, as the 'tech camp' was called, was 
held from January 28 to February 4, 2005 and brought together over a hundred 
people from 20 countries to increase the use and awareness of FOSS amongt 
the non-profit sector in South and South East Asia. Asia Source was 
supported by APC.  - APCNews/Bytes for All
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30541


--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

-- WOMEN & ICTs --

NEWS: Embracing ICTs to eliminate violence against women and children in 
Kazakhstan

The high cost of telephony and technical services is a principal barrier to 
ICT access for women networking against violence in Central Asia, as well as 
language, training, and gender stereotypes about women's use of technology. 
Such barriers have motivated the Podrugi Crisis Centre to become a pioneer 
in combining ICTs with their struggle against gender violence.  "The women 
at Podrugi decided if they wanted the situation to change, they'd have to do 
it themselves," comments Katerina Fialova of the APC Women's Networking 
Support Programme (APC WNSP), after a recent visit to Kazakhstan to support 
Podrugi's ICT work. - APC WNSP
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31066


ANNOUNCEMENT: APC WNSP/GKP Gender and ICT Awards 2005

In 2005, the Gender and ICT Awards focus is on empowerment, specifically ICT 
initiatives that promote women's economic empowerment as it relates to 
development. The Gender and ICT Awards is sponsored by the Association for 
Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Program (APC WNSP) and 
the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).  Submissions from February 15 to 
April 30, 2005.
More information: http://www.genderawards.net/the_awards/2005.htm


NEW PROJECT: Gender Research in Africa into ICTs for Empowerment (GRACE)

GRACE, a new project from APC-Africa-Women, aims to explore the ways in 
which women in Africa use information and communication technologies (ICTs) 
to empower themselves, the external, structural barriers as well as the 
internal factors which prevent them from using ICTs to their advantage, and 
the strategies they employ to overcome these barriers. -- APC-Africa-Women
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31068


FREE SOFTWARE: Linuxchix Africa launched

APC congratulates Linuxchix Africa -the African chapter of the worldwide 
organisation- on its launch. The two founders -Anna Badimo from South Africa 
and Dorcas Muthoni from Kenya- are APC-Africa-Women members who participated 
in a recent free and open source software workshop in late 2004 run by APC 
member Women'sNet. Linuxchix Africa will help toward building the critical 
mass of GNU/Linux skills among African women, and to advocate for the use of 
FOSS for the many community development challenges being faced by Africans, 
especially African women.
http://www.africalinuxchix.org/?q=node/22


--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES -

CALL FOR PAPERS: Disability, identity, and interdependence - ICTs and new 
social forms

A call for papers for a special Spring 2006 issue of Information, 
Communication & Society edited by the University of Queensland, Australia.

With the growing importance of new movements - such as the disability 
movement, the online welfare movement, or those concerned with independent 
living - ICTs have become an important part of envisioning and realizing 
change to daily life for individuals, as well as the architecture and 
systems of community and society. Submissions are welcome on topics such as 
(but not restricted to): how thinking about disability, identity, and 
interdependence opens up new perspectives on understanding ICTs; case 
studies of particular technologies, accessibility, and disability; the 
implications of disability for ICT policy and design; new conceptions of 
welfare, online welfare movements and ICTs; independent living and ICTs; 
what are the implications of ICTs for the lives of people with a diverse 
range of disabilities and impairments, identities, and lives?

Deadline for final submissions is Monday 12 December 2005. Potential 
contributors are encouraged to discuss their ideas with the editors. Contact
Dr Gerard Goggin: g.goggin at uq.edu.au.


--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Information politics on the web

Does the information on the web offer many alternative accounts of reality, 
or does it subtly align with an official version? In this recently published 
book, Richard Rogers -who has worked with APC on several occasions- 
identifies the cultures, techniques, and devices that rank and recommend 
information on the web, analyzing not only the political content of web 
sites but the politics built into the web's infrastructure. Addressing the 
larger question of what the web is for, Rogers argues that the web is still 
the best arena for unsettling the official and challenging the familiar. - 
The MIT Press
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?tid=10329&ttype=2

CD-ROM: Rural Women in Africa

The International Women's Tribune Centre (IWTC), working in partnership with 
the International Development Research/Eastern and Southern Africa Office 
(IDRC/ESAO), Nairobi, has developed an information tool that offers direct 
access to information for women who "are among the most marginalised in 
development - poor women with little or no reading ability". Pioneered in 
Uganda, the technical specifications that guided the development of the new 
information tool were that it be used on basic computer systems at rural 
telecentres, require minimal technical know-how to operate, and not rely on 
access to the internet or the worldwide web. - IWTC
http://www.iwtc.org/files/!start.html

COVERAGE: CRIS/Media Trade update on UNESCO Draft Convention

Government delegates met in Paris, from January 31 to February 12, to 
negotiate the near-final text of the proposed UNESCO Convention on Cultural 
Diversity. Sasha Constanza-Schock from Free Press sent reports on daily 
meetings and main outcomes. The CRIS Campaign strongly supported a modified 
version of the draft as did governments from Brazil, Vietnam, and others.- 
CRIS
http://www.crisinfo.org/content/view/full/691/

DISCUSSION: Experts meet to discuss WIPO development agenda and treaty on 
access to knowledge

A two day meeting -organised by the Third World Network (TWN), the Consumer 
Project on Technology (CPTech) and the International Federation of Library 
Associations and Institutions (IFLA)- reviewed the status of the World 
Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Development Agenda and proceeded 
with a detailed discussion on the proposed treaty on Access to Knowledge. - 
Choike
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2628.html
The Development Agenda proposal, the WIPO General Assembly decision and many 
of the comments and discussions are on the web at: 
http://www.cptech.org/ip/wipo/futureofwipo.html

NEWSLETTER: Tsunami communication responses

On December 26 2004, an earthquake and a series of tsunamis wreaked havoc in 
the coastal communities of the Indian Ocean. Numbers do little to 
communicate the extent of the tragedy and the gravity of the situation, but 
as of January 20, 2005, BBC News reported that the number of people known to 
have died in the disaster had reached 220,000. This issue of the Drum Beat 
explores some of the roles that communication has played in the aftermath of 
this particular natural disaster, and highlights some of the strategic ways 
that communication might be drawn upon to respond to or prevent such 
devastation in the future. - The Communication Initiative
http://www.comminit.com/drum_beat_283.html

ONLINE RESOURCES: United Nations Official Document System open to the 
general public via internet

The United Nations has launched its Official Document System (ODS), a 
full-text web resource for official UN documentation. Available to the 
general public, the ODS covers all types of documentation originating from 
duty stations worldwide, including selective documents of the regional 
commissions: Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), 
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Economic 
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Economic 
Commission for Europe (ECE). Currently, the ODS contains close to 800,000 
files and approximately 100,000 new documents are added each year. The ODS 
is available at http://documents.un.org. An ODS Training Guide is posted at 
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/train.htm

REPORT: The social structure of free and open source software development

Metaphors, such as the Cathedral and Bazaar, used to describe the 
organization of FLOSS projects typically place them in sharp contrast to 
proprietary development by emphasizing FOSS's distinctive social and 
communications structures. But what do we really know about the 
communication patterns of FOSS projects? How generalizable are the projects 
that have been studied? Is there consistency across FOSS projects? 
Questioning the assumption of distinctiveness is important because 
practitioner-advocates from within the FOSS community rely on features of 
social structure to describe and account for some of the advantages of FOSS 
production. - First Monday
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_2/crowston/

SUMMARY: What has South Asian ICT4D network "BytesforAll" been discussing
in December?

Rural transformation in India through internet; IT access to women; free 
software; the killing tsunami; and whether ICT can help in disaster 
mitigation were among the themes discussed in the Bytes for All readers 
forum in December 2004. Bytes for All is the APC member in the South Asian 
region. Read the discussion summary, which has been compiled by Archana 
Nagvekar of Bytes for All, India. - Bytes for All
http://www.bytesforall.net/Summary/b4all_dis_dec04


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-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC IN MARCH? --

You can meet up with APC and/or APC WNSP (APC women's programme) 
representatives at the events below during March 2005. Write to 
events at apc.org to obtain contact information. See you there!

Feb 28 - March 11
Forty-ninth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
New York, USA
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Review/english/49sess.htm

March 1-3
First Annual SANGONeT "ICTs and Civil Society" Conference and Exhibition 
2005
Johannesburg, South Africa
http://sangonet.org.za/conference2005

March 4
APC workshop "A Creative Commons South Africa workshop: Towards a national 
licence"
In collaboration with the Link Centre
Parktown, South Africa
http://za.creativecommons.org/blog/?p=93

March 8-9
2nd Annual National ICT Convention
Nairobi, Kenya
http://africa.rights.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=ee_1&x=30840

March 15-16
New Technology support and capacity building for African NGOs
Pretoria, South Africa
http://www.ungana-afrika.org/workshop/

March 20-25
APC Workshop on capacity building for community wireless connectivity in 
Africa
Zanzibar, Tanzania
http://www.apc.org/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=WirelessPilotWorkshopprimer

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APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are distributed monthly by 
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justice and sustainable development since 1990.
APCNews Archive: http://www.apc.org/english/news/apcnews/

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