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*APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
- June 2005 No. 53
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
-- IMPORTANT DATES --
-- SITES OF INTEREST --
-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC NEXT MONTH --
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
RITS, BRAZIL: Wireless technology takes internet access to remote
Amazonian communities
APC member RITS was concerned that introducing telecentres in the Amazon
would snuff out the traditional culture. But they report, =E2=80=9Cthe
opposite has happened=E2=80=9D. The locals have embraced this new
world on the internet, =E2=80=9Chave succeeded in better identifying
who there are and now want to launch community sites to present their
reality to the world.=E2=80=9D Two telecentres are now running on the
banks of the Tapaj=C3=B3s River and another telecentre is planned. But
there are other new developments in the air. - RITS
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D78107
CEPES, PERU: A venture on the Net helps sow a better crop
In Peru, the internet acts like fertilizer in the field. Or, you could
say it helps to harvest information needed about sowing operations in a
timely and far more accurate manner. This promises to bring home some
benefits to poor farmers working on a subsistence model. - CEPES
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D34478
FMA, PHILIPPINES: Civil society joins a new information society round
APC members in the Philippines, the Foundation for Media Alternatives,
took the lead in a consultative workshop on the national leg of the
information society summit. While welcoming the workshop, it also spoke
out to voice concern that the first national summit of May 2004 had not
been taken seriously by the government, with very few discussions held
last year. - FMA
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D34183
BytesForAll, SOUTH ASIA: Building a new community website
BytesForAll's newly developed ICT4D community website is at:
http://www.bytesforall.net You can contribute articles, news, stories
and events and let the ICT4D (information and communication technology
for development) community know about it. To subscribe to the fairly
active BytesForAll_Readers mailing list that focuses primarily on the
otherwise-neglected South Asia region sign up at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers or send in a blank
email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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-- NEWS FROM APC --
ANNOUNCING THE APC BETINHO COMMUNICATIONS PRIZE IN 2005:
Community connectivity for economic development in Latin America and the
Caribbean
In 2005, the APC Betinho Prize will be offered in recognition of
community initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean that use the
internet and other networks to access markets, skills and opportunities
to derive real economic benefits.
APC is looking for ICT initiatives that make a positive economic
contribution to the community, are driven and developed in Latin America
and the Caribbean, and can demonstrate a sustainable use of technology
The US$ 7500 prize is open to civil society organisations,
community-based groups, networks, and social movements anywhere in LAC.
Applications will be accepted in Spanish, Portuguese and English.
Deadline for nominations: October 16, 2005. More about the prize at
http://www.apc.org/english/betinho or write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NEW APC MEMBER: Ungana-Afrika works to counter Africa's 'capacity crisis'
APC's new member Ungana-Afrika is a non-profit organisation that
provides technology support, and helps others initiate technology
support programs, within the development community of Southern Africa.
Their work includes incubation of ICT capacity building programs,
in-house ICT programs, and individual projects. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D58051
NEW APC MEMBER: WOUGNET, Uganda, takes ICTs to women where little exists
APC's new member WOUGNET, the Women of Uganda Network, is seen as well
thought of within the women's movement in that country. It works
actively to support grassroots involvement in ICTs and facilitate access
to information to those not connected. WOUGNET works out of a country
where there is much to do regarding ICTs. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D58155
NEW APC MEMBER: EsLaRed of Venezuela networks networkers in Latin America
A Venezuelan organisation with a reputation for its high-level technical
training in ICTs for over a decade in Latin America has joined the APC
as member, raising hopes for enhanced reach and credibility for both
sides of the new partnership in the region. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D34529
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-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
NEWS: Europe's software patents threatens free speech in an information
society
By a (legal) sleight of hand, the European Parliament 2003 vote against
software patents has been effectively overturned, allowing monopoly
control over the critical tools of an 'information society'. This
threatens both the free and unhindered access to information, and even
free speech. This special report from Hungarian techie and activist
Peter Somogyi for APCNews.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D77328
DISCUSSION PAPERS: WSIS papers from ITeM
APC member, the Instituto del Tercer Mundo (Third World Institute, ITeM)
has been developing the WSIS Papers project which is aimed at producing
input on aspects of information and communication technologies that have
an impact on the development of Southern countries. This input is
intended to feed the debate at the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS), and other multilateral processes that model the present
systems of ICT global governance. See http://wsispapers.choike.org
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-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --
REPORT: Secure computing, online communications workshop for Asia
As civil society organizations increasingly use personal computers and
online communication tools, they are becoming prone to ever-advancing
threats ranging from malware (viruses, spyware or adware, spam,
phishing), to digital surveillance and interception, and even the
seizure of equipment. Development organisations in Asia recently faced
up to the challenge at a workshop organised by APC. - Foundation for
Media Alternatives
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D34238
NEW VIDEO: =E2=80=9CMake ICT Training Work For You=E2=80=9D introduces mu=
ltimedia
resource for non-profits
Commissioned by APC, media specialists c2o/Toy Satellite designed and
produced "Make ICT Training Work For You", an introduction to the
ItrainOnline's Multimedia Training Kit (MMTK). The MMTK provides
trainers in telecentres, community media organisations and the
development sector with a structured set of materials to help make that
jump between new and traditional media or train in a new skill area. The
MMTK is a joint project of the APC, Bellanet, IICD, INASP, Oneworld.net
and UNESCO.
Download the video and other resources utilised in the making of the
video: http://www.toysatellite.org/mmtk/
More about the MMTK:
http://www.apc.org/english/press/primers/apc_mmtk_1104.doc
Visit the MMTK: http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/mmtk/
[in French, English and Russian]
AUDIO: ActionApps - developers explain how it's being used
ActionApps is a free content management system for not-for-profits
developed by APC and the free software community. It is flexible, fast
and easy, and innovative in publishing news, events, resources, contacts
and more online. Developers tell us about their favourite
ActionApps-based site and the benefits for them of using ActionApps.
http://www.apc.org/actionapps/english/general/uses.html
See more about ActionApps at http://www.apc.org/actionapps/
RSS: News feeds from APC
APC and APC members offer RSS feeds:
APCNews: http://www.apc.org/apps/aa/view.php3?vid=3D518
APCNoticias (in Spanish): http://www.apc.org/apps/aa/view.php3?vid=3D559
ICT policy and internet rights:
http://www.apc.org/english/rights/rss.php?lang=3Den&v=3D1
Feeds from APC members around the world:
http://www.apc.org/english/news/rss/
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-- WOMEN & ICTs --
APC-Africa-Women: GenARDIS small grants awarded
The GenARDIS small grants fund was initiated in 2002 by CTA, IICD and
IDRC, to support work on gender-related issues in ICTs for ACP
agricultural and rural development. Ten winners of the =E2=82=AC 5000 one=
-time
grants have just been announced. The fund is coordinated by
APC-Africa-Women.
http://www.cta.int/about/genardis2_winners.htm
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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
LATIN AMERICA STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY: The Institute for
Connectivity in the Americas (ICA) and Cisco Systems has released a
study on the impact of technology in Latin America that found 70% of
organizations report technology has helped improve customer or citizen
satisfaction by an average of 32 percent. This study also found that
customer satisfaction and the desire to improve competitiveness are the
main drivers for technology investment by Latin American companies.
http://www.icamericas.net/index.php?module=3Dhtmlpages&func=3Ddisplay&pid=
=3D715
ONLINE ACTIVISM, FUNDRAISING, E-DEMOCRACY: A paper on the future of
online activism, fund-raising, e-democracy. Power to the Edges: Trends
and Opportunities in Online Civic Engagement
http://evolvefoundation.org/files/Pushing_Power_to_the_Edges_05-06-05.pdf
IPDC/UNESCO PRIZE FOR RURAL COMMUNICATION: IPDC/UNESCO has sought
nominations for its 10th Prize for Rural Communication worth US$ 20,000.
Apply by October 1, 2005. http://www.unesco.org/webworld/ipdc Contact
Val=C3=A9ri Nikolski, UNESCO, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
USEFUL LINKS IN CHOIKE: Choike =E2=80=93a portal on southern civil societ=
ies- is
produced in English and Spanish by the Third World Institute (ITeM),
APC's member in Uruguay. Use Choike's search engine to find information
in the civil society web sites:
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/tools/buscador.htm
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/14/52/links.html offers many links to
groups working in ICT-for-development. http://www.choike.org
MANY-TO-MANY, A GROUP WEBLOG: A useful group weblog on social software.
Describes itself as "tech news, filtered daily".
http://www.corante.com/many/
COLLABORATION SPACE ONLINE: ConsultantCommons.org provides an online
collaboration space and community for non-profit technical assistance
providers to collaboratively build and share knowledge. This system is
designed so that consultants can find, contribute and collaborate on
tools and information they use to maintain a consultancy and provide
services to nonprofits. http://www.consultantcommons.org/
TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITY-BUILDING ORGANISATIONS: CompuMentor
is a nonprofit organization specializing in technology assistance for
community-based organizations and schools. Through their consulting
practice, they offer technology planning, implementation, and support
services. CompuMentor is also the home of TechSoup.org, the technology
website for the nonprofit sector. http://www.compumentor.org/
CAPACITERIA.ORG, PEER REVIEWED CAPACITY RESOURCES FOR NONPROFITS:
Capaciteria is a new database resource index of useful administrative
capacity links for nonprofits. Capaciteria has resources related to
nonprofit jobs, volunteer, advocacy, philanthropic services, software
and grant or funding and in-kind support because they tend to be the
most sought after queries. See the FAQ at the top answering basic
questions. Thanks to Teresa Crawford for passing on the link.
http://capaciteria.org
IFIs LATIN AMERICAN MONITOR: This initiative aims at contributing to the
Latin American and global International Financial Institutions (IFIs)
campaigns for reform of the Bretton Woods institutions by translating
key information, producing and disseminating analysis and providing a
point of access to research results, opinions and campaigning
activities, thus promoting dialogue and collaboration between key
actors. This is a project of the Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM).
http://ifis.choike.org
NPOACTION, USING CELL PHONES IN ADVOCACY: The rise of cellular
technology has given telephone organizing another breath of life.
Examples of cell phone advocacy demonstrate the potential this
technology has for low cost, effective communications in an advocacy
campaign. http://www.mobileactive.org/blog
http://www.npaction.org/article/articleprint/607/-1/{category_id}/
MORE SMS TOOLS: Activism-oriented or free services that can be used
http://wiki.advocacydev.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?SmsTools
ICTs AND SMALL ENTERPRISES, HANDBOOKS: Limited free copies of handbooks
about ICTs and small enterprise are available. One is for support agency
staff, advisers, consultants and researchers. The second handbook is for
entrepreneurs. It explains how to get the most of the technologies. For
hard copies, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] giving your name and full
postal address, and under 50 words on your work with small enterprise.
Online versions at
www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/research/is/ictsme/index.htm (in French,
Spanish and Arabic too). Hard copies are in English only.
VOICES FROM ASIA-PACIFIC, INTERNET GOVERNANCE PRIORITIES: UNDP-APDIP's
Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance (ORDIG) has produced a
two-part report entitled, "Voices from Asia-Pacific: Internet Governance
Priorities and Recommendations". These documents stem from months of
consultations involving stakeholder groups from the public and private
sectors, as well as civil society. ORDIG Survey Report
http://igov.apdip.net/ORDIG.Survey.Report.pdf
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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES --
SOUTH KOREA, AUSTRALIA: NEW CULTURAL COMMONS BEING FORGED
Synesthesia Urbania is a collaborative Australian-South Korean
audio/visual performance requiring public participation through input
from mobile devices and incorporating live performance of
electro-acoustic sounds and visuals. Collaborators identify -through
photos, text, video and audio clips- diverse cultural references in
their respective countries which are sent via a multimedia messaging
system (MMS) gateway to a common online workspace. Produced by APC
members in Australia and South Korea and others.
The project will see the emergence, funds permitting, of a multilingual
cultural commons in association with Creative Commons
Australia.Synesthesia Urbania: http://toysatellite.org/syn-urbania/
Or find out how to partipate:
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D77582
INFORMATION ON FREQUENCY ALLOCATION IN ASIA:
Do you have access to recordings of community radio broadcasts,
interviews with estranged radio journalists, copies of articles or
essays on the state of spectrum allocation in your country? Do you know
of pirate stations streaming over the net, radio activists who lobby
their governments to ensure spectrum allocation for community use, or
attempts to sell parts of the spectrum to private enterprise?
Frequency Post is an investigation of the radio frequency spectrum by
six composers from three countries and you can contribute to it. Contact
http://rights.apc.org.au/contact.php
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR WOMEN BLOGGERS:
Blogging company Six Apart has announced they will offer five
scholarships for women bloggers interested in attending the upcoming
BlogHer conference, which will focus on the role of women in blogging
culture. See
http://www.sixapart.com/about/corner/2005/05/upcoming_bloghe.html
Details about the conference: http://www.blogher.org/
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-- IMPORTANT DATES --
AUGUST 22-30: Community Informatics (CIRN) Conference 2005, Cape Town
South Africa
Registration is now open for the CIRN 2005 conference which forms part
of Information Society Week to be held in Cape Town. The CIRN conference
will include more than 90 selected presentations, workshops and panels
relevant to the social appropriation of ICT for local benefit.
http://www.cirn2005.org
JUNE 20 - JULY 29: Online World Dialogue on Regulation (WDR)
session on 'Diversifying Participation in Network Development'
Participation in telecom development traditionally has been highly
restricted to national monopolies or specified nationally licensed
operators, with restrictions against the participation of others in
supplying telecom facilities and services, or in acting as
intermediaries or facilitators of demand. For further information or a
short description of this dialogue theme:
www.regulateonline.org/content/view/172/31/. RSS feed available.
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-- SITES OF INTEREST --
WOMEN IN GLOBAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, WIGSAT: Women in Global Science
and Technology (WIGSAT promotes the contributions women make in science
and technology for development, and helps NGOs, governments, bilateral
and multilateral agencies and women themselves to understand the gender
dimensions of S&T and the implications of this for development policy
and practice. WIGSAT provides services in the area of gender, science
and technology for development, with a special focus on information and
communications technologies. It also acts as a broker or disseminator of
information and resources. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.wigsat.org http://GSTGateway.wigsat.org
BUILDING AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GENDER AND IT:
Project website for building an Encyclopedia of Gender and Information
Technology, being edited by Eileen M. Trauth, Ph.D. School of
Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University
http://genderitencyclopedia.ist.psu.edu
TSUNAMI LINKS: Contains news feeds and blogs from around the world,
collected by Andy Carvin. http://www.tsunami-info.org
COASTAL HAZARDS: A coastal hazards portal from India. Covers both
natural and man-made events along coastlines that have the potential of
damaging life, property and the environment. India, with her vast
coastline, is often struck by natural events like cyclones crossing from
land to sea and the resultant coastal storm surges. Other hazards, like
the occurrences of algal blooms along coastlines are not new to South
Asia. Say the site promoters, the National Institute of Oceanography,
Goa: "Increasing marine traffic in this region alarms us, we have to be
ready for man-made events like oil spills. Coastal erosion is a coastal
hazard that is both natural and man-made."
http://www.coastalhazards.info
CIVIBLOG, A ONE-STOP-SITE FOR GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY: Based in Canada, and
devoted to peacekeeping and =E2=80=9Cglobalist=E2=80=9D foreign policies.=
Says the site
promoters, "We are tapping into two explosive movements at once: (1) the
growth of the citizen sector and (2) blogging, which is an increasingly
popular tool with the potential to empower citizens the world over, one
post at a time. Civiblog has no hosting costs or licensing fees.
Civiblog is targeted, designed by and for civil society workers. It is
community-driven. http://www.civiblog.org/
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-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC IN JULY? --
You can meet up with APC and/or APC WNSP (APC women's programme)
representatives at the events below during July 2005. Write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] to obtain contact information. See you there!
July 9-21: Durban (South Africa)
GRACE Workshop: Gender Research in Africa into ICTs for Empowerment
www.apcafricawomen.org/brochure.doc
July 11-15: Luxembourg (Belgium)
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) meeting
http://www.icann.org/financials/proposed-budget-17may05.html
July 11-13: San Francisco, (USA)
AdvocacyDev II Convergente
http://www.advocacydev.org
July 18: Geneva (Switzerland)
WSIS WGIG (Working Group on Internet Governance) Report release
http://www.wgig.org/
http://www.wgig.org/Meeting-June.html
July 25-29: Merida (Venezuela)
WALC Workshops
VII Latin American Networking School
VIII Latin American and the Caribbean Workshop on Internet Technologies
http://walc2005.ula.ve
http://walc2005.ula.ve/english/
July 26-27: London (UK)
CRIS Campaign Strategic Evaluation Meetings
http://www.crisinfo.org
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --
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)
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
APC Forum is a meeting place for the APC community - people and
institutions who are or have been involved in collaboration with APC,
and share the APC vision - a world in which all people have easy, equal
and affordable access to the creative potential of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) to improve their lives and create more
democratic and egalitarian societies.
_______________________________________________
apc.forum mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://lists.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/apc.forum
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