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 Building Information Communities
Digital divide, social divide, paradigmatic divide
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic,
-- "The digital divide is nothing other than the reflection of the social divide in the digital world," reveals the latest issue paper by APC's member in the Dominican Republic, FUNREDES. As long as decision makers in the field of public policies or of ICT4D projects are not ready to consider these issues, and keep on favoring a mere technological vision, we will suffer from the most dangerous divide in terms of impact: the paradigmatic divide. - 10/29/2007
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Two radio stations experiment with a brand new multimedia resource kit
FOTOUNI, Cameroon,
-- Nearly 70% of households in Cameroon have a radio set. APC-Cameroon member PROTEGE QV intends to place information at the disposal of the urban and rural women, particularly by means of radio broadcasting programmes. With their latest project oriented towards small businesses run by women, representatives of PROTEGE QV carried out a field trip earlier this year to rural localities in western Cameroon to hand-over material to two radio stations and promote their Multimedia Resource Kit. - 08/22/2007
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DRC: Alternatives reveals the first independent study on an internet infrastructure that can serve the entire country
MONTREAL, Canada,
-- The NGO Alternatives revealed the first independent feasibility study on the implementation of a vast high-speed internet infrastructure the size of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Carried out by Congolese and international researchers, the study proposes, in particular, that the implementation of the internet network be carried out in partnership with the Congolese National Electricity Company (SNEL). - 08/21/2007
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Grants for capacity in wireless networks: And the winners are...
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay,
-- The first regional workshop on capacity building in community wireless networking will take place between July 16 and 21 in the Huaral City of Peru. Organised by APC members, APC and partners, 29 people - ten of which are women - from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia will meet with the objective of extending the community wireless connectivity model to the Andean zone. Their names have recently been announced. - 06/26/2007
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The sky’s the limit: new wireless connection record - 382 kilometres
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay,
-- “This is a technology that works, a proven technology, and what it needs is a bit more promotion,” said Ermanno Pietrosemoli just days after reaching a new wireless connection record of 382 kilometres. The president of Venezuelan APC member EsLaRed spoke with APCNews by conference call about this low-cost solution that is impacting the world’s rural communities. - 06/04/2007
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We killed the previous business models that tried to charge for WiFi
MONTREAL, Canada,
-- With about 90 active volunteers over the years, Île Sans Fil now has managed to install some 130 hotspots all around town, using a nice piece of software. Wifidog is an open source solution designed primarily for wireless community groups, it is now in use in more than 36 locations, including at the municipality of Rosario (Argentina), the Tegucigalpa technical university (Honduras) or the Hull libraries (United Kingdom). Can Wifidog work in the developing world? Interview with the key figure of the group, Michael Lenczner. - 06/04/2007
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Harambee small grant helps Viva Network Africa put the net into networking
MEXICO, Mexico,
-- Viva Network sees effective networking among Christian organisations as a stepping-stone to making a difference for the children of the world. Its focus on networking training, governance, and facilitation makes Viva Network a perfect example of the benefits of collaborative effort - just what the Harambee Small Grants Facility was founded to support. - 05/28/2007
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WIRELESS SURVEY: 53% of participants installed a wireless network
PRAGUE, Czech Republic,
-- Fifty-three percent of participants to wireless internet trainings in Africa have installed one or more wireless networks since the training. This is what a survey about the impact of the APC-led ‘Capacity Building for Community Wireless Connectivity in Africa’ project reveals. - 05/24/2007
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The fight against HIV/AIDS armed with blogs, wikis and emails
MONTREAL, Canada,
-- Often, people working in prevention of HIV/Aids experience difficulties in gaining an overview of successes and failures of HIV/Aids programmes in the most affected countries. The key information about vulnerable segments of the population who are not yet enrolled in these programmes is generally absent. It is around these two reasons that Réseau Sida Afrique’s work revolves. APCNews asked some questions to Lydie Diaboungana of the secretariat of the network, located in Brazzaville, in the Congo. Chronicle of a tough fight with the help of ICTs. - 05/14/2007
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Ever heard of soil health? If not, networking is taking it to you front door
MONTREAL, Canada,
-- The Information Training & Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA) is a capacity building organisation for librarians, information specialists, scientists, researchers and students of sub-Saharan Africa. Better said, it assists them in mastering information and communication technology. APCNews talked to Gracian Chimwaza, executive director of ITOCA, about the organisation’s latest project aimed at groups working on ‘soil health’. The goal? Help them locate and access information cost-effectively. - 05/09/2007
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Ungana-Afrika connecting advice centres in rural South Africa
PRETORIA, South Africa,
-- APC-member in South Africa, Ungana-Afrika, is in the middle of a rural connectivity initiative that targets legal 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. - 03/12/2007
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Wireless technology and blogging in Africa
LONDON, United Kingdom,
-- Following an APC coordinated meeting in London about wireless internet technology in Africa last December, John Dada and Alaa Ahmed Seif al-Islam gave interviews to the BBC World Service. Those of you not based in Africa may have missed the broadcasts. Here they are in mp3 files. Both were broadcasted on the BBC's Focus on Africa Programme in December 2006. - 01/16/2007
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Interview with SANGONeT’s web editor: Getting the tech right
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa,
-- The South African non-governmental organisation net (SANGONeT) is known for being at the forefront of South Africa’s civil society, especially in matters related to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the internet. How that came to be and how SANGONeT is using technology is discussed with SANGONeT portal editor Fazila Farouk here. - 11/16/2006
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Blatant censorship is one thing. But who controls the controllers?
GOA, India,
-- Blatant censorship is one thing, and can be fought. But who controls the controllers? What about the more subtle forms of control and blockages, that often can work in the more brutal ways of the unseen hand? APC member-organisation RITS's Carlos Afonso, made this point articulatedly at the Internet Governance Forum in Athens. Afonso underlined that it was difficult to deal internet-related issues "without considering the situation of regulation, legislation and control of the network itself." He questioned the view that "the technical question is not as relevant as the other issues." What is the responsibility of network operators? Controlling players decide if voice over IP traffic can pass through an exchange point or not. - 11/01/2006
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Harambee project: Call for small grants applications
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa,
-- The Harambee project coordinators are announcing a small grants facility to provide a number of sectoral based networks and
communities in Africa with funding for the development of greater collaborative capacity. - 09/26/2006
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BETINHO PRIZE SPECIAL: MetaRecycling - "Noisy environments, unstable computers and curious people"
NEW YORK, United States,
-- The Metarecyclers consider that computers are craft artifacts that must be creatively manipulated. They not only have displayed a natural vocation for experimentation, the finalists of APC's 2005 Betinho Prize also populated recycling centres all over Brazil. APCNews reports on this open, free and self-organised movement from Brazil. - 09/05/2006
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BETINHO PRIZE SPECIAL: MetaRecycling: “Noisy environments, unstable computers and curious people" - Part II
NEW YORK, United States,
-- The MetaRecycling movement is sustained by solid philosophical pillars. One of the basic concepts consists in treating computers as artisanal products. - 09/05/2006
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APCNews asks, Felipe Fonseca responds
NEW YORK, United States,
-- We are, with great pride, very close to certain social movements, especially those that fall within the context of tactical media. - 09/05/2006
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BETINHO PRIZE: The voices of women and communities through radio telecentres
TOULOUSE, France,
-- First it was radio, then the internet. First women's organisations, then the community. The story of CEMINA, a Brazilian communication and gender organisation, is one of growth, change and openness. Its radio telecentre work captivated the APC Betinho Prize jury in 2005. - 08/04/2006
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ASIA COMMONS: The Commons through Asian eyes
GOA, India,
-- APC members took an active part at the Asia Commons Conference, a first-of-its-kind event held from June 6 to 8 2006 in the Thai capital of Bangkok. Some expected more concrete action could come out of it. But this meet was a great start to building links and planning 'common' action at the Asian level. - 07/07/2006
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