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 Internet Governance
Inspired by Aarhus Convention, Council of Europe and APC propose a code for public participation in internet regulation
RIO de JANEIRO,
-- Intergovernmental and civil society organisations have drafted a proposal, modelled after the Aarhus Convention of 1998, that would regard the internet as a public service. Aarhus, a unique international environmental agreement, grants the public rights and demands government accountability. The proposed code on internet regulation, drawn up during this year’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Rio de Janeiro, would be similarly designed to accommodate participation, encourage greater transparency and improve access to information. - 11/13/2007
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ICT POLICY: A BEGINNER’S HANDBOOK: Now out in French!
BERLIN, Germany,
-- This flagship book by APC is a must. It lays out the issues and dispenses with the jargon to encourage more people to get involved in issues related to information and communication technology (ICT) and policy. The new French version is part of APC's efforts to make French its third full official language before the end of this year. - 03/13/2007
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BytesForAll launches draft report on the use of technology for development in Bangladesh
GOA, India,
-- APC member in South Asia, BytesForAll, has launched its 'ICT4D Status Report 1.0', a document looking into the use of information and communication technology for the purpose of development. Areas covered are localisation/open content development, updates on the telecentre movement, access and infrastructure issues, community radio development and e-governance in the context of Bangladesh. - 01/29/2007
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APC updates groundbreaking "internet rights" charter
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay,
-- APC's charter was first developed by APC members and partner organisations at “internet rights” workshops held in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa in 2001-2002. APC's new charter revised in November 2006 includes a section on internet governance -the focus of recent UN summits- and our position that the internet is a global public good. An essential reference for anyone concerned about the freedom of the internet and 'internet access for all' nationally and internationally. - 11/06/2006
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APC asserts `access´ to the internet & capacity-building are key to participative internet governance
ATHENS, Greece,
-- The Association for Progressive Communications (APC), a network of civil society organisations working with ICTs and the internet for social justice and sustainable development thinks that the IGF is a valuable space for policy dialogue. As the first Internet Governance Forum that took place Athens in early November 2006 draws to a close, APC would like to insist on two issues be given priority: access to internet infrastructure and capacity building. - 11/02/2006
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Latin America makes noise at the Forum on Internet Governance
ATHENS, Greece,
-- Latin America makes noise at the Forum on Internet Governance. What priorities is Latin America carrying around in its briefcase for this first Forum on Internet Governance? How are all the sectors participating in a pioneer event in this format? APCNews spoke to Raúl Echeberría, LACNIC executive director, the Latin America and the Caribbean internet address registry. - 11/02/2006
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Utopia called diversity?
ATHENS, Greece,
-- What does diversity mean in the internet? The linguistic and content plurality approach is what the organising committee for the Internet Governance Forum, that is going on in Athens, Greece from October 29th to November 2nd, chose. - 11/02/2006
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APC to IGF: Cyberspace should promote maximum sharing, creativity and innovation
GOA, India,
-- APC executive director Anriette Esterhuysen has told the Internet Governance Forum, meeting in Athens currently, that it has a duty play a much bigger role in spreading the sharing of ideas and encouraging innovation. Copyrighting and limiting the rights of teachers and learners in the developing world from share information would add only "limited value" to harnessing the internet for development, Esterhuysen said in the Greek capital. - 11/01/2006
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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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Openness: In the activist’s eye
ATHENS, Greece,
-- The twist this IGF is giving to this old debate about ‘openness’ makes it that more relevant since it calls into life a confrontation, not only involving national law, but also market law. This is why corporations like Google have been taken for a ride at the IGF by those arguing that it is unacceptable that this advertisement firm - know for its flagship research engine - started operations in China, where restrictions on free speech are, to say the least, restrictive. - 10/31/2006
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Greening IT? Not really!
ATHENS, Greece,
-- "Someone from the Pacific Islands expressed that the single main challenge with which his region is increasingly faced with is global warming,” Milena Bokova said. Quite striking indeed that the very first workshop at the IGF would list this major environmental phenomenon as the greatest obstacle to making the internet accessible. - 10/31/2006
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INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM: Seminar calls for unity among poor nations
DHAKA, Bangladesh,
-- A single country will not be allowed to govern the internet, speakers at a national seminar vowed adding expectation of the poor countries should be addressed in the upcoming Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meet. The seminar took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on October 14. - 10/18/2006
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Reduce the cost of international internet connectivity
NEW YORK, United States of America,
-- In Argentina, internet access averages 13 dollars a month and almost a fifth of the population are online whereas in Sudan internet access costs 160 USD a month and only 9 people in a thousand are online. Africa, the poorest continent in the world, has the highest costs for internet access. In the run-up to the first-ever meeting of the Internet Governance Forum in Athens starting October 30, APC releases a set of recommendations that encourage the IGF to tackle the availability and affordability of the internet in the developing world and especially Africa as a matter of urgency. In pdf. - 08/07/2006
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Snaking in from under the sea, submarine cable link launched by Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh,
-- Late May 2006 saw Bangladesh launch its first submarine fibre-optic cable in the southern coastal town of Cox's Bazar. This could allow high-speed telecommunications, but some voices critiqued the delay in making this possible. - 05/31/2006
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WSIS follow-up: IT for Change makes commentary piece public
ITHALA, South Africa,
-- IT for change, an NGO figthing alongside APC during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has published "WSIS: The beginning of a global information society discourse" on March 11 in the Economic and Political Weekly. The piece attempts to place WSIS in the present geopolitical context and discusses its outcomes. It concludes that "WSIS may need to be judged more from the processes that it has set into motion than what it has achieved substantively."
- 03/17/2006
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Collective ICT policy making in Bolivia
BERLIN, Germany,
-- Surrounded by the tropical forests of Bolivia, about 18 organisations and institutions representing civil society, the private sector and the government gathered to develop proposals and action strategies for ICT policies. Most of the participants brought with them the lessons learned during their involvement in the Bolivian ICTD strategy - ETIC - process. - 03/06/2006
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Internet governance debate shifts to Malta, island with highest internet penetration
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-- An international conference entitled "Internet Governance: The Way Forward" is being organised on February 10-12, 2006 by the DiploFoundation in Malta, a small and densely populated island nation consisting of an archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea which incidentally also has highest internet penetration in the world. Panelists, representing stakeholders who have been active in the internet governance (IG) debate, include Karen Banks of the Association for Progressive Communications. - 02/07/2006
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Creating spaces for civil society in WSIS
TUNIS, Tunisia,
-- The interventions of civil society activists made a material difference to the outcomes of WSIS in Tunis, contents Willie Currie, the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Policy Manager with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). - 01/31/2006
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APC project contributes to Kenya ICT policy approved by Cabinet
GOA, India,
-- For the last few years, APC has been working closely with other organisations and a large group of Kenyan civil society organisations and business to transform the national ICT policy. At last, a national ICT Policy has made it all the way! - 01/26/2006
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Facing challenges old and new... focussing on APC's priorities
KALANGALA, Uganda,
-- Natasha Primo recently became the first-ever woman to chair APC, or the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), which one publication called The African Digital Commons described as being founded by a team "clued in to the potential power of ICTs at a time when many of us still thought of computers as glorified typewriters". Primo, also the executive director of the South Africa-based Women'sNet, outlines some issues, challenges and plans that stand before APC. - 01/21/2006
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