Subject: APCNews - March 2002 - No. 23 Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 15:00:00 -0300 From: Karen Higgs Organization: Association for Progressive Communications (APC) To: Karen Higgs --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)* - March 2002 No. 23 - --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -- -- NEWS FROM APC -- -- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS -- -- APC ACTION AREA: MOBILISING PARTICIPATION - -- WOMEN & ICTs -- -- ONLINE TOOLS -- -- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES - -- IMPORTANT DATES -- -- SITES OF INTEREST -- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS - BLUELINK, Bulgaria: Electronic Networking begins in a War-Torn Province; BlueLink Builds Bridges in Kosova It is a hard task to even dream of electronic civil networking in a region where missiles were exploding less than 2 years ago, and where the memory of bloodshed is still fresh. Kosova is still a bleeding wound in the heart of the Balkans where civil society organisations are making their first steps. BlueLink, APC's member network in Bulgaria, took the challenge to facilitate a training workshop for newly emerging environmental NGOs in Kosova. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=0ff83a1ba5e8d057c058dabe030349d1 CHANGENET, Slovakia: FEMINET.SK - Connecting women who are changing the world At the end of January, ChangeNet, APC member in Slovakia, launched a new women's portal www.feminet.sk as a key online source of information on women-related issues in Slovakia and beyond, and to serve as a communication platform for Slovak women organizations. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=7a72bad33acc215e36f7ce7677280874 GREENNET, UK: Fifteen years of networking online for APC pioneers, GreenNet GreenNet is celebrating fifteen years as a not-for-profit Internet Service Provider. "The GreenNet collective would like to give our warmest thanks to all of our members who have kept us going - many of whom have stayed with us rather than go to a commercial provider," said Joanne Doyle, GreenNet coordinator. "External funding of various projects has allowed us to continue, diversify and broaden our ability to support civil society, however, we are indebted to the volunteers and the many NGOs we have worked with over the years, who have contributed both to the day to day work at GreenNet and various projects, especially in defence of the Internet for campaigning work." GreenNet's Anniversary: http://www.gn.apc.org/anniversary/ The APC Annual Report 2000 tells several stories about the role of GreenNet in APC's founding and in our work over the years: http://www.apc.org/english/about/history GREENNET, UK: Big Brother Awards to those who have done most to invade personal privacy Once again, GreenNet, APC's London-based member organisation, are sponsoring the annual UK "Big Brother" awards. The awards will be bestowed at a special event on 4 March at the London School of Economics. Three "Big Brother" awards - Worst Public Servant and Most Heinous Government Organisation, Most Invasive Company, and Most Appalling Project - will be awarded to those that have made the most significant effort to invade personal privacy. A "Lifetime Menace" award will also be presented. Big Brother Awards: http://www.privacyinternational.org/bigbrother/uk2002/ GreenNet: http://www.gn.apc.org JINBONET, South Korea: Censorship of Gay sites continues on South Korean Internet In 2002, censorship on the Internet by the Korean government still continues. Jinbonet, who joined APC as a member in November 2001, brought attention to the censorship during a sixty day relay hunger strike which ended on December 20th, 2001. Then on January 9th, a press conference on the first lawsuit to be brought against the South Korean government's Internet rating system led to a flurry of press coverage internationally. The lawsuit was brought by an alliance of 15 human rights groups who cite the blocks on the website www.exzone.com (just one of the many sites affected by government imposed filtering) violate the South Korean constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, speech and of the press. The alliance also claims the restrictions discriminate against homosexuals. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=c81c96a8a8a48493a1f3d01d72b5095b Original alert on the South Korean Internet Rating System: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/alerts/alert.shtml?sh_itm=fc0bdf1868ae29d238b222cd4c904483 GLUK, Ukraine: Western NIS NGOs and online networks plan communications In October, 2001, APC and Milieukontakt Oost-Europa (MKOE) organised a two-day seminar to exchange experiences on current use of information and communications technologies in Newly Independent States (NIS) countries by non-profit groups; to identify fields of interest, and issues useful to focus on in future; and to encourage cooperation and information exchange among NGOs working in the field of environment (and possibly other fields) in NIS countries and Western Europe. The seminar, which took place in Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine was attended by more than 30 participants from Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova who together planned a vision for the future development of online communications in their countries, and defined most suitable ways of achieving desired results. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=7e426219723c8477612cd24722497202 SANGONET: Africa Pulse, a news and information portal for civil society in Southern Africa will open for the Zimbabwe elections Africa Pulse, a news and information portal for the Civil Society sector in the Southern African Development Community, will be up and running on March 8, 2002, in time for Zimbabwe's elections. The portal is hosted by SANGONeT, APC member organisation in South Africa, but is a project that incorporates the visions and needs of regional organizations. Africa Pulse relies on a 'bottom-up' publishing structure, which means that organisations publish directly to the site. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=9bcf49c96c6e5d681ada0ba220605816 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM APC - Documenting Ten Years of Challenge and Innovation: The APC Annual Report 2000 "When APC decided to bring existing and new members together in a tightly linked global virtual network the Internet as we know it didn't exist. ... Many hosts even had 'human gateways' - people who would actually cut and paste messages between their own network and the remote network in another country. In the late 1980s, technicians (often self-taught) had to physically travel from one part of the world to another, installing the software and writing programming code to allow disparate NGO computer systems to "talk" to each other and to send email and share information." -- from "Mike Jensen and the Code that stitched together the APC: The pre-Internet days and early efforts at linking APC nodes", by Brian Murphy, APC Annual Report 2000 APC celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2000. The APC Annual Report 2000 documents APC's work in 2000 and takes a look back at our history, through over sixty pages of specially commissioned stories. The report is the start of an online collection that will be developed by people who have been part of APC over the years. The Report is available in a complete version, which includes "Looking Back on APC's First Decade" and "APC Annual Report 2000", and a short version for those only interested in year 2000 activities. APC Annual Report 2000: http://www.apc.org/english/about/history/ A new APC history archive will be opened up on our Website to accompany the report. APC at the World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil 31 January - 5 February 2002 Communications was at the forefront of the second World Social Forum (WSF) held at Porto Alegre. Given very little profile in the first forum, this year, communications emerged as a central axis and numerous seminars and workshops were held. The principal conference on communication and the media filled the huge auditorium at the university venue, and its theme "Democratising Communications" was picked up by numerous news and media groups. "The media is contaminated," declared panelist, Ignacio Ramonet, director of Le Monde Diplomatique, and he called for the protection of the media in the same way as activists have previously protected the environment by creating an "information ecology". The panel moderator was APC's executive director, Anriette Esterhuysen. APC co-hosted a seminar on "Communications and Citizenship" at the Club do Comercio in Central Porto Alegre together with ALAI (Latin American Information Agency from Ecuador) and Apress, an economic solidarity group from France. The seminar saw the launch of an international coalition of communications and media activists, the "Campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society" (CRIS). Read the seminar recommendations: http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=6a1e11eb51fb0838d34ef0d8c0bad6f5 BETINHO PRIZE 2001: "Women's Voices" - A Video initiative to give poor women a voice in public policy making in Nairobi, Kenya - wins the 2001 APC Betinho Communications Prize "Women's Voices", a project of the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), set out to talk to the women living in two slum neighbourhoods to ask them how they felt they could most effectively get involved in the public policy debate on poverty; an area where women's voices are seldom heard. They came up with an unexpected use of technology. Raising funds to purchase their own digital video equipment, including old and borrowed Betamax cameras, the women learnt scripting, shooting and editing and how to present their communities by showing rough-cuts and recording opinions and asking for contributions to the story and the narratives. The stories have been shown on local television and have changed the communities' relationship with local government services. The $7,500 Betinho Communications Prize is offered by APC to recognise and document outstanding examples of how the Internet can make a real difference for the world's communities today. The prize will next be offered in 2003. Read more: http://www.apc.org/english/betinho/2001/bet_winner.htm The prize winner has also been covered by BBC Online. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1697000/1697588.stm Almost thirty APC representatives from 5 continents met to plan work until 2003: APC Council Meeting, Uruguay, 25 to 30 November 2001 Almost thirty APC representatives from 5 continents met to plan work until 2003 at APC's bi-annual global Council meeting held in Piriapolis, Uruguay in late November. The Council also defined APC policy and strategic directions, and attended numerous peer networking and capacity-building workshops and round-tables. New members attending an APC face-to-face meeting for the first time were from countries as diverse as Slovakia, South Korea, Nigeria, Argentina, the USA and the UK. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=f43ef9747ef5c4a99841e799bcdaa9f4 APC Executive Director attends African Regional Meeting of the UN ICT Task Force APC's Executive Director Anriette Esterhuysen participated at the African Regional Meeting of the UN ICT Task Force in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2002 where an African Stakeholders Network (ASN) was launched to ensure that United Nations' efforts to bridge the digital divide in Africa are better co-ordinated, more inclusive and reflective of the significant efforts already underway to develop an African information society. The consultative meeting brought together representatives from governments, development agencies, donors, private sector, civil society and non-governmental organizations. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=e45d8c67bfa4a9d891381e5f96f1edce --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- WOMEN & ICTs - A GEM for ICT Initiatives: Evaluating how ICTs work for women The Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) for ICT initiatives and ICT evaluation is an innovative gender analysis tool produced by the APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) for practitioners who share a commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment in ICTs. Initiated in 2001, 2002-3 will see the field-testing and refining of GEM, as it is used to evaluate twenty to forty projects from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=24e1bb4925fe7a54e042497cbc2a873b APC's Women's Online Resource Centre: Sharing Learning Online The number of organisations offering training that takes gender into account (ICT and other) is increasing. Across the intersecting gender networks, it's often a struggle to develop new materials and keep up-to-date on new theories, training methodologies and training tools. The unevenness of capacity and access to support is continually reinforced when the trainers in this community operate in isolation from each other, and miss out on learning from each others' experiences and ideas. In order to address this problem, Women'sNet is developing a pilot Women's Online Resource Centre (WORC) as part of the APC Online Resource Centre, an information community building project which recently co-launched the ItrainOnline site. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=fc0fc3ab1dc50f8b6417f50a1243ad89 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS -- Guaranteeing Citizen Participation in the Digital Age: Public Policy and Internet Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean, Uruguay, November 19 to 22 Over 45 representatives from ICT practitioners to development think-tanks in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region came together in the South American coastal city of Montevideo in mid November 2001 to build a common understanding and awareness of critical and emerging Internet Rights themes and priorities in the LAC region, and to identify ICT policy needs and strategies for engaging civil society in response to these existing and emerging trends. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=01524b63a4c747bf9744daad3aae62af APC and other communication activists launch a new Campaign championing the Right to Communicate in the Information Society (CRIS) "Our vision of the 'Information Society' is grounded in the Right to Communicate, as a means to enhance human rights and to strengthen the social, economic and cultural lives of people and communities. The information society that interests us is one that is based on principles of transparency, diversity, participation and social and economic justice, and inspired by equitable gender, cultural and regional perspectives." - CRIS Website APC is part of a new Campaign called for Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS). Communications Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) is a campaign to ensure that communication rights are central to the information society. Part of its work will be to lobby for civil society participation and recognition at the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The campaign is sponsored and supported by the Platform for Communication Rights, a group of NGOs involved in media and communication projects around the world including APC. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=ea9af0c7a64c6142a6a07f4fb4f54e84 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- APC ACTION AREA: MOBILISING PARTICIPATION - NEW MEMBERS - Jinbonet, South Korea: Asian freedom of information activists join APC South Korea, a country with a population of 45 million, has twenty million Internet users. Virtually all young people between the ages of ten and thirty have an email account and 71% of households have a personal computer. The Internet boom in South Korea began around 1997 thanks to active promotion on the part of government and industry, and in fact by 2000 a large part of the population was beginning to enjoy cheap broadband Internet access on a scale virtually unseen elsewhere in the world. Jinbonet, founded in November 1998, based in Seoul in South Korea, is APC's newest member organisation. Jinbo means "progressive" in Korean, and Jinbonet provides online communication infrastructure including web hosting, an online portal news centre, and training, especially for progressive organisations. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=b364616ddc13461b436c9f44897c51d3 NEW MEMBERS - Ace Suares' Internet Consultancy, Curacao: Small for-profit organisation with years of commitment to serving civil society takes APC into the Caribbean Ace Suares' Internet Consultancy and training is a small company based in the Netherlands, and recently relocated to Curacao in the Caribbean. The consultancy builds tools that facilitate Internet services (like database driven websites, email managers and web mail), and they provide services, support and training for civil society organisations mainly in the Netherlands. "As an Internet consultant, I like advising people who are looking for answers to their network problems," company director, Ace told APC "I'd rather set up a network on old computers, than work with the latest technology. Nowadays it's hard to find any network specialist that doesn't say 'buy a Pentium IV with 1600 MHz and 512 MB RAM with $2000 USD of software' just to serve files and mail for an organisation of 30 people. It's possible to do exactly the same thing using a bargain bin Pentium 166. You can imagine the price difference for organisations with little cash to throw around is means a lot." http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=cceafc89613dd6f464238e8f6fff43cb APC is Building Civil Society Capacity: Training Journalists at the African Development Forum Journalists from all over Africa attending the African Development Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this month will have the opportunity to learn how to integrate information and communications technologies (ICTs) into their content development activities. At the same time participants will be given training on development issues - in particular those relating to gender, HIV/AIDS and regional integration. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=6b614a66ba313dedc371b25c82b6e55f --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- ONLINE TOOLS --- ItrainOnline.org: An Online Resource for Learners and Trainers in the Development Community Although the World Wide Web offers many Internet and ICTs-related training materials, it is often difficult to find relevant, high-quality resources targeted at NGOs, development organizations, and other civil society groups. Drawing on the extensive training experience of APC members and the other ItrainOnline partners, this site offers materials and annotated links to high-quality resources on topics ranging from computer and Internet basics to highly technical areas and the ways that civil society and development organizations can increase their impact using these tools. ItrainOnline has English and Spanish sites, and includes a section on other languages. A French section has just started and will expand to a full site within the next six months. If you have materials in French (or any other language) that you would like to share, please write to resource.centre@apc.org ItrainOnline: http://www.itrainonline.org [in English and Spanish] OPEN SOFTWARE: "Open Standards and Open Software in South Africa", discussion paper In January, South Africa's National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) published a discussion document called "Open Standards and Open Software in South Africa: A Critical Issue for Addressing the Digital Divide". It "discusses the nature and impact of Open Software and recommendations for South Africa to take full advantage of this rapidly growing phenomenon in IT." The document is licensed Open Content, and there is a space on the NACI web site for public comment. http://www.naci.org.za [in English] Technology for Education and Learning: TechKnowLogia Vol. 4 Issue 1 (Jan/March 2002) This edition of TechKnowLogia looks at: technologies at work in African schools working as part of SchoolNet Africa, a network of organizations that promote education through the use of ICT in up to 23 African countries; how to start a computer recycling program; the use of Web-based Chat for teaching in a pilot activity in Brazil; the planning involved in getting a school online in a developing country; and considers the option of open source/free software for cash-strapped schools and national governments. TechKnowLogia http://www.TechKnowLogia.org [in English] Use of ICTs by NGOs in Southeast Europe OneWorld (www.oneworld.net), the online human rights and sustainable development network, and the Information Program of the Open Society Institute (OSI) (www.osi.hu), have released a report on the use of ICTs (information and communication technologies) by NGOs in Southeast Europe www.oneworld.net/radio/see/ict. The report, covering six geographical areas (Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia), is the most comprehensive study to date on the subject. One of the key findings is that groundbreaking ICT practices have rarely been sustained as crises have waned. The report calls for a renewed effort to ensure civil society can fully realize the benefits of ICTs to meet the challenges the region now faces in the transition to democracy. For more information, media enquiries and feedback on the report contact: Branislava Milosevic, OneWorld co-ordinator for Southeast Europe branislava.milosevic@oneworld.net -- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES - APC: Seeking a Global Coordinator for our Civil Society Internet Rights work, full-time for an initial 6-month contract APC is implementing a global-level Internet policy awareness-raising programme that focuses on creating resources and opportunities for discussion and learning about the impact of Internet policy decisions on civil society, through civil society engagement and capacity-building, as well as by intervening in key policy decision-making fora. OBJECTIVE OF THIS POSITION: To strategically develop and coordinate APC's overall Internet Rights (IR) work, including facilitating the development of APC's position on key issues; building and managing strategic partnerships; optimizing learning and resource allocation; coordinating APC's regional IR work, and coordinating and integrating APC IR media, events, promotions and outreach. Application Deadline: March 20, 2002, Contract Start Date: April 1, 2002 For more details: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/coord.htm APC: Looking for stories that illustrate the importance of information security in social justice work The APC, with funding from the Open Society Institute (OSI), trained anti-corruption groups, independent journalists, and NGOs in Ukraine on information security in early February. At the workshop, some NGOs were not sure why information security was important, and they wanted to hear stories of how groups like themselves had been harmed by poor information security. APC would like to hear your story that illustrates why data protection is crucial in human rights and other humanitarian work. This includes cases of: * failing to block viruses and losing time and work * not having backups and losing lots of work to theft, computer failure, raids by the state, or simple mistakes * having sensitive information seized in raids or by theft * having sensitive information monitored by tapping of Internet connection * people just walking into an office and making unauthorized modifications to data. Please help other organisations by sharing your story. Please send it to: webeditor@apc.org. Write "Information security story" in the subject line. The security manual for the information security training was produced for APC by Paul Mobbs mobbsey@gn.apc.org under the GNU Free Documentation License, http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html The manual will be available for download soon on the APC Internet Rights Website and from the ItrainOnline site. Africa Pulse, Southern Africa: Share news and views on the situation in Zimbabwe Africa Pulse (www.africapulse.org), a news and information portal for the Civil Society sector in the Southern African Development Community will be launched on March 8, 2002, in time for Zimbabwe's elections. All organizations in Zimbabwe or organisations concerned with the situation in Zimbabwe can engage in constructive debate or publish their news and views around the elections on Africa Pulse. For more information on Africa Pulse, or to join the Africa Pulse Elections mailing list, write to alanf@sn.apc.org. infoDev/IICD, International: The ICT Stories Competition 2002 The ICT Stories Competition for 2002 is open for applications. If you work on a project using ICTs with a focus on social or economic development, you can write about your experiences and win a trip to Washington D.C. to attend the INET 2002 Conference in June 2002 AND present your project in a special Stories Winners session. Four winners will be selected to travel. Finalists will be awarded as well. The competition is open to anybody with experience from an active or completed project. Previous years entrants are eligible to enter new or updated stories. Deadline for entry is April 15, 2002. The organisers are IICD and infoDev. To find out more: http://www.iicd.org/stories Kampala Know How Conference, Uganda: Funding Assistance to participate Dutch Embassies around the world with a Women's Fund will provide financial assistance to women's groups interest in attending the Kampala Know How Conference 2002. If you are from one of these countries (Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Yemen, Macedonia, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, South Africa), write a letter of request to the Ambassador of the Netherlands Embassy. You may include a letter of invitation obtainable from l.mcdevitt-pugh@iiav.nl. For more information on these embassies: www.minbuza.nl --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- IMPORTANT DATES -- AFRICA NETWORK OPERATORS' GROUP (AFNOG) Lome, Togo, May 12-13, 2002 The Africa Network Operators' Group (AfNOG) will hold its 3rd meeting (AfNOG 3) in Lome, Togo from May 12th - 13th 2001. This event will follow an AfNOG-organised 5 day intensive training workshop. For more information about these events, conference hotels, schedules, and logistics, see http://www.afnog.org/ and http://www.afrinic.org/ FIRST ROUND OF CONSULTATIONS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ON THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS) The Summit will take place in Geneva from December 10-12, 2003. It will adopt a Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action aimed at establishing the foundation of an equitable information society, one that respects cultural diversity and provides opportunities for all. A second phase of the Summit is expected to take place in Tunisia in 2005 to follow up on the decisions taken in Geneva. The scope of the Summit is not limited to the technical side (ICTs), but will address questions of governance, rights, ethics, research and development, content, infrastructure and other issues that are directly related to the concerns of civil society. To take part in the process, visit www.geneva2003.org, for background information and to: a) register in the process in order to contribute to the preparatory process, and to be considered for accreditation to the official meetings of the Summit; b) send your input on issues you would like to see addressed at the Summit; and c) give your suggestions as to how you would like to participate and contribute e.g. organize meetings, lead working groups, submit papers, mobilize your local network, participate in on-line forums, conduct information workshops for the media and other partners, share electronic and intellectual resources etc. For information that is not on the Website, please contact Alain Clerc, Civil-Society Division, World Summit on the Information Society at info@geneva2003.org --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- SITES OF INTEREST - Betinho Prize 2001 Finalist: Journalists Against Corruption (Periodistas Frente a la Corrupción, PFC) PFC is a network, clearinghouse, and service provider for Latin American journalists and for the organizations that support them. It encourages enhanced investigations and reports about corruption, as well as providing investigative assistance, defends journalists and media when they suffer reprisals for these activities, and monitors and advocates against legislation and judicial sentences that undermine investigative journalism. PFC is a Spanish language project, but a new report and the first PFC annual report updates interested English language readers about PFC activities and services since August 2001. PFC in English: http://www.cipe.org/pfc/english/index.html Each month APC will feature some of the Betinho Prize finalist Websites. You can find out more about the Betinho Prize here: http://www.apc.org/english/betinho Shaan: IPS Online magazine on Gender and Human Rights Shaan, the Inter Press Service (IPS) Online magazine on Gender and Human Rights focuses in January 2002 in its first issue, on the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The update includes a series of features from IPS correspondents, as well as an analysis by Unifem, the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Shaan: http://www.ipsnews.net Portal of Truth: Zimbabwean Designer provides a Countdown to the 2002 Elections in Graphic Images During the countdown to the Zimbabwe 2000 elections, designer Chaz Maviyane-Davies produced around 50 graphic "commentaries" chronicling the abuses and violations of human rights being perpetrated in Zimbabwe, and at the same encouraging citizens to take heart and exercise the power of their vote. "I was personally inhibited by the exorbitant cost of printing. (but) The internet at least gave me an opportunity and means to successfully share ideas and hopefully connect with those who can print/publish and distribute." The Zimbabwe presidential elections will be held on March 9-10. Chaz is sending an image a day to Zimbabwe and the world, until the elections commence. Portal of Truth: To receive the images, contact maviyane@mediaone.net. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are distributed the first week of every month by APC, the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the international Internet community for peace, human rights, development and the environment. APCNews Archive: http://www.apc.org/english/news/apcnews/ Copyright. 2002. Association for Progressive Communications (APC). Permission is granted to use this document for personal use, for training and educational publications, and activities by peace, environmental, human rights or development organizations. Please provide an acknowledgment to APC. Note: APCNoticias will be late this month. For this reason, APC is sending the English version to Spanish language journalists.