--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)* - May 2001 No. 19 - --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -- -- NEWS FROM APC -- -- NEWS FROM APC PROGRAMMES -- -- NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS -- -- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS -- -- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES - -- ONLINE EVENTS -- -- SITES OF INTEREST -- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -- c2o, AUSTRALIA: 2001 Taipei International Arts Festival opened by Toy Satellite "When is an all-night dance party not a rave?" asked the Taipei Times, "When it's the lead event for the 2001 Taipei International Arts Festival." On Saturday April 7, the opening night of the festival, DJs and VJs (DJs who integrate visual elements into performances) from Toy Satellite and their Taiwanese counterparts presented "Undercurrents", a multimedia show drawing from contemporary Australian electronic arts practice, and integrating the shared concerns of the Australian and Taiwanese artists participating, in particular those of ecological values and cultural identity. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=49cad7c63425e90a1616cdda537c8b9a --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM APC -- New Appointment and a New Project: the APC Online Resource Centre Ann Tothill joined the APC on 1 May as APC's Online Resource Centre coordinator. For most of the past decade Ann has worked in South African higher education, most recently in research capacity development at the National Research Foundation. During this period she has also been involved in Internet training, educational media, Web development and women's networking. The Online Resource Centre project aims to build an interactive, multilingual Web clearinghouse of Internet training materials and resources. The resource centre is intended to support APC members, partners and other groups in general in applying ICTs to civil society development and social justice work. Resources will include training materials, FAQs, practical suggestions on strategic Internet use, and an interactive space for users to exchange advice and methodologies. The project will develop a single access point for existing resources developed by APC members and project partners, and identify needs for future materials development. In addition to the main clearinghouse, a number of specialised pilot resource centres are planned. These centres will be developed in collaboration with particular communities, targeted according to language, region, or activity area. This project is supported by InfoDev. For more information please contact Ann: AATothill@apc.org --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM APC PROGRAMMES -- APC AFRICA The APC Africa Hafkin Communications Prize: Nominations deadline is May 31 The inaugural APC Africa 'Hafkin' Prize honours the work of Dr. Nancy J. Hafkin, a pioneer and innovator in the area of networking, development information, and electronic communications in Africa. The competition for the USD$7,500.00 Hafkin prize is open to civil society organisations, government institutions, educational organisations, community-based groups, networks, social movements or individuals anywhere in Africa that have successfully initiated and implemented projects that involve the use of ICTs for development and social justice. The theme for the 2001 Hafkin Prize is: *** Women-Led, Women-Informed, Women-Inspired Initiatives *** Visit the APC Africa Hafkin Prize Website now for nomination details: http://www.apc.org/english/hafkin APC-WNSP (WOMEN'S NETWORKING SUPPORT PROGRAMME) International: Lessons Learned: Gender and ICT Evaluation Kit update Following on from the workshop on "Building An ICT Gender Evaluation Tool" (January 17- 21 in Manila, Philippines), eight members of the APC-WNSP met in London to develop the first draft of the tool, and to meet with donor representatives to discuss the second phase of the project. A draft 'blue print' of the tool will be developed by the end of June, which will then be tested and refined through a series of regional activities in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The regional testing phase will commence January 2002. Contact: Chat Garcia Ramilo (chat@apcwomen.org) International: New Logo for APC-WNSP The APC WNSP has a new logo! During the past 6 months, Nani Buntarian, an Indonesian media activist (and member of the APC-WNSP) has been working with us to develop a new look logo for the programme. The logo will be launched, along with a new APC-WNSP Website, by the end of June to coincide with the launch of the Gender and ICT Evaluation 'blueprint'. Internet Rights: Examining the Complex Role of Online Censorship and the Exploitation of Women and Children The APC-WNSP has been asked to take a lead in working with the APC Europe Internet Rights Initiative to develop a series of activities that will deepen our understanding and comprehension of the complex issues concerning online censorship and privacy, and the role of the Internet in facilitating the exploitation of women and children. Contact: Karen Banks (karenb@apcwomen.org) Internet Rights: Women's Perspective in Latin America The Latin American regional network of the WNSP (PARM-AL) is planning to hold a meeting on Internet Rights in July. The workshop "Gender, ICTs and Internet Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean" will focus on developing gender analysis and ICT policy analysis skills development and identify key priority Internet rights issues in the region. The work will also contribute to the APC Internet Rights ICT Policy Monitor project. Contact: Karen Banks (karenb@apcwomen.org) Africa: APC-Africa-Women to conduct online conference on race, gender and exclusion in relation to ICTs in Africa Members of APC-Africa-Women, the African regional network of the WNSP, are currently developing a series of activities (funded by HIVOS) around the World Conference against Racism, Xenophobia and other related intolerance (WCAR). Activities include developing an online conference and supporting Website on race, xenophobia, gender and exclusion in relation to ICTs in Africa. The outcomes will be presented during the WCAR in September. APC-WNSP: http://www.apcwomen.org/ APC Internet Rights ICT Policy Monitor project: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/monitor.htm --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS -- NODO TAU, ARGENTINA: Capacity building in ICTs for marginalized communities and youth in depressed former industrial region of Argentina Based in Rosario, Argentina's second city and former industrial powerhouse, Nodo TAU, is a small team of computer enthusiasts with conscience, have been providing marginalized communities and trade unions with Internet connectivity and training since 1995. The five-person team have worked in their free time, away from their desks as systems engineers and managers of cellular phone businesses, to show the school teachers' union how to use the Internet to lower their communications costs and organise more effectively, and to give teenagers from shantytowns an opportunity to find out what the "information revolution" and Internet is all about. Now TAU has just landed funding which will allow three of their former volunteers to dedicate half their professional time to expand TAU's work in the implementation of "Enredando" (a play on words which means both "weaving webs" and "I'm part of a network"), a 27-month three-stage project aimed at capacity building in ICTs for marginalized communities and youth, and the groups that work within them. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=b0b811906082997bcaf5d8df734764f0 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS -- European Internet Service Providers show their true colours on protection of civil liberties on the Internet: It's the colour of money (Report on the EuroISPA Conference 2001) Brussels, 10-11 April 2001 -- Despite its name, this event, which was billed as EuroISPA's "first conference" was not really a conference, but a series of workshops around a central theme of "Future Trends in Internet Security". The event was not just for ISPs (Internet Service Providers), the conference call stressed, "ISPs, network providers, telecoms operators, equipment manufacturers, regulators, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) - all should attend". In fact, although most of EuroISPA's member ISP organisations were represented, there were very few individual ISPs there. A large percentage of the audience and speakers were clearly businesses that were mainly there to sell their various products. The main interest of APC's European Internet Rights coordinator, Chris Bailey, in attending, was to find out more about EU developments and positions concerning Internet Rights issues. Both the European Commission and the European Parliament had speakers giving presentations. http://www.apc.org/english/news/fulltext.shtml?sh_itm=4b338281bc801d56be208bf54fde307b --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES - Bretton Woods Project: Preserve Internet pluralism: contest the Development Gateway On 1 July the World Bank plans to launch a major new Internet initiative, the Development Gateway. This has multiple elements, but basically aims to be a supersite on all development issues. With almost unbelievable ambition, the Bank's president, James Wolfensohn, has instructed his staff to create a site which contains links to material giving all perspectives on 130 development topics and aims to serve an audience of everyone interested in development. The Gateway's crazy editorial proposition could be summarised as "from the Adam Smith Institute to the Zapatistas: comprehensive development information for academics, ambassadors and activists". Some argue that such an initiative will collapse under its own weight, will be ignored by Web surfers and so does not represent a major problem. But the Gateway will be heavily promoted (the Bank is hiring a public relations company) and will compete with existing sites in the development field. Unless people are made aware of its origins and approach, the site may appear independent of the Bank and to be a useful, neutral and well-connected Web entry point. A number of civil society groups, including many in the APC network, have been following the Bank's Gateway plans since details emerged just over a year ago. Many have fed in their comments and criticisms on the Bank's plans. Groups in South Africa and Latin America that recently met Gateway staff have concluded that they will not cooperate with it. Whilst some marginal changes have been made in response to criticism, the Bank is stubbornly refusing to engage with anyone who questions the Gateway's basic logic and scope. A new briefing from the Bretton Woods Project, a London-based group working with NGOs to monitor the World Bank, sets out the key problems with the Gateway, drawing on comments from a number of civil society groups. It recommends that people who want to maintain diverse Internet coverage on development issues should contest this World Bank scheme using on- and off-line tactics. The Bretton Woods Project looks forward to active discussions on how to respond to the Gateway, and to collaborating with fellow APC groups on this and on how to move forward with better ways to aggregate information among civil society groups (including APC's ActionApps, a new software designed to encourage collaborative online publishing). Alex Wilks, Coordinator, Bretton Woods Project, May 1 2001. "A Tower of Babel on the Internet? The World Bank's Development Gateway" is a briefing which benefited from conversations with many people working on ICT based in CSOs, government agencies and the World Bank, including Roberto Bissio (ITeM, APC member in Uruguay) and Anriette Esterhuysen, Executive Director of APC. http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/knowledgebank/index.html Or e-mail: gdg@brettonwoodsproject.org. Version in Spanish available soon. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- ONLINE EVENTS -- The Dark Side of the IT Society May 6, 1-9pm, Tokyo, Japan APC member in Tokyo, JCA-NET, and other Internet Rights partners present a day of lectures and discussion on the wiretapping and communications privacy issues in Japan. Speakers include authors, lawyers and activists. The Internet and Democracy Across Asia: Online Trends in Governance, Civil Society and Media Online, May 2001 Join experts, practitioners, and journalists interested in role of the Internet in democracy, governance, civil society, politics, and media across the many countries of Asia. This is the first online event on these trends specifically focused on Asia. For more information on these events visit APC's Online Events: http://www.apc.org/english/ngos/calendar --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- SITES OF INTEREST -- ON THE INTERNET: Internet and Emerging Nations (Special Issue) Throughout the developing world, small groups of citizens are changing their worlds based on the shared belief that information and communication technology (ICT) can make a difference. In this issue of OnTheInternet - the Internet Society's (ISOC) fifth annual edition focused on the Internet in emerging nations - those issues, needs, and solutions are put under the lens, offering an interesting picture of where we are. Articles include "Networking in Latin America" by Ermano Pietrosemoli, "Paving the Way for Internet-Rich Environments in Developing Nations" (George Sadowsky), and "The Internet in Laos: A Rough Guide" by Madanmohan Rao. OnTheInternet: http://www.isoc.org/oti/ THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (EJISDC): Special edition on Telecentres The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC) is an international forum for practitioners, teachers, researchers and policy makers to share their knowledge and experience in the design, development, implementation, management and evaluation of information systems and technologies in developing countries. Contents include a preliminary evaluation of telecentres as small businesses in isolated communities, a comparison of urban and rural telecentre costs, and a comparative study of evaluation experiences in Asia and Latin America. Fascinating "true stories" come from telecentres in Latin America and the Caribbean (ChasquiNet, Ecuador and Somos@telecentros) EJISDC: http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/ejisdc/ejisdc.htm TECHKNOWLOGIA: Technology for e-learning in the workplace In TechKnowLogia news this month: India and Brazil Are Bringing Computers to the Masses and the launching of Latin America's widest reaching e-learning solution. Articles on ICTs at work include stories from Honduras (San Ramón, a remote village located in the hills of Honduras, which has become the world's first solar powered community hooked up to the Internet), and on measuring the cost-benefits of distance learning in developing countries, including a case study in China. TechKnowLogia: http://www.TechKnowLogia.org/ (May/June 2001) FEMINISMUM.CZ: Czech Gender Publication An online independent magazine and information server on women, men, feminism and gender studies in the Czech Republic. The site was launched in Mid April and is a collaboration between the Gender Studies Centre, Econnect (APC member in the Czech Republic) and the APC-WNSP. Feminismus: http://www.feminismus.cz --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 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. 2001 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.