--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)* - September 2002 No. 27 - --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -- -- NEWS FROM APC -- -- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS -- -- WOMEN & ICTs -- -- ONLINE TOOLS -- -- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES - -- NEW ON THE APC WEBSITE -- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS - Econnect, Czech Republic: The Internet is used to orient emergency relief efforts as the Czech Republic is hit by extreme floods The flooding that hit huge areas of Europe was particularly intense in the Czech Republic. Even APC member Econnect's own Website went down as the waters rose, however, the non-profit web and content developers quickly put up an emergency news website and focused on gathering information to help flood victims and those wishing to assist the relief effort. Flooding started in the Czech capital, Prague, on August 12. Over a week later, electrical power and gas supplies were still cut off in some parts of the city, several underground train stations remained underwater (some of them expected to be out of service till December), and most evacuated inhabitants were still not allowed to return to their homes for fear of buildings collapsing. Econnect, which hosts the websites of hundreds of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), had their own website knocked offline as their server rooms went under water. However, reports Econnect staffer, Katerina Fialova, "Thanks to dedicated technical and editorial staff, and APC ActionApps technology, we were able to open a temporary website in three days". The emergency website - "Floods 2002" - quickly became an important reference space for citizens seeking aid, donation centres, missing persons information and volunteering opportunities. A "How can you help?" section pointed readers to blood donation centres and provided a downloadable volunteer handbook. http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=6648 BlueLink, Bulgaria: New publication highlights the importance of access to information for environmentalist groups campaigning in Bulgaria A new manual from APC member in Sofia, BlueLink, highlights current developments in the field of the access to environmental information in Bulgaria and covers successful and failed information campaigns. The manual - "Civil practices for access to environmental information" - consists of three articles and ztwo case studies plus a short bibliography of publications and Internet links on access to environmental information and an index of the Bulgarian laws that regulate the same topic. The authors are well-known activists, journalists and experts in the environmental non-governmental sector in Bulgaria. http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=6649 c2o, Australia: Experimenting with wireless video and audio broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia On 11 July 2002, Toy Satellite, partner group of APC's Australian member c2o, launched TS Wireless, a free wireless sound system broadcasting out of a neighbourhood in Melbourne, Australia. Many guests brought laptops, connecting straight into TS Wireless with a choice of video and audio streams of the launch available for wireless users and Internet visitors. Streams were mirrored in Sweden and London. http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=6650 Colnodo, Colombia: Colombian civil society representation at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa Colombia's Sustainable Development Network (RDS) aims to ensure that the voices of experts, members of public and private sectors, members of civil society, and the general public are heard in the formulation of the position and strategy- that Colombia took to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The Network, of which APC member Colnodo is a founding member, has collected comprehensive information in Spanish on the WSSD. http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=6651 Fantsuam Foundation, Nigeria: Local health content in Nigeria blends tradition and science A local content study prepared by the Fantsuam Foundation, APC member in Nigeria, is examining how communities in Nigeria are using information and communications technologies (ICTs) to document traditional healthcare knowledge. In the past few years, the Fantsuam Foundation has been working with rural women to understand a variety of traditional healthcare practices and, where appropriate, to introduce 'best practice' and safer techniques. The Foundation staff recognise the role of traditional medicine, especially in communities where it is the only healthcare available, and they also value the often-ignored strategic roles of women as primary caregivers in these communities. The project is a first attempt at documenting traditional health knowledge and skills in local communities that traditionally rely on oral means of information capture. http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=6652 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM APC - PRIZE DEADLINE: Nominations for **ICT Policy** initiatives for the APC Africa Hafkin Communications Prize 2002 close Sept. 15 DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: September 15, 2002 THIS YEAR'S THEME: People-Centred Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy in Africa THE PRIZE IS OPEN TO: civil society organisations, government institutions, educational organisations, community-based groups, networks, social movements and individuals anywhere in Africa WE ARE LOOKING FOR ICT *POLICY* INITIATIVES THAT: - are people-centred and mobilise participation - raise awareness and build capacity - are Africa-driven and that develop Africa - have positive community impact at community level THE PRIZE: USD$7,500.00 will be shared amongst up to three winning initiatives. For more information and to make a nomination in English or French: http://www.apc.org/english/hafkin/2002.shtml or write to hafkin-prize@apc.org APC and members document information on the "Earth Summit" The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), unofficially known as Rio+10, brought together governments, UN agencies, Civil Society organisations, multilateral financial institutions and business to assess global change since 1992. In a world where food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, and health services are less secure for the majority of the world's population than they were just ten years ago, the issues under debate at the WSSD are more crucial than ever. APC and its member organisations are actively engaged with these issues, and promote the exchange of information on these topics within civil society. We compiled a page with information about APC members' WSSD-related activities, links to WSSD information sources, and civil society WSSD web sites. http://www.apc.org/english/wssd [English with links to information in Spanish, Czech, and Bulgarian] APC Betinho Communications Prize: The fifth anniversary of Betinho's death August 9 2002 was the fifth anniversary of the death of charismatic social activist and sociologist, Herbet "Betinho" de Souza. Betinho spent his life fighting for street children, senior citizens, landless peasants and people living with AIDS. He founded the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic (IBASE), one of APC's founding member organisations, where he encouraged the use of new technologies to empower communities. APC is honoured that our bi-annual APC Betinho Prize is named after him. An article in Portuguese about Betinho's life appeared in Rets, the weekly e-zine of APC's newest member, Brazilian technology experts, RITS. http://tamarindo.rits.org.br/notitia/servlet/newstorm.notitia.apresentacao.ServletDeSecao?codigoDaSecao=3&dataDoJornal=1028926841000 [Portuguese] Articles about Betinho's life are also found on the Betinho website. http://www.apc.org/english/betinho/bet_story.shtml [English] and http://www.apc.org/espanol/betinho/bet_story.shtml [Spanish] Many thanks to Roberto Bissio of the Third World Institute (ITeM) for allowing us to republish and translate this article. The Betinho Prize website: http://www.apc.org/english/betinho/ The Betinho Prize will be offered again in 2003. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS - Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are the key tools in shaping the information age, as steam and later electrical power helped create the industrial age. 'Global Informational Capitalism' (Manuell Castells) is the most productive system ever, and possibly the most exclusionary. While an elite has access to tremendous wealth, a growing number are left out. A key issue will be who has access to the electronic networks that will be the main conduits of power. This places the issues of the control of ICTs and Internet Rights at the centre of politics in our time. But the issues often seem strange and alien to most people. How many care about open source software, intellectual property rights or Internet governance when there are immediate issues of hunger, unemployment, AIDS or violence against women? While the answer must be 'not many', the issues of information and communication are central to the struggles for social justice. The APC is in a unique position to help build a deeper understanding of the Information Age. The understanding won't come from academic theorising. Instead it will come out of the day-to-day struggles of peoples throughout the world as they confront new issues in the globalised economy and learn to use ICT in creative ways. APC's Communications & Information Policy Programme will learn from the networks of members, users and partners of the APC. We hope to use the process leading up to the World Summit on the Information Society expand interest in these issues beyond a few media people and techno-geeks. We will build resources, run training courses, and support activists to find their own voice on these issues. We hope to expand concern for information and communication rights into the range of civil society organisations - social movements, women's groups, human rights organisations, trade unions, environmental activists and more. -- Peter Benjamin, Manager of APC's Communications & Information Policy Programme, peterb@apc.org About WSIS: Learn more about the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) The United Nations (UN) will be hosting two World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS). The first will be in December 2003 in Geneva, the second in Tunis in 2005. Both of these will be major events in debating how society will take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Find out about the WSIS is and how APC is preparing for it: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/action/campaign_wsis.shtml The APC is a member of the campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS), which brings together many civil society organisations and individuals committed to building an information society that benefits all. 'Communication Rights' are emerging as a key issue - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not fully recognise this, and WSIS could declare this a universal right. CRIS: http://www.crisinfo.org Given the nature of the APC, the process around the WSIS will be central to our work for the next few years. The main statement of our principles for this is our Charter on Internet Rights. Focusing only on the final documents that will be produced at WSIS would be a waste of years of effort. Instead, we see the WSIS process as giving us an opportunity to raise awareness among many areas of civil society on the importance of the issues of the Information Society. We will be involved in researching, producing materials and introductory guides, running training, supporting capacity building in civil society and promoting advocacy in line with the APC's Charter of Internet Rights. APC Internet Rights: http://rights.apc.org Why civil society should worry about Internet Rights: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/why_ir_and_civsoc.shtml APC Internet Rights Charter: http://rights.apc.org/charter.shtml For further information, please contact Peter Benjamin, Manager of APC's Communications & Information Policy Programme, peterb@apc.org Open Source/Free Software: Non-proprietary software use and public policy in Brazil Contrary to popular belief, Brazil's federal government has no formal policy to prioritise the use of open source or free software - not even by public offices and agencies. Actually, last year the Brazilian Telecommunications National Agency made an announcement that it would buy 290,000 computers to be installed in public schools all over the country (one of the promises made by the Project Sociedade da Informação - http://www.socinfo.gov.br -, created by the Ministry of Science and Technology). The operating system in these computers would be Microsoft's Windows. The decision to use Windows was received negatively and was severely criticised. Two politicians even demanded a referendum or "Popular Action" on the decision. This year, Congress approved a law determining that the computers would run both the proprietary operating system, Windows, and the free operating system software, Linux. However, currently, the entire process of acquisition of the computers is on hold, until one of our Federal Tribunals declares whether the process is legal or not. -- An informal update on public policy and actions influencing the use of free/open source software in Brazil from RITS, our member in Brazil. Brazil: http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=6657 Other references on Open source/free software: More on open source software and its political importance on the APC Internet Rights site: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/software/index.shtml APC edits the Open Source software section of the training portal - ItrainOnline: A growing number of organisations are turning to Free/Open Source software for everything from computer networks to office desktop tools. Among the advantages of Open Source software is that it is often cheap or even free, and that it is often technically more secure than many proprietary softwares. More about the practical aspects of open source: http://www.apc.org/english/capacity/training/opensource.shtml Internet Rights in Africa: Africa Internet policy newsletter for civil society Chakula is the Swahili word for "food". APC's Africa Policy Monitor newsletter is called "Chakula" because we believe that the information we will share will be a form of nourishment for organisations working in the field of ICTs for development in Africa. This month, "Chakula", focuses on 'Gender and ICTs in Africa'. Gender has always been a key focus area for the APC, and the Africa Policy Monitor has drawn on many resources and recommendations in order to show how organisations involved in the ICT policy-making process can use ICT tools to develop fair and just policies that benefit every sector of society. With a range of resources, interviews, details of organisations working in this area, as well as news on publications and workshops, this month's edition of 'Chakula' should not be missed! To get a copy, visit http://africa.rights.apc.org/newsletter.shtml or write to Africa.rights@apc.org Africa ICT Policy Monitor: http://africa.rights.apc.org [English] About the monitor: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/africa.shtml Internet Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: Internet policy newsletter for civil society APC's Internet Policy monitor initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean is now producing a newsletter on "Internet Rights and Policy". The newsletter includes analysis and commentary, news, and information about materials recently added to the policy monitor website - all focused to be of use to civil society organisations, human rights activists, journalists and others. The newsletter is produced in Spanish. To receive the newsletter, visit: http://lists.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/derechos.lac.boletin or write to valeriab@apc.org. Latin America and the Caribbean ICT Policy Monitor: http://lac.derechos.apc.org [Spanish] About the monitor in English: http://www.apc.org/english/rights/lac.shtml --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- 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 APC-WNSP for practitioners who share a commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment in ICTs. Field-testing and refining GEM with about 25 projects got underway in a series of regional activities in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America in 2002. Find out who is testing in Asia-Pacific: http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/whosasia.htm#fma Find out who is testing in Latin America and the Caribbean: http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/whoslatin.htm GEM is now also available in Spanish and translation has just begun on a Portuguese version being tested in Brazil. GEM in Spanish: http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/esp/ [Spanish] GEM in English: http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/ [English] --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- ONLINE TOOLS - The free IT guide: a guide to free resources available to NGOs and businesses to use computers and the Internet An online guide that tells people where to find information about free computers, software and e-mail accounts has been created by bridges.org, the South African-based NGO that helps communities in developing countries to span the digital divide. The guide also provides information on free software. It not only lists resources, but also explains the difference between various types of free software and which packages are best suited for particular tasks. There is usually at least one high-quality free programme available for each type of application, including word processors, spreadsheets, HTML editors and graphics tools. These free software programmes are often just as dependable and useful as their better-known commercial counterparts. "However, the authors of free software rarely have the budget to advertise, so often people just do not know about these programmes," say Bridges. Free IT Guide: http://www.bridges.org/toolkit/freeIT.html [English] --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES - BlueLink Information Network, Bulgaria: Seeking Executive Director APC member, BlueLink - the electronic communications network of Bulgarian environmental NGOs - is looking for an Executive Director. The Executive Director will supervise the operations and will shape the future role of BlueLink Information Network in Bulgaria and abroad. The Executive Director should possess a strategic view of the current developments in the Bulgarian and regional civil society sector and knowledge of environmental issues, managerial and fundraising skills. Knowledge of communications, information dissemination, marketing and ICTs is an asset. Full command of English language is a must. http://www.bluelink.net/ Amnesty International, Argentina: Seeking Executive Director AI Argentina is seeking a fulltime director for their national office. http://www.amnesty.org.ar/empleos.shtml --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEW ON THE APC WEBSITE - --Civil society and the WSSD The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), unofficially known as Rio+10, brought together governments, UN agencies, Civil Society organisations, multilateral financial institutions and business to assess global change since 1992. APC and its member organisations are actively engaged with these issues, and promote the exchange of information on these topics within Civil Society. Find out what APC members did for the Earth Summit and visit our comprehensive page of links. http://www.apc.org/english/wssd/ [English with links to Spanish, Czech and Bulgarian resources] --The history of working online for social justice and development: APC's role Articles and anecdotes are part of this new resource from APC. Were you a part of APC in the early days? Got a story to share? Add a story, article or anecdote to the history archive. http://www.apc.org/english/about/history/add_article.shtml The archive: http://www.apc.org/english/about/history/index.shtml [English, Spanish, this new archive will be added to in multiple languages] --Downloadable factsheets on APC's work Want to find out what APC does? We have some handy one-page information sheets for you to download. Check the dates for the latest additions: http://www.apc.org/english/press/primers/index.shtml [English, Spanish, some Portuguese and French] --Africa Civil Society involvement in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Read our fact file on the WSIS and how Africa is getting involved here: http://africa.rights.apc.org/campaigns.shtml [APC Africa ICT Policy Monitor] --Gender-focussed ICT policy making in Africa ' ICTs have enormous potential to benefit girls and women in terms of enhanced income-generation opportunities, employment, and improved quality of life, but because technologies are not gender neutral, it is important to advocate for ICT strategies to reduce and manage the potential for ICTs to create economic and social exclusion and reinforce existing social disparities.' -- gender activist, Gillian Marcelle, in her chapter, 'Getting Gender into African ICT Policy: A Strategic View' which appears in the book 'Gender and the Information Revolution in Africa' (IDRC, 2000). See this and other interesting African gender policy resources at: http://africa.rights.apc.org/resources.shtml?-1-Gender and samples of gender and ICT organisations in Africa at http://africa.rights.apc.org/orgs.shtml?-1-Gender [APC Africa ICT Policy Monitor] --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are distributed monthly 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/ CopyLeft. 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 organisations. Please provide an acknowledgment to APC.