--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)* - November 1999 No. 5 - --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -- -- PROGRAM NEWS -- -- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES - -- TECH TIPS -- -- SITES OF INTEREST -- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT -- ANNOUNCING THE BETINHO PRIZE! To celebrate APC's 10th anniversary, we're launching the Betinho Prize -- to commemorate the inspirational life and work of Herbet de Souza (Betinho), a visionary Brazilian social activist and exemplary communicator. Betinho spent his life tackling inequity affecting street children, senior citizens and landless peasants, ultimately addressing the structural roots of Brazilian poverty. In 1981, Betinho founded the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis (IBASE), which embraced new technologies and gave rise to one of APC's founding member networks. He died in 1997. The $7500 US prize is open to non-profit organisations, community-based groups, coalitions, working groups or social movements anywhere in the world that have successfully used ICTs as an essential ingredient in their development work. This prize is not limited to the "best Website". We'll consider any combination of Internet tools - e-mail, mailing list, WWW, database - any ICT initiative to use these technologies to contribute to local or global development. We will be accepting nominations for the Prize until January 31, 2000. The stories of 12 finalists will be profiled on this site, and the winner will be announced in May 2000. Visit the prize at http://www.apc.org/english/betinho/ --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -- FROM COMLINK - OUR MEMBER IN GERMANY - ComLink now offering nation-wide Internet dial-in ComLink members now can dial into the Internet from all over Germany by using a toll-free 0800 number. The charge for access is .08 DM per minute with a monthly fee of 7.50 DM including an e-mail box and access to APC and other newsgroups. The 0800 number makes it easy to use the service from a hotel or from the phone line of friends without them being charged for the access. The service is available for travelling APC members, but please contact ComLink two weeks in advance. FROM IPANEX - OUR MEMBER IN THE SPANISH STATE - Online Spanish-language Human Rights Directory launched Pangea, part of APC's Spanish member, IPANEX, has just launched a new directory of resources in Internet on Human Rights. The directory, in Spanish, includes more than 400 links to Web pages, APC conferences, mailing lists, etc. With the aim of making it easier to find the resources really worth using, and to save time wasted looking through hundreds of pages as the result of using a search engine, each link has a description of the page or organization, its objectives and origins, there's a listing of the contents, and the language(s) used in the resource are specified. The links are classified in sections with the following headings:General Directories on Human Rights; International Organizations; UN and Governmental Organizations; Subject Areas; Geographical Areas; Legal Resources; Activists; Academic Studies; Documentation Centres; Special Services. The site is at http://www.pangea.org/ddhh FROM WEB NETWORKS - OUR MEMBER IN CANADA - E-Commerce goes Fair Trade Web Networks is developing their own e-commerce service to offer secure online shopping and donations plug-ins to their non-profit and charitable users. Web has already piloted their online donation capability following the Turkish earthquake disaster in September. The application was set up on the Canadian Red Cross' site on the Friday after the earthquake and by the next Tuesday $12,000 (Canadian) had been donated online. Web Networks will eventually be offering the e-commerce capability to all their members with the hopes that they will join Web's Community Marketplace, a central, shared online space which takes advantage of the collaborate marketing strength of the sector. This unique hub of non- profit products, services, and charitable organizations will be a compelling public draw in ways that no individual storefront can match. More information is available from Web's E-commerce co-ordinator, Liane MacGregor . --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- PROGRAM NEWS -- APC WOMEN'S NETWORKING SUPPORT PROGRAMME - LESSONS LEARNED APC's Women's Networking Support Programme is about to embark on a new project - 'Lessons Learned - Building Strong Internet Based Women's Networks'. The Project will run from November 1999 through March 2001. We completed the hiring process in September and are delighted to announce that the Project will be managed by Chat Garcia Ramilo, a member of the WNSP for some 3-4 years now. Chat currently works as Manager of the Resource Centre and Information Program at Isis International- Manila, based in the Philippines. Chat is also co-ordinator of the Asian Women's Resource Exchange, an Internet-based women's information network in Asia. Chat will be working closely with Karen Banks, co-ordinator of APC-WNSP, in more general aspects of programme co-ordination as well. The Lessons Learned project will focus on the following main activity areas: - investigate, analyse and document the successes and challenges of women's networking initiatives at the national, regional and global levels, in order to develop tools and methodologies for spreading successful women's networking strategies - develop a planning process and resource kit to help others plan and develop women's networking strategies that fit the local context - develop a gender audit methodology that can be used both by ICT project planners as well as women's organisations planning ICT initiatives - to plan for the longer-term sustainability of WNSP activities, globally, regionally and nationally. Please write to for further information. APC WOMEN'S NETWORKING SUPPORT PROGRAMME - GLOBAL WENT Thirty-five women's information providers and communication activists from Asia, Pacific, Africa, Latin America, North America and Europe participated in the Global Women's Electronic Network Training Workshop (Global WENT), held from September 27 - October 2, 1999 at the Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul, Korea. Twelve women attended from APC WNSP: Karen Banks, co- ordinator of APC Women's Networking Support Programme, Maureen James, APC Project Development, Marie-Helene Mottin Sylla (ENDA Synfev, Senegal), Chat Garcia Ramilo (ISIS International Manila and Co-ordinator of APC-WNSP Lessons Learned Project), Pi Villaneuva (ISIS International Manila), Sally Burch (ALAI, Ecuador), Irene Leon (ALAI, Ecuador), Susana Rostagnol (independent, Uruguay), Liz Probert (GreenNet, UK), Jill Small (Independent, UK), Jenny Radloff (GAIN, South Africa) and Sonja Boesak (Women'sNet, South Africa) For a full report on the workshop, see: http://www.isiswomen.org/ict/1999/com00010.html For more on the APC Women's Networking Support Programme visit: http://www.apcwomen.org --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES -- CONTACTS NEEDED - Women's Groups in the Caribbean Carina Gobbi, Editor in Chief of the Women's Guide is looking for reliable contacts on women's issues in the smaller islands of the Caribbean, specifically the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Cayman, the Antilles, Curacao, Saint Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, Antigua, Aruba, the Virgin Islands and Montserrat. Correspondence may be sent in Spanish (preferably), Portuguese, French or English to The Women's Guide is a new publication with a gender perspective, produced by the Third World Institute (ITeM), Montevideo, Uruguay, the umbrella organization of Chasque, APC's member network in Uruguay. The Women's Guide's aim is highlight to the role of women throughout history and the present and to be a useful tool for all the women's organisations world-wide. Its first edition will be on Latin America and the Caribbean, and will provide reliable information on the position of women in every country in the Region, including listings of women's NGOs in each country, and women's press and publications. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - SITES OF INTEREST - FREE MUMIA ABU JAMAL Nodo50 has joined the campaign to save the life of Mumia Abu Jamal, on death row in the United States for the last sixteen years. You'll find information about Mumia, some of his articles, as well as links and reports on his legal situation. http://www2.nodo50.org/mumia [Spanish language Website] [Produced by Nodo50, part of IPANEX, APC member in the Spanish State] PROSPE RESISTS (La Prospe Resiste) The Escuela Popular de Prosperidad, an grass-roots adult education learning centre in Madrid, Spain, is using the Internet in its fight to remain in buildings owned by the archbishopric of Madrid which the school has occupied since 1979. http://www2.nodo50.org/prosperesiste [Spanish language Website] [Produced by Nodo50, part of IPANEX, APC member in the Spanish State] --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- CORRECTION In last month's APCNews, information regarding the participants from APC at the IDRC Telecentres Workshop was incorrect or omitted. The actual participants were Sylvia Cadena from Colnodo, Colombia, Rebecca Holmes, of SANGONeT and Women'sNet, South Africa and Roberto Roggiero of INTERCOM, Ecuador. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- The material for this newsletter is compiled and edited by the APC Web Editor, Karen Higgs . APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are distributed on the first week-day of every month. Copyright c.1999 Association for Progressive Communications (APC). Permission is granted to use this document for personal use and for training and educational publications and activites by peace, environmental, human rights or development organizations, provided an acknowledgement is given to the Association for Progressive Communications (APC).