Association for Progressive Communications
Encyclopedia
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication
infrastructure
, including Internet
-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace
, human rights
, protection of the environment
, and sustainability
. Pioneering the use of ICTs
for civil society
, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.
APC is a worldwide network of social activists who use the internet to make the world a better place. APC is both a network and an organisation. APC members are groups working in their own countries to advance the same mission as APC. APC has more than 50 members from five continents, 80% are based in developing countries. This is a challenge and a strength, because members are at the two extremes of internet development (members in South Korea with incredible connectivity and members in rural Nigeria where they have to power computers using car batteries and solar power) and in between.
APC's vision is "All people have easy and affordable access to a free and open internet to improve their lives and create a more just world."
is an evaluation methodology that integrates a gender analysis
into evaluations of initiatives that use information and communications technologies (ICTs) for social change. It is an evaluation tool for determining whether ICTs are really improving or worsening women’s lives and gender relations, as well as for promoting positive change at the individual, institutional, community and broader social levels. It was first developed in 2002 and was tried and tested by thirty community-based organisations. Since then hundreds of people have become involved in GEM's development including people who developed the tool, who train in how to use GEM, who are adapting GEM (to increase its applicability to rural ICT4D projects, telecentres, software localisation and ICT policy advocacy and who are now offering GEM evaluations on a consultancy basis. The GEM manual was written in English and has been translated into French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic. GEM was developed by the APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP).
, a Dutch organization for development, which looks at the progress being made in creating an inclusive information society
worldwide (particularly in implementing World Summit on the Information Society
goals), encourages critical debate and strengthens networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. The country reports are easy to read and offer a quick insight into a country situation. Contributors are primarily from civil society organisations active in ICT issues in their countries. Themes covered include environment and ICTs, human rights and the internet and internet infrastructure. There is a Giswatch book website.
and NGO
website
s, and facilitates the creation of portal
s sites so as to improve the visibility of civil society
information. They are driven by free software
. ActionApps were first developed by APC and released to the free and open source software community. Development continues strongly in South America.
, Australia (secretary); Alan Alegre, Philippines;
Anriette Esterhuysen, South Africa (executive director); Michel Lambert, Canada; and James Nguo, Kenya.
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, including Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, protection of the environment
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
, and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
. Pioneering the use of ICTs
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
for civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.
APC is a worldwide network of social activists who use the internet to make the world a better place. APC is both a network and an organisation. APC members are groups working in their own countries to advance the same mission as APC. APC has more than 50 members from five continents, 80% are based in developing countries. This is a challenge and a strength, because members are at the two extremes of internet development (members in South Korea with incredible connectivity and members in rural Nigeria where they have to power computers using car batteries and solar power) and in between.
APC's vision is "All people have easy and affordable access to a free and open internet to improve their lives and create a more just world."
Co-founders
APC was founded in 1990 by:- Institute for Global CommunicationsInstitute for Global CommunicationsThe Institute for Global Communications or IGC Internet is an institution that provides Internet presence for groups deemed "progressive" for example, the Andrea Dworkin archive.IGC Internet is a project of the Tides Center....
(IGC), San Francisco; - GreenNetGreenNetGreenNet is a not-for-profit initiative based in London, England, that supports what it terms the "progressive community working for peace, the environment, gender equality and social justice, through the use of Information Communication Technologies ." -"ISP, unlike others":GreenNet was founded by...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; - IBASE, Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
; - NicaraoNicaraoNicarao is the name of the capital city of the most populous indigenous tribe when the Spanish arrived in Nicaragua. Gil González Dávila, who first explored the area, came up with this Central American country's name by combining Nicarao and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, after the two large...
, ManaguaManaguaManagua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
; - Pegasus NetworksPegasus NetworksPegasus Networks was set up in 1989, and became Australia's first public Internet provider. It acted as a "gateway" to emerging online networks working the fields of environment, labour, peace, women's and the human rights movement....
, Byron Bay; - Web NetworksWeb NetworksWeb Networks is a non-profit organisation based in Toronto, Canada that provides website services to socially committed organizations. It was conceived at a 1986 "Friends of the Earth" conference in Ottawa, Ontario and founded by Michael Jensen and Kirk Roberts and others in 1987 as project of...
, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
; - NordNet, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
1982
- A “documentation for action” movement emerges as NGO International Documentation Centre (IDOC) brings together organisations and activists from four continents – including future APC members – who use information for social change.
1984
- The activists working with IDOC create Interdoc, a network of like-minded organisations working with information and alternative media. At this point they communicated mainly using fax and regular mail. People physically travelled around transporting and sharing databases of information and software on disks.
1985
- PeaceNet, a network of peace activistPeace activistThis list of peace activists includes people who proactively advocate diplomatic, non-military resolution of political disputes, usually through nonviolent means.A peace activist is an activist of the peace movement.*Jane Addams*Martti Ahtisaari...
s, was established in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a project of the Foundation for the Arts of Peace, through the cooperation of four organisations: Community Data Processing, Center for Innovative Diplomacy, Ark Foundation, and Foundation for the Arts of Peace. - GreenNetGreenNetGreenNet is a not-for-profit initiative based in London, England, that supports what it terms the "progressive community working for peace, the environment, gender equality and social justice, through the use of Information Communication Technologies ." -"ISP, unlike others":GreenNet was founded by...
was founded in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to develop electronic networkingComputer networkA computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
for environmental and civil society organisations.
1986
- EcoNet, a U.S.-based environmental network created by the Farallones Institute, was acquired by PeaceNet. EcoNet/PeaceNet later became the Institute for Global CommunicationsInstitute for Global CommunicationsThe Institute for Global Communications or IGC Internet is an institution that provides Internet presence for groups deemed "progressive" for example, the Andrea Dworkin archive.IGC Internet is a project of the Tides Center....
(IGC). - The idea of linking progressive networks for e-mailE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and information sharing was formulated by Mark Graham and Mitra Ardron, founding members of PeaceNet/IGC and GreenNet. Working with emerging national networks, rather than expanding into other countries, was defined as a guiding principle from the outset. - Interdoc members begin to communicate electronically with one another, including internationally, using PoptelPoptelPoptel was a British internet and on-line services provider that was run by an employee cooperative from 1986 to 2002.In the 1980's Poptel offered on-line communications and information services to international NGOs, working in particular with the Interdoc group...
/GeoNetGeoNetGeoNet was an early international on-line services network built using microcomputers. Based on software developed in Germany by GeoNet Systems GmbH in the early 1980s and completed in the early 1990s, it was one of the first networks to offer a comprehensive on-line services platform, and was...
, a progressive but commercial bulletin board and email network.
1987
- IGC in the U.S. and GreenNet in the UK created a transatlantic computer link-up, to connect their separate e-mail and computer conferencingWeb conferencingWeb conferencing refers to a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations. Most vendors also provide either a recorded copy of an event, or a means for a subscriber to record an event. The service allows information to be shared simultaneously, across geographically...
networks. - Web Network's earliest incarnation started up in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Called NIRV Center, it was conceived at the 1986 "Fate of the Earth Conference" by a group of Toronto environmentalistEnvironmentalistAn environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s, and was Canada's first non-profit computer network serving non-profit and social changeSocial changeSocial change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
organisations; - The name Association for Progressive Communications (APC) was invented in the New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
hotel room of rock star Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, by Mark Graham, Mitra Ardron, Steven Van ZandtSteven Van ZandtSteven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...
, mediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
activists: Danny SchechterDanny SchechterDanny Schechteris a television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic who writes and lectures frequently about the media in the United States and worldwide. He specializes in investigative journalism and producing programming about the interfaces among human rights, journalism,...
; and Hart Perry. - The basis for an APC constitutionConstitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
was outlined at a meeting in IGC's office in San Francisco. - WorkNet (which later became SANGONeT) was founded as an e-mail network and bulletin boardBulletin board systemA Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
for the labour movementLabour movementThe term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
in South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. International connectivity was initially secured through GeoNet in London and soon after through GreenNet.
1988
- Mitra Ardron defines the central characteristic of the “typical APC network user” as “a commitment to a future for the planet that works a lot better than the present.” Mitra leaves GreenNet in Viv Kendon's hands to spend a year developing the APC.
1989
- As the first part of APC's still existing exchange program, Mitra Ardron spends three months at WEB networks in Canada, helping them become the third partner in the APC.
- Later in the year Jeremy Mortimer from GreenNet helped PeaceNet Sweden; Scott Weikart & Joanne Scott from IGC helped Nicarao in NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and Steve Frame helped Alternex (the communications branch of IBASE, the PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
acronym of the BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Institute for Social and Economic Analysis) and Mike Jensen from WEB to Pegasus AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Taking the APC from two to seven members in one year. - Collaboration between APC and the United Nations began, in preparation for the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), more popularly known as the Earth SummitEarth SummitThe United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 June to 14 June 1992.-Overview:...
. As APC had the only international, civil society communications network in existence at that time, the UNCED secretariat published their information in APC conferences. They had no other way of distributing information so economically and so effectively. (The UN itself began distributing information by electronic means many years later). - IGC, GreenNet, WEB, Pegasus & Alternex met at an Interdoc meeting organised by Michael Pollman from Antenna in the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1989 which was also attended by other future members including WorkNet from South Africa.
1990
- APC was founded by IGC (USA), GreenNet (UK), NordNet (SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
), Web Networks (Canada), Alternex/IBASE (Brazil), Nicarao/CRIES (NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
), and Pegasus NetworksPegasus NetworksPegasus Networks was set up in 1989, and became Australia's first public Internet provider. It acted as a "gateway" to emerging online networks working the fields of environment, labour, peace, women's and the human rights movement....
(AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
). - The GnFido (GreenNet Fidonet) gateway at GreenNet provided the first means of exchanging e-mail between e- mail hosts in AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the rest of the world. By 1994, GnFido provided Internet gateway servicesInternet service providerAn Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
to over 50 e-mail hosts in Africa, Asia and CentralCentral EuropeCentral Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern EuropeEastern EuropeEastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. - Members of IGC and the German CL-Net visited MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and returned the following year to help Russian activists get GlasNet running, to facilitate the emerging civil society's communication during the fall of communismHistory of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev's death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated...
in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
1991
- Southern and Northern NGOs meeting in NairobiNairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
identified e-mail and the APC conferences as a tool for distance-lobbying the Earth Summit. Chasque, a network created by the Third World Institute (ITeM)ITeMITeM stands for the Instituto del Tercer Mundo which is based in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.-Focus on information:...
in UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, and IGC set up the first e-mail and conference system running from the UN itself in New York, during a preparatory meeting for the Earth Summit. - A Fidonet gateway was set up by roving technician, Mike Jensen, at WorkNet/SANGONeT in South Africa, providing Internet mail connections to ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Botswana. - Email links are set up between Cuba and APC networks. They call the Cuban servers three times a day to deliver and collect email.
- The first meeting of APC partners in southern Africa was hosted by WorkNet/SANGONeT in JohannesburgJohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, supported through a project with Web Networks and Alternatives (then CIDMAA) in Canada. - Chasque in Uruguay, GlasNet in Russia and ComLink in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
joined the APC.
1992
- APC provided the first online communications centre for NGOs and UN delegates at a UN conference — the Rio Earth Summit. Info posted onto APC conferences is accessed around the world and picked up and reprinted in NGO newsletters and magazines worldwide.
- An attempted Russian coup is reported on APC networks via the GlasNet node.
- APC node ZTN connects more than 1,700 peace, human rights and humanitarian workers and journalists from all countries in the Balkans war through 150+ e-conferences.
- In September, over 17,000 users in 94 countries were using APC networks.
- INTERCOM in Ecuador became the eleventh APC member.
- IGC hosted the first APC Council meeting in San Francisco.
1993
- APC facilitated electronic communications for the UN Commission on Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable developmentSustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
. - ComLink/CL-Net provided connectivity at the 1993 UN World Conference on Human RightsWorld Conference on Human RightsThe World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War...
in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. - The APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) was established and began preparations for the UN Fourth World Conference on WomenFourth World Conference on WomenThe United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace on 4-15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. 189 governments and more than 5,000 representatives from 2,100 non-governmental organizations participated in the Conference...
in BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
(1995). - The World Bank cancels plans to fund the controversial Namada Dam in India after activists organise throughout India and beyond using APC conferences.
- GreenNet and DutchDutch peopleThe Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
group, Antenna, encouraged by Jagdish Parikh, established 'Asialink', a project providing start-up funding and technical support to small hosts in Asia working with social movementSocial movementSocial movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
s in their countries. - The Green Spider telecommunicationTelecommunicationTelecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s network started up to link environmental civil society organisations in HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. - SANGONeT is the first African organisation to join APC.
1994
- APC and Uruguayan member Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM)ITeMITeM stands for the Instituto del Tercer Mundo which is based in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.-Focus on information:...
provided communications services at the UN International Conference on Population and Development in CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. - Over 50 email hosts in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean are providing civil society organisations with email and e-information using the Fidonet gateways in London, Toronto and San Francisco.
- An APC cost-sharing project was launched, with the objective of reducing the expense to people in Africa and Asia of receiving and sending e-mail.
- Several APC members attend the Internet Society's workshop for developing countries held in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. APC member staff acted as trainers and APC partner in the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Econnect provided logistical support for the workshop. - Web Networks hosted an APC Council meeting just outside Toronto.
- The StrawberryNet Network was established in RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, with the assistance of Green Spider.
1995
- APC received consultative (Category 1) status to the UN, in June.
- NordNet from SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
lead a group of local Danish communications activists in setting up electronic communications at the UN World Summit on Social Development (WSSD) in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. For the first time web browserWeb browserA web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
s were available and the public were able to access an APC WSSD site. - A 40-woman team of APC communications experts provided connectivity and training to NGO participants at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and — as part of Media Caucus — ensured that the issue of women and ICTs was placed on the UN Agenda.
- APC technicians and training activists provided skills training at an informaticsInformation science-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
symposiumSymposiumIn ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
hosted by Economic Commission for Africa in EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. - Alternex/IBASE hosted an APC Council Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1996
- SANGONeT hosted an APC-Africa-Women's technical training in Johannesburg for women system operators. Now that Internet access was becoming more widely available in some parts of the continent, Fidonet systems operators were given skills to make the transition to Internet.
- The first APC EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Meeting was held in SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. Other regional APC meetings were held in preparation for the 1997 APC Council meeting.
1997
- APC partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other international organisations to organise the Global Knowledge conference in Toronto. Web Networks, APC's Canadian member, brought together the hundreds of NGOs using ICTs for international development participating physically and virtually using a Website and e-mail.
- Web Networks and APC publishes the influential Working Together Online, which documents the lessons and techniques gained through APC experience in online networking.
- An APC Africa Strategy Development Meeting was held in Johannesburg with more than 35 participants from APC member and partner networks from all over Africa. A powerful statement from the meeting — the "Holy Family Communiqué" — outlined the position of development-oriented networks and information providers towards trends in private sector and donor investment in networking in Africa.
- The APC mission was formalised at APC Council's meeting in South Africa, hosted at Itala by SANGONeT.
1998
- The first legal threat to freedom of information online. Two APC members in the UK and South Africa are threatened with legal action by transnational company Biwater for a news article in their online archives. Thirteen APC members mirror the threatened content.
- APC's MexicanMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
network, LaNeta, hosted an APC Council meeting in OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and an APC EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
Meeting was held in Nijmegen, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In Oaxaca APC makes a formal commitment to free and open source softwareFree and open source softwareFree and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
. - BlueLink, the information network of BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n environmental organisations, was founded, inspired by HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
's Green Spider network.
1999
- The first "World APC Techie Conference" brought together technical directors from all over the APC community in Prague.
- An APC - Central Europe meeting was held in Kwacany, SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
.
2000
- APC facilitated and provided consultation and researchResearchResearch can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
services for the "Access" track of the Action Summit at the second Global Knowledge conference in Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. The Action Summit created a plan of action for the Global Knowledge partner organisations, which included various government-related development agencies, companies, and NGOs involved in the development and ICT field. - The APC WNSP co-coordinated a women's network (WomenAction 2000) to bring an NGO perspective to the UN Beijing +5 review. They survey 1,000 respondents online to produce a strongly worded NGO declaration. Official declarations promote ICT as a way of enhancing NGO participation in global policy making.
- The first ever APC Betinho Communications Prize to recognise the socially meaningful use of ICTs was awarded to the Max Foundation, a life-saving online support network for the families of children suffering from leukaemia in Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and host of the region's first online bone marrowBone marrowBone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
tissueBiological tissueTissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...
registry. - The APC Action Areas for 2000-2001 emerged at the APC Council meeting in VisegrádVisegrádVisegrád is a small castle town in Pest County, Hungary.Situated north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend, Visegrád has a population 1,654 as of 2001...
, Hungary, hosted by Green Spider, for the first time identifying ICT policy advocacy as a core priority. - BlueLink from Bulgaria and Strawberry Net from Romania joined the APC.
2001
- New vision statement drafted at an APC council meeting held in Piriapolis, Uruguay hosted by the Third World Institute (ITeMITeMITeM stands for the Instituto del Tercer Mundo which is based in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.-Focus on information:...
): "APC works to achieve a world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to the creative potential of the internet to improve their lives and create more democratic and egalitarian societies.”http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_ar2001_EN.pdf - APC organises “internet rights” meetings in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Internet Rights and Policy Monitors are set up and a Rapid Response Network to mirror threatened sites is formalised.
- APC and partners launched ItrainOnline a portal which collects training materials on ICT for social change.
- Women's programme begins testing and refining the first draft of the Gender Evaluation MethodologyGender Evaluation MethodologyThe Gender Evaluation Methodology is an evaluation methodology that integrates a gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that use information and communications technologies for social change...
(GEM) for ICT initiatives in 25 projects in various developing countries
2002
- The first APC Internet Rights Charter is published in three languages.
- The GenARDIS project is launched to provide small grants to improve agricultural initiatives by women through the better use of ICTs, eventually disbursing over €300,000 in direct seed grants over eight years.
- First APC Africa Hafkin prize named after connectivity pioneer Nancy HafkinNancy HafkinNancy Hafkin is a pioneer of networking and development information and electronic communications in Africa, spurring the Pan African Development Information System of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa from 1987 until 1997...
is won by the Fantsuam FoundationFantsuam FoundationFantsuam Foundation is a Nigerian non-profit organisation working in the field of Information and Communication Technologies that is working to develop a rugged computer suited for African conditions. Known as the Solo computer, this wooden-encased PC is being designed to cope with the "heat and...
, a small microcredit scheme which goes on to be a key reference in Nigeria. - APC runs first ICT policy training workshops in Africa and India in the run-up to WSIS.
2003
- The APC ICT policy handbook for beginners is published together with a tri-lingual ICT policy training for civil society curriculum which includes a special section on advocacy for positive policy change.
- APC Council meeting held Cartagena, Colombia, hosted by ColnodoColnodoColnodo is the Colombian Association of Non Governmental Organizations for Communication through E-mail – www.colnodo.apc.org. Is a non profit organization legally established in Colombia since 1994...
. APC's ICT policy training curriculum for civil society was first test-run there. - Maps of internet sites show that APC is the central civil society knowledge-sharing hub in a vast web of organisations working on the World Summit on the Information SocietyWorld Summit on the Information SocietyThe World Summit on the Information Society was a pair of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information, communication and, in broad terms, the information society that took place in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis...
.
2004
- Karen Banks and the APC WNSP are awarded the Anita Borg Prize for Social Impact
- APC moves into specifically national policy advocacy in five countries using “network animators” to stimulate multi-stakeholder dialogue as part of the Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) programme.
- APC begins training 100 technology enthusiasts in Africa to set up community wireless networks.
2005
- APC declares the internet a “global public good”.http://www.apc.org/apps/img_upload/6972616672696361646f63756d656e74/policyframework_ICTDv4_1.doc
- APC organised a press conference in Tunisia to address the host government's suppression of free speech in the wake of the second World Summit on the Information Society.http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.23/Civilsociety
- GenderIT.org is launched.
- APC members meet in Varna, BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
hosted by Bluelink, and begins exploring a code of good practice for internet governance modelled on the Aarhus ConventionAarhus ConventionThe UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed on June 25, 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. It entered into force on 30 October 2001...
.
2006
- APC is nominated by peers to address post-WSIS deadlock and proposes the multi-stakeholder format of the IGF.http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/cont_may08/APC_IGFStatement_200802.pdf
- First ever Take Back The Tech!Take Back The Tech!Take Back The Tech is a global campaign that connects the issue of violence against women and information and communications technology . It aims to raise awareness on the way violence against women is occurring on ICT platforms such as the Internet and mobile phones, and to call for people to use...
campaign. - The second edition of the APC Internet Rights Charter is published and translated into more than twenty languages.
- APC and UNDP convene a workshop in 2006 on “open access”.http://www.propoor-ict.net/content/view/21/1/
2007
- The first edition of Global Information Society Watch is published, focused on citizen participation in ICT policy processes in the wake of the World Summit on the Information SocietyWorld Summit on the Information SocietyThe World Summit on the Information Society was a pair of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information, communication and, in broad terms, the information society that took place in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis...
. - First Chris Nicol FOSS Prize awarded.
- The community wireless training developed in Africa is replicated in Latin America and the Caribbean, forming an eighteen-country network connecting indigenous communities, rural backwaters and impulsing university networking courses.
- APC Council meets in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil hosted by Rits, just before the second Internet Governance ForumInternet Governance ForumThe Internet Governance Forum is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. It brings together all stakeholders in the internet governance debate, whether they represent governments, the private sector or civil society, including the technical and academic...
.
2008
- Survey identifies APC as the most relevant actor in Latin American ICT processes after the UN Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC).http://www.apc.org/en/news/ecuadorian-valeria-betancourt-lead-apcs-policy-pro
- First Feminist Tech Exchange trains over 100 women's rights activists.
- First regional Internet Governance ForumInternet Governance ForumThe Internet Governance Forum is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. It brings together all stakeholders in the internet governance debate, whether they represent governments, the private sector or civil society, including the technical and academic...
s co-organised in East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya and Montevideo, Uruguay in the build-up to the third IGF in Hyderabad. - APC has trained people from 680 organisations in technology for social change and ICT policy from 2004-2008. http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APCProgressReport2004-8_EN.pdf
2009
- APC begins biggest ever women's rights and ICT project in twelve developing countries, as part of Millennium Development GoalsMillennium Development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
3 to promote gender equality and empower women. This includes first-of-their-kind studies of the situation of violence against women and ICTs in twelve countries and how legislation or lack of it hinders or helps women.http://www.apc.org/en/node/10360/ - The Dominican government chooses APC's Gender Evaluation MethodologyGender Evaluation MethodologyThe Gender Evaluation Methodology is an evaluation methodology that integrates a gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that use information and communications technologies for social change...
(GEM) as a tool to design and evaluate their ICT policies.http://www.apc.org/en/press/dominican-republic-guarantees-womens-equality-tech - APC and Hivos publish Global Information Society Watch 2009 on access to online information and knowledge – advancing human rights and democracy
2010
- APC awards USD 240,000 in small grants to over 60 projects working to end violence against women using technology.http://www.apc.org/en/node/11239/
- GenARDIS has disbursed 310 000 euros in direct seed grants to 34 grassroots organisations since 2002.http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/Genardis_EN.pdf
- Prof. Peter Willetts argues that if not for the APC decisions of the 1980s, the internet would not be the public and open platform it is today.http://www.city.ac.uk/whatson/2009/10_oct/291009_Peter_Willetts.html
- Global Information Society Watch 2010 tackles the pressing issues of ICTsICTSICTS may refer to:* A metro system originally named Intermediate Capacity Transit System* International Container Terminal Services Inc.* Iranian Center for Translation Studies...
and climate changeClimate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and e-waste. - Sana Masood is runner up in the International Red Cross’ “Young Reporter” competition for a digital story she created about an acid attack survivor at a Feminist Tech Exchange workshop in Pakistan.http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/2010-11-19-young-reporters-event.htm
2011
- APC launches the Internet Rights are Human Rights campaign including a dedicated edition of GISWatch and a defence of human rights and women's rights workers working online.
- APC publishes EroTICs, research on the real lived experiences of women around the internet and sexuality.
- The eleventh face-to-face APC council meeting is held on Panglao Island in the Philippines, hosted by the Foundation for Media Alternatives. Over one hundred communications activists also attend a Networking and Learning Forum to strategise for an open, fair and sustainable internet.
North America
- Alternatives, Action and Communication Network for International Development, Canada
- Institute for Global CommunicationsInstitute for Global CommunicationsThe Institute for Global Communications or IGC Internet is an institution that provides Internet presence for groups deemed "progressive" for example, the Andrea Dworkin archive.IGC Internet is a project of the Tides Center....
(IGC), United States of America - LaborNetLaborNetLaborNet is a San Francisco-based "democratic communications" network for the labour movement. It was founded in 1991.According to LaborNet's website, its "founders believe that the new communication technology must be put to use to revitalize and rebuild the labor movement...
, United States of America - LaNeta, Mexico
- Web NetworksWeb NetworksWeb Networks is a non-profit organisation based in Toronto, Canada that provides website services to socially committed organizations. It was conceived at a 1986 "Friends of the Earth" conference in Ottawa, Ontario and founded by Michael Jensen and Kirk Roberts and others in 1987 as project of...
, Canada
South America
- CEPESCEPESCentro Peruano de Estudios Sociales ' is a civil society organization specializing in rural development based in Peru.The CEPES was founded in 1976...
, Peru - ColnodoColnodoColnodo is the Colombian Association of Non Governmental Organizations for Communication through E-mail – www.colnodo.apc.org. Is a non profit organization legally established in Colombia since 1994...
, Colombia - Fundación Escuela Latinoamericana de Redes (EsLaRed), Venezuela
- Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM)ITeMITeM stands for the Instituto del Tercer Mundo which is based in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.-Focus on information:...
, Uruguay - NODO TAUNodo TauNodo Tau is an Argentinian civil society not-for-profit association that networks computer science professionals, educators, and activists.Its goals are to facilitate the access to information and communication technologies for community organizations, and strengthen social action in the fight...
, Argentina - RITS (Information Network for the Third Sector), Brazil
Europe
- BlueLink Information NetworkBlueLink Information NetworkBlueLink Information Network is a virtual network of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations based in Sofia, Bulgaria, which offers a variety of Internet-based services for NGOs and others interested in issues related to the environment, natural resources and sustainable development...
, Bulgaria - Computer Aid InternationalComputer Aid InternationalComputer Aid International is a not-for-profit organisation active in the field of Information and Communication Technologies for Development. A registered charity, Computer Aid was founded in 1998 to bridge the digital divide by providing refurbished PCs from the UK to educational and non-profit...
, United Kingdom - GreenNetGreenNetGreenNet is a not-for-profit initiative based in London, England, that supports what it terms the "progressive community working for peace, the environment, gender equality and social justice, through the use of Information Communication Technologies ." -"ISP, unlike others":GreenNet was founded by...
, United Kingdom - Green Spider, Hungary
- Metamorphosis Foundation, Macedonia
- OWPSEE, Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Pangea.orgPangea.orgPangea.org or Pangea is a non-profit supporting organisation, which has been working for social change since 1993. It "facilitates communication" through the use of information and communication technologies as e-mail, web content, free software and any other Internet service...
, Spain - StrawberryNetStrawberryNetStrawberryNet is a Romanian NGO network aimed at promoting "the protection of the environment, sustainable development, democracy and human rights" in Romania, using electronic telecommunication and ICT ....
, Romania - ZaMirNetZaMirNETZaMirNET is a Croatia-based non-governmental organisation working in the field of ICT . It describes itself as "a citizen association dedicated toward civil society development, promoting the culture of peace and the idea of sustainable development in Croatia and the region."-Roots: describes its...
, Croatia
North & West Africa
- ArabDevArabDevArabDev is a Giza -based non-profit organization that uses Information and Communication Technology to "promote existing development projects and for innovative developmental initiatives"...
, Egypt - Enda-Tiers Monde, Senegal
- Fantsuam FoundationFantsuam FoundationFantsuam Foundation is a Nigerian non-profit organisation working in the field of Information and Communication Technologies that is working to develop a rugged computer suited for African conditions. Known as the Solo computer, this wooden-encased PC is being designed to cope with the "heat and...
, Nigeria
South & East Africa
- Arid Lands Information NetworkArid Lands Information NetworkArid Lands Information Network is a Kenyan-based non-governmental organisation that seeks to exchange ideas and experiences among "grassroots change agents"...
(East Africa), Kenya - Community Education Computer Society (CECS), South Africa
- SANGONeTSangonetSANGONeT is a South African organisation, whose acronym stands for The Southern African NGO Network.It is a civil society organisation with a focus on ICT, which was founded in 1987, and has a history closely linked to the social and political changes experienced by South Africa during its...
, South Africa - Ungana-AfrikaUngana-AfrikaUngana-Afrika, Swahili for "connect africa", is a non-governmental organization based in Pretoria, South Africa that provides a wide range of ICT services for civil society within and outside of Africa...
, South Africa - Women'sNetWomen'sNetWomen'sNet is a networking support programme designed to enable South African women to use the internet to find the people, issues, resources and tools needed for women's social action.-Issues:...
, South Africa - WOUGNETWOUGNETWomen of Uganda Network is Ugandan non-governmental organization dedicated to aiding women and women's organizations in the use of information and communication technologies . WOUGNET is a member of the Association for Progressive Communications .-History:WOUGNET was set up in May 2000 by women's...
- Women of Uganda Network, Uganda
Asia-Pacific
- Bytes for All.org, South Asia
- EngageMediaEngageMediaEngageMedia is a not-for-profit video sharing website and free software project that began in March 2005. Launched in October 2006, the site focuses on video about social justice and environmental issues in Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific....
, Australia, Indonesia - Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA), Philippines
- JCA-NET, Japan
- JCafe, Japan
- Korean Progressive Network JinbonetKorean Progressive Network (Jinbonet)Korean Progressive Network is a nine-year-old organization in Seoul, South Korea. Jinbonet is a network that provides ICT services to that country's progressive movement, civil society and workers unions....
, South Korea - Open Institute of Cambodia, Cambodia
- WomensHubWomensHubWomensHub is a Philippines-based non-government organisation that supports "women struggling for self-determination" in using ICTs, or information and communication technologies.This organisation recently completed three years as a collective...
, Philippines
Gender evaluation methodology (GEM)
The Gender Evaluation MethodologyGender Evaluation Methodology
The Gender Evaluation Methodology is an evaluation methodology that integrates a gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that use information and communications technologies for social change...
is an evaluation methodology that integrates a gender analysis
Gender analysis
Gender analysis is a type of socio-economic analysis that uncovers how gender relations affect a development problem. The aim may just be to show that gender relations will probably affect the solution, or to show how they will affect the solution and what could be done...
into evaluations of initiatives that use information and communications technologies (ICTs) for social change. It is an evaluation tool for determining whether ICTs are really improving or worsening women’s lives and gender relations, as well as for promoting positive change at the individual, institutional, community and broader social levels. It was first developed in 2002 and was tried and tested by thirty community-based organisations. Since then hundreds of people have become involved in GEM's development including people who developed the tool, who train in how to use GEM, who are adapting GEM (to increase its applicability to rural ICT4D projects, telecentres, software localisation and ICT policy advocacy and who are now offering GEM evaluations on a consultancy basis. The GEM manual was written in English and has been translated into French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic. GEM was developed by the APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP).
Global Information Society Watch
Global Information Society Watch is an annual report co-produced by APC and HivosHivos
Hivos is a Dutch organization for development co-inspired by humanist values. Hivos provides financial and political support to over 800 partner organizations in over 30 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Southeastern Europe...
, a Dutch organization for development, which looks at the progress being made in creating an inclusive information society
Information society
The aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,...
worldwide (particularly in implementing World Summit on the Information Society
World Summit on the Information Society
The World Summit on the Information Society was a pair of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information, communication and, in broad terms, the information society that took place in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis...
goals), encourages critical debate and strengthens networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. The country reports are easy to read and offer a quick insight into a country situation. Contributors are primarily from civil society organisations active in ICT issues in their countries. Themes covered include environment and ICTs, human rights and the internet and internet infrastructure. There is a Giswatch book website.
APC prizes
Through its Betinho, Hafkin and Chris Nicol prizes, APC recognises and documents outstanding ICT contributions that significantly impact the world's communities. The prizes were last awarded in 2008.ActionApps
ActionApps offer a low cost solution for content sharing that both increases the functionality of not-for-profitNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
and NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s, and facilitates the creation of portal
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
s sites so as to improve the visibility of civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
information. They are driven by free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
. ActionApps were first developed by APC and released to the free and open source software community. Development continues strongly in South America.
Board
APC's executive board members (for the 2008-10) period are: Danilo Lujambio, Argentina (chair); Valentina Pellizzer, Bosnia and Herzegovina (vice chair); Andrew GartonAndrew Garton
-History:Since the mid 1970s Andrew Garton participated in numerous independent and community media initiatives in Australia and South East Asia: from radio and public access video in his teens to computer networking in the late 1980s and 1990s with Pegasus Networks...
, Australia (secretary); Alan Alegre, Philippines;
Anriette Esterhuysen, South Africa (executive director); Michel Lambert, Canada; and James Nguo, Kenya.
External links
- The Association for Progressive Communications (English, French, Spanish and Portuguese)