Camp CoCoNeT

Camp CoCoNet, named after the coconut plant that is widely grown and used in the Southeast Asian region, also means Connecting Communities & Networks as it aims to enhance regional networking, and to build collaborations with organisations that can help expand and popularise digital rights issues. We hope to connect members of the digital rights community to media and technology-makers, as well as to grassroots digital activists, as a way to expand the social reach, and social movements, engaged with digital rights issues.

EngageMedia and APC have brought together a regional consortium to co-design and host the camp. This consortium includes SafeNet (Indonesia), Empower (Malaysia), Thai Netizen Network, Witness Asia-Pacic, Myanmar ICT Development Organization, Cambodia Center for Human Rights, and the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA).

The Camp

EngageMedia has previously organised six similar camps: four in Indonesia, one in Malaysia and one in Myanmar. These camps focused on bringing together video-makers and technologists and resulted in both short-term and ongoing networks, as well as innumerable post-event collaborations. The camps range from three to seven days and are set in a remote location where participants quickly move out of their comfort zones, and develop trust and relationships with their co-campers. You can read about the most recent camp in Myanmar here.

The camps are organised using a participatory methodology to generate ownership over the process, content and outcomes, and to encourage everyone to take responsibility for the event's success.

Who can participate?

Please note that this camp is specifically targeted to people from Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam), but we're also open to participants from other countries in the Asia-Pacific.

We're looking for the following kinds of people to join us:

• Internet Rights advocates
• Activists (those who are working with grassroots communities' issues and are using online platforms)
• Techies (who are aware of political issues of technology and are interested in embedding themselves in social movements)
• Media Makers (creative content creators who advocate social change – journalists, blogers, video-makers, photographers, theatre practioners, painters, etc.)

We're going to launch an open call for applications in March so please visit this page regularly for updates.

You can also get in touch with nica@engagmedia.org for inquiries.