Welcome to the 44th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks and community-based initiatives. Meet the first ever community network national school in South Africa, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya and Brazil.
Meet new APC member LaLibre.net Tecnologías Comunitarias in Ecuador, which is committed to social justice, autonomy, digital sovereignty, human rights, the rights of nature, and a free and feminist internet.
Welcome to the 43rd monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks and community-based initiatives.
Open letter
APC member 7amleh and 100 other organisations send open letter to Deutsche WelleThis letter is a response to Deutsche Welle's report on its internal investigation into accusations of antisemitism in its Arabic-language news department. The report also investigated DW Akademie partners and includes a number of defamatory accusations against Palestinian partner organisations.
Submission
Internet shutdowns and human rightsThis submission was produced in response to the call by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for input to a report on internet shutdowns and human rights that will be presented to the 50th session of the Human Rights Council in June 2022.
Joint statement
Organisations and individuals on targeting and exclusion of hijab-wearing Muslim women studentsThe ban on hijabs in classrooms and campuses, which has begun in Karnataka and threatens to spread to other states in India, is a hate crime. We unequivocally stand in solidarity with Muslim women, whether or not they wear hijabs, to be treated with respect and to enjoy the full gamut of rights.
Open letter
Open letter to members of the UN’s General Assembly regarding the ECOSOC Committee on NGOsThe Committee on NGOs is entrusted with facilitating civil society access so that the expertise and experience of civil society partners can enrich and inform UN debates. It needs members committed to fulfilling this mandate in a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory and apolitical manner.
Joint statement
Resist Myanmar’s digital coup: Stop the military consolidating digital controlOne year ago, as the Myanmar military sent tanks down the streets, it shut down the internet, mobile phone networks and radio and television channels. Today, the military is ramping up efforts to cement authoritarian control of online space. This is a digital coup, and the world must resist.
Report
Community radio enabling women's empowerment in remote communities of IndiaHow have women found self-expression through community radio as a low-cost technology while enabling local communities to voice themselves during the pandemic? The experiences and learnings from eight initiatives in India are the focus of this new research report.
Open letter
Civil society stakeholders’ position on the modalities for the appointment of the UN Tech EnvoyIn this letter, APC and a diverse range of organisations from around the world reiterate what they consider the key characteristics of the UN Tech Envoy profile based on their experience and mandates as civil society groups working to improve inclusive internet governance and digital cooperation.
Joint letter
Joint NGO letter: Civil society’s expectations for the Human Rights Council in 2022In this open letter to the incoming president of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), APC and other organisations take the opportunity to voice a series of recommendations to ensure effective civil society participation in the upcoming 16th cycle of the HRC.
Cultural expression matters to how we experience life, and we need to reflect more on how digital society is impacting it and what that tells us about other changes as well.
As gig work becomes more widespread, a look at how it fits with employment rights and how we should be looking at such relationships between our digital and non-digital lives.
The emergence of general purpose AI will be “the most profound change in human history,” according to the BBC's latest Reith lectures. How should we think through the potential risks and opportunities of all this AI in the coming future?
Columns
In this weekly column, longstanding associate of APC David Souter looks at different aspects of the digital society. Issues covered include internet governance and sustainable development, human rights and the environment, policy, practice and the use of ICTs.
How are APC members improving their communities' lives? In this section we're highlighting stories of impact and change by our members, supported by APC sub-granting.
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