[huridocs-tech] APCNews - February 2005 - No. 50

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           *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
      Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
                - February 2005 No. 50 -
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-- WSIS UPDATE --
-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES -
-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --
-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC IN MARCH? --
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-- WSIS UPDATE: World Summit on the Information Society - PrepCom 2 --

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a United Nations
conference, led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Its
objective is to develop a global framework to deal with  challenges posed
by the development of new information and communication technologies
(ICTs). The WSIS is a two phase process: the first one took place in Geneva
in December 2003, and the second will take place in Tunisia in November
2005. The WSIS is unique in UN processes because it is a 'multi-stakeholder
process' - including the voices of governments, the private sector and
civil society in the deliberations.

During the first phase of the summit in Geneva, governments were unable to
find agree on the language included in the official declarations on two
issues - internet governance (who controls) - and financing mechanisms (who
pays), including the creation of a Digital Solidarity Fund for Africa. A
resolution was found only by requesting the UN Secretary General to form
two working groups mandated to discuss various options and bring
recommendations back to stakeholders for further deliberation during Phase
II, with the hope that governments would sign off on agreed language during
the Tunis Summit..

 From 17 to 25 February 2005, the WSIS second preparatory meeting for the
second phase, known as PrepCom 2, took place in Geneva. The February
meeting focused on three issues: financing mechanisms, internet governance
and the Political Chapeau and operational part (in short, a reaffirmation
of the Geneva Declaration and a plan of implementation of the Geneva Action
Plan).

APC has selected some of the key documents and resources on the discussions
around the WSIS process so far. Several APC representatives were in Geneva
for Prepcom 2 and in the next APCNews, we'll be featuring reports and
interviews from that crucial midway meeting in the run-up to Tunis.

APC and other civil society-produced news related to WSIS is collected
online: http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/

--EXTRA--

UPDATE: World Summit on the Information Society: A very long road

An overview of the WSIS process from 2003 until February's PrepCom 2 from
the APC, summarising the issues at stake. -- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31093

SURVEY: APC research on developing country participation in WSIS

APC is undertaking a major study on developing country participation in the
second phase of the WSIS. This study builds on the analysis of developing
country involvement in information and communication technologies (ICT)
decision making in the 'Louder Voices' report, published in 2002, and on a
review of African participation in the first phase of WSIS which APC
undertook last year. The survey is taking place in English, Spanish, French
and Portuguese. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30749


--INTERNET GOVERNANCE--

The term "internet governance", while undefined, rather vague and partly
confusing, stands mainly for the global technical management of the core
resources of the internet: domain names, website addresses, internet
protocols and the server system that keeps the internet running around the
world. The big question at WSIS is who and how should these key resources
for humanity be managed.

The first phase of WSIS agreed to pursue the dialogue on internet
governance in the Declaration of Principles and Action Plan adopted on 12
December 2003, with a view to preparing the ground for a decision at the
second phase of the WSIS in Tunis in November 2005. In this regard, the
first phase of the Summit requested the United Nations Secretary-General to
establish a Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). The WGIG has been
asked to present the result of its work in a report "for consideration and
appropriate action for the second phase of the WSIS in Tunis 2005."


RESOURCES: Working papers of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)

The issue papers are the first of a series of 'draft working papers'
prepared by WGIG members, reflecting the preliminary findings of various
drafting teams. They have been prepared according to a list of issues,
which was developed at the first meeting of WGIG in November 2004. The
purpose of the drafts is to provide a basis for the ongoing work of the
group. They are therefore not to be seen as chapters of the final WGIG
report, but rather as raw material that will be used when drafting the
report. The draft working papers have been published here for public
comment, so they will evolve, taking into account input from governments
and stakeholders. Additional draft working papers will be made available in
this section. -- Working Group on Internet Governance
http://wgig.org/working-papers.html

REPORT: An opinion report on the UN working group leading the debate

Carlos Afonso, former chair of APC and member of the UN body charged with
coming up with a definition of what 'internet governance' should encompass
-amongst other tasks- wrote an opinionative report on the first meeting of
the UN Working Group on Internet Governance, held in November 2004 in
Geneva. The report was published for the first time in English this
February though it is from December. - APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30629

STATEMENT: Internet Governance Caucus statement

The Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus presented this statement
during PrepCom 2 of the WSIS in Geneva. The Caucus expresses its support
for the Working Group on Internet Governance's multi stakeholder approach.
"We believe that legitimate and successful Internet Governance can only be
achieved if all concerned or affected groups have an opportunity to
influence the outcome of governance processes." - Internet Governance
Caucus http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30818

REPORT: Beyond ICANN vs. ITU?: How WSIS tries to enter the new territory of
internet governance

Internet governance has become one of the most controversial issues in the
WSIS process. While the subject was a marginal one at the WSIS start
(PrepCom1, Geneva, June 2002), it has moved step by step from the periphery
of the debate into its centre. By Wolfgang Kleinwächter. - UN ICT Task Force
http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/documents.pl?do=download;id=422

PRESENTATION: Internet governance - Issues and concerns for civil society

A presentation made by Alan Alegre, of the Foundation for Media
Alternatives (FMA), APC member in the Philippines, at the South Asia
Regional Consultation on WSIS in January 2005.
http://itforchange.net/WSIS/dhaka/dhaka-internetgov-alegre.pdf

REPORT: Who rules the internet? Understanding ICANN

Who looks after the billions of web addresses that make up the internet?
Why are web addresses only in English? Should countries manage their own
country code names? At the moment it seems that the internet is free,
democratic and unstoppable. But a closer look reveals controversies...
These critical issues will be debated in November 2005 at the World Summit
on the Information Society. Journalists are all too aware of the importance
of being able to freely access and exchange information. That's why the
media has a responsibility to analyse and report on the politics of the
internet. - Panos London
http://www.panos.org.uk/files/wsistoolkit1.pdf


--FINANCING THE INFORMATION SOCIETY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (FINANCIAL
MECHANISMS)--

The Plan of Action adopted at the WSIS in Geneva 2003 requested the
Secretary General of the United Nations to create a Task Force to study the
issue of financial mechanisms for information and communication
technologies for development (ICTD) and present a report to facilitate
discussions in the second phase of WSIS. One of the key issues debated was
the relative weight of private and public sector finance in financing ICT
for development. How the new balance between public and private and the
inclusion of community-driven roles and financing translates into practice
will be of critical importance to the future  of the information society
and the role of ICTs in supporting the achievement of national development
goals and the MDGs.

REPORT: APC involvement in the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms

"There was a view in the Task Force that perhaps the underlying reason that
existing financial mechanisms were not being fully exploited by developing
countries had to do with fundamental information asymmetries regarding how
these financial mechanisms worked as well as a lack of coordination in the
utilisation of the financial mechanisms for ICTD", says Willie Currie, APC
policy programme manager, who attended two Task Force meetings. "What is
required is a new mechanism that can provide developing countries with
disinterested policy advice and unbiased information about how financial
mechanisms work." -- APC
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30736

STATEMENT: APC and partners demand public investment in global networks

In a powerful statement which criticised the UNDP-convened task force on
financing the global information society as inadequate, APC Bread for All,
the CRIS Campaign, APC member in Uruguay Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM),
IT for Change, and the Gender Caucus called for the "extension of network
infrastructure to all excluded women and men everywhere" and outlined
recommendations for moving forward. Read the statement:
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30761

RESOURCES: Papers for WSIS second phase

The international community has expressed, in several fora, its worries
concerning the effects of access and knowledge gaps in Southern countries
and the need to find additional financial mechanisms, with a solidarity
criteria, that would allow more citizens to benefit from ICTs. The central
aim of this documents, prepared by APC member Instituto del Tercer Mundo
(ITeM), is to present financial strategies for promoting information
societies within a "Global Public Goods" conceptual framework. - ITeM
http://wsispapers.choike.org/documentos/41.html (in English, Spanish and
French)

DEBATE: Financing the information society in the South

APC member Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM) and Third World Network (TWN)
organised a debate on the mechanisms to finance information and
communication technologies for development which took place on February 21
within the context of the second meeting of the PrepCom-2 of the WSIS Tunis
phase.- Choike
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2697.html

PAPER: Financing the Information Society in the South - A global public
goods perspective

This paper from 2004 -prepared for APC by Pablo Accuosto and Niki Johnson
of the Instituto del Tercer Mundo- sets out to look at the question of
financing the provision of ICT in the South, within the context of the
United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society, and advocates
adopting a "global public goods" perspective on the issue. - APC
http://rights.apc.org/documents/financing.pdf

REPORT: Who pays for the Information Society? Challenges and issues on
financing the Information Society

This booklet is in two parts. The first part is a critique of the debates
and work on financing so far conducted by the WSIS. The second part focuses
more on proposals and aims to give a certain number of inputs to the WSIS
debate, especially on the issue of international public financing or
official development aid. Bread for All, together with APC and other
organisations, presented a powerful statement before the UN demanding
public investment in global networks (see above). - Bread for All
http://www.ppp.ch/cms/IMG/Financing_IS.pdf


--REGIONAL AND THEMATIC WSIS MEETINGS--

ACCRA: Second WSIS Africa Regional Preparatory Conference

The Second WSIS Africa Regional Preparatory Conference, whose theme was
"Access - Africa's key to an inclusive Information Society", took place
from 28 January to 4 February in Accra, Ghana. The outputs from Accra
constitute Africa's contributions to the WSIS meetings scheduled in Geneva
during PrepCom 2. The results of the Accra meeting also formed the basis
for Africa's negotiations towards WSIS Phase II in Tunis. Participating in
the conference were representatives of African governments, delegates from
many other countries and international organisations, and people
representing African private sector and civil society, including members of
the APC team. -- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31070

WSIS Gender Caucus: Summary of recommendations to the Accra Conference

The WSIS Gender Caucus places great importance in aligning the WSIS
preparatory process and outcomes with achievements of the Millennium
Development Goals and urges governments and the international community to
acknowledge and treat the integration of gender equality and women's rights
in the information society and ICTs as a fundamental issue. Read the
recommendations:
http://www.choike.org/documentos/recomm_accra.pdf

DHAKA: South Asian Regional Consultation on the WSIS

APC member Bytes for All had an active participation to tThe WSIS
Consultation in Dhaka that was jointly organised by APC, One World South
Asia and Bangladesh Friendship Education Society (BFES) from 5 to 7
January, 2005. The consultation It focused on three major topics: internet
governance, financial issues to ICT for development projects and ICT policy
in South Asia. Resolution of Dhaka WSIS Consultation and the decisions
adopted at ICT policy consultation meeting:
http://www.bytesforall.net/index_html/dhaka_consultation


--TOWARDS TUNIS--

The second phase of the UN world summit will take place in Tunisia 16-18
November 2005. The choice of the seat of the meeting is highly
controversial. Tunisia has one of the worst records in freedom of
expression and the state jails political dissenters and engages in active
surveillance and censorship of email and websites.

NEWS: Monitors express serious concerns over continued free expression
violations in Tunisia

A joint monitoring visit to Tunisia undertaken by members of the
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has found serious cause
for continuing concern about the current state of freedom of expression and
of civil liberties in Tunisia, including gross restrictions on freedom of
the press, media, publishing and the Internet. The visit was the first of
the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group and was organised in preparation for
WSIS. - IFEX
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/63999/

PANEL: Bloggers and cyber-dissidents offer advice

Reporters Without Borders was in Geneva during PrepCom 2 with a delegation
of cyber-dissidents and bloggers in order to put a face to the repression
against internet users in some of the countries that will be parading at
this conference, and in order to present five recommendations for online
free expression. - Reporters Without Borders
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12584

NEWS: What do communication rights mean to people on the ground when they
are denied them?

A recent APCNews article reported on a presentation by Sihem Bensadrine of
the National Council for Tunisian Freedom, a Tunisian activist who painted
a grim picture of the state of internet rights in her country. -- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30525


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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --

BlueLink, Bulgaria: Manual on "Strategic use of internet for civil society
organisations" published

BlueLink, APC member in Bulgaria, has developed and published a manual on
the strategic use of internet for civil society organisations (CSOs). The
manual teache CSOs how to work effectively in electronic network, and how
to improve and optimize significantly their work using ICTs. The manual
aims to fill in the gaps in the knowledge of the CSOs on the opportunities
that the electronic communication offers via internet, and to explore the
options of their effective use in organizations' work. The guide includes
tips on how to communicate in mailing lists, how to build a useful and
representative website, on-line activism, and more. - BlueLink
The manual is in Bulgarian and it is available at:
http://www.bluelink.info/documents/bluelink_manual-2004.pdf [Bulgarian]


BlueLink, Bulgaria: Plug in environmentalists' demands to the National
Parliament

An on-line coalition of major Bulgarian environmental organisations aims to
stop the passing of a bill by the Bulgarian parliament that threaten the
environment. New amendments in the current Biodiversity Protection Act and
the Protected Areas Act threatens to seriously destroy the existing fragile
conditions and to allow land-sale, building and logging in protected areas.
The campaign site, designed by APC member in Sofia, BlueLink, offers an
option to participate in an on-line petition. By signing and sending an
e-mail to the Parliament and the Prime-minister, visitors to the campaign
site demand that the government reconsiders the harmful amendments. - BlueLink
The campaign is available at: http://bluelink.net/np-campaign/ [Bulgarian]


Bytes for All, South Asia: Reporting on Asia Source Camp '05 in Bangalore

Frederick Noronha of Bytes for All, APC member in the South Asian region,
was in Bangalore attending the Asia Source Camp, held from January 28 to
February 4 in India's technology mecca. "You might end up wondering what's
really happening at the Asia Source", wrote Frederick at the time. "Amidst
a lot of geeky talk, late sleepless nights, a bizarre-and-mirth-generating
dance session, and people-to-people networking ... there's also a lot of
events happening on parallel tracks." Asia Source was an international
'camp' intended to promote free and open source software (FOSS) among civil
society in the region. You can read Frederick's regular updates and
articles from the spot here:
http://www.bytesforall.net/index_html/copy_of_asia_source_05


Computer Aid International, United Kingdom: Southern Africa Regional office
opened in Johannesburg

Beginning a process of regionalisation APC member Computer Aid
International in January 2005 opened its Southern Africa Regional offfice
in Johannesburg, South Africa. Co-located at the premises of another APC
member, Women'sNet, the new Computer Aid office will support existing and
future partners in Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.-
Computer Aid International
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30444


Open Forum of Cambodia, Cambodia: Interview with Chilean expert leading
team of Cambodian free software activists

Javier Sola was just "passing through" Cambodia, when he decided to make a
u-turn in his life. It was there that he decided to stay on. Now he
believes he can help localise the language of the region which he can
sketch the characters of, to explain its complexity. "I decided my social
goals, and, based on social goals, looked for software," said Sola, who
works for APC member Open Forum of Cambodia. - -- Frederick Noronha, Bytes
for All
http://www.tacticaltech.org/node/219


Pangea, Spain: Special conference to celebrate 10 years connecting people

Spanish APC member, Pangea, has been at the service of the community of
people and organisations that work for social change for more than a
decade. It has dedicated itself to this by facilitating communication
through e-mail and conferences, internet and web connections. On 9 March
2005 Pangea will commemorate this with a special conference attended, as
distinguished guests, by Julian Casabuenas (Colnodo) and Dafne Plou (APC
Women's Networking Support Programme). - Pangea
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31072


SANGONeT, South Africa: First annual "ICTs for Civil Society" conference
and exhibition

The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT), APC member in South Africa,
will host its first annual "ICTs for Civil Society" conference and
exhibition from 1-3 March 2005 in Johannesburg. Given the ever-increasing
interest in and importance of ICT issues to the civil society organisations
(CSOs) sector, the SANGONeT conference will focus specifically on the ICT
challenges facing the CSOs sector, highlighting and promoting practical
benefits, opportunities and lessons learned to date. The conference is
aimed at senior staff and technical employees in the CSO sector as well as
individuals who work with these organisations, including international
funding agencies, the private sector and government. - SANGONeT
Refer to the conference website for the draft conference programme and
registration information: http://www.sangonet.org.za/conference2005
Comments on conference from David Barnard, Executive Director of SANGONeT:
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30823


Women'sNet, South Africa: Recording women and girls, telling stories,
broadcasting

APC member in South Africa, Women'sNet, is launching a number of innovative
projects concerning women, internet and media. "Recording Women & Gender
Issues" builds capacity for collaborative gender programming in the
community radio sector. "She-Bytes" is a new audio website featuring dramas
and public service announcements were created by girls aged 12 to 16
covering different themes and are in a range of South African languages.
Read more about these gender and technology initiatives and others. -
Women'sNet
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31063


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-- NEWS FROM APC --

APC at the World Social Forum 2005

In late January, APC was one of thousands of organisations and individuals
from 119 countries present in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre
for the fifth annual gathering of social movements, NGOs, and progressive
groups who believe that "another world is possible". This webpage focuses
on debates, panels, workshops, and stories at the forum that debate and
illustrate the use of internet and information and communication
technologies (ICTs) for social justice and development.
http://www.apc.org/english/wsf2005/


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-- ICT POLICY & INTERNET RIGHTS --

Open letters from APC to the WSIS Task Force on Financial Mechanisms

APC was invited to form part of the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms for
ICTD, which was established at the World Summit for the Information Society
in Geneva in December 2003. In the process of participation, APC registered
a number of concerns about how the Task Force's compressed process was
impacting on the content of its findings and conclusions. This led to an
exchange of open letters between APC and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the convenors of the Task Force.

Read the first open letter from APC to the chair of the TFFM - 7 December 2004:
http://rights.apc.org/documents/tffm/apc_letter_ttfm_071204.pdf
Read the UNDP response to APC's letter - 10 December 2004:
http://rights.apc.org/documents/tffm/apc_letter_ttfm_undpresponse101204.pdf
And the second open letter from APC to the UNDP and TFFM - 12 December 2004:
http://rights.apc.org/documents/tffm/apc_letter_ttfm_121204.pdf


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-- BUILDING CAPACITY & STRATEGIC USE OF ICTs --

What can Creative Commons and open content do for Africa?

Creative Commons could be a very useful initiative in West Africa, but
there are a number of challenges that need to be taken into consideration
before we will see any significant African participation in the global
movement. This was the general consensus of participants at a workshop held
by the APC in collaboration with the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT
in Accra, Ghana at the beginning of February. On March 4, the APC, in
collaboration with the Link Centre at Wits University, is running a
workshop to bring together lawyers, policy experts and innovators to
discuss what the South African Creative Commons licence should look like.
This open workshop aims to make South Africa the first country in Africa to
adapt Creative Commons.- APCNews
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31065


Free software camp in Asia brought together non-profits and grassroots hackers

In late January, India's technology mecca Bangalore became the venue for an
international 'camp' intended to promote free and open source software
(FOSS) among civil society. Asia Source, as the 'tech camp' was called, was
held from January 28 to February 4, 2005 and brought together over a
hundred people from 20 countries to increase the use and awareness of FOSS
amongt the non-profit sector in South and South East Asia. Asia Source was
supported by APC.  - APCNews/Bytes for All
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=30541


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-- WOMEN & ICTs --

NEWS: Embracing ICTs to eliminate violence against women and children in
Kazakhstan

The high cost of telephony and technical services is a principal barrier to
ICT access for women networking against violence in Central Asia, as well
as language, training, and gender stereotypes about women's use of
technology. Such barriers have motivated the Podrugi Crisis Centre to
become a pioneer in combining ICTs with their struggle against gender
violence.  "The women at Podrugi decided if they wanted the situation to
change, they'd have to do it themselves," comments Katerina Fialova of the
APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP), after a recent visit
to Kazakhstan to support Podrugi's ICT work. - APC WNSP
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31066


ANNOUNCEMENT: APC WNSP/GKP Gender and ICT Awards 2005

In 2005, the Gender and ICT Awards focus is on empowerment, specifically
ICT initiatives that promote women's economic empowerment as it relates to
development. The Gender and ICT Awards is sponsored by the Association for
Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Program (APC WNSP)
and the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).  Submissions from February 15
to April 30, 2005.
More information: http://www.genderawards.net/the_awards/2005.htm


NEW PROJECT: Gender Research in Africa into ICTs for Empowerment (GRACE)

GRACE, a new project from APC-Africa-Women, aims to explore the ways in
which women in Africa use information and communication technologies (ICTs)
to empower themselves, the external, structural barriers as well as the
internal factors which prevent them from using ICTs to their advantage, and
the strategies they employ to overcome these barriers. -- APC-Africa-Women
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=31068


FREE SOFTWARE: Linuxchix Africa launched

APC congratulates Linuxchix Africa -the African chapter of the worldwide
organisation- on its launch. The two founders -Anna Badimo from South
Africa and Dorcas Muthoni from Kenya- are APC-Africa-Women members who
participated in a recent free and open source software workshop in late
2004 run by APC member Women'sNet. Linuxchix Africa will help toward
building the critical mass of GNU/Linux skills among African women, and to
advocate for the use of FOSS for the many community development challenges
being faced by Africans, especially African women.
http://www.africalinuxchix.org/?q=node/22


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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES -

CALL FOR PAPERS: Disability, identity, and interdependence - ICTs and new
social forms

A call for papers for a special Spring 2006 issue of Information,
Communication & Society edited by the University of Queensland, Australia.

With the growing importance of new movements - such as the disability
movement, the online welfare movement, or those concerned with independent
living - ICTs have become an important part of envisioning and realizing
change to daily life for individuals, as well as the architecture and
systems of community and society. Submissions are welcome on topics such as
(but not restricted to): how thinking about disability, identity, and
interdependence opens up new perspectives on understanding ICTs; case
studies of particular technologies, accessibility, and disability; the
implications of disability for ICT policy and design; new conceptions of
welfare, online welfare movements and ICTs; independent living and ICTs;
what are the implications of ICTs for the lives of people with a diverse
range of disabilities and impairments, identities, and lives?

Deadline for final submissions is Monday 12 December 2005. Potential
contributors are encouraged to discuss their ideas with the editors. Contact
Dr Gerard Goggin: g.goggin@uq.edu.au.


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-- ONLINE TOOLS & RESOURCES --

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Information politics on the web

Does the information on the web offer many alternative accounts of reality,
or does it subtly align with an official version? In this recently
published book, Richard Rogers -who has worked with APC on several
occasions- identifies the cultures, techniques, and devices that rank and
recommend information on the web, analyzing not only the political content
of web sites but the politics built into the web's infrastructure.
Addressing the larger question of what the web is for, Rogers argues that
the web is still the best arena for unsettling the official and challenging
the familiar. - The MIT Press
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?tid=10329&ttype=2

CD-ROM: Rural Women in Africa

The International Women's Tribune Centre (IWTC), working in partnership
with the International Development Research/Eastern and Southern Africa
Office (IDRC/ESAO), Nairobi, has developed an information tool that offers
direct access to information for women who "are among the most marginalised
in development - poor women with little or no reading ability". Pioneered
in Uganda, the technical specifications that guided the development of the
new information tool were that it be used on basic computer systems at
rural telecentres, require minimal technical know-how to operate, and not
rely on access to the internet or the worldwide web. - IWTC
http://www.iwtc.org/files/!start.html

COVERAGE: CRIS/Media Trade update on UNESCO Draft Convention

Government delegates met in Paris, from January 31 to February 12, to
negotiate the near-final text of the proposed UNESCO Convention on Cultural
Diversity. Sasha Constanza-Schock from Free Press sent reports on daily
meetings and main outcomes. The CRIS Campaign strongly supported a modified
version of the draft as did governments from Brazil, Vietnam, and others.- CRIS
http://www.crisinfo.org/content/view/full/691/

DISCUSSION: Experts meet to discuss WIPO development agenda and treaty on
access to knowledge

A two day meeting -organised by the Third World Network (TWN), the Consumer
Project on Technology (CPTech) and the International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions (IFLA)- reviewed the status of the World
Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Development Agenda and proceeded
with a detailed discussion on the proposed treaty on Access to Knowledge. -
Choike
http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2628.html
The Development Agenda proposal, the WIPO General Assembly decision and
many of the comments and discussions are on the web at:
http://www.cptech.org/ip/wipo/futureofwipo.html

NEWSLETTER: Tsunami communication responses

On December 26 2004, an earthquake and a series of tsunamis wreaked havoc
in the coastal communities of the Indian Ocean. Numbers do little to
communicate the extent of the tragedy and the gravity of the situation, but
as of January 20, 2005, BBC News reported that the number of people known
to have died in the disaster had reached 220,000. This issue of the Drum
Beat explores some of the roles that communication has played in the
aftermath of this particular natural disaster, and highlights some of the
strategic ways that communication might be drawn upon to respond to or
prevent such devastation in the future. - The Communication Initiative
http://www.comminit.com/drum_beat_283.html

ONLINE RESOURCES: United Nations Official Document System open to the
general public via internet

The United Nations has launched its Official Document System (ODS), a
full-text web resource for official UN documentation. Available to the
general public, the ODS covers all types of documentation originating from
duty stations worldwide, including selective documents of the regional
commissions: Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA),
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Economic
Commission for Europe (ECE). Currently, the ODS contains close to 800,000
files and approximately 100,000 new documents are added each year. The ODS
is available at http://documents.un.org. An ODS Training Guide is posted at
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/train.htm

REPORT: The social structure of free and open source software development

Metaphors, such as the Cathedral and Bazaar, used to describe the
organization of FLOSS projects typically place them in sharp contrast to
proprietary development by emphasizing FOSS's distinctive social and
communications structures. But what do we really know about the
communication patterns of FOSS projects? How generalizable are the projects
that have been studied? Is there consistency across FOSS projects?
Questioning the assumption of distinctiveness is important because
practitioner-advocates from within the FOSS community rely on features of
social structure to describe and account for some of the advantages of FOSS
production. - First Monday
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_2/crowston/

SUMMARY: What has South Asian ICT4D network "BytesforAll" been discussing
in December?

Rural transformation in India through internet; IT access to women; free
software; the killing tsunami; and whether ICT can help in disaster
mitigation were among the themes discussed in the Bytes for All readers
forum in December 2004. Bytes for All is the APC member in the South Asian
region. Read the discussion summary, which has been compiled by Archana
Nagvekar of Bytes for All, India. - Bytes for All
http://www.bytesforall.net/Summary/b4all_dis_dec04


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-- WHERE IN THE WORLD IS APC IN MARCH? --

You can meet up with APC and/or APC WNSP (APC women's programme)
representatives at the events below during March 2005. Write to
events@apc.org to obtain contact information. See you there!

Feb 28 - March 11
Forty-ninth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
New York, USA
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Review/english/49sess.htm

March 1-3
First Annual SANGONeT "ICTs and Civil Society" Conference and Exhibition 2005
Johannesburg, South Africa
http://sangonet.org.za/conference2005

March 4
APC workshop "A Creative Commons South Africa workshop: Towards a national
licence"
In collaboration with the Link Centre
Parktown, South Africa
http://za.creativecommons.org/blog/?p=93

March 8-9
2nd Annual National ICT Convention
Nairobi, Kenya
http://africa.rights.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=ee_1&x=30840

March 15-16
New Technology support and capacity building for African NGOs
Pretoria, South Africa
http://www.ungana-afrika.org/workshop/

March 20-25
APC Workshop on capacity building for community wireless connectivity in Africa
Zanzibar, Tanzania
http://www.apc.org/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=WirelessPilotWorkshopprimer

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are distributed monthly
by APC - a worldwide network supporting the use of internet and ICTs for
social justice and sustainable development since 1990.
APCNews Archive: http://www.apc.org/english/news/apcnews/

CopyLeft. 2005 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.



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