Fwd: APCNews - October 2002 - No. 28

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
Subject: APCNews - October 2002 - No. 28
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 17:14:03 -0300
From: Karen Higgs <[email protected]>
To: Karen Higgs <[email protected]>


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          *APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
     Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
               - October 2002 No. 28 -
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS --
-- NEWS FROM APC --
-- APC ACTION AREA: BUILDING INFO COMMUNITIES --
-- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS --
-- APC ACTION AREA: MOBILISING PARTICIPATION --
-- WOMEN & ICTs --
-- ONLINE TOOLS --
-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES -
-- IMPORTANT DATES --
-- SITES OF INTEREST --
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-- NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS -

TAU, Argentina: Non-profits and solidarity groups under pressure in
Argentina's second city create an alternative information exchange

"In our city, the newspapers, the radio stations and the local TV
channels are all in the hands of the business sector and they make sure
that the coverage reflects their own interests. We hope that "Enredando"
will join the other alternative media that are emerging to provide a
space for information that is generated by the people who never get to
appear in the pages of the local newspapers or on the evening news," say
the directors of TAU, the APC member that recently launched an
alternative information portal for civil society groups fighting poverty
and corruption in Rosario, Argentina's former industrial heartland.

"We were really thrilled at the number of people that came to us to get
involved in the portal, who want to show what it's like working day by
day in a non-governmental organisation in Rosario," said director,
Danilo Lujambio. It's not an easy vocation at the moment. The current
economic and social crisis in Argentina, which has left over half the
population in a state of desperate poverty, has made social justice
workers' work more difficult and has transformed them once again into a
target for threats and attacks by anti-progressive forces.

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7837


RITS, Brazil: Small organisations from Brazil's impoverished North-East
will get a computer and training in how to use it to strengthen their
impact

In August, APC member in Brazil, RITS, together with IBM and the
Inter-American Foundation launched a campaign to find forty small
organizations in the poorest region of Brazil to each receive a free
computer and training on how to use it to better achieve their mission.

A=E7=E3o Digital Nordeste - North-East Digital Action- has already caused=
 a
stir in the Brazilian non-profit community. Promotion is happening
through RITS' own online magazine for civil society - Rets, with a
readership of more than 17,000 - and also through a number of partners
in the Northeast region, who have committed to distributing application
forms across their regional networks. The first applications are already
coming in!

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7800

INTERCOM, Ecuador: Networking marginal neighbourhoods in North-East
Quito gets underway

After one year of hard work, the Federation of North-East Quito
Neighbourhoods (Federaci=F3n de Barrios Populares del Noroccidente de
Quito) together with APC's Quito-based member, INTERCOM, have finished
equipping the Federation's first ever telecentre. The telecentre is
based physically inside the Federation's headquarters, located in a
marginal neighbourhood in the deprived area of NE Quito, and will form
the central node of an electronic inter-neighbourhood network which will
extend to another four neighbourhoods.

The telecentre has nine computers, seven of them running entirely free
software (Linux), and is run by fifteen "promoters", between the ages of
16 and 28. The promoters all come from the surrounding district and many
of them have found it difficult to find jobs in the depressed national
economy. One of the goals of the telecentre is to improve the perception
of young people in the neighbourhood by providing them with skills and a
community leadership role.

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7801


Wamani, Argentina: APC member in Argentina - Wamani - provides
technology for new Argentinian Amnesty International site

Amnesty International in Argentina has launched a new website. After two
years of development, and in collaboration with APC member, Wamani,
members of AI Argentina are able to join the other thousands of human
rights activists who work together online to put the heat on human
rights violators through a special system of "Urgent Actions" and
"Campaigns".

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7820


Chasque/IteM: Non-profit Internet service provider in Uruguay holds
record in providing uninterrupted connection to the Internet

On September 13 2002, the Uruguayan Internet service provider Chasque
(communications branch of the Third World Institute, APC member in
Uruguay) moved into second place amongst the servers that provide
uninterrupted connections to the Internet, according to NetCraft,
Internet specialists in hosting evaluation. Chasque's servers had
provided 227 days of uninterrupted service. Chasque coordinator Ernesto
Rapetti, explained that the ranking is the result of the reliability of
the open source systems Unix-Linux used by Chasque, their policy of
resolving problems without restarting servers (so as not to interrupt
service) and "a bit of luck".

The NetCraft ranking: http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/isp.avg.html
(Chasque appears listed as ANTEL)
ITeM/Chasque: http://www.chasque.apc.org


c2o, Australia: Web Origami Kit - software that creates websites for
non-government and cultural organizations - goes under the evaluation
microscope

>From 16 - 19 September, an Asia regional Gender Evaluation Methodology

(GEM) Workshop was held in Manila, Philippines. Australian APC member,
c2o, will be using GEM to evaluate their Web Origami Kit (WOK)
initiative, and c2o/Toy Satellite Director, Andrew Garton, was attended
the workshop to find out more about the APC Women's Programme's GEM.

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7839


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-- NEWS FROM APC -

APC Africa Hafkin Prize 2002: Announcing the APC Africa Hafkin Prize
finalists in 2002!

In 2002, the Hafkin Prize recognises People-Centred Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) Policy in Africa. The six policy
initiatives that have reached the final shortlist are from Namibia,
Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Our jury is currently reviewing the finalists. The winner(s) will be
announced at a technology policy and civil society workshop organized by
APC, ARTICLE 19 and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between November 6-10 2002.

Find out who the finalists are:
http://www.apc.org/english/hafkin/2002_finalists.shtml


New APC Member: Arid Lands Information Network (East Africa), Kenya

APC is delighted to welcome our newest member, East African network,
ALIN. ALIN is based in Kenya and formed in March 2000 to improve the
practices of grassroots development workers in the dry lands of Africa
by facilitating the exchange of experience among them, and disseminating
appropriate information in a usable form.

ALIN provides e-mail, Internet and digital satellite broadcasting in
collaboration with the WorldSpace Foundation. This innovative technology
- which allows users out in remote areas to receive information from the
Internet from a small radio which receives signals from a satellite -
was demonstrated at the APC Building Information Communities workshop in
February 2002 in Johannesburg.

ALIN: http://www.alin.or.ke


APC Africa Hafkin Prize 2001: News from last year's Hafkin Prize winner
- the Bayanloco Computer Learning Centre in rural Nigeria

"It was our honour to be awarded the first Hafkin Africa Prize, and it
is no exaggeration to say that the prize has taken us to heights we
never dreamt of.

With Professor Nancy Hafkin's kind permission, we set aside part of the
award to provide scholarships for women for IT training at the Bayanloco
Community Learning Centre. We have also been able to purchase a fixed
antenna for satellite telephone - the only one in the rural communities
where we work. One of the challenges of the prize was the need for an
impact assessment of our ICT services so far. And the preliminary
results taught us some quick lessons such as: women in rural communities
are too busy to engage in learning ICT skills just for the sake of it.
It has to meet their immediate needs (such as providing information and
assisting healthcare), it has to be accessible in their local language,
and ICTs that builds on existing skills are more relevant."- Mrs Yinka
Talabi, ICT Program Manager, Bayanloco, Kafanchan, Nigeria.

More: http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7842

Read out more about last year's prize winner and the finalists:
http://www.apc.org/english/hafkin/2001/haf_finalists.shtml

This prize is funded by APC and the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC).


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-- APC ACTION AREA: BUILDING INFO COMMUNITIES -

New Study from APC: 'Understanding Civil Society Portals: Online Content
and Community Models for the CSO Sector'

Based on findings from five in-depth case studies and quick reviews of
dozens of sites, this study - conducted by Mark Surman of the Commons
Group on behalf of APC - provides an overview of civil society portal
approaches and practical tips for portal builders. It outlines common
strategies and challenges that have emerged from recent civil society
organisation (CSO) portal projects, including APC members Chasque,
ChangeNet, and Women'sNet (SANGONeT). It also offers a set of basic
planning tools that will help organisations in the process of building
or upgrading their sites.

Download the report from the ItrainOnline "Strategic Use" section:
http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/english/strategic.shtml


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-- APC ACTION AREA: INTERNET RIGHTS -

Internet Rights in Africa: African ICT Policy and Civil Society workshop
in November

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC), ARTICLE 19 and the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) will be holding a
five-day information and communications technology (ICT) policy and
civil society workshop from November 6th to 10th, 2002 in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.

Civil society groups have been at the forefront in advancing ICT
applications in various sectors, however the purpose of this workshop is
to build knowledge and expertise of civil society organizations to
engage ICT policy processes in Africa. "Few civil society organizations
are aware of the policy developments taking place at the global,
regional and national levels that can impact on their ability and
potential to use ICTs as a tool in their work, let alone own or control
the production and application of these technologies locally," says
Emmanuel Njenga Njuguna, APC's Africa project coordinator. "This
workshop will help build people's awareness and capacity to understand
ICT policy concepts, issues, and how these impact on their work and
their communities."

Africa ICT Policy Workshop:
http://www.apc.org/english/press/archive/apc_p022.shtml


Internet Rights in Africa: About APC's policy work in Africa

The Africa ICT Policy monitor website, launched in May 2002, is a
user-friendly resource which aims at demystifying the concepts of ICT
policy-making. APC hopes that the Website content will stimulate
discussion between users from around the continent about the use and
relevance of ICTs for development in Africa, and facilitate the
development of a network of civil society organisations promoting
African Internet rights issues.

Africa ICT Policy Website: http://africa.rights.apc.org


Internet Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: Internet policy
newsletter focuses on women's use of the Internet

APC's Internet Policy monitor initiative in Latin America and the
Caribbean is now producing a newsletter on "Internet Rights and Policy".
The newsletter includes analysis, commentary and news related to the
promotion and defence of the Internet as a tool for strategic
information exchange and communication in the region, as well as
information about materials recently added to the policy monitor website
- all focused to be of use to civil society organisations, human rights
activists, journalists and others.

This month's issue covered the strategic role ICTs can play in helping
women participate in the public debate, and in defending and advancing
women's rights. The newsletter looks at the work of several
organisations and groups working in the area of gender and ICTs, and
guest writers from Colombia and Brazil describe and analyse the
challenges of getting online, and taking advantage of how working online
can help them in their work. The design and implementation of technology
projects and initiatives, and the development of public policies which
take into account women's access to and use of technology for their
advancement are also discussed.

To receive the newsletter, visit:
http://lists.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/derechos.lac.boletin or write to
[email protected]. The newsletter is produced in Spanish.
Latin America and the Caribbean ICT Policy Monitor:
http://lac.derechos.apc.org [Spanish]
About the monitor in English: http://rights.apc.org/lac.shtml


APC's Policy and Women's programmes at the Global Communities Networking
Partnership Congress

Over 350 community networkers, activists and academics attended the
third Global Communities Networking Partnership Congress (GCNP) in
Montreal, Canada, Oct 7-14th. The agenda dealt with issues ranging from
the future of community networking to the promotion of online cultural
diversity and pluralism to building citizenship in the 'Information
Society'.

APC co-coordinated the Internet Rights Theme with the GCNP organisers.
The Internet Rights theme events were all well attended, with staff from
APC's Communications & Information Policy Programme and Women's
Programme and APC members presenting in over 10 plenaries, workshops and
training sessions. The GCNP congress finished with a half-day session
focussing on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process,
where APC's plans for supporting Civil Society organising and
strategising around WSIS were well received by conference delegates.

GCNP: http://www.globalcn.org/conf/index.html
APC's Communications & Information Policy Programme work can be seen on
our Internet Rights sites. Start at: http://rights.apc.org and then take
a look at regional work.


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-- APC ACTION AREA: MOBILISING PARTICIPATION -

How to use the Internet better:  Capacity building and training
materials in French

The ItrainOnline sites in English, French and Spanish offer resources
for trainers and end users on basic computer and Internet skills, using
the Internet strategically, web development, multimedia (including
community radio and telecentres) and advanced technical skills.

Now a French ItrainOnline site has been developed by the SYNFEV team of
APC member in Senegal, ENDA Tiers Monde. The French site draws on
information published on ENDA's famafrique site, an online space
providing information and resources on sustainable development for
French-speaking African women.

ItrainOnline in French: http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/french/


How to use the Internet better:  Capacity building and training
materials for women

The ItrainOnline sites in English, French and Spanish offer resources
for trainers and end users on basic computer and Internet skills, using
the Internet strategically, web development, multimedia (including
community radio and telecentres) and advanced technical skills.

A Women's Online Resource Centre (WORC) has been developed for APC by
South African APC-Africa-Women members, Women'sNet. The WORC is a
clearinghouse of gender-aware ICT training materials , as well as more
general materials on development, targeted at both trainers and
end-users. The WORC is a project of the Women's Networking Support
Program, and a content partner of ItrainOnline.

A Women's Online Resource Centre: http://www.apc.org/worc/


New directory: Services by APC Members to the social justice and
development community

APC members provide numerous services to the development and social
justice community - from hosting and designing database-backed websites,
to running portal websites, to training human rights organizations in
how to use the Internet strategically and securely.

Visit this new section and click on one of the regions to see a
directory of services offered in that region.

APC member service directory:
http://www.apc.org/english/about/members/services-map.shtml


APC ActionApps: User manuals in English and Spanish updated

As part of our effort to build capacity, in 2001, APC released a free
collaborative Web publishing software for not-for-profits.  The APC
ActionApps were developed to offer a low cost solution for content
sharing that both increases the functionality of not-for-profit and NGO
Websites and facilitates the creation of portals sites, improving the
visibility of civil society information. APC ActionApps is an online
content management system which allows authorised users to easily update
the content of a website using just a web browser like Netscape
Navigator or Internet Explorer.  It's easy to add, remove, or update
information from a website anytime, from anywhere, with no HTML skills
needed.

The software is being developed all the time as part of a free
software/open source initiative by dedicated progressive technicians all
over the world. There is a manual to accompany the software that is
maintained in English and Spanish by APC. A revised manual was released
in English in April, and has recently been updated and translated into
Spanish.

Manual in English (version 1.3, Apps V.2.0):
http://www.apc.org/actionapps/english/manual/download.html
Manual in Spanish (version 1.4, Apps V.2.2):
http://www.apc.org/actionapps/espanol/manual/apc_actionapps_manual2_espan=
ol.z
ip

More about the APC ActionApps: http://www.apc.org/actionapps/


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-- WOMEN & ICTs -

APC WNSP: APC Women at the Ninth International Forum from the
Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

With some 1,300 participants attending from 105 countries around the
globe, the Forum which was held in Guadalajara, Mexico from October 3-6
2002 focused on one of the most urgent issues facing gender equality
work: How can we reinvent globalisation to further the rights of all
women?  APC's Women's Networking Support Programme (WNSP) held three
workshops on the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) which is currently
being tested by groups working with technology for social justice around
the world.

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7851


APC-Africa-Women: At the Kampala Know How Conference 2002

The fifth conference of specialists in the generation, collection and
dissemination of information relevant to women - the Know How Conference
2002 - held recently in Kampala, Uganda was a significant event for
African women's information and media initiatives, women activists and
ICT champions.

"The opening day was rich in dance, celebration, creativity and African
energy. Participants were privileged to hear stories told by Ugandan
women survivors of war and abuse," said APC-Africa-Women coordinator,
Jenny Radloff. "Privileged because as women working with women's
information, we are often too focused on the processes, systems and
conduits of information rather than the people who are directly affected
by the policies we fight to change." The first day set the scene for a
conference that was rooted in reality and dialogue, sharing and skills
exchange.

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=3D7852


The Internet: Working for Women in Africa

"The bottom line is that women don't have the same access to ICTs that
men have. The creation, use and distribution of ICTs are still largely
in the hands of men. This stems from a range of unequal practices,
starting with education where girls are often not encouraged to study
sciences and technology therefore starting off on an unequal footing.

New ICT tools are becoming *the* way in which the world is sharing
information, therefore it is crucial for women to have access to ICTs.
But it isn't just about access. The *effective* use of these tools is
essential and we must find out how to use ICTs in creative and
sustainable ways, such as assisting women in networking, sharing
information, and generate income." -- Jenny Radloff.

The APC interviewed APC-Africa-Women Project Coordinator, Jenny Radloff,
to find out more about the African regional "chapter" of the APC Women's
Networking Support Programme (WNSP).

http://africa.rights.apc.org/news-content.shtml?x=3D6625

Member of APC-Africa-Women, Women'sNet, have a slot on a women's radio
programme in South Africa called "Women Today". Women'sNet speak for ten
minutes every Wednesday on issues of women and ICTs on SAFM between
11.30am and 12.00.


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-- ONLINE TOOLS -

Genie: Donor-focused Gender Information Exchange Website

75 new experts joined the Genie database - a donor-focused gender
information exchange site - in September. An increasing number of donor
agencies (e.g., CIDA) and international non-profits (e.g., Christian
AID) are advertising their job vacancies through the database, which is
produced by APC member in the UK, BRIDGE. New areas of expertise added
to the database include gender and: social funds, rural livelihoods,
organisational reform, and governance. New Genie consultants are from
countries such as Eritrea, Croatia, Pakistan, Senegal, France, Cameroon,
Australia, the US and the UK.

To search the Genie database:
http://www.genie.ids.ac.uk/experts_search.htm


Web browsers and free office software suite available in major South
African languages

South Africa has eleven official languages, yet most computer software
is only available in English and is poorly supported in Afrikaans. Until
recently the other nine languages had no translation. Translate.org.za
is coordinating, initiating, sustaining and focusing the efforts of
South African translation teams to give all citizens of South Africa
access to computers in their mother tongue, firstly with tools for email
and web-browsing, then office productivity tools and lastly with a
completely translated desktop.

Software has currently been translated into Xhosa, Zulu, Venda, Northern
Sotho, Siswati and Tswana. "In South Africa many languages have been
marginalised through the history of apartheid which has led to a lack of
language pride," says director, Dwayne Bailey. "Seeing Linux users
working in German and French environments made me realise that this
could do the same for South African languages. I hope that simply
allowing people to use the computer in their mother tongue will
stimulate pride in their language ... plus the fact that learning
something in your mother tongue is naturally easier."

"Translation does not remove all barriers to computer access", says
Bailey, "but it helps to eliminate one. This together with low cost
computers, open source software and low cost Internet access will go a
long way to making a dramatic IT impact on South Africans, especially
the disadvantaged."

Opensource Software Translation Project: http://www.translate.org.za


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-- COLLABORATING OPPORTUNITIES -

RITS, Brazil: Seeking financial support for the World Social Forum 2003
online communications infrastructure

For the month before the Second World Social Forum in Brazil in January
2002 and the four months after, the WSF website was receiving up to half
a million page views per day (that means that visitors requested to see
500,000 web pages from the site each day)! This used up a huge amount of
bandwidth which cost RITS over $1,000 USD per month!

APC member in Brazil, RITS, provides the WSF with its Internet
communications structure - the websites, hosting, email and online
forums for event organization. Carlos Afonso, the technical director,
has estimated that this year approximately $10-12,000 is needed to
provide and maintain the necessary communications, including the
purchase and maintenance of a new back-up server. During the last Forum
the server hosting the WSF website had its capacity stretched to the
absolute limit. "At the height of the Forum, half a million hits were
tallied in a single day," says Carlos Afonso. "Let me tell you, there
were times when I was literally chewing my nails! We were leaning over
the equipment, praying the servers wouldn't crash under the load."

If any agency or individual is willing to provide financial support for
this effort, please contact Carlos at [email protected]

Find out more about RITS' work in an article from IDRC, "A Robin Hood
for the Digital Age":
http://www.idrc.ca/reports/read_article_english.cfm?article_num=3D1066


Economic Commission for Africa, Ethiopia: New media awards programme
encourages solid reporting on the development impact of ICTs

A media awards programme has been launched to promote and encourage more
informed and consistent reporting and analysis of the information
society and issues related to the development potential and impact of
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The AISI Media Awards
Programme is named after the African Information Society Initiative, a
framework, launched by the Economic Commission for Africa six years ago
to help develop national information and communication infrastructure
plans and to engender an information society in African countries. The
deadline for applications is 28 February 2003.

Detailed information on the awards, including instructions on how to
submit
entries: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/mediaaward.htm


The Graphic Alliance, International: Seeking progressive designers

A loose alliance of graphic, web and other designers committed to social
change has just started. The purpose of this alliance is to unite
progressive designers, graphics archivers and printers for networking
and collaboration purposes, as well as making socially-conscious
designers and design more accessible to the public. Support for this
project has already begun to grow. Coordination is currently in English
only, but the group welcomes the establishment of parallel groups
working in different languages.

The Graphic Alliance: http://www.justicedesign.com/graphicalliance.html
or write to Jason Justice [email protected]. Spanish
speakers, please contact [email protected]


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-- IMPORTANT DATES -

ICT Policy and Civil Society in Africa Workshop (APC, Article 19, UNECA)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
November 6-10, 2002

The workshop, which will bring together approximately seventy
representatives from civil society organizations from all regions of
Africa, is particularly timely, closely following a month-long
discussion on the African Information Society Initiative forum on the
role of civil society in promoting the use of ICTs to strengthen and
stimulate participatory approaches to policy issues especially
governance in Africa. The forum discussions will provide the basis for a
strong African civil society input to the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS) in December 2003.

Africa ICT Policy Workshop:
http://www.apc.org/english/press/archive/apc_p022.shtml


The Role of NGOs in the Health of Communities: Creative Partnerships
February 26 - March 5 2003
Salzburg, Austria

http://www.salzburgseminar.org.


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-- SITES OF INTEREST -

New site for the World Social Forum

The new World Social Forum web site is completely reformulated
graphically and editorially. Browse at your leisure and send your
comments to Patricia Giuffrida at [email protected]. Registration
for delegates and workshops at WSF 2003 is also
open and the forms are available on the new web site.

World Social Forum: http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br


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APCNews, in English, and APCNoticias, in Spanish, are
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Communications (APC), the international Internet community
for peace, human rights, development and the environment.
APCNews Archive: http://www.apc.org/english/news/apcnews/

CopyLeft. 2002 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
organizations. Please provide an acknowledgment to APC.

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