APC

This contribution to the World Public Sector Report 2023, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, builds on analytical research led by APC for the 2021-2022 edition of the Global Information Society Watch report, which explored digital futures for a post-pandemic world.

APC is mobilising for the 18th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that will take place in hybrid format, both online and offline, from 8-12 October 2023 in Kyoto, Japan. This page offers everything you need to know about APC at IGF 2023.

The 2023 global IGF will see the launch of a campaign for #TheIGFWeWant, calling attention to the IGF's importance to mobilise civil society organisations and other stakeholders to collectively and strongly advocate for its maintenance and strengthening.

Individual researchers and/or organisations are invited to submit research proposals that address critical and emerging issues related to technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). The deadline for applications is 2 November 2023.

In this issue, we celebrate and share the experiences of women who are overcoming challenges and stereotypes of gender, class and race to build more inclusive spaces and experiences to foster community-centred connectivity around the world. 

The Hold the Line Coalition, comprised of over 80 organisations around the world including APC, welcomes the verdict acquitting Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and her news outlet Rappler on the final criminal tax charge levelled against them by the regime of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Arsène Tungali, executive director of the DRC-based APC member organisation Rudi International, shares his takeaways from this international learning and exchange experience made possible with support from APC’s Member Engagement and Travel Fund.

Personal data protection laws have proliferated across the Asia-Pacific but they are often misused to abuse citizens’ right to privacy. We must examine their autocratic bent in the context of a global framework like Europe’s GDPR which is also regularly abused.

This statement was presented at a ministerial meeting convened by the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), which brought together high-level representatives of FOC member states and other relevant stakeholders in New York on the margins of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

How can the internet of things (IoT) be used to promote environmental justice? On Thursday, 21 September, APC will dedicate its monthly #EcoThursday initiative to exchanges around this issue through our social media and platforms.

Uganda passed one of the world's strictest anti-homosexuality bills this year, raising a legal spectre that goes back a decade in the making. This law weaponises hatred fueled by digital misinformation in a society that must reckon with not just its homophobia but its larger fear of any 'difference'.

We are delighted to announce the new episodes of the Routing for Communities podcast are out! This month, we travel to Brazil and Nigeria to find out more about experiences with community networks, reflecting on how access inequalities combine with gender and race.

APC in partnership with the CYRILLA Collaborative is organising the 2023 edition of Internet Rules: Unboxing digital laws in Southeast Asia. The four-day online workshop will be held from 30 October to 2 November 2023. The deadline for applications is 20 September.

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) not only hurts women and girls, it impacts on society as a whole, making our societies less peaceful and safe and our democracies less diverse and plural. It is pervasive and constitutes both a cause and an effect of gender inequality.

In this edition we can see many examples of community-centred initiatives flourishing in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Welcome to the 61th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks and community-based initiatives.

The Feminist Internet Research Network (FIRN) focuses on the making of a feminist internet, through data-driven research that provides substantial evidence to drive change in policy and law and in the discourse around internet rights. The deadline for applications is 15 September.

This edition focuses on research conducted as part of the Feminist Internet Research Network (FIRN) initiative that showcases the interconnections of online gender-based violence with different countries' local contexts and everyday realities.

The Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (AprIGF) is one of the key regional initiatives on internet governance. This year will be a hybrid event in Brisbane, Australia, from 28 to 31 August. APC staff and members are hosting and involved in key sessions.

In the latest edition of poliTICS, a publication produced by APC member Insituto Nupef, Carlos Afonso explores the "curious contradiction" between the fear of an AI-caused extinction and the uncontainable desire to make fame and money from its spectacular and frightening advances.

With heavy hearts, we learned this week that Scott Weikart, one of the indispensable ones who made the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) possible, has passed away.