The UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 (21 December 2001) endorsed the holding of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases. The first phase took place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005.

The South Asia ICT policy workshop will take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between April 19-22, 2006. More than 30 participants from non governmental organisations, regulatory authorities, as well as APC members and staff, will meet to discuss internet infrastructure policy issues, digital copyright rules and regulations, software patents and open access models for ICTs in general.
For more information, please contact Partha at: partha@apc.org

A team of APC bloggers were typing articles, blog posts and coming up with original perspectives on the Highway Africa conference, taking place between September 11 and 13 in Grahamstown, South Africa. They directed their focus on the first Digital Citizen Indaba on blogging which was held at Rhodes University, same location, on September 14 and 15. Keep track of the debates on intellectual property rights and ICT for development, and issues such as media concentration and community media in Africa. From posts explaining why African journalists have a hard time reporting properly on ICT policy issues to stories about the challenges faced by African media, many different facets are posted and commented here by the prolific blog queens of the APC Africa Women team and Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El-Fattah - who also participated in a panel on activism on Sept 15.

Une équipe de blogueurs d’APC écrivent actuellement des articles, observations à vif et présentent des perspectives uniques sur la conférence Highway Africa, qui se tient à Grahamstown, Afrique du sud, entre le 11 et le 13 septembre. Ils mettront ensuite le cap sur l’événement du citoyen numérique sur le blogage qui a lieu à l’université Rhodes, dans la même ville, les 14 et 15 septembre. Suivez les débats sur la propriété intellectuelle et les TIC pour le développement, tout comme des enjeux tels que la concentration des médias et les médias communautaires en Afrique. De missives qui expliquent pourquoi les journalistes africains peinent à couvrir adéquatement sur les politiques de TIC, aux défis rencontrés par les médias africains, plusieurs facettes sont présentées et commentées ici par les prolifiques reines-blogueuses du programme des femmes africaines d’APC et du blogueur égyptien Alaa Abd El-Fattah – qui participe également à un panel sur l’activisme le 15 septembre.

The three-day World Congress on Communication for Development (WCCD) -between October 25 and 27 2006- will bring together communication professionals engaged in development initiatives, policymakers, development practitioners, donor and civil society organization representatives, community representatives, and academics from around the world. They are expected to discuss issues such as the right to communicate, ICT for development, media pluralism and access to information. Organised by the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and The Communication Initiative, this congress is attended by an APC contingent ready to insist on the gender perspective, genuine ICTD and open access ICT policy.

The first meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), takes place between October 30 and November 2 2006 in Athens, Greece. This is the place where a new world positioning on questions related to the steering of the internet will be debated. Openness, security, diversity and access are on the table. Governments, the private sector and civil society organisations will present their multiple interpretations of how the internet should be run through 36 workshops, an exposition place and related activities. The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) will be on the ground with around 30 participants and several bloggers, writers and reporters. Follow the IGF from a progressive perspective on APC.org for fresh APCNews updates, on the APC blogs in English, French and Spanish. Keep an eye open for the special IGF edition of APCNews and APCNoticias (Nr. 70) that will hit the stands on November 1.

The most impressive gathering of civil society and social movements is roaring. It takes place in Nairobi, Kenya and as many of you know, it's called the World Social Forum. Follow the event, read the interviews, articles and to-the-minute updates direct from East Africa. APC members Alternatives (Canada), Arid Lands Information Network (Kenya), Enda Tiers Monde (Senegal), Instituto del Tercer Mundo (Uruguay), Japan Computer Access and VOICE (Bangladesh) are attending. Expect the news straight from the horse's mouth, as our pool of writers is set at the starting line. They will report on technology for social change, fair trade and progressive communications as well as on the general flavour of this year's WSF.

La plus impressionante rencontre de la société civile et des mouvements sociaux est sur le point se produire. Elle a lieu à Nairobi, au Kenya et comme plusieurs d'entre-vous le savez, elle se nomme Forum Social Mondial. Suivez l'événement, lisez les entrevues, les articles, les mises à jour instantannées en directe d'Afrique de l'Est. Les membres d'APC Alternatives (Canada), Arid Lands Information Network (Kenya), Enda Tiers Monde (Sénégal), Instituto del Tercer Mundo (Uruguay), Japan Computer Access et VOICE (Bengladesh) y participent. Attendez-vous à des actualités de première main, puisque notre équipe de journalistes est parée à la ligne de départ. Ces derniers mettrons l'accent sur la technologie pour le changement social, le commerce équitable et les communications progressistes, tout comme sur le caratère général qui marquera cette édition du FSM.

El evento más impresionante que reúne a la sociedad civil y a los movimientos sociales ya está calentando sus motores. La cita es en Nairobi, Kenia, y como muchos de ustedes saben se llama Foro Social Mundial. Pueden seguir el evento, leer entrevistas, artículos y actualizaciones de último minuto directo de África oriental. Los miembros de APC Alternatives (Canadá), ALIN (Kenia), Enda Tires Monde (Senegal), Instituto del Tercer Mundo (Uruguay), JCA-Net (Japón) y VOICE (Bangladesh) están presentes. Noticias recién salidas del horno llegarán a través de nuestro equipo de redactores. Escribirán sobre la tecnología para el cambio social, el comercio justo y las comunicaciones progresistas, así como también sobre el aire que se respira en la edición de este año del FSM.

Highway Africa is where more than 600 African journalists gathered between September 10 and 12 in Grahamstown, South Africa. The conference was preceeded by the second Digital Citizen Indaba on blogging which was held at Rhodes University, same location, on September 10. Keep track of the debates on excellence in journalism, and issues such as community media and gender and media in Africa.