What have we accomplished
in the last four years?

In October 2017, 105 journalists, artists, technologists, researchers, and film-makers gathered in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for “Coconet: A Southeast Asia Digital Rights Camp”. It was organised by EngageMedia, in collaboration with APC, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and a regional consortium. Coconet, named after the coconut plant that is widely grown and used in the Southeast Asian region, also means “Connecting Communities and Networks”. Participants converged from across Asia and beyond to share their knowledge, skills, tools, experiences and ideas about digital rights in a series of open-space workshops, labs and evening activities. Inspired by the discussions and newly set up relationships at Coconet, participants created a thriving network for sharing opportunities and knowledge. These collaborations and the sense of community are needed now more than ever. Civil society actors find themselves in an online environment increasingly full of risks, and despite substantial efforts, these issues remain little known or appreciated amongst the general public. We believe that the networks and relationships established at Coconet are essential to strengthening the digital rights movement, especially in Southeast Asia.

APC granted EngageMedia the funds to host a pre-camp meeting to bring together the coalition of organisations that hosted the camp. During the two-day meeting, held in Indonesia in 2016, the partner organisations identified relevant issues in Southeast Asia that the camp would focus on, and identified the organisations, networks and individuals to be invited to the camp as a way of working together collaboratively.

In October 2019, EngageMedia and APC co-convened a second edition of the camp, designed in coordination with a consortium of partners, including fellow APC member organisation Thai Netizen Network. Coconet II built on the momentum and strong culture developed at Coconet I, expanding the space for new changemakers: activists, journalists, artists, technologists, film-makers, lawyers and researchers, who represent a wide variety of social and environmental movements. Over 120 changemakers from 22 countries converged in Antipolo, Philippines, to discuss and share their knowledge on digital rights, exchange tactics and skills, and plan joint campaigns and collaborations to strengthen their respective movements as well as support broader ones.

The camp launched various campaigns, as well as more than 20 collaborations on various topics, including digital safety, open technology, AI, internet censorship, creative campaigning, and building a feminist internet. Most importantly, Coconet II launched Coconet as an active network of changemakers. In this network are spaces and activities for collaboration, campaigns, and advocacy. These spaces range from chat groups for daily coordination and debate, to the Coconet.social website that serves as a regional hub for digital rights activism. EngageMedia and APC, in coordination with Coconet participants, continue to support and build these platforms to sustain and grow digital rights movements across the region.

This project was a crash course from awareness raising to policy, focusing on two areas: women’s rights and internet rights. In 2015, OneWorld Platform (OWP) organised the first national Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2016, OWP brought gender awareness into this policy process.

The project contributed to the creation of a culture of dialogue in the country through the national IGF, which was organised with an open-door policy and a strong sense of open community. In particular, the project built the capacity of women in media to participate significantly in this political process.

The project’s twin objectives were implemented through research to create a network and build data, evidence and awareness on women in the media and their experience with information and communications technologies (ICTs). Women in the media (journalists and bloggers) are best placed to play a catalytic role in changing public awareness because they already have a voice in the public sphere. This research provided inspiration and lessons to create a more open and free public policy process and debate in the country.

This project from 2016 created regulatory conditions in different Latin American countries so that local groups and communities could create and operate their own GSM networks, through work with colleagues in Nicaragua, Brazil and Colombia. There is a piece of international regulation called ITU-D Recommendation 19 that Rhizomatica helped write and get passed that lays some minimal groundwork for local and community networks that need spectrum. They then brought this down to the Americas level with an Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) resolution. The next step was visiting in-country partners to help them move forward with community GSM.

Rhizomatica advocated for clear regulatory and policy pathways, similar to those in Mexico, for social-purpose licensing of GSM and other types of networks. This will mean that organisations and communities will have a legal means to do what they see fit in terms of creating new telecommunications networks.

The idea was to share the limited success they had in Mexico with other partners, and the natural way forward was to start in Latin America. Amongst their partners in Brazil and Colombia were Nupef and Colnodo, both APC members, working collaboratively to open up regulatory spaces for community participation.

Deep Dives is an online imprint exploring relatively uncharted waters, hosted under Point of View (PoV). The first series, Sexing the Interwebs, told in-depth stories at the intersection of sex, gender and technology in the Indian context. Stories mostly take the form of long-form narrative, alongside the occasional art, poetry and fiction.

“Season One” of Sexing the Interwebs ran from June to December 2015, and featured stories including an exploration of India’s badass girl gamers, an essay investigating abuse faced by women in the FOSS community, and many more. Sexing the Interwebs: Season Two began in October 2016, with an array of exciting stories. These include an essay on the gendered nature of surveillance projects; a piece on rural sex workers using mobile phones; an in-depth investigation of a rape video case at a university; a reported essay on how India’s asexuality community is coming out online; and many more.

As a series, Sexing the Interwebs is the only media initiative in India consistently putting out high-quality content in the space of gender, sex and tech. The first series was widely read, recommended by Medium staff, and republished by several mainstream publications including The Daily Dot, Scroll.in and The Wire.

The impact of Sexing the Interwebs can also be seen beyond readership. Essays are written almost exclusively by women (including trans women), because at Point of View, they believe that women’s voices, writing and art have the potential to change the world.

Sexing the Interwebs complements the EROTICS India project by reaching a large, diverse, mainstream audience through accessible, fun and well-written essays.  

After the election of President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines experienced shifts in the country’s political and socio-cultural landscape, including promises of change by waging war against criminality, drugs and corruption. The “war against drugs” supported by the Philippine National Police anti-drug campaign targeted suspected drug dealers and users ostensibly for arrest, but in practice has been a campaign of extrajudicial execution in impoverished areas of the country, with more than 7,000 drug-related killings reported.

With the aid of an APC subgrant, the Foundation for Media Alternatives promoted justice by starting the informational website Ang Pangako in 2017, which mapped the cases reported and builds a centralised database accessible to various groups involved in addressing the killings. The map provides evidence on the outright human rights violations in the country, linking as well to other important information that may be useful to families of victims, as well as to researchers and human rights advocates.

Women journalists and human rights defenders face increasing abuse and harassment while using the internet, an issue particularly pressing in countries like Pakistan. Among the latest resources to respond to online attacks, a new open source application called Muavin was launched in 2017 by APC member Media Matters for Democracy with the support of an APC subgrant.

This tool aims to help women and other internet users to explore new ways of fighting online abuse. The application allows users to tag offensive material and ask their group of allies to intervene, so as to push back on the hate narrative and/or report to Facebook. The flagged content can also be submitted to a number of discussion groups where other allies can show support and discuss further strategies for countering the abuse.

The government of Cameroon has placed special emphasis on ICTs and the internet to address major issues such as youth unemployment, the poor quality of the educational system, poor business competitiveness and the country’s low touristic attractiveness, among others. But is the government ready to allow the internet to fully express its potential?

To answer this question, in 2017 APC member PROTEGE QV benefited from an APC subgrant to analyse the Cameroonian situation from the perspective of the key principles of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The report produced by PROTEGE QV under this initiative provides an accurate picture of the country’s situation with regard to the 13 key principles outlined by the African Declaration, including a focus on threats, violations, trends and opportunities, an integrated measurement tool of a country’s situation in light of the 13 key principles, and an overview of Cameroon’s situation regarding at least 75% of the key principles.

Women’s participation rate in the IT sector is 20% worldwide, and less than 12% in Central America. Existing stereotypes about the relationship between gender and technology, fewer opportunities for women to raise their voices through developing digital technologies and the existing gender and discrimination biases in algorithms are all factors that explain those low figures.

Sulá Batsú from Costa Rica carried out a campaign in 2017 with the support of an APC subgrant focusing on the development of inclusive digital technologies and highlighting the potential contribution to and transformation of the IT sector through women’s participation in Central America. The campaign was aimed at the private IT sector, the educational sector and Central American women. One of the highlights of this campaign was its webcomic starring a fictional character named Hope, a young woman who rewrites the female role in history through time travelling and invites us to craft a world where women lead the field of digital technologies.

Governments are becoming increasingly reliant on partnerships with social media giants to advance their political agendas. This is a cause for concern, as tech companies like Google have the ability to shape our understanding of the world and inform public opinion.

Despite its claims of commitment to human rights, Google Maps is violating international law and agreements about the geography of Palestine (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) and is disregarding the restrictions to movement imposed on Palestinians by the Israeli occupation, putting their lives in danger. Google Maps is adopting the Israeli narrative of space, which is illegal according to international law. This includes recognising several illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank as well as annexed East Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Furthermore, several communities marginalised by the occupation and under constant threat of demolition and forced displacement, such as Khan al-Ahmar, can only find their homes on Google Maps when zooming in to a very high degree. This is contributing to and assisting the planned erasure of these areas, not only from maps, but from the land by the occupation.

Additionally, the Google Maps route planning services are designed for settlers, whose presence is illegal in the West Bank. As a result, Palestinian users often end up in dangerous areas for Palestinians including Israeli military zones, checkpoints and settlements when using the Google Maps route-planning service.

In response, APC member 7amleh - Arab Center for Social Media Advancement highlighted Google’s discriminatory mapping of Palestinian land by reaching out to decision makers as well as international and local audiences to advocate for policy change. As part of this initiative carried out in 2018, 7amleh produced and disseminated a report that identifies and analyses the social, legal and political repercussions of Google’s policies regarding Palestinians, based on a human rights approach.

The objective of the report was to not only inform public opinion, but to inform policy and other advocacy-related activities surrounding the issue. To this end, a coalition of all international and civil society organisations concerned with Palestinian digital rights was formed to lobby representatives from Google on the issue of maps and the need for a more neutral, transparent and human rights-based approach in Palestine.

For more information, visit 7amleh’s advocacy mini-site on the initiative and watch their video in English and/or Arabic.

The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms holds as key principles the right to information, the right to development and access to knowledge, the rights of marginalised groups and groups at risk, and gender equality.

In Kenya, one of the biggest barriers to achieving these principles remains access to the internet. The inhabitants of communities in arid areas often have to walk long distances for internet connectivity and access to valuable digital resources. There is a need for a digital repository that is accessible, shareable and reusable, which provides information critical to these communities, such as best agricultural practices, market information, climate change information and indigenous knowledge.

This is why in 2018 APC member Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) created a Digital Learning Space which will improve access to information for isolated communities by digitising local content and providing them with digital and ICT skills. The Digital Learning Space is backed by a digital repository that provides an infrastructure for the preservation of digital content, lowers the barriers to document distribution, and creates a centralised digital showcase that would help to extend the range of knowledge sharing.

ALIN worked to sensitise community members on the importance of the Digital Learning Space and train members on creation of digital content on wikis, DSpaces and other digital tools, as well as collecting and curating digital content on a variety of information that is beneficial to communities.

This initiative also integrates other services provided at ALIN’s Maarifa (Knowledge) Centre, such as access to its library, multimedia content, directory of archived podcasts and publications, with the Digital Learning Space, so that all this information is available to communities under one platform.

In Colombia, the digital divide is approximately 42% in rural areas, among elderly people, and among families in lower socioeconomic strata. According to the Basic Households ICT Indicators (2016) published by the National Administrative Department of Statistics, some prominent factors behind this divide are age, as the possibility of using a computer decreases with age, and education, as people with a higher level of schooling are more likely to use ICTs. The gender gap is significant as well; women face difficulty in accessing technology due to lack of economic income, lack of digital skills or time to learn them, and a patriarchal environment that limits the possibilities of women who must fulfil multiple roles.

In order to lessen the digital divide, the Colombian government has implemented several public access initiatives, such as the establishment of Vive Digital Kiosks in rural areas. However, this infrastructure is not sufficient in remote places where people have to travel for hours to access a public ICT centre.

In response to this situation, APC member Colnodo implemented in 2018 a community wireless network to provide mobile telephony in the rural areas of the municipality of Buenos Aires in the department of Cauca. The network was implemented through a participatory process involving the identification of context and actors, priorities, impact and decision-making mechanisms. The main objective of this project was to implement strategies of appropriation and social sustainability of the wireless network in which women have an active role and are recognised for their contribution. Colnodo documented the socioeconomic, political and cultural characteristics of Buenos Aires, Cauca, in order to identify the opportunities, challenges and needs of the population that could be addressed with the use of ICTs. Based on these results, they designed a training programme with a special focus on gender, and they provided capacity building on issues such as implementation of community networks, use of social networks, access to free content, online courses, information security and women’s rights in digital spaces.

For more information, watch their video: Red comunitaria INC (indígenas, negros, campesinos) - Conectando al Cauca.

More and more Latin American countries are seeing a flourishing movement of communities seeking to organise and self-provide internet access in places where connectivity is either non-existent or unaffordable under market-driven service provision models.

Through this initiative in 2018, APC member Derechos Digitales learned about how the different regulatory frameworks in place in Latin America for community networks – particularly in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico – impact the current development of those networks, and provided some reflections about spaces for regulatory improvement.

The research reflected the opportunities and barriers that exist for local access initiatives to start up and flourish, from licensing requirements and obligations, to access to spectrum, to potential support from universal service funds. This research was conducted leveraging the experience and systematising the information already gathered by APC network members that have been working on the development of community networks in the region in recent years.

E-waste or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is becoming increasingly difficult to manage in the digital age. APC member Nodo TAU has been developing several initiatives around WEEE for more than 15 years, from the reuse of computers in community telecentres and providing training for the start-up of a municipal WEEE recycling enterprise, to the delivery of conferences and dissemination of the subject.

Through this initiative, in 2018 Nodo TAU provided information for the establishment of the basic guidelines of a WEEE Management System for the city of Rosario in the province of Santa Fe, and other nearby cities in Argentina, which improved the rates of recovery and recycling of WEEE in the region. These guidelines detail the roles and responsibilities of each actor (companies, government, academic institutions, NGOs) and integrate these proposals in the new paradigm of the circular economy.

Further, the initiative also sought to collaborate with WEEE management ventures, both those currently in operation and those in development, increasing jobs in the sector, particularly for young people.

Taiwan has had the top place on the Global Open Data Index for several years and Open Culture Foundation (OCF) wants to make this a reality in practice. The purpose of OCF’s initiative is to explain Taiwan’s open data utilisation practices and use this for environmental advocacy. Taiwan has an exceptional Global Open Data Index rating, but civil society organisations do not seem to view it so favourably. As such, OCF hopes to highlight possible key points for an effective open data regime that can be used as a reference for future efforts by international communities. The goal was to initiate conversations with Taiwan’s executive branch on open data regimes and technical configurations. Some government information is not available; when citizens have tried to request data that is beneficial to the public, the application process to access the data is not transparent, and the requests may be intentionally or unintentionally ignored by government departments. The government departments can easily refuse to open particular files according to the “Freedom of Government Information Law”, which is obstructive and not necessarily accurate.

This project from 2019 shows through case analysis that there are deficiencies in the open data policy and acquisitions and this needs to be adjusted. OCF is proud of its research on data and the environment and hopes it will bring a new vision to traditional media.

• Activate the Live of Opening Data in Environmental Impact process (published on OCF Lab)
• Slowness of Opening Data and Rush of Identification Process Kills Historic Buildings in Taiwan (published on OCF Lab)
• Article highlighting major discoveries, clarifying the obstacles and possible improvements of current data policy, and how an effective open data regime may benefit civil groups on the ground
• On the OCF Lab platform, all Mandarin/English articles are displayed under a well-designed series column with a Mandarin main page and English main page; here is the entry link to access all articles.

The purpose of this research funded by a subgrant in 2019 was to bring to light the impact of the digital ID system and related policies on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and subsequent ramifications on the government’s progressive realisation of its obligations. Unwanted Witness is particularly proud of its report, speaking to the core of human dignity and breaking the silence of human rights violations shrouded within the implementation of the digital ID system. The Ugandan government began implementing the system five years ago, and since then, the system has collected biometrics and bio-data for millions of Ugandans, allocating each citizen a unique National Identification Number. Implementation of the ID system preceded the passage of the country’s Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, which is silent on the use of biometrics, yet implementation of the law remains an ongoing challenge. The ID system in Uganda is perhaps the largest single database connecting citizens to several vital services including communication or SIM card acquisition, health care, education, financial services, employment in public service, and immigration, among others. While this is becoming a common practice countrywide, there was lack of data and a collective voice as a basis for public debate and inclusivity. Unwanted Witness’s report, titled “Uganda’s Digital ID System: A cocktail of discrimination”, is the first independent audit into the country’s ID system and its impact on citizens’ rights.

• Uganda’s ID system breeding automated exclusion
• Media coverage here and here.