The 18th edition of the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF), under the overarching theme The Internet We Want – Empowering All People, is being held in Kyoto, Japan from 8 to 12 October 2023. APC is actively participating in this space and, as in previous years, our Local Sound Bites will feature a daily short interview with a civil society representative anchored in issues we care about.
As stated in APC’s 2023 IGF priorities document, “restrictive and discriminatory travel policies and practices prevent in-person engagement in key decision-making, deliberation and discussion spaces. They stifle the voices of those most affected and exclude them from physical convenings, networking, advocacy and other opportunities, and from having a say in the definition of agendas that impact on the configuration of the digital present and future.” This issue is highlighted, among other key themes, in this year's Local Sound Bites.
We believe it is key to engage with the human rights and internet governance communities everywhere the IGF is held, listening to their concerns and using this global space to connect with local issues. We hope you will join us in facilitating the inclusion of voices from East Asia during this crucial event.
Episode 1: Local Sound Bites at the Internet Governance Forum 2023
In our first episode, we talked to Ogura Toshimaru, professor at Toyama University and board member of JCA-NET, a Japan-based organisation supporting social movements that seek social, environmental and economic justice and the overcoming of gender-based discrimination through the use of information and communications technology.
Episode 2: Local Sound Bites at the Internet Governance Forum 2023
In the second episode, we spoke to Byoung-il Oh, president of the Korean Progressive Network Jinbonet, a non-governmental organisation founded in 1998 in South Korea to provide network services such as web hosting, email, blogs and mailing lists to civil society organisations, trade unions, individuals and progressive projects.
Episode 3: Local Sound Bites at the Internet Governance Forum 2023
For this third episode, we interviewed Rosa Kuo, who spoke on behalf of our member in Taiwan, Open Culture Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by several members of Taiwan’s open source community to support local collectives to advocate the use of open technologies in broader sectors, including open source software, open hardware and open data.
Episode 4: Local Sound Bites at the Internet Governance Forum 2023
In this fourth episode we spoke to Hamada Tadahisa, researcher on civil society and global governance and director of Japan Computer Access for Empowerment (JCAFE), an organisation providing assistance in the use of information strategies and internet technology since its inception in 1993.
You can read the interviewees' contributions here.