Community Networks and Local Access Monthly Newsletter - Number 37

Welcome to the 37th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks.

We have created a platform for community networks to share our experiences and grow together. Please join us at https://communitynetworks.group/

Resources from past events

• Watch the video recordings of the "Second EU-Brazil Conference on Digital Economy and Innovation: Connectivity and New Digital Infrastructures", organised by the Center for Technology and Society at FGV on 18 June. Read more.
• AlterMundi has just launched this video sharing the voices and experiences of different community network builders gathered at the Second Latin American Summit of Community Networks, held in 2019 in Colombia. Available in Spanish. Read more.
• During this year's RightsCon event, APC participated in numerous sessions on human rights in the digital space, a feminist internet, access and digital inclusion, and social justice and environmental sustainability. The recordings of the sessions are available for those who registered to take part in this year's RightsCon. Read more.

Community networks in news and blogs

• This piece from the Internet Society (ISOC) presents the many achievements of Dr. Kanchana Kanchanasut. TakNet, which she steers, is the first community network in Thailand. Read more.
• REDES A.C. is a civil association dedicated to the creation of support networks and process facilitation for community groups and organisations in Mexico. Find out more about their projects in the field of wireless networks, community intranets, Wi-Fi and community GSM networks in this blog post from 48percent. Read more.
• This piece from APC's Seeding Change column features the work of CITAD. Based in Nigeria, CITAD has engaged in an impressive number and range of projects aimed at bridging digital divides and empowering local communities. These include working with community networks and other community-based connectivity initiatives. Read more.
• ISOC also published a piece highlighting the work of the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) in India, including information about how they are building community networks and training people in the country. Read more.

Gendering community networks

• This video from the Second Latin American Summit of Community Networks, held in 2019 in Colombia, focuses on gender aspects and perspectives in this field. Available in Spanish. Read more.
• The feminist project Nodes that Bond has developed circles of women with an emphasis on technology at Portal sem Porteiras, a rural community network in Brazil. When the pandemic became a barrier to their in-person methodology, creativity and care were their way to overcome challenges. Read more.
• The Portal sem Porteiras (PSP) community network is bridging gender inequalities within the world of technology in Brazil. Find out more about the impacts of the Nodes that Bond project in this beautiful story collectively created by PSP participants for APC. Read more.

News on policy and regulation

• This statement from CITAD is getting considerable media coverage in Nigeria. It highlights community networks as an important and innovative approach to be considered as part of the review of licensing processes announced by the national regulator. Read more.
• The article "Keeping it Analog: A framework for opting out of connectivity", published by Rhizomatica, offers important reflections and invites us to rethink internet governance frameworks to be more inclusive of the complex, intersectional issues regarding connectivity access. Read more.

Research

• "Gendered Impact of COVID-19 on Women in Kibera": this report published by the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) looks at the impact of COVID-19 on women, provides key recommendations, and highlights the role of community-centric approaches, such as community networks and communities of care, in supporting women during and beyond the pandemic. Read more.

Tools and toolkits

• Osmocom, one of the projects leading the open-source mobile telephony technologies that community networks are using, is having regular calls about how the software is progressing. The schedule for further upcoming events and recordings from the previous ones are available online. Read more.
• This wiki prepared by Colnodo systematises information on useful methodologies from their experiences of accompanying community networks in Colombia. Available in Spanish. Read more.

Funding opportunities

• Connecting the Unconnected Challenge: The IEEE Future Networks Initiative has launched this call, which is open to different sectors and can include community network initiatives. The deadline for applications is 16 July. Read more.
• Applications are now open for the 2021 ISIF Asia Grants and Awards programme, one of the largest internet development initiatives of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. The deadline for applications is 19 July. Read more.

Previous editions

• Previous editions of this newsletter are available here.

This newsletter is part of the Local Networks (LocNet) initiative, an initiative led by APC in partnership with Rhizomatica that aims to directly support the work of community networks and to contribute to an enabling ecosystem for the emergence and growth of community networks and other community-based connectivity activities in developing countries. You can read more about the initiative here, here, and here. 

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One more thing! If you have comments about the newsletter or information relevant to the topic that you would like us to include in the next edition, please share it with us at localaccess.newsletter@apc.org.