Session
We welcome you to the session where we will be launching the 2018 Edition of Global Information Society Watch.
This edition of GISWatch focuses on local access models, specifically, community networks as self-organised, self-managed or locally developed solutions for local access, based on the conviction that one of the keys to affordable access is giving local people the skills and tools to solve their own connectivity challenges. Instead of buying an access service from a large corporate entity, community networks allow community members to self-provide and share infrastructure.
The 43 country reports included in this year's Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) capture the different experiences and approaches in setting up community networks across the globe. They show that key ideas, such as participatory governance systems, community ownership and skills transfer, as well as the “do-it-yourself” spirit that drives community networks in many different contexts, are characteristics that lend them a shared purpose and approach.
The session will include the participation of several report authors.
- Session Type (Workshop, Open Forum, etc.): Launching of the 2018 annual edition of the Global Information Society Watch, with a focus on Community Networks.
- Title: GISWatch 2018 launch
- Date & Time: Tuesday 13 Nov 13:30 -15 – Salle X
- Organizer(s): Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
- Chair/Moderator: Valeria Betancourt
- Rapporteur/Notetaker: To be confirmed
- List of speakers and their institutional affiliations (Indicate male/female/ transgender male/ transgender female/gender variant/prefer not to answer):
Kathleen Diga, APC, female
Valeria Betancourt, APC, female
Carlos Rey-Moreno, APC, male
Mike Jensen, APC, male
Chat Garcia Ramillo, APC, female
Phet Sayo, IDRC, male
- Theme (as listed here): Digital Inclusion & Accessibility
- Subtheme (as listed here): Community Networks
- Please state no more than three (3) key messages of the discussion. [150 words or less]
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The importance of community networks to contribute to digital inclusion and accessibility
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Sharing of experiences and stories of community networks in different parts of the world by authors
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Progress and challenges in the development of community networks