Author: admin

7amleh Center advances its work in freedom of expression and digital rights through research and Palestine Digital Activism Forum

Posted on | by admin

7amleh Center has been laying the foundations for awareness and advocacy on digital rights in Palestine through the publication of groundbreaking research on “Internet Freedoms in Palestine – Mapping of Digital Rights Violations and Threats”, and bringing key policy-makers from social media giants Facebook and Google to engage with Palestinian civil society in the first-ever Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF) in Ramallah. 7amleh’s research analyses threats to and violations of Palestinian digital rights by governmental actors – the Israeli authorities, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip – as well as social media companies.

This innovative research is 7amleh’s foundation for its awareness and advocacy campaigns, as well as lobbying work with non-governmental actors. Representatives from Google and Facebook at the second PDAF in Ramallah interacted with Palestinian civil society on their policies regarding Palestine.

Image source: 7amleh Center.

read more ▼

ALIN promotes access to information in remote areas of Kenya

Posted on | by admin

Arid Lands Information Network’s (ALIN) innovative approach to information and communications technologies (ICTs) and knowledge management received a boost in 2017 when it deployed a Community Education, Business and Information Centre (CEBIC) in Samburu County, Kenya. The Low Emission and Climate Resilient Development (LECRD) Project under which this centre falls is a joint initiative implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and is funded by USAID and UK Aid.

The centre will promote access to information as well create business opportunities for vulnerable communities. In addition, the Samburu County government, which is also a partner, will use the centre for its development activities. The centre will enhance access to timely and up-to-date information like market data, which is a critical element for spurring economic development.

Communities in the area lack the means to access and share transformative knowledge. Most of them do not have adequate skills and competencies to access needed knowledge and there is a lack of knowledge exchange nodes in the area.

The centre will be launched by the third quarter of 2018 and will offer renewable energy demonstrations and services, a community library, climate information, ICT services, building technology demonstrations, and conference and edutainment facilities.

The CEBIC will facilitate learning and skills transfer among communities. They will be able to embrace a culture of knowledge sharing that will enable them to make informed decisions on their livelihoods.

Image source: ALIN.

read more ▼

Protecting the Paraguayan Guasu Metropolitan park with the help of social media

Posted on | by admin

In January 2017, the Paraguayan Ministry of Public Works began to dig two large trenches, four metres deep, in Guasu Metropolitan Park, the last natural forested area in Asunción, claiming that these would serve to collect run-off from the stream that runs along the border of the park, in order to prevent flooding. In fact, what they were creating was a massive sewage reservoir.

Asociación Trinidad, along with a small group of civil society representatives, lawyers, journalists, environmentalists and engineers, began to research ways to stop the work. Using the Law on Access to Public Information, they discovered that the operation had not received municipal authorisation, and that the environmental permits had been improperly requested.

What began as the initiative of a small group of people who filed a complaint with the municipality to halt the work then moved to social media platforms, where protests and demonstrations were organised. A pivotal moment came when Asociación Trinidad director Arturo Bregaglio physically placed himself in the path of the bulldozers to keep them from entering the park, after the complaint filed had succeeded in obtaining a stop-work order. This act of defiance went viral, spurring the massive support needed for the cause. As a result, the deforestation of the park was suspended for over a year, while efforts are underway to have it declared a Protected Natural Area by the National Congress.

Image source: Asociación Trinidad.

read more ▼