Browsing All posts tagged under »Digital Inclusion«

The Leap Manifesto Revised as Though Information Technology and the Internet Matter

April 25, 2016

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  The Leap Manifesto is an important document and one that is having significant impacts at the moment in certain political areas. The document as an attempt to link an environmentalist approach to a broader social and economic critique and a statement on ways forward, breaks new ground in the Canadian context and presents significant […]

Alternative “Best Practices” for the A4AI (to be renamed Alliance for an Accessible Internet)

March 26, 2016

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  My original blogpost examining the “Policy and Regulatory Best Practices” of the Alliance for an Affordable Internet (A4AI’s) has generated some considerable discussion including on the InternetPolicy elist sponsored by the Internet Society (ISOC).  In the course of that discussion a challenge was put forward by a member of that list to articulate an […]

A4AI: Who Could Oppose a More Affordable Internet? The Alliance for an Affordable Internet (A4AI) and the Neo-liberal Stealth Campaign to Control the Internet Throughout the Developing World and Make Big Bucks for the Private Sector While Doing So

March 20, 2016

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When we look even slightly below the surface of this initiative we see what appear to be motivations that are rather less selfless than is being presented. As is very clear from the “Best Practices” which those joining the initiative must sign on to, an underlying motivation would appear to be to impose on LDC's an ideological position for its Internet policy and regulation which conforms to and supports the fundamentalist free market anti-regulatory regime promoted by the USG and certain of its governmental and corporate allies .

From the Digital Divide to Digital Citizenship

November 9, 2015

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Thus "digital citizenship" is a newer and evolved form of citizenship and moreover one which is necessary to and appropriate in the digital age/the Information Society. This new form of citizenship has multiple aspects but for our purposes the two most salient elements are that with this new form of citizenship goes certain rights – at a minimum to be able to have access to and to effectively exercise citizenship rights in a digital age; and on the part of the State the obligation to ensure that the citizen is in a position to exercise their digital citizenship in an appropriate and effective way.

A Canadian Election Programme for Digital Citizenship and Social Equity

September 14, 2015

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In the following I want to lay out what hopefully may function as an initial program towards a “digital citizenship” -- a form of digitally enabled and enhanced citizenship for the Internet age; and one which takes as its basic assumption the Internet's transformational risks and opportunities. This is presented in the form of an election “platform” -- a set of principles and policies which gives citizens a choice as to directions they may wish to follow.

Smart Cities vs. Smart Communities: Empowering Citizens not Market Economics

November 6, 2014

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So "Smart Cities" particularly in Less Developed Countries are ways of turning urban environments into gold mines for consultants, hardware and software companies and redoing the city in the image and for the benefit of its most prosperous and well-serviced inhabitants and in the meantime transferring additional resources and benefits from the poor to the rich.

Q: Who Are “Internet Users”? A: Everyone

August 11, 2014

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So let's drop the terminology and conceptual apparatus of "Internet users" at least in the context of Internet policy and Internet governance. Rather let's think about everyone as actual or potential "users' of the Internet and everyone as being impacted either directly or indirectly by the Internet. Thus we are all "stakeholders" in Internet governance and we all should have the right to participate in the decisions which will impact on the future management and governance of the Internet -- our common heritage and destiny.

An Internet for the Common Good: Engagement, Empowerment and Justice for All

January 12, 2014

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A Community Informatics Declaration This document was prepared by a group of Community Informatics activists and endorsed by consensus of the Community Informatics community 21.12.13.  Effective use of the Internet will benefit everyone. Currently the benefits of the Internet are distributed unequally: some people gain power, wealth and influence from using the Internet while others […]

Internet Justice: A Meme Whose Time Has Come

November 27, 2013

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This list is as open ended as the Internet is open ended. Just as the horizon for enhancing the well-being of all global citizens through more efficient and effective communication and access to and use of information is continuously expanding, so is the need to ensure that the Internet is and continues to be a resource available, usable and of equitable benefit to all.

Beyond Access: Libraries Are the New Telecentres

November 16, 2013

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As those, who have been in and around community-based ICT/Internet access (community informatics) initiatives well know, the primary dilemma for these activities (e.g. Telecentres) is how to ensure sufficient sustainability, organizational stability and programmatic flexibility to allow for survival once the immediate round of funding which helped them launch, runs out.

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Michael Gurstein: What is Community Informatics (and Why Does It Matter)?
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