Closer than ever
APC understands that we are all dealing with unprecedented circumstances as we face the challenges, fear and uncertainty brought on by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know it impacts our work, our personal lives and the lives of those we care about. Each country is tackling the situation differently, so the contexts we find ourselves in are as diverse as the ways we find to navigate shifting conditions.
In these exceptional times, we wish to send our solidarity and appreciation for connecting with us. While we are distancing ourselves physically, we continue to stay closer than ever to each other and share tools and resources as well as support. We also want to examine how we can continue to promote human rights online in the context of a global pandemic. We are all facing this problem together but we know it affects different countries and communities in different ways. Therefore, we would like to channel the strength of our network to share some important resources that we hope will be empowering, enlightening and reassuring.
Below you will find articles and insights shared by our community, which has been working on human rights and technology issues for over 30 years. We will be updating these lists on a regular basis, so please feel free to connect with us if you have some resources to share.
Over 50 days into the lockdown in India, migrant workers are still on the roads walking day and night to reach home one way or another. Lack of employment has left them high and dry with little to no support from the authorities.
What happens to communities in rural and underserved urban areas lacking access to the internet? What happens to those without access to machines and devices or whose lives do not fit into a digital model of e-learning and e-commerce?
The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg is launching the third iteration of their online course Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression in Africa. The updated version includes a session on African media in the time of COVID-19 as well as the impact of the pandemic on journalists.
Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, health recommendations need to be conveyed to communities in remote areas that are separated both by distance and by the minority languages they speak. One medium that can be used to convey public messages is through song.
Online violence against women during this pandemic has taken a turn for the worst. The "keyboard warriors”, as they are popularly known, have gone to the extent of cyberbullying victims of coronavirus.
Globally there has been a recorded surge of domestic violence against women especially, but has there been an increase in violence online? Morgan Barbour shares how she has dealt with increased violence and harassment online since the lockdown began, and how it is now part of her art.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays during the bubonic plague, and now women and queer artists are using the internet and social media to open up spaces for marginalised communities and bodies.
In the current scenario of social isolation, the network deployment work stages have been adapted through this specific protocol that guarantees the recommendations for social distancing and prevention of COVID-19.
Much as there is the risk of the online space breeding great amounts of anxiety, this can also be a time to form different types of human connection, find out more about innovative ways to get off and take a look at your love lives. Here's how.
Technology enables governments to do things more efficiently and more effectively than would otherwise have been the case, for good or bad. This week, I’ll take a look at that through the prism of social welfare or protection
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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