Document details

Global Information Society Watch 2021-2022: Digital Futures for a Post-Pandemic World

Association for Progressive Communications (APC);Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) (2022), 268 pp.

ISBN 978-92-95113-52-7

CC BY

"The pandemic made inequality, discrimination, exclusion and structural inequity more palpable, and rather than stagnating in indignation, it reactivated a sense of rebellion and contestation. The strength and sharpness with which we connect social justice, gender justice, environmental justice, economic justice and racial justice with the potentials and limitations of digital technologies is undeniable. Using this intersectional lens, we need to document and build our own narratives about the challenges that we face related to the impacts of the pandemic and reflect on how our advocacy priorities as well as the ways we do advocacy are changing and keep being modified and adjusted. At APC we have strengthened capacity to design and implement collective and contextual community responses to the multiple challenges and crises that we face, while having a greater awareness of the kind of global responses that should be prioritised, based on shared but differentiated responsibilities [...] GISWatch 2021-2022 focuses on responses to some of the fundamental questions brought by the pandemic to inform civil society’s advocacy around digital technology issues and their potential to shape future horizons. As illustrated on our cover, a sustained struggle will be necessary in the years ahead, but not only in the public spaces. A nuanced approach to advocacy will be essential to open multiple ways to bring about positive change." (Preface, page 6)
Introduction / Valeria Betancourt and Alan Finlay, 7
THEMATIC REPORTS
Advocacy for community-led connectivity access in the global South / Kathleen Diga, Cynthia el Khoury, Michael Jensen, Carlos Rey-Moreno and Débora Prado, 12
Another look at internet regulation: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic / J. Carlos Lara and Jamila Venturini, 18
Tech, data and the pandemic: Reflecting for next time / Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion and Gus Hosein, 23
Big data, big tech, big problems: Time to look beyond / Paz Peña, 30
The rights approach: Pushing back against opaque public-private partnerships / Gayatri Khandhadai, 34
Global digital labour platforms offer a mirage of inclusive development in Africa / Kelle Howson, 37
Advocacy in times of TRIPS waiver / Deepika Yadav, 42
Documenting and navigating emerging trends for digital rights funding / Natalia Tariq, 47
Organising for sustainable connectivity: Centring communities in crisis / Shawna Finnegan and APC Environmental Sustainability Working Group, 51
A feminist backpack for crises: Care-fullness, messiness and responsive knowledge / Nyx McLean, in conversation with Jennifer Radloff, Namita Aavriti and Smita V., 56
Internet governance of the future / Anriette Esterhuysen and Wim Degezelle, 60
COUNTRY AND REGIONAL REPORTS
35 country reports, 69-229