"Privacy scholarship has shown how norms of appropriate information flow and information regulatory processes vary according to environment, which change as the environment changes, including through the introduction of new technologies. This paper describes findings from a qualitative research stud
...
y that examines practices and perceptions of privacy in Cambodia as the population rapidly moves into an online environment (specifically Facebook, the most popular Internet tool in Cambodia today). We empirically demonstrate how the concept of privacy differs across cultures and show how the Facebook platform, as it becomes popular worldwide, catalyzes change in norms of information regulation. We discuss how the localization of transnational technology platforms provides a key site in which to investigate changing cultural ideas about privacy, and to discover misalignments between different expectations for information flow. Finally, we explore ways that insufficient localization effort by transnational technology companies puts some of the most marginalized users at disproportionate information disclosure risk when using new Internet tools, and offer some pragmatic suggestions for how such companies could improve privacy tools for users who are far -geographically or culturally - from where the tools are designed." (Abstract)
more
"In this publication, we focus on the people who make right to information laws come to life, and who use them as tools to fight corruption. In the following pages, you will find the stories of citizens from 10 countries across the Asia Pacific region who have used their right to information to dema
...
nd accountability from their governments. From uncovering wrongdoing in Bangladesh and Mongolia, to ensuring that citizens get the services they need in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and from holding politicians to account in the Maldives to ensuring that governments share key guidance and statistics in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, these stories show the difference access to information can make. Information requests should be seen as a routine way for citizens to understand their government’s work and to hold it accountable. However, in many places around the world, this is not the case. In many countries, making these requests requires great courage from citizens who may face challenges and danger in doing so." (Introduction, page 3)
more
"Artificial intelligence (AI) is now receiving unprecedented global attention as it finds widespread practical application in multiple spheres of activity. But what are the human rights, social justice and development implications of AI when used in areas such as health, education and social service
...
s, or in building “smart cities”? How does algorithmic decision making impact on marginalised people and the poor? This edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) provides a perspective from the global South on the application of AI to our everyday lives. It includes 40 country reports from countries as diverse as Benin, Argentina, India, Russia and Ukraine, as well as three regional reports. These are framed by eight thematic reports dealing with topics such as data governance, food sovereignty, AI in the workplace, and so-called “killer robots”. While pointing to the positive use of AI to enable rights in ways that were not easily possible before, this edition of GISWatch highlights the real threats that we need to pay attention to if we are going to build an AI-embedded future that enables human dignity." (Back cover)
more
"Nearly 250 million people live in Indonesia. More than 80 percent of them have no access to the Internet. Access to broadband has the potential to transform individual lives, local communities, and entire nations. The last decade has seen exponential growth in Internet connectivity. Information and
...
communication technologies, especially high-speed broadband Internet connections, have the potential to catalyze development in ways the world has never before seen. Getting broadband to urban centers and rural villages spread across tens of thousands of islands proved challenging because of multiple challenges including technology, funding, and existing policies. This spurred a partnership between the Government of Indonesia and USAID’s Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI) Alliance implementing partners NetHope and Integra Government Systems International LLC (Integra). The partnership addressed national policies that affected broadband rollout, tested ways to increase access in rural communities, and supported applications that could improve lives once reliable and affordable Internet connectivity was established." (Page 3)
more
"This report analyses the Chin media sector. It is based on research conducted by MDIF from late 2018 through December 2019, as well as a quantitative and qualitative survey conducted by Myanmar Survey Research (MSR) in May 2019. The report provides data on the Chin media operations themselves, as w
...
ell as the news and information needs and preferences of their actual and potential audiences in Chin State and Sagaing Region [...] What we have found is that, in many respects, Chin media face very similar problems to their counterparts elsewhere in Myanmar. They have often been set up by individuals who are deeply committed to serving the information needs of their communities, and they are often an important source of information for their audiences. We also have found that Chin media are dealing with challenges managing the digital transition that are similar to both their national and local media counterparts, and that more than half of them are also simultaneously continuing to produce print publications that remain a valuable news source for local communities. And, like local media all over the country, MDIF’s research has confirmed that Chin media are facing a major struggle to survive financially, often having to rely on local donors and personal savings as well as more traditional revenue sources such as advertising and print copy sales." (Introduction)
more
"This Handbook is an in-depth appraisal of the field of minority languages and communities today. It presents a wide-ranging, coherent picture of the main topics, with key contributions from international specialists in sociolinguistics, policy studies, sociology, anthropology and law. Individual ch
...
apters are grouped together in themes, covering regional, non-territorial and migratory language settings across the world. It is the essential reference work for specialist researchers, scholars in ancillary disciplines, research and coursework students, public agencies and anyone interested in language diversity, multilingualism and migration." (Publisher description)
more
"In 2013 I became the co-organizer of the Human Rights, Human Dignity Film Festival in Yangon. We organized the festival for a simple reason - we were very suspicious of the political reform process initiated by the Thein Sein administration, the transformed military government. Like many of our fel
...
low citizens, we wanted to push the boundaries of the so-called quasi-civilian rule, by using the human rights film festival as a tool. That's how Myanmar's first international human rights film festival came to be. The landmark human rights event was held in Yangon for five years. A mobile film festival that brought human rights films to audiences across Myanmar also grew in scope. The abolition of pre-publication censorship in Myanmar resulted in a certain level of media freedom for the print media, but not for the film industry. In 2014 the film censorship board was recreated as the "Film Classification Board" under the Ministry of Information. In order to screen human rights films in downtown cinemas, authorization was required from the Film Classification Board. Without that official piece of paper, none of the commercial entertainment companies would allow us to host the human rights film festival in their theatres. Therefore, in order to keep the festival running, we did not select overly sensitive films. That might be called self-censorship; yet, in 2013, the first year of the festival, all films submitted to the Film Classification Board - including a documentary film about human rights violations in Myanmar prisons based on the story of a political prisoner - got the go-ahead to be publicly screened." (Pages 307-308)
more
"Women are a great untapped potential in Cambodia. That is the driving idea behind the EU-funded project “Women into Politics! Greater female participation in Cambodia”. This three-year project reached women from different regions in Cambodia and gave them the communications skills they needed t
...
o run for political office and talk to their constituents or become community leaders in their own locales. It was implemented by Germany’s leading media development organization DW Akademie, local partners Banteay Srei (BtS) and the Women’s Media Centre of Cambodia (WMC), and two third-party funding recipients, Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS) and the Youth Council of Cambodia (YCC). The project made use of media—radio, video and, especially, social media—as well as community forums to reach young people, particularly women and first-time voters, in the runup to communal and national elections. This gave them the knowledge they needed to make informed choices at the polls. The project disseminated information on topics with special relevance to women that emerged from local forums where community women could make their voices heard. The project’s overarching goals, empowerment and greater equality for Cambodian women, were in line with the European Union’s focus on gender equality and its commitment to the protection and fulfilment of human rights for women and girls. This best-practice handbook aims to provide an overview of the project—its goals, its approach, its activities and its results. It will look at who was primarily involved in each activity field, how they contributed or benefited, and what came of the three years of project work. This handbook also examines the challenges involved in carrying out the planned activities in a political environment that saw significant changes during the project period." (Introduction)
more
"This report summarizes the findings from a research study conducted by Love Frankie to inform Search for Common Ground (Search) in developing an implementation strategy for a 24-month project to reduce the influence of violent extremist narratives online, particularly targeted at youth and ex-juven
...
ile offenders in Indonesia via social media." (Page 5)
more
"The media's coverage of religion is an important question, given the central role which news media play in ensuring that people are up-to-date with religion news developments. The book examines it in different countries. After an introductory section looking at trends in religion news in print, on-
...
line journalism, and as a subject of foreign news, the book surveys religion reporting in five key countries: USA, Russia, India, China, & Nigeria. The book then looks at media events through the cases of the election of Pope Francis, and the death of rabbis. The book addresses the question of the influence of religion reporting in politics; the impact of religion reporting upon religious identity; and the role of social media - through looking at case studies in France, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Israel." (Publisher description)
more
"A survey, conducted in July 2018, interviewed 750 people from the Rohingya community and 750 people from the host community (local Bangladeshi citizens) about how they access information, what they think of the information and how they communicate with aid providers. The survey tracked how perceive
...
d provision of information has changed since an initial information needs assessment, carried out by Internews, in October 2017 [...] The survey shows that people feel substantially more informed in July 2018 than they did in October 2017. The Internews study in October found that only 23% of Rohingya men and women felt they had enough information to make good decisions for themselves and their family. This recent study shows that 84% feel they have enough information to make good decisions for themselves and their families and three quarters (75%) of the Rohingya community said it had become easier to get information over the last six months. This is similar to other data collected – a recent Translators without Borders study found that 68% of Rohingya refugees feel they have enough information to make decisions. During fieldwork, almost a third (30%) of Rohingya survey respondents asked the data collectors questions such as, did they know where to collect relief, or did they know anything about the Government’s plans for repatriation? This suggests that while the Rohingya community feel better informed than when they first arrived, they still have many questions, particularly around their future – only 41% of respondents said they felt informed about their options for the future. The survey showed that the current key information needs of the Rohingya and host community are around their main concerns – where to find food. The Rohingya are also worried about sourcing cooking fuel, while the host community is seeking information around financial support as a result of perceived declining employment opportunities [...] Mahjis (Rohingya community leaders) are the main source of information for Rohingya people (mentioned by 87% of participants) and are now the most trusted source of information (they were only ranked 7th in the October 2017 information needs assessment). This increase in trust may be reflective of how agencies and camp coordinators are more systematically using mahjis to share information with people in their camp block. Mahjis are the main channel through which Rohingya communities say they communicate with aid providers (mentioned by 38% of respondents)." (Executiv summary)
more
"Während viele Bürgerinnen und Bürger sowie Beobachter große Hoffnungen hegen, die sozialen Medien könnten ein wirksames Instrument sein, um soziale Bewegungen zu Themen wie Ungleichheit, Ungerechtigkeit und Umwelt in Gang zu setzen, ist es zuweilen schwierig, die massenhaften Reaktionen in den
...
sozialen Medien in konkretes gemeinsames Handeln auf physischer Ebene umzusetzen. Beispiele wie das der »6700 Menschen für 6700 Bäume« in Hanoi bleiben die Ausnahme. Gesellschaftliches Engagement lässt sich nicht mit der Kraft von »Social Media Power« gleichsetzen, da es nur dann größere Dynamik entfaltet, wenn es nicht direkt politische Autorität, die Interessen mächtiger Institutionen, Parteiführer oder einflussreiche Einzelpersonen und deren persönliche Interessen herausfordert, sei es lokal oder auf Landesebene. Dass dies nach wie vor so ist, liegt vor allem daran, dass soziale Medien leicht marginalisiert und wirkungsvoll unterdrückt werden können." (Seite 232)
more
"This Is Not an Atlas gathers more than 40 counter-cartographies from all over the world. This collection shows how maps are created and transformed as a part of political struggle, for critical research or in art and education: from indigenous territories in the Amazon to the anti-eviction movement
...
in San Francisco; from defending commons in Mexico to mapping refugee camps with balloons in Lebanon; from slums in Nairobi to squats in Berlin; from supporting communities in the Philippines to reporting sexual harassment in Cairo. This Is Not an Atlas seeks to inspire, to document the underrepresented, and to be a useful companion when becoming a counter-cartographer yourself." (Publisher description)
more
"This article develops the argument that blasphemy trials occupy a pivotal role in ‘religion-making’ in post-1998 Indonesia. Examining a blasphemy trial on the island of Lombok in 2010, I argue that the process of democratisation has given civilian actors more opportunity to engage Indonesia’s
...
blasphemy law, a process analysed in terms of ‘lawfare’. Examining the interplay of legal regulation and the campaign against ‘deviant’ religion launched by conservative Muslim groups, the article tracks the affective consequences of this regulation, showing how the blasphemy law inspires civilians to investigate suspected cases of heresy. While blasphemy trials purportedly protect religion from insult and foster religious order, this article argues that religion lawfare breeds suspicion and divisions among citizens." (Abstract)
more
"Radyo Bakdaw was set up by Internews in Guiuan, Eastern Samar after the typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan hit the Philippines on November 8th 2013. The typhoon passed through 9 provinces, an estimated 14 million people were affected by it, 4 million people were displaced and killing at least 6268 people. In t
...
he 4,5 months that followed, Internews trained local radio makers to become humanitarian reporters, and gave a wider audience the chance to speak up, be listened to, and be part of the whole humanitarian response, as a 'Humanitarian Information Service'." (https://internews.org)
more
"This chapter will look into the Ignatian Pedagogy as it is applied in the education and practice of development communication in Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan, in the Mindanao island of the Philippines, I will try to relate how this pedagogy is related to mindful communication in the contex
...
t of the delivery of instruction and the application of communication by key players in the community." (Page 150)
more
"This book offers comprehensive insights into the cultural and ecological values that influence sustainable development across Asia, addressing the cultural, religious and philosophical moorings of development through participatory and grassroots communication approaches. It presents a range of cont
...
ributions and case studies from leading experts in Asia to highlight the debates on environmental communication and sustainable development that are relevant today, and to provide an overview of the positive traditions of ecological sensitivity and cultural communication that may find common ground between communities." (Publisher description)
more