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Advocacy Capacity Building Civic Education News & Information Research Other Links 
Interview with Gabriel Williams, former Secretary General of the Press Union of Liberia and author of a recently published book Liberia: the Heart of Darkness. World Movement Participants Database Search for more information about groups using the Internet and other media in their activities. |
African Virtual Business Association Network (AVBAN - CIPE) - Africa Regional
www.cipe.org/vba/
The Center for International Private Enterprise's Virtual Business Association helps business association leaders develop both the necessary skills for managing voluntary organizations and an understanding of the basic principles of the market and democracy. CIPE is expanding the reach of the VBA into Africa, providing a means for African business associations to exchange best practices and jump-start their presence on the Internet. The individual Web sites provide associations with a forum for sharing information with their members and with a wider audience, thereby strengthening their role as a key democratic institution.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) - Global
www.apc.org
The Association for Progressive Communications is an international network of civil society organizations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), including the Internet.
Association of Liberian Professional Organizations - Liberia
Contact: Mr. Saa Philip-Joe, saaphilipjoe@yahoo.com
Established in 1995, the Association of Liberian Professional Organizations seeks to foster unity and strengthen the functioning of Liberian professional organizations and to increase public confidence in and support for the country's professional organizations. To meet these objectives, the Association broadcasts its weekly, 30-minute radio program on a Liberian station. In the program, "Professional Half Hour," the Association's members discuss topics related to democracy and the rights of professionals. Its member organizations include the Press Union of Liberia, the National Teachers Association, the National Bar Association, and organizations representing nurses, doctors, dentists, transport workers, engineers, seamen, tailors, and photographers.
Capacity.org - Global
www.capacity.org
Capacity.org is an initiative of the European Centre for Development Policy Management with the aim to look at policy and practice of capacity building within international development cooperation. A section of its Web site, called "Capacity & ICTs", focuses on a rapidly-emerging issue in development - the challenge posed to individuals and organisations by new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The page provides information on ICT training programs, reports, publications, and other resources.
Center for Media, Education & Technology (C-MET) - Sierra Leone
www.cmetfreetown.org
The Center serves as a resource for Sierra Leonean media professionals and indigenous NGOs. By providing the independent media of Sierra Leone with professional skills enhancement training, new technology, and technical support and training, C-MET, in collaboration with the International League for Human Rights, seeks to initiate a democratic spirit of community reporting that would play a small part in reinvigorating a nation devastated by civil war. The League and C-MET are committed to providing and/or supporting: subsidized Internet access for media professionals and staff of local NGOs; technical capacity building for a variety of institutions (media, and NGO); rehabilitation of the national media infrastructure (print and radio media); professional skills enhancement training for media professionals; a central Web site for the media of Sierra Leone, which allows local newspapers and radio stations to publish and broadcast online; community-based radio presence, capacity building and strengthening of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and Guild of Newspaper Editors (GNE); research and publication of reports on the media and related issues; hands-on training for human rights NGOs on the use of the Internet and electronic mail for advocacy purposes.
Center for Rural Assistance Telecenter Program - Romania
www.son.ro/Engleza/MOs/CAR2.htm
The program pilots the establishment of multipurpose telecenters in Timis Country, Romania. The telecenters work out of houses donated by the villages they are located in and contain computers, a copy machine, fax machine and telephone. They focus on encouraging individual and group initiatives and helping villagers learn how to act as citizens with rights and responsibilities. Each telecenter is multi functional with specific characteristics defined by the village. Functions range from providing public information education, office and community services, consulting, and business management to community service and social care. The program uses a 'Multipurpose Community Telecenter model' that requires initial community involvement (the donation of a house) coupled with external support and investment (provision of leadership, funds and equipment). Over time it is expected that the community will 'institutionally adopt' the infrastructure and as the telecenter becomes sustainable ownership will be transferred to the community.
Center for Ukrainian Reform Education (CURE) - Ukraine
www.umrep.kiev.ua/
The organization helps other organizations find the most effective methods to get their message across to Ukrainian citizens. It advises organizations on which approaches/mediums to use (TV, radio, publications, press clubs), what audiences to target and when to begin a campaign. It aids with the design of posters, brochures, and pamphlets, organizing focus groups and conducting public opinion surveys. It also offers a variety of media trainings for organizations, including public speaking, public relations for NGOs and how to get the core message across on TV and radio.
Committee for Democratization of Information Technology for the Americas Program (CDI Americas) - Latin America Regional
www.cdi.org.br
The program offers information technology skills to underprivileged youth in Latin America and the Caribbean. By raising awareness among potential new strategic partners, creative and motivated young people in every town and school in the region are "web-enabled" to make significant differences in their communities. Active in Brazil and Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico, CDI Americas creates new information technology and citizenship schools. The CDI curriculum teaches common computer programs and Internet training, such as MS, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and HTML. In addition, students are instructed in computer and hardware maintenance and civic education.
Foundation for a New Ibero-American Journalism (Fundación para un Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano - FNPI) - Latin America Regional
www.fnpi.org
The Foundation for a New Ibero-American Journalism promotes the continuing education of journalists from Ibero-American countries. The foundation's core project is the Taller de Periodismo Iberoamericano (The Ibero-American Journalism Workshop Program), an itinerant program of workshops and seminars for journalists. The workshops and seminars follow four basic themes: basic journalism techniques for both print and broadcast media; journalism ethics and the problems journalists face in terms of freedom of the press, social responsibility and professional independence; new technologies and the challenges they pose to the profession; and specialized journalism (i.e. business reporting, environmental reporting, etc.)
India Development Network (INDEV) - India
www.indev.org/
India Development Network seeks to increase access to relevant and timely information about, for, and by the development sector in India through a Web site and list servers. INDEV's platform both enables the sharing of best practices among organizations and informs organizations about the nature of work and the application of creative solutions to development problems. INDEV Web site is a portal site with links to over 2500 leading development organizations in India. Bilateral agencies, government departments and leading NGOs, as INDEV partners, make the Web site a 'one-stop shop' for development information on India. The site offers four key databases: the NGO directory, project database, document database, and statistics database. Working closely with various NGOs, development agencies, training institutes and the government, INDEV will train NGOs to set up their Web sites, publish their home pages and use the Internet effectively. INDEV also provides free web pages for their members. INDEV launched a web newspaper in mid-1999 to highlight NGO success stories, recent policy changes in government, international declarations, and development events.
Institute for Press and Society (Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad - IPYS) - Peru
www.ipys.org.pe
ThePeru-based Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad is a non-governmental organization founded in 1993 to defend and promote the freedom of expression. It has developed its network to protect journalists in Peru, expand its access to information initiatives domestically and promote an Andean network for journalists in Colombia and Venezuela. In the past three years, IPYS established ten monitors in five cities to cover the major regions of the country. IPYS maintains a network of 21 journalist volunteers in five cities in Peru who are linked to the central office in Lima through e-mail and a toll-free telephone line. The network permits a journalist who is in trouble or the victim of an attack to request assistance from the central office in Lima. IPYS supports their network correspondents in Peru and offers workshops for journalists on investigative reporting and accessing information.
Kabissa - Africa Regional
www.kabissa.org
Kabissa uses technology to strengthen non-profit organizations working to improve the lives of people in Africa. Kabissa provides African non-profit organizations with access to Internet services (domain hosting, web space, mailboxes, etc.), training opportunities, and channels for networking and sharing essential information. In addition to providing those services, its Web site includes various information about African non-profit organizations and African e-mailing lists.
NGO Network Alliance Project - Zimbabwe
http://www.kubatana.net/
The NGO Network Alliance Project (NNAP) strengthens the use of e-mail and the Internet among Zimbabwean NGOs. The NNAP makes human rights and civic education information accessible to the general public from a centralized, electronic source. NNAP develops a central Zimbabwean development and human rights portal: the portal contains editorial material highlighting the work of the organizations hosted on the portal. The portal also includes an electronic fact sheet for each hosted organization hosted on the portal, an e-activism page for each sector, on-line campaign information, and links to Zimbabwean NGOs.
OneWorld Radio - Global
radio.oneworld.net/
OneWorld Radio is a Web portal that offers services and networking for broadcasters and civil society organizations that are using radio for human rights, sustainable development and democracy. OneWorld Radio offers access to a wide variety of audio content on human rights, civil society and development topics. The OneWorld Radio audio exchange is a platform for the free exchange of programs between stations and organizations around the world. The News and Events section of the Web site offers news about the latest activity and developments within the broadcast sector. It features stories on key issues like media freedoms and information diversity and provides information on relevant conferences, launches and promotions. The resources include online training resources for broadcasters, a member directory, and information about trainers and courses.
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)- Media Program - Africa Regional
www.osiafrica.org/eng_osisa-2_3.php
The OSISA media program endeavors to help people to overcome barriers that prevent them from exercising fully their right to communicate through mass media. Accordingly, the OSISA media program supports initiatives that promote and enhance the viability of non-governmental media, in particular print and radio. The OSISA media program also supports initiatives that develop the role of media to democratize society, in particular those that enable women, young people and other marginalized members of society to exercise their right to communicate through mass media, especially radio and print, and thereby hold those in authority and power accountable to those they are supposed to serve. Support for radio and print initiatives, as well as for advocacy and support organizations form the core of the OSISA media program.
About "What's Being Done On . . . "
For three months at a time, we highlight the activities of various organizations in different global regions, and links to important resources, that are focused on a particular theme or area of democracy work. Each new theme is announced via DemocracyNews, and the information from the previous installment is placed in the archives below. We hope to receive and post information about the work you or others may be doing that is focused on these issues. Send information via e-mail to the or by fax to (202) 378-9889.
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