Drawing on a 1939 surrealist poem by Barcelona writer Josep Vicenç Foix, captured in a song by Joan Manuel Serrat, which says: És quan dormo que hi veig clar, foll d'una dolça metzina (It is when I sleep that I see it all clearly, deranged by a sweet venom).
It is when we come together that we see it all clearly, intoxicated by a sweet elixir, the elixir of engaging with so many people attuned to each other and the joy of being with one another to share, exchange and reconnect on the issues that concern us, on what hurts us or excites us, on what we dream about and how we work to make it come true, and to celebrate our progress. After enchanting meetings like the APC Community Gathering in Chiang Mai, we go our separate ways and continue forward with renewed strength to take on our local realities.
Which is why we need to dare, as the poet says, to let our collective dreams drive our actions in our waking hours, through a reality that is at times fragile, turbulent and oppressive, where overpowering forces seek to crush justice and rights. This report shows in detail how our dreams guide our activities and our outcomes.
Chat Garcia Ramilo
Director
2024 was the first year of implementing APC’s four-year strategic plan. We set out on a renewed mission of strengthening collective organising towards building a transformational movement to ensure that the internet and digital technologies enable social, gender and environmental justice for all people.
Our theory of change is based on the belief that systemic long-term change requires building the power of people and organisations to speak and act with a collective voice. The APC network’s experience of over 30 years has taught us that movements are often the most potent way to hold powerful state and non-state actors to account and to create change.
In May 2024, the APC community came together in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to re-imagine how we as a collective can continue to thrive amidst authoritarianism, armed conflicts and anti-rights crackdowns in a wider context of economic and climate crises that are intensifying marginalisation.
What stayed with me most in 2024 has been the commitment of our staff, members and partners to solidarity and community, to building and advocating for collective agendas. We, as a community, advocated for and supported community-centred connectivity, safety for defenders facing threats, human rights and feminist narratives. We countered information disorders, gendered disinformation and anti-rights discourses and we built democratic, inclusive and accountable digital governance.
Yhod is a Thai artist who created an installation for the APC Community Gathering of kites hanging atop a bamboo structure on a linoleum floor covering. The internet, he said, is like air: invisible yet necessary for life. The kites are the people navigating through the air to make our lives better. And like a house, the bamboo framework and linoleum flooring make up the structure that supports the community.
In this annual report, you will discover stories of kites flying, finding shelter and building community.
APC’s Strategic Plan 2024-2027
Our new strategic plan is the result of a consultative process with staff,
the board of directors, members and partners, and builds on the lessons and
findings of APC’s mid-term evaluation in 2022, as well as the evaluation of
our local access initiative over a five-year period.
We believe that new efforts at organising are necessary to bring actors
advocating for digital inclusion and digital and internet rights together,
and to connect these with other social movements' agendas.
Our Mission
Is to strengthen collective organising towards building a transformative
movement to ensure that the internet and digital technologies enable social,
gender and environmental justice for all people.
Our Vision
Is for all people, particularly the marginalised, to use and shape
the internet and digital technologies to create a just and sustainable world.
Network- and movement-building strategies
Building knowledge and counter-narratives.
Convening and connecting actors to strengthen common agendas.
Capacity building and institutional strengthening.
Policy advocacy and mobilisation within the network.
Grantmaking/subgranting.
Strategic communications.
Long-term outcomes by 2027
Immediate outcomes:
Strengthened community-centred connectivity agendas through awareness raising and providing effective support to communities that need viable connectivity.
Members and partners have strengthened connections and common agendas for advancing digital rights, a feminist internet and environmentally just digital policies and practices.
Immediate outcomes:
Greater capacity to counter dis/misinformation. Collective creation, strengthening and sharing of knowledge to influence policy discourse.
Co-creation of alternatives and counter-narratives which centre digital inclusion and digital and internet rights and their intersections with environmental justice issues.
Intersectional feminist voices from the Global South contribute to centring feminist perspectives in discourses on technology.
Immediate outcomes:
Increased awareness of community-centred connectivity and policy and regulation that enable community-centred connectivity in the Global South.
Increased integration of human rights and environmentally just digital policies and practices through engagement and influence in national, regional and global processes.
Inclusion of perspectives of marginalised communities in regional and global processes on policies, norms and standards.
Increased integration into digital policies, norms and standards of rights-based perspectives and agendas of women and people of diverse sexualities and genders.
Immediate outcomes:
Shared understanding of the online and offline threats faced and development of holistic safety and care collective strategies.
Greater capacity to create and strengthen our digital infrastructure.
Collective mobilisation in solidarity and support to defenders at risk.
Greater capacity of feminist activists and gender non-conforming and queer communities to engage with the internet and digital technologies with care, agency, curiosity, playfulness and safety.
Immediate outcomes:
Members and staff have greater knowledge of and stronger connections with each other.
Members and staff have greater capacity to work together strategically and operationally based on a shared vision and purpose.
Knowledge management, planning, and MEL systems support collective learning and work prioritisation for deeper impact.
Greater shared understanding of care and collectively built organisational policies and practices that support our collective well-being, resilience and sustainability.
Diverse and sustainable funding base.
APC's niche
Strengthening collective organising towards building a powerful movement to advance digital inclusion and digital and internet rights.
The APC Community Gathering that took place in May 2024 in Chiang Mai, Thailand brought together APC member organisation representatives, associates, close partners and allies, including civil society organisations based in Thailand, and the APC staff team. Over 225 people from 46 countries assembled and participated in 43 events, including five plenaries, several dozen participant-led sessions, regional meetings focused on Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Europe and North America, 40 lightning talks, presentations, pop-up sessions and project meetings, and several social events, including film screenings.
The theme of the gathering was “More Together” and we celebrated being able to be, to do, to plan and to dream “more together”, while we also acknowledged and missed those unable to join us in person. We made significant advances towards our shared vision and enjoyed a significant boost in networking, learning and collaboration across the APC network.
“The value of the APC network is the space it gives to find community, collaboration and camaraderie with other digital rights actors globally. We work in the Asia-Pacific and it’s always nice to have a space to find and share learnings, challenges, solutions with those in other regions.”
– Sara Pacia, EngageMedia (Indonesia)
“The most important aspect for us being a member of APC is being able to get a global perspective on things that are affecting us in the part of the world where we work, getting to hear from other people in other parts of the world, what they’re facing, seeing where there are commonalities, and coming up with solutions to solve some of those challenges.”
– Peter Bloom, Rhizomatica (Mexico)
“Our involvement in the APC network has a two-sided advantage. On the one hand, we [get to] know other organisations trying to link digital issues with environmental and social issues, which enables mutual learning. And we also believe that all of our accumulated work on understanding environmental problems from a structural perspective, and therefore from the perspective of finding real solutions, could also be advantageous for APC organisations that are beginning to address environmental issues. Above all, [the network] is a way of working jointly to find solutions for the multiple crises that humankind and the planet are facing at this moment in time.”
– Ivonne Yanez, Acción Ecológica (Ecuador)
"We still feel like ‘newcomers’, although the most valuable part was that shortly after joining APC, the Gathering in Thailand took place, which allowed us to meet and get to know groups from other regions, as well as strengthen ties with colleagues from Latin America. That meeting also led to conversations with funders, which enabled a new project."
– jes ciacci, Sursiendo (Mexico)
“In June 2024, we hosted a meetup in Taiwan with feminist creators from Southeast Asia, and one-third joined through APC connections from the Chiang Mai gathering. Inspired by ‘My Digital Self: A Workbook for Self-Reflection’, we reimagined it as a feminist dating app concept for our course. Thanks to APC for sparking these connections and ideas!”
– Kuan-Jung Chen, Feminist Leadership and Mobilization on the Edge (FLAME) (Taiwan)
“In 2024, being part of the APC network empowered WOUGNET to launch the APC-funded initiative ‘Women in Journalism and Politics: Countering Gendered Disinformation in Uganda’.This campaign addressed the harmful impact of gendered disinformation on female politicians and journalists, especially ahead of Uganda’s 2026 elections. Insights from the APC Community Gathering informed our approach, aligning with APC’s strategic outcomes on building an inclusive and feminist internet. This collaboration has strengthened our advocacy and response to technology-facilitated gender-based violence.”
– David Iribagiza, Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) (Uganda)
“One of the most impactful experiences [in 2024] was participating in the APC Community Gathering, where we deepened our understanding of the intersection between digital rights, climate justice and regional digital policy trends. These insights have been instrumental in guiding our local strategies and aligning them with broader, global movements for digital justice.”
– Zaituni Njovu, Zaina Foundation (Tanzania)
Impact
By 2027, we are committed to building a network of members, partners and allied human and digital rights, feminist and environmental justice defenders and organisations that builds and strengthens common agendas across issues, movements and geographies to promote digital inclusion, digital and internet rights, a feminist internet, and environmentally just digital policies and practices.
We actively collaborated with activists from diverse fields to develop a common governance advocacy agenda on community-centred connectivity and environmental and gender justice. We convened in-person and online meetings to leverage advocacy around WSIS+20, NETmundial+10 and Global Digital Compact processes. We also co-organised the Latin American and Caribbean IGF with member Colnodo and led sessions at the African IGF. APC staff and members also participated in key internet governance spaces across our priority themes: human rights in digital environments (including community-centred connectivity, cybersecurity, surveillance, freedom of expression); gender justice with a specific focus on countering disinformation and tech-facilitated gender-based violence and promoting gender-responsive cybersecurity policies; social and environmental justice (examining extraction impacts, digital colonialism and community-led alternatives); and emerging tech governance, with a focus on AI’s regional impacts in Latin America and Africa-centric data governance frameworks.
Image credit: WACC Global on X, Geneva, May 2024.
Voices from the Global South contributed to reimagining internet governance ahead of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). APC published a special edition of the Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) report, 10 years after our initial analysis of the WSIS process. This edition provokes fresh questions and offers informed analyses on the successes, failures and challenges of the WSIS process and outcomes in a changed context.
Image credit: EngageMedia
We helped build shared understandings of digital rights challenges faced across the world by engaging in important regional and global events. These included the Global Gathering in Portugal, the 2024 Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC24) in Taipei, and the annual AWID Forum in Bangkok. At AWID, members and partners participated as organisers, speakers and moderators at sessions, and hosted activities that advanced a collective feminist approach to digital technologies. DRAPAC24 aimed to foster resilience and solidarity within the digital rights community and involved 150 organisations in two days of conversations on open technology, empowering the youth, and developing regional solutions to tech challenges. APC members were supported in their participation in the Global Gathering through our Member Engagement and Travel Fund (METF), allowing them to share expertise and develop new partnerships aligned with their digital rights work.
“Being part of the APC network has shown me the positive impact of aligning efforts towards an aligned goal. I was fortunate to learn from the different stakeholders on their approach to the problem statement of the project and brainstorming meaningful policy and advocacy interventions. Further, I understood the importance of regular check-ins between the partner organisations for facilitating knowledge sharing and identifying gaps.” – Arjun Adrian D’Souza, senior legal counsel, SFLC.in
Fifteen members were able to participate in key global and regional events throughout the year through resources from our Member Engagement and Travel Fund.
“Representing 7amleh at a dedicated booth was an opportunity to showcase our initiatives in digital security, where I was able to highlight our work, especially our Digital Security Helpdesk. This recent initiative counters hate speech and technology-facilitated gender-based violence through AI-driven solutions. Attendees showed considerable interest in our AI-driven solutions to these issues, and our discussions brought attention to the need for AI to protect, rather than inadvertently harm, marginalised communities.” – Representative of member organisation 7amleh on attending the Global Gathering 2024 with the support of an APC METF subgrant.
We strengthened our approach to movement building in the Asia-Pacific region by connecting national movements around digital rights issues with network members and partners in South and Southeast Asia. The approach built on feedback given by grassroots and national-level digital rights groups, and it established a new model for connecting diverse national and regional movements working on digital rights regionally. APC contributed as lead organiser by convening national-level events in five countries in South and Southeast Asia in collaboration with APC members (including EngageMedia, Point of View and Foundation for Media Alternatives) and partners (Digitally Right and the Research Group in Innovation for Social Solidarity and Inclusive Economy in Asia at Chulalangkorn University).
Image credit: Cathy Chen
We collectively articulated a new approach for community-centred connectivity which has since been adopted as both a framework and narrative by actors in the field. In 2024, connectivity practitioners shifted their conceptual understanding by expanding definitions of "community networks" to the broader spectrum defined by the Local Network (LocNet) initiative's 13 principles and 11 typology characteristics of “community-centred connectivity initiatives”, explicitly including social enterprises and public services. This provides a concrete framework designed for scaling in unserved communities that acknowledges diverse models, resolves historical vagueness and enables better planning and analysis. Communities are now better equipped to discuss priorities and select context-appropriate models to distinguish between fundamental and aspirational elements for practical implementation.
“Throughout 2024, we had the opportunity to deepen our understanding on the basic principles of digital rights and strengthen our ongoing efforts to address the digital divide challenges in rural and remote areas through training and capacity building on community-centred connectivity initiatives, with a human-centred approach and focus on the needs and challenges faced by communities at the local level. With this work we are able to advance APC's strategic outcomes in 2024, particularly in addressing the new digital divide, while supporting marginalised communities to use and shape the internet and digital technologies to create a just and sustainable world. – Gustaff H. Iskandar, managing director, Common Room Networks Foundation, Indonesia
APC members were able to influence their governments and institutions through collaborations and collective network action. They were able to strengthen their connections, explore shared concerns and influence change through collaborations and collective contributions, supported by a cycle of member subgranting in 2024. Through 31 advocacy and institutional strengthening grants, members of the APC network were able to work on projects in the areas of community-centred connectivity, environmental monitoring, institutional strengthening, resisting information disorders and tech-facilitated gender-based violence, among others.
The government of Guatemala had their first structured dialogue with Indigenous communities on communications access and rights. Different stakeholders discussed issues of communication rights and connectivity at the Forum on Indigenous Remote Telecommunications, held during the 2024 Bootcamp. The Forum marked the culmination of the 2023-2024 Training Programme for the Management of Information and Communications Technology Networks in Indigenous and Rural Communities in Latin America, promoted by APC, Rhizomatica and REDES A.C. and the International Telecommunication Union.
The Cameroonian ministry in charge of ICT invited member PROTEGE QV to participate in drafting a memorandum of understanding on e-waste management between the ICT ministry and the ministry overseeing the environment. This recognised PROTEGE QV’s years of research and advocacy on the issue. This recognition values civil society contributions and gave our member an opportunity to advance recommendations grounded in their background of long-term research and engagement. APC's subgrants programme supported PROTEGE QV in December 2023 with convening a multistakeholder discussion towards a legal, regulatory and institutional framework for effective digital waste management in Cameroon.
A knowledge exchange between APC members contributed to South Korean legislators amending laws to permit municipal internet in 2023-2024. South Korea’s National Assembly passed legislation enabling municipal governments to provide public internet services. The legal reform (amendment of Article 7, Telecommunication Enterprise Act) was significant for ending market failure and resulting in 15,000+ free Wi-Fi points deployed in Seoul throughout 2024. An APC-facilitated knowledge exchange between members Open Net Korea and guifi.net (Catalonia) supported advocacy efforts using evidence of successful models to overcome decades-old privatisation ideology.
State and non-state data collectors in Uganda made commitments to protect citizen privacy, influenced by the development of a Privacy Scorecard by member Unwanted Witness. This is important because insufficient transparency causes privacy violations of vulnerable groups by both state and non-state data collectors. APC's subgranting programme support made it possible for Unwanted Witness to develop their Privacy Scorecard research and share their findings with these entities.
By 2027, we are committed to building a network of members, partners and allied human and digital rights, feminist and environmental justice defenders and organisations that amplifies our voices and perspectives to position human rights and gender and environmental justice centrally in digital inclusion and digital rights discourses, while also countering anti-rights discourses.
“FIRN partners reflected that research can become a point of entry for movement building. Knowledge production in movements engages them to see their work as more than research, but as the process of exercising their power and agency in an ecosystem which tends to invisibilise their experiences, particularly in the context of tech-facilitated gender-based violence.” – APC Women’s Rights Programme co-lead
We amplified the voices of environmental defenders by creating a feminist and Indigenous research framework through a participatory process in four Global South countries. As part of the “Resistance and Resilience: Collaborative Responses to Online Attacks on Environmental Defenders” project, APC co-created the framework in partnership with Indigenous Peoples Rights International, the Manila Observatory through the KLIMA Centre in the Philippines, Intervozes in Brazil and the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program in Kenya. The framework, which draws on the work of the Feminist Internet Research Network has become the foundation for generating knowledge and building alliances with environmental defenders in the Global South.
We helped Rohingya refugees reclaim their narratives in the face of disinformation and hate speech in Myanmar. APC worked with its partners the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network and the Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network to develop an advocacy video aimed at countering the digital repression of the Rohingya people who face internet blackouts, shutdowns, surveillance and the weaponisation of social media through disinformation and hate speech.
A creative intervention with APC staff and collaborators at AWID 2024 offered playful and accessible entry points into community discussions on feminist technology.APC participated at the AWID Forum 2024 by creating a collaborative intervention with feminist fund Numun and feminist organisation Whose Knowledge?, who co-created spaces and activities for playfulness, discovery and experimentation in feminist tech and community-centred connectivity, such as the Feminist Tech Gardens. It offered digital safety support, psychological and digital first aid, as well as media clinics. This was one of the many spaces in 2024 where members and partners of the APC network reflected on and deepened their understanding of the connections between technology and warfare.
Our members and partners in Africa integrated a knowledge-sharing space on gendered disinformation through continued collaboration in the region. APC members in Africa Pollicy, PROTEGE QV and Women of Uganda Network collaborated in creating awareness and sharing knowledge on gendered disinformation in key spaces such as the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa, the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum and the Africa IGF. This was enabled by APC's coordination of participation among members in the region and through an APC-supported project led by the Women of Uganda Network.
"In 2024, the APC network enabled the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative to deploy and maintain three community networks, expand our air quality sensing on the DATACAB network and deliver digital trainings to over 100 young people. MAJI also collaborated in the development of a national strategy document for community-centred connectivity in Nigeria for community network policy advocacy at the national levels of governance. In contribution to advancing APC strategic outcomes, MAJI's adoption of community-centred communication strategies and tools has contributed to increased digital access and literacy for marginalised groups in Nigeria, while also increasing the use of evidence-based approaches that strengthen policy advocacy and community campaigns at the regional and national levels." – Okoro Onyekachi Emmanuel, executive director, Media Awareness and Justice Initiative
Image credit: Ibrahim Kizza for GenderIT.
Structurally silenced women and LBTQIA+ activists from four Global South countries shifted from tokenised representation to narrative authorities in feminist discourse. Activists from Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Uganda shifted from tokenised representation to authoritative leadership in feminist discourse, able to challenge epistemic hierarchies, as evidenced in a GenderIT edition published in November 2024. APC, through the Our Voices, Our Futures consortium, created enabling conditions for safe testimony, cross-movement solidarity and decolonial storytelling, which also resulted in actions at the national level, such as authoring policy critiques as experts in Bangladesh, the definition of movement agendas in Uganda, and joining a movement to reject a finance bill in Kenya.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office aligned its policies and initiatives with the priorities of a shared research agenda on tech-facilitated gender-based violence co-created by APC. This alignment took place as a result of the priorities outlined in the Shared Research Agenda on Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), shaping more survivor-centred legal frameworks, promoting the "safety-by-design" approach with tech companies, and supporting the development of free and accessible services for survivors. The agenda is now available online in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, following 18 months of co-creation between the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, APC, UN Women and the Global Partnership to End Online Abuse and Harassment, with input from over 500 experts in the field.
We gained valuable insights and exposure to the realities of open source spaces in Europe. APC is one of the members of the Next Generation Internet Zero (NGI0) initiative, a consortium led by the NLnet Foundation, composed by several not-for-profit organisations with an aim to make the digital commons more robust. In July 2024, APC launched the monthly column “Building a Free Internet of the Future”, which features interviews with NGI0 grantees implementing open source, open data, open hardware and open standards projects, among them CryptPad, BrailleRAP, Librecast, Accessibility Foundation, PeerTube, and Decidim Association. This space enables greater visibility for projects advancing free and open source software in Europe and has sparked conversations with those doing the same in the Global South.
By 2027, we are committed to building a network of members, partners and allied human and digital rights, feminist and environmental justice defenders and organisations that acts collectively to shape digital norms, policies, standards and processes that are democratic and rights-respecting to ensure that the internet and digital technologies are governed as a global public good.
We actively sought to influence global policy processes that will shape our digital future. Working with our allies in the Global Digital Justice Forum, as well as others, APC engaged key global processes that will set the terms of engagement for digital advocacy and rights over the coming years, in particular the Global Digital Compact and the WSIS+20 review. We linked these processes to our work at the Internet Governance Forum, pushing for a renewal and expansion of its mandate in the face of an increasingly dominant big tech sector.
“In 2024, we were able to conduct research that assessed and analysed the governance frameworks for artificial intelligence policy in Uganda and its gender dimensions. This helped us to have a deeper understanding of the regulatory and policy perspectives of the Ugandan government. It gave us an opportunity to contribute to the policy making process on AI which is still at its infancy, but also as a key player and stakeholder with the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. We were able to connect with some APC members in Uganda and feel we created a sense of community. For instance, we are able to contribute and intervene in each other's work as APC members building relationships and causing transformative actions based on our collective and shared vision.” – Moses Owiny, CEO, Centre for Multilateral Affairs, Uganda
At the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women in New York, we shared how community networks could function as feminist infrastructures, and highlighted our work on tech-facilitated gender-based violence and gendered disinformation. We framed our advocacy using the Feminist Principles of the Internet, a vital tool for women’s rights to interact with digital technologies from diverse perspectives and locations.
“In Bangladesh, BNNRC implemented the Empowering Women-Headed CSOs for Combating Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) project. This initiative enhanced the capabilities of 70 women-headed CSOs and NGOs, 10 representatives of law-enforcing agencies, 15 media, 16 youths, and 20 other professionals to effectively address the critical issue of TFGBV within their ongoing efforts. Through thoughtful capacity-building training and constructive dialogue, these organisations have been equipped with vibrant knowledge and resources. They are now better positioned to identify, respond to, and provide support for individuals affected by TFGBV.” – Hiren Pandit, programme coordinator, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
We highlighted the importance of digital privacy in Southern Africa. Working with the Namibia Media Trust, we supported the African Declaration Coalition in the production of four issues of Southern Africa Digital Rights, a publication that includes expert articles on digital privacy matters in the region. The project, which included a webinar on the evolution of digital rights in Africa, brought together civil society and digital rights researchers, activists and advocates from some 10 organisations spread over Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
We worked to frame cybersecurity from a gender perspective. Through statements and other interventions, we pushed for a human and gender rights perspective at the Open-ended Working Group on cybersecurity, and convened a diverse group of experts on cybersecurity to advocate for a gender framing of cybercrime responses.A roundtable of experts in feminist technology, cybersecurity governance and technical standards sought to better understand the intersections between gender rights and cybersecurity, and to map an advocacy way forward for civil society.
Image credit: OVOF-WOUGNET.
We advocated for gendered disinformation to be prioritised in policy discussions. While gendered disinformation has been understood as a subset of tech-facilitated gender-based violence and online disinformation, we have pushed for the need for it to be recognised as a separate and specific phenomenon through submissions, publications and other interventions. In support of this work, we launched the Full Picture campaign to help journalists and communications professionals understand the impact of misinformation and disinformation on people’s lives.
Themes and issues crucial to the Global South were positioned on the Internet Governance Forum agenda as a result of advocacy from our network’s members, partners and staff. Digital policy-making bodies have been influenced by the voices and positioning of the Global South through the advocacy work of the APC network, even when these issues generated pushback previously, such as in the case of ensuring access to critical infrastructure in contexts of crises and conflicts and highlighting best practices in spaces such as the IGF itself.
The UN Global Digital Compact (GDC) integrated a stand-alone principle on gender equality that was absent in earlier drafts, due to sustained APC-led advocacy efforts. APC co-created 10 feminist principles for the GDC, founded and facilitated a civil society coalition for gender inclusion, and leveraged momentum from the Commission on the Status of Women to push forward demands, creating more possibilities for gender justice in digital governance frameworks.
Several policy forums in the Global South integrated discourse on tech-facilitated gender-based violence from peripheral to central agenda items. Discourse on tech-facilitated gender-based violence was elevated in prominence across multiple policy forums: DataFest Africa, Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa, Global Gathering, Sexual Violence Research Institute Forum, Southeast Asia Research Centre for Digital Tech and Society Roundtable, Beijing+30 Consultation and AWID Forum. APC has led years of interventions in these spaces to advance the understanding of TFGBV, and our efforts have legitimised it as an internet governance priority.
APC members were able to influence their governments on digital rights issues through the Universal Periodic Review process. APC coordinated the development and submission of four stakeholder reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process in four countries: Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia and Kenya. The governments of The Gambia and Kenya accepted recommendations submitted by APC members through the UPR process. Each of the four stakeholder reports was co-authored with an APC member and reflected context-specific feminist and digital rights analysis with attention to how online environments affect women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and broader civil society. These interventions represent an important component of APC's advocacy strategy to hold states and private sector actors accountable within international human rights frameworks and also enabled national partners to build capacity for UN engagement, which helps members make their own UPR submissions.
“The collaboration between Derechos Digitales and APC has been key for strengthening the digital rights agenda in Latin America and projecting it globally. A historical example of this partnership is the work linking economic, social and cultural rights with the promotion of connectivity and with our broader human rights agenda. A particularly relevant and current example is our joint effort in the United Nations Universal Periodic Reviews, in which we have submitted reports on countries such as Chile, Brazil and Ecuador, shedding light on human rights abuses in digital environments and proposing concrete recommendations on issues relating to access, monitoring and freedom of expression.” – Jamila Venturini and Juan Carlos Lara, co-directors of APC member Derechos Digitales
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) adopted and implemented an APC-developed regional strategy to counter information disorders targeting refugees in Asia-Pacific. APC worked with the UNHCR on a regional strategy to counter misinformation, disinformation and hate speech targeting Rohingya refugees in South and Southeast Asia. Not only did the UNHCR adopt the framework, but we also continue to support them to implement some of the strategies it proposes, especially in countries with elections coming up.
Image credit: Colnodo.
The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission adopted inclusive regulation frameworks by hosting a grassroots-developed course on regulation on its platform as a result of our collective advocacy. In 2024, the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission hosted LocNet's “Regulating for Inclusion” course on its platform. This is the first time a grassroots-developed course entered intergovernmental training systems, and it represents observable evidence of mainstreaming community-centred policy models and advancing digital justice in a major regional body.
By 2027, we are committed to building a network of members, partners and allied human and digital rights, feminist and environmental justice defenders and organisations that increases our collective capacity for holistic safety and care and digital resilience.
We helped women human rights defenders (WHRDs) work safely online, strengthened their networks, and centred their concerns in policy spaces. Through our work with the Safety for Voices consortium, we impacted nearly 1,000 women across 48 countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa through grants, capacity building and convenings. Our capacity building and learning exchanges fostered solidarity across geographic boundaries, helping to build a women human rights defenders movement in the Global South. Together we also argued that defenders are no longer peripheral to digital governance debates but central voices shaping state obligations through Universal Periodic Review submissions. This APC-led consortium also co-developed and scaled feminist early warning systems to proactively identify and mitigate risks through knowledge hubs and research on patterns of gendered digital repression and systemic exclusion.
Grassroots defenders, technologists, healers and policy advocates in three regions co-developed a priority agenda for feminist digital safety. Women human rights defenders, technologists, healers and policy advocates across Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific co-developed a Global Feminist Digital Safety Agenda that defined four thematic priorities: tech-facilitated gender-based violence, disinformation, impunity and authoritarian tech abuse. APC facilitated convenings in each region to address the demand for advocacy rooted in local realities and holistic protection. The global efforts produced a 10-point advocacy agenda for the digital safety, security and well-being of defenders.
“In 2024, 7amleh supported APC’s strategic outcomes by providing holistic, timely digital safety resources for WHRDs. This included an emergency helpdesk offering crisis response and preventative support, as well as training sessions to meet the growing need for digital security. These efforts became vital after the war on Gaza began in October 2024. Trainees described the impact as essential to their safety and activism, equipping them with tools to remain resilient and heard amid digital threats and repression.” - Nadim Nashif, executive director, 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, Palestine
Feminist funders increased funding for collaborative tech infrastructure for community resilience due to advocacy by the APC network and our allies. This ecosystem shift, which can be attributed to APC’s multi-year donor advocacy efforts throughout 2023 and 2024, demonstrated increased interest in supportive collaborative technology infrastructure projects that move beyond reactive crisis funding to support community resilience and crisis preparedness.
After four years of collaboration co-designing feminist tech gatherings, the LGBTQI philanthropic organisation Astraea chose to continue using the open source infrastructure introduced by APC. Astraea formalised its adoption of the infrastructure and methodologies for activist-led gatherings developed through years of collaboration with APC through the CommsLabs initiative, which prioritises regional grounding, participatory design and open source tools.
Image credit: Tanda Community Network.
Community network practitioners in Kenya gained certified skills and knowledge in fibre optic deployment after an APC-supported workshop. Fifteen community network practitioners in Kenya gained certified skills in fibre optic deployment, evidenced by a test from the Fibre Optic Association at the end of a week-long training workshop, which led to their Certified Fibre Optic Technician diplomas. The fellowship also promoted women's participation and gender equity by building their capacity in tech roles to bridge the gender gaps that still exist in technological environments.
“As part of the APC network, we have the opportunity to continue to reach the many low-literate people in our villages, to see how the women in the villages can share their stories with a select group of people and hide it from others and to be comfortable in narrating their stories. We are also engaging with children in the school so they can later be the channel for their mothers to find comfort in using the WiFi-mesh network and also come to us at our centre to learn and use our network. We will be using AI interfaces to bring voice interaction as the way to use the internet or to communicate asynchronously by recording their narratives. While smart phones are increasing around here, we see many women without them, but with need to narrate their stories to a subgroup and continue the thread." – Dinesh, tech director, Servelots, India
In order for APC to enable and support the contributions of the network to these four long-term outcomes, we are committed to ensuring that APC has a shared vision and purpose, and has the capacity, skills and financial resources to deliver on its mission in a working environment in which all members and staff can learn, grow and thrive.
“Inspired by the APC strategic plan 2024 to 2027, we designed all our programmes and internal strategy in alignment to APC’s new strategic plan. We focused on a lot of programmes relating to educating young Gambians and upcoming journalists on misinformation. We are grateful to be guided by APC strategy in implementing our programmes and projects in The Gambia. The learnings from partners and information from our APC newsletter have been good contributions to our work.” – Poncelet Ileleji, CEO, Jokkolabs Banjul
We strengthened our network's cohesion and capacity for collective action through our first in-person APC Community Gathering since 2017. It took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and was attended by 225 people from 46 countries. This gathering was a powerful catalyst: members reported significant changes to their work at regional, national and grassroots levels, which led to increased collaborative activity and new project ideas that secured funding and formalised partnerships. Members expressed the significant impact of the gathering on their work at regional, national and grassroots levels, and some partners who attended the gathering have since become members of the APC network. Additionally, in a key governance step ahead of the event, a new APC board was elected.
“Being part of the APC network in 2024 has significantly strengthened our efforts in building and sustaining the Digital Rights Coalition in Tanzania. Through APC’s platforms and support, we have enhanced collaboration among members, created shared advocacy goals, and developed a more unified approach to addressing internet freedom challenges and digital exclusion – especially during critical moments like elections." – Zaituni Njovu, executive director, Zaina Foundation, Tanzania
"In 2024 APC allowed me to corroborate once again that I am part of a true association of people and organisations passionate about defending digital rights in the world. Whether working for a member organisation or as an individual, I am very happy to be part of a community whose programme lines and projects are also aligned with my professional expectations, and for that I feel very fortunate." – Ariel Barbosa, associate, Colombia
"As a civic think-and-action network, BlueLink.net is providing support and analyses to environment, climate and human rights defenders in Bulgaria and across Eastern Europe. APC's global community remains a vital source of technological and policy knowledge and direction for resisting disinformation, manipulation, confusion and division, spread massively by commercial digital platforms." – Pavel Antonov, executive editor and co-founder, BlueLink
"Being part of the APC network has been an invaluable experience for the Open Culture Foundation (OCF). At the APC gathering 2024, we connected with partners with common visions and were invited by a network member to share experiences with African HRDs in a regional workshop. This collaboration allowed us to deepen our understanding of regional challenges and reinforced our shared commitment to digital rights. OCF contributed to advancing APC’s strategic outcomes by promoting holistic digital safety in the Asia-Pacific region. We conducted research on digital threats, offered technical support and capacity development to local communities. These efforts support APC’s goal of mobilising in solidarity to provide support to defenders at risk and strengthen our digital rights." – Jin Tu, project coordinator, Open Culture Foundation
“Being part of the APC network has enabled us to forge new connections, explore transformative ideas, and share our work with civil society actors across the Global Majority, whether it is through access to spaces like the Community Gathering, AWID and OVOF Global Partners Summit, or through critical capacity-building initiatives like the CYRILLA Global Policy Advocacy Workshop in 2024. With APC's support, we have built on our work with young girls and women from socioeconomically marginalised communities around strategically using technology to amplify their issues, ideas and voices, and created awareness around gendered disinformation through a knowledge resource, workshops, and our participation at regional, national-level and global digital rights spaces like APrIGF 2024.” – Prarthana Mitra, project manager, knowledge and communications, Point of View, India
We conducted our first internal member-driven evaluation to collectively discover evidence of subgranting transformations in APC’s last strategic period (2020-2023). A total of 82 viable outcomes were harvested through the evaluation process, which show that APC subgranting contributed to changes in adding new capacities, shifting power relationships, shaping policy and regulation, and fostering community empowerment and organisational strengthening. It also contributed to the strengthening of the communities with which APC member organisations work, favouring their capacity to organise and work collaboratively, as well as to resist injustice.
“Throughout 2024, we worked on two projects financed by the APC small grants programme that contributed to different APC strategic outcome areas. In these projects, we created learning and support materials to help Pangea’s members, our local community, and people in general use the internet’s services in a more sustainable, eco-friendly and safe way. We also promoted the topic of internet governance to raise community interest and participation.” – Leandro Navarro, vice-president, Pangea, Barcelona
“APC support was critical for our Cutting the Cord project, which studies the obstacles facing NGOs seeking to reduce their dependence on Big Tech. Initially developed with APC and other APC members in the Infrared Coalition, the project has developed into a full research report published in both English and Spanish. Additionally, it has spawned a new campaign, Rise Against Big Tech, in which Infrared members are collaboratively developing resources and actions to help organisations pursue technology autonomy.” – Jamie McClelland, May First Movement Technology, Mexico
We actively collaborated with activists from diverse fields to develop a common governance advocacy agenda on community-centred connectivity and environmental and gender justice. We convened in-person and online meetings to leverage advocacy around WSIS+20, NETmundial+10 and Global Digital Compact processes. We also co-organised the Latin American and Caribbean IGF with member Colnodo and led sessions at the African IGF. APC staff and members also participated in key internet governance spaces across our priority themes: human rights in digital environments (including community-centred connectivity, cybersecurity, surveillance, freedom of expression); gender justice with a specific focus on countering disinformation and tech-facilitated gender-based violence and promoting gender-responsive cybersecurity policies; social and environmental justice (examining extraction impacts, digital colonialism and community-led alternatives); and emerging tech governance, with a focus on AI’s regional impacts in Latin America and Africa-centric data governance frameworks.
Image credit: WACC Global on X, Geneva, May 2024.
Voices from the Global South contributed to reimagining internet governance ahead of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). APC published a special edition of the Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) report, 10 years after our initial analysis of the WSIS process. This edition provokes fresh questions and offers informed analyses on the successes, failures and challenges of the WSIS process and outcomes in a changed context.
Image credit: EngageMedia
We helped build shared understandings of digital rights challenges faced across the world by engaging in important regional and global events. These included the Global Gathering in Portugal, the 2024 Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC24) in Taipei, and the annual AWID Forum in Bangkok. At AWID, members and partners participated as organisers, speakers and moderators at sessions, and hosted activities that advanced a collective feminist approach to digital technologies. DRAPAC24 aimed to foster resilience and solidarity within the digital rights community and involved 150 organisations in two days of conversations on open technology, empowering the youth, and developing regional solutions to tech challenges. APC members were supported in their participation in the Global Gathering through our Member Engagement and Travel Fund (METF), allowing them to share expertise and develop new partnerships aligned with their digital rights work.
“Being part of the APC network has shown me the positive impact of aligning efforts towards an aligned goal. I was fortunate to learn from the different stakeholders on their approach to the problem statement of the project and brainstorming meaningful policy and advocacy interventions. Further, I understood the importance of regular check-ins between the partner organisations for facilitating knowledge sharing and identifying gaps.” – Arjun Adrian D’Souza, senior legal counsel, SFLC.in
Fifteen members were able to participate in key global and regional events throughout the year through resources from our Member Engagement and Travel Fund.
“Representing 7amleh at a dedicated booth was an opportunity to showcase our initiatives in digital security, where I was able to highlight our work, especially our Digital Security Helpdesk. This recent initiative counters hate speech and technology-facilitated gender-based violence through AI-driven solutions. Attendees showed considerable interest in our AI-driven solutions to these issues, and our discussions brought attention to the need for AI to protect, rather than inadvertently harm, marginalised communities.” – Representative of member organisation 7amleh on attending the Global Gathering 2024 with the support of an APC METF subgrant.
We strengthened our approach to movement building in the Asia-Pacific region by connecting national movements around digital rights issues with network members and partners in South and Southeast Asia. The approach built on feedback given by grassroots and national-level digital rights groups, and it established a new model for connecting diverse national and regional movements working on digital rights regionally. APC contributed as lead organiser by convening national-level events in five countries in South and Southeast Asia in collaboration with APC members (including EngageMedia, Point of View and Foundation for Media Alternatives) and partners (Digitally Right and the Research Group in Innovation for Social Solidarity and Inclusive Economy in Asia at Chulalangkorn University).
Image credit: Cathy Chen
We collectively articulated a new approach for community-centred connectivity which has since been adopted as both a framework and narrative by actors in the field. In 2024, connectivity practitioners shifted their conceptual understanding by expanding definitions of "community networks" to the broader spectrum defined by the Local Network (LocNet) initiative's 13 principles and 11 typology characteristics of “community-centred connectivity initiatives”, explicitly including social enterprises and public services. This provides a concrete framework designed for scaling in unserved communities that acknowledges diverse models, resolves historical vagueness and enables better planning and analysis. Communities are now better equipped to discuss priorities and select context-appropriate models to distinguish between fundamental and aspirational elements for practical implementation.
“Throughout 2024, we had the opportunity to deepen our understanding on the basic principles of digital rights and strengthen our ongoing efforts to address the digital divide challenges in rural and remote areas through training and capacity building on community-centred connectivity initiatives, with a human-centred approach and focus on the needs and challenges faced by communities at the local level. With this work we are able to advance APC's strategic outcomes in 2024, particularly in addressing the new digital divide, while supporting marginalised communities to use and shape the internet and digital technologies to create a just and sustainable world. – Gustaff H. Iskandar, managing director, Common Room Networks Foundation, Indonesia
APC members were able to influence their governments and institutions through collaborations and collective network action. They were able to strengthen their connections, explore shared concerns and influence change through collaborations and collective contributions, supported by a cycle of member subgranting in 2024. Through 31 advocacy and institutional strengthening grants, members of the APC network were able to work on projects in the areas of community-centred connectivity, environmental monitoring, institutional strengthening, resisting information disorders and tech-facilitated gender-based violence, among others.
The government of Guatemala had their first structured dialogue with Indigenous communities on communications access and rights. Different stakeholders discussed issues of communication rights and connectivity at the Forum on Indigenous Remote Telecommunications, held during the 2024 Bootcamp. The Forum marked the culmination of the 2023-2024 Training Programme for the Management of Information and Communications Technology Networks in Indigenous and Rural Communities in Latin America, promoted by APC, Rhizomatica and REDES A.C. and the International Telecommunication Union.
The Cameroonian ministry in charge of ICT invited member PROTEGE QV to participate in drafting a memorandum of understanding on e-waste management between the ICT ministry and the ministry overseeing the environment. This recognised PROTEGE QV’s years of research and advocacy on the issue. This recognition values civil society contributions and gave our member an opportunity to advance recommendations grounded in their background of long-term research and engagement. APC's subgrants programme supported PROTEGE QV in December 2023 with convening a multistakeholder discussion towards a legal, regulatory and institutional framework for effective digital waste management in Cameroon.
A knowledge exchange between APC members contributed to South Korean legislators amending laws to permit municipal internet in 2023-2024. South Korea’s National Assembly passed legislation enabling municipal governments to provide public internet services. The legal reform (amendment of Article 7, Telecommunication Enterprise Act) was significant for ending market failure and resulting in 15,000+ free Wi-Fi points deployed in Seoul throughout 2024. An APC-facilitated knowledge exchange between members Open Net Korea and guifi.net (Catalonia) supported advocacy efforts using evidence of successful models to overcome decades-old privatisation ideology.
State and non-state data collectors in Uganda made commitments to protect citizen privacy, influenced by the development of a Privacy Scorecard by member Unwanted Witness. This is important because insufficient transparency causes privacy violations of vulnerable groups by both state and non-state data collectors. APC's subgranting programme support made it possible for Unwanted Witness to develop their Privacy Scorecard research and share their findings with these entities.
“FIRN partners reflected that research can become a point of entry for movement building. Knowledge production in movements engages them to see their work as more than research, but as the process of exercising their power and agency in an ecosystem which tends to invisibilise their experiences, particularly in the context of tech-facilitated gender-based violence.” – APC Women’s Rights Programme co-lead
We amplified the voices of environmental defenders by creating a feminist and Indigenous research framework through a participatory process in four Global South countries. As part of the “Resistance and Resilience: Collaborative Responses to Online Attacks on Environmental Defenders” project, APC co-created the framework in partnership with Indigenous Peoples Rights International, the Manila Observatory through the KLIMA Centre in the Philippines, Intervozes in Brazil and the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program in Kenya. The framework, which draws on the work of the Feminist Internet Research Network has become the foundation for generating knowledge and building alliances with environmental defenders in the Global South.
We helped Rohingya refugees reclaim their narratives in the face of disinformation and hate speech in Myanmar. APC worked with its partners the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network and the Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network to develop an advocacy video aimed at countering the digital repression of the Rohingya people who face internet blackouts, shutdowns, surveillance and the weaponisation of social media through disinformation and hate speech.
A creative intervention with APC staff and collaborators at AWID 2024 offered playful and accessible entry points into community discussions on feminist technology.APC participated at the AWID Forum 2024 by creating a collaborative intervention with feminist fund Numun and feminist organisation Whose Knowledge?, who co-created spaces and activities for playfulness, discovery and experimentation in feminist tech and community-centred connectivity, such as the Feminist Tech Gardens. It offered digital safety support, psychological and digital first aid, as well as media clinics. This was one of the many spaces in 2024 where members and partners of the APC network reflected on and deepened their understanding of the connections between technology and warfare.
Our members and partners in Africa integrated a knowledge-sharing space on gendered disinformation through continued collaboration in the region. APC members in Africa Pollicy, PROTEGE QV and Women of Uganda Network collaborated in creating awareness and sharing knowledge on gendered disinformation in key spaces such as the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa, the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum and the Africa IGF. This was enabled by APC's coordination of participation among members in the region and through an APC-supported project led by the Women of Uganda Network.
"In 2024, the APC network enabled the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative to deploy and maintain three community networks, expand our air quality sensing on the DATACAB network and deliver digital trainings to over 100 young people. MAJI also collaborated in the development of a national strategy document for community-centred connectivity in Nigeria for community network policy advocacy at the national levels of governance. In contribution to advancing APC strategic outcomes, MAJI's adoption of community-centred communication strategies and tools has contributed to increased digital access and literacy for marginalised groups in Nigeria, while also increasing the use of evidence-based approaches that strengthen policy advocacy and community campaigns at the regional and national levels." – Okoro Onyekachi Emmanuel, executive director, Media Awareness and Justice Initiative
Image credit: Ibrahim Kizza for GenderIT.
Structurally silenced women and LBTQIA+ activists from four Global South countries shifted from tokenised representation to narrative authorities in feminist discourse. Activists from Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Uganda shifted from tokenised representation to authoritative leadership in feminist discourse, able to challenge epistemic hierarchies, as evidenced in a GenderIT edition published in November 2024. APC, through the Our Voices, Our Futures consortium, created enabling conditions for safe testimony, cross-movement solidarity and decolonial storytelling, which also resulted in actions at the national level, such as authoring policy critiques as experts in Bangladesh, the definition of movement agendas in Uganda, and joining a movement to reject a finance bill in Kenya.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office aligned its policies and initiatives with the priorities of a shared research agenda on tech-facilitated gender-based violence co-created by APC. This alignment took place as a result of the priorities outlined in the Shared Research Agenda on Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), shaping more survivor-centred legal frameworks, promoting the "safety-by-design" approach with tech companies, and supporting the development of free and accessible services for survivors. The agenda is now available online in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, following 18 months of co-creation between the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, APC, UN Women and the Global Partnership to End Online Abuse and Harassment, with input from over 500 experts in the field.
We gained valuable insights and exposure to the realities of open source spaces in Europe. APC is one of the members of the Next Generation Internet Zero (NGI0) initiative, a consortium led by the NLnet Foundation, composed by several not-for-profit organisations with an aim to make the digital commons more robust. In July 2024, APC launched the monthly column “Building a Free Internet of the Future”, which features interviews with NGI0 grantees implementing open source, open data, open hardware and open standards projects, among them CryptPad, BrailleRAP, Librecast, Accessibility Foundation, PeerTube, and Decidim Association. This space enables greater visibility for projects advancing free and open source software in Europe and has sparked conversations with those doing the same in the Global South.
We actively sought to influence global policy processes that will shape our digital future. Working with our allies in the Global Digital Justice Forum, as well as others, APC engaged key global processes that will set the terms of engagement for digital advocacy and rights over the coming years, in particular the Global Digital Compact and the WSIS+20 review. We linked these processes to our work at the Internet Governance Forum, pushing for a renewal and expansion of its mandate in the face of an increasingly dominant big tech sector.
“In 2024, we were able to conduct research that assessed and analysed the governance frameworks for artificial intelligence policy in Uganda and its gender dimensions. This helped us to have a deeper understanding of the regulatory and policy perspectives of the Ugandan government. It gave us an opportunity to contribute to the policy making process on AI which is still at its infancy, but also as a key player and stakeholder with the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. We were able to connect with some APC members in Uganda and feel we created a sense of community. For instance, we are able to contribute and intervene in each other's work as APC members building relationships and causing transformative actions based on our collective and shared vision.” – Moses Owiny, CEO, Centre for Multilateral Affairs, Uganda
At the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women in New York, we shared how community networks could function as feminist infrastructures, and highlighted our work on tech-facilitated gender-based violence and gendered disinformation. We framed our advocacy using the Feminist Principles of the Internet, a vital tool for women’s rights to interact with digital technologies from diverse perspectives and locations.
“In Bangladesh, BNNRC implemented the Empowering Women-Headed CSOs for Combating Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) project. This initiative enhanced the capabilities of 70 women-headed CSOs and NGOs, 10 representatives of law-enforcing agencies, 15 media, 16 youths, and 20 other professionals to effectively address the critical issue of TFGBV within their ongoing efforts. Through thoughtful capacity-building training and constructive dialogue, these organisations have been equipped with vibrant knowledge and resources. They are now better positioned to identify, respond to, and provide support for individuals affected by TFGBV.” – Hiren Pandit, programme coordinator, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
We highlighted the importance of digital privacy in Southern Africa. Working with the Namibia Media Trust, we supported the African Declaration Coalition in the production of four issues of Southern Africa Digital Rights, a publication that includes expert articles on digital privacy matters in the region. The project, which included a webinar on the evolution of digital rights in Africa, brought together civil society and digital rights researchers, activists and advocates from some 10 organisations spread over Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
We worked to frame cybersecurity from a gender perspective. Through statements and other interventions, we pushed for a human and gender rights perspective at the Open-ended Working Group on cybersecurity, and convened a diverse group of experts on cybersecurity to advocate for a gender framing of cybercrime responses.A roundtable of experts in feminist technology, cybersecurity governance and technical standards sought to better understand the intersections between gender rights and cybersecurity, and to map an advocacy way forward for civil society.
Image credit: OVOF-WOUGNET.
We advocated for gendered disinformation to be prioritised in policy discussions. While gendered disinformation has been understood as a subset of tech-facilitated gender-based violence and online disinformation, we have pushed for the need for it to be recognised as a separate and specific phenomenon through submissions, publications and other interventions. In support of this work, we launched the Full Picture campaign to help journalists and communications professionals understand the impact of misinformation and disinformation on people’s lives.
Themes and issues crucial to the Global South were positioned on the Internet Governance Forum agenda as a result of advocacy from our network’s members, partners and staff. Digital policy-making bodies have been influenced by the voices and positioning of the Global South through the advocacy work of the APC network, even when these issues generated pushback previously, such as in the case of ensuring access to critical infrastructure in contexts of crises and conflicts and highlighting best practices in spaces such as the IGF itself.
The UN Global Digital Compact (GDC) integrated a stand-alone principle on gender equality that was absent in earlier drafts, due to sustained APC-led advocacy efforts. APC co-created 10 feminist principles for the GDC, founded and facilitated a civil society coalition for gender inclusion, and leveraged momentum from the Commission on the Status of Women to push forward demands, creating more possibilities for gender justice in digital governance frameworks.
Several policy forums in the Global South integrated discourse on tech-facilitated gender-based violence from peripheral to central agenda items. Discourse on tech-facilitated gender-based violence was elevated in prominence across multiple policy forums: DataFest Africa, Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa, Global Gathering, Sexual Violence Research Institute Forum, Southeast Asia Research Centre for Digital Tech and Society Roundtable, Beijing+30 Consultation and AWID Forum. APC has led years of interventions in these spaces to advance the understanding of TFGBV, and our efforts have legitimised it as an internet governance priority.
APC members were able to influence their governments on digital rights issues through the Universal Periodic Review process. APC coordinated the development and submission of four stakeholder reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process in four countries: Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia and Kenya. The governments of The Gambia and Kenya accepted recommendations submitted by APC members through the UPR process. Each of the four stakeholder reports was co-authored with an APC member and reflected context-specific feminist and digital rights analysis with attention to how online environments affect women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and broader civil society. These interventions represent an important component of APC's advocacy strategy to hold states and private sector actors accountable within international human rights frameworks and also enabled national partners to build capacity for UN engagement, which helps members make their own UPR submissions.
“The collaboration between Derechos Digitales and APC has been key for strengthening the digital rights agenda in Latin America and projecting it globally. A historical example of this partnership is the work linking economic, social and cultural rights with the promotion of connectivity and with our broader human rights agenda. A particularly relevant and current example is our joint effort in the United Nations Universal Periodic Reviews, in which we have submitted reports on countries such as Chile, Brazil and Ecuador, shedding light on human rights abuses in digital environments and proposing concrete recommendations on issues relating to access, monitoring and freedom of expression.” – Jamila Venturini and Juan Carlos Lara, co-directors of APC member Derechos Digitales
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) adopted and implemented an APC-developed regional strategy to counter information disorders targeting refugees in Asia-Pacific. APC worked with the UNHCR on a regional strategy to counter misinformation, disinformation and hate speech targeting Rohingya refugees in South and Southeast Asia. Not only did the UNHCR adopt the framework, but we also continue to support them to implement some of the strategies it proposes, especially in countries with elections coming up.
Image credit: Colnodo.
The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission adopted inclusive regulation frameworks by hosting a grassroots-developed course on regulation on its platform as a result of our collective advocacy. In 2024, the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission hosted LocNet's “Regulating for Inclusion” course on its platform. This is the first time a grassroots-developed course entered intergovernmental training systems, and it represents observable evidence of mainstreaming community-centred policy models and advancing digital justice in a major regional body.
We helped women human rights defenders (WHRDs) work safely online, strengthened their networks, and centred their concerns in policy spaces. Through our work with the Safety for Voices consortium, we impacted nearly 1,000 women across 48 countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa through grants, capacity building and convenings. Our capacity building and learning exchanges fostered solidarity across geographic boundaries, helping to build a women human rights defenders movement in the Global South. Together we also argued that defenders are no longer peripheral to digital governance debates but central voices shaping state obligations through Universal Periodic Review submissions. This APC-led consortium also co-developed and scaled feminist early warning systems to proactively identify and mitigate risks through knowledge hubs and research on patterns of gendered digital repression and systemic exclusion.
Grassroots defenders, technologists, healers and policy advocates in three regions co-developed a priority agenda for feminist digital safety. Women human rights defenders, technologists, healers and policy advocates across Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific co-developed a Global Feminist Digital Safety Agenda that defined four thematic priorities: tech-facilitated gender-based violence, disinformation, impunity and authoritarian tech abuse. APC facilitated convenings in each region to address the demand for advocacy rooted in local realities and holistic protection. The global efforts produced a 10-point advocacy agenda for the digital safety, security and well-being of defenders.
“In 2024, 7amleh supported APC’s strategic outcomes by providing holistic, timely digital safety resources for WHRDs. This included an emergency helpdesk offering crisis response and preventative support, as well as training sessions to meet the growing need for digital security. These efforts became vital after the war on Gaza began in October 2024. Trainees described the impact as essential to their safety and activism, equipping them with tools to remain resilient and heard amid digital threats and repression.” - Nadim Nashif, executive director, 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, Palestine
Feminist funders increased funding for collaborative tech infrastructure for community resilience due to advocacy by the APC network and our allies. This ecosystem shift, which can be attributed to APC’s multi-year donor advocacy efforts throughout 2023 and 2024, demonstrated increased interest in supportive collaborative technology infrastructure projects that move beyond reactive crisis funding to support community resilience and crisis preparedness.
After four years of collaboration co-designing feminist tech gatherings, the LGBTQI philanthropic organisation Astraea chose to continue using the open source infrastructure introduced by APC. Astraea formalised its adoption of the infrastructure and methodologies for activist-led gatherings developed through years of collaboration with APC through the CommsLabs initiative, which prioritises regional grounding, participatory design and open source tools.
Image credit: Tanda Community Network.
Community network practitioners in Kenya gained certified skills and knowledge in fibre optic deployment after an APC-supported workshop. Fifteen community network practitioners in Kenya gained certified skills in fibre optic deployment, evidenced by a test from the Fibre Optic Association at the end of a week-long training workshop, which led to their Certified Fibre Optic Technician diplomas. The fellowship also promoted women's participation and gender equity by building their capacity in tech roles to bridge the gender gaps that still exist in technological environments.
“As part of the APC network, we have the opportunity to continue to reach the many low-literate people in our villages, to see how the women in the villages can share their stories with a select group of people and hide it from others and to be comfortable in narrating their stories. We are also engaging with children in the school so they can later be the channel for their mothers to find comfort in using the WiFi-mesh network and also come to us at our centre to learn and use our network. We will be using AI interfaces to bring voice interaction as the way to use the internet or to communicate asynchronously by recording their narratives. While smart phones are increasing around here, we see many women without them, but with need to narrate their stories to a subgroup and continue the thread." – Dinesh, tech director, Servelots, India
“Inspired by the APC strategic plan 2024 to 2027, we designed all our programmes and internal strategy in alignment to APC’s new strategic plan. We focused on a lot of programmes relating to educating young Gambians and upcoming journalists on misinformation. We are grateful to be guided by APC strategy in implementing our programmes and projects in The Gambia. The learnings from partners and information from our APC newsletter have been good contributions to our work.” – Poncelet Ileleji, CEO, Jokkolabs Banjul
We strengthened our network's cohesion and capacity for collective action through our first in-person APC Community Gathering since 2017. It took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and was attended by 225 people from 46 countries. This gathering was a powerful catalyst: members reported significant changes to their work at regional, national and grassroots levels, which led to increased collaborative activity and new project ideas that secured funding and formalised partnerships. Members expressed the significant impact of the gathering on their work at regional, national and grassroots levels, and some partners who attended the gathering have since become members of the APC network. Additionally, in a key governance step ahead of the event, a new APC board was elected.
“Being part of the APC network in 2024 has significantly strengthened our efforts in building and sustaining the Digital Rights Coalition in Tanzania. Through APC’s platforms and support, we have enhanced collaboration among members, created shared advocacy goals, and developed a more unified approach to addressing internet freedom challenges and digital exclusion – especially during critical moments like elections." – Zaituni Njovu, executive director, Zaina Foundation, Tanzania
"In 2024 APC allowed me to corroborate once again that I am part of a true association of people and organisations passionate about defending digital rights in the world. Whether working for a member organisation or as an individual, I am very happy to be part of a community whose programme lines and projects are also aligned with my professional expectations, and for that I feel very fortunate." – Ariel Barbosa, associate, Colombia
"As a civic think-and-action network, BlueLink.net is providing support and analyses to environment, climate and human rights defenders in Bulgaria and across Eastern Europe. APC's global community remains a vital source of technological and policy knowledge and direction for resisting disinformation, manipulation, confusion and division, spread massively by commercial digital platforms." – Pavel Antonov, executive editor and co-founder, BlueLink
"Being part of the APC network has been an invaluable experience for the Open Culture Foundation (OCF). At the APC gathering 2024, we connected with partners with common visions and were invited by a network member to share experiences with African HRDs in a regional workshop. This collaboration allowed us to deepen our understanding of regional challenges and reinforced our shared commitment to digital rights. OCF contributed to advancing APC’s strategic outcomes by promoting holistic digital safety in the Asia-Pacific region. We conducted research on digital threats, offered technical support and capacity development to local communities. These efforts support APC’s goal of mobilising in solidarity to provide support to defenders at risk and strengthen our digital rights." – Jin Tu, project coordinator, Open Culture Foundation
“Being part of the APC network has enabled us to forge new connections, explore transformative ideas, and share our work with civil society actors across the Global Majority, whether it is through access to spaces like the Community Gathering, AWID and OVOF Global Partners Summit, or through critical capacity-building initiatives like the CYRILLA Global Policy Advocacy Workshop in 2024. With APC's support, we have built on our work with young girls and women from socioeconomically marginalised communities around strategically using technology to amplify their issues, ideas and voices, and created awareness around gendered disinformation through a knowledge resource, workshops, and our participation at regional, national-level and global digital rights spaces like APrIGF 2024.” – Prarthana Mitra, project manager, knowledge and communications, Point of View, India
We conducted our first internal member-driven evaluation to collectively discover evidence of subgranting transformations in APC’s last strategic period (2020-2023). A total of 82 viable outcomes were harvested through the evaluation process, which show that APC subgranting contributed to changes in adding new capacities, shifting power relationships, shaping policy and regulation, and fostering community empowerment and organisational strengthening. It also contributed to the strengthening of the communities with which APC member organisations work, favouring their capacity to organise and work collaboratively, as well as to resist injustice.
“Throughout 2024, we worked on two projects financed by the APC small grants programme that contributed to different APC strategic outcome areas. In these projects, we created learning and support materials to help Pangea’s members, our local community, and people in general use the internet’s services in a more sustainable, eco-friendly and safe way. We also promoted the topic of internet governance to raise community interest and participation.” – Leandro Navarro, vice-president, Pangea, Barcelona
“APC support was critical for our Cutting the Cord project, which studies the obstacles facing NGOs seeking to reduce their dependence on Big Tech. Initially developed with APC and other APC members in the Infrared Coalition, the project has developed into a full research report published in both English and Spanish. Additionally, it has spawned a new campaign, Rise Against Big Tech, in which Infrared members are collaboratively developing resources and actions to help organisations pursue technology autonomy.” – Jamie McClelland, May First Movement Technology, Mexico
Member grants
2024 was the eighth year of APC’s subgranting programme, implemented with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). This was the first year of the 2024-2027 subgrants strategic period. These subgrants are aimed at enabling our member organisations to contribute towards achieving APC’s strategic plan.
One type of
grant was made available: Advocacy and Institutional Strengthening (previously Research and Campaign) Grants.
These grants support local activities that contribute to members’ advocacy work and institutional strengthening and are also meant to enable members to
participate in APC-wide campaigns.
During 2024, total financial support of USD 289,342 was shared with APC members to implement 29 projects. You can find short descriptions of projects funded with Advocacy and Institutional Strengthening Grants here.
In December 2024, APC had 73 organisational members and 44 individual associates active in 62 different countries, with the majority based in the Global South.
Executive administrator:
Liy Yusof, Southeast Asia
Senior MEL specialist:
Kemly Camacho, Costa Rica (from June 2024)
Finance manager (interim):
Karen Banks, Australia (until September 2024)
Finance manager:
Herman Ngure, Kenya (from September 2024)
Senior finance officer:
Fatima Bhyat, South Africa *
Finance coordinator:
Christine Nyambo, Zimbabwe
Senior finance coordinator and Netsuite administrator:
Nino Chubinidze, Georgia
* Located in both the Local Access Programme and the Finance team.
People and culture manager:
Delphine Ménard, Germany
Administrative officer:
Eunice Mwesigwa, South Africa
Operations manager:
hvale vale, Italy
CTE (Closer than Ever) online spaces organiser:
Shivi, India
Convenings coordinator:
Pamela Ariza, Chile
Technical team coordinator: Roxana Bassi, Argentina
Technical systems developer:
Adolfo Dunayevich Garber, Mexico
Senior technical officer: Maja Kraljic, Slovenia
Technical system administrator (sysadmin): mirto, Czechia
Tech support and developer:
Avinash Kuduvalli, India
Tech support and online event specialist: igu, France
Website developer: Liz Probert, United Kingdom
Senior advisor on global and regional internet governance:
Anriette Esterhuysen, South Africa
GISWatch editor:
Alan Finlay, Argentina/South Africa
Finances
Financial supporters
Astraea Foundation
CommsLabs Program for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (USAID sub-award)
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Sustaining Defenders through Feminist Holistic Security (SDFHS)
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Directorate of Development Cooperation (DGIS) FLOW II Fund via Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA)
Our Voices, Our Futures
EU Delegation of the European Union to Thailand (EIDHR)
Unpacking gendered disinformation in India – Deepening understanding and exploring counter measures
European Commission – EU
Next Generation Internet Zero (NGI0)
Ford Foundation
General support and core and project support for institutional strengthening
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
Supporting Community-Led Approaches to Addressing the Digital Divide
Gender Matters in Cybersecurity
Foundation for a Just Society (FJS)
Restricted communications support to APC’s Women’s Rights Programme project GenderIT
Global Fund for Women (GFW)
General support grant
Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund
Strategy support fund
International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Making a Feminist Internet Research Network
Resistance and Resilience: Collaborative responses to online attacks on environmental defenders
Luminate
Southeast Asia Digital Rights Collaborative (DRC)
Oak Foundation
Unrestricted support to the APC Women's Rights Programme
Open Society Institute
Support for community networks
Stiftung Auxilium Foundation managed by Porticus Foundation
Reclaim Your Rights: Strengthening the digital rights movement in Asia
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Core support for the APC Strategic Action Plan 2024-2027
Swiss Philanthropy Foundation
Creating infrastructure of care in the digital space
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Impact of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech is mitigated
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund (WPF)
Women’s Rights; Online Gender-Based Violence Research; Social and Environmental Justice
African Union Commission
Support for the African Internet Governance Forum
Asia Pacific Network Information Centre Foundation (APNIC)
Support for community networks
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
Support for the African Internet Governance Forum
German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ)
Support for the African School on Internet Governance
Global Partners Digital
Advancing Digital Inclusion and Shaping Inclusive and Rights-Respecting Norms
ICANN
Support for the African Internet Governance Forum and African School on Internet Governance
Internet Society (ISOC)
Support for the African School on Internet Governance and Community Networks
Mozilla Foundation
Support for the African School on Internet Governance
Public Internet Registry
Support for the African School on Internet Governance
United Nations New York Office
Support for the African Internet Governance Forum
USAID (sub-award through Strathmore University)
Expand and amplify responsive evidence-based internet freedom legal and policy advocacy in the Global South
APC financial statements for 2024
Balance sheet at 31 December 2024
2024 (USD)
2023 (USD)
ASSETS
13,057,467
6,033,233
Non-current assets
-
159
Property and equipment
-
159
Current assets
13,057,467
6,033,233
Accounts receivable
105,845
45,036
Cash and cash equivalents
12,521,535
5,590,295
Grant receivables
430,087
397,902
TOTAL ASSETS
13,057,467
6,033,392
FUND BALANCES AND LIABILITIES
13,057,467
6,033,392
Fund balances and sustainability fund
6,535,495
845,631
Sustainability fund
450,542
760,678
Programme funds
37,743
37,743
General fund
47,210
47,210
Strategy fund
6,000,000
-
Current liabilities
6,521,972
5,187,761
Accounts payable
821,752
258,183
Deferred income
5,625,545
4,762,062
Provision for leave pay
74,675
67,608
Unexpended grants
-
99,908
TOTAL RESERVES AND LIABILITIES
6,033,392
5,762,839
Income statement for the year ended 31 December 2024
