Community networks newsletter: Principles in practice from the voices of communities

• Three rural communities from Colombia are taking their first steps towards digital connectivity, guided by Colnodo. Colinas Bajo, Tasmag and El Guadual are the communities that were chosen for this experience due to their potential for integrating digital technologies into their local production and communication processes. Read more. [Available in Spanish.]

• The Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA) conducted a three-day workshop devoted to building local technical capacity and services for community-centred connectivity among organic vegetable farmers in Nueva Vizcaya, in the Philippines. The activity was carried out in partnership with local movements and associations of producers to train farmers on technical infrastructure, networking and maintenance of their connectivity. Read more. 

• Also in the Philippines, ISEA developed a pilot workshop to address a promising synergy between social enterprises and community-centred connectivity initiatives to provide sustainable access alternatives, while enabling their social impact. Common Room, APC member organization in Indonesia, also participated in the workshop, sharing their experience. There are more details in this instalment of the “Seeding change” column on APC.org. Read more. 

• The vice minister of Communications and Digital Affairs of Indonesia visited Kasepuhan Gelar Alam, community network managed since 2019 by residents from an Indigenous community together. During the visit, Common Room, ISEA and the Digital Access Programme of Indonesia highlighted the need for reinforcing digital literacy. See a photo gallery of the visit here.

• The National Gathering of Community, Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Media was held in Zautla, Puebla, Mexico. The meeting's objective was to build a common agenda among communities and their media outlets to position common priorities in the legislative, political, media and organisational spheres to strengthen the autonomy and defence of Indigenous and Afro-descendant rights and territories. Read more. [Available in Spanish.]

• Also in Mexico, the Kwéchi Network, located in the Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, celebrated its second anniversary. This network is one of the outcomes of the training programme that REDES A.C. has been coordinating in the north of the country. As part of the celebration, the community shared a video that touches on important issues from everyday life and local efforts. Watch it here. [Available in Spanish.]

• Following a devastating storm in the area of Mankosi and Zithulele in South Africa, Zenzeleni's main communications tower was uprooted, severing the digital connection for residents in surrounding areas just when they needed it most. Supported by emergency funding from 48percent.org, community networks are currently working on restoring the internet infrastructure. Read more.

• Cozinhas Solidárias is an initiative developed by Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto (Homeless Workers Movement – MTST) in Brazil to implement a free internet connection in popular kitchens to expand access opportunities and transform these spaces into true points of digital support. By 2024, the project marked its first anniversary and had expanded to 11 “kitchens” across four Brazilian states. Read more. [Available in Portuguese here and in English here.]

• What is community-centred connectivity and why should we care?, asks this article shared by the Internet Society to analyse why people who remain unconnected are often those who are systematically excluded in other ways. The article unpacks key definitions for developing solutions that are centred around communities and focused on the needs of the people they serve. Read more.

• The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) held a series of women circles in different villages of Nigeria. Women shared their reflections and visions on their needs and required skills related to technology and connectivity through their involvement with local community networks. Follow this journey through the chronicles of Harira Wakili of the women circles in Kano here, Dakwa here, and Jama’are here.

• How can the internet and digital technologies help defend territorial autonomy while supporting women’s rights and socio-environmental justice? This is a key question for the Free Territories, Free Technologies project, coordinated by Intervozes. In partnership with the Movement of Rural Women Workers of the Northeast, the project proposes a collective and participatory mapping of how several communities in Brazil access, use and understand the internet and information and communication technologies. Read more. 

• The Colnodo Digital Security School has conducted a series of workshops for participants in the International Forum of Indigenous Women (FIMI), strengthening their skills in navigating and protecting themselves in digital environments. [Available in Spanish]. Read more.

• “Fostering an Enabling Environment for Community-Centered Connectivity Initiatives in Nigeria" is a policy brief developed by Paradigm Initiative that explores how community networks are bridging the digital divide and the barriers that are keeping people offline, especially in rural and underserved communities. The brief is an output of the Nigeria strategy to accelerate digital inclusion through community centred connectivity. Read more. 

• In the framework of the two recent major international events, the Internet Governance Forum and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 High-Level Event, community-centred connectivity initiatives gained visibility in the ongoing global dialogue, offering alternative approaches to access and connectivity for marginalised communities, and advancing the pursuit of meaningful and sustainable models. Read more.

• A significant opportunity to recalibrate the governance of digital technologies in light of today’s challenges took place at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 High-Level Event in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Swiss Confederation. Learn from this process following the highlights gathered by APC. Read more.

• Bridging the digital divide involves access to infrastructure, to skills that ensure meaningful use, to enabling policies and legal frameworks and, critically, to financing mechanisms that allow community centred connectivity initiatives to be born, grow and become sustainable. Facilitating finance is a growing issue in the community-centred connectivity and digital inclusion agenda. Read more.

• A newly released report produced by APC members Sursiendo and May First Movement Technology offers a collection of “Actions for environmental justice from autonomous and community-based technological infrastructures”. The report was presented during a public webinar where participants in the study shared takeaways accumulated throughout the process. Read more on the presentation here and read the report here.

• The Rural TVWS [Television White Spaces] Network Support Programme launched its final impact report. This project, funded by FCDO-Digital Access Programme, was aimed at enabling spectrum availability in rural and underserved communities in South Africa, working on capacity building and technical support of nine small and medium-sized enterprises led by women and youth. The report highlights the ongoing quantitative and qualitative outcomes as well as key lessons acquired in the process. Read more. 

• Community-led AI audits is a recently developed concept to describe a methodology by which multi-disciplinary community groups can work together to audit AI systems. Why they matter and how to start a community-led AI audit are questions addressed in a recent webinar during the Civic Tech Conference 2025 in Mechelen, Belgium. Follow the webinar in this video.

• “B4RN – The Early Years” is a book edited by the Broadband for the Rural North project, written by its community members. It’s a compilation of oral and written stories, photographs and links developed in a "non-linear tale of key people, places, milestones, and memories, intertwining and intersecting like the roots of a tree.” The editors extend an invitation to collaborate and add chapters, in the spirit of the book as a “work in progress”. Read more. 

• In 2017, Rhizomatica set out to design a long-range, secure digital communication system that did not use the internet as its primary means of transporting information, to achieve community connectivity work in rural, isolated and Indigenous communities. This led to the development of HERMES – HF Emergency and Rural Multimedia Exchange System, which continues to offer great potential for new ways to serve peoples’ communication needs. Read more.

• Tech-Together webinar on “Bridging the Gap from Vision to Fibre Deployment: Community-Centric Approaches in Africa” will take place from 14 August to 11 September. The webinar will comprise three meetings to address how community networks are moving from infrastructure deployment to building lasting local capacity and inclusion through community-led fibre and wireless connectivity. Although focused on experiences in Africa, people from all regions are invited to participate. Those interested in participating should register here.

• This year’s edition of the Digital Rights Asia-Pacific (DRAPAC) Assembly will be held on 26-27 August in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The deadline for registration is 8 August. Read more.

• The Global Gathering organised by Team CommUNITY will be held from 8 to 10 September in Estoril, Portugal with participants from over 144 countries, organisations and networks. Read more.

• COP 30 - the UN Climate Change Conference - is going to take place from 10 to 21 November in Belem, Brasil. Find more information here. 

• The Mozilla Festival 2025 will take place from 7 to 11 November, in Poble Espanyol, near Barcelona, Spain. Read more.

Funding opportunities

• The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative catalysing social impact. Housed at TED and with support from The Bridgespan Group, the funding looks for ideas that cover a wide range of issues, from global health and climate change, to social justice and education. Idea submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Read more.

• The NGI Zero Commons Fund supports projects that contribute to an open, resilient, trustworthy, sustainable and human-centered internet.  Applications for funding are open on rolling basis closing soon and open next cycle till 1st October.  Take a look at the guide for applicants and the frequently asked questions.

• The Internet Society’s Connecting the Unconnected Funding Program supports community-driven internet infrastructure projects in rural, remote and underserved regions. Community networks, cooperatives and other forms of complementary access solutions are eligible for funding. The next application window will be open until 27 August 2025. Read more.

Community networks learning repository