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18 December 2017

Today’s Steps to Make a Better Tomorrow!

Ilda Simao
By Ilda SimaoFormer Chapter Grants Programme Manager, Internet Society Foundation

We are delighted to announce the launch of 2016 Beyond the Net Impact Report and 13 amazing new projects.

As we look at the past year, we are proud of the achievements our community has made with funding from the Beyond the Net Programme. We have some great examples of how the Internet can have a positive impact in people’s everyday lives. By building community networks in Africa and Europe, improving Internet connections in North America, or ensuring that people can trust their connection in Asia, we’re contributing to things like closing the gender gap, building partnerships, and helping kids stay in school.

In 2016, we took a huge step forward to consolidate the Beyond the Net Programme. When we see how the Internet can improve the lives of hundreds of farmers in Latin America or how children can develop new skills by learning how to use the Internet in the Middle East, the aim of the program and of our organization becomes crystal clear. The numbers and the stories behind them are a good reminder that the Internet was built as a force for good.

The projects highlighted in this report serve as a critical reminder that as long as humanity is at the center of tomorrow’s Internet, its future is ours to shape for the next generation.

It is with that in mind, that the Beyond the Net Selection Committee selected 13 new projects! These projects cover issues like: connecting unprivileged and rural areas in Tanzania, Greece, Kenya, Honduras, and Paraguay; establishing an online audio library for people with visual impairments in Rwanda; promoting safety online in Palestine and Kenya; teaching digital literacy to indigenous communities in Canada and teaching girls how to code in Sri-Lanka; developing content for endangered languages in Peru; consolidating the institutional framework of the Bolivian Academic and Scientific Network; and raising citizens’ awareness on the issues related to personal data usage in Finland.

Each of these projects is a milestone in the mission of the Internet Society that contributes to the Internet we want to build for tomorrow.

We thank all the previous grantees for their hard work and congratulate the new ones!

Find out more:

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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