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About Internet Society 4 February 2021

Member News: Mali Chapter Works to Get Women Online

Grant Gross
By Grant GrossGuest AuthorTechnology Reporter

Lending a hand: The Mali Chapter of the Internet Society is focusing on helping women who aren’t digitally literate connect to the Internet. The chapter is providing training to help these women, including women with disabilities, earn income through online services like Facebook and WhatsApp. Participants have included small business operators, including caterers and hairdressers.

Antisocial networks: A recent survey by Internet Society chapter the Israeli Internet Association has found that about half of the people in the country refrain from responding on social networks for fear of encountering violent reactions. The survey also found that 86 percent of Israelis believe that discourse on social networks is violent, and 80 percent believe that public figures and politicians share violent discourse on social media.

Talking governance: Netherlands chapter board member Ruben Brave was recently invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the FreedomLab think tank to give a speech about Internet governance and respond to a recent position paper. He focused on recognizing human rights during debates about Internet governance. “Invest again in the explicit contribution of human rights in the re-design and management of Internet protocols by making people and resources available to knowledge institutions and invest in training for officials in Internet governance that takes human rights into account,” he said.

The final frontier: The Interplanetary Networking Special Interest Group published a newsletter with comments from Internet pioneer and IPNSIG board member Vint Cerf. The group’s focus on space-based networking is timely, he wrote. “The commercialization of space is not new, given that communication satellites have been around since 1962 when Telstar 1 was launched, but the ambitious scope of Elon Musk’s Starlink plans and the pace at which SpaceX is launching both crewed and uncrewed vehicles highlight a ‘space rush’ that echoes the ‘land rushes’ of the late 1800s in Oklahoma and elsewhere,” he wrote.

Focus on fundamentals: The Panama Chapter is urging members to register for the Internet Society Fundamentals Program, a training program for people who want to used their knowledge and skills to make a local impact. “Do you believe in an Internet that inspires development and progress?” the chapter shared. “If you answered yes…this is your chance to shine!”

Join the global movement! Become a member and champion an Internet trusted and open to all.

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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