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APC - ICT Policy Handbook

I picked up a paper copy of the Association for Progressive Communications' ICT Policy Handbook at the recent SANGONeT conference in Johannesburg. The handbook, which was edited by Chris Nicol in 2003, is still fresh and relevant, with chapters on the national policies and politics that drive up the cost of access in developing nations as well as chapters on all the major policy areas that affect civil society organizations around the world. The book is available in full online. Posted: 3/7/05; 5:19:42 PM #

The Funding Environment in South Africa: How real are the crises?

The folks that sponsored last week's SANGONeT conference on ICTs and Civil Society in Johannessburg run a fund development assistance web site called Thusanang, which means "helping each other". I recommend an article by Saliem Fakir on The Funding Environment in South Africa, in which the author issues a call for greater internal reflection by the nonprofit sector on issues such as leadership and accountability. It also touches on the fascinating story of NGO funding after apartheid and what can happen to a sector after it wins a major victory. Posted: 3/7/05; 5:18:55 PM #

Go Open Source - Online SA Open Source Community

I was handed a copy of The Open CD at the recent SANGONeT conference. The CD is a collection of open source software selected by Go Open Source. The software on the CD is bundled for Windows users, but you can't determine that by looking at the CD cover, which was pretty annoying. I suppose that an organization using an open source operating system (like Linux, BSD, or Darwin) might already know where to find open source applications. But that knowledge might be limited to the person who set up the computer, not the user that finds themselves needing some particular functionality to say, design a brochure. Posted: 3/7/05; 5:17:20 PM #