"Despite the scientific significance of journalism practice, the gap between academic and applied fields persists. In this paper, based on our project on the digital security of journalists and their sources, we argue that practice-relevant research in the form of the action-innovation model benefit
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s both the academic and the applied realms. To this end, we provide hands-on practical training on the important topic of digital security, which remains under-researched and therefore requires an exploratory approach. A total of 23 training sessions were conducted for 230 participants representing various media outlets in Germany. The objective was to enhance awareness and skills regarding digital threats. This constituted the core of a mixed-methods approach, which included surveys, observation, and interviews. In evaluating the process and results, it was found that the combination of applied and scholarly elements enhanced the project in terms of access, commitment, contextualisation and depth. The data were analysed according to an adaptation of the socio-technological Newsafety concept. The findings revealed a general lack of competence in dealing with cyber threats and a severely lacking in-house communication. In general, to address and explore relevant and current issues like this, it is recommended to consider the practical value to research participants and to collaborate with practice-based trainers who can help bridge the gap and foster mutual understanding." (Abstract)
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"Integrating AI learning objectives into official school curricula is crucial for students globally to engage safely and meaningfully with AI. The UNESCO AI competency framework for students aims to help educators in this integration, outlining 12 competencies across four dimensions: Human-centred m
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indset, Ethics of AI, AI techniques and applications, and AI system design. These competencies span three progression levels: Understand, Apply, and Create. The framework details curricular goals and domain-specific pedagogical methodologies. Grounded in a vision of students as AI co-creators and responsible citizens, the framework emphasizes critical judgement of AI solutions, awareness of citizenship responsibilities in the era of AI, foundational AI knowledge for lifelong learning, and inclusive, sustainable AI design." (Short summary)
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"The fifth edition of the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) measures the commitment of countries to cybersecurity in the context of measures across the following five pillars: legal; technical; organizational; capacity development; cooperation. The GCI, launched in 2015 by the International Telecommu
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nication Union, seeks to help countries to identify areas of improvement and encourage countries to act in building capacity and capabilities under each pillar. The GCI has been continuously adapted across editions to respond to changing risks, priorities and resources, in order to provide a more relevant snapshot of cybersecurity measures taken by countries. Since 2021, countries have on average taken more cybersecurity-related actions and improved their commitments to cybersecurity. The global average country score has risen to 65.7/100. Across the five GCI pillars, most countries are strongest in the legal pillar. By contrast, the average country is weakest in the capacity-development and technical pillars. Each region has countries that are role-modelling or are advancing, and each region also has countries that are in the beginning stages of building their cybersecurity commitments. To capture these differences, country performance is measured across five tiers, with Tier 1 being the highest and Tier 5 the lowest. These tiers provide peer groups based on scores to help countries to understand and identify role models for improvement." (Report summary, page 1)
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"As South Africa adopts reforms to further strengthen its economy across multiple sectors, this country review presents the policy, legislative, and governance frameworks that are enabling South Africa’s digital transformation. It includes a review of key institutions and collaborative digital reg
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ulation practices, as well as common themes related to digital sector policies and frameworks. This review draws on policy, legal, and regulatory instruments in place and it reflects the insights and challenges based on the research and analysis of official document, interviews conducted with public- and private-sector stakeholders and exchanges with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). The report also leverages ITU resources, including the Unified framework to assess the state of readiness of policy, governance, and legal frameworks that are enabling digital transformation in South Africa. This country review concludes with high-level recommendations and suggested next steps for collaborative digital regulation and includes considerations of ongoing global discussions related to digital technologies and services." (Introduction)
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"A thriving digital economy depends on all people being able to connect to the internet. Achieving global connectivity requires maintaining and growing the vast network of subsea cables that connect most around the world to the internet. This brief provides an introduction to the current policy and
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regulatory issues relating to subsea internet cables for policymakers in low- and middle-income countries. It adds to the growing body of evidence about the importance of these policy issues by focusing on the significant impact on digital transformation and digital inclusion that these cables represent." (Introduction)
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"Cumulatively, this research points to the need for increasing efforts to ensure knowledge gaps around the submarine cable are addressed, and that definitions and analyses of topics such as mis- and disinformation, and digital literacy, are developed, shared, and adopted in ways that respond to Timo
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rese concerns and experiences. This would require supporting Timorese-led and owned approaches and solutions to theknowledge gaps, defined through collaboration and consultation with key actors andstakeholders, taking account of the time and resource pressures within which they alreadyoperate. Timorese media leaders and government should be recognised as key stakeholders indigital connectivity research and programmatic initiatives." (Key recommendations)
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