"The pandemic made inequality, discrimination, exclusion and structural inequity more palpable, and rather than stagnating in indignation, it reactivated a sense of rebellion and contestation. The strength and sharpness with which we connect social justice, gender justice, environmental justice, eco
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nomic justice and racial justice with the potentials and limitations of digital technologies is undeniable. Using this intersectional lens, we need to document and build our own narratives about the challenges that we face related to the impacts of the pandemic and reflect on how our advocacy priorities as well as the ways we do advocacy are changing and keep being modified and adjusted. At APC we have strengthened capacity to design and implement collective and contextual community responses to the multiple challenges and crises that we face, while having a greater awareness of the kind of global responses that should be prioritised, based on shared but differentiated responsibilities [...] GISWatch 2021-2022 focuses on responses to some of the fundamental questions brought by the pandemic to inform civil society’s advocacy around digital technology issues and their potential to shape future horizons. As illustrated on our cover, a sustained struggle will be necessary in the years ahead, but not only in the public spaces. A nuanced approach to advocacy will be essential to open multiple ways to bring about positive change." (Preface, page 6)
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"Increasing number of reports, initiatives and efforts are focused on addressing women’s ability to enjoy universal, acceptable, affordable, unconditional, open, meaningful and/or equal access to information, the internet and ICTs. These include, but are not limited to, the recent work of civil so
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ciety organisations, research institutions, various private sector organisations and intergovernmental organisations. There is also a widely acknowledged need for more gender-disaggregated data to accurately measure “gender digital divides”. But there also needs to be more locally relevant data (as opposed to aggregated data at a global level) to better understand underlying local factors and circumstances that hinder women of specifc regions in the global South from accessing and using ICTs, the internet and/or information. But why access is important perhaps also needs to be interrogated from a feminist perspective, which entails not taking for granted that access to ICTs is necessarily a positive and empowering development. What is also relevant is to view the dynamics of race, caste, region (urban-rural), ableism, age and other factors, in relation to gender and access." (Conclusion, page 98)
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