Community networks newsletter: Strengthening communities to build and sustain connectivity

Communities that are taking the first steps toward building a connectivity initiative face many challenges: technical ones, such as learning how to deploy and manage the technologies needed to provide access; geographic ones, which require understanding local conditions to assess the feasibility of a network and identify the best solutions; and economic ones, such as securing financing to ensure long-term viability and sustainability. To address these challenges, a growing ecosystem of communities and organisations is working to develop appropriate infrastructure, achieve appropriate policies and regulations, deliver training and capacity building and create tools and resources that help turn local connectivity ideas into sustainable realities.

In this edition, we announce the launch of the Community Network Builder, a new tool that helps communities understand and calculate the costs of deploying and operating a network, as well as the many variables that affect its sustainability. We also share highlights from the recent Rural ICT Camp in Indonesia, a preview of the first-ever Community-Centred Connectivity Bootcamp in Nigeria, a new online course on sustainability in Latin America, and a new series of narratives on the environmental focus of community-centred connectivity, among other news, publications, resources and events. Please join us.

Welcome to the 96th monthly round-up of initiatives and developments impacting local access networks and community-based initiatives.

Routing for Communities podcast

After two seasons of stories and reflections on community-centred connectivity, and the opportunity to share them with our audiences, we are now beginning to imagine the next chapter of this initiative. As we do so, we want to build on what we have learned – revisiting the stories, reflecting on the experience and also inviting others to join us in shaping what comes next.

We would love to hear from you. What did you enjoy most about the Routing for Communities podcast? Did any of the episodes resonate with you or your organisation? Have you shared an episode with your community or used it in your work? Perhaps a particular story stayed with you, or you have a story of your own to share about the podcast and its impact. Your experiences and perspectives can help us know from your perspective how the podcast was received, understand what has resonated and explore where we might take the initiative next. We invite you to share your thoughts with us by filling out this short form.

Meanwhile, we invite you to revisit the stories here. Remember you can also listen to them on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. 

Community networks news and stories

• Developed with a multistakeholder approach, Nigeria’s National Strategy for Community-Centred Connectivity (CCC) aims to serve as a guide to achieve sustainable and meaningful access for local communities. Already in its “putting into practice” stage, the strategy has now been published and is available online, while it becomes more concrete with every step it moves ahead, like the first ever Nigeria CCC Bootcamp. Read about the National Strategy here. And learn more about the Bootcamp here.
• From Mexico, REDES A.C. celebrated the achievement of a new standard of protection for journalism and community communication: the highest chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Power has recognised the importance of freedom of expression in community radio stations and revoked a sanction on a reference in the history of Radio Teocelo. Mariana López Lima, as the lawyer accompanying the process, explains the importance of this achievement in a difficult time for the right to communication. Read more. [Available in Spanish]
• A new edition of the Rural ICT Camp was held in Indonesia, hosted by Common Room in Maros, South Sulawesi. The camp proposed sessions for technical and policy training and spaces to gather input for formulating policies and regulations for supporting community-centred connectivity initiatives in the country. Enjoy highlights of the coverage here. [Available in Bahasa]
• In Reginaldo, a village in the municipality of Boyacá in Colombia, peasant families who make a living from agriculture, livestock, coal mining and the artisanal production of soccer balls shared a challenge that limited their opportunities: the lack of a stable internet connection. Accompanied by Colnodo and supported by the European Community, the community decided to change that reality with a local group leading the process. Read more. [Available in Spanish] 
• In the Amazon region of Brazil, Nupef Institute in partnership with the Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) and the Instituto Sociedade, População e Natureza (ISPN) developed the Indigenous Peoples and Sustained Landscapes project to contribute to strengthening connectivity in Indigenous territories through the implementation and support of community networks. Read more. [Available in Portuguese]
• From Sipili, Kenya, Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) is showing how reliable electricity can be just as important as internet infrastructure for sustaining community connectivity. With solar power helping stabilise the ALINET Community Network, accompanying training has supported community members and young people with digital safety, online business, e-learning and other skills. Read more.
• A new group of stories from the call for narratives on socio-environmental justice and community-centred connectivity have been published. This second series highlights the importance of emergency communication infrastructure that is resilient to natural disasters and technology that supports biodiversity conservation. It comprises two essays, one from The Gambia and the other from a hurricane-prone region in the United States, and an illustrated story from the Philippines. Read more.
• Organisations, communities and technical teams in Latin America interested in designing or strengthening a sustainability strategy for community connectivity networks are invited to join a new free online course. Registration for the course on “Sustainability and Community Infrastructure Strategies in Community-Centred Connectivity” is open until 5 October. Read more and sign up here. [Available in Spanish]

Gendered experiences

• The Global Digital Inclusion Partnership launched a new report on “Meaningful Connectivity: Women’s Digital Realities in South Africa”. Drawing on a national survey of 1,000 women, alongside qualitative research in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, the report is aimed at understanding how digital inclusion is conceived in women’s everyday lives. What does meaningful connectivity really look like for women in South Africa? Read more.
• From Nigeria, “Catalysing women's inclusion in the digital economy through community-centred connectivity initiatives” is a policy brief that describes the critical role of community-centred connectivity initiatives as infrastructure that builds the digital confidence of women and girls in poor urban and rural communities in Nigeria. Read more. 
• The School of Digital Resistance, woven together by women defenders in Latin America, is a training programme for women human rights defenders, feminist collectives, communicators and community technologists in Latin America. Its goal is to strengthen capacities in feminist digital security to confront surveillance, digital violence and the risks associated with artificial intelligence. The initiative is open to receive applications. Read more. [Available in Spanish]

Enabling policy and regulation

• The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) convened a Connectivity Strategy Design Workshop for the Americas Region in Asunción, Paraguay. The workshop was organised to strengthen capacities in the design of public policies and to promote access in underserved areas, attending to the connectivity challenges from every country. Read more. [Available in Spanish]  
• The regulatory system of community media in Mexico has a framework developed to respect and promote Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communication. Interviewed by local media, Erik Huerta from REDES A.C. reflects on the advocacy strategy to foster greater respect for communities’ rights and initiatives for their autonomy. Read more. [Available in Spanish] 

Publications, research and toolkits

• The latest issue of the Media Development quarterly journal edited by the World Association of Christian Communication (WACC) digs deeper on “Digital sovereignty”. Among other important articles, the issue includes “Weaving the digital web: Africa’s sovereign AI, community networks, and the ethos of Ubuntu” by Rebecca Ryakitimbo from the LocNet initiative team. Read more.
• During the Rural ICT Camp in Indonesia, Combine RI launched the book "Signals From the South: Weaving Digital Resilience on the South Coast of Java", which contains a collection of stories and experiences from participants from several regions where the Strengthening Communities/Improving Lives and Livelihoods (SCILLS) program is being implemented. Read more. [Available in Bahasa]
• A new Global Innovation Gathering (GIG) Community Call was devoted to “Open Environmental Sensing for Climate Resilience”. For the conversation, GIG convened Gustaff Iskandar from Common Room, Bruna Zanolli from Rhizomatica, Tommy Charles from OpenStreetMap Sierra Leone, Onyekachi Okoro from the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative (MAJI) and Mike Jensen from APC. Watch the video of the conversation here. 
• A new special edition of the Global Information Society Watch report was launched, titled “Free/libre and open source software: Visions of openness from the Global South”. In nine thematic reports, the edition offers powerful arguments for the decolonisation of free/libre and open source software, analysing structural exclusions in the FLOSS community, detailing what the FLOSS movement can learn from feminism, mapping advocacy in the Global South, and suggesting practical ways that FLOSS projects can be more inclusive. Read more.
• "Building Online Communities We Can Keep" tells the story of a recent online workshop organised by Rise Against Big Tech. Around 90 participants from a diverse range of movements, organisations and locations attended, sharing their experiences in areas such as mutual aid, human rights advocacy, community technology, environmental action, feminist and disability justice, digital rights and local organising. The goal was to explore how communities can make more intentional decisions about the forums, mailing lists, group chats and other digital spaces they use. Read more. [Available in Spanish here]
• What does resisting Big Tech look like in practice? Drawing on reflections from across the APC network at the 2026 Team CommUNITY Global Gathering, this piece brings together perspectives on platform accountability, collective action, community-centred connectivity, feminist technologies and more inclusive FLOSS. With one strong message coming through: building alternatives requires stronger collaboration, shared infrastructure and sustained solidarity across movements. Read more

Events

• The first ever Nigeria CCC Bootcamp will be held from 28 September to 4 October in Abuja, Nigeria, convening participants from community-centred connectivity initiatives from all across the country together with the local ICT ecosystem and global partners. Read more.
• A webinar for the launch of the Community Network Builder will be hosted by its developer, Jonathan Brewer, and will be held on 1 October in 2 time zones: 7 UTC and 21 UTC (the second session with interpretation to Spanish). Registration is required. Read more.
• The V Encuentro Nacional de Redes Comunitarias will be held at the Pontifical Javeriana University in Bogotá, Colombia, from 28 September to 2 October. The meeting will conclude with the Colombia Public Forum of Community Networks 2026, which will take place on 2 October at the same venue. Read more. [Available in Spanish]
• The 2026 edition of the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) convened by APC, the Information Society Division of the African Union Commission (AUC) and Research ICT Africa (RIA) will be held onsite in Accra, Ghana from 27 October to 1 November 2026. Read more.
• The research on “Collaborative responses to online attacks on environmental defenders in Brazil, Kenya, Mexico and the Philippines”, published under the Resistance and Resilience project in APC, will be launched on 8 October at 13 UTC (online). With interpretation available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Read more.
• “Digital Commons Conference: Infrastructures, Design, and the Ethics of Autonomy” is an international conference exploring how digital infrastructures shape contemporary communication. It will take place from 8 to 10 October in Athens, Greece. Read more.
• The NetHope Global Summit is taking place 26 to 29 October 2026 in Amsterdam and virtually on 3 November 2026. Read more.
• The 2026 edition of the Mozilla Festival will be held in Barcelona from 28 to 30 October 2026. This year's theme is Wilding, amplified in this definition: “In a moment when technology feels increasingly centralized, extractive, and controlled, Wilding is a provocation: what happens when we loosen rigid systems and create the conditions for communities and technologies to evolve collectively, naturally, intuitively?” Read more.
• The 29th edition of the Workshop para América Latina y el Caribe (WALC) will take place at the Universidad Técnica del Norte, Ibarra, Ecuador, from 16 to 20 November 2026. Read more. [Available in Spanish].
• The 10th annual Indigenous Connectivity Summit is going to take place from 17 to 19 November, 2026 in the historic community of Wendake of the Wendat Nation, in Québec, Canada. Read more.
• The 10th Community Network Xchange (CNX) themed “Decentralised Community Digital Public Infrastructure" will take place on 9 and 10 December 2026. Call for applications to host sessions is open. Read more
• The 21st annual Internet Governance Forum will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 14 to 18 December 2026. Read more. 

Funding opportunities

• Reflecting on the funding context, the article “Unpacking private sector finance opportunities for digital rights organisations through the EU’s Global Gateway” examines the potential of this framework to support digital rights and community-centred connectivity in the Global South, while also looking at APC’s role in influencing its priorities. Read more.
• The 2026 Call for Expressions of Project Intentions from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is open to support civil society organisations in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals and international solidarity. The call is open until 9 October 2026. Projects must be submitted online via the OSCar platform. Read more.
• The CRTC's Broadband Fund fourth call for applications is open for projects that help improve access to reliable high-speed internet services in underserved communities across Canada. New deadline to apply: 15 October 2026. Read more.

Community networks learning repository

The learning repository is a collective online space designed to store and exchange training resources, with a focus on materials created by and for community networks. 

The space provides toolkits, tutorials, manuals and systematisation of experiences and developments carried out to strengthen communities. Dive in it and find resources shared by the communities who developed them.

We want to extend our usual invitation to you and your organisation or community to contribute your own materials to the repository. We welcome resources in all languages.

Find out more!

This newsletter is part of the Local Networks initiative (LocNet), a collective effort led by APC and Rhizomatica in partnership with grassroots communities and support organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. It aims to directly support meaningful community-centred connectivity initiatives, while contributing to an enabling ecosystem for their emergence and growth. 

Previous editions of this newsletter are available here.

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