When communities dedicate themselves to addressing local problems and have the opportunity to create solutions tailored to their own needs, they do more than just solve those problems – they collaborate, learn and multiply the benefits of their initiatives.
When it comes to connectivity and information and communication technologies, this approach has led to locally grounded solutions that reflect each community's realities: from available and required infrastructure to developing their own working methodologies to sustainability and funding solutions. Beyond solving immediate challenges, these solutions amplify broader benefits: building the capacities of community members, particularly women and young people; creating opportunities for work and employment; strengthening culture and traditions; and defending and caring for territories.
This edition brings together a series of stories of learning and impact centred on communities: such as the needs and aspirations that communities identified during a workshop on local services associated with community-centred connectivity initiatives, held at the bootcamp in Nairobi; a workshop about digital capacities for women in Nigeria; and community-led media experiences documented in a recent publication gathering community interest media initiatives from across different countries.
Welcome to the 92nd monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks and community-based initiatives.
Routing for Communities podcast
The 12 stories of communities around the world that our Routing for Communities podcast featured in its first season, inspired key questions that reflected on the local impact of community-centred connectivity in the episodes of season two: What changes when the internet connection is centred in communities?, How are women changing networks, and networks changing women?, What makes connectivity really meaningful to people?
Listen to or revisit these episodes and join communities in their reflections on connectivity, local impact and inclusion. Young can find these and all the episodes of the series here. And remember they are also available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify.
Join us!
Community networks news and stories
- While the wires, towers and solar panels of community-centred connectivity initiatives (CCCIs) provide the “how”, it is the local services that provide the “why” when it comes to being connected, moving the dial from simple access to meaningful connectivity. Discover the new insights that emerged from a workshop held during the face-to-face bootcamp of the Blended Training Programme for ICT Network Managers in Indigenous and Rural Communities in Nairobi. Read more.
- The third edition of the Kenya National Community Networks Summit was held in Machakos County, led by the Internet Society chapter in the country and bringing together community operators, policy makers, regulators, funders and innovators under the theme “Innovating for Grassroots Digital Access and Community Connectivity”. Read more.
- With fresh memories from the Latin America edition of the bootcamp that closed the Blended Training Programme for ICT Network Managers in Indigenous and Rural Communities held in Puebla, Mexico, a new video contributes to these reminiscences for those who took part in it and allows those who didn't to discover how this training experience unfolded and the impact it had on the participating communities. Watch it here. [Available in Spanish]
- Also from Mexico, REDES A.C. shared highlights of the activities they carried out during 2025 in a very colourful publication that narrates their work on policy advocacy, the promotion of local content creation, their projects for the development of technologies for autonomy and the global networks they are part of. Read more. [Available in Spanish]
- From Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chako Armant, programme director of La Différence, shared the experience of the Pamoja Net project in Idjwi at the 23rd seminar of the Francophone Network of Telecommunications Regulators (Fratel). She used the opportunity to advocate for human-centred community networks, challenging Francophone regulators to enable their development. Read more. [Available in French]
- As part of its AI for Climate Action initiative, which explores how technologies can be redirected by focusing on locally developed and community-centred models, The Engine Room will conduct research to explore AI adoption in the context of climate action, mapping community-led AI initiatives across the Global Majority, especially projects that are practical, context-aware and rooted in collective care. Read more.
- The call for nominations for the 14th annual African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG 2026) is open, convened by APC, the Information Society Division of the African Union Commission and Research ICT Africa. This year’s edition will take place in the last quarter of 2026 immediately prior to the Africa Internet Governance Forum (IGF), happening in Accra, Ghana. The deadline is 31 May. Read more.
Gendered experiences
- The latest edition of APC.org’s “Seeding Change” column featured the Digital Micro-Enterprise Training sessions offered to women in the communities of Itas and Jama’are in Nigeria's Bauchi state and in Dakwa community in Abuja by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD). Harira Wakili, who coordinated the training, reflects on how practical digital skills empower women for growing their businesses and increasing their income, while strengthening their security and resilience. Read more. [Also available in French]
- A quick reminder about this invitation from the LocNet initiative: A call for individuals, collectives and groups is open to contribute stories on the theme of “Women in community-centred connectivity initiatives: Hope, realities and the possibilities driving change”. The call is aimed at nurturing a GenderIT.org edition with stories, analyses and critical reflections that illuminate how women in CCCIs are meeting the current moment in the world. Submissions may take the form of narrative pieces, photo and audio essays or illustrated stories. Read more. The call is also available in Spanish and in Portuguese.
- A recent Techsocietal research study on “Bridging the Gender Digital Divide: Integrating Gender-Responsive ICT Policies for Community-Centered Connectivity” highlights the barriers that continue to widen the digital gender gap in Nigeria. The report addresses the incidence of limited access to education, unaffordable devices and data, low digital literacy, and systems that were never designed with women’s realities in mind. Read more.
- A community internet school activist from Southwest Sumba, Indonesia, who grew up amidst the patriarchal culture prevalent in her region; an honorary teacher from Taliabu, determined to connect the internet in her area; a leader of the Pulo Aceh community network, who believes her presence can inspire young people to achieve their dreams. These stories are part of a series of videos produced by ICT Watch and Common Room in the frame of a workshop on communication tools. Watch them here. [Available in Bahasa]
- The webinar “Gender, Digital Rights and Connectivity: Community-Led Solutions for an Inclusive Digital Future” was held within the framework of the Digital for Development Hub (D4D Hub), as part of the Global Gateway strategy. Olga Paz Martinez and Laura María Sánchez from Colnodo shared their experience in Colombia, focusing on a key idea: the gender digital divide is not only a matter of access, but also of opportunities, time and power. Read more. [Available in Spanish]
Enabling policy and regulation
- South Africa is currently debating digital transformation, investment, competition and digital inclusion, as the telecoms regulator ICASA reaffirmed that Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) ownership requirements for telecom licences will remain unchanged unless the law is amended. At the centre of the discussion is whether Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs), supported by companies such as Starlink, could serve as an alternative to the current requirement for 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups. Read more.
- From Indonesia, AirPutih submitted to the Kemended PDTT – acronym of the Ministry of Village Development, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration of the Republic of Indonesia – a policy brief and regulatory sandbox for meaningful community internet recognition. Gustaff Harriman Iskandar from Common Room was part of the discussions that “paved the way to strengthen the capacity of village communities through community-based internet,” according to the Ministry. Watch the video here.
- The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) concluded a Policy Review Workshop, focused on updating the National Telecommunications Policy (NTP) of 2000. Key thematic areas were addressed involving licensing, spectrum management and universal access, among others. The Commission invited interested stakeholders to contribute to the drafting by submitting policy proposals. The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) and the LocNet initiative have both submitted policy briefs to this process. Read more.
Publications, research and toolkits
- “Community interest media: Emerging concepts and practices from the Global Majority (and friends)” is a recently published report that explores routes towards guiding principles for community-centred content creation and its synergies with community-led connectivity. The publication sheds light on relevant practices, including eight case studies conducted by our research collective in Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria and the Philippines. Read more.
- As AI policy is being written in real time, the voices of those building community-centred infrastructure are often missing. A call for contributions for a CCCI-AI anthology is open. Titled “Challenging extractive AI through community-centred connectivity”, the call looks for CCCI leaders and community members to share reflections, case studies and stories that answer the question: "How can community networks challenge extractive AI narratives and build sovereign digital futures?" Read more.
- In the context of May Day, DigiLabour of the University of Toronto and the Argentine Federation of Tech Worker Co-ops (FACTTIC) launched the second issue of Other Tech Worlds Are Possible, a comic series that highlights experiences of worker collectivities across Latin America who are expanding the meanings of technologies. Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
- The Digital Empowerment Foundation in collaboration with Knowledge Partners: Commons Collective and the AI + Planetary Justice Alliance has launched “Just AI, Just Land: Socio-Environmental Implications of Data Centers on Communities". Drawing on field research and community interactions, the publication explores how the expansion of data centre infrastructure is influencing land use, water access and livelihood patterns in India. Read more.
- The challenge is about who controls digital infrastructure and services, whose interests they serve, and whether communities have meaningful power and agency over the tech they use. “Better not bigger: Digital services alternatives across our network” is an article that features a group of organisations in the APC network who have built community-centred and rights-respecting alternatives, sharing a vision of a digital future where infrastructure is seen as a commons. Read more.
- “Other technological worlds are possible” is the focus of the latest issue of Media Development by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). This edition, which is published twice a year, looks at how digital technologies interact with local cultures and communities, the concerns this raises, and practical solutions communities are developing. It includes contributions from Common Room, REDES A.C. and Colnodo, among other organisations. Read more.
- The Digital for Development (D4D) Hub commissioned the publication of “A Team Europe guide to human-centric digital cooperation under Global Gateway” that combines desk research and a series of engagements with stakeholders to delineate an overview of frameworks, strategies, guidelines and toolkits. The report involves APC in bringing the vision of civil society and a community-led approach to connectivity and digital inclusion, the gender dimension of cybersecurity and the analysis of funding and financing mechanisms. Read more.
- The European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) recently presented “Digital connectivity in the European tech business offer”, a discussion paper that draws on interviews with institutions, member states, partners, companies and civil society to examine gaps and opportunities to help European firms expand while supporting partner countries' own development priorities. When addressing the strategies to deliver last-mile connectivity, the paper highlights APC's role in this area as well as Sida’s funding. Read more.
Events
- The 2026 edition of the Digital Rights Asia-Pacific (DRAPAC) Assembly will be held in Manila from 8 to 10 June. Read more.
- From 6 to 10 July 2026, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2026 will take place onsite at the ITU Headquarters and Palexpo, in Geneva, Switzerland. Read more.
- The 2026 Global Gathering will take place from 4 to 6 September in Estoril, Portugal. Find all the relevant information here, about the country, the Gathering and also the Equity Fund for individuals from at-risk communities or operating in low-resourced environments who would not be able to attend the Global Gathering otherwise. Read more.
- The World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF-26) will take place from 2 to 4 September in Nassau, The Bahamas, convened by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Read more.
- The first edition of the World Summer School “Communication, Information Integrity, Social Justice and Democracy” will be held from 21 to 23 October 2026 online. A call for postgraduate student applications is open. Those interested can apply before 12 June through the form available here. Read more.
- The Mozilla Festival 2026 will be held in Barcelona from 28 to 30 October 2026. Read more.
- The 21st annual Internet Governance Forum will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 14 to 18 December 2026. Read more.
Funding opportunities
- The IEEE Connecting the Unconnected Challenge calls for early-stage projects and concepts that pursue unique ways to increase broadband access and usage for unconnected or under-connected areas. The portal for submitting proposals is open for presenting 500-word abstracts by 19 June 2026. Start-ups, grassroots organisations, universities and others working toward digital inclusion in original ways are encouraged to participate. Read more.
- The latest cycle of NGI Zero Commons Fund is open for FLOSS projects, with a deadline of 1 June 2026 at 12:00 CEST (noon). Read more.
- The EU’s Global Gateway strategic framework shared two resources to understand the role of civil society within the Global Gateway: “Understanding the Global Gateway: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)”, available here, and the first brief of a new series, dedicated to “Unlocking the potential of the EU’s Global Gateway: Meaningful engagement with civil society”, available here.
Community networks learning repository
This 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.
“Local services and technologies: Meaningful connectivity from a community-centred perspective” is a document developed by the LocNet initiative to internally reflect on and better articulate the work done around local innovation for community networks.
You are invited to collaborate with the repository, contributing your own materials, from publications to training toolkits, in any language.
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.
Invite others to subscribe to this monthly newsletter here!
One more thing! If you have comments about the newsletter or information relevant to the topic that you would like us to include in the next edition, please share it with us here.