Source: Global Information Society Watch
Co-authored with Arne Hintz, the text is titled “In search of transparency: From ‘using’ to ‘shaping’ technology”. The article examines three initiatives that work towards creating and expanding transparency in the realm of technological activism or at the level of policy activism. For social movements and activism, Milan and Hintz argue that ‘using’ the net may no longer be sufficient for their work but rather has to be complemented by ‘developing’, ‘shaping’ and ‘changing’ the net infrastructure and its regulatory and legal framework.
GISWatch 2012 explores how the internet is being used to ensure transparency and accountability, the challenges that civil society activists face in fighting corruption, and when the internet fails as an enabler of a transparent and fair society.
The nine thematic reports and over 50 country reports published ask provocative questions such as: Is a surveillance society necessarily a bad thing if it fights corruption? and how successful have e-government programmes been in fighting corruption? They explore options for activism by youth and musicians online, as well as the art of using visual evidence to expose delusions of power.
GISWatch is published annually and is a joint initiative by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos).
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