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Applications for 2019 Chapterthon Now Open

We’re happy to announce that the call for applications for the 2019 Chapterthon is now open.

Our world is more digitally connected than ever before, yet barriers still remain for the half of the world’s population who are unconnected.

For 2019, Chapterthon projects will help with Connecting the Unconnected. The Internet for everyone, including every last person on the planet, and we won’t rest until each person has the option of choosing to be connected.

Want to take part in this challenge?

We are looking for creative, innovative, and impactful short-term projects from our Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that are for the community, with the community, by the community.

Find out how to apply at: https://www.internetsociety.org/grants/chapterthon/2019/

Only one project will be selected per Chapter to participate in this contest. The selected projects then participate in the global Chapterthon contest. The three winning projects will receive an award!

To guide you through this process, we’ve organised an info session on 27 June 2019 at 11:00 UTC.You can register in advance at:
https://isoc.zoom.us/meeting/register/5b0fba421a1ce3737510d14dfea9e911

All other information about the Chapterthon is available here:https://www.internetsociety.org/grants/chapterthon/2019/

Take part  and help us connect the world one community Continue reading

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Want to Make a Difference in Your Community? Apply for a Beyond the Net Medium or Large Grant

Applications are now open for the 2019 Beyond the Net Medium and Large Grants. All Internet Society Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in good standing are eligible to apply.

For more than a decade, Beyond the Net Medium and Large Grants and the former Community Grants Programme have played a major role in empowering people to improve their communities via the Internet. These programmes have reached thousands of people by helping to bring to life community-driven projects that teach digital skills, enable continued trust in the Internet, build infrastructure in rural and underserved areas, and connect Indigenous communities.

The Beyond the Net Funding Programme is now part of the Internet Society Foundation, but will continue to support the excellent work of our Chapter and SIG communities. The Medium and Large Grants are available for funding at a maximum of USD $30,000.

Applications are open until 31 July 2019. For more details, visit Beyond the Net Medium and Large Grant Programme page. 

While you’re there, check out everything else the Foundation is doing!

The post Want to Make a Difference in Your Community? Apply for a Beyond the Net Medium or Large Grant appeared first on Internet Society.

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The Benin Chapter Wins Chapterthon 2018

The winner of this year’s Chapterthon was announced this Tuesday, 4 December during InterCommunity 2018.

Chapterthon is a global Internet Society (ISOC) Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) marathon, where all the Internet Society members can participate by developing a project within a timeline and budget to achieve a common goal. The project winner is selected by the community through online vote.

This year our community worked on the Internet of Things (IoT) – The future is ours to shape.

Every year, the Chapterthon brings enthusiasm and excitement amongst our community. During two and half months, 43 Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) from across the globe worked alongside to bring awareness on the Internet of Things (IoT) to their communities. They ran over 200 training sessions and workshops, engaging students, entrepreneurs, and local governments. They organized national campaigns, their projects were mentioned in local newspapers, and their message was brought to the most remote places. The Chapters also developed IoT applications that may in the future improve the lives of people in their communities, and amongst some of the projects are improved transport systems, agriculture, energy management, home protection, and healthcare.

The projects that received the highest number Continue reading

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From Idea to Action: Beyond the Net Selects 15 Amazing Chapter Projects!

The Beyond the Net Funding Programme is pleased to announce the results of our 2018 Grant Cycle. A total of 49 applications were received, and after a thorough reviewing process, 15 amazing projects were selected.

These projects are at the core of our mission, and will use the Internet to develop Community Networks in underserved areas, to empower women through ICT, as well as bringing awareness on  Internet policies around the world.

This is the result of months of effort from our Chapter Community. Many discussions, numerous clarifications and proposals, updates, and revisions form the Beyond the Net Selection Committee. We are proud of you all.

Please join us in celebrating the following projects!

Developing community networks in the Northern region of Brazil – Brazil Chapter

Supporting and promoting the development of the Internet to enrich people’s lives, the project aim is to contribute to the growth and improvement of community networks policies and practices in Brazilian rural areas, in order to strengthen those who are marginalized. Instituto Nupef will work to develop a new network in the state of Maranhão as well as a developing a communications plan for the Babassu coconut breakers organizations and movements. Objectives include Continue reading

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Chapterthon Wins 2018 WSIS Prize for International and Regional Cooperation

We are proud to announce that Chapterthon 2017 on Digital Schools was recognized today as the winner of a 2018 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prize under the category “International and Regional Cooperation,” awarded by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

For the Internet Society, this award is a strong affirmation of the valuable work that our Chapters are doing on the ground to empowering their communities through the Internet and, as so, advancing sustainable development.

Chapterthon is a global Chapters marathon, where our chapters work hard with their communities to develop a project within a timeline and budget for achieving a common goal. In 2017, the topic was Digital Schools and 30 Chapters from all 6 regions carried out specific projects to improving education by using the Internet.

Great ideas were taken into action and each project contributes to making a difference not only in their communities but also beyond them. Connecting schools to the Internet through community networks, teaching coding to girls, training teachers and parents, raising awareness about the safe use of the Internet and developing an online platform for a school were not isolated actions but part of global efforts towards improving people’s lives. Together Continue reading

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Empowering Education for the Next Generation In Paraguay

Colegio Técnico National (CTN) of Asunción is one of the top schools in Paraguay offering the technical baccalaureate. It was created by the country’s Ministry of Education and Science in 1980. The school is attended by more than 1,500 students from the capital city and from nearby towns like Luque, Fernando de la Mora, San Lorenzo, Lambaré, and Capiatá.

As with most of Paraguayan state schools, the CTN does not have the right infrastructure for an appropriate development of modern education. The little equipment owned by the CTN, donated more than 25 years ago by private or charitable institutions, are today too obsolete. Classes do not have any type of interactive material due to the lack of an Internet connection, equipped laboratories, and modern computers. A new project lead by the Paraguay Chapter and supported by the Internet Society Beyond the Net Funding Programme will provide the school with Internet access and set up a high-tech electronics lab to ensure a quality environment for the development of innovative solutions based on robotics, automation, e-learning systems, and the Internet of Things. 250 students will be trained in the use of online tools. ReVa , a virtual library, will be available Continue reading

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Help Five Projects Connect the World

At Bilkent University in Ankara, students sit at desks littered with bookbags and bottles of water. It looks like a typical classroom, except for the makeup of the students – school-age girls – and when the instructor asks a question, the room comes alive. “Who wants to code again after today?”

The hands shoot up.

The students are participating in Coding Sisters, a program that teaches coding to girls. Soon they are grinning as they raise their certificates of completion into the air. They yell in unison, “Hello world!”

The project was funded by the Internet Society’s “Digital schools!” Chapterthon 2017, in partnership with Wikimedia Foundation. From October to November 2017, 30 projects from around the world came together to bring educational opportunities to children, especially girls. Chapterthon has been nominated for a series of prizes to be given out at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), an annual United Nations-sponsored summit focused on the role information and communication plays in our world. TheWSIS Prizes recognize individuals and organizations that advance the Sustainable Development Goals: 17 global goals dedicated to building a better world by 2030.

Four other innovative, Internet Society-funded projects Continue reading

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Connecting Nepal’s Earthquake Affected Communities with a Sustainable Model

Beyond the Net Journal

Nepal’s rural population remains largely disconnected from the Internet. The problem is further aggravated by the devastating 7.8 Richter scale earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks that have been shaking Nepal since April 2015 and that left nearly 9,000 people dead.

The Internet Society Nepal Chapter, in partnership with the NPO “Forum for Digital Equality“, led a successful project to reduce the digital divide by facilitating the establishment of three Community Learning Hubs. The project, supported by The Internet Society Beyond the Net Funding Programme, set up the centers in three Nepali districts that were badly affected by the earthquake: Dhading, Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha.

Each Hub is being visited 100/day by community members. More than 1500 people are now accessing the Internet for free. To ensure a sustainable model for the project, services like printing and scanning are charged. The raised revenue is used to pay for operator salaries, repair and maintenance services.

Goma Shrestha, community ITC operator, proudly explains, “We started “eSewa”, an online payment gateway. Villagers used to go to the market to recharge their mobile and cable service, but now we have facilities in our own community”.

The Continue reading

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Today’s Steps to Make a Better Tomorrow!

We are delighted to announce the launch of 2016 Beyond the Net Impact Report and 13 amazing new projects.

As we look at the past year, we are proud of the achievements our community has made with funding from the Beyond the Net Programme. We have some great examples of how the Internet can have a positive impact in people’s everyday lives. By building community networks in Africa and Europe, improving Internet connections in North America, or ensuring that people can trust their connection in Asia, we’re contributing to things like closing the gender gap, building partnerships, and helping kids stay in school.

In 2016, we took a huge step forward to consolidate the Beyond the Net Programme. When we see how the Internet can improve the lives of hundreds of farmers in Latin America or how children can develop new skills by learning how to use the Internet in the Middle East, the aim of the program and of our organization becomes crystal clear. The numbers and the stories behind them are a good reminder that the Internet was built as a force for good.

The projects highlighted in this report serve as a critical reminder that as long Continue reading