INTRODUCTION

Image of Leandro Navarro
Leandro Navarro
Chair

Looking forward to shaping our collective future

This report shares details and shows how we are acting, as the network of organisations and people that make up APC, on so many critical issues, in so many communities locally and globally, guided by our 2020-2023 strategic plan towards an internet for the “well-living” of people and planet.

As the poet Antonio Machado wrote:

Walker, your footprints
are the path, and nothing else;
Walker, there is no path,
we walk to make the path.

(Translated from Castilian)

Reading this wonderful report helps raise awareness, leads us to reflect, and encourages us to continue working as a network, with renewed ideas and effort, for progressive communications in a changing world.

The board of directors represents all members in the governance of APC. Since opportunities to get together and exchange ideas have become more scarce, as the chair of the board of directors I encourage you to contact any board member, staff and members by email, lists and other channels. Sharing your news, questions, ideas, concerns and proposals helps to nurture and maintain closeness and feed collaboration in the APC community. We miss each other, but we feel close when we organise and meet in digital events, exchange messages and calls, read each other and comment on the mailing lists.

A warm hug,

Leandro Navarro

Image of Chat Garcia Ramilo
Chat Garcia Ramilo
Director

Learning to thrive

2021 was not an easy year. Like everyone else, we at APC tried to look squarely at a prolonged and raging global health pandemic, with so much sickness and fatigue around us, and we navigated the constant shifts in issues and risks facing our network and the communities we work with.

We responded to many requests for support from overwhelmed groups to mobilise effective responses against hate speech, online violence and other threats to human rights. With the constant fissures in all our work, including international advocacy and networking, what stood out was the potency of local advocacy and the need to bolster regional communities on the ground. Through support and collaboration, APC members and partners forged ahead with schools of community networks to address digital inclusion, fought climate change through open technologies, convened feminist tech exchanges on digital rights and safety, and implemented many other initiatives.

In this annual report, you will find many of these stories that chronicle how the APC community lived, worked and thrived through an incredibly turbulent but fruitful year.

Throughout 2021, we continued to organise our activities online, drawing on our network's collective experience, and we advocated for inclusivity in the design of new ways of convening. Some organisations were beginning to cautiously organise hybrid events and we took our first steps in testing in-person participation. I ended the year with my first work trip after two years of relative isolation: APC was invited by the Council of Europe's North-South Centre to their annual Lisbon Forum for an intercultural dialogue to counter disinformation, misinformation and hate speech. The experience was, of course, a reminder of what we missed about meeting people in person, but it was also a lesson on what needs to change in the way we organise, convene and support one another.

We learned so much in 2021 because it was a difficult year. One lesson that I keep coming back to is how we – staff, members and partners – co-create and rely on the APC network to build community and purpose. This is what I celebrate most when I read the stories in this year’s report.

About APC

Vision

Our vision is for people to use and shape the internet and digital technologies to create a just and sustainable world, leading to greater care for ourselves, each other and the earth.

Strategies

We believe that our mission is achieved through five interlinked strategies: research, advocacy, building networks and capacity, communications and outreach. To be instrumental to the APC community, research-based evidence must be communicated effectively in order to support advocacy, which then achieves change as its ultimate goal.

Mission

Our mission is to create a just and sustainable world by harnessing the collective power of activists, organisations, excluded groups, communities and social movements, to challenge existing power structures and ensure that the internet is developed and governed as a global public good.

Our impact

{{ item.displayName }}

{{ item.description }}

X

{{ story.title }}

story.title

Member grants

APC's subgranting programme with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

2021 was the sixth year of APC’s subgranting programme, implemented with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). These subgrants are aimed at enabling our member organisations to contribute towards achieving APC’s vision. Two types of grants are offered: project grants and research and campaign grants.

The project grants are intended to contribute to the implementation of APC’s strategic plan at the national level, as well as to strengthen ongoing work of APC members that is linked to APC’s strategic priorities.

The research and campaign grants are for local activities that contribute to members’ advocacy work, and are also meant to enable members to participate in APC-wide campaigns.

In 2021 our members have done outstanding work. Five project grants in five countries were awarded, for a total of USD 149,958, as well as 14 research and campaign grants in 12 countries, totalling USD 69,978.

Check out a description of all the project grants implemented in 2021 here, and the research and campaign grants here.

Our members

In December 2021, APC had 62 organisational members and 30 individual members active in 71 different countries, with the majority based in the global South.

APC Member organisations

In December 2021, APC had 62 organisational members active in 59 countries.

Individual members

In 2021, APC had 30 individual members in 24 countries.

  • Argentina

    • Damian Loreti
  • Australia

    • Andrew Garton
    • Sylvia Cadena
  • Bangladesh

    • Bazlur Rahman
  • Brazil

    • Vera Vieira
  • Canada

    • Stéphane Couture
  • Colombia

    • Mario Morales Rincón
  • Congo, Republic of

    • Patience Luyeye
  • Czech Republic

    • Honza Malík
  • Ethiopia

    • Melaku Girma
  • Guinea

    • Serge Ziehi
  • India

    • Japleen Pasricha
  • Italy

    • Leonardo Maccari
  • Jordan

    • Inam Ali
  • Malaysia

    • Gayathry Venkiteswaran
  • Netherlands

    • Rolf Kleef
  • New Zealand

    • Joy Liddicoat
  • Peru

    • Eiko Kawamura
  • Senegal

    • Makane Faye
  • South Africa

    • Towela Nyirenda-Jere
    • Alex Comninos
  • Tunisia

    • Rafik Dammak / رفيق دمق
  • Uganda

    • Helen Nyinakiiza
  • United States

    • Avri Doria
    • Mallory Knodel
    • Mitra Ardron
    • Mark Graham
  • Uruguay

    • Pablo Accuosto
  • Zimbabwe

    • Natasha Msonza
    • Patience Mandishona

Governance

Board of directors

  • Leandro Navarro, Associació Pangea - Coordinadora Comunicació per a la Cooperació, Spain (chair)
  • Bishakha Datta / বিশাখা দত্ত, Point of View / পয়েন্ট অফ ভিউ, India (vice-chair)
  • Sylvie Siyam, PROTEGE QV, Cameroon
  • Julián Casabuenas G., Colnodo, Colombia (secretary)
  • Pavel Antonov, BlueLink.net, Bulgaria
  • Oona Castro, Nupef, Brazil
  • Sol Luca de Tena, Zenzeleni NPC, South Africa (treasurer)
  • Chat Garcia Ramilo, APC, Philippines (executive director)

Council representatives

Staff team in 2021

  • Executive director: Chat Garcia Ramilo, Philippines
  • Operations director: Karen Banks, Australia
  • CIPP manager: Valeria Betancourt, Ecuador
  • Asia policy regional coordinator: Gayatri Khandhadai, India
  • CHALLENGE project coordinator: Pavitra Ramanujam, India
  • Asia administrative associate: Cho, Myanmar
  • Asia finance officer: Gladys Fontamillas Selosa, Philippines
  • AfDec project coordinator and AfriSIG organiser: Koliwe Majama, Zimbabwe
  • Local networks co-lead – strategy and policy: Carlos Rey-Moreno, Spain
  • Local networks co-lead – development and coordination: Kathleen Diga, South Africa
  • APC Labs community networks coordinator: Mike Jensen, Portugal
  • Community networks gender and women’s engagement coordinator: Cynthia El Khoury, Lebanon
  • Community networks movement building coordinator: Nicolás Andrés Pace, Argentina
  • Community networks project administrative assistant: Ndunge E. Kiundi, Kenya
  • WRP co-manager – women's rights policy: Janine Moolman, South Africa
  • WRP co-manager – networking and capacity building: Katerina Fialova, Czech Republic
  • WRP co-manager – knowledge building: Namita Aavriti, India
  • GenderIT.org Spanish-English editor and content production coordinator: Mariana Fossatti Cabrera, Uruguay
  • Feminist Tech Exchange (FTX) coordinator: Jennifer Radloff, South Africa
  • Latin American capacity building and networking coordinator: Erika Smith, Mexico
  • CTE (Closer than Ever) strategy facilitator: hvale vale, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Feminist Internet Research Network project coordinator: Tigist Hussen, South Africa
  • Online gender-based violence coordinator: Sheena Magenya, Kenya
  • Women's rights policy advocacy coordinator: Marwa Azelmat, Morocco
  • Our Voices Our Futures project coordinator: Smita V., India (from March 2021)
  • Global policy advocacy coordinator: Verónica Ferrari, Argentina
  • Human rights policy advocacy lead: Paula Martins, Canada
  • Senior adviser on policy advocacy, internet governance and strategic planning (consultant): Anriette Esterhuysen, South Africa
  • Adviser: Avri Doria, United States
  • Communications manager: Flavia Fascendini, Argentina
  • Lead editor: Gaurav Jain, India (from October 2021)
  • Media outreach lead: Leila Nachawati Rego, Spain
  • Language coordinator: Lori Nordstrom, Uruguay
  • Publications and multimedia coordinator: Cathy Chen, Canada/Taiwan
  • Content production and curation lead/GISWatch coordinator: Maja Romano, Canada
  • Local networks project communications associate: Débora Prado, Brazil
  • CHALLENGE project communications associate (consultant): Chris Ann Mel Bugnot, Philippines (from June 2021)
  • GISWatch editor (consultant): Alan Finlay, Argentina/South Africa (from July 2021)
  • Network and membership building coordinator: Karel Novotný, Portugal
  • Grants coordinator: Vassilis Chryssos, Greece
  • Finance manager: Maya Sooka, South Africa
  • Senior finance coordinator: Fatima Bhyat, South Africa
  • Finance associate: Christine Nyambo, Zimbabwe
  • Senior finance administrator: Nino Chubinidze, Georgia (from April 2021)

Technical team

  • Tech coordinator: Roxana Bassi, Argentina
  • Technical systems developer: Adolfo Dunayevich Garber, Mexico
  • Web developer: Maja Kraljic, Norway/Slovenia
  • Technical system administrator (sysadmin): kosa, Mexico
  • Technical support and developer: Avinash Kuduvalli, India
  • Tech support and online event specialist: Igor Absorto, France (from November 2021)

Technology and environmental justice initiative

  • Technology and environmental justice initiative coordinator: shawna finnegan, Canada

Human resources, admin and resource mobilisation

  • Administrative officer: Eunice Mwesigwa, South Africa
  • Resource mobilisation coordinator: Natalia Tariq, Pakistan
  • Executive administrator: Liy Yusuf, Malaysia
  • CTE (Close than Ever) core convening support: Shivani Lal, India

Finances

Financial supporters

  • Delegation of the European Union to Thailand (EIDHR)
    • Challenging hate narratives and violations of freedom of religion and expression online in Asia
  • Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Directorate of Development Cooperation (DGIS) FLOW II Fund via Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA)
    • Our Voices, Our Futures
  • Foundation for a Just Society (FJS)
    • Restricted communications support to the APC Women’s Rights Programme’s GenderIT project
  • Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI)
    • Support for efforts to improve the capacity of media professionals to source and verify information on COVID-19
  • Ford Foundation
    • General support and core and project support for institutional strengthening
    • Support for the chair of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum's Multistakeholder Advisory Group
  • Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    • Supporting Community-Led Approaches to Addressing the Digital Divide
    • Digital Audio Broadcasting Framework for Kenya
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
    • Community Development Cameroon
  • Global Fund for Women
    • General support grant
  • Hivos
    • Pass-through grant for APC partner
  • International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
    • Making a Feminist Internet
  • Luminate Foundation
    • Support for work on capacity building of digital rights defenders
    • Pass-through grant for APC member
  • Oak Foundation
    • Unrestricted support to the APC Women's Rights Programme
    • Strengthening feminist digital skills in Brazil
  • Open Society Institute
    • Open Society Institute
  • Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
    • Core support for the APC Strategic Action Plan 2020-2023
  • Anonymous
    • Support for the APC Women's Rights Programme and online gender-based violence research
  • 48percent.org
    • Strategic contributions to the community networks movement
  • American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)
    • Support for the chair of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum's Multistakeholder Advisory Group
  • Astraea Foundation
    • CommsLabs Program for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (USAID sub-award)
  • Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
    • Steering committee member
  • Connect Humanity via Tides Centre
    • Local Networks Initiative 2021 Grants Programme
  • DW Akademie
    • Training workshop for Crisis Communication Chapter
  • Global Dialogue
    • Research briefs for the Ariadne Network: At the interstice of digital rights and environmental justice
  • International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
    • White paper to assess the relevance of feminist internet research in relation to internet governance and policy
  • Internet Governance Forum Support Association (IGFSA)
    • Support for the African IGF 2020-2021
  • Internet Society (ISOC)
    • Support for community networks
  • Open Society Institute of Southern Africa (OSISA)
    • The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (ADRN): Fostering a human rights-centred approach to privacy, data protection and access to the internet in Southern Africa
  • Oversight Board LLC
    • Research Report: Residential information and privacy in national laws; Online & Offline Harms: The effects of doxxing
  • Stichting NLnet
    • Diversity and Inclusion Management Consultancy
  • African Union, Donuts, Deutsche Welle Akademie, Google, Mozilla, ICANN, Internet Society (ISOC), Public Interest Registry
    • Support for the 2021 African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG)

APC financial statements for 2021

Income statement for the year ended 31 December 2021

Balance sheet at 31 December 2021

2021 (USD) 2020 (USD)
ASSETS 5,694,611 4,488,068
Non-current assets 474 664
Equipment 474 664
Current assets 5,694,137 4,487,404
Accounts receivable 37,215 140,048
Accrued income – grants 18,789 91,468
Cash and cash equivalents 5,638,133 4,255,888
TOTAL ASSETS 5,694,611 4,488,068
     
RESERVES AND LIABILITIES 5,694,611 4,488,069
Reserves and sustainability funds 744,368 659,521
Sustainability funds 705,658 620,811
Retained income 38,710 38,710
Current liabilities 4,950,243 3,828,548
Accounts payable 295,349 114,105
Deferred income from grants 4,603,768 3,668,567
Provision for leave pay 51,126 45,876
TOTAL RESERVES AND LIABILITIES 5,694,611 4,488,069

Income statement for the year ended 31 December 2021

2021 (USD) 2020 (USD)
INCOME 5,669,963 4,230,707
Grants 5,234,253 4,051,570
Other income 435,711 169,895
Commissioned services, contributions and event income 204,295 141,651
Interest 0 0
Membership fees 39,797 26,849
Sales and sundry 2,952 1,395
Passthrough grants 188,667 9,242
     
EXPENDITURE 5,552,980 4,189,136
Governance, Programme Development, Monitoring and Evaluation and Administration 1,001,846 703,453
Communications, Technical and Network Development Units 849,261 942,582
Communications and Information Policy Programme 2,466,426 1,404,151
Global Advocacy and Policy Strategy 289,695 213,456
Women’s Rights Programme 945,752 925,494
     
SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR 116,984 41,571

Note: Detailed information is available in the audited financial statements for 2021.