⚓️ Documentation

Session One: Why engage in policy and advocacy? Advancements made in policy advocacy and the language on gender. 

In this session, we had Anriette and Adriana talking about the importance of advocacy and policy as tools to achieve specific goals that are important to communities, and in extension, community networks.

The session started with Anriette and Adriana introducing themselves and the work they do in the policy and policy advocacy space, especially revolving around gender lens. In their experience, it was found that there are possibilities of instilling change within the fields of regulatory and legal through means such as fighting for inclusion, affordable, and meaningful access; and disrupting power in the policy space by using it as tools to achieve agency and social justice.   

Participants were then asked to share their names, their countries, and things they find confusing or intimidating about policy. A few themes emerged from the sharing: 

• Disconnect between the technical standpoint and the policy;
• Disconnect between policymakers and the policy they created that can impact the lived experiences of people in the community;
• The existing relationship in the policy space might alienate newcomers, as such we need to find allies that can work with us along in the journey;
• The lack of awareness around policy and its processes;
• The lack of policy and regulations surrounding community networks, at the same time having all the knowledge to deploy but policy had been the stumbling block;
• Societal and cultural challenges (such as child marriage) in the way of creating policy,
• The lack of gender lens and inclusion in many aspects of the policy;
• Specific goals such as: writing impactful policy briefs, points of pressure to write policy briefs to make the case for community networks, etc.

Anriette summarised the themes and concluded that in order to make policy changes, especially ones surrounding societal challenges, one has to become more specific in order to create a starting point.

Adriana then shared about policy and its concepts. Policy can be defined as any public decision, or implementation program, budget, practices etc. that are made by the government, an international organisation and private corporations, which can impact citizens, users, and the public in general. ICT policy, therefore, can include the works of ICT, including telecoms + media + content + IT + network technologies and infrastructure. This can also include any public resources allocated thereto, such as spectrum. 

The ICT ecosystem, however, is not limited to tech. It can also include ‘ingredients’ such as human rights, market and industry, social purpose operators like community networks and non-profit telecom providers, SDG etc. The ecosystem is so huge and all-inclusive so that ICT for policy should be made fair, universal, secure, and inclusive, although Adriana said, “this is often easier said than done.” 

Adriana then shared the main issues that matter to civil societies regarding ICT policy. They include: 

• ACCESS – Not just any access is OK. It must be universal, affordable, meaningful, sustainable, open and interoperable, and open for all including the rural and urban populations etc. 
• HUMAN RIGHTS — how to make sure the policy enables human rights as well as more activities that transpire in the digital worlds, such as education and healthcare and commerce
• PARTICIPATORY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGIES — not for governments only, but for all of us and by all of us, not just for entities who have power

The key tools to engage in policy:

• Accurate identification of problem or challenge
• Data and other evidence-based info to legitimise policy making or policy reform
• Gendered data and gendered research as key to gender-sensitive policy
• Gender lens for data analysis, policy interventions, KPI and impact assessment
• Human rights instruments and WSIS principles
• Implementation and KPI for assessment and accountability 

Where to start in engaging with policy advocacy: 

1. Identify the issues, know your facts, don’t make assumptions, and do your research
2. Listen to the people involved, engage with community and institutions, look at the issues from different POV, build relationships
3. Identify specific stakeholders, map them, analyse their power and interest
4. Make a plan, look for windows of opportunity (e.g. Elections, big ICT conferences etc.) set intermediate and longer-term goals, and build a partnership
5. Document your work, assess what worked and what did not, and adapt as needed. Don’t give up!

A few steps and questions to engage in policy advocacy:

1. What is the problem and what is your goal? What are your intermediate goals?
2. Who are your stakeholders? What are the steps we need to do to change them into being our supporters?
3. What are specific opportunities, spaces, and partners to engage? 
4. How to develop the work plan? Set clear goals that can be measured with deadlines, assign responsibility, what are your needs (resources, knowledge, time, tools and partners etc.), how to measure progress, how to learn from the achievements and failures etc. 

It is important to engage in ICT policy as we now are in a networked society, especially after COVID where everyone is networked in many services and information. Access to ICT means access to most rights and justice! 

In the Q & A session, a mentee asked how to navigate a policy space when the language and space is not welcoming, and we are short of resources. Adriana said we need to be aware of the intimidation and to not take it personally, but to respond with a strategic response. Anriette added, to create the space against intimidation, be open to often asking questions and in return, you may empower yourself and others who may want to learn more.  

Memorable Quotes:

“Navigating policy is like a dance, a performance. Working with policy is navigating the spectrum between the broader picture and the specific, tangible issues.” — Anriette

“The ICT ecosystem is not just about technology. There are these ingredients that make it complex — they should be nurtured by human rights, influenced by markets and social purpose operators in the industry, as well as by global and national plans such as sustainable development goals (SDG).” — Adriana

“Access to ICT means access to most rights and justice. As such, we need to make sure the ICT is shaped correctly.” — Adriana

“Perfectionism in policy advocacy is not part of the equation because it freezes us!” — Adriana 

“Change will often be welcomed with resistance, and intimidation is because people are afraid of losing power to us changemakers. Do not ever stop, be truthful, don’t let the bullies end your strategy!” — Adriana

“Advocacy is not a short-term process. Continue to document our work, assess what works and what does not, and adapt. Sometimes failure in the short term can lead to success in the long term.” — Anriette

“Societal problems can be hard to change, and we feel disempowered. But if we sit down and break down the goals, like the African saying, “How do you eat the elephant? We eat bite by bite,” this is all possible. This can apply to policy advocacy as well.” — Anriette

“Empower ourselves with knowledge, the better we understand, the more effective we will be in our advocacy". — Anriette

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Session Two: The experiences of women and gender-diverse folks in policy advocacy spaces in the CN Ecosystem

In this session, Sylvie Sivam and Josephine Miliza shared some insights on the main actors in ICT and Internet policy, as well as pillars of community networks. The group then exchanged stories on the challenges in navigating policy spaces as women and gender-diverse folks, and opportunities that we can make use of. 

Josephine presented the list of actors in national ICT and Internet policy and regulation. They include:

• Government — drivers of ICT policy development and implementation. Key players include the ministry responsible for communications, the national telecommunication operator, and the regulator. 
• Civil society actors — the link between policy processes and the broader population. They ensure that policy development speaks to the needs, values and aspirations of the populations, and ensure that the implementation is in line with social objectives. 
• Private sector — includes computing, communication, and media businesses. Import duties on hardware and software, the restructuring of the telecom sector to allow for competition by the fixed line, and mobile operators are examples of the issues of concern to businesses as well as consumers

The actors in international, regional internet and ICT policy can include:

• International organisations that define the global information economy and the rules under which countries can connect e.g. ITU and the African Telecoms Union
• International NGOs — promote alternative visions of globalisation and work to ensure a role for civil society in sharing the information society globally, regionally, and nationally e.g. APC
• Regional and national organisations — may play a more promotional role and enhance collaboration 
• Other orgs that may govern the Internet e.g. the Internet Society, the Internet Engineering Task Force, the World Wide Web Consortium etc.

Josephine also shared the list of roles for national telecom regulators, which include:  

• Licensing 
• Management and licensing of radio spectrum in a way that maximises the value of the limited resource 
• Competition policy – creating an environment conducive to competitive entry and managing mergers and acquisitions in the telecom sectors
• Numbering — national numbering plan, etc. important to voice and data communications 
• Equipment type approval 
• Ensuring interconnection to new entrants in a way that is not restrictive
• Price regulations 
• Ensure quality of service
• Consumer protection — consumer rights, draft legislations, education and comm programs
• Universal service and access — extending networks and connections to ALL households and communities 

Understanding that not all mentees might be working with community networks, Josephine also shared some pillars of community networks. They include:

• Community champions — they are the individuals and groups that anchor the institutions or champion the network in particular communities. This differentiates community networks from other complementary access models in a way that the values, needs, and priorities of the community are at the centre. 
• Networks infrastructure and services — What infrastructure is needed and deployed as means of communication that aligns with the community's needs 
• Enabling policies and regulations — For community networks to thrive and grow and become sustainable, they need to exist within enabling policies and regulations. As such, continue to advocate for CN to be recognised in the framework. 
• Local technical capabilities — as the network needs to be managed and operated, there is a need to have local capabilities from the community e.g. marketing, admin, finance, human resources, etc,  
• Sustainability – how to ensure the costs of financial, social, environmental sustainability etc. be met?

Among the issues we can advocate for in terms of community networks:

• Enabling licensing, fees and taxation frameworks
• Access to affordable spectrum and dynamic spectrum allocations
• Access to financing mechanisms e.g. USF
• Access to passive infra and backhaul
• Access to capacity-building opportunities 

Josephine assured that all of these may be new terms for many mentees in the room, but stresses that it can be important to understand these roles, bodies, and pillars in order to engage in policy spaces. 

Sylvia then shared a realistic picture of spaces in policy. Policy spaces can be:

• Masculine — men dominated and low percentage of women due to its high demands and high materials and resources that often only men can accommodate
• A space of struggle and violence — Decision-making tables often become spaces for those to maintain their privileges. As such, women and gender-diverse folks are often left behind.
• Resource intensive — need money, energy, networking, influence etc. to advocate. These are also costly investments like fees, tariffs, etc. to connect and have access. 

This reality imposes serious obstacles for women and gender-diverse folks to participate in policy spaces. They can also undermine our self-trust, and in return, limit our capacity for action. 

Sylvie then asked the mentees to share their challenges. Some sharing: 

• Prejudices — social and cultural stereotypes where women cannot participate in strategic spaces
• Leadership gets automatically assigned to men, and women to other roles such as admin and caretaking, despite our capabilities.
• Our caretaking roles would often take our time and energy away from us devoting to policy work
• Women are being told to just stay back from most of these activities. Even as a single lady, you will be told to mind roles you pick so as to be able to marry in the future and if you are married, you will be told to route your contributions through your husband. Attending conferences is double challenging as you are constantly reminded to be at the home front and not out there contributing to society's development
• Not getting support from the people you need the most due to societal and cultural prejudices e.g. your family 
  
• Women need to be supporting women — mentor and coach other women to achieve the same goals 
• Lack of women and gender-centric initiatives in many of our work
• Been made to feel small due to age and how they talk

They also shared opportunities that come up: 

• Form networks in conferences and policy spaces to advocate and reach out to regulators and ask for more women delegates
• The need for solidarity circles to create space to share and support one another
• Male participants in the room agreed that men need to support women in their lives to pursue their careers and dreams
• Women leadership can help make policy spaces more inclusive for women and gender-diverse folks
• Beyond technical capacity and skills, we also need to strengthen leadership capacity and work with leaders to intervene in the policy spaces as well as understand the areas we operate in e.g understanding the actors and bodies in policy spaces
• The establishment of community networks can create changes in the communities — be sensitive to the changes and accept and move at their paces. No approach fits all.
• Consider funds for women leadership and learning beyond policy spaces that can create more opportunities for more women to participate.

Memorable Quotes

“For community networks to thrive and grow and become sustainable, they need to exist within enabling policies and regulations.” — Josephine 

“These spaces can lead women to doubt themselves. That is why it is important that the first person that needs to be convinced of their ability is the woman herself.” — Sylvie

“I believe if we support one another and be intentional to capacitate another woman to mentor and coach, we will all get somewhere together. If I see other women struggling, it is my struggle too.” — Noxy

“It is in our awareness and responsibilities in taking the space back and transforming the spaces we are in.” — Cynthia

 

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