EDUCATION-LATAM: The Internet, Friend or Foe of Learning?

A school in the Chilean capital has decided to prohibit students from writing their assignments on computers. "The kids just download material from the Internet and hand it in without making any changes. They don't even read it. Now they will have to write out their assignments by hand, which means they will have to take the time to read them," teacher Josefina Arriagada told IPS.

WSIS: Civil Society Stuck With a Consolation Prize

It was not what they had set out to accomplish, but civil society groups gathered here to discuss Internet governance and development are vowing to make the best of the compromise deal that was struck.

WSIS: An Indigenous Web Builds Up

The indigenous Navajo people of the southwestern United States are now using the Internet to reconnect to their traditional culture, and rebuild confidence.

BRAZIL: Changing a City Name to Facilitate Web Searches

"It's like advertising one product and selling another," Brazilian city councillor Djalma Pastorello summed up in favour of his proposal to change the name of his city, Foz do Iguaçu, so as not to confuse people searching for it on the Internet.

WSIS: A Little Could Go a Long Way

Two African leaders launched a public appeal Wednesday for support to a global fund for community-based communication projects.

BOLIVIA: Information Highway Blocked by Rural Poverty, Underdevelopment

The proliferation of cybercafés in Bolivia's largest cities, offering Internet access at relatively modest rates, contrasts sharply with the slow advance of this technology in rural areas, which depends on sporadic initiatives headed up by the private sector or civil society.

WSIS: UN Summit to Serve the People?

Now that the world's powers have agreed to stop squabbling over control of the Internet (for now), will the more than 10,000 people here for this week's United Nations forum focus on creating an information society for all people?

WSIS: No Room for Civil Society

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) began here Wednesday with little room for civil society groups to express themselves.

WSIS: U.S. to Stay in Charge of Internet

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) kicks off Wednesday with a compromise document approved unanimously after several months of fruitless negotiations.

CUBA: Yes to Computers and Internet – But Not at Home, Thanks

Cuba's computer technology policy gives priority to the social uses of information technology and telecommunications, while excluding private access to tools like the internet.

COMMUNICATION: U.S. Fights to Remain the Ultimate Webmaster

International efforts to break down the digital barriers facing the world's poor will backfire if governments fail to work out their differences on the issue of internet governance, diplomatic observers here say.

CARIBBEAN: Journalists Fear a “Looming Storm”

Caribbean journalists say they will closely monitor the position of the region's governments at the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), scheduled to begin in Tunisia on Nov. 16.

COMMUNICATION: No Turning Back on Civil Society Participation

The most important advance made by the World Summit on the Information Society is having conceived a model of Internet governance in which governments, civil society and the private sector all participate on an equal footing, according to Uruguayan expert Raúl Echeberría.

TECHNOLOGY: Welcome to Ruralkenya.com

A generator rumbles behind the two-roomed building, which looks like one of the maize mills that dot Kenya's rural landscape. But, you're not likely to find a harvest of any sort in here - rather, food for thought.

COMMUNICATIONS-ARGENTINA: Computers Alone Can’t Bridge Digital Gap

"With these three computers and Internet access, it's as if we could reach up and touch the sky," exclaimed Analía Bonesso, the principal and teacher of all eight grades in a rural primary school in Argentina with no telephone, no radio, and only 14 students.

COMMUNICATIONS: The Struggle for Real Control Over the Virtual World

The real world is involved in a battle for control over the virtual world, one of the central issues to be dealt with at the Nov. 16-18 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in the Tunisian capital.

COMMUNICATIONS: Road to Tunis Paved With Questions

With just six weeks to go before the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, a number of key issues remain unresolved, including the highly debated questions of Internet governance and civil society participation.

MEDIA: Tunisia Promoting Free Expression – But Not at Home

A coalition of 14 international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has expressed "deep concern" over the upsurge in attacks on freedom of expression in Tunisia - a country which next month will host the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

COMMUNICATIONS: Activists Denounce “Erosion” of NGO Participation in Summit

The unprecedented cooperation among governments, civil society and the private sector that has characterised the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process for the last three years was undermined this week by a decision adopted by government representatives.

COMMUNICATIONS: NGOs Complain of Summit Host Tunisia’s Rights Record

One of the biggest clouds looming over the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is the human rights record of Tunisia, which will host the second phase of the Summit, scheduled for Nov. 16-18.

CULTURE: The Home of English Football’s Most Ardent Fans? Uganda

It's a cold, wet Sunday evening outside the Little Highbury pub. Inside, patrons are glued to a huge television screen showing an eagerly awaited football match between two English Premier League teams: Arsenal and Chelsea.