Title: Civic Engagement in the Digital Age
Author: Aaron Smith
Source: Pew Research Center
Date (published): 25/04/2012
Date (accessed): 26/04/2012
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: The well-educated and the well-off are more likely than others to participate in civic life online – just as those groups have always been more likely to be active in politics and community affairs offline. Political activity in social networking spaces shows a somewhat more moderate version of that trend.

Title: Pros and cons of Mali’s upcoming free domain registration
Source: oAfrica
Date (published): 29/10/2013
Date (accessed): 31/10/2013
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Starting in July 2013, Internet users anywhere in the world will be able to register a Malian web domain. The free .ML domain registration process is a good idea in certain regards, but it is less likely to pan out as intended. In this article the authors have divided up some pros and cons, broken out further by potential international and Malian viewpoints.

Title: MDGs: how mobile phones can help achieve gender equality in education
Author: Ronda Zelezny-Green
Source: The Guardian
Date (published): 04/03/2013
Date (accessed): 13/03/2013
Type of information: online article
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Mobile-based literacy projects can transform the lives of women in Africa and Asia, but despite abundance of phones access remains a barrier.

Title: Education, Urban Poverty and Migration - Evidence from Bangladesh and Vietnam
Author: Stuart Cameron
Source: UNICEF Office of Research
Pages: 50 pp.
Date (published): 15/12/2012
Date (accessed): 13/02/2013
Type of information: working paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: In many developing countries more than half the urban population lives below the national poverty line. Recent economic crisis has made their situation worse, causing many urban families to cut expenditure on food and children’s education. A small but growing literature has documented the extent of educational disadvantage for children from poor urban households in developing countries. What is less clear from the existing literature is the interrelationship among rural-urban migration, urban poverty and education. There are studies comparing migrants to those who stay in their place of origin, but few that compare rural-urban migrants to urban natives or recent migrants to longer-settled migrants, in terms of educational outcomes or poverty. This paper analyses two such surveys, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam. It seeks to identify differences in educational expenditure and education outcomes between migrant and non-migrant households, with a focus on the poorest.

Title: 2013 World Press Freedom Index: Dashed hopes after spring
Pages: 26 pp.
Source: Reporters without borders for freedom of information
Date (published): 01/02/2013
Date (accessed): 01/02/2013
Type of information: research report
Language: English, Arabic, Turkish, Italian, German
On-line access: yes
Abstract: After the “Arab springs” and other protest movements that prompted many rises and falls in last year’s index, the 2013 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index marks a return to a more usual configuration. The ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments. This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term. The ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments. This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term.

Title: UNESCO releases Vancouver Declaration on Digitization and Preservation
Pages: 5 pp.
Publisher: UNESCO
Date (published): 16/01/2013
Date (accessed): 21/01/2013
Type of information: declaration
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract: The introduction and implementation of measures for greater protection of digital assets is the focus of the UNESCO/UBC Vancouver Declaration, The Memory of the World in the Digital Age: Digitization and Preservation. Adopted by the participants of the international conference held last September in Vancouver (Canada), the Declaration has now been released in its final format in English and French.
More than 500 participants from 110 countries discussed the key factors affecting the two major aspects of records, documents and data in the digital environment:
- issues pertaining to the digitization of analogue material, and
- issues pertaining to continuity, access, and preservation of authentic, reliable, and accurate digital materials.

Title: Women and the Web. Bridging the Internet gap and creating new global opportunities in low and middle-income countries
Authors: Yana Watson Kakar, Vicky Hausman, Andria Thomas, Chris Denny-Brown
Pages: 104 pp.
Source: INTEL, Dalberg, Globescan
Date (published): 15/01/2013
Date (accessed): 21/01/2013
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Over just two decades, the Internet has worked a thorough revolution. Never before has information been so widely available, business more efficient and transparent, or people better connected to
one another. The Internet can be a great equalizer. And yet, access to it is not equally distributed. The Internet gender gap is particularly salient in developing countries, with very real consequences for women and girls, their communities, and their nations.
From activists in Egypt to coffee farmers in Colombia, the Internet has transformed the lives of billions of people. It functions as a gateway to ideas, resources, and opportunities that never could have been realized
before, let alone fathomed. All around the world, the Internet is helping people to imagine new possibilities—and then, to make them happen. But women and girls are being left behind. On average across the developing world, nearly 25 percent fewer women than men have access to the Internet, and the gender gap soars to nearly 45 percent in regions like sub-Saharan Africa. Even in rapidly growing economies the gap is enormous.

Title: The new politics of the internet. Everything is connected
Source: The Economist
Date (published): 05/01/2013
Date (accessed): 08/01/2013
Type of information: online article
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Can internet activism turn into a real political movement? The success at the ITU conference in Dubai capped a big year for online activists. In January they helped defeat Hollywood-sponsored anti-piracy legislation, best known by the acronym SOPA, in America’s Congress. A month later, in Europe, they took on ACTA, an obscure international treaty which, in seeking to enforce intellectual-property rights, paid little heed to free speech and privacy. In Brazil they got closer than many would have believed possible to securing a ground-breaking internet bill of rights, the “Marco Civil da Internet”. In Pakistan they helped to delay, perhaps permanently, plans for a national firewall, and in the Philippines they campaigned against a cybercrime law the Supreme Court later put on hold.

Title: Telecommunications saves lives: WCIT-12 aims to update Article 5 of the ITR’s
Source: ITUblog
Date (published): 07/12/2012
Date (accessed): 08/12/2012
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: At the World Conference on International Telecommunications (#WCIT12) currently taking place in Dubai, the updating of Article 5 of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR’s) seeks to mitigate the impact of disasters, provide timely dissemination of authoritative information before, during, and after disasters.

Title: Social Media Report 2012
Source: Nielsen, NM Incite
Date (published): 03/12/2012
Date (accessed): 07/12/2012
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes
Abstract: Nielsen and NM Incite released the 2012 Social Media Report, which provides a comprehensive look at the current state of social media. One of the biggest takeaways from this year’s report is the increasing significance of mobile in the social networking experience. The study found that almost 50% of all users now access social media sites via smartphone and almost one in five connect via tablet. Time spent on mobile apps and mobile web both increased over 80% since 2011 and mobile as a whole accounted for 63% of the year-over-year growth in total time spent on social media.