Association for Progressive Communication

PROTEGE QV is member of APC since march 2007.

The APC vision

“A world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to the creative potential of ICTs to improve their lives and create more democratic and egalitarian societies.” The APC mission

“We are a global network of civil society organisations whose mission is to empower and support organisations, social movements and individuals in and through the use of information and communication technologies to build strategic communities and initiatives for the purpose of making meaningful contributions to equitable human development, social justice, participatory political processes and environmental sustainability.”

A network and an organisation

We are both a network and an organisation. We have members, represented on the APC council, a board of directors elected by members, and a small staff team which develops APC programmes and projects and runs the organisation from day-to-day. Each staff member lives in a different country and communicates daily online. Members collaborate with one another and staff. Online working groups of people from the APC community (including partners and consultants) are set up as needed to work together on different projects or campaigns.

We have a strategic action plan based on priorities developed by our members. The responsibility for taking our strategic priorities forward lies with the network and its members, and the responsibility for implementing the strategic action plan lies with staff. The board is responsible for providing oversight, guidance and support to the executive director who leads this implementation process.

We work closely not just with our members, but also with multiple partners, to enable us to widen our reach, help support local institutions and build stronger, locally owned networks.

Technology: Practice and policy

Our members were often the first providers of internet in their countries. Today, we continue to pioneer practical and relevant uses of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing countries. We are an international facilitator of civil society’s engagement with ICTs and related concerns, in both policy and practice.

World-wide membership

We have been operating as an international, membership-based organisation since 1990. Our strong mixture of southern and northern organisations, and their combined knowledge and experience of promoting and using ICTs at local, national and regional levels, differentiates our network and our work from many others. Our value and uniqueness comes from the local perspectives and contact with grassroots organisations that we gain through contact with, and between, our members.