Arturo Bregaglio and Carlos Afonso at the APC 25th anniversary celebration. When I learned that I would be attending the 2015 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in João Pessoa, with the support of the APC Member Exchange and Travel Fund (METF), I offered my assistance to the APC communications team, to help with photographic coverage of the event, as well as to help identify activities and potential interview candidates for APCNews. It was agreed that I would take photographs at all workshops that were organised by APC or by APC members or partners, as well as workshops and other sessions in which they were participating. I was also asked to cover the main sessions, where the future of the IGF was being discussed, and to provide photos to accompany the interviews conducted for APCNews during the event. The photos were uploaded to Flickr and can be viewed here.
In addition, during the IGF, APC organised a party to celebrate its 25th anniversary. One of the highlights of the party was the awarding of the 2015 APC Betinho Communications Prize to Brazilian activist and APC founder Carlos Afonso.
Highlights of APC’s participation at IGF 2015:
- Large numbers of people in attendance at almost all of the workshops in which APC and its members and partners were involved, either as organisers or speakers. I would say that the APC network had a much greater weight in the overall IGF schedule this year than at the previous IGF in Istanbul, which I also attended.
- The APC booth was one of the most visited, and offered the largest array of materials from APC and its members and partners, including publications, posters and stickers. There was also a high demand for the t-shirts celebrating APC’s 25th anniversary.
- The launch of the 2015 Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) report – for which I had the honour of contributing the country report on Paraguay – drew a large crowd, and there was a high demand for copies of the report from IGF attendees.
- The selection of Nadine Moawad of the APC Women’s Rights Programme to speak on behalf of civil society at the IGF closing session contributed enormously to APC’s presence and impact. Her speech was interrupted four times by applause from the entire audience, and ended with a standing ovation. You can view it here .