Community Network Xchange Asia-Pacific (CNX-APAC) was started in 2017 to provide information and know-how of community networks. Over the last seven editions
CNX has addressed various factors related to community networks, including understanding social and
economic sustainability, the Internet of the people, promoting public Wi-Fi access, meaningful access, community networks for public goods, and connecting indigenous
and mountain communities in its latest edition. Over the years, practitioners from various countries such as Bangladesh, South Africa, Argentina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Haiti, Kenya, Nepal, Malawi, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan have attended CNX to share their expertise.
Objectives:
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Training & Exchange – To develop a comprehensive and self-contained guide to strengthen grassroots expertise by training community members in basic wireless technology; to enable individuals (barefoot engineers) to not only to run and manage these networks but to also further transfer their skills to others creating a multiplier effect; to organise country-level exchange programmes for learners and barefoot wireless network engineers who can visit and engage in other country networks and learn from their experiences.
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Knowledge & Network – To organise annual CNX Summits to engage community network providers across the world to share their learnings, experiences and technological innovations on one platform; to create a consortium of community network providers and social funds for the purpose of sustainability in Asia; to provide support to community network gatherings and hands-on work meetings at regional level for advocating and addressing regional policy issues and challenges; to share recommendations from the summit at other international forums such as Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), among others.
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Policy & Advocacy – To discuss sustainable business models around community networks with sound understanding of social and economic challenges; to identify various issues such as spectrum, technological, regulatory, content and localisation, among others, that need to be addressed in the national and international framework of policies; to develop a series of policy briefing papers that focus on regulatory issues that need to be addressed; to make community networks visible to policy makers so that they can be considered as an actor within the telecommunications ecosystem.
CNX Related Stories
- Community Network Champions Take a Rural Dip in India– Published at ISOC
- Internet Society and Digital Empowerment Foundation Show a Path to Connect The Unconnected In India, through Community Networks– Published at ISOC
- Enabling the Next Generation of Community Network Builders: A Report on CNXAPAC 2018 and CN Champs