[CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web Foundation on meaningful connectivity
12 Oct
2019
12 Oct
'19
6:28 a.m.
Greetings to all,
I have recently returned from a trip to NYC, where I had the opportunity to
speak with Dhanaraj Thakur, Research Director at the Web Foundation, about
the foundation's "meaningful connectivity" campaign (
https://a4ai.org/raising-the-bar-for-internet-access-introducing-meaningful…).
When I came across this campaign it seemed kind of odd that they define
"meaningful connectivity" in technical terms only, so and I pursued a
meeting with Dhanaraj to discuss on their project and explore possible
synergies with Community Networks.
In short, there is a problem with how we currently define Internet
connectivity: when we say that 50% of the global population is online we
are also counting people who have been online once for the past three
months from any device. This is actually far from being usefully connected.
Thus, the web foundation is making an attempt to describe how a "meaningful
connectivity" should be measured, by defining four metrics: right speed,
adequate device, enough data and frequent connection. To this end they have
drafted a measurement framework (https://a4ai.org/meaningful-connectivity/)
which they are currently testing in an ongoing research in Uganda,
Indonesia, Ghana and Colombia.
The idea proposed from my side was for the Web Foundation to work with CNs
around the world to test the framework in a community network environment.
This can provide powerful insights to their approach and at the same time
offer us a potentially useful tool which we can apply for our impact
measurement. At the same time we will have the opportunity to speak about
"meaningful connectivity" in terms of empowering local communities to make
the most out of telecommunications technology. In any case I think it will
be a strong use case with a potential to promote global visibility for all
the involved stakeholders.
Dhanaraj was enthusiastic about this and very warm on taking it forward.
Although as we speak the Web Foundation does not have the financial
resources for such a project, Dhanaraj seemed confident that we can manage
to raise some funds through a common proposal.
Some representatives of the Web Foundation will be participating in the
imminent IGF in Berlin. I think it is a very good opportunity to set up a
meeting with them and discuss about this further.
What are your thoughts on this?
In solidarity,
*Vassilis Chryssos*
Board Member / Administrator
*Sarantaporo.gr Non Profit Organization*
28 Karaiskaki str., 10554 Psirri, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 211 8002730, Mob: +30 694 794 8786
Email: vchryssos(a)sarantaporo.gr, Web: www.sarantaporo.gr
15 Oct
15 Oct
9:51 a.m.
New subject: [CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web Foundation on meaningful connectivity
Hi Vasilis,
Thanks for this.
We/Zenzeleni refer to meaningful connectivity in terms of usage and it's
applicability to have a positive impact on peoples life. Catalyzing this kind of
meaningful connectivity is one of the focuses of Zenzeleni NPC.
I think it's very valuable to discuss with the Web foundation and as a concept going
forward. I understand the value of what the Web Foundation poses, but I feel very strongly
that this is not the only measure of meaningful, even though measuring impact is far more
complex than hard data.
Considering the Web Foundations ability to communicate, it would be a lost opportunity to
not attempt to expand the definition.
I may not be in the IGF but would happily connect remotely if that's a possibility.
Regards, Sol
From: council-bounces(a)lists.cnsig.info [mailto:council-bounces@lists.cnsig.info] On Behalf
Of Vasilis Chryssos
Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2019 8:29 AM
To: CNSIG Council
Subject: [CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web Foundation on meaningful
connectivity
Greetings to all,
I have recently returned from a trip to NYC, where I had the opportunity to speak with
Dhanaraj Thakur, Research Director at the Web Foundation, about the foundation's
"meaningful connectivity" campaign
(https://a4ai.org/raising-the-bar-for-internet-access-introducing-meaningful…).
When I came across this campaign it seemed kind of odd that they define "meaningful
connectivity" in technical terms only, so and I pursued a meeting with Dhanaraj to
discuss on their project and explore possible synergies with Community Networks.
In short, there is a problem with how we currently define Internet connectivity: when we
say that 50% of the global population is online we are also counting people who have been
online once for the past three months from any device. This is actually far from being
usefully connected. Thus, the web foundation is making an attempt to describe how a
"meaningful connectivity" should be measured, by defining four metrics: right
speed, adequate device, enough data and frequent connection. To this end they have drafted
a measurement framework (https://a4ai.org/meaningful-connectivity/) which they are
currently testing in an ongoing research in Uganda, Indonesia, Ghana and Colombia.
The idea proposed from my side was for the Web Foundation to work with CNs around the
world to test the framework in a community network environment. This can provide powerful
insights to their approach and at the same time offer us a potentially useful tool which
we can apply for our impact measurement. At the same time we will have the opportunity to
speak about "meaningful connectivity" in terms of empowering local communities
to make the most out of telecommunications technology. In any case I think it will be a
strong use case with a potential to promote global visibility for all the involved
stakeholders.
Dhanaraj was enthusiastic about this and very warm on taking it forward. Although as we
speak the Web Foundation does not have the financial resources for such a project,
Dhanaraj seemed confident that we can manage to raise some funds through a common
proposal.
Some representatives of the Web Foundation will be participating in the imminent IGF in
Berlin. I think it is a very good opportunity to set up a meeting with them and discuss
about this further.
What are your thoughts on this?
In solidarity,
Vassilis Chryssos
Board Member / Administrator
Sarantaporo.gr Non Profit Organization
28 Karaiskaki str., 10554 Psirri, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 211 8002730 <tel:%2B30%20211%208002730> , Mob: +30 694 794 8786
Email: vchryssos(a)sarantaporo.gr <mailto:vchryssos@sarantaporo.gr> , Web:
www.sarantaporo.gr <http://www.sarantaporo.gr>
17 Oct
17 Oct
3:28 p.m.
New subject: [CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web Foundation on meaningful connectivity
Sol,
I totally agree. The initial reason I contacted the Web Foundation was
exactly that I found their definition of "meaningful connectivity" very
*technocratic* and narrow. At the same time I understand that from their
perspective it makes sense to produce a *simple metric* to surface the
inequality in Internet access around the world (the actual percentage of
connected people is lower if you define it in terms of continuous, quality
connectivity).
I mostly think of it as two things that need to be done, which both fall
under the concept of "meaningful connectivity". In this sense we should
somehow safeguard the concept for what *we *refer to as *meaningful* in our
context. I feel that we could do this *with* them, instead of *against*
them.
What do others think about this? It would be useful to also share previous
experiences that some of us possibly had in the past with the Web
Foundation.
*Vassilis Chryssos*
Board Member / Administrator
*Sarantaporo.gr Non Profit Organization*
28 Karaiskaki str., 10554 Psirri, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 211 8002730, Mob: +30 694 794 8786
Email: vchryssos(a)sarantaporo.gr, Web: www.sarantaporo.gr
Στις Τρί, 15 Οκτ 2019 στις 12:51 μ.μ., ο/η Sol Luca de Tena <
sol(a)zenzeleni.net> έγραψε:
Hi Vasilis,
Thanks for this.
We/Zenzeleni refer to meaningful connectivity in terms of usage and it's
applicability to have a positive impact on peoples life. Catalyzing this
kind of meaningful connectivity is one of the focuses of Zenzeleni NPC.
I think it's very valuable to discuss with the Web foundation and as a
concept going forward. I understand the value of what the Web Foundation
poses, but I feel very strongly that this is not the only measure of
meaningful, even though measuring impact is far more complex than hard data.
Considering the Web Foundations ability to communicate, it would be a lost
opportunity to not attempt to expand the definition.
I may not be in the IGF but would happily connect remotely if that's a
possibility.
Regards, Sol
*From:* council-bounces(a)lists.cnsig.info [mailto:
council-bounces(a)lists.cnsig.info] *On Behalf Of *Vasilis Chryssos
*Sent:* Saturday, October 12, 2019 8:29 AM
*To:* CNSIG Council
*Subject:* [CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web
Foundation on meaningful connectivity
Greetings to all,
I have recently returned from a trip to NYC, where I had the opportunity
to speak with Dhanaraj Thakur, Research Director at the Web Foundation,
about the foundation's "meaningful connectivity" campaign (
https://a4ai.org/raising-the-bar-for-internet-access-introducing-meaningful…).
When I came across this campaign it seemed kind of odd that they define
"meaningful connectivity" in technical terms only, so and I pursued a
meeting with Dhanaraj to discuss on their project and explore possible
synergies with Community Networks.
In short, there is a problem with how we currently define Internet
connectivity: when we say that 50% of the global population is online we
are also counting people who have been online once for the past three
months from any device. This is actually far from being usefully connected.
Thus, the web foundation is making an attempt to describe how a "meaningful
connectivity" should be measured, by defining four metrics: right speed,
adequate device, enough data and frequent connection. To this end they have
drafted a measurement framework (https://a4ai.org/meaningful-connectivity/)
which they are currently testing in an ongoing research in Uganda,
Indonesia, Ghana and Colombia.
The idea proposed from my side was for the Web Foundation to work with CNs
around the world to test the framework in a community network environment.
This can provide powerful insights to their approach and at the same time
offer us a potentially useful tool which we can apply for our impact
measurement. At the same time we will have the opportunity to speak about
"meaningful connectivity" in terms of empowering local communities to make
the most out of telecommunications technology. In any case I think it will
be a strong use case with a potential to promote global visibility for all
the involved stakeholders.
Dhanaraj was enthusiastic about this and very warm on taking it forward.
Although as we speak the Web Foundation does not have the financial
resources for such a project, Dhanaraj seemed confident that we can manage
to raise some funds through a common proposal.
Some representatives of the Web Foundation will be participating in the
imminent IGF in Berlin. I think it is a very good opportunity to set up a
meeting with them and discuss about this further.
What are your thoughts on this?
In solidarity,
*Vassilis Chryssos*
Board Member / Administrator
*Sarantaporo.gr Non Profit Organization*
28 Karaiskaki str., 10554 Psirri, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 211 8002730, Mob: +30 694 794 8786
Email: vchryssos(a)sarantaporo.gr, Web: www.sarantaporo.gr
_______________________________________________
Council mailing list
Council(a)lists.cnsig.info
https://lists.cnsig.info/mailman/listinfo/council
18 Oct
18 Oct
7:25 a.m.
New subject: [CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web Foundation on meaningful connectivity
Dear Vassilis,
Thanks for this email. It will be nice to collaborate of this taking
ques from the 12 community networks who are part of the APC community
network learning grant. Myself and Ritu have developed a proposal on
these lines. It will be nice if we can take this forward.
With regards,
Sarbani
On 12-10-2019 11:58, Vasilis Chryssos wrote:
Greetings to all,
I have recently returned from a trip to NYC, where I had the
opportunity to speak with Dhanaraj Thakur, Research Director at the
Web Foundation, about the foundation's "meaningful connectivity"
campaign
(https://a4ai.org/raising-the-bar-for-internet-access-introducing-meaningful…).
When I came across this campaign it seemed kind of odd that they
define "meaningful connectivity" in technical terms only, so and I
pursued a meeting with Dhanaraj to discuss on their project and
explore possible synergies with Community Networks.
In short, there is a problem with how we currently define Internet
connectivity: when we say that 50% of the global population is online
we are also counting people who have been online once for the past
three months from any device. This is actually far from being usefully
connected. Thus, the web foundation is making an attempt to describe
how a "meaningful connectivity" should be measured, by defining four
metrics: right speed, adequate device, enough data and frequent
connection. To this end they have drafted a measurement framework
(https://a4ai.org/meaningful-connectivity/) which they are currently
testing in an ongoing research in Uganda, Indonesia, Ghana and Colombia.
The idea proposed from my side was for the Web Foundation to work with
CNs around the world to test the framework in a community network
environment. This can provide powerful insights to their approach and
at the same time offer us a potentially useful tool which we can apply
for our impact measurement. At the same time we will have the
opportunity to speak about "meaningful connectivity" in terms of
empowering local communities to make the most out of
telecommunications technology. In any case I think it will be a strong
use case with a potential to promote global visibility for all the
involved stakeholders.
Dhanaraj was enthusiastic about this and very warm on taking it
forward. Although as we speak the Web Foundation does not have the
financial resources for such a project, Dhanaraj seemed confident that
we can manage to raise some funds through a common proposal.
Some representatives of the Web Foundation will be participating in
the imminent IGF in Berlin. I think it is a very good opportunity to
set up a meeting with them and discuss about this further.
What are your thoughts on this?
In solidarity,
*Vassilis Chryssos*
Board Member / Administrator
*Sarantaporo.gr Non Profit Organization*
28 Karaiskaki str., 10554 Psirri, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 211 8002730 <tel:%2B30%20211%208002730>, Mob: +30 694 794 8786
Email: vchryssos(a)sarantaporo.gr <mailto:vchryssos@sarantaporo.gr>,
Web: www.sarantaporo.gr <http://www.sarantaporo.gr>
_______________________________________________
Council mailing list
Council(a)lists.cnsig.info
https://lists.cnsig.info/mailman/listinfo/council
--
Dr. Sarbani Banerjee Belur
Senior Project Research Scientist
Program Manager
Gram Marg: Rural Broadband Project
Department of Electrical Engineering
IIT Bombay
Powai
Mumbai 400076
Mob: +91 9867282979
+91 7045620077
Website: www.grammarg.in
Homepage: http://homepages.iitb.ac.in/~sarbanibelur/
Blog: sarbanibelur.blogspot.com
https://rising.globalvoices.org/blog/2019/01/20/exploring-models-of-sustain…
11 Nov
11 Nov
12:42 p.m.
New subject: [CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web Foundation on meaningful connectivity
I agree that the IGF would be a great time to do that, count on me.
Thanks Vasilis to put this together.
Regards,
On 10/18/19 4:25 AM, Sarbani Banerjee Belur wrote:
Dear Vassilis,
Thanks for this email. It will be nice to collaborate of this taking
ques from the 12 community networks who are part of the APC community
network learning grant. Myself and Ritu have developed a proposal on
these lines. It will be nice if we can take this forward.
With regards,
Sarbani
On 12-10-2019 11:58, Vasilis Chryssos wrote:
Greetings to all,
I have recently returned from a trip to NYC, where I had the
opportunity to speak with Dhanaraj Thakur, Research Director at the
Web Foundation, about the foundation's "meaningful connectivity"
campaign
(https://a4ai.org/raising-the-bar-for-internet-access-introducing-meaningful…).
When I came across this campaign it seemed kind of odd that they
define "meaningful connectivity" in technical terms only, so and I
pursued a meeting with Dhanaraj to discuss on their project and
explore possible synergies with Community Networks.
In short, there is a problem with how we currently define Internet
connectivity: when we say that 50% of the global population is online
we are also counting people who have been online once for the past
three months from any device. This is actually far from being usefully
connected. Thus, the web foundation is making an attempt to describe
how a "meaningful connectivity" should be measured, by defining four
metrics: right speed, adequate device, enough data and frequent
connection. To this end they have drafted a measurement framework
(https://a4ai.org/meaningful-connectivity/) which they are currently
testing in an ongoing research in Uganda, Indonesia, Ghana and Colombia.
The idea proposed from my side was for the Web Foundation to work with
CNs around the world to test the framework in a community network
environment. This can provide powerful insights to their approach and
at the same time offer us a potentially useful tool which we can apply
for our impact measurement. At the same time we will have the
opportunity to speak about "meaningful connectivity" in terms of
empowering local communities to make the most out of
telecommunications technology. In any case I think it will be a strong
use case with a potential to promote global visibility for all the
involved stakeholders.
Dhanaraj was enthusiastic about this and very warm on taking it
forward. Although as we speak the Web Foundation does not have the
financial resources for such a project, Dhanaraj seemed confident that
we can manage to raise some funds through a common proposal.
Some representatives of the Web Foundation will be participating in
the imminent IGF in Berlin. I think it is a very good opportunity to
set up a meeting with them and discuss about this further.
What are your thoughts on this?
In solidarity,
*Vassilis Chryssos*
Board Member / Administrator
*Sarantaporo.gr Non Profit Organization*
28 Karaiskaki str., 10554 Psirri, Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 211 8002730 <tel:%2B30%20211%208002730>, Mob: +30 694 794 8786
Email: vchryssos(a)sarantaporo.gr <mailto:vchryssos@sarantaporo.gr>,
Web: www.sarantaporo.gr <http://www.sarantaporo.gr>
_______________________________________________
Council mailing list
Council(a)lists.cnsig.info
https://lists.cnsig.info/mailman/listinfo/council
--
Dr. Sarbani Banerjee Belur
Senior Project Research Scientist
Program Manager
Gram Marg: Rural Broadband Project
Department of Electrical Engineering
IIT Bombay
Powai
Mumbai 400076
Mob: +91 9867282979
+91 7045620077
Website: www.grammarg.in
Homepage: http://homepages.iitb.ac.in/~sarbanibelur/
Blog: sarbanibelur.blogspot.com
https://rising.globalvoices.org/blog/2019/01/20/exploring-models-of-sustain…
_______________________________________________
Council mailing list
Council(a)lists.cnsig.info
https://lists.cnsig.info/mailman/listinfo/council
12 Nov
12 Nov
10:54 p.m.
New subject: [CNSIG-Council] Collaboration opportunity with the Web Foundation on meaningful connectivity
Dear all,
It would be great to discuss these and other issues during the IGF: I
plan to go to Berlin too.
We translated into Portuguese:
https://www.coolab.org/2019/11/conectividade-significativa-um-novo-modelo-p…
all best,
Thiago
On 2019-11-11 09:42, Nicolas Pace wrote:
I agree that the IGF would be a great time to do that,
count on me.
Thanks Vasilis to put this together.
Regards,
On 10/18/19 4:25 AM, Sarbani Banerjee Belur wrote:
> Dear Vassilis,
>
> Thanks for this email. It will be nice to collaborate of this taking
> ques from the 12 community networks who are part of the APC community
> network learning grant. Myself and Ritu have developed a proposal on
> these lines. It will be nice if we can take this forward.
>
> With regards,
>
> Sarbani
>
> On 12-10-2019 11:58, Vasilis Chryssos wrote:
>> Greetings to all,
>> I have recently returned from a trip to NYC, where I had the
>> opportunity to speak with Dhanaraj Thakur, Research Director at the
>> Web Foundation, about the foundation's "meaningful connectivity"
>> campaign
>>
(https://a4ai.org/raising-the-bar-for-internet-access-introducing-meaningful…).
>> When I came across this campaign it seemed kind of odd that they
>> define "meaningful connectivity" in technical terms only, so and I
>> pursued a meeting with Dhanaraj to discuss on their project and
>> explore possible synergies with Community Networks.
>>
>> In short, there is a problem with how we currently define Internet
>> connectivity: when we say that 50% of the global population is online
>> we are also counting people who have been online once for the past
>> three months from any device. This is actually far from being usefully
>> connected. Thus, the web foundation is making an attempt to describe
>> how a "meaningful connectivity" should be measured, by defining four
>> metrics: right speed, adequate device, enough data and frequent
>> connection. To this end they have drafted a measurement framework
>> (https://a4ai.org/meaningful-connectivity/) which they are currently
>> testing in an ongoing research in Uganda, Indonesia, Ghana and Colombia.
>>
>> The idea proposed from my side was for the Web Foundation to work with
>> CNs around the world to test the framework in a community network
>> environment. This can provide powerful insights to their approach and
>> at the same time offer us a potentially useful tool which we can apply
>> for our impact measurement. At the same time we will have the
>> opportunity to speak about "meaningful connectivity" in terms of
>> empowering local communities to make the most out of
>> telecommunications technology. In any case I think it will be a strong
>> use case with a potential to promote global visibility for all the
>> involved stakeholders.
>>
>> Dhanaraj was enthusiastic about this and very warm on taking it
>> forward. Although as we speak the Web Foundation does not have the
>> financial resources for such a project, Dhanaraj seemed confident that
>> we can manage to raise some funds through a common proposal.
>>
>> Some representatives of the Web Foundation will be participating in
>> the imminent IGF in Berlin. I think it is a very good opportunity to
>> set up a meeting with them and discuss about this further.
>>
>> What are your thoughts on this?
>>
>> In solidarity,
>>
>> *Vassilis Chryssos*
>> Board Member / Administrator
>>
>> *Sarantaporo.gr Non Profit Organization*
>> 28 Karaiskaki str., 10554 Psirri, Athens, Greece
>> Tel: +30 211 8002730 <tel:%2B30%20211%208002730>, Mob: +30 694 794 8786
>> Email: vchryssos(a)sarantaporo.gr <mailto:vchryssos@sarantaporo.gr>,
>> Web: www.sarantaporo.gr <http://www.sarantaporo.gr>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Council mailing list
>> Council(a)lists.cnsig.info
>> https://lists.cnsig.info/mailman/listinfo/council
>
> --
> Dr. Sarbani Banerjee Belur
> Senior Project Research Scientist
> Program Manager
> Gram Marg: Rural Broadband Project
> Department of Electrical Engineering
> IIT Bombay
> Powai
> Mumbai 400076
> Mob: +91 9867282979
> +91 7045620077
> Website: www.grammarg.in
> Homepage: http://homepages.iitb.ac.in/~sarbanibelur/
> Blog: sarbanibelur.blogspot.com
>
https://rising.globalvoices.org/blog/2019/01/20/exploring-models-of-sustain…
1624
days inactive
1655
days old
5 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
-
Nicolas Pace -
novaes＠riseup.net -
Sarbani Banerjee Belur -
Sol Luca de Tena -
Vasilis Chryssos