APC Writer's Wiki - User contributions [en]

Style guide

2016-06-03T13:50:51Z

Ivan:

[[File:style.jpg|thumb|200px]]
== '''An overview''' ==

'''Clear, simple writing''' should be the goal of all contributors. Contributors need to keep in mind our large audience, that it is international, and that the majority of our readers are not native speakers of English. When writing it is important to ask, can my reader understand this? Use clear, simple language, making sure that you do not use phrases that might not make sense when directly translated. Examples include phrases such as "keeping your hand in", "putting a lid on it" or "having a clear head".

'''Never write gender blind''', and try to use as few references as possible to gender blind material. It rarely matters what a women wears, what her age or marital status is, or her sexual orientation. These are only relevant if they are important for a point being made. Read an alternative paragraph/sentence aloud, just to see if it makes sense without that material.

Always refer to people by '''their pronoun and gender of choice'''. Do not refer to any "alternative" (such as "born a woman") unless it is relevant to the point being made.

Refer to people in a way that empowers and strengthens – survivors of sexual abuse, people living with HIV/ AIDS. '''People are not defined by trauma, disease, disability or gender.'''

GenderIT.org strives to write in a style that is less formal, but '''avoid contractions''' (e.g. don’t, I’ll, isn’t) because they are often not used in other languages and might confuse non-native English speakers.

'''Do not capitalise technological terms''' because that makes them seem Far More Important and Impenetrable than they really are. So words like '''internet, information society, free/libre and open source software, gender or civil society''' should be not capitalised unless they are within proper nouns (e.g. name of programme “Gender Equality and Information Society National Plan”).

[http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/6 '''Refer to the glossary section'''] of APC.org if you are unsure how to use a technical term or phrase. If you are using a technical term or phrase that is not there, please highlight it for the editorial team to consider adding it.

Before you start writing, make sure you are familiar with the [http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_style_guide_2.0.pdf '''APC style guidelines'''], which deal with house style in terms of grammar and capitalisation, also available below.

In particular:

* Do not capitalise every single word in the titles and subtitles of the article.

* All acronyms must be spelled out in full when they are first mentioned in the article (remember that our primary audience are women’s organisations who are not focussed on ICTs, and who do not need to be familiar with commonly used acronyms in the field of ICTs).

* If you are citing material that is available online, always provide a link to the original source as a matter of courtesy and good internet conduct.

* Make sure you always have permission to republish any article(s) and/or photo(s) on the website from the original author/source (with the exception of writings that are sourced as APC, including APC programmes such as APC WRP or APC CIPP).

* Keep a record of the permission provided, and forward it to the Spanish or English language editors for documentation.

* You can quote 1-2 paragraphs of an article in your writing without needing prior author’s permission. Again provide a link to the original article as a matter of courtesy and good internet conduct.

* If you republish original articles written exclusively for APCNews or GenderIT.org, you must mention these as a source. Please inform the editorial team of external sites about this condition. Please refer to the [APC Editorial Policy] for more information.

* Consistently cite all resources and sources that you use in your writing.

* For interviews, please include in your submission this information about the interviewees:

** Full name
** Where s/he is based
** Where s/he is attached to professionally
** Her/his expertise in the field that is the focus of your article.

== '''Final checklist''' ==

* '''Always run a spell check!''' Make sure that you have used international or UK English throughout your contribution.

* Have you referenced in footnotes? Don't! '''Make sure all references are at the end of the document''', and referred to in square brackets: [1].

* APCNews, including GenderIT.org, uses an adapted version of the American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing. Please refer to the [http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_ReferenceGuide_2-0.pdf APC reference guide].

== '''Some examples of referencing''' ==

'''Book'''

Author, A. (year). ''Title of Work''. Location: Publisher. URL (if the publication is available online)

Gurumurthy, A. (2004). ''Gender and ICTs: Overview Report''. Brighton: BRIDGE. www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/go/bridge-publications/cutting-edge-packs/gender-and-icts/gender-and-icts&id=52909&type=Document&langid=1

'''Journal article'''

Author, A. (Year). Title of article. ''Title of Periodical, volume number''(issue number), pages (if available). URL (if online)

Coleman, S. (2005). The lonely citizen: Indirect representation in an age of networks. ''Political Communication, 22''(2), 197-214.

Salas, M. (2010). Internet, power and politics: Gender and ICTs in the movement against CAFTA. ''The Journal of Community Informatics, 6''(1). ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/530/468

'''Newspaper article'''

Author, A. (Year, date month published). Article title. ''Newspaper Title''. URL

Chemaly, S., Friedman, J., & Bates, L. (2013, 21 May). An Open Letter to Facebook. ''Huffington Post''. www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/an-open-letter-to-faceboo_1_b_3307394.html

'''Web page'''

If you are citing information about an organisation, programme, campaign, etc. from a website, you can simply provide the URL.

www.takebackthetech.net/page/about-campaign

== '''And now, the full APC style guide!''' ==

'''Heads up! [http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_style_guide_2.0.pdf You can download the full APC style guide in pdf format]'''

Please take into account the following recommendations when writing and editing for APC. For easier reference you will find them in alphabetical order. Cross-referencing has been included when deemed necessary.

==='''''Abbreviations, initials and acronyms'''''===

''Abbreviations''

No full stops for “Dr David Samuels” or “Andrea Smith MP”.

Full stops for “e.g.” and “i.e.”.

''Initials''

Full stops for “J. A. Peterson”.

''Acronyms''

As a general rule, try to minimise the use of acronyms that do not add to the reader’s understanding of the text.

Spell out the name in full the first time it appears and provide the abbreviation in brackets: “International Telecommunication Union (ITU)”. After that, you can use the abbreviation only.

Well-known acronyms which are recognised internationally do not require explanation. Examples include: EU, US, UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, HIV/AIDS.

Abbreviations that are “word-like” do not usually require the definite article, such as UNESCO.

Others do, such as “the EU”. One important exception is APC, which generally appears without “the”.

No full stops for APC, UNESCO, ITU, etc.

Use of acronyms and organisation names in translation

When there is an official translation of the organisation name/acronym, there is no need to translate it yourself. Use the official version. Example: [EN] World Health Organization (WHO) > [ES] Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS).

When dealing with an organisation that is only known in a region or country, translate its name, keep the acronym in the original language, and include the entire name in the original language too. The original language acronym goes first in the parentheses, so it will be easier for the reader to remember. Example: “National Women's Institute (INAMU - Instituto Nacional de la Mujer)”.

==='''''Bullets and lists'''''===
[2]

Use dots or small bullets. There must be parallelism in the construction of the lists. All items in the list must begin with a capital letter. If the bullet points are full sentences or long phrases (25 words or longer), use full stops after each. If the bullet points are short (less than 25 words) and are not full sentences, do not use full stops except for the last item.

==='''''Capitalisation'''''===

''Shortening commonly used terms''

In general, the shortened form of a phrase is capitalised but the full phrase itself should not be capitalised, e.g. “information and communications technology (ICT)” but never “Information and Communications Technology (ICT)” unless it is part of a title. Other common examples include internet service provider (ISP) and free/libre and open source software (FLOSS). Note the unusual acronym for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and distributed denial of services (DDoS), which each have a lower case “o” in the middle.

''Words beginning with a single letter and a hyphen (usually e-something)''

When these words appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a title, capitalise the “e” rather than the first letter after the hyphen, i.e. “E-government” rather than “e-Government”.

''Job titles''

Job titles should be given in lower case except when used as titles, e.g. “Anriette Esterhuysen, executive director of APC, said ...” but “APC Executive Director Anriette Esterhuysen announces new programme.”

''State, government, ministers and ministries''

Do not capitalise “state” or “government” except in titles or proper nouns. Minister is capitalised when it is used as a title (e.g., Communications Minister Jane Doe) but otherwise not, e.g. “The minister of communications is responsible for these decisions, although the minister of education is usually consulted.” Ministry is capitalised when referring to a specific ministry (almost always the case). Where it is a general article it is not capitalised, for example, when referring to the number of countries that have a ministry of communications.

''Titles and subtitles of publications''

See the separate entry below.

==='''''Commas'''''===

Use the minimum number that permits an unambiguous reading. In “Eventually the law was passed” a comma is unnecessary after “eventually”.

“However” at the beginning of a sentence takes a comma when it is used to mean “nevertheless”.

However, it does not take a comma when used in phrases such as “However long it takes”.

Do not put a comma before “and” or “or” in a series of three or more short items, e.g. “economic,
cultural and social” rather than “economic, cultural, and social”.

==='''''Compound words'''''===

In cases where a compound word has not been universally accepted as a single word and various versions are used, e.g. policy makers, policy-makers, policymakers, use the version with two separate words – in this case, policy makers. The same rule applies to terms including the word “cyber”: cyberspace, but cyber crime, cyber security, etc.

==='''''Contractions'''''===

APC strives to write in a style that is less formal, but contractions (e.g. don’t, I’ll, isn’t) should generally be avoided because they are not used frequently in other languages and might confuse non-native English speakers.

==='''''Currency'''''===

An approximate equivalent should be given in US dollars whenever a different currency amount is given. If the currency fluctuates a lot, give the date of the exchange rate. The format for US dollars is USD (not US$, or U$S or $). When citing another local currency give the dollar equivalent in brackets, e.g. EUR 1,000 (USD 1,118).

==='''''Dashes'''''===

Use a short dash (–), also known as an en-dash or n-dash, with a space on each side. Note the difference between a short dash (–), a long dash (—) and a hyphen (-). In LibreOffice and OpenOffice, you can achieve the en-dash by typing a space, then two consecutive hyphens and then another space. [3]

==='''''Dates'''''===

Days: “1 July 1989” (not July 1, 1989, nor 1st, 15th or 23rd). Decades: “throughout the 1960s and 1970s” (not the 60s and 70s). Centuries: “the 19th century” (no capitals).

==='''''Emphasis (bold, italic and upper-case text)'''''===

Bold text should only be used for titles and subtitles. Upper-case text, or “all caps”, should never be used, although some designs may incorporate special fonts that use capital letters for both uppercase and lower-case characters.

If you want to put particular emphasis on a word or phrase, use italics.

==='''''Footnotes and endnotes'''''===

The superscript number used to indicate the placement of a footnote comes after any punctuation marks, including commas, full stops and quotation marks. The only exception is when the punctuation mark is a dash, e.g. “The new website [3] – launched in 2014 – provides a wide range of resources.”

When writing for the web, use numbers in square brackets, i.e. [1], for any references that need to come at the end of the text, rather than traditional footnotes or endnotes.

==='''''Hyphenated words'''''===

Online, email, website, audiovisual and multistakeholder are all spelled as one word, without spaces or hyphens (i.e. on-line, e-mail, web site, audio-visual and multi-stakeholder are wrong).

==='''''Internet, information society'''''===

APC uses internet with a lower-case “i” and information society with lower case “i” and “s”, unless in titles or organisation names. [4]

==='''''Italics'''''===

Use italics for sub-subtitles within a publication and the names of publications, but not for titles of instruments, plans of actions or declarations, and occasionally to give special emphasis to a word, phrase or key quotation. Italics are also used for non-English words; see Emphasis above and Language and spelling below.

==='''''Language and spelling'''''===

British English (of the -ise, -mme variety) will be used throughout. This will be more noticeable in the spelling, e.g. centre, not center; traveller, not traveler; colour, not color. The -ise verb ending will be preferred, thus realise, rather than realize.

Exceptions: If an organisation has an official name in English, use the official spelling, even if it does not comply with APC spelling rules, e.g. World Health Organization.

In direct quotations, use the spelling that is used in the original source, whether it complies with APC rules or not.

When using local terms that do not exist in English, please italicise the non-English term and write a definition or explanation in brackets after it.

Non-English words do not need to be italicised if they have been absorbed into English, so no italics for “coup d’état” or “fait accompli”.

==='''''Numbers'''''===

In running text, write out the numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers larger than nine, e.g. one, five, nine, 10, 21, 156, 216,000. In fact charts use only figures.

Thousands should be rendered using a comma: 10,000 and 427,971 (but not in the case of years: 2006).

For large round numbers in running text use words if possible: one million, three million, but 375 million.

One billion = 1,000,000,000, i.e., one thousand million, not one million million.

Decimals are indicated by a point with a zero preceding: 0.75.

A number at the beginning of a sentence should be spelled out: “Fifty-four workers were fired as a result of the strike.” But the sentence can usually be reorganised so that the number is not at the start: “The strike resulted in 54 workers being fired.”

==='''''Paragraphing, indentation and spacing'''''===

Do not use indentation at the beginning of a paragraph. Do not use a double space after a full stop or colon; use single spaces only. Use double spacing between paragraphs (either with carriage returns or with paragraph styles).

==='''''Percentages'''''===

Write the figure followed by percentage symbol, e.g. 4%, 63%. There should be no space between the number and the percentage symbol.

==='''''Quotation marks'''''===

Double quotation marks are used for direct quotations, mini-quotations (i.e. a word or phrase as opposed to a full sentence) and to imply a word or phrase is being used ironically.

Use single quotation marks only for a quote within a quote. For example, “The authorities told us they would look into the matter ‘immediately’ but we have still received no reply,” said the activist.

Commas and periods are positioned before the closing quotation mark when used for quoting speech, e.g. “This programme,” she said, “will greatly increase computer literacy.”

However, when quotation marks are used to set off or quote a word or short phrase, the comma or period is positioned after, e.g. The stated goals of the programme included “computer literacy”, among others.

In print publications, longer quotations (over three lines) should be separated and indented, with no quotation marks used. In online texts, try not to quote as much as three lines in a row. If you need to quote more, do so interspersed by other context text.

==='''''References'''''===

For full details, see separate Reference guidelines. [5]

In references, translation is not necessary (except for names of cities for the place of publication, etc.) and only the name of the document in the source language should be provided, unless an English version of the same document exists, in which case the English version should be referenced.

==='''''Time'''''===

Use the 12-hour clock: 9:00 a.m., 8:30 p.m.

Span of years: write “between 1995 and 1999”, not “between 1995-1999”.

==='''''Titles and subtitles'''''===

For the titles of books, capitalise all main words, e.g. The ICT Policy Handbook.

For the titles of shorter publications such as reports, issue papers and articles, and for all subtitles, capitalise only the first word and any other word that is capitalised in its own right, plus the first letter of any word that follows a colon within a title.

==='''''Weights and measures'''''===

Use metric system only.

'''''Notes:'''''

[1] This style guide is adapted from the Social Watch House Style Guide. Permission kindly provided by ITeM (host of the Social Watch international secretariat) to APC to adapt to our own purposes.

[2] This item is based on the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (www.gsdrc.org) Style Guide and is reproduced with permission.

[3] See www.n-dash.net for key bindings in other applications and platforms

[4] Long, T. (2004, August 16). It's Just the 'internet' Now. Wired. archive.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/08/64596

[5] www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_ReferenceGuide_2.0_0.pdf

Orientation to GenderIT.org

2016-06-03T13:50:00Z

Ivan:

[[File:tool.jpg|thumb|200px]]

== '''Welcome to the GenderIT.org family!''' ==

Hello and welcome to GenderIT.org. While we aren't a big site or organisation, we work virtually and rarely meet face to face, so it can be a little difficult to orient your way round the site. This guide is designed to help you understand a bit about who we are and what we do, through some reading suggestions and links that will help you learn a bit more about the work we do.

== '''GenderIT.org: Where did it come from?''' ==

GenderIT.org is a programme under the Women's Rights Programme (WRP) of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). It started as a site monitoring policy developments on ICT and gender, and from its beginnings it has been unique. Initially it was one of the first sites looking at ICT policy developments through a gender lens. More sites and individuals are now doing this, reflecting both the growth of the internet and the growing awareness of online misogyny. However, GenderIT.org remains a unique space for its focus on the global South, its focus on those working at a grassroots level (grounded in the experience of the women in the society in which they live), and its emphasis on both advocacy and social justice.

== '''If you are contributing, here's some essential reading''' ==

Read this document on [our core values], and this one on [our code of ethics].

We've developed these guides on [digital story-telling], [audio] and [photography], which look at why a gender lens is important when putting together a story. Here there are guides to each of the sections on GenderIT.org, and this page could help if you're new to working with a group online – where meeting face to face is very rare.

Lastly we have a [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions growing FAQ], and if you have a question that isn't answered here, let us know.

== '''I want to know more...''' ==

The best thing is to take a look through some of the work that has been published on the site. The articles below should give you an idea of the different styles of writing on the site, from the more personal blog posts, to the heavier policy research. They also reflect some of the geographic diversity of the articles on the site, and should orient you to some of the key issues we deal with.

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/lets-go-beyond-basics-what-would-feminist-internet-governance-look Let's go beyond the basics: What would feminist internet governance look like?]

This editorial summarises and links to the main arguments on why a feminist perspective illuminates debates on internet governance, and provides an outline of the debates taking place in Latin American forums.

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/digital-misogyny-it-felt-514-people-had-raped-me-all-over-again Digital misogyny: “It felt like 514 people had raped me all over again”]

This disturbing story shows a contrasting style. While this blog post does not share the author's point of view, common and welcome in the Feminist Talk section, it is a story that documents a harrowing instance of digital misogyny, and personal bravery, giving strong if anecdotal support to the work done to introduce a feminist perspective to internet governance, grounded in local concerns and experiences.

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/agency A is for Agency]

It's not all doom and gloom. This is an editorial that links to ways in which feminist initiatives are making a difference, getting change implemented in myriad ways.

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/good-women-girls-and-hiv-morality-over-health-commission-status-women Good women, girls and HIV: Morality over health at the Commission on the Status of Women]

This article shows one of the aspects of event coverage, but don't take this as the only or even the best way of covering events. Our event coverage ranges from hard-hitting policy discussions to equally important anecdotes on personal experience. This is included in the list partly to give some ideas on event coverage, but also to introduce the concerns we at GenderIT.org have about the way the "porn debate" is framed, in a language of protection, rather than language focusing on harm prevention.

[http://www.genderit.org/node/3985 Leading up to the Beijing Review: Strategising for Section J]

Written by ISIS International, a feminist media organisation, this statement shows the groundwork and planning that goes in before heading to an event, and how APC and progressive allies work to build coalitions that are capable of influencing debate.

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/survey-sexual-activism-morality-and-internet Survey on sexual activism, morality, and the internet]

This is one of GenderIT.org's most-read articles, and looks at the evidence-based reporting and research that is essential to advocacy and policy change. The EROTICS reports are all essential reading for those who want to understand how the internet functions, how it is used and who benefits or is harmed by current policy initiatives.

== '''How to write''' ==

This page provides an introduction on how to write the different types of articles that appear on GenderIT.org.

=== '''... a feminist talk''' ===

A Feminist Talk blog post is where you get to be yourself – use more informal language, express opinions, and challenge your readers. Feminist Talk pieces are usually quite short, ''no more than 500 words'', but be warned! They are very lightly edited, if at all. If you want a Feminist Talk piece to be spell- and grammar-checked, you need to ask the editorial team.

''Check previous feminist talks for reference:''

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/trials-confused-feminist-internet-governance-school Trials of a confused feminist (in an internet governance school)]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/facebook-king-laid-bare-and-drag-queens Facebook: The king laid bare and the drag queens]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/why-internet-rights-matter-africans Why internet rights matter for Africa(ns)]

=== '''… an analytical article''' ===

Analytical articles are to inform readers about perspectives, issues and debates, putting forward ideas. We don't expect writers to be "objective" or "impartial", we expect an informed, well-reasoned feminist perspective. This means in practice that you have to cite your sources, link widely and provide readers with context for your arguments. Analytical articles are expected to be ''between 1,500 and 2,500 words''.

Rather than news conventions, academic conventions are probably most useful here. Make one point per paragraph, cite broadly to illustrate both your expertise and the precedents for your argument, establish early on the argument you are making, and guide your reader through the stages that you take to get there. Make sure that you reference your work thoroughly, particularly when you cite others.

In your analysis you can look at the root causes of an issue, draw links between personal experiences of women and historical and global processes, or examine similarities and differences in manifestation of the issue by people living in different contexts as well as their response to this issue.

''Check previous analytical articles for reference:''

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/south-africa-pornography-and-internet-justifiable-protection-or-entrenching-patriarchy South Africa: Pornography and the internet – justifiable protection or entrenching patriarchy?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/argentina-strategic-use-ict-response-violence-against-women Argentina: Strategic use of ICT as a response to violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/content/%E2%80%98does-your-mother-know%E2%80%99-agency-risk-and-morality-online-lives-young-women-mumbai 'Does your mother know?' Agency, risk and morality in the online lives of young women in Mumbai]

=== '''… an interview''' ===

The most important thing to remember about interviews is that they are not verbatim transcripts. You are expected to edit the interviewee's words to make them more concise, and easier to understand, but not to censor views or change the meaning of the words.

Ask questions that draw out the interviewee, that help non-experts understand her or his perspective and the importance of that perspective on the subject. Allow them space at the end of the interview to add anything that you may not have already covered.

Lastly, think about the power relations between yourself and the interviewee. Make sure that they are comfortable with the questions beforehand, especially if they are a survivor of violence. If they are in a marginalised or vulnerable position, give them the opportunity to read the final article before it is uploaded, and make sure that they are happy with their portrayal. If the interview was conducted over the phone or similar, quote check – send them the transcript of the quotes you are using from them, to check for accuracy.

''Check previous interviews for reference:''

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/interview-adolescent-girls-mobile-phone-use-bihar-jharkhand Interview: Adolescent girls' mobile phone use in Bihar, Jharkand, UP]

[http://www.genderit.org/content/copyright-copyleft-why-does-it-matter-interview-heather-ford Copyright? Copyleft? Why does it matter? An interview with Heather Ford]

Read also: [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php?title=How_to_deal_with_vulnerable_interviewees&action=edit&redlink=1 Dealing with vulnerable interviewees]

=== '''… an editorial''' ===

An editorial usually introduces a GenderIT.org thematic edition, and we often invite a guest writer (meaning someone who is for some reason a relevant voice on the theme in focus but not necessarily a core writer) to prepare an editorial and share her/his opinion on an issue. The usual suggested length for the editorial is ''no more than one page, or 350 words''.

The editorial is meant to introduce the theme of the edition, promote critical thinking, and encourage readers to read the edition and/or take action on the issue. They use a personal tone, and share personal opinions and experiences, including possible solutions to the issue in focus. What is extremely important for the development of the editorial is that the guest writer has in hand all the materials for the upcoming edition, so she/he can go through them and have a sense of what the edition is about, and even be able to make reference to or quote the particular articles.

''Check [http://www.genderit.org/previous-editorials previous editorials] for reference:''

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/tipping-balance-local-adopters-technology Tipping the balance for local adopters of technology]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/internet-governance-if-we-are-not-table-we-will-be-menu Internet governance: If we are not at the table, we will be on the menu]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/thoughts-around-claiming-communication-rights Claiming communication rights]

=== '''… a resource summary''' ===

Even though resources are usually PDF formatted papers or presentations that are stand-alone materials, we do not just throw them on the website without an introduction that sparks the interest of the readership. Here are some simple steps to follow when writing the summary:

1) State the purpose of the document/report. Why was it written?
2) Briefly describe the scope of the report. What problem does it solve or what issues are covered?
3) Provide an overview of the research/data collection methods used. How was information for the report gathered? (if applicable)
4) State the key results and findings detailed in the report. What did you find out?
5) Present the main conclusions and recommendations. What should the reader do about it?
6) How does it relate to women’s and internet rights?

The optimal length for a resource summary is ''between 500-700 words''.

See example: [http://www.genderit.org/resources/erotics-sex-rights-and-internet-research-study EROTICS: Sex, rights and the internet - an exploratory research study]

''Read more:''

[http://www.ehow.com/how_5108728_write-report-summary.html#ixzz1UX3KgGXp How to write a report summary]

[http://www.apc.org/system/files/multilingual_audience_guidelines.pdf Writing for a multilingual audience]: Some Do’s and Dont's for native and near-native English language writers.

[http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_ReferenceGuide_2.0_0.pdf APC reference guide]: A thorough list of reference types and how to use them in APC and GenderIT.org publications.

== '''Checklist for ALL articles''' ==

Every article submitted to GenderIT.org should contain these elements:

''Heading:'' This is where you persuade readers that they should read your story.

''Summary or lead:'' One or two sentences that summarise the main point of your article, again to persuade the reader to read further.

''Biography:'' Two or three lines describing who you are – even if you are writing anonymously this could give readers some context of the work that you do.

Lastly, check that your references meet the reference guidelines listed above.

== '''[[How to publish content in GenderIT.org]]''' ==

Now you have the finalised piece but it is not published on the website yet. This section aims to give you a step-by-step orientation so you can upload all the materials yourself using our Drupal platform.

How to work with images

2016-06-03T13:48:35Z

Ivan:

[[File:photo.jpg|thumb|200px]]
== '''Introduction''' ==

Photographs can illuminate a story, but also present risks for information they may inadvertently provide about the location and identities of those in the photographs. This guide addresses these questions of safety, security and ensuring anonymity.

== '''Overview''' ==

If you're looking for a fairly simple how-to for digital photography, have a look at [http://photo.net/equipment/digital/basics/ this]. It includes information on choosing a camera, as well as guiding readers through the vocabulary of a digital camera.

A really beautiful online guide to portrait photography is available [https://archive.org/details/The_Perfect_Portrait_Guide_How_to_Photograph_People here]. This is really practical for taking one-on-one shots, less practical in the chaotic atmosphere of a conference.

Perhaps more practical tips for the type of photographs you might be taking if you go to a conference or event can be found [https://photography.tutsplus.com/categories/photojournalism here].

== '''Technical tools''' ==

Obviously, you'll need a camera. The quality of most point-and-shoot cameras is usually sufficient for the website.

However, you may need to change the quality or otherwise edit your photo. An [http://www.gimp.org/ open source alternative] to Photoshop is available, which has tutorials on the same site.

If you're taking photos with your phone, make sure you use the [https://guardianproject.info/apps/obscuracam/ ObscuraCam app] to protect the identity of those whose pictures you take. This free app removes location and other identifying material from the photos.

== '''Methods''' ==

Aside from the technical tips covered above, as always make sure that you respect people's privacy. At conferences, ensure that those in photographs are happy with the image being made public – in many conferences people may wear some form of identification to show that they don't want their photographs taken. It is vital that this is respected. If you aren't sure, or don't get to ask, don't upload the shot – or anonymise their picture (see the link to ObscuraCam above).

If you have done an interview and the interviewee wants to remain anonymous, you could take photos of hands, a silhouette or other means that protect their identity. Check out the resources at gbv.witness.org for ideas and suggestions.

== '''Checklist''' ==

1. Before going out, make sure you have spare batteries and a notepad (and a camera!).

2. Get the permission of everyone you photograph to use their pictures. Explain the context of the site and if possible, the context of the story.

3. Before taking the shot, check the lighting, and check that everything is to scale (see [http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/force-perspective-photos/ HongKiat]).

4. If the photo is taken with a smart device, make sure you strip identifying data from the shot.

5. Make sure that the image in in the right format before uploading.

== '''Technical tips for using the picture in GenderIT.org''' ==

1. Please make sure the file size does not exceed 25 MB. If this is the case, you can easily reduce the size by using an [http://www.webresizer.com/resizer/ online tool]. You can also crop the photo if you need to.

2. Allowed file extensions are ''png gif jpg jpeg''

3. On the HOW to upload them, please refer to the technical guide about how to upload content in GenderIT.org.

Who does GenderIT.org speak to

2016-06-03T13:47:32Z

Ivan:

[[File:audience.jpg|thumb|200px]]
GenderIT.org is meant to be a think-tank OF and FOR women's, sexuality and internet rights activists, academics, journalists and advocates from a range of disciplines and contexts.

== '''2014: A year to look back, to move forward''' ==

In mid-2014 GenderIT.org disseminated an online questionnaire, requesting that all users of GenderIT.org respond. By the closing date, a total of 162 people had submitted a full questionnaire response to GenderIT.org. Of these, 111 (69%) responded using the English questionnaire and 51 using the Spanish questionnaire.

You can find out more about the profile of GenderIT.org's readership [http://www.genderit.org/node/4072/ here].

How to write for GenderIT.org or APCNews

2016-06-03T13:41:54Z

Ivan:

[[File:tool.jpg|thumb|200px]]

=='''How to write'''==

This page provides an introduction on how to write the different types of article that appear on GenderIT.org.

==='''...a Feminist Talk'''===

A Feminist Talk blog is where you get to be yourself – use more informal language, express opinions and challenge your readers. Feminist Talk pieces are usually quite short, no more than 500 words, but be warned! They are very lightly edited, if at all. If you want a Feminist Talk piece to be spell- and grammar-checked, you need to ask the editorial team.

Check previous feminist talks for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/trials-confused-feminist-internet-governance-school Trials of a confused feminist (in an internet governance school)]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/facebook-king-laid-bare-and-drag-queens Facebook: The king laid bare and the drag queens]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/why-internet-rights-matter-africans Why internet rights matter for Africa(ns)]

==='''…an analytical article'''===

Analytical articles are to inform readers about perspectives, issues and debates, putting forward ideas. We don't expect writers to be 'objective' or 'impartial', we expect an informed, well-reasoned feminist perspective. This means in practice that you have to cite your sources, link widely and provide readers with context for your arguments. Analytical articles are expected to be between 1,500 and 2,500 words.

Rather than news conventions, academic conventions are probably most useful here. Make one point per paragraph, cite broadly to illustrate both your expertise and the precedents for your argument, establish early on the argument you are making and guide your reader through the stages that you take to get there. Make sure that when you reference your work thoroughly, particularly when you cite others.

In your analysis you can look at the root causes of an issue, draw links between personal experiences of women and historical and global processes, or examine similarities and differences in manifestation of the issue by people living in different contexts as well as their response to this issue.

Check previous analytical articles for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/south-africa-pornography-and-internet-justifiable-protection-or-entrenching-patriarchy South Africa: Pornography and the internet – justifiable protection or entrenching patriarchy?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/argentina-strategic-use-ict-response-violence-against-women Argentina: Strategic use of ICT as a response to violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/content/%E2%80%98does-your-mother-know%E2%80%99-agency-risk-and-morality-online-lives-young-women-mumbai 'Does your mother know?' Agency, risk and morality in the online lives of young women in Mumbai]

==='''…an interview'''===

The most important thing to remember about interviews is that they are not verbatim transcripts. You are expected to edit the interviewee's words to make them more concise, and easier to understand, but not to censor views or change the meaning of the words.

Ask questions that draw out the interviewee, that help non-experts understand her or his perspective and the importance of that perspective on the subject. Allow them space at the end of the interview to add anything that you may not have already covered.

Lastly, think about the power relations between yourself and the interviewee. Make sure that they are comfortable with the questions beforehand, especially if they are a survivor of violence. If they are in a marginalised or vulnerable position, give them the opportunity to read the final article before it is uploaded, and make sure that they are happy with their portrayal. If the interview was conducted over the phone or similar, quote check – send them the transcript of the quotes you are using from them, to check for accuracy.

Check previous interviews for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/interview-adolescent-girls-mobile-phone-use-bihar-jharkhand Interview: Adolescent girls' mobile phone use in Bihar, Jharkand, UP]

[http://www.genderit.org/content/copyright-copyleft-why-does-it-matter-interview-heather-ford Copyright? Copyleft? Why does it matter? An interview with Heather Ford]

Read also :
'''[[Dealing with vulnerable interviewees]]'''

==='''…an editorial'''===

Editorial usually introduces the GenderIT.org's thematic edition, we often invite a guest writer (meaning someone who is for some reason a relevant voice on the theme in focus but not necessarily a core writer) to prepare an editorial and share her/his opinion on an issue. The usual suggested length for the editorial is no more than one page, or 350 words.

The editorial is meant to introduce the theme of the edition, promote critical thinking, and encourage readers to read the edition and/or take action on the issue. They use a personal tone, and share personal opinions and experiences, including possible solutions to the issue in focus work often bests. What is extremely important for the development of the editorial is that the guest writer has in hand all the materials for the upcoming edition, so she/he can go through them and have a sense of what the edition is about, and even be able to make reference or quote the particular articles.

Check [http://www.genderit.org/previous-editorials previous editorials] for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/tipping-balance-local-adopters-technology Tipping the balance for local adopters of technology]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/internet-governance-if-we-are-not-table-we-will-be-menu Internet governance: If we are not at the table, we will be on the menu]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/thoughts-around-claiming-communication-rights Claiming communication rights]

==='''…a resource summary'''===

Even though resources are usually pdf formatted papers or presentations that are stand alone materials, we do not just throw them on the website without an introduction that sparks the interest of the readership. Here are some simple steps to follow when writing the summary:

1) State the purpose of a document/report. Why was it written?

2) Briefly describe the scope of the report. What problem does it solve or what issues are covered?

3) Provide an overview of the research/data collection methods used. How was information for the report gathered? (if applicable)

4) State the key results and findings detailed in the report. What did you find out?

5) Present the main conclusions and recommendations. What should the reader do about it?

6) How does it relate to women’s and internet rights?

The optimal length for a resource summary is between 500-700 words.

See example: http://www.genderit.org/resources/erotics-sex-rights-and-internet-research-study

Read more: [http://www.ehow.com/how_5108728_write-report-summary.html#ixzz1UX3KgGXp How to write a report summary]

Writing for a multilingual audience: Some Do’s and Dont's for native and near-native English language writers.
APC reference guide: A thorough list of reference types and how to use them in APC and GenderIT.org publications.

=='''Checklist for ALL articles'''==

Every article submitted to GenderIT.org should contain the elements detailed in this checklist spreadsheet: [[Media:Checklist.ods]]

Lastly check that your references meet the reference guidelines listed above.

GenderIT.org editorial team

2016-06-03T13:39:41Z

Ivan:

[[File:team.jpg|thumb|200px]]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/GenderITorg @GenderITorg] and [https://twitter.com/GenderITes @GenderITes] (Spanish)

[[File:Kaca.jpeg|left|140px|caption]]

=== ''Katerina Fialova'' ===

GenderIT.org project coordinator

Based in Czech Republic

Languages: English and Czech

Contact: katerina.fialova@apcwomen.org

----

[[File:Flavia.jpg|left|140px|caption]]

=== ''Flavia Fascendini'' ===

GenderIT.org editorial coordinator

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, and English

Contact: flavia@apcwomen.org

----

[[File:Dafne.jpeg|left|140px|caption]]

=== ''Dafne Sabanes Plou'' ===

GenderIT.org Spanish editor

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Language: Spanish and English

Contact: daphne@apcwomen.org

== ''To reach us by mail or phone'' ==

APC Executive Director’s Office

PO Box 29755

Melville 2109

South Africa

Tel: +27 11 726 1692

Fax: +27 11 726 1692

APCNews editorial team

2016-06-03T13:35:48Z

Ivan:

[[File:team.jpg|thumb|200px]]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/APC_News @APC_News], [https://twitter.com/APCNoticias @APCNoticias] and [https://twitter.com/APCNouvelles @APCNouvelles]

== '''APCNews editorial team''' ==

[[File:Mallory.jpg|left|150px|caption]]

=== ''Mallory Knodel'' ===

APCNews editor

Based in Montreal

Languages: English

Contact: mallory@apc.org

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/chaoticfree @chaoticfree]

[[File:Flavia.jpg|left|150px|caption]]

----

=== ''Flavia Fascendini'' ===

APCNoticias editor

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Languages: Spanish, Portuguese and English

Contact: flavia@apcwomen.org

Twitter:

[[File:Leila.jpg|left|150px|caption]]

----

=== ''Leila Nachawati Rego'' ===

Communications associate

Based in Barcelona, Spain

Languages: Spanish and English

Contact: leila@apc.org

Twitter:

[[File:Lori - head shot.jpg|left|150px|caption]]

----

=== ''Lori Nordstrom'' ===

APC publications coordinator

Based in Montevideo, Uruguay

Languages: English and Spanish

Contact: lori@apc.org

Twitter:

APCNews editorial team

2016-06-03T13:33:34Z

Ivan:

[[File:team.jpg|thumb|200px]]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/APC_News @APC_News], [https://twitter.com/APCNoticias @APCNoticias] and [https://twitter.com/APCNouvelles @APCNouvelles]

== '''APCNews editorial team''' ==

[[File:Mallory.jpg|left|150px|caption]]

=== ''Mallory Knodel'' ===

APCNews editor

Based in Montreal

Languages: English

Contact: mallory@apc.org

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/chaoticfree @chaoticfree]

[[File:Flavia.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Flavia Fascendini'' ===

APCNoticias editor

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Languages: Spanish, Portuguese and English

Contact: flavia@apcwomen.org

Twitter:

[[File:Leila.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Leila Nachawati Rego'' ===

Communications associate

Based in Barcelona, Spain

Languages: Spanish and English

Contact: leila@apc.org

Twitter:

[[File:Lori - head shot.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Lori Nordstrom'' ===

APC publications coordinator

Based in Montevideo, Uruguay

Languages: English and Spanish

Contact: lori@apc.org

Twitter:

APCNews editorial team

2016-06-03T13:32:04Z

Ivan:

[[File:team.jpg|thumb|200px]]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/APC_News @APC_News], [https://twitter.com/APCNoticias @APCNoticias] and [https://twitter.com/APCNouvelles @APCNouvelles]

== '''APCNews editorial team''' ==

[[File:Mallory.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

=== ''Mallory Knodel'' ===

APCNews editor

Based in Montreal

Languages: English

Contact: mallory@apc.org

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/chaoticfree @chaoticfree]

[[File:Flavia.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Flavia Fascendini'' ===

APCNoticias editor

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Languages: Spanish, Portuguese and English

Contact: flavia@apcwomen.org

Twitter:

[[File:Leila.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Leila Nachawati Rego'' ===

Communications associate

Based in Barcelona, Spain

Languages: Spanish and English

Contact: leila@apc.org

Twitter:

[[File:Lori - head shot.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Lori Nordstrom'' ===

APC publications coordinator

Based in Montevideo, Uruguay

Languages: English and Spanish

Contact: lori@apc.org

Twitter:

APCNews editorial team

2016-06-03T13:31:10Z

Ivan:

[[File:team.jpg|thumb|200px]]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/APC_News @APC_News], [https://twitter.com/APCNoticias @APCNoticias] and [https://twitter.com/APCNouvelles @APCNouvelles]

== '''APCNews editorial team''' ==

[[File:Mallory.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

=== ''Mallory Knodel'' ===

APCNews editor

Based in Montreal

Languages: English

Contact: mallory@apc.org

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/chaoticfree @chaoticfree]

[[File:Flavia.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Flavia Fascendini'' ===

APCNoticias editor

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Languages: Spanish, Portuguese and English

Contact: flavia@apcwomen.org

Twitter:

[[File:Leila.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Leila Nachawati Rego'' ===

Communications associate

Based in Barcelona, Spain

Languages: Spanish and English

Contact: leila@apc.org

Twitter:

[[File:Lori - head shot.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

----

=== ''Lori Nordstrom'' ===

APC publications coordinator

Based in Montevideo, Uruguay

Languages: English and Spanish

Contact: lori@apc.org

Twitter:

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T15:08:59Z

Ivan:

==='''Question 1: What are the steps to follow if I have a topic I want to write about?'''===

*You should contact your editor, send her a blurb explaining the topic, how it links to women's rights/gender and internet rights, and be clear on the format you think would be most suitable for the piece (feminist talk, video, interview, etc.). The editor will come back to you as soon as possible with a response.

[[File:FAQ.jpg|thumb|200px]]
==='''Question 2: How should I proceed if someone is leaving abusive comments on the content I posted?'''===

*If someone is leaving abusive comments, let the editors know. They can delete comments and respond (if appropriate), and take screenshots if necessary. If you are getting abusive emails, again contact the editors for advice. Do not delete anything, and take a look at the Take Back the Tech! [https://www.takebackthetech.net/be-safe/safety-toolkit digital safety tool-kit].

==='''Question 3: What do I do if I want to have other GenderIT.org or APCNews writers comment on my piece before it goes online?'''===

*Ask! If you'd like the editors to act as intermediaries, ask them, otherwise feel free to get in touch with other writers. Alternatively, we can circulate on a limited mailing list for response. The worst that can happen is they say no!

==='''Question 4: What are the steps to get my piece published?'''===

*Refer to Question 1. If you want to get your piece published outside of GenderIT.org, refer to Question 11.

==='''Question 5: How can I ensure the impact of my piece?'''===

*Impact can mean different things. If you're interested in getting as many eyeballs to read your piece as possible, post it on social media, tweet about it, blog about it, reference it on other people's blogs, send people to it in as many ways as you can. The GenderIT.org and APCNews teams will also be putting it out through social media and mailing lists. If you're interested in reaching a particular audience, then it depends on who you want to reach. If you want to bring it to the attention of policy makers in your country, for example, you could email it to them, or re-publish (see Question 11) the work in a local newspaper. Email it to local NGOs, academics, embassies or anyone else who might be interested.

==='''Question 6: How do I track the influence of my piece?'''===

*GenderIT.org and APCNews editors use tools such as Google Alerts or Talkwalker Alerts to receive an email notification whenever any material containing the key words we set go online. You can also use these and add your own key words to receive alerts on these. GenderIT.org and APCNews also use a web statistics systems, Awstats, and we would be more than happy to do any search you need for you and share the results. Googling your name or the title of your articles from time to time is also a good idea, since it might catch republications of them that were not captured in the alerts for some reason. The Drupal platform (which is the one that GenderIT.org and APCNews are built on) also provides a reading score after every title, but this is not completely reliable, though it might work to have a very general reference.

==='''Question 7: What shall I do if I notice APC.org or GenderIT.org material posted in other media?'''===

*Please let us know! While all material published on GenderIT.org and APC.org is published under a Creative Commons licence, we like to know the impact that the stories are having and we also need to know for media tracking purposes. If material isn't credited to GenderIT.org or APCNews/APC.org, we'd also like to make sure that we're given credit and a link back to the site, so please let the editors know about this too, and they will contact the media to request a proper credit.

==='''Question 8: What should I do if I have trouble meeting my deadline?'''===

*First off, this should rarely be a problem. APCNews and GenderIT.org have generous deadlines, which is because we know that those we work with have multiple responsibilities. But if there really is nothing you can do, please do tell us. As soon as you know there's an issue, please let the GenderIT.org team and/or APCNews team know. Life does have a way of interfering, and we understand that, but telling us as quickly as possible helps us work around it, especially for pieces that need translating or are planned to go out in a thematic edition.

==='''Question 9: How can I get other people involved in writing for APC?'''===

*If you know about someone who wants to write for GenderIT.org or APCNews, please put that person in touch with the editors, introducing her/him. To save time, you might also want to let that person know that the editors will probably ask for a CV and some links to articles that she/he might have written before for the editors' reference.

==='''Question 10: Can I re-publish my piece on my own website or another website?'''===

*As long as the website is not-for-profit, we encourage the sharing of our material. Make sure that GenderIT.org and/or APCNews are credited, and that the material is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence. If you want to publish on a website that is run for-profit, please discuss it with the GenderIT.org and APCNews editors.

==='''Question 11: What are the licence restrictions for content published by APC?'''===

*Everything is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence, and we only use images that are published under a similar licence.

==='''Question 12: What is the recommended length for articles?'''===

*This depends on the type of article. Please see our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details on each of the different types of article.

==='''Question 13: What tone should I use?'''===

*This depends on the type of article you're writing. See our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details.

==='''Question 14: What can I do if I have trouble finding resource people to interview?'''===

*The first step is to discuss it with your editor. They can help or give you ideas. Also, check your contacts for them. Does anyone else know them, can you check that the information you have is accurate? Then, try and find someone else who might be able to help. Think about grassroots organisations or activists working on the issue, other people who were at the same event, academics... If nothing is working, go back to your editor, and see if the matter can be approached from a different angle, or if the story has to be abandoned.

==='''Question 15: How should I proceed if the interviewee/source has concerns regarding privacy/security?'''===

*Always take these concerns seriously. Talk through options, take a look at the [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php?title=How_to_deal_with_vulnerable_interviewees&action=edit&redlink=1 guide to interviewing vulnerable interviewees]. If the interviewee or source still has concerns, stop. Don't push. Get back to the editors: we can always discuss other options.

==='''Question 16: When it comes to in-depth articles, what is a reasonable number of sources, and do they all have to be interviews?'''===

*For an in-depth article, we would expect at least four sources, but they don't all have to be interviews. We can also consider as sources research material, quotations from previous articles (mentioning the sources of course), and similar resources.

==='''Question 17: Can I share an article produced for GenderIT.org or APCNews with other media before it comes out on those websites?'''===

*Sorry, but no. If you publish elsewhere first, we'll be happy to link to that article on your profile, and if it's relevant highlight it on the Twitter account and elsewhere, but we won't publish it as a GenderIT.org or APCNews article, nor pay for it, since we won't consider it exclusive anymore.

==='''Question 18: How do I claim payment?'''===

*You will need to send an invoice to flavia@apcwomen.org copying to katerina.fialova@apcwomen.org for GenderIT.org related payments, and to mallory@apc.org for APCNews related payments. Please fill in this [spreadsheet] with all your personal information and send it to the previous email addresses. The editors will complete the remaining information about programmes/projects and amount. Also, note that APC doesn't encourage payments under USD 300 since the bank rates charged are too high, both for APC and for the writer. So we usually wait until that amount is reached or even surpassed to process a payment.

==='''Question 19: How do I know if my payment has been processed?'''===

*You should receive an email notification. It takes a few days until the payment is finally processed, so please take into consideration that time gap.

==='''Question 20: How is GenderIT.org funded?'''===

*GenderIT.org has not had its own funding for several years now, but it receives funding from other projects that are being carried out by the APC Women's Rights Programme.

==='''Question 21: Can I write anonymously?'''===

*Yes, just let the editors know how you wish to be credited.

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T15:08:02Z

Ivan:

[[File:FAQ.jpg|thumb|200px]]

==='''Question 1: What are the steps to follow if I have a topic I want to write about?'''===

*You should contact your editor, send her a blurb explaining the topic, how it links to women's rights/gender and internet rights, and be clear on the format you think would be most suitable for the piece (feminist talk, video, interview, etc.). The editor will come back to you as soon as possible with a response.

==='''Question 2: How should I proceed if someone is leaving abusive comments on the content I posted?'''===

*If someone is leaving abusive comments, let the editors know. They can delete comments and respond (if appropriate), and take screenshots if necessary. If you are getting abusive emails, again contact the editors for advice. Do not delete anything, and take a look at the Take Back the Tech! [https://www.takebackthetech.net/be-safe/safety-toolkit digital safety tool-kit].

==='''Question 3: What do I do if I want to have other GenderIT.org or APCNews writers comment on my piece before it goes online?'''===

*Ask! If you'd like the editors to act as intermediaries, ask them, otherwise feel free to get in touch with other writers. Alternatively, we can circulate on a limited mailing list for response. The worst that can happen is they say no!

==='''Question 4: What are the steps to get my piece published?'''===

*Refer to Question 1. If you want to get your piece published outside of GenderIT.org, refer to Question 11.

==='''Question 5: How can I ensure the impact of my piece?'''===

*Impact can mean different things. If you're interested in getting as many eyeballs to read your piece as possible, post it on social media, tweet about it, blog about it, reference it on other people's blogs, send people to it in as many ways as you can. The GenderIT.org and APCNews teams will also be putting it out through social media and mailing lists. If you're interested in reaching a particular audience, then it depends on who you want to reach. If you want to bring it to the attention of policy makers in your country, for example, you could email it to them, or re-publish (see Question 11) the work in a local newspaper. Email it to local NGOs, academics, embassies or anyone else who might be interested.

==='''Question 6: How do I track the influence of my piece?'''===

*GenderIT.org and APCNews editors use tools such as Google Alerts or Talkwalker Alerts to receive an email notification whenever any material containing the key words we set go online. You can also use these and add your own key words to receive alerts on these. GenderIT.org and APCNews also use a web statistics systems, Awstats, and we would be more than happy to do any search you need for you and share the results. Googling your name or the title of your articles from time to time is also a good idea, since it might catch republications of them that were not captured in the alerts for some reason. The Drupal platform (which is the one that GenderIT.org and APCNews are built on) also provides a reading score after every title, but this is not completely reliable, though it might work to have a very general reference.

==='''Question 7: What shall I do if I notice APC.org or GenderIT.org material posted in other media?'''===

*Please let us know! While all material published on GenderIT.org and APC.org is published under a Creative Commons licence, we like to know the impact that the stories are having and we also need to know for media tracking purposes. If material isn't credited to GenderIT.org or APCNews/APC.org, we'd also like to make sure that we're given credit and a link back to the site, so please let the editors know about this too, and they will contact the media to request a proper credit.

==='''Question 8: What should I do if I have trouble meeting my deadline?'''===

*First off, this should rarely be a problem. APCNews and GenderIT.org have generous deadlines, which is because we know that those we work with have multiple responsibilities. But if there really is nothing you can do, please do tell us. As soon as you know there's an issue, please let the GenderIT.org team and/or APCNews team know. Life does have a way of interfering, and we understand that, but telling us as quickly as possible helps us work around it, especially for pieces that need translating or are planned to go out in a thematic edition.

==='''Question 9: How can I get other people involved in writing for APC?'''===

*If you know about someone who wants to write for GenderIT.org or APCNews, please put that person in touch with the editors, introducing her/him. To save time, you might also want to let that person know that the editors will probably ask for a CV and some links to articles that she/he might have written before for the editors' reference.

==='''Question 10: Can I re-publish my piece on my own website or another website?'''===

*As long as the website is not-for-profit, we encourage the sharing of our material. Make sure that GenderIT.org and/or APCNews are credited, and that the material is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence. If you want to publish on a website that is run for-profit, please discuss it with the GenderIT.org and APCNews editors.

==='''Question 11: What are the licence restrictions for content published by APC?'''===

*Everything is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence, and we only use images that are published under a similar licence.

==='''Question 12: What is the recommended length for articles?'''===

*This depends on the type of article. Please see our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details on each of the different types of article.

==='''Question 13: What tone should I use?'''===

*This depends on the type of article you're writing. See our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details.

==='''Question 14: What can I do if I have trouble finding resource people to interview?'''===

*The first step is to discuss it with your editor. They can help or give you ideas. Also, check your contacts for them. Does anyone else know them, can you check that the information you have is accurate? Then, try and find someone else who might be able to help. Think about grassroots organisations or activists working on the issue, other people who were at the same event, academics... If nothing is working, go back to your editor, and see if the matter can be approached from a different angle, or if the story has to be abandoned.

==='''Question 15: How should I proceed if the interviewee/source has concerns regarding privacy/security?'''===

*Always take these concerns seriously. Talk through options, take a look at the [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php?title=How_to_deal_with_vulnerable_interviewees&action=edit&redlink=1 guide to interviewing vulnerable interviewees]. If the interviewee or source still has concerns, stop. Don't push. Get back to the editors: we can always discuss other options.

==='''Question 16: When it comes to in-depth articles, what is a reasonable number of sources, and do they all have to be interviews?'''===

*For an in-depth article, we would expect at least four sources, but they don't all have to be interviews. We can also consider as sources research material, quotations from previous articles (mentioning the sources of course), and similar resources.

==='''Question 17: Can I share an article produced for GenderIT.org or APCNews with other media before it comes out on those websites?'''===

*Sorry, but no. If you publish elsewhere first, we'll be happy to link to that article on your profile, and if it's relevant highlight it on the Twitter account and elsewhere, but we won't publish it as a GenderIT.org or APCNews article, nor pay for it, since we won't consider it exclusive anymore.

==='''Question 18: How do I claim payment?'''===

*You will need to send an invoice to flavia@apcwomen.org copying to katerina.fialova@apcwomen.org for GenderIT.org related payments, and to mallory@apc.org for APCNews related payments. Please fill in this [spreadsheet] with all your personal information and send it to the previous email addresses. The editors will complete the remaining information about programmes/projects and amount. Also, note that APC doesn't encourage payments under USD 300 since the bank rates charged are too high, both for APC and for the writer. So we usually wait until that amount is reached or even surpassed to process a payment.

==='''Question 19: How do I know if my payment has been processed?'''===

*You should receive an email notification. It takes a few days until the payment is finally processed, so please take into consideration that time gap.

==='''Question 20: How is GenderIT.org funded?'''===

*GenderIT.org has not had its own funding for several years now, but it receives funding from other projects that are being carried out by the APC Women's Rights Programme.

==='''Question 21: Can I write anonymously?'''===

*Yes, just let the editors know how you wish to be credited.

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T15:06:19Z

Ivan:

[[File:FAQ.jpg|thumb|200px]]

...

==='''Question 1: What are the steps to follow if I have a topic I want to write about?'''===
*You should contact your editor, send her a blurb explaining the topic, how it links to women's rights/gender and internet rights, and be clear on the format you think would be most suitable for the piece (feminist talk, video, interview, etc.). The editor will come back to you as soon as possible with a response.

==='''Question 2: How should I proceed if someone is leaving abusive comments on the content I posted?'''===

*If someone is leaving abusive comments, let the editors know. They can delete comments and respond (if appropriate), and take screenshots if necessary. If you are getting abusive emails, again contact the editors for advice. Do not delete anything, and take a look at the Take Back the Tech! [https://www.takebackthetech.net/be-safe/safety-toolkit digital safety tool-kit].

==='''Question 3: What do I do if I want to have other GenderIT.org or APCNews writers comment on my piece before it goes online?'''===

*Ask! If you'd like the editors to act as intermediaries, ask them, otherwise feel free to get in touch with other writers. Alternatively, we can circulate on a limited mailing list for response. The worst that can happen is they say no!

==='''Question 4: What are the steps to get my piece published?'''===

*Refer to Question 1. If you want to get your piece published outside of GenderIT.org, refer to Question 11.

==='''Question 5: How can I ensure the impact of my piece?'''===

*Impact can mean different things. If you're interested in getting as many eyeballs to read your piece as possible, post it on social media, tweet about it, blog about it, reference it on other people's blogs, send people to it in as many ways as you can. The GenderIT.org and APCNews teams will also be putting it out through social media and mailing lists. If you're interested in reaching a particular audience, then it depends on who you want to reach. If you want to bring it to the attention of policy makers in your country, for example, you could email it to them, or re-publish (see Question 11) the work in a local newspaper. Email it to local NGOs, academics, embassies or anyone else who might be interested.

==='''Question 6: How do I track the influence of my piece?'''===

*GenderIT.org and APCNews editors use tools such as Google Alerts or Talkwalker Alerts to receive an email notification whenever any material containing the key words we set go online. You can also use these and add your own key words to receive alerts on these. GenderIT.org and APCNews also use a web statistics systems, Awstats, and we would be more than happy to do any search you need for you and share the results. Googling your name or the title of your articles from time to time is also a good idea, since it might catch republications of them that were not captured in the alerts for some reason. The Drupal platform (which is the one that GenderIT.org and APCNews are built on) also provides a reading score after every title, but this is not completely reliable, though it might work to have a very general reference.

==='''Question 7: What shall I do if I notice APC.org or GenderIT.org material posted in other media?'''===

*Please let us know! While all material published on GenderIT.org and APC.org is published under a Creative Commons licence, we like to know the impact that the stories are having and we also need to know for media tracking purposes. If material isn't credited to GenderIT.org or APCNews/APC.org, we'd also like to make sure that we're given credit and a link back to the site, so please let the editors know about this too, and they will contact the media to request a proper credit.

==='''Question 8: What should I do if I have trouble meeting my deadline?'''===

*First off, this should rarely be a problem. APCNews and GenderIT.org have generous deadlines, which is because we know that those we work with have multiple responsibilities. But if there really is nothing you can do, please do tell us. As soon as you know there's an issue, please let the GenderIT.org team and/or APCNews team know. Life does have a way of interfering, and we understand that, but telling us as quickly as possible helps us work around it, especially for pieces that need translating or are planned to go out in a thematic edition.

==='''Question 9: How can I get other people involved in writing for APC?'''===

*If you know about someone who wants to write for GenderIT.org or APCNews, please put that person in touch with the editors, introducing her/him. To save time, you might also want to let that person know that the editors will probably ask for a CV and some links to articles that she/he might have written before for the editors' reference.

==='''Question 10: Can I re-publish my piece on my own website or another website?'''===

*As long as the website is not-for-profit, we encourage the sharing of our material. Make sure that GenderIT.org and/or APCNews are credited, and that the material is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence. If you want to publish on a website that is run for-profit, please discuss it with the GenderIT.org and APCNews editors.

==='''Question 11: What are the licence restrictions for content published by APC?'''===

*Everything is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence, and we only use images that are published under a similar licence.

==='''Question 12: What is the recommended length for articles?'''===

*This depends on the type of article. Please see our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details on each of the different types of article.

==='''Question 13: What tone should I use?'''===

*This depends on the type of article you're writing. See our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details.

==='''Question 14: What can I do if I have trouble finding resource people to interview?'''===

*The first step is to discuss it with your editor. They can help or give you ideas. Also, check your contacts for them. Does anyone else know them, can you check that the information you have is accurate? Then, try and find someone else who might be able to help. Think about grassroots organisations or activists working on the issue, other people who were at the same event, academics... If nothing is working, go back to your editor, and see if the matter can be approached from a different angle, or if the story has to be abandoned.

==='''Question 15: How should I proceed if the interviewee/source has concerns regarding privacy/security?'''===

*Always take these concerns seriously. Talk through options, take a look at the [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php?title=How_to_deal_with_vulnerable_interviewees&action=edit&redlink=1 guide to interviewing vulnerable interviewees]. If the interviewee or source still has concerns, stop. Don't push. Get back to the editors: we can always discuss other options.

==='''Question 16: When it comes to in-depth articles, what is a reasonable number of sources, and do they all have to be interviews?'''===

*For an in-depth article, we would expect at least four sources, but they don't all have to be interviews. We can also consider as sources research material, quotations from previous articles (mentioning the sources of course), and similar resources.

==='''Question 17: Can I share an article produced for GenderIT.org or APCNews with other media before it comes out on those websites?'''===

*Sorry, but no. If you publish elsewhere first, we'll be happy to link to that article on your profile, and if it's relevant highlight it on the Twitter account and elsewhere, but we won't publish it as a GenderIT.org or APCNews article, nor pay for it, since we won't consider it exclusive anymore.

==='''Question 18: How do I claim payment?'''===

*You will need to send an invoice to flavia@apcwomen.org copying to katerina.fialova@apcwomen.org for GenderIT.org related payments, and to mallory@apc.org for APCNews related payments. Please fill in this [spreadsheet] with all your personal information and send it to the previous email addresses. The editors will complete the remaining information about programmes/projects and amount. Also, note that APC doesn't encourage payments under USD 300 since the bank rates charged are too high, both for APC and for the writer. So we usually wait until that amount is reached or even surpassed to process a payment.

==='''Question 19: How do I know if my payment has been processed?'''===

*You should receive an email notification. It takes a few days until the payment is finally processed, so please take into consideration that time gap.

==='''Question 20: How is GenderIT.org funded?'''===

*GenderIT.org has not had its own funding for several years now, but it receives funding from other projects that are being carried out by the APC Women's Rights Programme.

==='''Question 21: Can I write anonymously?'''===

*Yes, just let the editors know how you wish to be credited.

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T15:05:52Z

Ivan:

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T15:05:06Z

Ivan:

[[File:FAQ.jpg|thumb|200px]]

...

==='''Question 1: What are the steps to follow if I have a topic I want to write about?'''===

*You should contact your editor, send her a blurb explaining the topic, how it links to women's rights/gender and internet rights, and be clear on the format you think would be most suitable for the piece (feminist talk, video, interview, etc.). The editor will come back to you as soon as possible with a response.

==='''Question 2: How should I proceed if someone is leaving abusive comments on the content I posted?'''===

*If someone is leaving abusive comments, let the editors know. They can delete comments and respond (if appropriate), and take screenshots if necessary. If you are getting abusive emails, again contact the editors for advice. Do not delete anything, and take a look at the Take Back the Tech! [https://www.takebackthetech.net/be-safe/safety-toolkit digital safety tool-kit].

==='''Question 3: What do I do if I want to have other GenderIT.org or APCNews writers comment on my piece before it goes online?'''===

*Ask! If you'd like the editors to act as intermediaries, ask them, otherwise feel free to get in touch with other writers. Alternatively, we can circulate on a limited mailing list for response. The worst that can happen is they say no!

==='''Question 4: What are the steps to get my piece published?'''===

*Refer to Question 1. If you want to get your piece published outside of GenderIT.org, refer to Question 11.

==='''Question 5: How can I ensure the impact of my piece?'''===

*Impact can mean different things. If you're interested in getting as many eyeballs to read your piece as possible, post it on social media, tweet about it, blog about it, reference it on other people's blogs, send people to it in as many ways as you can. The GenderIT.org and APCNews teams will also be putting it out through social media and mailing lists. If you're interested in reaching a particular audience, then it depends on who you want to reach. If you want to bring it to the attention of policy makers in your country, for example, you could email it to them, or re-publish (see Question 11) the work in a local newspaper. Email it to local NGOs, academics, embassies or anyone else who might be interested.

==='''Question 6: How do I track the influence of my piece?'''===

*GenderIT.org and APCNews editors use tools such as Google Alerts or Talkwalker Alerts to receive an email notification whenever any material containing the key words we set go online. You can also use these and add your own key words to receive alerts on these. GenderIT.org and APCNews also use a web statistics systems, Awstats, and we would be more than happy to do any search you need for you and share the results. Googling your name or the title of your articles from time to time is also a good idea, since it might catch republications of them that were not captured in the alerts for some reason. The Drupal platform (which is the one that GenderIT.org and APCNews are built on) also provides a reading score after every title, but this is not completely reliable, though it might work to have a very general reference.

==='''Question 7: What shall I do if I notice APC.org or GenderIT.org material posted in other media?'''===

*Please let us know! While all material published on GenderIT.org and APC.org is published under a Creative Commons licence, we like to know the impact that the stories are having and we also need to know for media tracking purposes. If material isn't credited to GenderIT.org or APCNews/APC.org, we'd also like to make sure that we're given credit and a link back to the site, so please let the editors know about this too, and they will contact the media to request a proper credit.

==='''Question 8: What should I do if I have trouble meeting my deadline?'''===

*First off, this should rarely be a problem. APCNews and GenderIT.org have generous deadlines, which is because we know that those we work with have multiple responsibilities. But if there really is nothing you can do, please do tell us. As soon as you know there's an issue, please let the GenderIT.org team and/or APCNews team know. Life does have a way of interfering, and we understand that, but telling us as quickly as possible helps us work around it, especially for pieces that need translating or are planned to go out in a thematic edition.

==='''Question 9: How can I get other people involved in writing for APC?'''===

*If you know about someone who wants to write for GenderIT.org or APCNews, please put that person in touch with the editors, introducing her/him. To save time, you might also want to let that person know that the editors will probably ask for a CV and some links to articles that she/he might have written before for the editors' reference.

==='''Question 10: Can I re-publish my piece on my own website or another website?'''===

*As long as the website is not-for-profit, we encourage the sharing of our material. Make sure that GenderIT.org and/or APCNews are credited, and that the material is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence. If you want to publish on a website that is run for-profit, please discuss it with the GenderIT.org and APCNews editors.

==='''Question 11: What are the licence restrictions for content published by APC?'''===

*Everything is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence, and we only use images that are published under a similar licence.

==='''Question 12: What is the recommended length for articles?'''===

*This depends on the type of article. Please see our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details on each of the different types of article.

==='''Question 13: What tone should I use?'''===

*This depends on the type of article you're writing. See our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details.

==='''Question 14: What can I do if I have trouble finding resource people to interview?'''===

*The first step is to discuss it with your editor. They can help or give you ideas. Also, check your contacts for them. Does anyone else know them, can you check that the information you have is accurate? Then, try and find someone else who might be able to help. Think about grassroots organisations or activists working on the issue, other people who were at the same event, academics... If nothing is working, go back to your editor, and see if the matter can be approached from a different angle, or if the story has to be abandoned.

==='''Question 15: How should I proceed if the interviewee/source has concerns regarding privacy/security?'''===

*Always take these concerns seriously. Talk through options, take a look at the [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php?title=How_to_deal_with_vulnerable_interviewees&action=edit&redlink=1 guide to interviewing vulnerable interviewees]. If the interviewee or source still has concerns, stop. Don't push. Get back to the editors: we can always discuss other options.

==='''Question 16: When it comes to in-depth articles, what is a reasonable number of sources, and do they all have to be interviews?'''===

*For an in-depth article, we would expect at least four sources, but they don't all have to be interviews. We can also consider as sources research material, quotations from previous articles (mentioning the sources of course), and similar resources.

==='''Question 17: Can I share an article produced for GenderIT.org or APCNews with other media before it comes out on those websites?'''===

*Sorry, but no. If you publish elsewhere first, we'll be happy to link to that article on your profile, and if it's relevant highlight it on the Twitter account and elsewhere, but we won't publish it as a GenderIT.org or APCNews article, nor pay for it, since we won't consider it exclusive anymore.

==='''Question 18: How do I claim payment?'''===

*You will need to send an invoice to flavia@apcwomen.org copying to katerina.fialova@apcwomen.org for GenderIT.org related payments, and to mallory@apc.org for APCNews related payments. Please fill in this [spreadsheet] with all your personal information and send it to the previous email addresses. The editors will complete the remaining information about programmes/projects and amount. Also, note that APC doesn't encourage payments under USD 300 since the bank rates charged are too high, both for APC and for the writer. So we usually wait until that amount is reached or even surpassed to process a payment.

==='''Question 19: How do I know if my payment has been processed?'''===

*You should receive an email notification. It takes a few days until the payment is finally processed, so please take into consideration that time gap.

==='''Question 20: How is GenderIT.org funded?'''===

*GenderIT.org has not had its own funding for several years now, but it receives funding from other projects that are being carried out by the APC Women's Rights Programme.

==='''Question 21: Can I write anonymously?'''===

*Yes, just let the editors know how you wish to be credited.

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T15:04:38Z

Ivan:

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T15:03:10Z

Ivan:

Secure online communications

2016-05-31T15:01:00Z

Ivan:

[[File:security.jpg|thumb|200px]]

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Security Policy governs the use of computer equipment and portable devices by APC staff, and provides cursory guidance on how to maintain privacy and manage sensitive information when handling work-related data.
Below is an overview of some of the DOs, DON'Ts and best practices, “CONSIDERATIONS,” that are covered more in depth beginning on page four. The DOs and DON'Ts are baseline obligations for APC staff, which must be followed in compliance with APC policy.

='''Executive Summary'''=

'''DOs'''

*Configure your email client to communicate with the server via secure SSL/TSL connection.
*Have a PGP/GPG key that can be used for encrypting email or other sensitive data stored on your computer. PGP/GPG keys should have a passphrase which is, at minimum, two words long. Encrypt sensitive data on portable devices.
*Follow APC's staff policy for exchanging email communication and guidelines for encrypting emails. When accessing your email with a web browser (e.g. APC webmail) connect through a secure interface using the protocol https.
*Follow APC's guidelines for mailing lists and encrypted mailing lists.
*Use OwnCloud for cloud data storage and data sharing
*Use OwnCloud calendaring to host shared calendars (replacing Google Calendars)
*Share documents via OwnCloud (for asynchronous collaboration) or use Etherpads for (synchronous) collaborative document editing.
*Use Jitsi for messaging/VoIP communication whenever possible. Use Jitsi for all messaging/VoIP communication in APC team.
*Delete your chat history in Skype as soon as you end a chat that contains compromising information. Consider switching off your chat history altogether so it is never logged.
*Use and periodically update anti-virus software on your computer.
*Clearly state what you will do with any sensitive information you are collecting, such as logistics details (passport numbers), and how it will be stored.
*Install LibreOffice or other office package that supports open format standards1.
*Employ a passphrase protected screensaver that automatically activates after 10 minutes of inactivity (applies both to computer and portable devices).
*Create an OpenID account on the apc.org website to use as an authentication mechanism for all APC online spaces.
*Install and be able to use anonymisation software such as TOR or Orbot for anonymous web browsing on your desktop and portable devices.
*Follow APC’s policy for work relating to A/V recordings and digital stories.
*Treat suspicious email communication as potentially hazardous to our equipment and data. Don’t disclose even mildly sensitive information to anyone about whose identity you have a least doubt.
*Ensure that no unauthorized entity has access to your computing devices or data stored on them, including back up devices.

'''DON’Ts'''

*Use Skype on other people's machines for conversations that contain highly compromising information or conversations that involve participants whose identify must be kept secret.
*Use Skype for communication within APC team, unless it is absolutely necessary.
*Collect data that are considered even mildly sensitive without using APC's LimeSurvey online survey tool, encrypted email communication or other secure and encrypted means.
*Use Microsoft Outlook or other email clients shipped with Windows or with the Microsoft Office package. Additionally, don’t use Microsoft Internet Explorer or other browsers packaged with Windows, unless it is absolutely necessary.
*Store passphrases for access to APC services, APC online spaces or other APC data in email messages, text files, in your browser's password manager, etc., or on paper sheets or post-it notes. Only store passphrases on your computer in an encrypted format.

'''CONSIDER'''

*Finding out whether or not the use of encryption in internet communication is legal in your country of residence.
*Educating yourself on issues of privacy related to communication in encrypted lists.
*Following this guide to increase security when using “the cloud” or an online storage system such as Dropbox.
*Using an open source password management software such as Keepass if you can not remember all your passphrases.
*Backing up your data at least once per week, if not more often. Back up media must be stored in a safe place. Additionally, all confidential or sensitive *APC-related back up data should be encrypted.
*Prioritising free and open source software whenever possible.
*Connecting to web content via https connection whenever possible.
*Follow APC's guidelines for establishing a secure connection if you cannot use a wired connection to get online from your office or home.

='''Purpose'''=

This policy outlines the acceptable use of computer equipment and portable devices at APC. Inappropriate use of ICTs exposes APC to risks including virus attacks, compromise of network systems and services and disclosure of private information that can put APC, APC staff and its collaborators at risk. This policy is in place to protect both the organisation and individuals.

='''Scope'''=

This policy applies to APC staff, interns and other workers at APC. It also applies to all equipment, data and communications related to APC and its projects. This policy does not apply to devices used exclusively for personal communication, although applying a similar policy for such communication is highly recommended. The APC Security Policy forms part of APC's HR Resources Manual and all APC staff are asked to read it and sign it.

='''Perspective users of the policy'''=

APC staff will be responsible for applying the guidelines in the APC Security Policy and it will be made available to the entire APC network with the expectation that some network members will be interested in applying some variant of the policy1. Once the policy is implemented and time tested, a generic version will be developed and disseminated online under an open licence.

='''APC Security Policy'''=

=='''Email and email list communication'''==

'''Email client security settings'''

For choice of email client applications, see section Application choice. Some clients, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, have SSL/TSL as a default setting when configuring a new email account. Without a secure SSL/TSL connection, the content of your email communication is sent in plain text through several communication nodes between your computer and your mail server.
The following principles apply to securely communicating over email:

'''General email communication'''

APC staff follows this policy for exchanging email communication:

* Do not open email and attachments from people you do not trust.
* Use plaintext rather than html, when practical.
* Before forwarding any messages originating in APC lists, evaluate thoroughly whether the forwarded thread does not contain any information that was meant only for a given team or that might be considered private.
* Keep in mind that the participants in APC lists change and some project lists may also include people who are not part of the APC team or the wider APC network. Therefore, make sure to not share internal information on such lists.
* If you wish for your message to stay strictly internal, you '''MUST''' state clearly that it is internal in the body and the subject line of the message.
* Information that is potentially compromising for you or others '''MUST NOT''' be shared on APC lists but should be sent directly to the intended recipients, ideally in encrypted format. See the next section Encrypted email communication.

'''Encrypted email communication'''

While it is not expected that staff will encrypt all communications, they '''MUST''' be able to exchange encrypted communication when needed using an OpenPGP key1. Therefore, all APC staff must be equipped with an OpenPGP-compliant application that allows them to encrypt email communication and other data. For Mozilla Firefox users, the add-on Enigmail2 is a trusted option. APC staff should use the following checklist to determine whether email communication needs to be encrypted.

* Not all emails exchanged by the team need to be encrypted.
* All sensitive information should be encrypted. Even mildly sensitive information, such as private details about others, or passwords to not-so-important accounts.
* All replies to and forwards of encrypted email messages should also be encrypted.
* The subject line of encrypted messages should be discreet, since this, along with other metadata3, is not encrypted.
* Avoid sending attachments. If you must, and those attachments must also be encrypted, ensure your email client supports and is using the PGP/MIME encryption standard.
* If links are pasted into an email then the email should be PGP-signed. The same goes for emails with attachments, which authenticates that neither the content nor link will harm the recipient.
* Team members sign messages when it is important that trust be established.
* Team members sign messages when there is a possibility that the content of the email could be compromising to someone (e.g. when specific instructions are given).
* The most sensitive information should be inserted in email body, not the attachments.

Remember that email encryption is illegal in some countries. From countries where APC is active, these include Pakistan and Venezuela1. APC staff can consult local organisations and legal support groups to find out:

* The legality of encrypted communication by individuals
* How encrypted communication is being prosecuted.

'''Mailing lists'''

Each time a new person joins an APC mailing list, they '''MUST''' be announced to the list. Footers of all APC mailing lists '''MUST''' include instructions on how to retrieve information about other subscribers, so that all list members can check at any time who else is subscribed to a particular list.
While neither of these conditions applies to distribution or broadcast lists such as APC News and APC Forum lists, each message of those lists must contain information about how to unsubscribe, usually in the footer. People should not be subscribed to broadcast lists without their knowledge and permission.

'''Encrypted mailing lists'''

Setting up encrypted mailing lists should be considered for projects that include very sensitive communication and where the following conditions can be met:

* It is certain that all users of the list will be able to use PGP encryption.
* None of the list participants resides in a country where PGP encryption is illegal or is likely to be illegal in the near future.

''APC currently does not host its own encrypted lists but we plan to do so in future. When APC has the capacity to host encrypted mailing lists their usage will become mandatory for coordination of sensitive projects, such as projects dealing with Human Rights defense. There are some other activist groups that host encrypted mailing lists and can be approached (e.g. nadir.org).''

'''General rules for using encrypted lists'''

When sending information that is potentially dangerous for you or other people always give it a second thought before sending. Remember that even encrypted messages can be decrypted with a single subscriber's key. If you must send something that, if connected to you, could put you or other people in trouble, consider sending it to one or more individuals directly rather than to the list and PGP-signing the message.

If you send something to the list asking others to do something for you, you MUST sign it so others can be sure that it is you!

Do not obscure the subject line or divulge secret information in the subject line. The subject line and the metadata (e.g. headers) of a message sent to an encrypted list are NOT encrypted. You SHOULD make subject line informative because messages sent through an encrypted list do not show the sender, at least not until they are decrypted.

Do not forward messages off-list without explicit permission from the sender and everyone who contributed to the forwarded thread.

An encrypted list breaks one of the most important foundations of cryptography - know who you are talking to. When you send an encrypted message directly to one or more individuals, you must encrypt it with the public key or keys of each recipient, forcing you to carefully think about who you are sending it to and ensuring it can only be opened by that person.

When you send an encrypted message to an encrypted list, you cannot be sure who is going to receive it. While we can rely on the trustworthy moderator to report new subscribers or even set-up the mail manager to report new subscriptions, by sending a message to an encrypted list you are sending your top secret message to a re-mailer that you don't control.

=='''Online data storage and sharing'''==

Online data storage, often referred to as “the cloud,” allows for greater collaboration and sharing of information but also introduces data security concerns since control of the data becomes shared with, or in some cases entirely handed over to, a third party. For internal sharing and online data storage, APC uses exclusively a self-hosted OwnCloud installation. All staff members '''MUST''' use OwnCloud, which works like other commercial services by installing an client1 or for use in a web browser. Use of the client and web interface is detailed in the APC OwnCloud Manual.

'''What should NOT be stored in APC OwnCloud'''

APC's OwnCloud instance is '''NOT''' encrypted. Team members '''MUST NOT''' use it to store highly sensitive data (see Appendix 2 for a definition of what is considered sensitive data).

'''Collaboration with external partners'''

Accounts on APC OwnCloud should be created for external collaborators working on APC projects. Project coordinators must request that the APC system administrator create these user accounts and any user group to which people working in a given project should be added. This safeguard prevents information from being shared with collaborators or team members for whom it is not intended.
Team members must be particularly careful when sharing information with a group of users via OwnCloud. It is very easy to make a mistake when selecting a user or user group.

'''Shared calendars'''

APC uses the shared calendar feature of its self-hosted OwnCloud installation to reduce the amount of data we share with third parties. Calendars can be shared among multiple users and user groups. The platform follows the open CalDav standard, which is compatible with the vast majority of calendar and task-management applications.

'''OwnCloud and contact synchronisation'''

APC staff are encouraged to use APC's OwnCloud for backup of their personal contacts and for synchronisation across devices. This can fully replace synchronisation over gmail accounts and can help APC staff in getting their personal data off Google's servers.

'''Collaborative document editing'''

Share files in Owncloud for asynchronous, collaborative document editing. In cases when a real-time online collaborative editing is needed, use etherpads hosted by May First or Riseup. This applies both to text documents, as well as to spreadsheets.

Riseup's Etherpad: https://pad.riseup.net

MayFirst's EtherCalc (spreadsheet): https://calc.mayfirst.org

Use Googledocs only in cases when an edited document must include synchronous editing in complex formats that are not available in etherpad.
Be aware that after you finish editing the document in Etherpad, you must download and store it locally. Riseup deletes unused pads after 30 days, unlike the way Googledocs are stored indefinitely.

''OwnCloud 6.0 will include an online collaborative editing feature, based on open document format (ODF). The functionalities will be very similar to those provided by GoogleDocs. Once the system is available and tested, APC will start using its OwnCloud for collaborative editing of documents with complex formatting.''

'''Instant messaging and voice'''

For team's instant communication, APC uses Jitsi VoIP & instant messaging client1. As of January 2014, it is the only existing open source client that provides end-to-end encrypted communication through open communication protocols (xmpp/Jabber, SIP), and is available for all major platforms. Team members must create an account on jit.si (a xmpp/jabber account provided by Jitsi developers).

Since APC uses Jitsi for calls and text messages over open protocols, you are welcome to use other open source clients to make calls through your jit.si account. However, for all types of sensitive communication, Jitsi client must be used as it is the only currently existing cross-platform client than provides full encryption.

Since most of VoIP communication outside APC takes place over Skype as the dominant VoIP/texting option, APC team members are not expected to drop Skype altogether. However, be aware that Skype is not a secure communication option and it should not be used for highly sensitive communication.
always use jabber or SIP protocols (on Jitsi or other clients) when possible.
Inform your communication partners about the advantages of migrating to secure open protocols and applications.
If you, despite all, can not avoid having a chat over Skype, be aware that content of Skype text chats are stored locally on the machine from which you are chatting, in addition to being stored on Microsoft-controlled servers. Never chat about sensitive issues from computers that are not yours!

To make secure VoIP calls from your android mobile to other smart phones or computers, use CSipSimple1 or Lumicall2. This VoIP application for android allows
use of ZRTP encryption for calls made over SIP networks. That way you can make secure end-to-end encrypted calls to other people who are using CSipSimple, Lumicall, or Jitsi.

'''Using wifi'''

Wifi encryption security has known shortcomings. If possible, APC staff SHOULD use wired connection when you are connecting from your office or home. If you can not avoid using wifi, follow these rules for establishing a secure connection:

* Never connect to anonymous open networks.
* Connect only to wifi networks that you trust.
* Password protect your home or office wifi network.
* Use WPA2 encryption (strongest) for your home or office wifi network.
* Disable WPA/WPA2 wireless access points.

Some older hardware will not connect to an access point with WPA2 encryption. Where there is a choice only between WEP and WPA encryption, WPA must be chosen for its improved security.

=='''Backing up data'''==

'''General'''

According to APC HR policy, all APC staff MUST periodically back up their work-related data1, preferably to . There are a number of free and open source back-up tools that can facilitate and automate the back-up process on team members' computers and portable devices 2.

Depending on one's email client settings and whether or not you are using IMAP or POP, all emails in an apc.org inbox are stored on GreenNet servers, which are automatically backed up nightly. Some versions of this backup are kept for up to one year. However, staff are encouraged to back up their emails themselves if not only for a much quicker recovery time.

'''Encrypting back-up data'''

It is recommended that all work-related data are backed up with encryption but there are types of data one doesn't need to encrypt such as documents that have no sensitive nature. There are a number of available open source tools that convert external hard drives or memory sticks into encrypted drives. Data backed up on CDs and DVDs should be encrypted prior to burning1.

'''Using cloud storage'''

Backing up sensitive data in the cloud, or simply on a networked server, is generally not recommended due to the lack of control one has over a third-party cloud service. However, if you cannot avoid using cloud services for back up, use one that you trust, like APC's OwnCloud.

'''Data on external devices'''

For principles of storage and management of data on portable devices, follow the section Secure data handling and sharing. Portable devices are particularly vulnerable to being compromised through loss or confiscation of the device or malware infection.
Transporting sensitive data in hostile environments
When carrying sensitive data in situations where associating such data with its carrier would be highly compromising, APC staff SHOULD:

* Hide such data on your portable device in a secret encrypted drive1, or
* Hide such data inside another, seemingly innocent type of data using steganography. techniques

=='''Virus protection'''==

Every APC staff member is required use and periodically update anti-virus software on their computer. This applies also to staff members whose operating systems are currently not vulnerable to virus contamination, such as GNU/Linux or MacOS. Whether one's computer is directly infected or not, choosing to not use any anti-virus software can lead to spreading viruses by email or portable media among colleagues and collaborators, which represents a potential security threat.
It is recommended that Windows users use the open source anti-virus software Clamwin with the Clam Sentinel add-on1. However, most free versions of commercially available anti-virus software provide very good protection as well, so the choice of anti-virus application is a personal one. See “AV comparative table” on Wikipedia for a list of details and features2. GNU/Linux and MacOS users are encouraged to use the open source Clamav anti-virus software. Other recommended anti-virus applications for Mac are Sophos (freeware) and ClamXav (free).

'''Malicious Scripts and Web Browsers'''

It is highly recommended that team members configure their browsers in such a way so as to minimise risks of downloading and executing website-embedded malicious scripts.

Recommended extensions for Firefox and Chrome browsers are:

Firefox: NoScript, BrowserProtect, BetterPrivacy1

Chrome: NotScripts2.

Note: Some of these extensions might inhibit some functionalities based on JavaScript, e.g. Facebook chat.

='''Dealing with sensitive data'''=

'''Collecting sensitive data'''

For collection of personal data, APC is generally guided by terms 1-7 of UK data protection principles, without those being binding in any way legally.1It is the responsibility of project managers to ensure that plans for handling sensitive information such as logistics details like passport numbers are complied with. In messages in which we ask others to submit their data, in introductory pages of online surveys, etc., project managers must clarify what they will do with sensitive information, with whom it will be shared and for how long it will be stored. This applies to hard copies as well as data stored on desktops, files servers or online. When collecting sensitive personal data (e.g. logistics-related information), the project manager who is in charge should develop brief documentation that outlines how will the data be used, whether and how it will be shared and when it will be deleted from the APC server or local databases. If the data will be stored for later use (e.g. for the APC contact database) it must be clarified in the documentation which data will be stored, in what format, if it will be encrypted or whether and when it will be erased.

Data that are considered even mildly sensitive MUST be collected using APC's LimeSurvey online survey tool, encrypted email communication, or other secure and encrypted means. Data that are not considered sensitive can also be collected using LimeSurvey as well as email questionnaires or by other means that facilitates data collection and manipulation.

When collecting sensitive information with LimeSurvey, the person responsible for the integrity of the collected information should assure that:

* No one besides selected team members and the APC system administrator has access to the collected data.
* Survey results are deleted from LimeSurvey database as soon as they are processed.

'''Secure data handling and sharing'''

Encryption is particularly important in the case of data that contains private, personal information or information that could be compromising to you or other people. There are a number of ways in which data can be encrypted, for example with your OpenPGP key or with a standalone encryption application (see the section Encryption for more details). Data can be also stored in a secure, encrypted database such as KeePass1 (see the section Passwords).

To share such sensitive data with others over the internet, APC staff MUST encrypt it with the recipients' PGP key before sending. For particularly sensitive data it is better to share it as a Keepass database and to communicate the password by phone or an encrypted voice call, e.g. over a Jitsi call.

='''Application choice'''=

Free and open source software is generally more secure than proprietary software. Mainstream operating system applications whose code is regularly reviewed by independent reviewers are a guarantee that they do only what they are supposed to do and do not perform any other actions, such as unwanted collection of user data.

APC staff SHOULD consider using one of the many open source operating systems. Particularly, Ubuntu (GNU/Linux) users can find solid support from other APC team members and there is ample experience with other GNU/Linux distributions within the wider APC community. GNU/Linux facilitates secure data handling and storage very well 1. Users of proprietary operating systems can nevertheless use open source software for most of their computing needs, which significantly improves the safety of their data and hardware.

'''Email client'''

One of the best-supported and most feature-rich email clients currently available is Mozilla Thunderbird2. Thunderbird works with Windows, Mac and GNU/Linux and it is widely used and supported by APC team and members.

'''Web browser'''

Mozilla Firefox1 is one of the most feature-rich, extensible and secure internet browsers. As compared to Internet Explorer (IE), it also supports a wider range of industry-accepted protocols such as HTML5. Using Mozilla Firefox with the appropriate add-ons or plug-ins will make your internet browsing significantly safer. See the section Secure Internet browsing for more details. Another recommended browser for GNU/Linux users with KDE desktop environment is Konqueror.

Those team members who cannot avoid using IE (e.g. because it is required for administration of APC finance system) SHOULD use Sun's Java Virtual Machine (JVM), not the insecure Microsoft JVM environment2.

'''Office suite'''

Despite occasional compatibility issues with open source alternatives, Microsoft Office is typically not needed for APC work or most other office tasks. Since APC team shares documents in open document standards (ODF), team members MUST install LibreOffice or other office package that supports open format standards1. If you can not avoid using Microsoft Office applications, saving and sharing documents in odf format is recommended for compatibility and also as a means to avoid embedding malicious content.

='''Instant messaging, audio and video conferencing'''=

Jitsi is the main VoIP chatting application used by APC team. Team uses jit.si xmpp/jabber service as the main service where all APC team members have to create an account (see Instant messaging, chat and voice section for more details).

'''Anti-virus, anti-spyware and back-up applications'''

For recommendations on application choice, see Virus protection and Backing up data sections.

'''Other software'''

There are reliable, free and open source software (FOSS) applications for all of your computing needs. Well-supported projects with rapid development include Gimp1 for image manipulation, Audacity for audio editing, Open Shot Video editor, Scribus for desktop publishing and many others. If you are using proprietary software and you are interested in replacing it with a FOSS alternative, ask the APC team mailing list or look up an alternative on www.osalt.com.

'''Document sharing standards'''

Unless there is a specific need to use a proprietary format (e.g. use of automated donor forms designed in Microsoft Word), APC team members MUST share documents in open format standards1.

The reasons include greater compatibility, accessibility and also security, since documents in open standard formats are less likely to execute malicious scripts on your computer.

'''Passwords'''

[Basic information and why you shouldn't use the same password for everything]

If any team member cannot remember all of her/his passwords, s/he SHOULD use reliable password manager! A reliable open source password manager is Keepass, which is available for all platforms, including those used by most smartphones1. This will decrease the risk that your passwords or other sensitive information will be compromised, e.g. through an infection by spyware software, and allow users to:

* Carry passphrases encrypted on a portable device, between devices
* Store passwords securely in an encrypted format
* Store passwords along with other sensitive data such as private PGP/GPG keys, credit card details, sensitive documents, images

'''Web browser password managers'''

Storing passwords directly in your browser's password manager is very risky, because the passwords are stored unencrypted and can be easily recovered by anyone who gains access to your computer, including both physical access and remote access, for example via a spyware program.

Instead, use the above-mentioned standalone password manager to copy and paste passwords into online forms with just a few clicks, without exposing passwords in a way that they could be identified by spyware applications. Some password management applications allow integration with your browser, so the passwords that you chose to store in your browser are automatically and securely handled by the standalone password manager1.
Secure web browsing
Using https protects APC staff not only from eventual echelons who might want to monitor what content they are accessing, but also from intruders intercepting passwords and other sensitive data when they are transferred unencrypted. Particularly if you cannot avoid connecting to a public wifi network, the risk of interception of unencrypted communication and leakage of your passwords is extremely high.

Team members MUST take the following measures (depending on the web browser they use):

* Install the Https Everywhere extension for your browser, available for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.2
* Check the security/privacy preferences of your browser and if such option is available, choose connecting via secure connection (https).
* For third-party services that you use for APC-related work, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, , look for and enable the “always use secure connection” option in the preferences of your account. You did this successfully if the next time you connect to given service the URL of that particular service start with https (secure/encrypted http). You SHOULD do this for all your online services that offer this option, thus minimising significantly the chance that someone will hijack your account.

When connecting to above-mentioned third-party services from a portable device such as phone, avoid using specialised “apps”. These usually communicate with the service through an unencrypted connection regardless whether or not you configured your browser-based service to always communicate via https. When possible, use these services via your mobile browser.

='''Online privacy'''=

'''Basic privacy measures when browsing online'''

When browsing the internet, the user leaves many traces behind on visited websites as well as on the computer one is using. Browser extensions also make it impossible for visited services to ‘profile’ you based on your online behavior and monetise this information. The following extensions/plug-ins enable APC staff to prevent unwanted parties from tracking them:

* Firefox: BetterPrivacy, Ghostery1
* Google Chrome: Ghostery, Disconnect.

'''Anonymous browsing and circumvention'''

Those team members who need to connect to websites anonymously, or who need to access websites that are blocked in their countries SHOULD use an anonymisation software such as TOR 3. Users of Android and iOS-based portable devices can install Orbot – an implementation of TOR for portable devices and Orweb (browser that enables anonymous web browsing using TOR service)4.

'''Other anonymous communications'''

Use of TOR is also recommended for other communication that is generally legitimate and ethical, but conflicts with legislation of the country from which the communication is made, or in cases when associating the communication with team members might put them or other people at risk. All staff's connections to the internet can be anonymised if needed by routing them through TOR including chat, email, P2P networking.

='''Generating and sharing images, video, audio and digital stories'''=

APC work dealing with to audiovisual (A/V) recordings and digital stories is governed by following policies:

Informed, verbal consent MUST be obtained from anyone whom APC staff member records on audio or video, unless such recording is made in a public space where such recordings are common and expected, e.g. a conference or lecture. The same policy applies to taking photographs.

Informed, written consent with using images or A/V recordings on APC websites or for other purposes MUST be obtained in writing from all individuals who are captured in that material. Unless these individuals clearly licence APC to re-purpose such material freely in the future, such consent must be requested and granted every time APC plans to use the material.

If images or A/V material that includes one or more individuals is to be stored on team member's equipment or APC's online spaces, it MUST be accompanied by the documentation on how the material can be used in the future.

'''Storing A/V material and images'''

Principles described in the section Dealing with sensitive data apply fully to audiovisual material and images containing work-related footage, pictures, or audio recordings of other people. Such material MUST NOT be stored on third-party online services, e.g. Flickr, Facebook. APC's OwnCloud may be used for storing work-related A/V material and images of other people only when such material does not contain compromising information.

'''Sharing A/V material and images'''

A/V footage or pictures of other people MUST NOT be shared with people outside the APC team without consent of those who have been photographed or filmed. Such material may be shared with colleagues n APC team for specific purposes. However, the material MUST be accompanied by sufficient information on how it can be used and whether APC was granted permission for any public display of such footage or images.

'''Phones and Other Portable Devices'''

All points of this policy apply to mobile phones and other portable devices in the same way as they apply to personal computers, as long as they are used for work-related communication or as a storage device for work-related data.

'''Threats Resulting from Social Engineering Activities'''

A frequently used strategy for extracting sensitive data is social engineering. Social engineering, in the context of information security, refers to psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information1. The only possible defense is awareness and sound judgment when dealing with suspicious communication.

If a message is suspicious, even when staff members know the alleged sender, attachments should not be opened and clicking on links included in the messages should be avoided. Even some massively distributed fraught messages are designed in a way that makes the content look trustworthy and sender to seem like someone who knows the addressee. Hijacking of Skype and social networking identities is another common method of information extraction. When sharing sensitive information, team members MUST confirm the identity of the person they are sharing with.

APC staff MUST NOT disclose any even mildly sensitive information to any unknown person or anyone whose identity is in doubt. This is particularly important in case of team members who are involved in human rights work. Leaking sensitive information to an impostor can result in unrepairable damages.

='''Managing Organisational Infrastructure'''=

The following principles apply to management of organisational infrastructure:

'''General'''

* Administrative passwords to all APC mailing lists will be changed twice a year.
* Only the APC systems administrator and one selected team member have access to recordings of online meetings in APC's online meeting system.
* Only APC system administrator, technical support and the communications manager have superadmin privileges to APC servers, including FTP access, database manipulation, OwnCloud administration, content management systems, and other server applications. When needed, the APC system administrator can grant specific privileges to other team members, but this MUST be documented and such privileges should be downgraded as soon as this access is no longer needed (e.g. end of a specific project).
* Only the APC system administrator and the executive director have administrative privileges to make changes to APC-owned DNS records.

'''Staff exit management'''

* When a staff member leaves APC, their access to private lists and online spaces is deactivated within two days, unless there are specific reasons why such access should be maintained. Posting privileges to some of the lists might be preserved, if needed.
** APC system administrator is responsible for disabling ex-staff's access to lists and their access to other spaces and systems.
** The staff member responsible for administering staff's contacts in APC's contact database must make sure that exiting staff member is removed from the “APC Staff” contact group.
* When a staff member leaves APC, their administrative privileges to lists and spaces are handed over to their supervisor or to a person(s) previously identified by the supervisor. This MUST happen before such staff member leaves.

'''Agreement with organisational partners on sensitive information'''

When a new project starts, the project coordinator SHOULD sign an agreement on information sharing principles with all project partners. This agreement should include:

* List of all expected types of information that will be exchanged between collaborating organisations and which of those types are to be considered sensitive information.
* Details on how sensitive information will be exchanged and what exact security measures will be taken to protect the information (e.g. Sending encrypted email, exchanging encrypted databases, using secure voice communication).

'''Activity-specific security policies'''

When organising an event that is of a sensitive nature such as when participants' identities must be kept private, a specific security policy MUST be in place and participants must be informed about it. It must address:

* Principles of communication on coordination lists or email loops (e.g. Do people disclose their identity? How much should they share about themselves and their work? Which email addresses should they use for such communication?).
* Principles of sharing information about the event outside of the event (e.g. Can they inform others that they are attending the event? If so, who can be informed and who cannot. Can people tweet from the event?).
* A/V documentation (e.g. Can people take photos or make audio or video recordings? Can these photos and recordings be shared? How and with whom?).
* Access to information about venue and participants (e.g. Who has access and where is it stored?). This includes all documentation from the event such as notes, photos, audio and video documentation.
* Reporting from the event (e.g. What will be included in the report? Who will have access to the report? Will donors receive detailed information about the event?).

'''Online Databases and Access to Servers'''

When designing online databases that are meant to host sensitive content such as personal information, the following rules must be followed by the server administrator:

* The database web browser interface will be hosted on a server that is separate from the server where the database is hosted.
* Data-at-rest must be encrypted. A system must be put in place that automates this or facilitates management of such encryption.
* All data for all websites, both external and internal, must be retrieved and posted using a secure connection and a secure protocol such as https.

Only SFTP and SSH protocols are permitted for direct access to APC servers.

Secure online communications

2016-05-31T14:59:55Z

Ivan:

[[File:security.jpg|thumb|200px]]

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Security Policy governs the use of computer equipment and portable devices by APC staff, and provides cursory guidance on how to maintain privacy and manage sensitive information when handling work-related data.
Below is an overview of some of the DOs, DON'Ts and best practices, “CONSIDERATIONS,” that are covered more in depth beginning on page four. The DOs and DON'Ts are baseline obligations for APC staff, which must be followed in compliance with APC policy.

='''Executive Summary'''=

'''DOs'''

*Configure your email client to communicate with the server via secure SSL/TSL connection.
*Have a PGP/GPG key that can be used for encrypting email or other sensitive data stored on your computer. PGP/GPG keys should have a passphrase which is, at minimum, two words long. Encrypt sensitive data on portable devices.
*Follow APC's staff policy for exchanging email communication and guidelines for encrypting emails. When accessing your email with a web browser (e.g. APC webmail) connect through a secure interface using the protocol https.
*Follow APC's guidelines for mailing lists and encrypted mailing lists.
*Use OwnCloud for cloud data storage and data sharing
*Use OwnCloud calendaring to host shared calendars (replacing Google Calendars)
*Share documents via OwnCloud (for asynchronous collaboration) or use Etherpads for (synchronous) collaborative document editing.
*Use Jitsi for messaging/VoIP communication whenever possible. Use Jitsi for all messaging/VoIP communication in APC team.
*Delete your chat history in Skype as soon as you end a chat that contains compromising information. Consider switching off your chat history altogether so it is never logged.
*Use and periodically update anti-virus software on your computer.
*Clearly state what you will do with any sensitive information you are collecting, such as logistics details (passport numbers), and how it will be stored.
*Install LibreOffice or other office package that supports open format standards1.
*Employ a passphrase protected screensaver that automatically activates after 10 minutes of inactivity (applies both to computer and portable devices).
*Create an OpenID account on the apc.org website to use as an authentication mechanism for all APC online spaces.
*Install and be able to use anonymisation software such as TOR or Orbot for anonymous web browsing on your desktop and portable devices.
*Follow APC’s policy for work relating to A/V recordings and digital stories.
*Treat suspicious email communication as potentially hazardous to our equipment and data. Don’t disclose even mildly sensitive information to anyone about whose identity you have a least doubt.
*Ensure that no unauthorized entity has access to your computing devices or data stored on them, including back up devices.

'''DON’Ts'''

*Use Skype on other people's machines for conversations that contain highly compromising information or conversations that involve participants whose identify must be kept secret.
*Use Skype for communication within APC team, unless it is absolutely necessary.
*Collect data that are considered even mildly sensitive without using APC's LimeSurvey online survey tool, encrypted email communication or other secure and encrypted means.
*Use Microsoft Outlook or other email clients shipped with Windows or with the Microsoft Office package. Additionally, don’t use Microsoft Internet Explorer or other browsers packaged with Windows, unless it is absolutely necessary.
*Store passphrases for access to APC services, APC online spaces or other APC data in email messages, text files, in your browser's password manager, etc., or on paper sheets or post-it notes. Only store passphrases on your computer in an encrypted format.

'''CONSIDER'''

*Finding out whether or not the use of encryption in internet communication is legal in your country of residence.
*Educating yourself on issues of privacy related to communication in encrypted lists.
*Following this guide to increase security when using “the cloud” or an online storage system such as Dropbox.
*Using an open source password management software such as Keepass if you can not remember all your passphrases.
*Backing up your data at least once per week, if not more often. Back up media must be stored in a safe place. Additionally, all confidential or sensitive *APC-related back up data should be encrypted.
*Prioritising free and open source software whenever possible.
*Connecting to web content via https connection whenever possible.
*Follow APC's guidelines for establishing a secure connection if you cannot use a wired connection to get online from your office or home.

='''Purpose'''=

This policy outlines the acceptable use of computer equipment and portable devices at APC. Inappropriate use of ICTs exposes APC to risks including virus attacks, compromise of network systems and services and disclosure of private information that can put APC, APC staff and its collaborators at risk. This policy is in place to protect both the organisation and individuals.

='''Scope'''=

This policy applies to APC staff, interns and other workers at APC. It also applies to all equipment, data and communications related to APC and its projects. This policy does not apply to devices used exclusively for personal communication, although applying a similar policy for such communication is highly recommended. The APC Security Policy forms part of APC's HR Resources Manual and all APC staff are asked to read it and sign it.

='''Perspective users of the policy'''=

APC staff will be responsible for applying the guidelines in the APC Security Policy and it will be made available to the entire APC network with the expectation that some network members will be interested in applying some variant of the policy1. Once the policy is implemented and time tested, a generic version will be developed and disseminated online under an open licence.

='''APC Security Policy'''=

=='''Email and email list communication'''==

'''Email client security settings'''

For choice of email client applications, see section Application choice. Some clients, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, have SSL/TSL as a default setting when configuring a new email account. Without a secure SSL/TSL connection, the content of your email communication is sent in plain text through several communication nodes between your computer and your mail server.
The following principles apply to securely communicating over email:

'''General email communication'''

APC staff follows this policy for exchanging email communication:

* Do not open email and attachments from people you do not trust.
* Use plaintext rather than html, when practical.
* Before forwarding any messages originating in APC lists, evaluate thoroughly whether the forwarded thread does not contain any information that was meant only for a given team or that might be considered private.
* Keep in mind that the participants in APC lists change and some project lists may also include people who are not part of the APC team or the wider APC network. Therefore, make sure to not share internal information on such lists.
* If you wish for your message to stay strictly internal, you '''MUST''' state clearly that it is internal in the body and the subject line of the message.
* Information that is potentially compromising for you or others '''MUST NOT''' be shared on APC lists but should be sent directly to the intended recipients, ideally in encrypted format. See the next section Encrypted email communication.

'''Encrypted email communication'''

While it is not expected that staff will encrypt all communications, they '''MUST''' be able to exchange encrypted communication when needed using an OpenPGP key1. Therefore, all APC staff must be equipped with an OpenPGP-compliant application that allows them to encrypt email communication and other data. For Mozilla Firefox users, the add-on Enigmail2 is a trusted option. APC staff should use the following checklist to determine whether email communication needs to be encrypted.

* Not all emails exchanged by the team need to be encrypted.
* All sensitive information should be encrypted. Even mildly sensitive information, such as private details about others, or passwords to not-so-important accounts.
* All replies to and forwards of encrypted email messages should also be encrypted.
* The subject line of encrypted messages should be discreet, since this, along with other metadata3, is not encrypted.
* Avoid sending attachments. If you must, and those attachments must also be encrypted, ensure your email client supports and is using the PGP/MIME encryption standard.
* If links are pasted into an email then the email should be PGP-signed. The same goes for emails with attachments, which authenticates that neither the content nor link will harm the recipient.
* Team members sign messages when it is important that trust be established.
* Team members sign messages when there is a possibility that the content of the email could be compromising to someone (e.g. when specific instructions are given).
* The most sensitive information should be inserted in email body, not the attachments.

Remember that email encryption is illegal in some countries. From countries where APC is active, these include Pakistan and Venezuela1. APC staff can consult local organisations and legal support groups to find out:

* The legality of encrypted communication by individuals
* How encrypted communication is being prosecuted.

'''Mailing lists'''

Each time a new person joins an APC mailing list, they '''MUST''' be announced to the list. Footers of all APC mailing lists '''MUST''' include instructions on how to retrieve information about other subscribers, so that all list members can check at any time who else is subscribed to a particular list.
While neither of these conditions applies to distribution or broadcast lists such as APC News and APC Forum lists, each message of those lists must contain information about how to unsubscribe, usually in the footer. People should not be subscribed to broadcast lists without their knowledge and permission.

'''Encrypted mailing lists'''

Setting up encrypted mailing lists should be considered for projects that include very sensitive communication and where the following conditions can be met:

* It is certain that all users of the list will be able to use PGP encryption.
* None of the list participants resides in a country where PGP encryption is illegal or is likely to be illegal in the near future.

''APC currently does not host its own encrypted lists but we plan to do so in future. When APC has the capacity to host encrypted mailing lists their usage will become mandatory for coordination of sensitive projects, such as projects dealing with Human Rights defense. There are some other activist groups that host encrypted mailing lists and can be approached (e.g. nadir.org).''

'''General rules for using encrypted lists'''

When sending information that is potentially dangerous for you or other people always give it a second thought before sending. Remember that even encrypted messages can be decrypted with a single subscriber's key. If you must send something that, if connected to you, could put you or other people in trouble, consider sending it to one or more individuals directly rather than to the list and PGP-signing the message.

If you send something to the list asking others to do something for you, you MUST sign it so others can be sure that it is you!

Do not obscure the subject line or divulge secret information in the subject line. The subject line and the metadata (e.g. headers) of a message sent to an encrypted list are NOT encrypted. You SHOULD make subject line informative because messages sent through an encrypted list do not show the sender, at least not until they are decrypted.

Do not forward messages off-list without explicit permission from the sender and everyone who contributed to the forwarded thread.

An encrypted list breaks one of the most important foundations of cryptography - know who you are talking to. When you send an encrypted message directly to one or more individuals, you must encrypt it with the public key or keys of each recipient, forcing you to carefully think about who you are sending it to and ensuring it can only be opened by that person.

When you send an encrypted message to an encrypted list, you cannot be sure who is going to receive it. While we can rely on the trustworthy moderator to report new subscribers or even set-up the mail manager to report new subscriptions, by sending a message to an encrypted list you are sending your top secret message to a re-mailer that you don't control.

=='''Online data storage and sharing'''==

Online data storage, often referred to as “the cloud,” allows for greater collaboration and sharing of information but also introduces data security concerns since control of the data becomes shared with, or in some cases entirely handed over to, a third party. For internal sharing and online data storage, APC uses exclusively a self-hosted OwnCloud installation. All staff members '''MUST''' use OwnCloud, which works like other commercial services by installing an client1 or for use in a web browser. Use of the client and web interface is detailed in the APC OwnCloud Manual.

'''What should NOT be stored in APC OwnCloud'''

APC's OwnCloud instance is '''NOT''' encrypted. Team members '''MUST NOT''' use it to store highly sensitive data (see Appendix 2 for a definition of what is considered sensitive data).

'''Collaboration with external partners'''

Accounts on APC OwnCloud should be created for external collaborators working on APC projects. Project coordinators must request that the APC system administrator create these user accounts and any user group to which people working in a given project should be added. This safeguard prevents information from being shared with collaborators or team members for whom it is not intended.
Team members must be particularly careful when sharing information with a group of users via OwnCloud. It is very easy to make a mistake when selecting a user or user group.

'''Shared calendars'''

APC uses the shared calendar feature of its self-hosted OwnCloud installation to reduce the amount of data we share with third parties. Calendars can be shared among multiple users and user groups. The platform follows the open CalDav standard, which is compatible with the vast majority of calendar and task-management applications.

'''OwnCloud and contact synchronisation'''

APC staff are encouraged to use APC's OwnCloud for backup of their personal contacts and for synchronisation across devices. This can fully replace synchronisation over gmail accounts and can help APC staff in getting their personal data off Google's servers.

'''Collaborative document editing'''

Share files in Owncloud for asynchronous, collaborative document editing. In cases when a real-time online collaborative editing is needed, use etherpads hosted by May First or Riseup. This applies both to text documents, as well as to spreadsheets.

Riseup's Etherpad: https://pad.riseup.net

MayFirst's EtherCalc (spreadsheet): https://calc.mayfirst.org

Use Googledocs only in cases when an edited document must include synchronous editing in complex formats that are not available in etherpad.
Be aware that after you finish editing the document in Etherpad, you must download and store it locally. Riseup deletes unused pads after 30 days, unlike the way Googledocs are stored indefinitely.

''OwnCloud 6.0 will include an online collaborative editing feature, based on open document format (ODF). The functionalities will be very similar to those provided by GoogleDocs. Once the system is available and tested, APC will start using its OwnCloud for collaborative editing of documents with complex formatting.''

'''Instant messaging and voice'''

For team's instant communication, APC uses Jitsi VoIP & instant messaging client1. As of January 2014, it is the only existing open source client that provides end-to-end encrypted communication through open communication protocols (xmpp/Jabber, SIP), and is available for all major platforms. Team members must create an account on jit.si (a xmpp/jabber account provided by Jitsi developers).

Since APC uses Jitsi for calls and text messages over open protocols, you are welcome to use other open source clients to make calls through your jit.si account. However, for all types of sensitive communication, Jitsi client must be used as it is the only currently existing cross-platform client than provides full encryption.

Since most of VoIP communication outside APC takes place over Skype as the dominant VoIP/texting option, APC team members are not expected to drop Skype altogether. However, be aware that Skype is not a secure communication option and it should not be used for highly sensitive communication.
always use jabber or SIP protocols (on Jitsi or other clients) when possible.
Inform your communication partners about the advantages of migrating to secure open protocols and applications.
If you, despite all, can not avoid having a chat over Skype, be aware that content of Skype text chats are stored locally on the machine from which you are chatting, in addition to being stored on Microsoft-controlled servers. Never chat about sensitive issues from computers that are not yours!

To make secure VoIP calls from your android mobile to other smart phones or computers, use CSipSimple1 or Lumicall2. This VoIP application for android allows
use of ZRTP encryption for calls made over SIP networks. That way you can make secure end-to-end encrypted calls to other people who are using CSipSimple, Lumicall, or Jitsi.

'''Using wifi'''

Wifi encryption security has known shortcomings. If possible, APC staff SHOULD use wired connection when you are connecting from your office or home. If you can not avoid using wifi, follow these rules for establishing a secure connection:

* Never connect to anonymous open networks.
* Connect only to wifi networks that you trust.
* Password protect your home or office wifi network.
* Use WPA2 encryption (strongest) for your home or office wifi network.
* Disable WPA/WPA2 wireless access points.

Some older hardware will not connect to an access point with WPA2 encryption. Where there is a choice only between WEP and WPA encryption, WPA must be chosen for its improved security.

=='''Backing up data'''==

'''General'''

According to APC HR policy, all APC staff MUST periodically back up their work-related data1, preferably to . There are a number of free and open source back-up tools that can facilitate and automate the back-up process on team members' computers and portable devices 2.

Depending on one's email client settings and whether or not you are using IMAP or POP, all emails in an apc.org inbox are stored on GreenNet servers, which are automatically backed up nightly. Some versions of this backup are kept for up to one year. However, staff are encouraged to back up their emails themselves if not only for a much quicker recovery time.

'''Encrypting back-up data'''

It is recommended that all work-related data are backed up with encryption but there are types of data one doesn't need to encrypt such as documents that have no sensitive nature. There are a number of available open source tools that convert external hard drives or memory sticks into encrypted drives. Data backed up on CDs and DVDs should be encrypted prior to burning1.

'''Using cloud storage'''

Backing up sensitive data in the cloud, or simply on a networked server, is generally not recommended due to the lack of control one has over a third-party cloud service. However, if you cannot avoid using cloud services for back up, use one that you trust, like APC's OwnCloud.

'''Data on external devices'''

For principles of storage and management of data on portable devices, follow the section Secure data handling and sharing. Portable devices are particularly vulnerable to being compromised through loss or confiscation of the device or malware infection.
Transporting sensitive data in hostile environments
When carrying sensitive data in situations where associating such data with its carrier would be highly compromising, APC staff SHOULD:

* Hide such data on your portable device in a secret encrypted drive1, or
* Hide such data inside another, seemingly innocent type of data using steganography. techniques

=='''Virus protection'''==

Every APC staff member is required use and periodically update anti-virus software on their computer. This applies also to staff members whose operating systems are currently not vulnerable to virus contamination, such as GNU/Linux or MacOS. Whether one's computer is directly infected or not, choosing to not use any anti-virus software can lead to spreading viruses by email or portable media among colleagues and collaborators, which represents a potential security threat.
It is recommended that Windows users use the open source anti-virus software Clamwin with the Clam Sentinel add-on1. However, most free versions of commercially available anti-virus software provide very good protection as well, so the choice of anti-virus application is a personal one. See “AV comparative table” on Wikipedia for a list of details and features2. GNU/Linux and MacOS users are encouraged to use the open source Clamav anti-virus software. Other recommended anti-virus applications for Mac are Sophos (freeware) and ClamXav (free).

'''Malicious Scripts and Web Browsers'''

It is highly recommended that team members configure their browsers in such a way so as to minimise risks of downloading and executing website-embedded malicious scripts.

Recommended extensions for Firefox and Chrome browsers are:

Firefox: NoScript, BrowserProtect, BetterPrivacy1

Chrome: NotScripts2.

Note: Some of these extensions might inhibit some functionalities based on JavaScript, e.g. Facebook chat.

='''Dealing with sensitive data'''=

'''Collecting sensitive data'''

For collection of personal data, APC is generally guided by terms 1-7 of UK data protection principles, without those being binding in any way legally.1It is the responsibility of project managers to ensure that plans for handling sensitive information such as logistics details like passport numbers are complied with. In messages in which we ask others to submit their data, in introductory pages of online surveys, etc., project managers must clarify what they will do with sensitive information, with whom it will be shared and for how long it will be stored. This applies to hard copies as well as data stored on desktops, files servers or online. When collecting sensitive personal data (e.g. logistics-related information), the project manager who is in charge should develop brief documentation that outlines how will the data be used, whether and how it will be shared and when it will be deleted from the APC server or local databases. If the data will be stored for later use (e.g. for the APC contact database) it must be clarified in the documentation which data will be stored, in what format, if it will be encrypted or whether and when it will be erased.

Data that are considered even mildly sensitive MUST be collected using APC's LimeSurvey online survey tool, encrypted email communication, or other secure and encrypted means. Data that are not considered sensitive can also be collected using LimeSurvey as well as email questionnaires or by other means that facilitates data collection and manipulation.

When collecting sensitive information with LimeSurvey, the person responsible for the integrity of the collected information should assure that:

* No one besides selected team members and the APC system administrator has access to the collected data.
* Survey results are deleted from LimeSurvey database as soon as they are processed.

'''Secure data handling and sharing'''

Encryption is particularly important in the case of data that contains private, personal information or information that could be compromising to you or other people. There are a number of ways in which data can be encrypted, for example with your OpenPGP key or with a standalone encryption application (see the section Encryption for more details). Data can be also stored in a secure, encrypted database such as KeePass1 (see the section Passwords).

To share such sensitive data with others over the internet, APC staff MUST encrypt it with the recipients' PGP key before sending. For particularly sensitive data it is better to share it as a Keepass database and to communicate the password by phone or an encrypted voice call, e.g. over a Jitsi call.

='''Application choice'''=

Free and open source software is generally more secure than proprietary software. Mainstream operating system applications whose code is regularly reviewed by independent reviewers are a guarantee that they do only what they are supposed to do and do not perform any other actions, such as unwanted collection of user data.

APC staff SHOULD consider using one of the many open source operating systems. Particularly, Ubuntu (GNU/Linux) users can find solid support from other APC team members and there is ample experience with other GNU/Linux distributions within the wider APC community. GNU/Linux facilitates secure data handling and storage very well 1. Users of proprietary operating systems can nevertheless use open source software for most of their computing needs, which significantly improves the safety of their data and hardware.

'''Email client'''

One of the best-supported and most feature-rich email clients currently available is Mozilla Thunderbird2. Thunderbird works with Windows, Mac and GNU/Linux and it is widely used and supported by APC team and members.

'''Web browser'''

Mozilla Firefox1 is one of the most feature-rich, extensible and secure internet browsers. As compared to Internet Explorer (IE), it also supports a wider range of industry-accepted protocols such as HTML5. Using Mozilla Firefox with the appropriate add-ons or plug-ins will make your internet browsing significantly safer. See the section Secure Internet browsing for more details. Another recommended browser for GNU/Linux users with KDE desktop environment is Konqueror.

Those team members who cannot avoid using IE (e.g. because it is required for administration of APC finance system) SHOULD use Sun's Java Virtual Machine (JVM), not the insecure Microsoft JVM environment2.

'''Office suite'''

Despite occasional compatibility issues with open source alternatives, Microsoft Office is typically not needed for APC work or most other office tasks. Since APC team shares documents in open document standards (ODF), team members MUST install LibreOffice or other office package that supports open format standards1. If you can not avoid using Microsoft Office applications, saving and sharing documents in odf format is recommended for compatibility and also as a means to avoid embedding malicious content.

='''Instant messaging, audio and video conferencing'''=

Jitsi is the main VoIP chatting application used by APC team. Team uses jit.si xmpp/jabber service as the main service where all APC team members have to create an account (see Instant messaging, chat and voice section for more details).

'''Anti-virus, anti-spyware and back-up applications'''

For recommendations on application choice, see Virus protection and Backing up data sections.

'''Other software'''

There are reliable, free and open source software (FOSS) applications for all of your computing needs. Well-supported projects with rapid development include Gimp1 for image manipulation, Audacity for audio editing, Open Shot Video editor, Scribus for desktop publishing and many others. If you are using proprietary software and you are interested in replacing it with a FOSS alternative, ask the APC team mailing list or look up an alternative on www.osalt.com.

'''Document sharing standards'''

Unless there is a specific need to use a proprietary format (e.g. use of automated donor forms designed in Microsoft Word), APC team members MUST share documents in open format standards1.

The reasons include greater compatibility, accessibility and also security, since documents in open standard formats are less likely to execute malicious scripts on your computer.

'''Passwords'''

[Basic information and why you shouldn't use the same password for everything]

If any team member cannot remember all of her/his passwords, s/he SHOULD use reliable password manager! A reliable open source password manager is Keepass, which is available for all platforms, including those used by most smartphones1. This will decrease the risk that your passwords or other sensitive information will be compromised, e.g. through an infection by spyware software, and allow users to:

* Carry passphrases encrypted on a portable device, between devices
* Store passwords securely in an encrypted format
* Store passwords along with other sensitive data such as private PGP/GPG keys, credit card details, sensitive documents, images

'''Web browser password managers'''

Storing passwords directly in your browser's password manager is very risky, because the passwords are stored unencrypted and can be easily recovered by anyone who gains access to your computer, including both physical access and remote access, for example via a spyware program.

Instead, use the above-mentioned standalone password manager to copy and paste passwords into online forms with just a few clicks, without exposing passwords in a way that they could be identified by spyware applications. Some password management applications allow integration with your browser, so the passwords that you chose to store in your browser are automatically and securely handled by the standalone password manager1.
Secure web browsing
Using https protects APC staff not only from eventual echelons who might want to monitor what content they are accessing, but also from intruders intercepting passwords and other sensitive data when they are transferred unencrypted. Particularly if you cannot avoid connecting to a public wifi network, the risk of interception of unencrypted communication and leakage of your passwords is extremely high.

Team members MUST take the following measures (depending on the web browser they use):

* Install the Https Everywhere extension for your browser, available for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.2
* Check the security/privacy preferences of your browser and if such option is available, choose connecting via secure connection (https).
* For third-party services that you use for APC-related work, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, , look for and enable the “always use secure connection” option in the preferences of your account. You did this successfully if the next time you connect to given service the URL of that particular service start with https (secure/encrypted http). You SHOULD do this for all your online services that offer this option, thus minimising significantly the chance that someone will hijack your account.

When connecting to above-mentioned third-party services from a portable device such as phone, avoid using specialised “apps”. These usually communicate with the service through an unencrypted connection regardless whether or not you configured your browser-based service to always communicate via https. When possible, use these services via your mobile browser.

=='''Online privacy'''==

'''Basic privacy measures when browsing online'''

When browsing the internet, the user leaves many traces behind on visited websites as well as on the computer one is using. Browser extensions also make it impossible for visited services to ‘profile’ you based on your online behavior and monetise this information. The following extensions/plug-ins enable APC staff to prevent unwanted parties from tracking them:

* Firefox: BetterPrivacy, Ghostery1
* Google Chrome: Ghostery, Disconnect.

'''Anonymous browsing and circumvention'''

Those team members who need to connect to websites anonymously, or who need to access websites that are blocked in their countries SHOULD use an anonymisation software such as TOR 3. Users of Android and iOS-based portable devices can install Orbot – an implementation of TOR for portable devices and Orweb (browser that enables anonymous web browsing using TOR service)4.

'''Other anonymous communications'''

Use of TOR is also recommended for other communication that is generally legitimate and ethical, but conflicts with legislation of the country from which the communication is made, or in cases when associating the communication with team members might put them or other people at risk. All staff's connections to the internet can be anonymised if needed by routing them through TOR including chat, email, P2P networking.

=='''Generating and sharing images, video, audio and digital stories'''==

APC work dealing with to audiovisual (A/V) recordings and digital stories is governed by following policies:

Informed, verbal consent MUST be obtained from anyone whom APC staff member records on audio or video, unless such recording is made in a public space where such recordings are common and expected, e.g. a conference or lecture. The same policy applies to taking photographs.

Informed, written consent with using images or A/V recordings on APC websites or for other purposes MUST be obtained in writing from all individuals who are captured in that material. Unless these individuals clearly licence APC to re-purpose such material freely in the future, such consent must be requested and granted every time APC plans to use the material.

If images or A/V material that includes one or more individuals is to be stored on team member's equipment or APC's online spaces, it MUST be accompanied by the documentation on how the material can be used in the future.

'''Storing A/V material and images'''

Principles described in the section Dealing with sensitive data apply fully to audiovisual material and images containing work-related footage, pictures, or audio recordings of other people. Such material MUST NOT be stored on third-party online services, e.g. Flickr, Facebook. APC's OwnCloud may be used for storing work-related A/V material and images of other people only when such material does not contain compromising information.

'''Sharing A/V material and images'''

A/V footage or pictures of other people MUST NOT be shared with people outside the APC team without consent of those who have been photographed or filmed. Such material may be shared with colleagues n APC team for specific purposes. However, the material MUST be accompanied by sufficient information on how it can be used and whether APC was granted permission for any public display of such footage or images.

'''Phones and Other Portable Devices'''

All points of this policy apply to mobile phones and other portable devices in the same way as they apply to personal computers, as long as they are used for work-related communication or as a storage device for work-related data.

'''Threats Resulting from Social Engineering Activities'''

A frequently used strategy for extracting sensitive data is social engineering. Social engineering, in the context of information security, refers to psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information1. The only possible defense is awareness and sound judgment when dealing with suspicious communication.

If a message is suspicious, even when staff members know the alleged sender, attachments should not be opened and clicking on links included in the messages should be avoided. Even some massively distributed fraught messages are designed in a way that makes the content look trustworthy and sender to seem like someone who knows the addressee. Hijacking of Skype and social networking identities is another common method of information extraction. When sharing sensitive information, team members MUST confirm the identity of the person they are sharing with.

APC staff MUST NOT disclose any even mildly sensitive information to any unknown person or anyone whose identity is in doubt. This is particularly important in case of team members who are involved in human rights work. Leaking sensitive information to an impostor can result in unrepairable damages.

=='''Managing Organisational Infrastructure'''==

The following principles apply to management of organisational infrastructure:

'''General'''

* Administrative passwords to all APC mailing lists will be changed twice a year.
* Only the APC systems administrator and one selected team member have access to recordings of online meetings in APC's online meeting system.
* Only APC system administrator, technical support and the communications manager have superadmin privileges to APC servers, including FTP access, database manipulation, OwnCloud administration, content management systems, and other server applications. When needed, the APC system administrator can grant specific privileges to other team members, but this MUST be documented and such privileges should be downgraded as soon as this access is no longer needed (e.g. end of a specific project).
* Only the APC system administrator and the executive director have administrative privileges to make changes to APC-owned DNS records.

'''Staff exit management'''

* When a staff member leaves APC, their access to private lists and online spaces is deactivated within two days, unless there are specific reasons why such access should be maintained. Posting privileges to some of the lists might be preserved, if needed.
** APC system administrator is responsible for disabling ex-staff's access to lists and their access to other spaces and systems.
** The staff member responsible for administering staff's contacts in APC's contact database must make sure that exiting staff member is removed from the “APC Staff” contact group.
* When a staff member leaves APC, their administrative privileges to lists and spaces are handed over to their supervisor or to a person(s) previously identified by the supervisor. This MUST happen before such staff member leaves.

'''Agreement with organisational partners on sensitive information'''

When a new project starts, the project coordinator SHOULD sign an agreement on information sharing principles with all project partners. This agreement should include:

* List of all expected types of information that will be exchanged between collaborating organisations and which of those types are to be considered sensitive information.
* Details on how sensitive information will be exchanged and what exact security measures will be taken to protect the information (e.g. Sending encrypted email, exchanging encrypted databases, using secure voice communication).

'''Activity-specific security policies'''

When organising an event that is of a sensitive nature such as when participants' identities must be kept private, a specific security policy MUST be in place and participants must be informed about it. It must address:

* Principles of communication on coordination lists or email loops (e.g. Do people disclose their identity? How much should they share about themselves and their work? Which email addresses should they use for such communication?).
* Principles of sharing information about the event outside of the event (e.g. Can they inform others that they are attending the event? If so, who can be informed and who cannot. Can people tweet from the event?).
* A/V documentation (e.g. Can people take photos or make audio or video recordings? Can these photos and recordings be shared? How and with whom?).
* Access to information about venue and participants (e.g. Who has access and where is it stored?). This includes all documentation from the event such as notes, photos, audio and video documentation.
* Reporting from the event (e.g. What will be included in the report? Who will have access to the report? Will donors receive detailed information about the event?).

'''Online Databases and Access to Servers'''

When designing online databases that are meant to host sensitive content such as personal information, the following rules must be followed by the server administrator:

* The database web browser interface will be hosted on a server that is separate from the server where the database is hosted.
* Data-at-rest must be encrypted. A system must be put in place that automates this or facilitates management of such encryption.
* All data for all websites, both external and internal, must be retrieved and posted using a secure connection and a secure protocol such as https.

Only SFTP and SSH protocols are permitted for direct access to APC servers.

Secure online communications

2016-05-31T14:58:14Z

Ivan:

[[File:security.jpg|thumb|200px]]

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Security Policy governs the use of computer equipment and portable devices by APC staff, and provides cursory guidance on how to maintain privacy and manage sensitive information when handling work-related data.
Below is an overview of some of the DOs, DON'Ts and best practices, “CONSIDERATIONS,” that are covered more in depth beginning on page four. The DOs and DON'Ts are baseline obligations for APC staff, which must be followed in compliance with APC policy.

='''Executive Summary'''=

'''DOs'''

*Configure your email client to communicate with the server via secure SSL/TSL connection.
*Have a PGP/GPG key that can be used for encrypting email or other sensitive data stored on your computer. PGP/GPG keys should have a passphrase which is, at minimum, two words long. Encrypt sensitive data on portable devices.
*Follow APC's staff policy for exchanging email communication and guidelines for encrypting emails. When accessing your email with a web browser (e.g. APC webmail) connect through a secure interface using the protocol https.
*Follow APC's guidelines for mailing lists and encrypted mailing lists.
*Use OwnCloud for cloud data storage and data sharing
*Use OwnCloud calendaring to host shared calendars (replacing Google Calendars)
*Share documents via OwnCloud (for asynchronous collaboration) or use Etherpads for (synchronous) collaborative document editing.
*Use Jitsi for messaging/VoIP communication whenever possible. Use Jitsi for all messaging/VoIP communication in APC team.
*Delete your chat history in Skype as soon as you end a chat that contains compromising information. Consider switching off your chat history altogether so it is never logged.
*Use and periodically update anti-virus software on your computer.
*Clearly state what you will do with any sensitive information you are collecting, such as logistics details (passport numbers), and how it will be stored.
*Install LibreOffice or other office package that supports open format standards1.
*Employ a passphrase protected screensaver that automatically activates after 10 minutes of inactivity (applies both to computer and portable devices).
*Create an OpenID account on the apc.org website to use as an authentication mechanism for all APC online spaces.
*Install and be able to use anonymisation software such as TOR or Orbot for anonymous web browsing on your desktop and portable devices.
*Follow APC’s policy for work relating to A/V recordings and digital stories.
*Treat suspicious email communication as potentially hazardous to our equipment and data. Don’t disclose even mildly sensitive information to anyone about whose identity you have a least doubt.
*Ensure that no unauthorized entity has access to your computing devices or data stored on them, including back up devices.

'''DON’Ts'''

*Use Skype on other people's machines for conversations that contain highly compromising information or conversations that involve participants whose identify must be kept secret.
*Use Skype for communication within APC team, unless it is absolutely necessary.
*Collect data that are considered even mildly sensitive without using APC's LimeSurvey online survey tool, encrypted email communication or other secure and encrypted means.
*Use Microsoft Outlook or other email clients shipped with Windows or with the Microsoft Office package. Additionally, don’t use Microsoft Internet Explorer or other browsers packaged with Windows, unless it is absolutely necessary.
*Store passphrases for access to APC services, APC online spaces or other APC data in email messages, text files, in your browser's password manager, etc., or on paper sheets or post-it notes. Only store passphrases on your computer in an encrypted format.

'''CONSIDER'''

*Finding out whether or not the use of encryption in internet communication is legal in your country of residence.
*Educating yourself on issues of privacy related to communication in encrypted lists.
*Following this guide to increase security when using “the cloud” or an online storage system such as Dropbox.
*Using an open source password management software such as Keepass if you can not remember all your passphrases.
*Backing up your data at least once per week, if not more often. Back up media must be stored in a safe place. Additionally, all confidential or sensitive *APC-related back up data should be encrypted.
*Prioritising free and open source software whenever possible.
*Connecting to web content via https connection whenever possible.
*Follow APC's guidelines for establishing a secure connection if you cannot use a wired connection to get online from your office or home.

='''Purpose'''=

This policy outlines the acceptable use of computer equipment and portable devices at APC. Inappropriate use of ICTs exposes APC to risks including virus attacks, compromise of network systems and services and disclosure of private information that can put APC, APC staff and its collaborators at risk. This policy is in place to protect both the organisation and individuals.

='''Scope'''=

This policy applies to APC staff, interns and other workers at APC. It also applies to all equipment, data and communications related to APC and its projects. This policy does not apply to devices used exclusively for personal communication, although applying a similar policy for such communication is highly recommended. The APC Security Policy forms part of APC's HR Resources Manual and all APC staff are asked to read it and sign it.

='''Perspective users of the policy'''=

APC staff will be responsible for applying the guidelines in the APC Security Policy and it will be made available to the entire APC network with the expectation that some network members will be interested in applying some variant of the policy1. Once the policy is implemented and time tested, a generic version will be developed and disseminated online under an open licence.

='''APC Security Policy'''=

=='''Email and email list communication'''==

'''Email client security settings'''

For choice of email client applications, see section Application choice. Some clients, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, have SSL/TSL as a default setting when configuring a new email account. Without a secure SSL/TSL connection, the content of your email communication is sent in plain text through several communication nodes between your computer and your mail server.
The following principles apply to securely communicating over email:

'''General email communication'''

APC staff follows this policy for exchanging email communication:

* Do not open email and attachments from people you do not trust.
* Use plaintext rather than html, when practical.
* Before forwarding any messages originating in APC lists, evaluate thoroughly whether the forwarded thread does not contain any information that was meant only for a given team or that might be considered private.
* Keep in mind that the participants in APC lists change and some project lists may also include people who are not part of the APC team or the wider APC network. Therefore, make sure to not share internal information on such lists.
* If you wish for your message to stay strictly internal, you '''MUST''' state clearly that it is internal in the body and the subject line of the message.
* Information that is potentially compromising for you or others '''MUST NOT''' be shared on APC lists but should be sent directly to the intended recipients, ideally in encrypted format. See the next section Encrypted email communication.

'''Encrypted email communication'''

While it is not expected that staff will encrypt all communications, they '''MUST''' be able to exchange encrypted communication when needed using an OpenPGP key1. Therefore, all APC staff must be equipped with an OpenPGP-compliant application that allows them to encrypt email communication and other data. For Mozilla Firefox users, the add-on Enigmail2 is a trusted option. APC staff should use the following checklist to determine whether email communication needs to be encrypted.

* Not all emails exchanged by the team need to be encrypted.
* All sensitive information should be encrypted. Even mildly sensitive information, such as private details about others, or passwords to not-so-important accounts.
* All replies to and forwards of encrypted email messages should also be encrypted.
* The subject line of encrypted messages should be discreet, since this, along with other metadata3, is not encrypted.
* Avoid sending attachments. If you must, and those attachments must also be encrypted, ensure your email client supports and is using the PGP/MIME encryption standard.
* If links are pasted into an email then the email should be PGP-signed. The same goes for emails with attachments, which authenticates that neither the content nor link will harm the recipient.
* Team members sign messages when it is important that trust be established.
* Team members sign messages when there is a possibility that the content of the email could be compromising to someone (e.g. when specific instructions are given).
* The most sensitive information should be inserted in email body, not the attachments.

Remember that email encryption is illegal in some countries. From countries where APC is active, these include Pakistan and Venezuela1. APC staff can consult local organisations and legal support groups to find out:

* The legality of encrypted communication by individuals
* How encrypted communication is being prosecuted.

'''Mailing lists'''

Each time a new person joins an APC mailing list, they '''MUST''' be announced to the list. Footers of all APC mailing lists '''MUST''' include instructions on how to retrieve information about other subscribers, so that all list members can check at any time who else is subscribed to a particular list.
While neither of these conditions applies to distribution or broadcast lists such as APC News and APC Forum lists, each message of those lists must contain information about how to unsubscribe, usually in the footer. People should not be subscribed to broadcast lists without their knowledge and permission.

'''Encrypted mailing lists'''

Setting up encrypted mailing lists should be considered for projects that include very sensitive communication and where the following conditions can be met:

* It is certain that all users of the list will be able to use PGP encryption.
* None of the list participants resides in a country where PGP encryption is illegal or is likely to be illegal in the near future.

''APC currently does not host its own encrypted lists but we plan to do so in future. When APC has the capacity to host encrypted mailing lists their usage will become mandatory for coordination of sensitive projects, such as projects dealing with Human Rights defense. There are some other activist groups that host encrypted mailing lists and can be approached (e.g. nadir.org).''

'''General rules for using encrypted lists'''

When sending information that is potentially dangerous for you or other people always give it a second thought before sending. Remember that even encrypted messages can be decrypted with a single subscriber's key. If you must send something that, if connected to you, could put you or other people in trouble, consider sending it to one or more individuals directly rather than to the list and PGP-signing the message.

If you send something to the list asking others to do something for you, you MUST sign it so others can be sure that it is you!

Do not obscure the subject line or divulge secret information in the subject line. The subject line and the metadata (e.g. headers) of a message sent to an encrypted list are NOT encrypted. You SHOULD make subject line informative because messages sent through an encrypted list do not show the sender, at least not until they are decrypted.

Do not forward messages off-list without explicit permission from the sender and everyone who contributed to the forwarded thread.

An encrypted list breaks one of the most important foundations of cryptography - know who you are talking to. When you send an encrypted message directly to one or more individuals, you must encrypt it with the public key or keys of each recipient, forcing you to carefully think about who you are sending it to and ensuring it can only be opened by that person.

When you send an encrypted message to an encrypted list, you cannot be sure who is going to receive it. While we can rely on the trustworthy moderator to report new subscribers or even set-up the mail manager to report new subscriptions, by sending a message to an encrypted list you are sending your top secret message to a re-mailer that you don't control.

=='''Online data storage and sharing'''==

Online data storage, often referred to as “the cloud,” allows for greater collaboration and sharing of information but also introduces data security concerns since control of the data becomes shared with, or in some cases entirely handed over to, a third party. For internal sharing and online data storage, APC uses exclusively a self-hosted OwnCloud installation. All staff members '''MUST''' use OwnCloud, which works like other commercial services by installing an client1 or for use in a web browser. Use of the client and web interface is detailed in the APC OwnCloud Manual.

'''What should NOT be stored in APC OwnCloud'''

APC's OwnCloud instance is '''NOT''' encrypted. Team members '''MUST NOT''' use it to store highly sensitive data (see Appendix 2 for a definition of what is considered sensitive data).

'''Collaboration with external partners'''

Accounts on APC OwnCloud should be created for external collaborators working on APC projects. Project coordinators must request that the APC system administrator create these user accounts and any user group to which people working in a given project should be added. This safeguard prevents information from being shared with collaborators or team members for whom it is not intended.
Team members must be particularly careful when sharing information with a group of users via OwnCloud. It is very easy to make a mistake when selecting a user or user group.

'''Shared calendars'''

APC uses the shared calendar feature of its self-hosted OwnCloud installation to reduce the amount of data we share with third parties. Calendars can be shared among multiple users and user groups. The platform follows the open CalDav standard, which is compatible with the vast majority of calendar and task-management applications.

'''OwnCloud and contact synchronisation'''

APC staff are encouraged to use APC's OwnCloud for backup of their personal contacts and for synchronisation across devices. This can fully replace synchronisation over gmail accounts and can help APC staff in getting their personal data off Google's servers.

'''Collaborative document editing'''

Share files in Owncloud for asynchronous, collaborative document editing. In cases when a real-time online collaborative editing is needed, use etherpads hosted by May First or Riseup. This applies both to text documents, as well as to spreadsheets.

Riseup's Etherpad: https://pad.riseup.net

MayFirst's EtherCalc (spreadsheet): https://calc.mayfirst.org

Use Googledocs only in cases when an edited document must include synchronous editing in complex formats that are not available in etherpad.
Be aware that after you finish editing the document in Etherpad, you must download and store it locally. Riseup deletes unused pads after 30 days, unlike the way Googledocs are stored indefinitely.

''OwnCloud 6.0 will include an online collaborative editing feature, based on open document format (ODF). The functionalities will be very similar to those provided by GoogleDocs. Once the system is available and tested, APC will start using its OwnCloud for collaborative editing of documents with complex formatting.''

'''Instant messaging and voice'''

For team's instant communication, APC uses Jitsi VoIP & instant messaging client1. As of January 2014, it is the only existing open source client that provides end-to-end encrypted communication through open communication protocols (xmpp/Jabber, SIP), and is available for all major platforms. Team members must create an account on jit.si (a xmpp/jabber account provided by Jitsi developers).

Since APC uses Jitsi for calls and text messages over open protocols, you are welcome to use other open source clients to make calls through your jit.si account. However, for all types of sensitive communication, Jitsi client must be used as it is the only currently existing cross-platform client than provides full encryption.

Since most of VoIP communication outside APC takes place over Skype as the dominant VoIP/texting option, APC team members are not expected to drop Skype altogether. However, be aware that Skype is not a secure communication option and it should not be used for highly sensitive communication.
always use jabber or SIP protocols (on Jitsi or other clients) when possible.
Inform your communication partners about the advantages of migrating to secure open protocols and applications.
If you, despite all, can not avoid having a chat over Skype, be aware that content of Skype text chats are stored locally on the machine from which you are chatting, in addition to being stored on Microsoft-controlled servers. Never chat about sensitive issues from computers that are not yours!

To make secure VoIP calls from your android mobile to other smart phones or computers, use CSipSimple1 or Lumicall2. This VoIP application for android allows
use of ZRTP encryption for calls made over SIP networks. That way you can make secure end-to-end encrypted calls to other people who are using CSipSimple, Lumicall, or Jitsi.

'''Using wifi'''

Wifi encryption security has known shortcomings. If possible, APC staff SHOULD use wired connection when you are connecting from your office or home. If you can not avoid using wifi, follow these rules for establishing a secure connection:

* Never connect to anonymous open networks.
* Connect only to wifi networks that you trust.
* Password protect your home or office wifi network.
* Use WPA2 encryption (strongest) for your home or office wifi network.
* Disable WPA/WPA2 wireless access points.

Some older hardware will not connect to an access point with WPA2 encryption. Where there is a choice only between WEP and WPA encryption, WPA must be chosen for its improved security.

=='''Backing up data'''==

'''General'''

According to APC HR policy, all APC staff MUST periodically back up their work-related data1, preferably to . There are a number of free and open source back-up tools that can facilitate and automate the back-up process on team members' computers and portable devices 2.

Depending on one's email client settings and whether or not you are using IMAP or POP, all emails in an apc.org inbox are stored on GreenNet servers, which are automatically backed up nightly. Some versions of this backup are kept for up to one year. However, staff are encouraged to back up their emails themselves if not only for a much quicker recovery time.

'''Encrypting back-up data'''

It is recommended that all work-related data are backed up with encryption but there are types of data one doesn't need to encrypt such as documents that have no sensitive nature. There are a number of available open source tools that convert external hard drives or memory sticks into encrypted drives. Data backed up on CDs and DVDs should be encrypted prior to burning1.

'''Using cloud storage'''

Backing up sensitive data in the cloud, or simply on a networked server, is generally not recommended due to the lack of control one has over a third-party cloud service. However, if you cannot avoid using cloud services for back up, use one that you trust, like APC's OwnCloud.

'''Data on external devices'''

For principles of storage and management of data on portable devices, follow the section Secure data handling and sharing. Portable devices are particularly vulnerable to being compromised through loss or confiscation of the device or malware infection.
Transporting sensitive data in hostile environments
When carrying sensitive data in situations where associating such data with its carrier would be highly compromising, APC staff SHOULD:

* Hide such data on your portable device in a secret encrypted drive1, or
* Hide such data inside another, seemingly innocent type of data using steganography. techniques

=='''Virus protection'''==

Every APC staff member is required use and periodically update anti-virus software on their computer. This applies also to staff members whose operating systems are currently not vulnerable to virus contamination, such as GNU/Linux or MacOS. Whether one's computer is directly infected or not, choosing to not use any anti-virus software can lead to spreading viruses by email or portable media among colleagues and collaborators, which represents a potential security threat.
It is recommended that Windows users use the open source anti-virus software Clamwin with the Clam Sentinel add-on1. However, most free versions of commercially available anti-virus software provide very good protection as well, so the choice of anti-virus application is a personal one. See “AV comparative table” on Wikipedia for a list of details and features2. GNU/Linux and MacOS users are encouraged to use the open source Clamav anti-virus software. Other recommended anti-virus applications for Mac are Sophos (freeware) and ClamXav (free).

'''Malicious Scripts and Web Browsers'''

It is highly recommended that team members configure their browsers in such a way so as to minimise risks of downloading and executing website-embedded malicious scripts.

Recommended extensions for Firefox and Chrome browsers are:

Firefox: NoScript, BrowserProtect, BetterPrivacy1

Chrome: NotScripts2.

Note: Some of these extensions might inhibit some functionalities based on JavaScript, e.g. Facebook chat.

='''Dealing with sensitive data'''=

'''Collecting sensitive data'''

For collection of personal data, APC is generally guided by terms 1-7 of UK data protection principles, without those being binding in any way legally.1It is the responsibility of project managers to ensure that plans for handling sensitive information such as logistics details like passport numbers are complied with. In messages in which we ask others to submit their data, in introductory pages of online surveys, etc., project managers must clarify what they will do with sensitive information, with whom it will be shared and for how long it will be stored. This applies to hard copies as well as data stored on desktops, files servers or online. When collecting sensitive personal data (e.g. logistics-related information), the project manager who is in charge should develop brief documentation that outlines how will the data be used, whether and how it will be shared and when it will be deleted from the APC server or local databases. If the data will be stored for later use (e.g. for the APC contact database) it must be clarified in the documentation which data will be stored, in what format, if it will be encrypted or whether and when it will be erased.

Data that are considered even mildly sensitive MUST be collected using APC's LimeSurvey online survey tool, encrypted email communication, or other secure and encrypted means. Data that are not considered sensitive can also be collected using LimeSurvey as well as email questionnaires or by other means that facilitates data collection and manipulation.

When collecting sensitive information with LimeSurvey, the person responsible for the integrity of the collected information should assure that:

* No one besides selected team members and the APC system administrator has access to the collected data.
* Survey results are deleted from LimeSurvey database as soon as they are processed.

'''Secure data handling and sharing'''

Encryption is particularly important in the case of data that contains private, personal information or information that could be compromising to you or other people. There are a number of ways in which data can be encrypted, for example with your OpenPGP key or with a standalone encryption application (see the section Encryption for more details). Data can be also stored in a secure, encrypted database such as KeePass1 (see the section Passwords).

To share such sensitive data with others over the internet, APC staff MUST encrypt it with the recipients' PGP key before sending. For particularly sensitive data it is better to share it as a Keepass database and to communicate the password by phone or an encrypted voice call, e.g. over a Jitsi call.

='''Application choice'''=

Free and open source software is generally more secure than proprietary software. Mainstream operating system applications whose code is regularly reviewed by independent reviewers are a guarantee that they do only what they are supposed to do and do not perform any other actions, such as unwanted collection of user data.

APC staff SHOULD consider using one of the many open source operating systems. Particularly, Ubuntu (GNU/Linux) users can find solid support from other APC team members and there is ample experience with other GNU/Linux distributions within the wider APC community. GNU/Linux facilitates secure data handling and storage very well 1. Users of proprietary operating systems can nevertheless use open source software for most of their computing needs, which significantly improves the safety of their data and hardware.

'''Email client'''

One of the best-supported and most feature-rich email clients currently available is Mozilla Thunderbird2. Thunderbird works with Windows, Mac and GNU/Linux and it is widely used and supported by APC team and members.

'''Web browser'''

Mozilla Firefox1 is one of the most feature-rich, extensible and secure internet browsers. As compared to Internet Explorer (IE), it also supports a wider range of industry-accepted protocols such as HTML5. Using Mozilla Firefox with the appropriate add-ons or plug-ins will make your internet browsing significantly safer. See the section Secure Internet browsing for more details. Another recommended browser for GNU/Linux users with KDE desktop environment is Konqueror.

Those team members who cannot avoid using IE (e.g. because it is required for administration of APC finance system) SHOULD use Sun's Java Virtual Machine (JVM), not the insecure Microsoft JVM environment2.

'''Office suite'''

Despite occasional compatibility issues with open source alternatives, Microsoft Office is typically not needed for APC work or most other office tasks. Since APC team shares documents in open document standards (ODF), team members MUST install LibreOffice or other office package that supports open format standards1. If you can not avoid using Microsoft Office applications, saving and sharing documents in odf format is recommended for compatibility and also as a means to avoid embedding malicious content.

='''Instant messaging, audio and video conferencing'''=

Jitsi is the main VoIP chatting application used by APC team. Team uses jit.si xmpp/jabber service as the main service where all APC team members have to create an account (see Instant messaging, chat and voice section for more details).

'''Anti-virus, anti-spyware and back-up applications'''

For recommendations on application choice, see Virus protection and Backing up data sections.

'''Other software'''

There are reliable, free and open source software (FOSS) applications for all of your computing needs. Well-supported projects with rapid development include Gimp1 for image manipulation, Audacity for audio editing, Open Shot Video editor, Scribus for desktop publishing and many others. If you are using proprietary software and you are interested in replacing it with a FOSS alternative, ask the APC team mailing list or look up an alternative on www.osalt.com.

'''Document sharing standards'''

Unless there is a specific need to use a proprietary format (e.g. use of automated donor forms designed in Microsoft Word), APC team members MUST share documents in open format standards1.

The reasons include greater compatibility, accessibility and also security, since documents in open standard formats are less likely to execute malicious scripts on your computer.

'''Passwords'''

[Basic information and why you shouldn't use the same password for everything]

If any team member cannot remember all of her/his passwords, s/he SHOULD use reliable password manager! A reliable open source password manager is Keepass, which is available for all platforms, including those used by most smartphones1. This will decrease the risk that your passwords or other sensitive information will be compromised, e.g. through an infection by spyware software, and allow users to:

* Carry passphrases encrypted on a portable device, between devices
* Store passwords securely in an encrypted format
* Store passwords along with other sensitive data such as private PGP/GPG keys, credit card details, sensitive documents, images

'''Web browser password managers'''

Storing passwords directly in your browser's password manager is very risky, because the passwords are stored unencrypted and can be easily recovered by anyone who gains access to your computer, including both physical access and remote access, for example via a spyware program.

Instead, use the above-mentioned standalone password manager to copy and paste passwords into online forms with just a few clicks, without exposing passwords in a way that they could be identified by spyware applications. Some password management applications allow integration with your browser, so the passwords that you chose to store in your browser are automatically and securely handled by the standalone password manager1.
Secure web browsing
Using https protects APC staff not only from eventual echelons who might want to monitor what content they are accessing, but also from intruders intercepting passwords and other sensitive data when they are transferred unencrypted. Particularly if you cannot avoid connecting to a public wifi network, the risk of interception of unencrypted communication and leakage of your passwords is extremely high.

Team members MUST take the following measures (depending on the web browser they use):

* Install the Https Everywhere extension for your browser, available for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.2
* Check the security/privacy preferences of your browser and if such option is available, choose connecting via secure connection (https).
* For third-party services that you use for APC-related work, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, , look for and enable the “always use secure connection” option in the preferences of your account. You did this successfully if the next time you connect to given service the URL of that particular service start with https (secure/encrypted http). You SHOULD do this for all your online services that offer this option, thus minimising significantly the chance that someone will hijack your account.

When connecting to above-mentioned third-party services from a portable device such as phone, avoid using specialised “apps”. These usually communicate with the service through an unencrypted connection regardless whether or not you configured your browser-based service to always communicate via https. When possible, use these services via your mobile browser.

==='''Online privacy'''===

'''Basic privacy measures when browsing online'''

When browsing the internet, the user leaves many traces behind on visited websites as well as on the computer one is using. Browser extensions also make it impossible for visited services to ‘profile’ you based on your online behavior and monetise this information. The following extensions/plug-ins enable APC staff to prevent unwanted parties from tracking them:

* Firefox: BetterPrivacy, Ghostery1
* Google Chrome: Ghostery, Disconnect.

'''Anonymous browsing and circumvention'''

Those team members who need to connect to websites anonymously, or who need to access websites that are blocked in their countries SHOULD use an anonymisation software such as TOR 3. Users of Android and iOS-based portable devices can install Orbot – an implementation of TOR for portable devices and Orweb (browser that enables anonymous web browsing using TOR service)4.

'''Other anonymous communications'''

Use of TOR is also recommended for other communication that is generally legitimate and ethical, but conflicts with legislation of the country from which the communication is made, or in cases when associating the communication with team members might put them or other people at risk. All staff's connections to the internet can be anonymised if needed by routing them through TOR including chat, email, P2P networking.

==='''Generating and sharing images, video, audio and digital stories'''===

APC work dealing with to audiovisual (A/V) recordings and digital stories is governed by following policies:

Informed, verbal consent MUST be obtained from anyone whom APC staff member records on audio or video, unless such recording is made in a public space where such recordings are common and expected, e.g. a conference or lecture. The same policy applies to taking photographs.

Informed, written consent with using images or A/V recordings on APC websites or for other purposes MUST be obtained in writing from all individuals who are captured in that material. Unless these individuals clearly licence APC to re-purpose such material freely in the future, such consent must be requested and granted every time APC plans to use the material.

If images or A/V material that includes one or more individuals is to be stored on team member's equipment or APC's online spaces, it MUST be accompanied by the documentation on how the material can be used in the future.

'''Storing A/V material and images'''

Principles described in the section Dealing with sensitive data apply fully to audiovisual material and images containing work-related footage, pictures, or audio recordings of other people. Such material MUST NOT be stored on third-party online services, e.g. Flickr, Facebook. APC's OwnCloud may be used for storing work-related A/V material and images of other people only when such material does not contain compromising information.

'''Sharing A/V material and images'''

A/V footage or pictures of other people MUST NOT be shared with people outside the APC team without consent of those who have been photographed or filmed. Such material may be shared with colleagues n APC team for specific purposes. However, the material MUST be accompanied by sufficient information on how it can be used and whether APC was granted permission for any public display of such footage or images.

'''Phones and Other Portable Devices'''

All points of this policy apply to mobile phones and other portable devices in the same way as they apply to personal computers, as long as they are used for work-related communication or as a storage device for work-related data.

'''Threats Resulting from Social Engineering Activities'''

A frequently used strategy for extracting sensitive data is social engineering. Social engineering, in the context of information security, refers to psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information1. The only possible defense is awareness and sound judgment when dealing with suspicious communication.

If a message is suspicious, even when staff members know the alleged sender, attachments should not be opened and clicking on links included in the messages should be avoided. Even some massively distributed fraught messages are designed in a way that makes the content look trustworthy and sender to seem like someone who knows the addressee. Hijacking of Skype and social networking identities is another common method of information extraction. When sharing sensitive information, team members MUST confirm the identity of the person they are sharing with.

APC staff MUST NOT disclose any even mildly sensitive information to any unknown person or anyone whose identity is in doubt. This is particularly important in case of team members who are involved in human rights work. Leaking sensitive information to an impostor can result in unrepairable damages.

==='''Managing Organisational Infrastructure'''===

The following principles apply to management of organisational infrastructure:

'''General'''

* Administrative passwords to all APC mailing lists will be changed twice a year.
* Only the APC systems administrator and one selected team member have access to recordings of online meetings in APC's online meeting system.
* Only APC system administrator, technical support and the communications manager have superadmin privileges to APC servers, including FTP access, database manipulation, OwnCloud administration, content management systems, and other server applications. When needed, the APC system administrator can grant specific privileges to other team members, but this MUST be documented and such privileges should be downgraded as soon as this access is no longer needed (e.g. end of a specific project).
* Only the APC system administrator and the executive director have administrative privileges to make changes to APC-owned DNS records.

'''Staff exit management'''

* When a staff member leaves APC, their access to private lists and online spaces is deactivated within two days, unless there are specific reasons why such access should be maintained. Posting privileges to some of the lists might be preserved, if needed.
** APC system administrator is responsible for disabling ex-staff's access to lists and their access to other spaces and systems.
** The staff member responsible for administering staff's contacts in APC's contact database must make sure that exiting staff member is removed from the “APC Staff” contact group.
* When a staff member leaves APC, their administrative privileges to lists and spaces are handed over to their supervisor or to a person(s) previously identified by the supervisor. This MUST happen before such staff member leaves.

'''Agreement with organisational partners on sensitive information'''

When a new project starts, the project coordinator SHOULD sign an agreement on information sharing principles with all project partners. This agreement should include:

* List of all expected types of information that will be exchanged between collaborating organisations and which of those types are to be considered sensitive information.
* Details on how sensitive information will be exchanged and what exact security measures will be taken to protect the information (e.g. Sending encrypted email, exchanging encrypted databases, using secure voice communication).

'''Activity-specific security policies'''

When organising an event that is of a sensitive nature such as when participants' identities must be kept private, a specific security policy MUST be in place and participants must be informed about it. It must address:

* Principles of communication on coordination lists or email loops (e.g. Do people disclose their identity? How much should they share about themselves and their work? Which email addresses should they use for such communication?).
* Principles of sharing information about the event outside of the event (e.g. Can they inform others that they are attending the event? If so, who can be informed and who cannot. Can people tweet from the event?).
* A/V documentation (e.g. Can people take photos or make audio or video recordings? Can these photos and recordings be shared? How and with whom?).
* Access to information about venue and participants (e.g. Who has access and where is it stored?). This includes all documentation from the event such as notes, photos, audio and video documentation.
* Reporting from the event (e.g. What will be included in the report? Who will have access to the report? Will donors receive detailed information about the event?).

'''Online Databases and Access to Servers'''

When designing online databases that are meant to host sensitive content such as personal information, the following rules must be followed by the server administrator:

* The database web browser interface will be hosted on a server that is separate from the server where the database is hosted.
* Data-at-rest must be encrypted. A system must be put in place that automates this or facilitates management of such encryption.
* All data for all websites, both external and internal, must be retrieved and posted using a secure connection and a secure protocol such as https.

Only SFTP and SSH protocols are permitted for direct access to APC servers.

General orientation for events coverage

2016-05-31T14:03:13Z

Ivan:

[[File:coverage.jpg|thumb|200px]]

GenderIT.org and APCNews have both been recognised for the coverage done in events by readers and writers, becoming one of its substantial outputs when it comes to gender, internet rights and ICT policy arena.

== '''What is the dynamic we propose to the team for an event coverage?''' ==

GenderIT.org and APCNews commits to keep the core writers informed about any upcoming event of relevance for coverage, so the team is available and ready to go. Team meetings and email contacts will be the spaces to have these discussions and updates.

The editorial teams team will develop a communications plan before the event, to make sure we are all on the same page, adding background information on the event, why it is relevant to our advocacy goals, what are the responsabilities of each one of us, what are the outputs expected, and what are the expectations in general.

This plan will include orientation for work previously, during and after the event. Many times the event itself is just the tip of the iceberg: many other things will be needed before, during and after the event in terms of coverage. Please refer to the CSW case linked to this document to use as an example of what we mean by this.

Once the event its happening, weather we are carrying an on-site or an off-site coverage, the editors will be in touch and available for the writers as much as possible to provide orientation, feedback on whatever is necessary and to make suggestions.

As mentioned before, sometimes after a big event we prepare a newsletter edition. The content of this edition can be composed by on-site produced content, or in some cases of special materials - usually in-depth articles – commissioned to complement the on-site delivered content.

One of the ways that the APCNews/GenderIT.org teams have of assessing and monitoring the reach of these editions is through a website statistics report done one month after the edition went out. This search tell us which were the most read materials, the number of visits to the website, the impact on social media, among other indicators. And our experience with these reports has showed us so far that GenderIT.org events coverages are quite successful. These reports can be shared with the team of writers if you consider it is a relevant resource for your orientation.

== '''Events usually covered by GenderIT.org''' ==

Even though coverage opportunities change, and our advocacy objectives might give more importance to some events over the others, the coverage that GenderIT.org usually does relates to these spaces:

===''UN spaces''===

''Global Internet Governance Forum (IGF)''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-2010 2010 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-2011-internet-governance-forum 2011 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/IGF2012 2012 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-indonesia 2013 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 2014 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]
</blockquote>

''Regional and national IGFs''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america 2013 LAC IGF coverage condensed in special edition] (full coverage in [http://www.genderit.org/es/edition/periferias-del-g-nero-en-el-foro-de-gobernanza-de-internet-en-am-rica-latina Spanish])

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/asia-pacific-stakeholders-assert-human-rights-should-be-heart-internet-governance-disc 2014 Asia-Pacific IGF] (stand alone article)

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/impacting-global-advocacy-tech-related-violence-against-women-through-regional-igfs Impacting global advocacy on tech-related violence against women through regional IGFs] (stand alone article)
</blockquote>

''Commission on the Status of Women''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/genderitorg-commission-status-women-2011-new-york 2011 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/end-violence-against-women-language-and-action-csw57th 2013 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/back-and-forth-advancement-womens-rights-csw58 2014 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]
</blockquote>

''UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)''

<blockquote>Example:

[http://www.genderit.org/resources/cedaw-apcs-submission-commitee-general-recommendation-girls-women-s-right-education CEDAW: APC's Submission to the Commitee on the General recommendation on girls’/women’s right to education] (stand alone article/resource)
</blockquote>

''Universal Periodic Review''

<blockquote>Example:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/womens-human-rights-online-universal-periodic-review Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR)]
</blockquote>

===''APC's projects related events''===

''On sexual and internet rights:''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet-imagineafeministinternet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (coverage in synch)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (special edition)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/erotics-all-over-constellations-debates-sexual-rights-privacy-and-technology EROTICS project meetings in India and United States in 2013] (special edition)
</blockquote>

''On violence against women:''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/taking-control-technology-end-violence-against-women Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2011]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/power-stories-reclaim-womens-rights Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2012]
</blockquote>

===''Partners' relevant events''===

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/category/discussion-theme/genderitorg-12th-awid-forum-2012 AWID Forum in 2012]
</blockquote>

Other local, regional or global initiatives or events related to access, FLOSS, media, human rights, among others.

''CSW: A real case of coverage''

We have attached one report featuring as an example the coverage planned and executed (including final statistical reporting) of the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session in New York. This will be a good case to read through in order to get a sense of how GenderIT.org and APC communications team work like during a relevant event coverage. Check it out here: [[Media:File:CSW case example.pdf]]

== '''What kind of outputs do we expect from events' coverage?''' ==

Writers attending to key events on behalf of GenderIT.org/APCNews or following them remotely are expected to produce certain outputs that will later feed an edition (if that is the case) or be featured on GenderIT.org/APC.org websites, on other APC websites when relevant, and on social media.

=== ''Feminist Talks (blog posts)'' ===

'''1.''' Feminist Talks doesn't have to be too long. Around 1500 words is perfectly fine, and we encourage to input as much insight and analysis as possible in the writing. It is usually personal and insightful.

'''2.''' You can submit your inputs or engage in discussions around women's rights issues in GenderIT.org's Feminist Talk. To submit your blog you should [http://www.genderit.org/user/register create an account] and then navigate to [http://www.genderit.org/node/add/blog create feminist talk].

'''3.''' Make sure you have chosen a profile picture for you and a short byline for the “about” field. Other information is optional.

'''4.''' You can also send your reflections and photos directly to genderit@apcwomen.org and we will upload them for you. You do not need to be registered to send a comment on other posts.

'''5.''' Off-site team: Those following the event off-site can help with blogging by using the tweets sent by on-site team as input for their articles, as well as the webcasts when available. This is a good practice that allows us to produce more content and to help on-site team.

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-technology-informs-my-activism-conversation-gender-and-technology-activists-barcel How technology informs my activism: A conversation with gender and technology activists in Barcelona]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/video-feminist-talks-feminist-internet Video: Feminist talks on a feminist internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/never-mind-nipples-sex-gender-and-social-media Never mind the nipples: Sex, gender and social media]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-crucial-anonymity-sexual-exploration-and-promoting-sexual-rights-activism How crucial is anonymity for sexual exploration and promoting sexual rights activism]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/two-weeks-push-greater-recognition-our-rights Two weeks to push for greater recognition of our rights]
</blockquote>
=== ''Articles/interviews'' ===

'''1.''' Writers attending the event are expected to write sessions chronicles, articles on hot topics, or interview key advocacy referents. This can be in text format, or video, or an audio interview. It will depend on the kind of material and its quality (you might have a great interview in recorded audio but if the sound quality is not good enough, it is possible that it might have to be turned into a text piece).

'''2.''' Some of the articles/interviews will be prearranged with GenderIT.org editorial team before the event, having in mind the people attending to that space and the topics covered.

'''3.''' Criteria for writing articles (extension, depth) is detailed in the GenderIT.org's payment squeme (link) and shall be coordinated with the editors beforehand.

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/stripping-igf-bare-where-are-women-s-rights Stripping the IGF bare: where are women´s rights?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/lets-talk-about-gender-analysis-lac-igf Let's talk about gender analysis in the LAC IGF]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/women-igf-now-we-need-mainstream-gender Women at the IGF: Now we need to mainstream gender]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/digital-world-2012-stories-end-violence-against-women Digital World 2012: stories to end violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/azerbaijan-when-online-security-synonymous-personal-safety Azerbaijan: When online security is synonymous with personal safety
</blockquote>
=== ''Twitter'' ===

1. '''Make sure that you have a Twitter account.''' Make it open (otherwise people who are not following you – the ones we want to reach- won't be able to see your tweets). If you want to keep your Twitter account private you can create a new one for work. Make your user name as personal as you can, (eg: sonia_apc rather than womensprogramme_apc). People are more interested in personal opinions and views rather than organisational speech. Writers are expected to use their accounts for tweeting during events.

2. '''We use the hashtags''': #genderit and #genderitES for Spanish. APC Twitter accounts are @APC_News @APCNoticias @APCNouvelles @GenderITorg @GenderITorgES.

3. '''Find out and send us the Twitter accounts of partners/members attending''', so that we can follow them with the GenderIT.org and APC accounts.

4. Sometimes, before an event, a set of predefined tweets is shared via email to facilitate the tweeting and the dissemination of our key messages.

5. '''Once at the event, find out what hashtag people are using.''' Sometime there are various hashtags circulating. For instance, with CSW, tweeples could be using various tags — such as #CSW, #CSW59 or #CSW2012. Identify the most popular one. We'll use that hashtag for the box on APC.org.

6. '''If this event does not have an active hashtag, we will set up one''', probably using somehow the name of the conference, so all tweeples can relate to. This way, you can easily follow the conversation and then create one page with all posts from the event for easy reference (check Storify below).

7. '''Tweet (in English and/or in Spanish)!''' You can quote panelists and participants (short, summarised and catchy phrases) and/or your reactions to what it's being said, about conversations you have or overhear, your observations, soundbytes, links to interesting resources or news, photos, reminders about events. You can also reply to other participants; many times real participation takes.

8. '''Re-tweet interesting stuff from other people:''' this will help us build our Twitter audience.

9. '''Blog.''' Many times you can cut and paste some tweets and replies and make an interesting post with little effort. You can also use tweets for reporting or as a way of taking notes.

10. '''Invite people to share their own writings:''' You will not be alone in the coverage of an event, so this other people are your allies. Contact them via Twitter or email to give them a heads up on the coverage plans and ask them to send you their stuff.

Example: Are you going to be writing at #IGF? If so, I would love to include your post(s) in our ongoing event coverage. Send me a DM with a link to your post, and we’ll get it added to our site.

11. '''Remote team:''' Keep an eye out on tweets, re-tweet conversations, reply and join conversations, and conduct deeper research on tweeted links. Engage as much as possible – we know it is hard not being present physically to follow up what is going on at the event, but we promise you that it is completely possible and useful.

====''Tips for live tweeting''====

'''Make a plan:''' Choose your sessions in advance. If you are attending an event with multiple tracks, schedule which sessions you’ll be attending and covering in advance. If you don’t want to cover everything you sit in on, consider what your readers will benefit from the most. Once you decide what you will be covering, prep your posts with these basics to save time:

- Name of the session and speaker: Make sure you can provide a bit of background about the speaker, including links to his/her company, Twitter handle, etc.

- Details of the session: Is there a Slideshare or a programme available that you can review in advance? if so, it may help to type up the basic structure of the presentation and then fill in the details as you listen.

'''Tip:''' Be careful. Some events are more private that others; if it's a small event make sure that people are OK with your tweeting.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you have multiple people covering an event, set up a Google spreadsheet with the list of all sessions, times, and people covering the conference. From there, writers can indicate which sessions they are covering so they are not duplicating efforts.

'''Decide on a writing platform.''' In addition to deciding which sessions you want to cover, decide how you want to capture information from each session. Because internet connections can never be relied upon 100 percent, we suggest to write in a text editor so you don’t have to worry about connectivity.

Decide what kind of content to produce: There are a number of ways you can cover sessions at an event, and you should decide what format will work best for your audience before you get on-site. Here are a few general options:

1- '''Live blogging:''' This is reporting from a session in real time.

'''Pro:''' You can provide immediate coverage of an event.

'''Con:''' Depending on how many posts you publish, your audience may feel a bit overwhelmed.

2- '''Daily wrap-ups:''' This is providing highlights from the conference from each day.

'''Pro:''' These posts are easy to digest.

'''Con:''' It’s not a good option if your audience wants detailed information.

3- '''Post-event coverage:''' Collect content that you can then use after the event. This content may be a bit more refined, and it could have a bit of a different spin than “straight coverage” of a session.

'''Pro:''' You can focus on the best content from the event and in essence be a filter for your audience.

'''Con:''' This is not a good option if the information is time sensitive, or there are a lot of other people covering the event quickly.

Regardless of if you are publishing your content in real time or dripping it out, here are some ways to generate interest in your coverage:

'''Announce what you will cover.''' If you are going to be changing your regular posting schedule and publishing live blogs throughout a conference, it’s a good idea to let your readers know. You can also use this post to announce if someone from your organization will be speaking.

Example: Check out what #genderit announced that will be covering at the #CSW59

'''Tease your session.''' If you are speaking at the event, you may want to write about your session before it occurs. Not only is this is a great way to repurpose content that you have spent a lot of time creating, but it also builds anticipation for your session.

Example: Susan Marx wrote about an internet intermediaries’ guide to social media and online VAW fighting strategy, which was a preview of the presentation she gave last year at #CSW58.

'''Step-by-step posts.''' One classic way to cover a session is to do a rundown of the ideas the speaker shared, following the same structure as the presentation. This is especially easy to do if the speaker is covering a process or another well-organized topic.

Example: Susan Marx shared her wrap-up of a panel discussion on how to eradicate online violence against women at the #CSW59.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you are doing live tweeting, you can use this: “I put a live blogging disclaimer at the top of the post that says, ‘I’m live tweeting, excuse lapses of grammar, spelling errors, and typos‘”

'''Summary of tweets.''' Another fun thing you can do is follow the Twitter stream during the presentation and record the most insightful and popular tweets and share them in a post (check Storify below).

Example: Missed the event and looking for a compilation of debates? Check our most tweetable moments from #CSW58

'''A compilation of Instagram photos.''' There are a lot of intangibles you experience when attending an event. Capture them by taking photos or curating what others have shared and post that on Twitter (always remember to respect people's right to privacy and anonymity).

Example: 45 GenderIT.org insider Instagram pics from workshops at #CSW58

'''Wrap-up posts.''' When necessary, instead of covering individual sessions, consider writing a wrap-up post that outlines the key points you found most valuable or compelling, and share the link with a tweet that is appealing and captures the best of the article.

Example: [https://www.apc.org/en/node/20266/ #SectionJ: From footnotes to headlines]

After you do all your thing on Twitter, and the event is almost finished, you need to give it a bit of love. Here are some easy ways to increase the distribution of your conference content on Twitter (and this can also apply by email):

- Include the event hashtag in the title of the materials you are posting on Twitter, since it is an easy way to help spread the word about your post and to have it automatically included in the Twitter stream.

- Send your content to the event’s organizers too, contacting them via Twitter or email. While your audience will hopefully benefit from your coverage of the event, the event organizers will likely want to see and share your post, as well.

=== ''Facebook'' ===

1. Take Back the Tech (in English) and APC (in English, Spanish and French) pages are the only official Facebook pages APC uses.

2. Writers are invited to post on Facebook using their personal accounts all links and photos considered relevant.

3. Inviting people at the event to “like” the pages and to post relevant links as well is another possibility.

=== ''Pictures'' ===

1. We always appreciate having pictures to illustrate the articles or for some other purposes, so picture taking is more than encouraged.
2. You can upload them to a Flickr account and share them with the editors, also by email, or upload it yourself to illustrate your output.

'''Tip:''' Please remember that this entails security and privacy issues for the people in the pictures, so make sure that the people appearing in the image is fine with that.

=== ''Storify'' ===

1. Storify has been successfully used during some events to compile relevant tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos and other social media posts. It's a fast and easy way to compose blog posts-like content.

2. Its also a very useful tool to condense and store in one place debates or interviews carried over Twitter, for instance (as in the first example below).

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/what-does-it-take-create-feminist-internet What does it take to create a feminist internet?]

[https://storify.com/APC_News/day-3-sexual-right-privacy-and-technology-common-c Day 3: Sexual Right, Privacy and Technology - Common Concerns Moving Forward]
</blockquote>
=== ''Newsletter edition'' ===

Usually, after a big event coverage, a special GenderIT.org/APCNews edition is released (this is not always the case) but it is quite a key and relevant moment in GenderIT.org's editorial timeline, since it spikes our readership interest and it keeps us as reference points on the gender lensed coverage of events that are usually (if covered at all) covered from other perspectives.

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america Gender peripheries of the Internet Governance Forum in Latin America]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Gender, sexuality and the internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 9th IGF: Feminist talks scale over the walls of internet governance]
</blockquote>

== '''One last word''' ==

''Before attending an event''

1. Check all the publications/promotional material you can bring with you, and with staff members that live in your city.

2. If you think the event is relevant enough for us to have some materials printed, let us know.

3. Also check their luggage restrictions and if there's budget available to pay extra weight.

''During the event''

1. Remember to collect business cards of people you consider relevant.

2. Offer attendees to sign up a sheet for our newsletters.

''After attending the event''

1. Report back to the team on how the event went and all relevant information.

2. Type down the information you collected on the business cards and please send it to the team.

3. Send us the suscribers email addresses for the newsletters and we will add them to our database.

== '''Read more: Why are events' coverages important for GenderIT.org''' ==

From February to September of 2014, GenderIT.org team carried an evaluation process to respond, among others, to these questions:

''Is GenderIT.org reaching the audience that it aims to reach?''

''To what extent are our readers satisfied with GenderIT.org website and content?''

We consider that it is relevant to feature this information in this section since it will give writers a better idea of the kind of use our readership and writers are making of the website content, and what they like the most, therefore orientate the materials produced during coverage.

The evaluation data was collected through a readership survey, a survey and interviews with GenderIT.org writers, and an analysis of the website statistics since 2010 to date.

''Some relevant highlights from the readership survey [1]:''

* Type of content: In-depth articles were pointed out as extremely useful, and about a quarter of all respondents ranked feminist talks as extremely important.

* Type of content format: Half of respondents said that they prefer all the three formats named (audio, text, video). Among the remainder, text was the clear favourite.

* What do readers get from GenderIT.org: Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly that when they read GenderIT.org I feel more informed on topics.

* Majority of respondents disagreed with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they find information similar to what they can get in other websites.

* Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they get an alternative perspective on the issues.

''Some relevant highlights from the writers' survey and interviews [2]:''

* In terms of events coverage, all those who had covered events spoke of the experience as exhilirating if exhausting. There were no suggestions on improving how things are run during the events themselves.

* It is clear that the events are significant in building the GenderIT.org 'family', making people feel connected and supported.

* The articles coming from an event are staggered to maintain interest.

* GenderIT.org needs more and better quality audio for the use in community radio stations.

''References:''

[1] In mid-2014 GenderIT.org disseminated an online questionnaire, requesting that all users of GenderIT.org respond. By the closing date, a total of 162 people had submitted a full questionnaire response to GenderIT.org.

[2] The writers survey was conducted in July 2014, with a pool of around 100 former and current contributors to GenderIT.org.

General orientation for events coverage

2016-05-31T14:01:44Z

Ivan:

[[File:coverage.jpg|thumb|200px]]

GenderIT.org and APCNews have both been recognised for the coverage done in events by readers and writers, becoming one of its substantial outputs when it comes to gender, internet rights and ICT policy arena.

== '''What is the dynamic we propose to the team for an event coverage?''' ==

GenderIT.org and APCNews commits to keep the core writers informed about any upcoming event of relevance for coverage, so the team is available and ready to go. Team meetings and email contacts will be the spaces to have these discussions and updates.

The editorial teams team will develop a communications plan before the event, to make sure we are all on the same page, adding background information on the event, why it is relevant to our advocacy goals, what are the responsabilities of each one of us, what are the outputs expected, and what are the expectations in general.

This plan will include orientation for work previously, during and after the event. Many times the event itself is just the tip of the iceberg: many other things will be needed before, during and after the event in terms of coverage. Please refer to the CSW case linked to this document to use as an example of what we mean by this.

Once the event its happening, weather we are carrying an on-site or an off-site coverage, the editors will be in touch and available for the writers as much as possible to provide orientation, feedback on whatever is necessary and to make suggestions.

As mentioned before, sometimes after a big event we prepare a newsletter edition. The content of this edition can be composed by on-site produced content, or in some cases of special materials - usually in-depth articles – commissioned to complement the on-site delivered content.

One of the ways that the APCNews/GenderIT.org teams have of assessing and monitoring the reach of these editions is through a website statistics report done one month after the edition went out. This search tell us which were the most read materials, the number of visits to the website, the impact on social media, among other indicators. And our experience with these reports has showed us so far that GenderIT.org events coverages are quite successful. These reports can be shared with the team of writers if you consider it is a relevant resource for your orientation.

== '''Events usually covered by GenderIT.org''' ==

Even though coverage opportunities change, and our advocacy objectives might give more importance to some events over the others, the coverage that GenderIT.org usually does relates to these spaces:

===''UN spaces''===

''Global Internet Governance Forum (IGF)''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-2010 2010 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-2011-internet-governance-forum 2011 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/IGF2012 2012 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-indonesia 2013 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 2014 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]
</blockquote>

''Regional and national IGFs''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america 2013 LAC IGF coverage condensed in special edition] (full coverage in [http://www.genderit.org/es/edition/periferias-del-g-nero-en-el-foro-de-gobernanza-de-internet-en-am-rica-latina Spanish])

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/asia-pacific-stakeholders-assert-human-rights-should-be-heart-internet-governance-disc 2014 Asia-Pacific IGF] (stand alone article)

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/impacting-global-advocacy-tech-related-violence-against-women-through-regional-igfs Impacting global advocacy on tech-related violence against women through regional IGFs] (stand alone article)
</blockquote>

''Commission on the Status of Women''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/genderitorg-commission-status-women-2011-new-york 2011 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/end-violence-against-women-language-and-action-csw57th 2013 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/back-and-forth-advancement-womens-rights-csw58 2014 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]
</blockquote>

''UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)''

<blockquote>Example:

[http://www.genderit.org/resources/cedaw-apcs-submission-commitee-general-recommendation-girls-women-s-right-education CEDAW: APC's Submission to the Commitee on the General recommendation on girls’/women’s right to education] (stand alone article/resource)
</blockquote>

''Universal Periodic Review''

<blockquote>Example:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/womens-human-rights-online-universal-periodic-review Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR)]
</blockquote>

===''APC's projects related events''===

''On sexual and internet rights:''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet-imagineafeministinternet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (coverage in synch)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (special edition)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/erotics-all-over-constellations-debates-sexual-rights-privacy-and-technology EROTICS project meetings in India and United States in 2013] (special edition)
</blockquote>

''On violence against women:''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/taking-control-technology-end-violence-against-women Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2011]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/power-stories-reclaim-womens-rights Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2012]
</blockquote>

===''Partners' relevant events''===

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/category/discussion-theme/genderitorg-12th-awid-forum-2012 AWID Forum in 2012]
</blockquote>

Other local, regional or global initiatives or events related to access, FLOSS, media, human rights, among others.

''CSW: A real case of coverage''

We have attached one report featuring as an example the coverage planned and executed (including final statistical reporting) of the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session in New York. This will be a good case to read through in order to get a sense of how GenderIT.org and APC communications team work like during a relevant event coverage. Check it out here: [[Media:File:CSW case example.pdf]]

== '''What kind of outputs do we expect from events' coverage?''' ==

Writers attending to key events on behalf of GenderIT.org/APCNews or following them remotely are expected to produce certain outputs that will later feed an edition (if that is the case) or be featured on GenderIT.org/APC.org websites, on other APC websites when relevant, and on social media.

=== ''Feminist Talks (blog posts)'' ===

'''1.''' Feminist Talks doesn't have to be too long. Around 1500 words is perfectly fine, and we encourage to input as much insight and analysis as possible in the writing. It is usually personal and insightful.

'''2.''' You can submit your inputs or engage in discussions around women's rights issues in GenderIT.org's Feminist Talk. To submit your blog you should [http://www.genderit.org/user/register create an account] and then navigate to [http://www.genderit.org/node/add/blog create feminist talk].

'''3.''' Make sure you have chosen a profile picture for you and a short byline for the “about” field. Other information is optional.

'''4.''' You can also send your reflections and photos directly to genderit@apcwomen.org and we will upload them for you. You do not need to be registered to send a comment on other posts.

'''5.''' Off-site team: Those following the event off-site can help with blogging by using the tweets sent by on-site team as input for their articles, as well as the webcasts when available. This is a good practice that allows us to produce more content and to help on-site team.

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-technology-informs-my-activism-conversation-gender-and-technology-activists-barcel How technology informs my activism: A conversation with gender and technology activists in Barcelona]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/video-feminist-talks-feminist-internet Video: Feminist talks on a feminist internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/never-mind-nipples-sex-gender-and-social-media Never mind the nipples: Sex, gender and social media]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-crucial-anonymity-sexual-exploration-and-promoting-sexual-rights-activism How crucial is anonymity for sexual exploration and promoting sexual rights activism]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/two-weeks-push-greater-recognition-our-rights Two weeks to push for greater recognition of our rights]
</blockquote>
=== ''Articles/interviews'' ===

'''1.''' Writers attending the event are expected to write sessions chronicles, articles on hot topics, or interview key advocacy referents. This can be in text format, or video, or an audio interview. It will depend on the kind of material and its quality (you might have a great interview in recorded audio but if the sound quality is not good enough, it is possible that it might have to be turned into a text piece).

'''2.''' Some of the articles/interviews will be prearranged with GenderIT.org editorial team before the event, having in mind the people attending to that space and the topics covered.

'''3.''' Criteria for writing articles (extension, depth) is detailed in the GenderIT.org's payment squeme (link) and shall be coordinated with the editors beforehand.

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/stripping-igf-bare-where-are-women-s-rights Stripping the IGF bare: where are women´s rights?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/lets-talk-about-gender-analysis-lac-igf Let's talk about gender analysis in the LAC IGF]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/women-igf-now-we-need-mainstream-gender Women at the IGF: Now we need to mainstream gender]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/digital-world-2012-stories-end-violence-against-women Digital World 2012: stories to end violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/azerbaijan-when-online-security-synonymous-personal-safety Azerbaijan: When online security is synonymous with personal safety
</blockquote>
=== ''Twitter'' ===

1. '''Make sure that you have a Twitter account.''' Make it open (otherwise people who are not following you – the ones we want to reach- won't be able to see your tweets). If you want to keep your Twitter account private you can create a new one for work. Make your user name as personal as you can, (eg: sonia_apc rather than womensprogramme_apc). People are more interested in personal opinions and views rather than organisational speech. Writers are expected to use their accounts for tweeting during events.

2. '''We use the hashtags''': #genderit and #genderitES for Spanish. APC Twitter accounts are @APC_News @APCNoticias @APCNouvelles @GenderITorg @GenderITorgES.

3. '''Find out and send us the Twitter accounts of partners/members attending''', so that we can follow them with the GenderIT.org and APC accounts.

4. Sometimes, before an event, a set of predefined tweets is shared via email to facilitate the tweeting and the dissemination of our key messages.

5. '''Once at the event, find out what hashtag people are using.''' Sometime there are various hashtags circulating. For instance, with CSW, tweeples could be using various tags — such as #CSW, #CSW59 or #CSW2012. Identify the most popular one. We'll use that hashtag for the box on APC.org.

6. '''If this event does not have an active hashtag, we will set up one''', probably using somehow the name of the conference, so all tweeples can relate to. This way, you can easily follow the conversation and then create one page with all posts from the event for easy reference (check Storify below).

7. '''Tweet (in English and/or in Spanish)!''' You can quote panelists and participants (short, summarised and catchy phrases) and/or your reactions to what it's being said, about conversations you have or overhear, your observations, soundbytes, links to interesting resources or news, photos, reminders about events. You can also reply to other participants; many times real participation takes.

8. '''Re-tweet interesting stuff from other people:''' this will help us build our Twitter audience.

9. '''Blog.''' Many times you can cut and paste some tweets and replies and make an interesting post with little effort. You can also use tweets for reporting or as a way of taking notes.

10. '''Invite people to share their own writings:''' You will not be alone in the coverage of an event, so this other people are your allies. Contact them via Twitter or email to give them a heads up on the coverage plans and ask them to send you their stuff.

Example: Are you going to be writing at #IGF? If so, I would love to include your post(s) in our ongoing event coverage. Send me a DM with a link to your post, and we’ll get it added to our site.

11. '''Remote team:''' Keep an eye out on tweets, re-tweet conversations, reply and join conversations, and conduct deeper research on tweeted links. Engage as much as possible – we know it is hard not being present physically to follow up what is going on at the event, but we promise you that it is completely possible and useful.

===='''Tips for live tweeting:'''====

'''Make a plan:''' Choose your sessions in advance. If you are attending an event with multiple tracks, schedule which sessions you’ll be attending and covering in advance. If you don’t want to cover everything you sit in on, consider what your readers will benefit from the most. Once you decide what you will be covering, prep your posts with these basics to save time:

- Name of the session and speaker: Make sure you can provide a bit of background about the speaker, including links to his/her company, Twitter handle, etc.

- Details of the session: Is there a Slideshare or a programme available that you can review in advance? if so, it may help to type up the basic structure of the presentation and then fill in the details as you listen.

'''Tip:''' Be careful. Some events are more private that others; if it's a small event make sure that people are OK with your tweeting.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you have multiple people covering an event, set up a Google spreadsheet with the list of all sessions, times, and people covering the conference. From there, writers can indicate which sessions they are covering so they are not duplicating efforts.

'''Decide on a writing platform.''' In addition to deciding which sessions you want to cover, decide how you want to capture information from each session. Because internet connections can never be relied upon 100 percent, we suggest to write in a text editor so you don’t have to worry about connectivity.

Decide what kind of content to produce: There are a number of ways you can cover sessions at an event, and you should decide what format will work best for your audience before you get on-site. Here are a few general options:

1- '''Live blogging:''' This is reporting from a session in real time.

'''Pro:''' You can provide immediate coverage of an event.

'''Con:''' Depending on how many posts you publish, your audience may feel a bit overwhelmed.

2- '''Daily wrap-ups:''' This is providing highlights from the conference from each day.

'''Pro:''' These posts are easy to digest.

'''Con:''' It’s not a good option if your audience wants detailed information.

3- '''Post-event coverage:''' Collect content that you can then use after the event. This content may be a bit more refined, and it could have a bit of a different spin than “straight coverage” of a session.

'''Pro:''' You can focus on the best content from the event and in essence be a filter for your audience.

'''Con:''' This is not a good option if the information is time sensitive, or there are a lot of other people covering the event quickly.

Regardless of if you are publishing your content in real time or dripping it out, here are some ways to generate interest in your coverage:

'''Announce what you will cover.''' If you are going to be changing your regular posting schedule and publishing live blogs throughout a conference, it’s a good idea to let your readers know. You can also use this post to announce if someone from your organization will be speaking.

Example: Check out what #genderit announced that will be covering at the #CSW59

'''Tease your session.''' If you are speaking at the event, you may want to write about your session before it occurs. Not only is this is a great way to repurpose content that you have spent a lot of time creating, but it also builds anticipation for your session.

Example: Susan Marx wrote about an internet intermediaries’ guide to social media and online VAW fighting strategy, which was a preview of the presentation she gave last year at #CSW58.

'''Step-by-step posts.''' One classic way to cover a session is to do a rundown of the ideas the speaker shared, following the same structure as the presentation. This is especially easy to do if the speaker is covering a process or another well-organized topic.

Example: Susan Marx shared her wrap-up of a panel discussion on how to eradicate online violence against women at the #CSW59.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you are doing live tweeting, you can use this: “I put a live blogging disclaimer at the top of the post that says, ‘I’m live tweeting, excuse lapses of grammar, spelling errors, and typos‘”

'''Summary of tweets.''' Another fun thing you can do is follow the Twitter stream during the presentation and record the most insightful and popular tweets and share them in a post (check Storify below).

Example: Missed the event and looking for a compilation of debates? Check our most tweetable moments from #CSW58

'''A compilation of Instagram photos.''' There are a lot of intangibles you experience when attending an event. Capture them by taking photos or curating what others have shared and post that on Twitter (always remember to respect people's right to privacy and anonymity).

Example: 45 GenderIT.org insider Instagram pics from workshops at #CSW58

'''Wrap-up posts.''' When necessary, instead of covering individual sessions, consider writing a wrap-up post that outlines the key points you found most valuable or compelling, and share the link with a tweet that is appealing and captures the best of the article.

Example: [https://www.apc.org/en/node/20266/ #SectionJ: From footnotes to headlines]

After you do all your thing on Twitter, and the event is almost finished, you need to give it a bit of love. Here are some easy ways to increase the distribution of your conference content on Twitter (and this can also apply by email):

- Include the event hashtag in the title of the materials you are posting on Twitter, since it is an easy way to help spread the word about your post and to have it automatically included in the Twitter stream.

- Send your content to the event’s organizers too, contacting them via Twitter or email. While your audience will hopefully benefit from your coverage of the event, the event organizers will likely want to see and share your post, as well.

=== ''Facebook'' ===

1. Take Back the Tech (in English) and APC (in English, Spanish and French) pages are the only official Facebook pages APC uses.

2. Writers are invited to post on Facebook using their personal accounts all links and photos considered relevant.

3. Inviting people at the event to “like” the pages and to post relevant links as well is another possibility.

=== ''Pictures'' ===

1. We always appreciate having pictures to illustrate the articles or for some other purposes, so picture taking is more than encouraged.
2. You can upload them to a Flickr account and share them with the editors, also by email, or upload it yourself to illustrate your output.

'''Tip:''' Please remember that this entails security and privacy issues for the people in the pictures, so make sure that the people appearing in the image is fine with that.

=== ''Storify'' ===

1. Storify has been successfully used during some events to compile relevant tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos and other social media posts. It's a fast and easy way to compose blog posts-like content.

2. Its also a very useful tool to condense and store in one place debates or interviews carried over Twitter, for instance (as in the first example below).

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/what-does-it-take-create-feminist-internet What does it take to create a feminist internet?]

[https://storify.com/APC_News/day-3-sexual-right-privacy-and-technology-common-c Day 3: Sexual Right, Privacy and Technology - Common Concerns Moving Forward]
</blockquote>
=== ''Newsletter edition'' ===

Usually, after a big event coverage, a special GenderIT.org/APCNews edition is released (this is not always the case) but it is quite a key and relevant moment in GenderIT.org's editorial timeline, since it spikes our readership interest and it keeps us as reference points on the gender lensed coverage of events that are usually (if covered at all) covered from other perspectives.

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america Gender peripheries of the Internet Governance Forum in Latin America]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Gender, sexuality and the internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 9th IGF: Feminist talks scale over the walls of internet governance]
</blockquote>

== '''One last word''' ==

''Before attending an event''

1. Check all the publications/promotional material you can bring with you, and with staff members that live in your city.

2. If you think the event is relevant enough for us to have some materials printed, let us know.

3. Also check their luggage restrictions and if there's budget available to pay extra weight.

''During the event''

1. Remember to collect business cards of people you consider relevant.

2. Offer attendees to sign up a sheet for our newsletters.

''After attending the event''

1. Report back to the team on how the event went and all relevant information.

2. Type down the information you collected on the business cards and please send it to the team.

3. Send us the suscribers email addresses for the newsletters and we will add them to our database.

== '''Read more: Why are events' coverages important for GenderIT.org''' ==

From February to September of 2014, GenderIT.org team carried an evaluation process to respond, among others, to these questions:

''Is GenderIT.org reaching the audience that it aims to reach?''

''To what extent are our readers satisfied with GenderIT.org website and content?''

We consider that it is relevant to feature this information in this section since it will give writers a better idea of the kind of use our readership and writers are making of the website content, and what they like the most, therefore orientate the materials produced during coverage.

The evaluation data was collected through a readership survey, a survey and interviews with GenderIT.org writers, and an analysis of the website statistics since 2010 to date.

''Some relevant highlights from the readership survey [1]:''

* Type of content: In-depth articles were pointed out as extremely useful, and about a quarter of all respondents ranked feminist talks as extremely important.

* Type of content format: Half of respondents said that they prefer all the three formats named (audio, text, video). Among the remainder, text was the clear favourite.

* What do readers get from GenderIT.org: Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly that when they read GenderIT.org I feel more informed on topics.

* Majority of respondents disagreed with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they find information similar to what they can get in other websites.

* Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they get an alternative perspective on the issues.

''Some relevant highlights from the writers' survey and interviews [2]:''

* In terms of events coverage, all those who had covered events spoke of the experience as exhilirating if exhausting. There were no suggestions on improving how things are run during the events themselves.

* It is clear that the events are significant in building the GenderIT.org 'family', making people feel connected and supported.

* The articles coming from an event are staggered to maintain interest.

* GenderIT.org needs more and better quality audio for the use in community radio stations.

''References:''

[1] In mid-2014 GenderIT.org disseminated an online questionnaire, requesting that all users of GenderIT.org respond. By the closing date, a total of 162 people had submitted a full questionnaire response to GenderIT.org.

[2] The writers survey was conducted in July 2014, with a pool of around 100 former and current contributors to GenderIT.org.

General orientation for events coverage

2016-05-31T13:58:50Z

Ivan:

[[File:coverage.jpg|thumb|200px]]

GenderIT.org and APCNews have both been recognised for the coverage done in events by readers and writers, becoming one of its substantial outputs when it comes to gender, internet rights and ICT policy arena.

== '''What is the dynamic we propose to the team for an event coverage?''' ==

GenderIT.org and APCNews commits to keep the core writers informed about any upcoming event of relevance for coverage, so the team is available and ready to go. Team meetings and email contacts will be the spaces to have these discussions and updates.

The editorial teams team will develop a communications plan before the event, to make sure we are all on the same page, adding background information on the event, why it is relevant to our advocacy goals, what are the responsabilities of each one of us, what are the outputs expected, and what are the expectations in general.

This plan will include orientation for work previously, during and after the event. Many times the event itself is just the tip of the iceberg: many other things will be needed before, during and after the event in terms of coverage. Please refer to the CSW case linked to this document to use as an example of what we mean by this.

Once the event its happening, weather we are carrying an on-site or an off-site coverage, the editors will be in touch and available for the writers as much as possible to provide orientation, feedback on whatever is necessary and to make suggestions.

As mentioned before, sometimes after a big event we prepare a newsletter edition. The content of this edition can be composed by on-site produced content, or in some cases of special materials - usually in-depth articles – commissioned to complement the on-site delivered content.

One of the ways that the APCNews/GenderIT.org teams have of assessing and monitoring the reach of these editions is through a website statistics report done one month after the edition went out. This search tell us which were the most read materials, the number of visits to the website, the impact on social media, among other indicators. And our experience with these reports has showed us so far that GenderIT.org events coverages are quite successful. These reports can be shared with the team of writers if you consider it is a relevant resource for your orientation.

== '''Events usually covered by GenderIT.org''' ==

Even though coverage opportunities change, and our advocacy objectives might give more importance to some events over the others, the coverage that GenderIT.org usually does relates to these spaces:

===''UN spaces''===

''Global Internet Governance Forum (IGF)''

<blockquote>Examples:

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-2010 2010 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-2011-internet-governance-forum 2011 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/IGF2012 2012 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-indonesia 2013 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 2014 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]
</blockquote>

''Regional and national IGFs''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america 2013 LAC IGF coverage condensed in special edition] (full coverage in [http://www.genderit.org/es/edition/periferias-del-g-nero-en-el-foro-de-gobernanza-de-internet-en-am-rica-latina Spanish])

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/asia-pacific-stakeholders-assert-human-rights-should-be-heart-internet-governance-disc 2014 Asia-Pacific IGF] (stand alone article)

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/impacting-global-advocacy-tech-related-violence-against-women-through-regional-igfs Impacting global advocacy on tech-related violence against women through regional IGFs] (stand alone article)

''Commission on the Status of Women''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/genderitorg-commission-status-women-2011-new-york 2011 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/end-violence-against-women-language-and-action-csw57th 2013 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/back-and-forth-advancement-womens-rights-csw58 2014 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

''UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/resources/cedaw-apcs-submission-commitee-general-recommendation-girls-women-s-right-education CEDAW: APC's Submission to the Commitee on the General recommendation on girls’/women’s right to education] (stand alone article/resource)

''Universal Periodic Review''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/womens-human-rights-online-universal-periodic-review Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR)]

===''APC's projects related events''===

''On sexual and internet rights:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet-imagineafeministinternet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (coverage in synch)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (special edition)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/erotics-all-over-constellations-debates-sexual-rights-privacy-and-technology EROTICS project meetings in India and United States in 2013] (special edition)

''On violence against women:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/taking-control-technology-end-violence-against-women Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2011]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/power-stories-reclaim-womens-rights Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2012]

===''Partners' relevant events''===

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/category/discussion-theme/genderitorg-12th-awid-forum-2012 AWID Forum in 2012]

Other local, regional or global initiatives or events related to access, FLOSS, media, human rights, among others.

''CSW: A real case of coverage''

We have attached one report featuring as an example the coverage planned and executed (including final statistical reporting) of the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session in New York. This will be a good case to read through in order to get a sense of how GenderIT.org and APC communications team work like during a relevant event coverage. Check it out here: [[Media:File:CSW case example.pdf]]

== '''What kind of outputs do we expect from events' coverage?''' ==

Writers attending to key events on behalf of GenderIT.org/APCNews or following them remotely are expected to produce certain outputs that will later feed an edition (if that is the case) or be featured on GenderIT.org/APC.org websites, on other APC websites when relevant, and on social media.

=== ''Feminist Talks (blog posts)'' ===

'''1.''' Feminist Talks doesn't have to be too long. Around 1500 words is perfectly fine, and we encourage to input as much insight and analysis as possible in the writing. It is usually personal and insightful.

'''2.''' You can submit your inputs or engage in discussions around women's rights issues in GenderIT.org's Feminist Talk. To submit your blog you should [http://www.genderit.org/user/register create an account] and then navigate to [http://www.genderit.org/node/add/blog create feminist talk].

'''3.''' Make sure you have chosen a profile picture for you and a short byline for the “about” field. Other information is optional.

'''4.''' You can also send your reflections and photos directly to genderit@apcwomen.org and we will upload them for you. You do not need to be registered to send a comment on other posts.

'''5.''' Off-site team: Those following the event off-site can help with blogging by using the tweets sent by on-site team as input for their articles, as well as the webcasts when available. This is a good practice that allows us to produce more content and to help on-site team.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-technology-informs-my-activism-conversation-gender-and-technology-activists-barcel How technology informs my activism: A conversation with gender and technology activists in Barcelona]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/video-feminist-talks-feminist-internet Video: Feminist talks on a feminist internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/never-mind-nipples-sex-gender-and-social-media Never mind the nipples: Sex, gender and social media]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-crucial-anonymity-sexual-exploration-and-promoting-sexual-rights-activism How crucial is anonymity for sexual exploration and promoting sexual rights activism]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/two-weeks-push-greater-recognition-our-rights Two weeks to push for greater recognition of our rights]

=== ''Articles/interviews'' ===

'''1.''' Writers attending the event are expected to write sessions chronicles, articles on hot topics, or interview key advocacy referents. This can be in text format, or video, or an audio interview. It will depend on the kind of material and its quality (you might have a great interview in recorded audio but if the sound quality is not good enough, it is possible that it might have to be turned into a text piece).

'''2.''' Some of the articles/interviews will be prearranged with GenderIT.org editorial team before the event, having in mind the people attending to that space and the topics covered.

'''3.''' Criteria for writing articles (extension, depth) is detailed in the GenderIT.org's payment squeme (link) and shall be coordinated with the editors beforehand.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/stripping-igf-bare-where-are-women-s-rights Stripping the IGF bare: where are women´s rights?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/lets-talk-about-gender-analysis-lac-igf Let's talk about gender analysis in the LAC IGF]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/women-igf-now-we-need-mainstream-gender Women at the IGF: Now we need to mainstream gender]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/digital-world-2012-stories-end-violence-against-women Digital World 2012: stories to end violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/azerbaijan-when-online-security-synonymous-personal-safety Azerbaijan: When online security is synonymous with personal safety

=== ''Twitter'' ===

1. '''Make sure that you have a Twitter account.''' Make it open (otherwise people who are not following you – the ones we want to reach- won't be able to see your tweets). If you want to keep your Twitter account private you can create a new one for work. Make your user name as personal as you can, (eg: sonia_apc rather than womensprogramme_apc). People are more interested in personal opinions and views rather than organisational speech. Writers are expected to use their accounts for tweeting during events.

2. '''We use the hashtags''': #genderit and #genderitES for Spanish. APC Twitter accounts are @APC_News @APCNoticias @APCNouvelles @GenderITorg @GenderITorgES.

3. '''Find out and send us the Twitter accounts of partners/members attending''', so that we can follow them with the GenderIT.org and APC accounts.

4. Sometimes, before an event, a set of predefined tweets is shared via email to facilitate the tweeting and the dissemination of our key messages.

5. '''Once at the event, find out what hashtag people are using.''' Sometime there are various hashtags circulating. For instance, with CSW, tweeples could be using various tags — such as #CSW, #CSW59 or #CSW2012. Identify the most popular one. We'll use that hashtag for the box on APC.org.

6. '''If this event does not have an active hashtag, we will set up one''', probably using somehow the name of the conference, so all tweeples can relate to. This way, you can easily follow the conversation and then create one page with all posts from the event for easy reference (check Storify below).

7. '''Tweet (in English and/or in Spanish)!''' You can quote panelists and participants (short, summarised and catchy phrases) and/or your reactions to what it's being said, about conversations you have or overhear, your observations, soundbytes, links to interesting resources or news, photos, reminders about events. You can also reply to other participants; many times real participation takes.

8. '''Re-tweet interesting stuff from other people:''' this will help us build our Twitter audience.

9. '''Blog.''' Many times you can cut and paste some tweets and replies and make an interesting post with little effort. You can also use tweets for reporting or as a way of taking notes.

10. '''Invite people to share their own writings:''' You will not be alone in the coverage of an event, so this other people are your allies. Contact them via Twitter or email to give them a heads up on the coverage plans and ask them to send you their stuff.

Example: Are you going to be writing at #IGF? If so, I would love to include your post(s) in our ongoing event coverage. Send me a DM with a link to your post, and we’ll get it added to our site.

11. '''Remote team:''' Keep an eye out on tweets, re-tweet conversations, reply and join conversations, and conduct deeper research on tweeted links. Engage as much as possible – we know it is hard not being present physically to follow up what is going on at the event, but we promise you that it is completely possible and useful.

===='''Tips for live tweeting:'''====

'''Make a plan:''' Choose your sessions in advance. If you are attending an event with multiple tracks, schedule which sessions you’ll be attending and covering in advance. If you don’t want to cover everything you sit in on, consider what your readers will benefit from the most. Once you decide what you will be covering, prep your posts with these basics to save time:

- Name of the session and speaker: Make sure you can provide a bit of background about the speaker, including links to his/her company, Twitter handle, etc.

- Details of the session: Is there a Slideshare or a programme available that you can review in advance? if so, it may help to type up the basic structure of the presentation and then fill in the details as you listen.

'''Tip:''' Be careful. Some events are more private that others; if it's a small event make sure that people are OK with your tweeting.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you have multiple people covering an event, set up a Google spreadsheet with the list of all sessions, times, and people covering the conference. From there, writers can indicate which sessions they are covering so they are not duplicating efforts.

'''Decide on a writing platform.''' In addition to deciding which sessions you want to cover, decide how you want to capture information from each session. Because internet connections can never be relied upon 100 percent, we suggest to write in a text editor so you don’t have to worry about connectivity.

Decide what kind of content to produce: There are a number of ways you can cover sessions at an event, and you should decide what format will work best for your audience before you get on-site. Here are a few general options:

1- '''Live blogging:''' This is reporting from a session in real time.

'''Pro:''' You can provide immediate coverage of an event.

'''Con:''' Depending on how many posts you publish, your audience may feel a bit overwhelmed.

2- '''Daily wrap-ups:''' This is providing highlights from the conference from each day.

'''Pro:''' These posts are easy to digest.

'''Con:''' It’s not a good option if your audience wants detailed information.

3- '''Post-event coverage:''' Collect content that you can then use after the event. This content may be a bit more refined, and it could have a bit of a different spin than “straight coverage” of a session.

'''Pro:''' You can focus on the best content from the event and in essence be a filter for your audience.

'''Con:''' This is not a good option if the information is time sensitive, or there are a lot of other people covering the event quickly.

Regardless of if you are publishing your content in real time or dripping it out, here are some ways to generate interest in your coverage:

'''Announce what you will cover.''' If you are going to be changing your regular posting schedule and publishing live blogs throughout a conference, it’s a good idea to let your readers know. You can also use this post to announce if someone from your organization will be speaking.

Example: Check out what #genderit announced that will be covering at the #CSW59

'''Tease your session.''' If you are speaking at the event, you may want to write about your session before it occurs. Not only is this is a great way to repurpose content that you have spent a lot of time creating, but it also builds anticipation for your session.

Example: Susan Marx wrote about an internet intermediaries’ guide to social media and online VAW fighting strategy, which was a preview of the presentation she gave last year at #CSW58.

'''Step-by-step posts.''' One classic way to cover a session is to do a rundown of the ideas the speaker shared, following the same structure as the presentation. This is especially easy to do if the speaker is covering a process or another well-organized topic.

Example: Susan Marx shared her wrap-up of a panel discussion on how to eradicate online violence against women at the #CSW59.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you are doing live tweeting, you can use this: “I put a live blogging disclaimer at the top of the post that says, ‘I’m live tweeting, excuse lapses of grammar, spelling errors, and typos‘”

'''Summary of tweets.''' Another fun thing you can do is follow the Twitter stream during the presentation and record the most insightful and popular tweets and share them in a post (check Storify below).

Example: Missed the event and looking for a compilation of debates? Check our most tweetable moments from #CSW58

'''A compilation of Instagram photos.''' There are a lot of intangibles you experience when attending an event. Capture them by taking photos or curating what others have shared and post that on Twitter (always remember to respect people's right to privacy and anonymity).

Example: 45 GenderIT.org insider Instagram pics from workshops at #CSW58

'''Wrap-up posts.''' When necessary, instead of covering individual sessions, consider writing a wrap-up post that outlines the key points you found most valuable or compelling, and share the link with a tweet that is appealing and captures the best of the article.

Example: [https://www.apc.org/en/node/20266/ #SectionJ: From footnotes to headlines]

After you do all your thing on Twitter, and the event is almost finished, you need to give it a bit of love. Here are some easy ways to increase the distribution of your conference content on Twitter (and this can also apply by email):

- Include the event hashtag in the title of the materials you are posting on Twitter, since it is an easy way to help spread the word about your post and to have it automatically included in the Twitter stream.

- Send your content to the event’s organizers too, contacting them via Twitter or email. While your audience will hopefully benefit from your coverage of the event, the event organizers will likely want to see and share your post, as well.

=== ''Facebook'' ===

1. Take Back the Tech (in English) and APC (in English, Spanish and French) pages are the only official Facebook pages APC uses.

2. Writers are invited to post on Facebook using their personal accounts all links and photos considered relevant.

3. Inviting people at the event to “like” the pages and to post relevant links as well is another possibility.

=== ''Pictures'' ===

1. We always appreciate having pictures to illustrate the articles or for some other purposes, so picture taking is more than encouraged.
2. You can upload them to a Flickr account and share them with the editors, also by email, or upload it yourself to illustrate your output.

'''Tip:''' Please remember that this entails security and privacy issues for the people in the pictures, so make sure that the people appearing in the image is fine with that.

=== ''Storify'' ===

1. Storify has been successfully used during some events to compile relevant tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos and other social media posts. It's a fast and easy way to compose blog posts-like content.

2. Its also a very useful tool to condense and store in one place debates or interviews carried over Twitter, for instance (as in the first example below).

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/what-does-it-take-create-feminist-internet What does it take to create a feminist internet?]

[https://storify.com/APC_News/day-3-sexual-right-privacy-and-technology-common-c Day 3: Sexual Right, Privacy and Technology - Common Concerns Moving Forward]

=== ''Newsletter edition'' ===

Usually, after a big event coverage, a special GenderIT.org/APCNews edition is released (this is not always the case) but it is quite a key and relevant moment in GenderIT.org's editorial timeline, since it spikes our readership interest and it keeps us as reference points on the gender lensed coverage of events that are usually (if covered at all) covered from other perspectives.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america Gender peripheries of the Internet Governance Forum in Latin America]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Gender, sexuality and the internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 9th IGF: Feminist talks scale over the walls of internet governance]

== '''One last word''' ==

''Before attending an event''

1. Check all the publications/promotional material you can bring with you, and with staff members that live in your city.

2. If you think the event is relevant enough for us to have some materials printed, let us know.

3. Also check their luggage restrictions and if there's budget available to pay extra weight.

''During the event''

1. Remember to collect business cards of people you consider relevant.

2. Offer attendees to sign up a sheet for our newsletters.

''After attending the event''

1. Report back to the team on how the event went and all relevant information.

2. Type down the information you collected on the business cards and please send it to the team.

3. Send us the suscribers email addresses for the newsletters and we will add them to our database.

== '''Read more: Why are events' coverages important for GenderIT.org''' ==

From February to September of 2014, GenderIT.org team carried an evaluation process to respond, among others, to these questions:

''Is GenderIT.org reaching the audience that it aims to reach?''

''To what extent are our readers satisfied with GenderIT.org website and content?''

We consider that it is relevant to feature this information in this section since it will give writers a better idea of the kind of use our readership and writers are making of the website content, and what they like the most, therefore orientate the materials produced during coverage.

The evaluation data was collected through a readership survey, a survey and interviews with GenderIT.org writers, and an analysis of the website statistics since 2010 to date.

''Some relevant highlights from the readership survey [1]:''

* Type of content: In-depth articles were pointed out as extremely useful, and about a quarter of all respondents ranked feminist talks as extremely important.

* Type of content format: Half of respondents said that they prefer all the three formats named (audio, text, video). Among the remainder, text was the clear favourite.

* What do readers get from GenderIT.org: Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly that when they read GenderIT.org I feel more informed on topics.

* Majority of respondents disagreed with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they find information similar to what they can get in other websites.

* Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they get an alternative perspective on the issues.

''Some relevant highlights from the writers' survey and interviews [2]:''

* In terms of events coverage, all those who had covered events spoke of the experience as exhilirating if exhausting. There were no suggestions on improving how things are run during the events themselves.

* It is clear that the events are significant in building the GenderIT.org 'family', making people feel connected and supported.

* The articles coming from an event are staggered to maintain interest.

* GenderIT.org needs more and better quality audio for the use in community radio stations.

''References:''

[1] In mid-2014 GenderIT.org disseminated an online questionnaire, requesting that all users of GenderIT.org respond. By the closing date, a total of 162 people had submitted a full questionnaire response to GenderIT.org.

[2] The writers survey was conducted in July 2014, with a pool of around 100 former and current contributors to GenderIT.org.

General orientation for events coverage

2016-05-31T13:54:31Z

Ivan:

[[File:coverage.jpg|thumb|200px]]

GenderIT.org and APCNews have both been recognised for the coverage done in events by readers and writers, becoming one of its substantial outputs when it comes to gender, internet rights and ICT policy arena.

== '''What is the dynamic we propose to the team for an event coverage?''' ==

GenderIT.org and APCNews commits to keep the core writers informed about any upcoming event of relevance for coverage, so the team is available and ready to go. Team meetings and email contacts will be the spaces to have these discussions and updates.

The editorial teams team will develop a communications plan before the event, to make sure we are all on the same page, adding background information on the event, why it is relevant to our advocacy goals, what are the responsabilities of each one of us, what are the outputs expected, and what are the expectations in general.

This plan will include orientation for work previously, during and after the event. Many times the event itself is just the tip of the iceberg: many other things will be needed before, during and after the event in terms of coverage. Please refer to the CSW case linked to this document to use as an example of what we mean by this.

Once the event its happening, weather we are carrying an on-site or an off-site coverage, the editors will be in touch and available for the writers as much as possible to provide orientation, feedback on whatever is necessary and to make suggestions.

As mentioned before, sometimes after a big event we prepare a newsletter edition. The content of this edition can be composed by on-site produced content, or in some cases of special materials - usually in-depth articles – commissioned to complement the on-site delivered content.

One of the ways that the APCNews/GenderIT.org teams have of assessing and monitoring the reach of these editions is through a website statistics report done one month after the edition went out. This search tell us which were the most read materials, the number of visits to the website, the impact on social media, among other indicators. And our experience with these reports has showed us so far that GenderIT.org events coverages are quite successful. These reports can be shared with the team of writers if you consider it is a relevant resource for your orientation.

== '''Events usually covered by GenderIT.org''' ==

Even though coverage opportunities change, and our advocacy objectives might give more importance to some events over the others, the coverage that GenderIT.org usually does relates to these spaces:

===''UN spaces''===

''Global Internet Governance Forum (IGF)''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-2010 2010 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-2011-internet-governance-forum 2011 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/IGF2012 2012 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-indonesia 2013 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 2014 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

''Regional and national IGFs''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america 2013 LAC IGF coverage condensed in special edition] (full coverage in [http://www.genderit.org/es/edition/periferias-del-g-nero-en-el-foro-de-gobernanza-de-internet-en-am-rica-latina Spanish])

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/asia-pacific-stakeholders-assert-human-rights-should-be-heart-internet-governance-disc 2014 Asia-Pacific IGF] (stand alone article)

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/impacting-global-advocacy-tech-related-violence-against-women-through-regional-igfs Impacting global advocacy on tech-related violence against women through regional IGFs] (stand alone article)

''Commission on the Status of Women''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/genderitorg-commission-status-women-2011-new-york 2011 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/end-violence-against-women-language-and-action-csw57th 2013 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/back-and-forth-advancement-womens-rights-csw58 2014 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

''UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/resources/cedaw-apcs-submission-commitee-general-recommendation-girls-women-s-right-education CEDAW: APC's Submission to the Commitee on the General recommendation on girls’/women’s right to education] (stand alone article/resource)

''Universal Periodic Review''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/womens-human-rights-online-universal-periodic-review Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR)]

===''APC's projects related events''===

''On sexual and internet rights:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet-imagineafeministinternet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (coverage in synch)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (special edition)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/erotics-all-over-constellations-debates-sexual-rights-privacy-and-technology EROTICS project meetings in India and United States in 2013] (special edition)

''On violence against women:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/taking-control-technology-end-violence-against-women Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2011]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/power-stories-reclaim-womens-rights Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2012]

===''Partners' relevant events''===

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/category/discussion-theme/genderitorg-12th-awid-forum-2012 AWID Forum in 2012]

Other local, regional or global initiatives or events related to access, FLOSS, media, human rights, among others.

''CSW: A real case of coverage''

We have attached one report featuring as an example the coverage planned and executed (including final statistical reporting) of the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session in New York. This will be a good case to read through in order to get a sense of how GenderIT.org and APC communications team work like during a relevant event coverage. Check it out here: [[Media:File:CSW case example.pdf]]

== '''What kind of outputs do we expect from events' coverage?''' ==

Writers attending to key events on behalf of GenderIT.org/APCNews or following them remotely are expected to produce certain outputs that will later feed an edition (if that is the case) or be featured on GenderIT.org/APC.org websites, on other APC websites when relevant, and on social media.

=== ''Feminist Talks (blog posts)'' ===

'''1.''' Feminist Talks doesn't have to be too long. Around 1500 words is perfectly fine, and we encourage to input as much insight and analysis as possible in the writing. It is usually personal and insightful.

'''2.''' You can submit your inputs or engage in discussions around women's rights issues in GenderIT.org's Feminist Talk. To submit your blog you should [http://www.genderit.org/user/register create an account] and then navigate to [http://www.genderit.org/node/add/blog create feminist talk].

'''3.''' Make sure you have chosen a profile picture for you and a short byline for the “about” field. Other information is optional.

'''4.''' You can also send your reflections and photos directly to genderit@apcwomen.org and we will upload them for you. You do not need to be registered to send a comment on other posts.

'''5.''' Off-site team: Those following the event off-site can help with blogging by using the tweets sent by on-site team as input for their articles, as well as the webcasts when available. This is a good practice that allows us to produce more content and to help on-site team.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-technology-informs-my-activism-conversation-gender-and-technology-activists-barcel How technology informs my activism: A conversation with gender and technology activists in Barcelona]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/video-feminist-talks-feminist-internet Video: Feminist talks on a feminist internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/never-mind-nipples-sex-gender-and-social-media Never mind the nipples: Sex, gender and social media]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-crucial-anonymity-sexual-exploration-and-promoting-sexual-rights-activism How crucial is anonymity for sexual exploration and promoting sexual rights activism]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/two-weeks-push-greater-recognition-our-rights Two weeks to push for greater recognition of our rights]

=== ''Articles/interviews'' ===

'''1.''' Writers attending the event are expected to write sessions chronicles, articles on hot topics, or interview key advocacy referents. This can be in text format, or video, or an audio interview. It will depend on the kind of material and its quality (you might have a great interview in recorded audio but if the sound quality is not good enough, it is possible that it might have to be turned into a text piece).

'''2.''' Some of the articles/interviews will be prearranged with GenderIT.org editorial team before the event, having in mind the people attending to that space and the topics covered.

'''3.''' Criteria for writing articles (extension, depth) is detailed in the GenderIT.org's payment squeme (link) and shall be coordinated with the editors beforehand.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/stripping-igf-bare-where-are-women-s-rights Stripping the IGF bare: where are women´s rights?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/lets-talk-about-gender-analysis-lac-igf Let's talk about gender analysis in the LAC IGF]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/women-igf-now-we-need-mainstream-gender Women at the IGF: Now we need to mainstream gender]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/digital-world-2012-stories-end-violence-against-women Digital World 2012: stories to end violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/azerbaijan-when-online-security-synonymous-personal-safety Azerbaijan: When online security is synonymous with personal safety

=== ''Twitter'' ===

1. '''Make sure that you have a Twitter account.''' Make it open (otherwise people who are not following you – the ones we want to reach- won't be able to see your tweets). If you want to keep your Twitter account private you can create a new one for work. Make your user name as personal as you can, (eg: sonia_apc rather than womensprogramme_apc). People are more interested in personal opinions and views rather than organisational speech. Writers are expected to use their accounts for tweeting during events.

2. '''We use the hashtags''': #genderit and #genderitES for Spanish. APC Twitter accounts are @APC_News @APCNoticias @APCNouvelles @GenderITorg @GenderITorgES.

3. '''Find out and send us the Twitter accounts of partners/members attending''', so that we can follow them with the GenderIT.org and APC accounts.

4. Sometimes, before an event, a set of predefined tweets is shared via email to facilitate the tweeting and the dissemination of our key messages.

5. '''Once at the event, find out what hashtag people are using.''' Sometime there are various hashtags circulating. For instance, with CSW, tweeples could be using various tags — such as #CSW, #CSW59 or #CSW2012. Identify the most popular one. We'll use that hashtag for the box on APC.org.

6. '''If this event does not have an active hashtag, we will set up one''', probably using somehow the name of the conference, so all tweeples can relate to. This way, you can easily follow the conversation and then create one page with all posts from the event for easy reference (check Storify below).

7. '''Tweet (in English and/or in Spanish)!''' You can quote panelists and participants (short, summarised and catchy phrases) and/or your reactions to what it's being said, about conversations you have or overhear, your observations, soundbytes, links to interesting resources or news, photos, reminders about events. You can also reply to other participants; many times real participation takes.

8. '''Re-tweet interesting stuff from other people:''' this will help us build our Twitter audience.

9. '''Blog.''' Many times you can cut and paste some tweets and replies and make an interesting post with little effort. You can also use tweets for reporting or as a way of taking notes.

10. '''Invite people to share their own writings:''' You will not be alone in the coverage of an event, so this other people are your allies. Contact them via Twitter or email to give them a heads up on the coverage plans and ask them to send you their stuff.

Example: Are you going to be writing at #IGF? If so, I would love to include your post(s) in our ongoing event coverage. Send me a DM with a link to your post, and we’ll get it added to our site.

11. '''Remote team:''' Keep an eye out on tweets, re-tweet conversations, reply and join conversations, and conduct deeper research on tweeted links. Engage as much as possible – we know it is hard not being present physically to follow up what is going on at the event, but we promise you that it is completely possible and useful.

'''Tips for live tweeting:'''

'''Make a plan:''' Choose your sessions in advance. If you are attending an event with multiple tracks, schedule which sessions you’ll be attending and covering in advance. If you don’t want to cover everything you sit in on, consider what your readers will benefit from the most. Once you decide what you will be covering, prep your posts with these basics to save time:

- Name of the session and speaker: Make sure you can provide a bit of background about the speaker, including links to his/her company, Twitter handle, etc.

- Details of the session: Is there a Slideshare or a programme available that you can review in advance? if so, it may help to type up the basic structure of the presentation and then fill in the details as you listen.

'''Tip:''' Be careful. Some events are more private that others; if it's a small event make sure that people are OK with your tweeting.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you have multiple people covering an event, set up a Google spreadsheet with the list of all sessions, times, and people covering the conference. From there, writers can indicate which sessions they are covering so they are not duplicating efforts.

'''Decide on a writing platform.''' In addition to deciding which sessions you want to cover, decide how you want to capture information from each session. Because internet connections can never be relied upon 100 percent, we suggest to write in a text editor so you don’t have to worry about connectivity.

Decide what kind of content to produce: There are a number of ways you can cover sessions at an event, and you should decide what format will work best for your audience before you get on-site. Here are a few general options:

1- '''Live blogging:''' This is reporting from a session in real time.

'''Pro:''' You can provide immediate coverage of an event.

'''Con:''' Depending on how many posts you publish, your audience may feel a bit overwhelmed.

2- '''Daily wrap-ups:''' This is providing highlights from the conference from each day.

'''Pro:''' These posts are easy to digest.

'''Con:''' It’s not a good option if your audience wants detailed information.

3- '''Post-event coverage:''' Collect content that you can then use after the event. This content may be a bit more refined, and it could have a bit of a different spin than “straight coverage” of a session.

'''Pro:''' You can focus on the best content from the event and in essence be a filter for your audience.

'''Con:''' This is not a good option if the information is time sensitive, or there are a lot of other people covering the event quickly.

Regardless of if you are publishing your content in real time or dripping it out, here are some ways to generate interest in your coverage:

'''Announce what you will cover.''' If you are going to be changing your regular posting schedule and publishing live blogs throughout a conference, it’s a good idea to let your readers know. You can also use this post to announce if someone from your organization will be speaking.

Example: Check out what #genderit announced that will be covering at the #CSW59

'''Tease your session.''' If you are speaking at the event, you may want to write about your session before it occurs. Not only is this is a great way to repurpose content that you have spent a lot of time creating, but it also builds anticipation for your session.

Example: Susan Marx wrote about an internet intermediaries’ guide to social media and online VAW fighting strategy, which was a preview of the presentation she gave last year at #CSW58.

'''Step-by-step posts.''' One classic way to cover a session is to do a rundown of the ideas the speaker shared, following the same structure as the presentation. This is especially easy to do if the speaker is covering a process or another well-organized topic.

Example: Susan Marx shared her wrap-up of a panel discussion on how to eradicate online violence against women at the #CSW59.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you are doing live tweeting, you can use this: “I put a live blogging disclaimer at the top of the post that says, ‘I’m live tweeting, excuse lapses of grammar, spelling errors, and typos‘”

'''Summary of tweets.''' Another fun thing you can do is follow the Twitter stream during the presentation and record the most insightful and popular tweets and share them in a post (check Storify below).

Example: Missed the event and looking for a compilation of debates? Check our most tweetable moments from #CSW58

'''A compilation of Instagram photos.''' There are a lot of intangibles you experience when attending an event. Capture them by taking photos or curating what others have shared and post that on Twitter (always remember to respect people's right to privacy and anonymity).

Example: 45 GenderIT.org insider Instagram pics from workshops at #CSW58

'''Wrap-up posts.''' When necessary, instead of covering individual sessions, consider writing a wrap-up post that outlines the key points you found most valuable or compelling, and share the link with a tweet that is appealing and captures the best of the article.

Example: [https://www.apc.org/en/node/20266/ #SectionJ: From footnotes to headlines]

After you do all your thing on Twitter, and the event is almost finished, you need to give it a bit of love. Here are some easy ways to increase the distribution of your conference content on Twitter (and this can also apply by email):

- Include the event hashtag in the title of the materials you are posting on Twitter, since it is an easy way to help spread the word about your post and to have it automatically included in the Twitter stream.

- Send your content to the event’s organizers too, contacting them via Twitter or email. While your audience will hopefully benefit from your coverage of the event, the event organizers will likely want to see and share your post, as well.

=== ''Facebook'' ===

1. Take Back the Tech (in English) and APC (in English, Spanish and French) pages are the only official Facebook pages APC uses.

2. Writers are invited to post on Facebook using their personal accounts all links and photos considered relevant.

3. Inviting people at the event to “like” the pages and to post relevant links as well is another possibility.

=== ''Pictures'' ===

1. We always appreciate having pictures to illustrate the articles or for some other purposes, so picture taking is more than encouraged.
2. You can upload them to a Flickr account and share them with the editors, also by email, or upload it yourself to illustrate your output.

'''Tip:''' Please remember that this entails security and privacy issues for the people in the pictures, so make sure that the people appearing in the image is fine with that.

=== ''Storify'' ===

1. Storify has been successfully used during some events to compile relevant tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos and other social media posts. It's a fast and easy way to compose blog posts-like content.

2. Its also a very useful tool to condense and store in one place debates or interviews carried over Twitter, for instance (as in the first example below).

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/what-does-it-take-create-feminist-internet What does it take to create a feminist internet?]

[https://storify.com/APC_News/day-3-sexual-right-privacy-and-technology-common-c Day 3: Sexual Right, Privacy and Technology - Common Concerns Moving Forward]

=== ''Newsletter edition'' ===

Usually, after a big event coverage, a special GenderIT.org/APCNews edition is released (this is not always the case) but it is quite a key and relevant moment in GenderIT.org's editorial timeline, since it spikes our readership interest and it keeps us as reference points on the gender lensed coverage of events that are usually (if covered at all) covered from other perspectives.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america Gender peripheries of the Internet Governance Forum in Latin America]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Gender, sexuality and the internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 9th IGF: Feminist talks scale over the walls of internet governance]

== '''One last word''' ==

''Before attending an event''

1. Check all the publications/promotional material you can bring with you, and with staff members that live in your city.

2. If you think the event is relevant enough for us to have some materials printed, let us know.

3. Also check their luggage restrictions and if there's budget available to pay extra weight.

''During the event''

1. Remember to collect business cards of people you consider relevant.

2. Offer attendees to sign up a sheet for our newsletters.

''After attending the event''

1. Report back to the team on how the event went and all relevant information.

2. Type down the information you collected on the business cards and please send it to the team.

3. Send us the suscribers email addresses for the newsletters and we will add them to our database.

== '''Read more: Why are events' coverages important for GenderIT.org''' ==

From February to September of 2014, GenderIT.org team carried an evaluation process to respond, among others, to these questions:

''Is GenderIT.org reaching the audience that it aims to reach?''

''To what extent are our readers satisfied with GenderIT.org website and content?''

We consider that it is relevant to feature this information in this section since it will give writers a better idea of the kind of use our readership and writers are making of the website content, and what they like the most, therefore orientate the materials produced during coverage.

The evaluation data was collected through a readership survey, a survey and interviews with GenderIT.org writers, and an analysis of the website statistics since 2010 to date.

''Some relevant highlights from the readership survey [1]:''

* Type of content: In-depth articles were pointed out as extremely useful, and about a quarter of all respondents ranked feminist talks as extremely important.

* Type of content format: Half of respondents said that they prefer all the three formats named (audio, text, video). Among the remainder, text was the clear favourite.

* What do readers get from GenderIT.org: Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly that when they read GenderIT.org I feel more informed on topics.

* Majority of respondents disagreed with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they find information similar to what they can get in other websites.

* Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they get an alternative perspective on the issues.

''Some relevant highlights from the writers' survey and interviews [2]:''

* In terms of events coverage, all those who had covered events spoke of the experience as exhilirating if exhausting. There were no suggestions on improving how things are run during the events themselves.

* It is clear that the events are significant in building the GenderIT.org 'family', making people feel connected and supported.

* The articles coming from an event are staggered to maintain interest.

* GenderIT.org needs more and better quality audio for the use in community radio stations.

''References:''

[1] In mid-2014 GenderIT.org disseminated an online questionnaire, requesting that all users of GenderIT.org respond. By the closing date, a total of 162 people had submitted a full questionnaire response to GenderIT.org.

[2] The writers survey was conducted in July 2014, with a pool of around 100 former and current contributors to GenderIT.org.

General orientation for events coverage

2016-05-31T13:52:01Z

Ivan:

[[File:coverage.jpg|thumb|200px]]

GenderIT.org and APCNews have both been recognised for the coverage done in events by readers and writers, becoming one of its substantial outputs when it comes to gender, internet rights and ICT policy arena.

== '''What is the dynamic we propose to the team for an event coverage?''' ==

GenderIT.org and APCNews commits to keep the core writers informed about any upcoming event of relevance for coverage, so the team is available and ready to go. Team meetings and email contacts will be the spaces to have these discussions and updates.

The editorial teams team will develop a communications plan before the event, to make sure we are all on the same page, adding background information on the event, why it is relevant to our advocacy goals, what are the responsabilities of each one of us, what are the outputs expected, and what are the expectations in general.

This plan will include orientation for work previously, during and after the event. Many times the event itself is just the tip of the iceberg: many other things will be needed before, during and after the event in terms of coverage. Please refer to the CSW case linked to this document to use as an example of what we mean by this.

Once the event its happening, weather we are carrying an on-site or an off-site coverage, the editors will be in touch and available for the writers as much as possible to provide orientation, feedback on whatever is necessary and to make suggestions.

As mentioned before, sometimes after a big event we prepare a newsletter edition. The content of this edition can be composed by on-site produced content, or in some cases of special materials - usually in-depth articles – commissioned to complement the on-site delivered content.

One of the ways that the APCNews/GenderIT.org teams have of assessing and monitoring the reach of these editions is through a website statistics report done one month after the edition went out. This search tell us which were the most read materials, the number of visits to the website, the impact on social media, among other indicators. And our experience with these reports has showed us so far that GenderIT.org events coverages are quite successful. These reports can be shared with the team of writers if you consider it is a relevant resource for your orientation.

== '''Events usually covered by GenderIT.org''' ==

Even though coverage opportunities change, and our advocacy objectives might give more importance to some events over the others, the coverage that GenderIT.org usually does relates to these spaces:

===''UN spaces''===

'''Global Internet Governance Forum (IGF)'''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-2010 2010 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-2011-internet-governance-forum 2011 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/IGF2012 2012 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-indonesia 2013 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 2014 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

''Regional and national IGFs''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america 2013 LAC IGF coverage condensed in special edition] (full coverage in [http://www.genderit.org/es/edition/periferias-del-g-nero-en-el-foro-de-gobernanza-de-internet-en-am-rica-latina Spanish])

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/asia-pacific-stakeholders-assert-human-rights-should-be-heart-internet-governance-disc 2014 Asia-Pacific IGF] (stand alone article)

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/impacting-global-advocacy-tech-related-violence-against-women-through-regional-igfs Impacting global advocacy on tech-related violence against women through regional IGFs] (stand alone article)

''Commission on the Status of Women''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/genderitorg-commission-status-women-2011-new-york 2011 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/end-violence-against-women-language-and-action-csw57th 2013 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/back-and-forth-advancement-womens-rights-csw58 2014 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

''UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/resources/cedaw-apcs-submission-commitee-general-recommendation-girls-women-s-right-education CEDAW: APC's Submission to the Commitee on the General recommendation on girls’/women’s right to education] (stand alone article/resource)

''Universal Periodic Review''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/womens-human-rights-online-universal-periodic-review Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR)]

===''APC's projects related events''===

''On sexual and internet rights:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet-imagineafeministinternet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (coverage in synch)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (special edition)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/erotics-all-over-constellations-debates-sexual-rights-privacy-and-technology EROTICS project meetings in India and United States in 2013] (special edition)

''On violence against women:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/taking-control-technology-end-violence-against-women Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2011]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/power-stories-reclaim-womens-rights Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2012]

===''Partners' relevant events''===

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/category/discussion-theme/genderitorg-12th-awid-forum-2012 AWID Forum in 2012]

Other local, regional or global initiatives or events related to access, FLOSS, media, human rights, among others.

''CSW: A real case of coverage''

We have attached one report featuring as an example the coverage planned and executed (including final statistical reporting) of the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session in New York. This will be a good case to read through in order to get a sense of how GenderIT.org and APC communications team work like during a relevant event coverage. Check it out here: [[Media:File:CSW case example.pdf]]

== '''What kind of outputs do we expect from events' coverage?''' ==

Writers attending to key events on behalf of GenderIT.org/APCNews or following them remotely are expected to produce certain outputs that will later feed an edition (if that is the case) or be featured on GenderIT.org/APC.org websites, on other APC websites when relevant, and on social media.

=== ''Feminist Talks (blog posts)'' ===

'''1.''' Feminist Talks doesn't have to be too long. Around 1500 words is perfectly fine, and we encourage to input as much insight and analysis as possible in the writing. It is usually personal and insightful.

'''2.''' You can submit your inputs or engage in discussions around women's rights issues in GenderIT.org's Feminist Talk. To submit your blog you should [http://www.genderit.org/user/register create an account] and then navigate to [http://www.genderit.org/node/add/blog create feminist talk].

'''3.''' Make sure you have chosen a profile picture for you and a short byline for the “about” field. Other information is optional.

'''4.''' You can also send your reflections and photos directly to genderit@apcwomen.org and we will upload them for you. You do not need to be registered to send a comment on other posts.

'''5.''' Off-site team: Those following the event off-site can help with blogging by using the tweets sent by on-site team as input for their articles, as well as the webcasts when available. This is a good practice that allows us to produce more content and to help on-site team.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-technology-informs-my-activism-conversation-gender-and-technology-activists-barcel How technology informs my activism: A conversation with gender and technology activists in Barcelona]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/video-feminist-talks-feminist-internet Video: Feminist talks on a feminist internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/never-mind-nipples-sex-gender-and-social-media Never mind the nipples: Sex, gender and social media]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-crucial-anonymity-sexual-exploration-and-promoting-sexual-rights-activism How crucial is anonymity for sexual exploration and promoting sexual rights activism]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/two-weeks-push-greater-recognition-our-rights Two weeks to push for greater recognition of our rights]

=== ''Articles/interviews'' ===

'''1.''' Writers attending the event are expected to write sessions chronicles, articles on hot topics, or interview key advocacy referents. This can be in text format, or video, or an audio interview. It will depend on the kind of material and its quality (you might have a great interview in recorded audio but if the sound quality is not good enough, it is possible that it might have to be turned into a text piece).

'''2.''' Some of the articles/interviews will be prearranged with GenderIT.org editorial team before the event, having in mind the people attending to that space and the topics covered.

'''3.''' Criteria for writing articles (extension, depth) is detailed in the GenderIT.org's payment squeme (link) and shall be coordinated with the editors beforehand.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/stripping-igf-bare-where-are-women-s-rights Stripping the IGF bare: where are women´s rights?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/lets-talk-about-gender-analysis-lac-igf Let's talk about gender analysis in the LAC IGF]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/women-igf-now-we-need-mainstream-gender Women at the IGF: Now we need to mainstream gender]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/digital-world-2012-stories-end-violence-against-women Digital World 2012: stories to end violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/azerbaijan-when-online-security-synonymous-personal-safety Azerbaijan: When online security is synonymous with personal safety]

=== ''Twitter'' ===

1. '''Make sure that you have a Twitter account.''' Make it open (otherwise people who are not following you – the ones we want to reach- won't be able to see your tweets). If you want to keep your Twitter account private you can create a new one for work. Make your user name as personal as you can, (eg: sonia_apc rather than womensprogramme_apc). People are more interested in personal opinions and views rather than organisational speech. Writers are expected to use their accounts for tweeting during events.

2. '''We use the hashtags''': #genderit and #genderitES for Spanish. APC Twitter accounts are @APC_News @APCNoticias @APCNouvelles @GenderITorg @GenderITorgES.

3. '''Find out and send us the Twitter accounts of partners/members attending''', so that we can follow them with the GenderIT.org and APC accounts.

4. Sometimes, before an event, a set of predefined tweets is shared via email to facilitate the tweeting and the dissemination of our key messages.

5. '''Once at the event, find out what hashtag people are using.''' Sometime there are various hashtags circulating. For instance, with CSW, tweeples could be using various tags — such as #CSW, #CSW59 or #CSW2012. Identify the most popular one. We'll use that hashtag for the box on APC.org.

6. '''If this event does not have an active hashtag, we will set up one''', probably using somehow the name of the conference, so all tweeples can relate to. This way, you can easily follow the conversation and then create one page with all posts from the event for easy reference (check Storify below).

7. '''Tweet (in English and/or in Spanish)!''' You can quote panelists and participants (short, summarised and catchy phrases) and/or your reactions to what it's being said, about conversations you have or overhear, your observations, soundbytes, links to interesting resources or news, photos, reminders about events. You can also reply to other participants; many times real participation takes.

8. '''Re-tweet interesting stuff from other people:''' this will help us build our Twitter audience.

9. '''Blog.''' Many times you can cut and paste some tweets and replies and make an interesting post with little effort. You can also use tweets for reporting or as a way of taking notes.

10. '''Invite people to share their own writings:''' You will not be alone in the coverage of an event, so this other people are your allies. Contact them via Twitter or email to give them a heads up on the coverage plans and ask them to send you their stuff.

Example: Are you going to be writing at #IGF? If so, I would love to include your post(s) in our ongoing event coverage. Send me a DM with a link to your post, and we’ll get it added to our site.

11. '''Remote team:''' Keep an eye out on tweets, re-tweet conversations, reply and join conversations, and conduct deeper research on tweeted links. Engage as much as possible – we know it is hard not being present physically to follow up what is going on at the event, but we promise you that it is completely possible and useful.

'''Tips for live tweeting:'''

'''Make a plan:''' Choose your sessions in advance. If you are attending an event with multiple tracks, schedule which sessions you’ll be attending and covering in advance. If you don’t want to cover everything you sit in on, consider what your readers will benefit from the most. Once you decide what you will be covering, prep your posts with these basics to save time:

- Name of the session and speaker: Make sure you can provide a bit of background about the speaker, including links to his/her company, Twitter handle, etc.

- Details of the session: Is there a Slideshare or a programme available that you can review in advance? if so, it may help to type up the basic structure of the presentation and then fill in the details as you listen.

'''Tip:''' Be careful. Some events are more private that others; if it's a small event make sure that people are OK with your tweeting.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you have multiple people covering an event, set up a Google spreadsheet with the list of all sessions, times, and people covering the conference. From there, writers can indicate which sessions they are covering so they are not duplicating efforts.

'''Decide on a writing platform.''' In addition to deciding which sessions you want to cover, decide how you want to capture information from each session. Because internet connections can never be relied upon 100 percent, we suggest to write in a text editor so you don’t have to worry about connectivity.

Decide what kind of content to produce: There are a number of ways you can cover sessions at an event, and you should decide what format will work best for your audience before you get on-site. Here are a few general options:

1- '''Live blogging:''' This is reporting from a session in real time.

'''Pro:''' You can provide immediate coverage of an event.

'''Con:''' Depending on how many posts you publish, your audience may feel a bit overwhelmed.

2- '''Daily wrap-ups:''' This is providing highlights from the conference from each day.

'''Pro:''' These posts are easy to digest.

'''Con:''' It’s not a good option if your audience wants detailed information.

3- '''Post-event coverage:''' Collect content that you can then use after the event. This content may be a bit more refined, and it could have a bit of a different spin than “straight coverage” of a session.

'''Pro:''' You can focus on the best content from the event and in essence be a filter for your audience.

'''Con:''' This is not a good option if the information is time sensitive, or there are a lot of other people covering the event quickly.

Regardless of if you are publishing your content in real time or dripping it out, here are some ways to generate interest in your coverage:

'''Announce what you will cover.''' If you are going to be changing your regular posting schedule and publishing live blogs throughout a conference, it’s a good idea to let your readers know. You can also use this post to announce if someone from your organization will be speaking.

Example: Check out what #genderit announced that will be covering at the #CSW59

'''Tease your session.''' If you are speaking at the event, you may want to write about your session before it occurs. Not only is this is a great way to repurpose content that you have spent a lot of time creating, but it also builds anticipation for your session.

Example: Susan Marx wrote about an internet intermediaries’ guide to social media and online VAW fighting strategy, which was a preview of the presentation she gave last year at #CSW58.

'''Step-by-step posts.''' One classic way to cover a session is to do a rundown of the ideas the speaker shared, following the same structure as the presentation. This is especially easy to do if the speaker is covering a process or another well-organized topic.

Example: Susan Marx shared her wrap-up of a panel discussion on how to eradicate online violence against women at the #CSW59.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you are doing live tweeting, you can use this: “I put a live blogging disclaimer at the top of the post that says, ‘I’m live tweeting, excuse lapses of grammar, spelling errors, and typos‘”

'''Summary of tweets.''' Another fun thing you can do is follow the Twitter stream during the presentation and record the most insightful and popular tweets and share them in a post (check Storify below).

Example: Missed the event and looking for a compilation of debates? Check our most tweetable moments from #CSW58

'''A compilation of Instagram photos.''' There are a lot of intangibles you experience when attending an event. Capture them by taking photos or curating what others have shared and post that on Twitter (always remember to respect people's right to privacy and anonymity).

Example: 45 GenderIT.org insider Instagram pics from workshops at #CSW58

'''Wrap-up posts.''' When necessary, instead of covering individual sessions, consider writing a wrap-up post that outlines the key points you found most valuable or compelling, and share the link with a tweet that is appealing and captures the best of the article.

Example: [https://www.apc.org/en/node/20266/ #SectionJ: From footnotes to headlines]

After you do all your thing on Twitter, and the event is almost finished, you need to give it a bit of love. Here are some easy ways to increase the distribution of your conference content on Twitter (and this can also apply by email):

- Include the event hashtag in the title of the materials you are posting on Twitter, since it is an easy way to help spread the word about your post and to have it automatically included in the Twitter stream.

- Send your content to the event’s organizers too, contacting them via Twitter or email. While your audience will hopefully benefit from your coverage of the event, the event organizers will likely want to see and share your post, as well.

=== ''Facebook'' ===

1. Take Back the Tech (in English) and APC (in English, Spanish and French) pages are the only official Facebook pages APC uses.

2. Writers are invited to post on Facebook using their personal accounts all links and photos considered relevant.

3. Inviting people at the event to “like” the pages and to post relevant links as well is another possibility.

=== ''Pictures'' ===

1. We always appreciate having pictures to illustrate the articles or for some other purposes, so picture taking is more than encouraged.
2. You can upload them to a Flickr account and share them with the editors, also by email, or upload it yourself to illustrate your output.

'''Tip:''' Please remember that this entails security and privacy issues for the people in the pictures, so make sure that the people appearing in the image is fine with that.

=== ''Storify'' ===

1. Storify has been successfully used during some events to compile relevant tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos and other social media posts. It's a fast and easy way to compose blog posts-like content.

2. Its also a very useful tool to condense and store in one place debates or interviews carried over Twitter, for instance (as in the first example below).

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/what-does-it-take-create-feminist-internet What does it take to create a feminist internet?]

[https://storify.com/APC_News/day-3-sexual-right-privacy-and-technology-common-c Day 3: Sexual Right, Privacy and Technology - Common Concerns Moving Forward]

=== ''Newsletter edition'' ===

Usually, after a big event coverage, a special GenderIT.org/APCNews edition is released (this is not always the case) but it is quite a key and relevant moment in GenderIT.org's editorial timeline, since it spikes our readership interest and it keeps us as reference points on the gender lensed coverage of events that are usually (if covered at all) covered from other perspectives.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america Gender peripheries of the Internet Governance Forum in Latin America]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Gender, sexuality and the internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 9th IGF: Feminist talks scale over the walls of internet governance]

== '''One last word''' ==

''Before attending an event''

1. Check all the publications/promotional material you can bring with you, and with staff members that live in your city.

2. If you think the event is relevant enough for us to have some materials printed, let us know.

3. Also check their luggage restrictions and if there's budget available to pay extra weight.

''During the event''

1. Remember to collect business cards of people you consider relevant.

2. Offer attendees to sign up a sheet for our newsletters.

''After attending the event''

1. Report back to the team on how the event went and all relevant information.

2. Type down the information you collected on the business cards and please send it to the team.

3. Send us the suscribers email addresses for the newsletters and we will add them to our database.

== '''Read more: Why are events' coverages important for GenderIT.org''' ==

From February to September of 2014, GenderIT.org team carried an evaluation process to respond, among others, to these questions:

''Is GenderIT.org reaching the audience that it aims to reach?''

''To what extent are our readers satisfied with GenderIT.org website and content?''

We consider that it is relevant to feature this information in this section since it will give writers a better idea of the kind of use our readership and writers are making of the website content, and what they like the most, therefore orientate the materials produced during coverage.

The evaluation data was collected through a readership survey, a survey and interviews with GenderIT.org writers, and an analysis of the website statistics since 2010 to date.

''Some relevant highlights from the readership survey [1]:''

* Type of content: In-depth articles were pointed out as extremely useful, and about a quarter of all respondents ranked feminist talks as extremely important.

* Type of content format: Half of respondents said that they prefer all the three formats named (audio, text, video). Among the remainder, text was the clear favourite.

* What do readers get from GenderIT.org: Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly that when they read GenderIT.org I feel more informed on topics.

* Majority of respondents disagreed with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they find information similar to what they can get in other websites.

* Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they get an alternative perspective on the issues.

''Some relevant highlights from the writers' survey and interviews [2]:''

* In terms of events coverage, all those who had covered events spoke of the experience as exhilirating if exhausting. There were no suggestions on improving how things are run during the events themselves.

* It is clear that the events are significant in building the GenderIT.org 'family', making people feel connected and supported.

* The articles coming from an event are staggered to maintain interest.

* GenderIT.org needs more and better quality audio for the use in community radio stations.

''References:''

[1] In mid-2014 GenderIT.org disseminated an online questionnaire, requesting that all users of GenderIT.org respond. By the closing date, a total of 162 people had submitted a full questionnaire response to GenderIT.org.

[2] The writers survey was conducted in July 2014, with a pool of around 100 former and current contributors to GenderIT.org.

General orientation for events coverage

2016-05-31T13:50:38Z

Ivan:

[[File:coverage.jpg|thumb|200px]]

GenderIT.org and APCNews have both been recognised for the coverage done in events by readers and writers, becoming one of its substantial outputs when it comes to gender, internet rights and ICT policy arena.

== '''What is the dynamic we propose to the team for an event coverage?''' ==

GenderIT.org and APCNews commits to keep the core writers informed about any upcoming event of relevance for coverage, so the team is available and ready to go. Team meetings and email contacts will be the spaces to have these discussions and updates.

The editorial teams team will develop a communications plan before the event, to make sure we are all on the same page, adding background information on the event, why it is relevant to our advocacy goals, what are the responsabilities of each one of us, what are the outputs expected, and what are the expectations in general.

This plan will include orientation for work previously, during and after the event. Many times the event itself is just the tip of the iceberg: many other things will be needed before, during and after the event in terms of coverage. Please refer to the CSW case linked to this document to use as an example of what we mean by this.

Once the event its happening, weather we are carrying an on-site or an off-site coverage, the editors will be in touch and available for the writers as much as possible to provide orientation, feedback on whatever is necessary and to make suggestions.

As mentioned before, sometimes after a big event we prepare a newsletter edition. The content of this edition can be composed by on-site produced content, or in some cases of special materials - usually in-depth articles – commissioned to complement the on-site delivered content.

One of the ways that the APCNews/GenderIT.org teams have of assessing and monitoring the reach of these editions is through a website statistics report done one month after the edition went out. This search tell us which were the most read materials, the number of visits to the website, the impact on social media, among other indicators. And our experience with these reports has showed us so far that GenderIT.org events coverages are quite successful. These reports can be shared with the team of writers if you consider it is a relevant resource for your orientation.

== '''Events usually covered by GenderIT.org''' ==

Even though coverage opportunities change, and our advocacy objectives might give more importance to some events over the others, the coverage that GenderIT.org usually does relates to these spaces:

===''UN spaces:''===

====''Global Internet Governance Forum (IGF)''====

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-2010 2010 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-2011-internet-governance-forum 2011 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/IGF2012 2012 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-indonesia 2013 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 2014 IGF coverage condensed in special edition]

''Regional and national IGFs''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america 2013 LAC IGF coverage condensed in special edition] (full coverage in [http://www.genderit.org/es/edition/periferias-del-g-nero-en-el-foro-de-gobernanza-de-internet-en-am-rica-latina Spanish])

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/asia-pacific-stakeholders-assert-human-rights-should-be-heart-internet-governance-disc 2014 Asia-Pacific IGF] (stand alone article)

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/impacting-global-advocacy-tech-related-violence-against-women-through-regional-igfs Impacting global advocacy on tech-related violence against women through regional IGFs] (stand alone article)

''Commission on the Status of Women''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/genderitorg-commission-status-women-2011-new-york 2011 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/end-violence-against-women-language-and-action-csw57th 2013 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/back-and-forth-advancement-womens-rights-csw58 2014 CSW coverage condensed in special edition]

''UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/resources/cedaw-apcs-submission-commitee-general-recommendation-girls-women-s-right-education CEDAW: APC's Submission to the Commitee on the General recommendation on girls’/women’s right to education] (stand alone article/resource)

''Universal Periodic Review''

<blockquote>Example:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/womens-human-rights-online-universal-periodic-review Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR)]

===''APC's projects related events''===

''On sexual and internet rights:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet-imagineafeministinternet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (coverage in synch)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Global Meeting on Gender, Sexuality and the Internet in 2014] (special edition)

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/erotics-all-over-constellations-debates-sexual-rights-privacy-and-technology EROTICS project meetings in India and United States in 2013] (special edition)

''On violence against women:''

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/taking-control-technology-end-violence-against-women Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2011]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/power-stories-reclaim-womens-rights Take Back the Tech! campaign in 2012]

===''Partners' relevant events''===

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/category/discussion-theme/genderitorg-12th-awid-forum-2012 AWID Forum in 2012]

Other local, regional or global initiatives or events related to access, FLOSS, media, human rights, among others.

''CSW: A real case of coverage''

We have attached one report featuring as an example the coverage planned and executed (including final statistical reporting) of the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session in New York. This will be a good case to read through in order to get a sense of how GenderIT.org and APC communications team work like during a relevant event coverage. Check it out here: [[Media:File:CSW case example.pdf]]

== '''What kind of outputs do we expect from events' coverage?''' ==

Writers attending to key events on behalf of GenderIT.org/APCNews or following them remotely are expected to produce certain outputs that will later feed an edition (if that is the case) or be featured on GenderIT.org/APC.org websites, on other APC websites when relevant, and on social media.

=== ''Feminist Talks (blog posts)'' ===

'''1.''' Feminist Talks doesn't have to be too long. Around 1500 words is perfectly fine, and we encourage to input as much insight and analysis as possible in the writing. It is usually personal and insightful.

'''2.''' You can submit your inputs or engage in discussions around women's rights issues in GenderIT.org's Feminist Talk. To submit your blog you should [http://www.genderit.org/user/register create an account] and then navigate to [http://www.genderit.org/node/add/blog create feminist talk].

'''3.''' Make sure you have chosen a profile picture for you and a short byline for the “about” field. Other information is optional.

'''4.''' You can also send your reflections and photos directly to genderit@apcwomen.org and we will upload them for you. You do not need to be registered to send a comment on other posts.

'''5.''' Off-site team: Those following the event off-site can help with blogging by using the tweets sent by on-site team as input for their articles, as well as the webcasts when available. This is a good practice that allows us to produce more content and to help on-site team.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-technology-informs-my-activism-conversation-gender-and-technology-activists-barcel How technology informs my activism: A conversation with gender and technology activists in Barcelona]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/video-feminist-talks-feminist-internet Video: Feminist talks on a feminist internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/never-mind-nipples-sex-gender-and-social-media Never mind the nipples: Sex, gender and social media]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/how-crucial-anonymity-sexual-exploration-and-promoting-sexual-rights-activism How crucial is anonymity for sexual exploration and promoting sexual rights activism]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/two-weeks-push-greater-recognition-our-rights Two weeks to push for greater recognition of our rights]

=== ''Articles/interviews'' ===

'''1.''' Writers attending the event are expected to write sessions chronicles, articles on hot topics, or interview key advocacy referents. This can be in text format, or video, or an audio interview. It will depend on the kind of material and its quality (you might have a great interview in recorded audio but if the sound quality is not good enough, it is possible that it might have to be turned into a text piece).

'''2.''' Some of the articles/interviews will be prearranged with GenderIT.org editorial team before the event, having in mind the people attending to that space and the topics covered.

'''3.''' Criteria for writing articles (extension, depth) is detailed in the GenderIT.org's payment squeme (link) and shall be coordinated with the editors beforehand.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/stripping-igf-bare-where-are-women-s-rights Stripping the IGF bare: where are women´s rights?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/lets-talk-about-gender-analysis-lac-igf Let's talk about gender analysis in the LAC IGF]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/women-igf-now-we-need-mainstream-gender Women at the IGF: Now we need to mainstream gender]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/digital-world-2012-stories-end-violence-against-women Digital World 2012: stories to end violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/azerbaijan-when-online-security-synonymous-personal-safety Azerbaijan: When online security is synonymous with personal safety]

=== ''Twitter'' ===

1. '''Make sure that you have a Twitter account.''' Make it open (otherwise people who are not following you – the ones we want to reach- won't be able to see your tweets). If you want to keep your Twitter account private you can create a new one for work. Make your user name as personal as you can, (eg: sonia_apc rather than womensprogramme_apc). People are more interested in personal opinions and views rather than organisational speech. Writers are expected to use their accounts for tweeting during events.

2. '''We use the hashtags''': #genderit and #genderitES for Spanish. APC Twitter accounts are @APC_News @APCNoticias @APCNouvelles @GenderITorg @GenderITorgES.

3. '''Find out and send us the Twitter accounts of partners/members attending''', so that we can follow them with the GenderIT.org and APC accounts.

4. Sometimes, before an event, a set of predefined tweets is shared via email to facilitate the tweeting and the dissemination of our key messages.

5. '''Once at the event, find out what hashtag people are using.''' Sometime there are various hashtags circulating. For instance, with CSW, tweeples could be using various tags — such as #CSW, #CSW59 or #CSW2012. Identify the most popular one. We'll use that hashtag for the box on APC.org.

6. '''If this event does not have an active hashtag, we will set up one''', probably using somehow the name of the conference, so all tweeples can relate to. This way, you can easily follow the conversation and then create one page with all posts from the event for easy reference (check Storify below).

7. '''Tweet (in English and/or in Spanish)!''' You can quote panelists and participants (short, summarised and catchy phrases) and/or your reactions to what it's being said, about conversations you have or overhear, your observations, soundbytes, links to interesting resources or news, photos, reminders about events. You can also reply to other participants; many times real participation takes.

8. '''Re-tweet interesting stuff from other people:''' this will help us build our Twitter audience.

9. '''Blog.''' Many times you can cut and paste some tweets and replies and make an interesting post with little effort. You can also use tweets for reporting or as a way of taking notes.

10. '''Invite people to share their own writings:''' You will not be alone in the coverage of an event, so this other people are your allies. Contact them via Twitter or email to give them a heads up on the coverage plans and ask them to send you their stuff.

Example: Are you going to be writing at #IGF? If so, I would love to include your post(s) in our ongoing event coverage. Send me a DM with a link to your post, and we’ll get it added to our site.

11. '''Remote team:''' Keep an eye out on tweets, re-tweet conversations, reply and join conversations, and conduct deeper research on tweeted links. Engage as much as possible – we know it is hard not being present physically to follow up what is going on at the event, but we promise you that it is completely possible and useful.

'''Tips for live tweeting:'''

'''Make a plan:''' Choose your sessions in advance. If you are attending an event with multiple tracks, schedule which sessions you’ll be attending and covering in advance. If you don’t want to cover everything you sit in on, consider what your readers will benefit from the most. Once you decide what you will be covering, prep your posts with these basics to save time:

- Name of the session and speaker: Make sure you can provide a bit of background about the speaker, including links to his/her company, Twitter handle, etc.

- Details of the session: Is there a Slideshare or a programme available that you can review in advance? if so, it may help to type up the basic structure of the presentation and then fill in the details as you listen.

'''Tip:''' Be careful. Some events are more private that others; if it's a small event make sure that people are OK with your tweeting.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you have multiple people covering an event, set up a Google spreadsheet with the list of all sessions, times, and people covering the conference. From there, writers can indicate which sessions they are covering so they are not duplicating efforts.

'''Decide on a writing platform.''' In addition to deciding which sessions you want to cover, decide how you want to capture information from each session. Because internet connections can never be relied upon 100 percent, we suggest to write in a text editor so you don’t have to worry about connectivity.

Decide what kind of content to produce: There are a number of ways you can cover sessions at an event, and you should decide what format will work best for your audience before you get on-site. Here are a few general options:

1- '''Live blogging:''' This is reporting from a session in real time.

'''Pro:''' You can provide immediate coverage of an event.

'''Con:''' Depending on how many posts you publish, your audience may feel a bit overwhelmed.

2- '''Daily wrap-ups:''' This is providing highlights from the conference from each day.

'''Pro:''' These posts are easy to digest.

'''Con:''' It’s not a good option if your audience wants detailed information.

3- '''Post-event coverage:''' Collect content that you can then use after the event. This content may be a bit more refined, and it could have a bit of a different spin than “straight coverage” of a session.

'''Pro:''' You can focus on the best content from the event and in essence be a filter for your audience.

'''Con:''' This is not a good option if the information is time sensitive, or there are a lot of other people covering the event quickly.

Regardless of if you are publishing your content in real time or dripping it out, here are some ways to generate interest in your coverage:

'''Announce what you will cover.''' If you are going to be changing your regular posting schedule and publishing live blogs throughout a conference, it’s a good idea to let your readers know. You can also use this post to announce if someone from your organization will be speaking.

Example: Check out what #genderit announced that will be covering at the #CSW59

'''Tease your session.''' If you are speaking at the event, you may want to write about your session before it occurs. Not only is this is a great way to repurpose content that you have spent a lot of time creating, but it also builds anticipation for your session.

Example: Susan Marx wrote about an internet intermediaries’ guide to social media and online VAW fighting strategy, which was a preview of the presentation she gave last year at #CSW58.

'''Step-by-step posts.''' One classic way to cover a session is to do a rundown of the ideas the speaker shared, following the same structure as the presentation. This is especially easy to do if the speaker is covering a process or another well-organized topic.

Example: Susan Marx shared her wrap-up of a panel discussion on how to eradicate online violence against women at the #CSW59.

'''Bonus tip:''' If you are doing live tweeting, you can use this: “I put a live blogging disclaimer at the top of the post that says, ‘I’m live tweeting, excuse lapses of grammar, spelling errors, and typos‘”

'''Summary of tweets.''' Another fun thing you can do is follow the Twitter stream during the presentation and record the most insightful and popular tweets and share them in a post (check Storify below).

Example: Missed the event and looking for a compilation of debates? Check our most tweetable moments from #CSW58

'''A compilation of Instagram photos.''' There are a lot of intangibles you experience when attending an event. Capture them by taking photos or curating what others have shared and post that on Twitter (always remember to respect people's right to privacy and anonymity).

Example: 45 GenderIT.org insider Instagram pics from workshops at #CSW58

'''Wrap-up posts.''' When necessary, instead of covering individual sessions, consider writing a wrap-up post that outlines the key points you found most valuable or compelling, and share the link with a tweet that is appealing and captures the best of the article.

Example: [https://www.apc.org/en/node/20266/ #SectionJ: From footnotes to headlines]

After you do all your thing on Twitter, and the event is almost finished, you need to give it a bit of love. Here are some easy ways to increase the distribution of your conference content on Twitter (and this can also apply by email):

- Include the event hashtag in the title of the materials you are posting on Twitter, since it is an easy way to help spread the word about your post and to have it automatically included in the Twitter stream.

- Send your content to the event’s organizers too, contacting them via Twitter or email. While your audience will hopefully benefit from your coverage of the event, the event organizers will likely want to see and share your post, as well.

=== ''Facebook'' ===

1. Take Back the Tech (in English) and APC (in English, Spanish and French) pages are the only official Facebook pages APC uses.

2. Writers are invited to post on Facebook using their personal accounts all links and photos considered relevant.

3. Inviting people at the event to “like” the pages and to post relevant links as well is another possibility.

=== ''Pictures'' ===

1. We always appreciate having pictures to illustrate the articles or for some other purposes, so picture taking is more than encouraged.
2. You can upload them to a Flickr account and share them with the editors, also by email, or upload it yourself to illustrate your output.

'''Tip:''' Please remember that this entails security and privacy issues for the people in the pictures, so make sure that the people appearing in the image is fine with that.

=== ''Storify'' ===

1. Storify has been successfully used during some events to compile relevant tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos and other social media posts. It's a fast and easy way to compose blog posts-like content.

2. Its also a very useful tool to condense and store in one place debates or interviews carried over Twitter, for instance (as in the first example below).

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/what-does-it-take-create-feminist-internet What does it take to create a feminist internet?]

[https://storify.com/APC_News/day-3-sexual-right-privacy-and-technology-common-c Day 3: Sexual Right, Privacy and Technology - Common Concerns Moving Forward]

=== ''Newsletter edition'' ===

Usually, after a big event coverage, a special GenderIT.org/APCNews edition is released (this is not always the case) but it is quite a key and relevant moment in GenderIT.org's editorial timeline, since it spikes our readership interest and it keeps us as reference points on the gender lensed coverage of events that are usually (if covered at all) covered from other perspectives.

<blockquote>Examples:</blockquote>

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-peripheries-internet-governance-forum-latin-america Gender peripheries of the Internet Governance Forum in Latin America]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-internet Gender, sexuality and the internet]

[http://www.genderit.org/edition/9th-igf-feminist-talks-scale-over-walls-internet-governance 9th IGF: Feminist talks scale over the walls of internet governance]

== '''One last word''' ==

''Before attending an event''

1. Check all the publications/promotional material you can bring with you, and with staff members that live in your city.

2. If you think the event is relevant enough for us to have some materials printed, let us know.

3. Also check their luggage restrictions and if there's budget available to pay extra weight.

''During the event''

1. Remember to collect business cards of people you consider relevant.

2. Offer attendees to sign up a sheet for our newsletters.

''After attending the event''

1. Report back to the team on how the event went and all relevant information.

2. Type down the information you collected on the business cards and please send it to the team.

3. Send us the suscribers email addresses for the newsletters and we will add them to our database.

== '''Read more: Why are events' coverages important for GenderIT.org''' ==

From February to September of 2014, GenderIT.org team carried an evaluation process to respond, among others, to these questions:

''Is GenderIT.org reaching the audience that it aims to reach?''

''To what extent are our readers satisfied with GenderIT.org website and content?''

We consider that it is relevant to feature this information in this section since it will give writers a better idea of the kind of use our readership and writers are making of the website content, and what they like the most, therefore orientate the materials produced during coverage.

The evaluation data was collected through a readership survey, a survey and interviews with GenderIT.org writers, and an analysis of the website statistics since 2010 to date.

''Some relevant highlights from the readership survey [1]:''

* Type of content: In-depth articles were pointed out as extremely useful, and about a quarter of all respondents ranked feminist talks as extremely important.

* Type of content format: Half of respondents said that they prefer all the three formats named (audio, text, video). Among the remainder, text was the clear favourite.

* What do readers get from GenderIT.org: Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly that when they read GenderIT.org I feel more informed on topics.

* Majority of respondents disagreed with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they find information similar to what they can get in other websites.

* Majority of respondents agreed and agreed strongly with the affirmation that when they read GenderIT.org they get an alternative perspective on the issues.

''Some relevant highlights from the writers' survey and interviews [2]:''

* In terms of events coverage, all those who had covered events spoke of the experience as exhilirating if exhausting. There were no suggestions on improving how things are run during the events themselves.

* It is clear that the events are significant in building the GenderIT.org 'family', making people feel connected and supported.

* The articles coming from an event are staggered to maintain interest.

* GenderIT.org needs more and better quality audio for the use in community radio stations.

''References:''

[1] In mid-2014 GenderIT.org disseminated an online questionnaire, requesting that all users of GenderIT.org respond. By the closing date, a total of 162 people had submitted a full questionnaire response to GenderIT.org.

[2] The writers survey was conducted in July 2014, with a pool of around 100 former and current contributors to GenderIT.org.

Reference guide

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[[File:style.jpg|thumb|200px]]
APC uses an adapted version of the American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing. The key difference is APC's use of footnotes rather than in-text citation of author and date. We take into consideration the impracticality of scrolling backwards and forwards to the bibliography. Footnotes are better suited to documents that are likely to be read on a digital device. Please take into account the following recommendations when writing and editing for APC.

=='''APC guide to reference listing'''==

Please note that the superscript number used to indicate the placement of a footnote comes after any punctuation marks, including commas, full stops and quotation marks:
In 2014 the group launched a new website.3
“We have also launched a new website,”3 she added.

The only exception is when the punctuation mark is a dash:
The new website3 – launched in 2014 – provides a wide range of resources.

The format for the footnote is the same format used for a reference list in APA style, with a few minor modifications, which means you can use free online tools like www.bibme.org/apa-bibliography to make referencing faster and simpler.

However, since all the necessary information is provided in the footnotes, there is no need to compile a separate list of references.

=='''Special notes on URLs'''==

URLs (links) should be hyperlinked and the http:// and https:// notation should be removed. If a link is available with a secure connection (https), always use that as the target of the hyperlink (e.g. www.apc.org). In the case of print publications, where hyperlinking is not possible, please always
remove http:// but leave https:// so that readers are aware that a secure connection to the link is possible.

URL links should also not contain tracking tokens, which are often present if the URL has been copied from an online dissemination platform like Twitter or ShareThis! As an example, extraneous tracking information in the URL sometimes follows “html” and often begin with “?utm_”. Delete it
and then test to make sure the URL still works without it.

=='''Guidelines and examples by reference type'''==

==='''Books and reports'''===

Author, A. (year). ''Title of Work''. Location: Publisher. URL (if the publication is available online)

Gurumurthy, A. (2004). ''Gender and ICTs: Overview Report''. Brighton: BRIDGE. www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/go/bridge-publications/cutting-edge-packs/gender-and-icts/gender-and-icts&id=52909&type=Document&langid=1

WomenAid Collective. (2008). ''CEDAW and Accountability to Gender Equality in Nigeria: A Shadow Report''. Enugu: WACOL.

==='''More than one author'''===

Fascendini, F., & Fialová, K. (2011). ''Voices from Digital Spaces: Technology-related violence against women''. Johannesburg: APC WNSP. www.genderit.org/node/3539

==='''Chapter in a book'''===

Author, A. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. Editor (Ed.), ''Title of book''. Location: Publisher. URL

Moawad, N. (2013). Dot feminist resistance: Online disobedience, sabotage and militancy. In A. Finlay (Ed.), ''Global Information Society Watch 2013''. johannesburg: APC and Hivos. www.giswatch.org/en/womens-rights-gender/dot-feminist-resistance-online-disobedience-sabotage-and-militancy

==='''Government documents'''===

Department/Agency. (year). ''Title''. URL or Location: Publisher.
Department of Communications. (2013). ''South Africa Connect: National Broadband Policy''. www.doc.gov.za/documents-publications/broadband.html

==='''Journal article'''===

Author, A. (Year). Title of article. ''Title of Periodical, volume number''(issue number), pages (if available). URL (if online)

Coleman, S. (2005). The lonely citizen: Indirect representation in an age of networks. ''Political Communication, 22''(2), 197-214.

Salas, M. (2010). Internet, power and politics: Gender and ICTs in the movement against CAFTA. ''The Journal of Community Informatics, 6''(1). ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/530/468

==='''Newspaper article'''===

Author, A. (Year, date month published). Article title. ''Newspaper Title''. URL

Chemaly, S., Friedman, J., & Bates, L. (2013, 21 May). An Open Letter to Facebook. ''Huffington Post''. www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/an-open-letter-to-faceboo_1_b_3307394.html

==='''Presentation, paper, etc.'''===

Author, A. (Year). Title of paper. Description. URL

Defensor-Santiago, M. (2010). The praxis of gender justice in the Philippines: Implications for lawmaking. Paper presented at the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) Panel on Gender Justice and Women’s Rights, Istanbul, Turkey, 24 October. miriam.com.ph/newsblog/?p=489

==='''Blog post'''===

Author, A. (Year, date month published). Article title. ''Name of Blog''. URL
Milstein, S. (2013, 24 March). I have a few things to say about Adria. Dogs and Shoes. www.dogsandshoes.com/2013/03/adria.html

==='''Web page'''===

If you are citing information about an organisation, programme, campaign, etc. from a website, you can simply provide the URL.

www.takebackthetech.net/page/about-campaign

==='''Online video (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)'''===

If the video is mentioned in the text, simply provide the URL.

==='''Personal communication (interview, email, etc.)'''===

Brief description, Date.

Interview with APC Executive Director Anriette Esterhuysen, 21 March 2014.

==='''If the same reference is cited more than once...'''===

If the reference is the same as the one cited right before it: Ibid.

If the reference is the same as one cited earlier: Author, A. (Year or Year, date month). Op. cit.

'''[http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_ReferenceGuide_2.0_0.pdf Read or download the Reference guide in pdf format]'''

Reference guide

2016-05-31T13:42:33Z

Ivan:

Reference guide

2016-05-31T13:41:34Z

Ivan:

Style guide

2016-05-31T13:37:56Z

Ivan:

Style guide

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Ivan:

[[File:style.jpg|thumb|200px]]
== '''An overview''' ==

'''Clear, simple writing''' should be the goal of all contributors. Contributors need to keep in mind our large audience, that it is international, and that the majority of our readers are not native speakers of English. When writing it is important to ask, can my reader understand this? Use clear, simple language, making sure that you do not use phrases that might not make sense when directly translated. Examples include phrases such as "keeping your hand in", "putting a lid on it" or "having a clear head".

'''Never write gender blind''', and try to use as few references as possible to gender blind material. It rarely matters what a women wears, what her age or marital status is, or her sexual orientation. These are only relevant if they are important for a point being made. Read an alternative paragraph/sentence aloud, just to see if it makes sense without that material.

Always refer to people by '''their pronoun and gender of choice'''. Do not refer to any "alternative" (such as "born a woman") unless it is relevant to the point being made.

Refer to people in a way that empowers and strengthens – survivors of sexual abuse, people living with HIV/ AIDS. '''People are not defined by trauma, disease, disability or gender.'''

GenderIT.org strives to write in a style that is less formal, but '''avoid contractions''' (e.g. don’t, I’ll, isn’t) because they are often not used in other languages and might confuse non-native English speakers.

'''Do not capitalise technological terms''' because that makes them seem Far More Important and Impenetrable than they really are. So words like '''internet, information society, free/libre and open source software, gender or civil society''' should be not capitalised unless they are within proper nouns (e.g. name of programme “Gender Equality and Information Society National Plan”).

[http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/6 '''Refer to the glossary section'''] of APC.org if you are unsure how to use a technical term or phrase. If you are using a technical term or phrase that is not there, please highlight it for the editorial team to consider adding it.

Before you start writing, make sure you are familiar with the [http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_style_guide_2.0.pdf '''APC style guidelines'''], which deal with house style in terms of grammar and capitalisation, also available below.

In particular:

* Do not capitalise every single word in the titles and subtitles of the article.

* All acronyms must be spelled out in full when they are first mentioned in the article (remember that our primary audience are women’s organisations who are not focussed on ICTs, and who do not need to be familiar with commonly used acronyms in the field of ICTs).

* If you are citing material that is available online, always provide a link to the original source as a matter of courtesy and good internet conduct.

* Make sure you always have permission to republish any article(s) and/or photo(s) on the website from the original author/source (with the exception of writings that are sourced as APC, including APC programmes such as APC WRP or APC CIPP).

* Keep a record of the permission provided, and forward it to the Spanish or English language editors for documentation.

* You can quote 1-2 paragraphs of an article in your writing without needing prior author’s permission. Again provide a link to the original article as a matter of courtesy and good internet conduct.

* If you republish original articles written exclusively for APCNews or GenderIT.org, you must mention these as a source. Please inform the editorial team of external sites about this condition. Please refer to the [APC Editorial Policy] for more information.

* Consistently cite all resources and sources that you use in your writing.

* For interviews, please include in your submission this information about the interviewees:

** Full name
** Where s/he is based
** Where s/he is attached to professionally
** Her/his expertise in the field that is the focus of your article.

== '''Final checklist''' ==

* '''Always run a spell check!''' Make sure that you have used international or UK English throughout your contribution.

* Have you referenced in footnotes? Don't! '''Make sure all references are at the end of the document''', and referred to in square brackets: [1].

* APCNews, including GenderIT.org, uses an adapted version of the American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing. Please refer to the [http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_ReferenceGuide_2-0.pdf APC reference guide].

== '''Some examples of referencing''' ==

'''Book'''

Author, A. (year). ''Title of Work''. Location: Publisher. URL (if the publication is available online)

Gurumurthy, A. (2004). ''Gender and ICTs: Overview Report''. Brighton: BRIDGE. www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/go/bridge-publications/cutting-edge-packs/gender-and-icts/gender-and-icts&id=52909&type=Document&langid=1

'''Journal article'''

Author, A. (Year). Title of article. ''Title of Periodical, volume number''(issue number), pages (if available). URL (if online)

Coleman, S. (2005). The lonely citizen: Indirect representation in an age of networks. ''Political Communication, 22''(2), 197-214.

Salas, M. (2010). Internet, power and politics: Gender and ICTs in the movement against CAFTA. ''The Journal of Community Informatics, 6''(1). ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/530/468

'''Newspaper article'''

Author, A. (Year, date month published). Article title. ''Newspaper Title''. URL

Chemaly, S., Friedman, J., & Bates, L. (2013, 21 May). An Open Letter to Facebook. ''Huffington Post''. www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/an-open-letter-to-faceboo_1_b_3307394.html

'''Web page'''

If you are citing information about an organisation, programme, campaign, etc. from a website, you can simply provide the URL.

www.takebackthetech.net/page/about-campaign

== '''And now, the full APC style guide!''' ==

'''Heads up! [http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_style_guide_2.0.pdf You can download the full APC style guide in pdf format]'''

Please take into account the following recommendations when writing and editing for APC. For easier reference you will find them in alphabetical order. Cross-referencing has been included when deemed necessary.

==='''''1. Abbreviations, initials and acronyms'''''===

''Abbreviations''

No full stops for “Dr David Samuels” or “Andrea Smith MP”.

Full stops for “e.g.” and “i.e.”.

''Initials''

Full stops for “J. A. Peterson”.

''Acronyms''

As a general rule, try to minimise the use of acronyms that do not add to the reader’s understanding of the text.

Spell out the name in full the first time it appears and provide the abbreviation in brackets: “International Telecommunication Union (ITU)”. After that, you can use the abbreviation only.

Well-known acronyms which are recognised internationally do not require explanation. Examples include: EU, US, UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, HIV/AIDS.

Abbreviations that are “word-like” do not usually require the definite article, such as UNESCO.

Others do, such as “the EU”. One important exception is APC, which generally appears without “the”.

No full stops for APC, UNESCO, ITU, etc.

Use of acronyms and organisation names in translation

When there is an official translation of the organisation name/acronym, there is no need to translate it yourself. Use the official version. Example: [EN] World Health Organization (WHO) > [ES] Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS).

When dealing with an organisation that is only known in a region or country, translate its name, keep the acronym in the original language, and include the entire name in the original language too. The original language acronym goes first in the parentheses, so it will be easier for the reader to remember. Example: “National Women's Institute (INAMU - Instituto Nacional de la Mujer)”.

==='''''2. Bullets and lists'''''=== [2]

Use dots or small bullets. There must be parallelism in the construction of the lists. All items in the list must begin with a capital letter. If the bullet points are full sentences or long phrases (25 words or longer), use full stops after each. If the bullet points are short (less than 25 words) and are not full sentences, do not use full stops except for the last item.

==='''''3. Capitalisation'''''===

''Shortening commonly used terms''

In general, the shortened form of a phrase is capitalised but the full phrase itself should not be capitalised, e.g. “information and communications technology (ICT)” but never “Information and Communications Technology (ICT)” unless it is part of a title. Other common examples include internet service provider (ISP) and free/libre and open source software (FLOSS). Note the unusual acronym for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and distributed denial of services (DDoS), which each have a lower case “o” in the middle.

''Words beginning with a single letter and a hyphen (usually e-something)''

When these words appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a title, capitalise the “e” rather than the first letter after the hyphen, i.e. “E-government” rather than “e-Government”.

''Job titles''

Job titles should be given in lower case except when used as titles, e.g. “Anriette Esterhuysen, executive director of APC, said ...” but “APC Executive Director Anriette Esterhuysen announces new programme.”

''State, government, ministers and ministries''

Do not capitalise “state” or “government” except in titles or proper nouns. Minister is capitalised when it is used as a title (e.g., Communications Minister Jane Doe) but otherwise not, e.g. “The minister of communications is responsible for these decisions, although the minister of education is usually consulted.” Ministry is capitalised when referring to a specific ministry (almost always the case). Where it is a general article it is not capitalised, for example, when referring to the number of countries that have a ministry of communications.

''Titles and subtitles of publications''

See the separate entry below.

==='''''4. Commas'''''===

Use the minimum number that permits an unambiguous reading. In “Eventually the law was passed” a comma is unnecessary after “eventually”.

“However” at the beginning of a sentence takes a comma when it is used to mean “nevertheless”.

However, it does not take a comma when used in phrases such as “However long it takes”.

Do not put a comma before “and” or “or” in a series of three or more short items, e.g. “economic,
cultural and social” rather than “economic, cultural, and social”.

==='''''5. Compound words'''''===

In cases where a compound word has not been universally accepted as a single word and various versions are used, e.g. policy makers, policy-makers, policymakers, use the version with two separate words – in this case, policy makers. The same rule applies to terms including the word “cyber”: cyberspace, but cyber crime, cyber security, etc.

==='''''6. Contractions'''''===

APC strives to write in a style that is less formal, but contractions (e.g. don’t, I’ll, isn’t) should generally be avoided because they are not used frequently in other languages and might confuse non-native English speakers.

==='''''7. Currency'''''===

An approximate equivalent should be given in US dollars whenever a different currency amount is given. If the currency fluctuates a lot, give the date of the exchange rate. The format for US dollars is USD (not US$, or U$S or $). When citing another local currency give the dollar equivalent in brackets, e.g. EUR 1,000 (USD 1,118).

==='''''8. Dashes'''''===

Use a short dash (–), also known as an en-dash or n-dash, with a space on each side. Note the difference between a short dash (–), a long dash (—) and a hyphen (-). In LibreOffice and OpenOffice, you can achieve the en-dash by typing a space, then two consecutive hyphens and then another space. [3]

==='''''9. Dates'''''===

Days: “1 July 1989” (not July 1, 1989, nor 1st, 15th or 23rd). Decades: “throughout the 1960s and 1970s” (not the 60s and 70s). Centuries: “the 19th century” (no capitals).

==='''''10. Emphasis (bold, italic and upper-case text)'''''===

Bold text should only be used for titles and subtitles. Upper-case text, or “all caps”, should never be used, although some designs may incorporate special fonts that use capital letters for both uppercase and lower-case characters.

If you want to put particular emphasis on a word or phrase, use italics.

==='''''11. Footnotes and endnotes'''''===

The superscript number used to indicate the placement of a footnote comes after any punctuation marks, including commas, full stops and quotation marks. The only exception is when the punctuation mark is a dash, e.g. “The new website [3] – launched in 2014 – provides a wide range of resources.”

When writing for the web, use numbers in square brackets, i.e. [1], for any references that need to come at the end of the text, rather than traditional footnotes or endnotes.

==='''''12. Hyphenated words'''''===

Online, email, website, audiovisual and multistakeholder are all spelled as one word, without spaces or hyphens (i.e. on-line, e-mail, web site, audio-visual and multi-stakeholder are wrong).

==='''''13. Internet, information society'''''===

APC uses internet with a lower-case “i” and information society with lower case “i” and “s”, unless in titles or organisation names. [4]

==='''''14. Italics'''''===

Use italics for sub-subtitles within a publication and the names of publications, but not for titles of instruments, plans of actions or declarations, and occasionally to give special emphasis to a word, phrase or key quotation. Italics are also used for non-English words; see Emphasis above and Language and spelling below.

==='''''15. Language and spelling'''''===

British English (of the -ise, -mme variety) will be used throughout. This will be more noticeable in the spelling, e.g. centre, not center; traveller, not traveler; colour, not color. The -ise verb ending will be preferred, thus realise, rather than realize.

Exceptions: If an organisation has an official name in English, use the official spelling, even if it does not comply with APC spelling rules, e.g. World Health Organization.

In direct quotations, use the spelling that is used in the original source, whether it complies with APC rules or not.

When using local terms that do not exist in English, please italicise the non-English term and write a definition or explanation in brackets after it.

Non-English words do not need to be italicised if they have been absorbed into English, so no italics for “coup d’état” or “fait accompli”.

==='''''16. Numbers'''''===

In running text, write out the numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers larger than nine, e.g. one, five, nine, 10, 21, 156, 216,000. In fact charts use only figures.

Thousands should be rendered using a comma: 10,000 and 427,971 (but not in the case of years: 2006).

For large round numbers in running text use words if possible: one million, three million, but 375 million.

One billion = 1,000,000,000, i.e., one thousand million, not one million million.

Decimals are indicated by a point with a zero preceding: 0.75.

A number at the beginning of a sentence should be spelled out: “Fifty-four workers were fired as a result of the strike.” But the sentence can usually be reorganised so that the number is not at the start: “The strike resulted in 54 workers being fired.”

==='''''17. Paragraphing, indentation and spacing'''''===

Do not use indentation at the beginning of a paragraph. Do not use a double space after a full stop or colon; use single spaces only. Use double spacing between paragraphs (either with carriage returns or with paragraph styles).

==='''''18. Percentages'''''===

Write the figure followed by percentage symbol, e.g. 4%, 63%. There should be no space between the number and the percentage symbol.

==='''''19. Quotation marks'''''===

Double quotation marks are used for direct quotations, mini-quotations (i.e. a word or phrase as opposed to a full sentence) and to imply a word or phrase is being used ironically.

Use single quotation marks only for a quote within a quote. For example, “The authorities told us they would look into the matter ‘immediately’ but we have still received no reply,” said the activist.

Commas and periods are positioned before the closing quotation mark when used for quoting speech, e.g. “This programme,” she said, “will greatly increase computer literacy.”

However, when quotation marks are used to set off or quote a word or short phrase, the comma or period is positioned after, e.g. The stated goals of the programme included “computer literacy”, among others.

In print publications, longer quotations (over three lines) should be separated and indented, with no quotation marks used. In online texts, try not to quote as much as three lines in a row. If you need to quote more, do so interspersed by other context text.

==='''''20. References'''''===

For full details, see separate Reference guidelines. [5]

In references, translation is not necessary (except for names of cities for the place of publication, etc.) and only the name of the document in the source language should be provided, unless an English version of the same document exists, in which case the English version should be referenced.

==='''''21. Time'''''===

Use the 12-hour clock: 9:00 a.m., 8:30 p.m.

Span of years: write “between 1995 and 1999”, not “between 1995-1999”.

==='''''22. Titles and subtitles'''''===

For the titles of books, capitalise all main words, e.g. The ICT Policy Handbook.

For the titles of shorter publications such as reports, issue papers and articles, and for all subtitles, capitalise only the first word and any other word that is capitalised in its own right, plus the first letter of any word that follows a colon within a title.

'''''23. Weights and measures'''''

Use metric system only.

'''''Notes:'''''

[1] This style guide is adapted from the Social Watch House Style Guide. Permission kindly provided by ITeM (host of the Social Watch international secretariat) to APC to adapt to our own purposes.

[2] This item is based on the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (www.gsdrc.org) Style Guide and is reproduced with permission.

[3] See www.n-dash.net for key bindings in other applications and platforms

[4] Long, T. (2004, August 16). It's Just the 'internet' Now. Wired. archive.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/08/64596

[5] www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_ReferenceGuide_2.0_0.pdf

Frequently asked questions

2016-05-31T13:27:32Z

Ivan:

[[File:FAQ.jpg|thumb|200px]]
==='''Question 1: What are the steps to follow if I have a topic I want to write about?'''===

*You should contact your editor, send her a blurb explaining the topic, how it links to women's rights/gender and internet rights, and be clear on the format you think would be most suitable for the piece (feminist talk, video, interview, etc.). The editor will come back to you as soon as possible with a response.

==='''Question 2: How should I proceed if someone is leaving abusive comments on the content I posted?'''===

*If someone is leaving abusive comments, let the editors know. They can delete comments and respond (if appropriate), and take screenshots if necessary. If you are getting abusive emails, again contact the editors for advice. Do not delete anything, and take a look at the Take Back the Tech! [https://www.takebackthetech.net/be-safe/safety-toolkit digital safety tool-kit].

==='''Question 3: What do I do if I want to have other GenderIT.org or APCNews writers comment on my piece before it goes online?'''===

*Ask! If you'd like the editors to act as intermediaries, ask them, otherwise feel free to get in touch with other writers. Alternatively, we can circulate on a limited mailing list for response. The worst that can happen is they say no!

==='''Question 4: What are the steps to get my piece published?'''===

*Refer to Question 1. If you want to get your piece published outside of GenderIT.org, refer to Question 11.

==='''Question 5: How can I ensure the impact of my piece?'''===

*Impact can mean different things. If you're interested in getting as many eyeballs to read your piece as possible, post it on social media, tweet about it, blog about it, reference it on other people's blogs, send people to it in as many ways as you can. The GenderIT.org and APCNews teams will also be putting it out through social media and mailing lists. If you're interested in reaching a particular audience, then it depends on who you want to reach. If you want to bring it to the attention of policy makers in your country, for example, you could email it to them, or re-publish (see Question 11) the work in a local newspaper. Email it to local NGOs, academics, embassies or anyone else who might be interested.

==='''Question 6: How do I track the influence of my piece?'''===

*GenderIT.org and APCNews editors use tools such as Google Alerts or Talkwalker Alerts to receive an email notification whenever any material containing the key words we set go online. You can also use these and add your own key words to receive alerts on these. GenderIT.org and APCNews also use a web statistics systems, Awstats, and we would be more than happy to do any search you need for you and share the results. Googling your name or the title of your articles from time to time is also a good idea, since it might catch republications of them that were not captured in the alerts for some reason. The Drupal platform (which is the one that GenderIT.org and APCNews are built on) also provides a reading score after every title, but this is not completely reliable, though it might work to have a very general reference.

==='''Question 7: What shall I do if I notice APC.org or GenderIT.org material posted in other media?'''===

*Please let us know! While all material published on GenderIT.org and APC.org is published under a Creative Commons licence, we like to know the impact that the stories are having and we also need to know for media tracking purposes. If material isn't credited to GenderIT.org or APCNews/APC.org, we'd also like to make sure that we're given credit and a link back to the site, so please let the editors know about this too, and they will contact the media to request a proper credit.

==='''Question 8: What should I do if I have trouble meeting my deadline?'''===

*First off, this should rarely be a problem. APCNews and GenderIT.org have generous deadlines, which is because we know that those we work with have multiple responsibilities. But if there really is nothing you can do, please do tell us. As soon as you know there's an issue, please let the GenderIT.org team and/or APCNews team know. Life does have a way of interfering, and we understand that, but telling us as quickly as possible helps us work around it, especially for pieces that need translating or are planned to go out in a thematic edition.

==='''Question 9: How can I get other people involved in writing for APC?'''===

*If you know about someone who wants to write for GenderIT.org or APCNews, please put that person in touch with the editors, introducing her/him. To save time, you might also want to let that person know that the editors will probably ask for a CV and some links to articles that she/he might have written before for the editors' reference.

==='''Question 10: Can I re-publish my piece on my own website or another website?'''===

*As long as the website is not-for-profit, we encourage the sharing of our material. Make sure that GenderIT.org and/or APCNews are credited, and that the material is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence. If you want to publish on a website that is run for-profit, please discuss it with the GenderIT.org and APCNews editors.

==='''Question 11: What are the licence restrictions for content published by APC?'''===

*Everything is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence, and we only use images that are published under a similar licence.

==='''Question 12: What is the recommended length for articles?'''===

*This depends on the type of article. Please see our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details on each of the different types of article.

==='''Question 13: What tone should I use?'''===

*This depends on the type of article you're writing. See our [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Orientation_for_new_writers_in_GenderIT.org orientation for new writers] for details.

==='''Question 14: What can I do if I have trouble finding resource people to interview?'''===

*The first step is to discuss it with your editor. They can help or give you ideas. Also, check your contacts for them. Does anyone else know them, can you check that the information you have is accurate? Then, try and find someone else who might be able to help. Think about grassroots organisations or activists working on the issue, other people who were at the same event, academics... If nothing is working, go back to your editor, and see if the matter can be approached from a different angle, or if the story has to be abandoned.

==='''Question 15: How should I proceed if the interviewee/source has concerns regarding privacy/security?'''===

*Always take these concerns seriously. Talk through options, take a look at the [http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php?title=How_to_deal_with_vulnerable_interviewees&action=edit&redlink=1 guide to interviewing vulnerable interviewees]. If the interviewee or source still has concerns, stop. Don't push. Get back to the editors: we can always discuss other options.

==='''Question 16: When it comes to in-depth articles, what is a reasonable number of sources, and do they all have to be interviews?'''===

*For an in-depth article, we would expect at least four sources, but they don't all have to be interviews. We can also consider as sources research material, quotations from previous articles (mentioning the sources of course), and similar resources.

==='''Question 17: Can I share an article produced for GenderIT.org or APCNews with other media before it comes out on those websites?'''===

*Sorry, but no. If you publish elsewhere first, we'll be happy to link to that article on your profile, and if it's relevant highlight it on the Twitter account and elsewhere, but we won't publish it as a GenderIT.org or APCNews article, nor pay for it, since we won't consider it exclusive anymore.

==='''Question 18: How do I claim payment?'''===

*You will need to send an invoice to flavia@apcwomen.org copying to katerina.fialova@apcwomen.org for GenderIT.org related payments, and to mallory@apc.org for APCNews related payments. Please fill in this [spreadsheet] with all your personal information and send it to the previous email addresses. The editors will complete the remaining information about programmes/projects and amount. Also, note that APC doesn't encourage payments under USD 300 since the bank rates charged are too high, both for APC and for the writer. So we usually wait until that amount is reached or even surpassed to process a payment.

==='''Question 19: How do I know if my payment has been processed?'''===

*You should receive an email notification. It takes a few days until the payment is finally processed, so please take into consideration that time gap.

==='''Question 20: How is GenderIT.org funded?'''===

*GenderIT.org has not had its own funding for several years now, but it receives funding from other projects that are being carried out by the APC Women's Rights Programme.

==='''Question 21: Can I write anonymously?'''===

*Yes, just let the editors know how you wish to be credited.

How to write for GenderIT.org

2016-05-31T13:23:36Z

Ivan:

How to write for GenderIT.org

2016-05-31T13:22:44Z

Ivan:

[[File:tool.jpg|thumb|200px]]

=='''How to write'''==

This page provides an introduction on how to write the different types of article that appear on GenderIT.org.

==='''...a Feminist Talk'''===

A Feminist Talk blog is where you get to be yourself – use more informal language, express opinions and challenge your readers. Feminist Talk pieces are usually quite short, no more than 500 words, but be warned! They are very lightly edited, if at all. If you want a Feminist Talk piece to be spell- and grammar-checked, you need to ask the editorial team.

Check previous feminist talks for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/trials-confused-feminist-internet-governance-school Trials of a confused feminist (in an internet governance school)]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/facebook-king-laid-bare-and-drag-queens Facebook: The king laid bare and the drag queens]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/why-internet-rights-matter-africans Why internet rights matter for Africa(ns)]

==='''…an analytical article'''===

Analytical articles are to inform readers about perspectives, issues and debates, putting forward ideas. We don't expect writers to be 'objective' or 'impartial', we expect an informed, well-reasoned feminist perspective. This means in practice that you have to cite your sources, link widely and provide readers with context for your arguments. Analytical articles are expected to be between 1,500 and 2,500 words.

Rather than news conventions, academic conventions are probably most useful here. Make one point per paragraph, cite broadly to illustrate both your expertise and the precedents for your argument, establish early on the argument you are making and guide your reader through the stages that you take to get there. Make sure that when you reference your work thoroughly, particularly when you cite others.

In your analysis you can look at the root causes of an issue, draw links between personal experiences of women and historical and global processes, or examine similarities and differences in manifestation of the issue by people living in different contexts as well as their response to this issue.

Check previous analytical articles for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/south-africa-pornography-and-internet-justifiable-protection-or-entrenching-patriarchy South Africa: Pornography and the internet – justifiable protection or entrenching patriarchy?]

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/argentina-strategic-use-ict-response-violence-against-women Argentina: Strategic use of ICT as a response to violence against women]

[http://www.genderit.org/content/%E2%80%98does-your-mother-know%E2%80%99-agency-risk-and-morality-online-lives-young-women-mumbai 'Does your mother know?' Agency, risk and morality in the online lives of young women in Mumbai]

==='''…an interview'''===

The most important thing to remember about interviews is that they are not verbatim transcripts. You are expected to edit the interviewee's words to make them more concise, and easier to understand, but not to censor views or change the meaning of the words.

Ask questions that draw out the interviewee, that help non-experts understand her or his perspective and the importance of that perspective on the subject. Allow them space at the end of the interview to add anything that you may not have already covered.

Lastly, think about the power relations between yourself and the interviewee. Make sure that they are comfortable with the questions beforehand, especially if they are a survivor of violence. If they are in a marginalised or vulnerable position, give them the opportunity to read the final article before it is uploaded, and make sure that they are happy with their portrayal. If the interview was conducted over the phone or similar, quote check – send them the transcript of the quotes you are using from them, to check for accuracy.

Check previous interviews for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/articles/interview-nana-darkoa-adventures-bedroom-african-woman Interview with Nana Darkoa: Adventures from the bedroom of an African woman]

[http://www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/interview-adolescent-girls-mobile-phone-use-bihar-jharkhand Interview: Adolescent girls' mobile phone use in Bihar, Jharkand, UP]

[http://www.genderit.org/content/copyright-copyleft-why-does-it-matter-interview-heather-ford Copyright? Copyleft? Why does it matter? An interview with Heather Ford]

Read also :
'''[[Dealing with vulnerable interviewees]]'''

==='''…an editorial'''===

Editorial usually introduces the GenderIT.org's thematic edition, we often invite a guest writer (meaning someone who is for some reason a relevant voice on the theme in focus but not necessarily a core writer) to prepare an editorial and share her/his opinion on an issue. The usual suggested length for the editorial is no more than one page, or 350 words.

The editorial is meant to introduce the theme of the edition, promote critical thinking, and encourage readers to read the edition and/or take action on the issue. They use a personal tone, and share personal opinions and experiences, including possible solutions to the issue in focus work often bests. What is extremely important for the development of the editorial is that the guest writer has in hand all the materials for the upcoming edition, so she/he can go through them and have a sense of what the edition is about, and even be able to make reference or quote the particular articles.

Check [http://www.genderit.org/previous-editorials previous editorials] for reference:

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/tipping-balance-local-adopters-technology Tipping the balance for local adopters of technology]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/internet-governance-if-we-are-not-table-we-will-be-menu Internet governance: If we are not at the table, we will be on the menu]

[http://www.genderit.org/editorial/thoughts-around-claiming-communication-rights Claiming communication rights]

==='''…a resource summary'''===

Even though resources are usually pdf formatted papers or presentations that are stand alone materials, we do not just throw them on the website without an introduction that sparks the interest of the readership. Here are some simple steps to follow when writing the summary:

1) State the purpose of a document/report. Why was it written?

2) Briefly describe the scope of the report. What problem does it solve or what issues are covered?

3) Provide an overview of the research/data collection methods used. How was information for the report gathered? (if applicable)

4) State the key results and findings detailed in the report. What did you find out?

5) Present the main conclusions and recommendations. What should the reader do about it?

6) How does it relate to women’s and internet rights?

The optimal length for a resource summary is between 500-700 words.

See example: http://www.genderit.org/resources/erotics-sex-rights-and-internet-research-study

Read more: [http://www.ehow.com/how_5108728_write-report-summary.html#ixzz1UX3KgGXp How to write a report summary]

Writing for a multilingual audience: Some Do’s and Dont's for native and near-native English language writers.
APC reference guide: A thorough list of reference types and how to use them in APC and GenderIT.org publications.

=='''Checklist for ALL articles'''==

Every article submitted to GenderIT.org should contain the elements detailed in [Media:Checklist.ods this checklist spreadsheet]: [[Media:Checklist.ods]]

Lastly check that your references meet the reference guidelines listed above.

Orientation to APCNews

2016-05-31T13:20:04Z

Ivan:

[[File:tool.jpg|thumb|200px]]

== '''APCNews payment scheme''' ==

Requests are only made by APC’s designated editors. If you receive a request from anyone else, please check with us.

=== ''Payment conditions'' ===

We pay according to our writers payment scheme described below.

Payment is made upon submission of invoice/s.

In order to reduce bank charges on your side and APC’s, we suggest you wait until you can charge for at least USD 300.

APC works with bank transfers and cheques (issued in USD by our bank in San Francisco), and with PayPal (recommended for payment of small amounts, under USD 300).

This payment scheme applies to all writers at all times.

APC’s payment scheme recognises the length and depth of an article, as well as the geographical location of the writer.

''Important note:'' Becoming part of the APC writers pool does not guarantee that you will receive requests to write for APC. You may leave the pool at any time on submitting an email notice to the editor. APC reserves the right to stop using writers without notification.

=== ''Baseline'' ===

The starting point, which is referred to as the "baseline", is USD 30.

It is a simple and short article, which is a factual and straight-to-the point. This includes single-people interviews, single source accounts, light synthesis of reports. Note that this does not include copy-and-paste journalism, which can be used in no other than blogging. A simple and short article is around 500 words (more than 250 and less than 750).

Then, length, depth and geographical location are combined:

=== ''Length'' ===

APC recognises the length of an article (after editing).

For each 500-word bracket in excess, USD 10 are added.

Example: A 1,200 word article falls into the “up to 1,500 word” bracket. That means USD 30 + 10 + 10 = USD 50

=== ''Depth'' ===

APC recognises three depth levels:

* Standard (1-2 sources) = no additional payment
All standard articles should cite at least one source and preferably two.

* Intermediate (3-4 sources) = USD 20 added.
Articles that demonstrate some research in terms of document investigation and/or interviews (three to four sources).

* In-depth (5 sources and more) = USD 30 added.
Articles that demonstrate original and extensive research, interviewing and/or analysis based on at least five different sources. This includes book reviews, features and multi-people interviews. The level of complexity is that of a full feature article.

Example: payment for a 1,200-word article that includes 2 interviews and 1 document investigation would would be calculated on the basis of length (USD 50) + Intermediate depth (USD 20) = USD 70.

=== ''Geographical location'' ===

APC recognises a “post adjustment” (PA) multiplier: depending on the writer’s main country of residence, she/he receives an amount based on monthly updated United Nations post adjustment grids.

[http://icsc.un.org/secretariat/cold.asp?include=par]

Example: A 1,200 word article of intermediate depth from a writer based in Montreal, Canada would be: length + depth (70 USD) x 1.PA multiplier (Montreal Canada’s May 2016 multiplier factor is 42.1). So 70 × 1.438 = USD 99.47

=== ''Intellectual property'' ===

All documents, materials or concepts developed under this agreement remain the sole property of APC, which will distribute them under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.

=== ''Other'' ===

Although we are not a news agency and usually don’t take up unsolicited coverage offers, feel free to send a story pitch if you think we may be interested.

We’d be very happy if you’d be interested in blogging on the APC blog from time to time: http://blog.apc.org. Login: Blogger upper case B; password: trusted

'''[http://writers.wiki.apc.org/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions Please refer also to the FAQ!]'''

Orientation to GenderIT.org

2016-05-31T13:15:29Z

Ivan:

APCNews editorial team

2016-05-31T13:13:24Z

Ivan:

[[File:team.jpg|thumb|200px]]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/APC_News @APC_News], [https://twitter.com/APCNoticias @APCNoticias] and [https://twitter.com/APCNouvelles @APCNouvelles]

== '''APCNews editorial team''' ==

[[File:Mallory.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

=== ''Mallory Knodel'' ===

APCNews editor

Based in Montreal

Languages: English

Contact: mallory@apc.org

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/chaoticfree @chaoticfree]

[[File:Flavia.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

=== ''Flavia Fascendini'' ===

APCNoticias editor

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Languages: Spanish, Portuguese and English

Contact: flavia@apcwomen.org

Twitter:

[[File:Leila.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

=== ''Leila Nachawati Rego'' ===

Communications associate

Based in Barcelona, Spain

Languages: Spanish and English

Contact: leila@apc.org

Twitter:

[[File:Lori - head shot.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

=== ''Lori Nordstrom'' ===

APC publications coordinator

Based in Montevideo, Uruguay

Languages: English and Spanish

Contact: lori@apc.org

Twitter:

APCNews editorial team

2016-05-31T13:12:46Z

Ivan:

[[File:team.jpg|thumb|200px]]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/APC_News @APC_News], [https://twitter.com/APCNoticias @APCNoticias] and [https://twitter.com/APCNouvelles @APCNouvelles]

== '''APCNews editorial team''' ==

[[File:Mallory.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

=== ''Mallory Knodel'' ===

APCNews editor

Based in Montreal

Languages: English

Contact: mallory@apc.org

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/chaoticfree @chaoticfree]

[[File:Flavia.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

== ''Flavia Fascendini'' ==

APCNoticias editor

Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Languages: Spanish, Portuguese and English

Contact: flavia@apcwomen.org

Twitter:

[[File:Leila.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

== ''Leila Nachawati Rego'' ==

Communications associate

Based in Barcelona, Spain

Languages: Spanish and English

Contact: leila@apc.org

Twitter:

[[File:Lori - head shot.jpg|left|100px|caption]]

== ''Lori Nordstrom'' ==

APC publications coordinator

Based in Montevideo, Uruguay

Languages: English and Spanish

Contact: lori@apc.org

Twitter: