LACNIC’s Líderes Program Issues Call for Proposals to Fund Internet Governance Research Projects
30/09/2020
LACNIC’s Líderes 2.0 program announced its call for proposals to provide funding and mentoring to members of the regional community who submit research projects on Internet Governance topics related to Internet and the Pandemic: Impacts on Human Rights, Digital Inclusion, and Security and Trust.
The call will remain open until October 23. Anyone interested in participating must complete a form describing the main features of their project. Only persons who are part of the community may apply, and collaborations by more than one participant will also be accepted.
Líderes 2.0 intends to provide US$1,500 to each project selected by a committee made up by Raquel Gatto, Nigel Cassimire, Miguel Ignacio Estrada, Kevon Swift and Paula Oteguy. The plan is to fund up to 14 research projects. Winners will be announced on November 4.
The call is open to coordinators of national or regional Internet governance initiatives, university students, policy makers, independent researchers, and members of the technical community who have been involved in Internet governance or who can demonstrate a strong capacity to carry out quality research.
Topics. The goal of the project is to develop a compendium of knowledge, studies and documents on Internet governance. The call for proposals covers three thematic areas. Projects in the Internet and the Pandemic: Impacts on Human Rights area may touch on freedom of expression versus censorship, data protection and privacy, gender issues, online surveillance, access to truthful information/managing fake news, and democracy, among others.
Under Digital Inclusion, the Líderes 2.0 call for proposals will receive projects seeking to put an end to the exclusion of Internet ‘have nots’, with a focus on projects that seek to eliminate the digital divide, including those that address, among other topics, connecting vulnerable groups such as the elderly, connecting marginalized groups, quality and affordable Internet access, equitable remote education for children, digital skills, and equitable access to e-health.
Finally, projects in the third thematic area, Security and Trust, may touch on cyber hygiene; trust and the media; cybersecurity practices and norms; digital safety for all; and security, stability and resilience in Internet infrastructure.
In addition to the US$1,500 grant, applicants selected by the committee will be assigned a mentor to carry out the selected projects over a period of three months and will then present their findings in different formats (videos, animations, podcasts, etc.).
LACNIC will publish the winning projects on the Internet Governance tab of the organization’s website.
Líderes 2.0 will be presented at the LACNIC 34 LACNOG 2020 event and a webinar will be held on October 14 to provide additional information to potential applicants.
More information here.