Needs assessment survey results

IN a survey conducted during the conference, delegates identified needs and strategies on how to better protect cyberspace in Asia in the areas of technology, capacity-building/training, funding/business model, reach expansion, and issues of safety, defense and advocacy. Below are the results of the survey. Please call my attention to any entry that I may have erroneously interpreted in the process of transferring the results from the matrix format.

MEDIA SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

Technology

Provide technical tools, hosting, knowledge-sharing (in terms of expertise and relevant tools)

Capacity-building/Training

Trainings in different countries on the following topics: website development, ICT, journalism, investigative journalism, podcasting, blogging, media management, CMS (content management system), web business models

Funding/Business Model

How to raise funds

Expanding Reach

hold programs in rural areas
provide networking support in Asia
help in information dissemination regarding Forum for Media Alternatives’s (FMA) research and trainings

Safety/Defense/Advocacy

spearhead an anti-web censorship advocacy campaign
increase membership by including lawyers, activists
create a network of bloggers
improve capacity to make available PDF e-books on government censorship
go beyond Southeast Asia

DONORS

Technology

provide tools and equipment
distribute technology to digital ‘have-nots’

Capacity-building/Training

conduct annual forums to keep up with changes and share lessons
support trainings
fund national blogger associations, annual conferences on business and technical issues

Funding/Business Model

provide funding for web newspapers, wire services
conduct survey on Internet users in Cambodia

Expanding Reach

provide funding support for the echo sessions of the trainings as well as on communication rights advocacy — e.g. free, open-source software (FOSS) as an alternative to the current intellectual property rights (IPR) regime

Safety/Defense/Advocacy

support media development organizations
fund “Journalist Protection Unit”

MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

Technology

share knowledge about technology

Capacity-building/Training

share knowledge, skills on investigative journalism, best practices, and ethics

Funding/Business Model

provide help on how to sell research papers and publications online

Expanding Reach

expose blogging to more people, especially in Cambodia

BLOG AGGREGATORS

Technology

share the technology behind the ability to aggregate feeds and integrate these into sites

Capacity-building/Training

develop blogging training manual

Funding/Business Model

share their business model

Expanding Reach

provide services in different languages
collaborate with blog search engines

Safety/Defense/Advocacy

lend support to freedom of expression (FOE) campaign

BLOGGERS

Technology

help others build blogs

Expanding Reach

write about blogging in the mainstream media, preferably in the local language

Safety/Defense/Advocacy

support for FOE campaign, keep in touch with each other

JOURNALISTS

Capacity-building/Training

train bloggers about journalism principles

Expanding Reach

write about freedom of expression (FOE) in the national media

Safety/Defense/Advocacy

forge solidarity with other journalists

ACADEMICS

Expanding Reach

create materials in local languages
build the theoretical support for certain tools and trainings and campaigns — e.g. free, open-source software (FOSS)

Safety/Defense/Advocacy

ensure that students aware of their rights and know what to do when arrested

TECHNOLOGISTS

Technology

develop bypass software, blog hosting software, Khmer-language blog software, anti-spam software
help customise free, open-s0urce software (FOSS) for special needs

Capacity-building/Training