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	100 inspiring social tech innovations by World Wide Web Foundation & agencies   Nov 21, 2013   Scandinavian countries top annual Web Index rankings, USA and UK criticised for inadequate privacy protections   Today, we’re launching the second edition of the Web Index – the world’s first multi-dimensional measure of the World Wide Web’s contribution to development and human rights globally.   Sweden tops the table for the second year running, with Norway in second. The UK and US come third and fourth respectively, but both come in for criticism for surveillance practices. New Zealand rounds out the top five.   The 2013 Index also reports that:   Targeted censorship of Web content by governments is widespread across the globe. Moderate to extensive blocking or filtering of politically sensitive content was reported in over 30 percent of Web Index countries during the past year.   Legal limits on government snooping online urgently need review. 94% of countries in the Web Index do not meet best practice standards for checks and balances on government interception of electronic communications.   The Web and social media are leading to real-world change. In 80 percent of the countries studied, the Web and social media had played a role in public mobilisation in the past year, and in half of these cases, had been a major catalyst.   Rich countries do not necessarily rank highly in the Web Index. The Philippines, with a per capita income of $4,410 per year, is more than 10 places ahead of Qatar, the world’s richest country, with an average income over 20 times greater than the Philippines. Saudi Arabia is outperformed by 10 of the sub-Saharan African countries in the Index. Switzerland, the world’s third wealthiest nation, is only one place ahead of Estonia. The study shows that once countries surpass a GDP threshold of US$12,000 per capita, the link between wealth and Web Index rank weakens significantly.   The rights and priorities of women are poorly served by the Web in the majority of countries researched. Locally relevant information on topics such as sexual and reproductive health, domestic violence, and inheritance remain largely absent from the Web in most countries. Only 56 percent of Web Index countries were assessed as allocating ‘significant’ resources to ICT training programmes targeting women and men equally.   http://www.thewebindex.org http://www.webfoundation.org/   Nov 2013   100 inspiring social tech innovations. (Nominet Trust, Witness)   Digital technology is transforming how we communicate, how we work, how we buy and sell. But we are only just beginning to scratch the surface of ways technology can be used to help transform how we address complex social challenges, from health and education to poverty and climate change.   Nominet Trust has compiled the "Social Tech Guide" to celebrate the pioneers who are using digital technology to make a real difference to millions of lives. This is a dynamic resource designed to inspire and accelerate the use of digital technology as a tool for social change.   We are launching the Social Tech Guide with the Nominet Trust 100, a list of 100 inspiring social tech innovations from across the world.   Openess, active sharing and transparency are key features of many of the social innovations shared through this site. Building on those values, the data behind The Social Tech Guide can be downloaded and reused under a Creative Commons Attribution license. http://socialtech.org.uk/ (Best viewed with Firefox or more recent browser) Visit the related web page
	World broadcasters urge UN action on journalist deaths by NHK, BBC, Medias Monde, Deutsche Welle   18 December 2013   Continued killing of journalists is undermining free flow of information, UN warns.   The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with upholding press freedom pushed on with her campaign to secure the safety of journalists today, condemning the killing of media workers in Syria and Iraq.   “Violence against media workers undermines the ability of journalists to carry out their work freely as well as the right of citizens to receive the independent information they need,” UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ((UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement.   Freelance Iraqi cameraman Yasser Faysal Al-Joumaili, 35, who often worked for Al-Jazeera International TV and Reuters news agency, was reportedly abducted and killed by members of a radical group in northern Syria earlier this month.   Kawa Ahmed Germyani in Kalar, 32, editor of the magazine Rayal and a correspondent for the Awene newspaper in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, was shot by unidentified gunmen in his home in Kalar, on 5 December after reportedly receiving death threats in connection with his work.   Indian journalist Sai Reddy, a reporter for the Hindi-language newspaper Deshbandhu, died on the way to hospital after he was beaten and stabbed in the market of Basaguda village in the central state of Chhattisgarh on 6 December.   Ms. Bokova has so far this year condemned the killings of eight journalists in Iraq, seven in Syria, and four in India, as well as others in various countries around the world.   Just two days ago she called on the Philippines’ authorities to investigate the separate murders of three journalists in the southern region of Mindanao.   “Too many professional and citizen journalists are losing their lives in the conflict in Syria, often deliberately targeted by the various factions involved,” she said in her statement today on that war-torn country. “The circumstances of freelance journalists are a cause of particular concern, as they are often less well trained to deal with the dangers they face than are staff reporters.”   In her statements on Iraq and India she called on the authorities to investigate the crimes.   16 Nov 2013   Some of the world"s biggest broadcasters, have called on the United Nations Security Council to take greater action over the killing of journalists in conflict zones.   The organisations, which also included the BBC and Japan"s NHK, say the dangers facing their reporters are making it difficult to provide accurate news from some corners of the world.   "Increasing violence and intimidation against journalists means that the work of international broadcasters is being impeded," the broadcasters said in a statement.   "We are deeply concerned that in some parts of the world acts and threats of violence against journalists are growing in scale and intensity."   The statement was also issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Board of Governors from the United States, France Medias Monde, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Germany"s Deutsche Welle.   It cited the deaths of journalists this year in Mali, Egypt, Syria, Somalia, Pakistan and Mexico, plus increasing numbers of arrests and violence towards journalists in Yemen.   "A total around the world of over 60 journalists, bloggers and citizen journalists have been killed with around 340 imprisoned," it said, quoting figures from Reporters Without Borders.   UN Security Council Resolution 1738 says journalists should be treated as civilians in conflict zones and therefore attacks on them could be considered as war crimes.   The broadcasters expressed concern that the 2006 resolution "has not led to an overall improvement in the situation".   "We urge the Security Council to be more proactive in making the world aware of this problem - especially with regard to the impunity of those who attack journalists and media workers," they said.   "In too many cases, journalists are killed and governments do little, or nothing." Visit the related web page
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