The Global Information Society Watch 2008

The Global Information Society Watch 2008, or GISWatch 2008, was launched at the Third Internet Governance Forum in Hyderabad, India on 3 December 2008. GISWatch is available in print and online, and is published by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the Third World Institute (ITeM), and Dutch development organisation Hivos, The report is a collection of views and perspectives of ICT academics, analysts, activists and civil society organisations from all over the world. Five thematic reports focusing on critical issues concerning the Internet and ICTs provide an overview of the 'burning issues' in our path towards digital inclusion. These themes are net neutrality, open standards, spectrum management, trends in technology and accessing content.

There are 38 country reports representing a diverse, cross-section of countries around the world. In addition, there are six regional reports (North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, some countries of the former Soviet Union, countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific.

According to its website, 'GISWatch aims to build networking and advocacy capacity among civil society organisations who work for a just and inclusive information society. This is reflected in the growing number of participating organisations writing country reports – sixteen more than last year, the first year that GISWatch appeared'. GISWatch 2008 is the second report on the worldwide status of digital inclusion, with the first report released in 2007, also by the APC.

GISWatch is available as a free download in PDF (in parts, or as a whole) at the Global Information Society Watch website.