Yes, the Internet can bring the world closer together--but so far that has happened only for a relative few. The "Digital Divide" between materially richer and materially poorer persists. Currently, less than 20 percent of Earth's 6.5 billion-plus population has access to the Internet. And even among the fraction who enjoy affordable access, there are many disabled persons who cannot take advantage of it because so many websites are inaccessible by design. This website, like the book it grows out of, seeks to open up global learning, deliberation, and action over the human rights of life and nonviolent choice. We cannot aspire to that goal without addressing the Digital Divide. So we include this brief guide to free or (relatively) inexpensive computing and Internet resources that can help to bridge the gap.
If you are reading this, obviously you, or at least someone you know, has some sort of Internet access. But you may still be able to benefit from these resources. But whether or not you can personally benefit--why not write down, print out, or link online to this page for the sake of others? Thank you!
Accessing the Internet by E-Mail FAQs. "How to explore the World Wide Web,
retrieve files from FTP sites, and even access Usenet newsgroups using E-MAIL AS YOUR ONLY TOOL." This guide can be retrieved in English, Chinese GB, Dutch, Farsi (Persian), German, Hungarian (Magyar), Bahasa Indonesia, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Urdu, and perhaps other languages by now.
Bridges.org Guide to Free IT [Information Technology]. Where to find donated computers, low-cost computers, technology-savy volunteers, online technology-savy volunteers, free website development and hosting, free website hosting and email, and free software (word processors, graphics tools,etc.). Note: If you cannnot access the guide on the Web, try requesting a copy from the publisher, Bridges.org, an international nonprofit devoted to bridging the global Digital Divide and using the Internet to build democratic societies. Email info@bridges.org, or contact one of its offices: PO Box 26970, Kampala, Uganda, phone +256 31 280073; PO Box 715, Cape Town 8001 South Africa, phone +27 21 465 9713; United States phone +1 202 234 4492, fax +1 202 318 7792. Or...you can try retrieving it with just an email account (see above).
cybercafes. Database of "4208 internet cafes in 141 countries" and counting.
Cynthia Says. Offers a free tool for evaluating your webpage's accessibility to disabled Internet users. This tool tests one page at a time, at a rate of about one page per minute (depending, of course, on your connection speed).
Free Books, Medical Journals, and Medical Textbooks, & Other Educational Materials Online. The Online Books Page offers over 25,000 free online titles on many subjects and in many languages. Free Books 4 Doctors and Free Medical Journals give health care workers worldwide access to the information they seek, as does the inestimable Supercourse: Epidemiology, the Internet, and Global Health, a "global repository of lectures on public health and prevention targeting educators across the world." Need an actual offline, nonelectronic, print book for free? WorldCat allows you to search the catalogs of thousands of libraries worldwide.
Copyright Nonviolent Choice Directory 2007-2008. All rights reserved. Last updated April 18, 2008.
