Projects that aim to measure global censorship, examine the gatekeepers of the Internet and provide the public with greater Internet access and knowledge are among the winners of the latest round of the Knight News Challenge.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation named the latest contest winners June 23 at the annual MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference in Boston.
The latest round of the contest called for innovative ideas to keep the Internet an “equitable platform for free expression, commerce and learning.”
“The winning projects strengthen or defend the power of the Internet to inform communities and help innovation thrive; they help build a more inclusive, open Internet that represents diverse voices and ideas,” said Michael Maness, Knight Foundation vice president of journalism and media innovation, in a release.
Nine of the nineteen winners will receive investments of US$200,000 to US$500,000 each, while 10 early-stage ideas will receive US$35,000 each through the Knight Prototype Fund, which aids innovators in taking their projects from idea to the demo stage.
Here are some of the winning projects:
Check Out the Internet from New York Public Library is bridging the digital divide by allowing New York residents with limited broadband access to borrow portable Wi-Fi hotspot devices for up to a year.
Who Are the Gatekeepers? from Journalism Development Network will examine the gatekeepers of Eastern Europe’s digital infrastructure by analyzing the ownership and connections of Internet service providers and cable and satellite operators.
Code2040 aims to ensure the future of the Internet as a diverse, inclusive public resource by opening more pathways for underrepresented minorities to fill up top jobs in technology and by bolstering professional support networks to sustain their success.
Getting It Right on Rights from Digital Public Library of America is creating a simplified and coherent rights structure for content collections from libraries, museums, archives and other sources, and sharing best practices that institutions can use to safely make more content available to the public.
Global Censorship Measurement from the Open Technology Institute at New America is working in support of Measurement Lab, a collaboration and research platform that hosts a suite of tools for assessing the openness of the Internet.
Internet to Go from Chicago Public Library is offering Chicago residents wifi Wi-Fi hotspots for up to three weeks at a time, in addition to one-on-one digital literacy and skills coaching and access to online tutorials.
OnlineCensorship.org from Electronic Frontier Foundation collects information about incidents of online censorship in order to explore concerns about censorship and preserve freedom of expression.
Ranking Digital Rights from New America Foundation is developing a system for benchmarking and ranking the world’s most powerful tech companies on how well they protect the free expression and privacy of users.
- Text Secure from Open Whisper Systems is safeguarding mobile text communication though a simple, secure messaging application that requires no special knowledge from the user.
The detailed list of winners can be found on the Knight website.
Video courtesy the Knight Foundation.
Iva Dixit is IJNet's editorial intern and a recent IJNet Journalist of the Month.
_Image CC-licensed on Flickr via Mr.TinDC._