International alternative networks are non-commercial entities which keep up with the development of media and information in their countries. They are not imperialist structures that are internally directed. They are independent, non-commercial options that are attempting to bring multimedia into the 21st Century. They started in the 1990s. Today, they encompass many forms of media such as videos, news websites and tutorials. Many have turned into multinational companies and are an essential element of any democratic media strategy.
They are united by their noncommercial ethos, and opposition to imperialist systems of power. They spread their ideas by organising information and communication reform efforts and promoting an inclusive and democratic Internet. They also develop new communication infrastructures that aid in local and regional developments related to social movements.
The strength of these networks is rooted in cooperation, through the organizing of campaigns for social movements as well as media reform campaigns that adapt information and communication to benefit everyone. They are developing a complex lattice of local-local, regional (especially south-south) and transnational connections which bypass colonial old links between north and south as well as power dynamics.
While these international networks face many obstacles, including insufficient capital and competent staff, they continue to develop regional links as well as promoting the democratization process of information and communication reforms. They are now an essential element in the fight for greater environmental sustainability and human rights.
