The Internet Research Project Pakistan has overtime evolved into an incubator of initiatives that promote connectivity to the Internet and Digital technology as a fundamental human right. IRP has developed since 2020 the Agriculture Republic, a multistakeholder driven community helping to innovate food security and climate change public policy with a focus on the integration of the Internet and various technologies that help rural communities in Pakistan connect to the Internet for their sustainable development. In 2021, IRP2 has established the country's first Digital Agriculture Community Network through the Agriculture Republic, Internet Society, AL and PTCL and has established Digital Dera Climate Resilient Smart Villages Network that is connecting over 4 million smallholding farming population to the Internet and the benefits that it has to offer: IRP2 strives to:
- Contribute to Internet Governance and Public Policy related initiatives and issues and addresses them through initiating pragmatic institutional development interventions.
- Nurture ideas and programs in collaboration with the Internet Governance communities in Pakistan and around the world to connect and strengthen access to the Internet.
- Provide technical and knowledge support to facilitate reduction in the digital divide across remote rural communities.
- Create communities of learning and practice around the topics of Internet connectivity and access.
- Help advocate, research and dialogue public policy discussions that shape the Internet and World Wide Web in Pakistan.
- Research, disseminate and share facts or analysis about the Digital Divide and Internet access and connectivity through electronic and print media on a regular basis where possible.
- Contribute research and baseline data publications on an ad-hoc and or need-to-need basis that helps informs the public about the state of the Internet in Pakistan.
Links to public advocacy:
Digital Dera Climiate Resilient Smart Villages Network https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NymQwMq4UTM
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Dera
- Digitalization in these Six Sectors can Boost Regional Cooperation in Central Asia https://www.adb.org/news/features/digitalization-six-sectors-can-boost-regional-cooperation-central-asia
- BBC World Service - Community Networks: Connecting the unconnected Digital Planet digital deras connecting farmers in rural Pakistan. Play from 11:13 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct31yf , Program Detail: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct31yf
