Vol. IV No. 2
The first monthly magazine on ICT4D
February 2006
Overcoming rural infrastructure barriers Information for development
www.i4d.csdms.in
IICD’s ICT programme in Mali and Burkina Faso
Experience based ICTs solutions in rural Asia Roger Harris Associates
Tools to combat drought and desertification
ISSN 0972 - 804X
ICT and rural development
VASAT
April 2004 | www.i4donline.net
1 knowledge for change
Asian Telecentre Forum
25-28 April 2006 Rama Gardens Hotel and Resort Bangkok, Thailand
Telecentres are increasingly being looked at as an important interface for bringing social and economic development in rural communities worldwide. They are known to the world as information centres, knowledge centres, info-kiosks, community services centres, etc. aiming to bridge the access and knowledge divides between the haves and the have-nots. The increased interest in telecentres in many developing countries, at a stage when the world is moving towards becoming a knowledge society, provides an opportunity for different stakeholders to exchange knowledge and learn from success stories. In Asia, several models of telecentres exist and have been tried and tested. They vary in their scope and reach, and there are many success stories to share. Yet, the community is neither cohesive nor built as a network of practitioners. They are also important tools for testing alternatives and solutions in the new and emerging markets zone for software and information and communications technologies (ICTs). A two-day conference and workshop programme has been conceptualised to bring the Asian practitioners in a platform for learning and sharing the experiences, and to address critical issues of content, collaboration, sustainability and up-scaling. Further, issues relating to monitoring projects that have been steered by external financial support, be it from the international development agencies, or from governments in Asia, require close assessment. We invite stakeholders from various sectors, viz., NGOs, Governments, Private sector, Donors, and Development agencies, Academic researchers etc. to participate in this workshop. Please provide a brief outline (abstract of not more than 500 words) of your work and perspectives that you wish to share. You will have an opportunity to showcase your work, share your experiences in presentation sessions and/or share case stories. The format of the workshop will be participatory, and will be facilitated. Last date for submission of abstracts:
For more details log on to www.asiantelecentreforum.net Conference Secretariat Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies G-4, Sector 39, Noida U.P. 201 301, India Tel: +91-120-2502180 to 87; Fax: +91-120-2500060
February 28, 2006
Confirmation of acceptance of participation:
March 05, 2006
Last date for receiving full presentations:
March 30, 2006
For more details: Contact: Anuradha Dhar, anuradha@csdms.in
Organisers
Media partners
ov knowledge for change
w w w. i 4 d . c s d m s . i n
Contents
Vol. IV No. 2
Features
6
Breaking the traditional perception of rural India Information technology vision for rural India Vikas Nath
8
February 2006
Columns
33
WENT AFrica 2005, Kampala, Uganda, 4 - 8 December, 2005 Building gender and ICTs capacities
Experience based ICTs solutions in rural
10
Roger Harris
34
Interview
IICD’s ICT programmes in Mali and Burkina Faso
39
Gamos
Overcoming rural infrastructure barriers
S. Mahendra Dev
Promoting handicrafts through eCommerce
François Laureys
12
e-Bario ICT programmes
John Tarawe
14
APWKomitel Independent capacity building Rudi Rusdiah
16 20
41
Books received
Improving incomes for the local communities
42 45 46
Bytes for All What’s on In Fact People with mobile, people on net
Sustainable livelihoods with ICT in rural India
Rendezvous
Rural India to shine, smile and roar Madaswamy Moni
44
Virtual Academy for the
Seminar report on ICT in agriculture and health, 12 January, 2006, Hyderabad, India
Semi-Arid Tropics (VASAT)
Health-FarmIT
Tools to combat drought and desertificaton
21
ICT in Indian agriculture
31
Nanasala network Nalini Senasekera
newsletter Cover image credit: Simon Batchelor, Gamos
Rajil Sayani sayani@vsnl.com
Thank you very much for sending a copy of the journal. Our article has come out in a nice manner. I sincerely thank you for your efforts. A good beginning has been made to include the users experiences at rural places in the journal. May be we can add the experiences of the learners of rural places in the forth coming issues which will throw more light on focussing our future research. F.R. Sheriff Chennai, India frsheriff@hotmail.com
For more than one year I have been reading 'i4d' magazine and I would rate all the sections of it as excellent. Mohammad Ziaul Ahsan, Director, Organization for Social Development of Unemployed Youth ziaul.ahsan@gmail.com
i4donline.net
I have been reading 'i4d' magazine for more than one year. It is excellent. The strong point in the magazine I find is the content.
egov Asia and DL Asia 2006
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35 ICTD project
We are in regular receipt of your monthly magazine 'i4d'. We would be grateful if you could send the magazines to Dr. Gita Shah, Ex-Director, Dept of MSW, TISS. The magazine is highly informative, and she will appreciate and benefit from the magazine much more than we will.
Preview
23
ICTs catalyse the rural and farm economy M. Ariz Ahammed
e-Literacy venture
info@i4donline.net
27 News
Roger Harris Associates (RHA) Asia
Mailbox
Research e-Learning projects from India. www.i4d.csdms.in/elearn.asp Learn more about FLOSS www.i4d.csdms.in/floss/introduction.asp www.csdms.org/floss-portal Print edition The past issues of the magazine are available online www.i4d.csdms.in/archive/archive.htm
Ashok kumar Paikaray Social activist, Mahavir Yubak Sangh ak_paikaray@yahoo.com
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i4d | February 2006
Editorial Information for development
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Reframing the ‘rural’
ADVISORY BOARD M P Narayanan, Chairman, i4d Amitabha Pande Indian Administrative Service Chin Saik Yoon Southbound Publications, Malaysia Ichiro Tambo OECD, France Karl Harmsen United Nations University Kenneth Keniston Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Mohammed Yunus Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Nagy Hanna e-Leadership Academy, University of Maryland, USA Richard Fuchs IDRC, Canada S Ramani Research Director, H.P.Labs, India Walter Fust Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Switzerland Wijayananda Jayaweera UNESCO, France EDITORIAL BOARD
The world is moving into a convergence mode because of the incredible potential of the ICT. It must be accepted that planned development and use of ICT hold the key to faster growth and give any nation a competitive edge in the globalised economy. But some areas are bound to be in the darker side of the development process, those are the rural areas. Rural areas face a vicious cycle of lack of infrastructure, lack of development, lack of policy implementation and above all, lack of interest to serve the ‘rural’ community with numerous infrastructural limitations. Rural areas have a common identity in respect of one of the biggest limitation i.e. the lack of communication infrastructure. The diffusion of ICT into the rural life has changed the scenario to a great extent. But lots are yet to be done to make the rural community self sufficient and confident enough to lead their life with proper knowledge and awareness.
Akhtar Badshah, Frederick Noronha EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Ravi Gupta Editorial Consultant Jayalakshmi Chittoor Sr Assistant Editor Saswati Paik Sr Research Associate Manjushree Reddy Designer Bishwajeet Kumar Singh Web Programmer Zia Salahuddin Group Directors Maneesh Prasad, Sanjay Kumar i4d G-4 Sector 39, NOIDA, UP, 201 301, India Phone +91 120 250 2180-87 Fax +91 120 250 0060 Email info@i4donline.net Web www.i4d.csdms.in Printed at Yashi Media Works Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, India i4d is a monthly publication. It is intended for those interested and involved in the use of Information and CommnicationTechnologies for development of underserved communities. It is hoped that it will serve to foster a growing network by keeping the community up to date on many activities in this wide and exciting field. i4d does not necessarily subscribe to the views expressed in this publication. All views expressed in this magazine are those of the contributors. i4d is not responsible or accountable for any loss incurred directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided.
cc Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies, 2006
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Connectivity is always a big issue in rural development. Therefore, increase in teledensity and expansion of networks are always main aspects in rural development. Apart from these, nowadays it is usually said that the countries without a broadband vision and a commitment to implement it, run a serious risk of trailing behind others and have to play a perpetual catch up game. Bringing broadband to all citizens should be the national priority for every modern country. But how much feasible it is to provide broadband to all citizens, especially in the developing countries? If at all it is made possible, how will it be provided to the rural areas? Above all, how can this broadband service be beneficial to the rural community? The initiative can be taken with the help of direct government investment, through public-private partnership, or by adopting a multifaceted approach. Another issue that needs to be examined now is how to encourage the rural content provider. The rural content provider would provide content and other facilities, which must be of interest and relevance to the rural population. Content creation would be a specialised area requiring thorough understanding of the local requirements and language which can only be done through local entrepreneurs. Here arises the need of emphasizing more on ICT research and development programme which may invent new ways to implement ICTs in the rural areas for the welfare of the community associated. Research and development initiatives have already been taken up in many countries for innovating and bringing emerging technologies to the service of the common man. So we need to concentrate more on it to make the process more effective and fruitful, not to be confined to a paper, but to be implemented in practice in near future. This issue will provide you many thought provoking ideas towards that direction.
Ravi Gupta Ravi.Gupta@csdms.in
February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
5
‘i’ Opener B REAKING
THE
T RADITIONAL P ERCEPTION
OF
R URAL I NDIA
Information technology vision for rural India Rural India: press 1 for Agricultural Produce, press 2 for IT Services…there is a need to break the traditional perception and the picture we conceive in our mind when anybody talks about rural India
Rural population and development quotient Any country whose rural population is still mired in poverty and unemployment, and faces high rural-urban economic equality cannot be termed as a developed country. In fact, the economic status of the rural population of any country provides a more realistic picture of the development quotient. Using this framework, countries such as India, China, South Africa, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt are far from being developed, even though they may be witnessing a GDP growth rate of 5% and above (Economist 2006 GDP growth rates). Thus, development of rural economies is the real challenge for developing countries where large sections of people reside in villages and smaller towns. And this is the area where development interventions either fail to penetrate or bounce back without creating a significant impact, and there are more reasons than one for this.
Analysing the reality
Vikas Nath Knowledge Management specialist at South Centre in Geneva, Switzerland vikas.nath@gmail.com
6
The foremost reason is the ineffective public investment being made in rural areas which is not allowing rural areas to develop as rapidly as their urban counterparts. The disparity in rural-urban infrastructure, in terms of roads, power, transport and telecommunications is a severe bottleneck. It hinders private investment in rural areas and fails to provide rural population with key ingredients required to modernise agriculture, and more importantly establish other economic enterprises (including non-farm based enterprises). Consequently rural areas continue to be characterised by agrarian economies, and large section of rural population continue to be employed in agriculture, with high levels of disguised employment. In countries, such as India, far greater percentage of population is em-
ployed in agriculture than what is required to provide with the current levels of agricultural productivity. And this is because of factors including, lack of alternate job opportunities in rural areas, especially for younger population, and absence of technological revolution within agriculture which means that farmers continue to labour all day and yet fail to get adequately remunerated for their efforts. When tomatoes get sold in neighbourhood markets in Delhi (the capital of India) for Rs. 10 (less than USD 0.20) per kg (December 2005 prices), it does not take much imagination to understand that the farmer who is actually growing tomatoes on his/ her fields is probably not getting more than Rs 3 (USD 0.07) per kg for his/her efforts and this is a dismal situation and provides an insight of the rural realities and how development interventions have still a long way to go to change the economic picture of rural areas. But on the other side, it is also an open challenge for all of us to make a difference, including for the public sector, the entrepreneurs, the private sector, and the NGOs who consider themselves to be in the business of “doing good”. I say it is a challenge because rural development in a country such as India is a boundless, vast expanse which requires pro-active action on a large scale, so that millions can be lifted out of poverty and be engaged in productive employment not restricted to agricultural sector.
Thinking from a different angle It is not an area for the faint-hearted and one needs to think innovatively. It starts from thinking from a new angle: Rural areas need not be and should not be characterised solely as agricultural belts and agrarian population. Instead, they should be i4d | February 2006
considered as a human resource: a resource of young people, of retain trained staff. The turnover rate for urban call-centres is skilled artisans, of innovators, and of entrepreneurs, that is waiting between 15% to 35% and is much higher in comparison to the to be tapped to accelerate local and national development. A rural attrition rates in China, Southeast Asia, and near-shoring countries youth may be a son or daughter of a farmer but need not be a within Eastern Europe. But this is not a problem since the solution farmer herself/himself. Instead s(he) can be a software developer, a already exists. India can retain its edge by pushing IT and allocating call-centre employee, an e-Entrepreneur, a lawyer preparing cases even more resources to education and skill development in its rural for foreign firms, or a potential employee for new forms of backyard. However this solution is not being applied and this is employment which have not yet emerged. due to the existing infrastructure bottlenecks which does not make Once we start thinking from this angle, we will realise that we this solution financially feasible, let alone attractive. need to correct our development-oriented policies and actions. A The third point about enabling IT policies, deals with India case to point out is that of the ICT intervention. The impact of needing to further its reach of lit fibre and broadband network, and ICT in rural areas and particularly on rural poverty is very limited more so, in rural areas. All schools, colleges, institutions, and post despite its penetration into urban areas. And even when ICT projects offices in rural areas should be connected via broadband network. are taken up in rural areas, they are limited to agricultural sector. In the absence of other infrastructure goods, and employment The focus on agriculture is correct one, but restricting the focus opportunities in rural areas, broadband network and the right kind of ICT to agriculture only is incorrect, when we adopt the new line of education and training can become a lifeline for millions of our of thinking mentioned above. Instead ICTs in rural areas have brothers and sisters who should not find agriculture as the only several important roles to play. The foremost is bringing employment option to turn to for earning their livelihood. IT can developments in the outside world closer to villages and small towns. truly be a leapfrogging tool for the young and the unemployed in This new knowledge about new types of information sources, such rural areas, and once this generation merges with the growing IT as emails and Internet, and about new ways economy, India will get an even bigger boost of doing businesses, such as e-Commerce via in its GDP from rural areas, and it will not be credit cards would allow rural entrepreneurs attributed to just agriculture. to scale up their businesses or think of new There is a need to transform schemes and business opportunities. This in turn will subsidies being given to rural areas. New attract more rural people and create more schemes and projects need to be created which employment opportunities in rural areas. promote rural e-Entrepreneurship. Bank loans Secondly, ICTs should be integrated withand credit lines should be extended to in the education curriculum within provide funds for rural e-commerce and other government, government-aided and private e-Services. Government of India could spur schools, and public and private institutes in A live fibre optic bunch rural IT innovations by initiating districtrural areas. This will ensure that India becomes wide, state-wide and national-wide a repository of not only the young but young and IT-trained incubation funds to promote rural enterprises, and start long-term population. Here it needs to be underlined that IT is not an end in projects on IT on the lines of its forestry conservation, watershed itself but over the time, it would be a skill required, and even development, and literacy for all campaigns. become a pre-requisite to undertake most jobs including governFinally, NGOs need to transform too, and move out from a ment jobs, jobs in engineering, health, law, economics, management, sterile approach to rural development to a more pro-active one. accounting, journalism and tourism. They should quickly adapt themselves to changing technologies An IT-trained rural population (even a modest 10%) would be and educate themselves on the vast potential of IT in rural areas an immense resource, as this skilled labour along with other when applied innovatively. Sadly NGOs working towards rural qualifications can quickly be integrated into newer types of job development in India have proved to less progressive than many of opportunities which are opening up, including call centres, back- the State Governments of India which are proving to be an important end accounting, and BPOs, and new growth areas such as offshoring force in making ICTs work for the rural poor. These non-progreslegal-services. It will ensure that India does not have a shortage of sive NGOs are doing more harm than good by not undertaking IT-trained human resources and can continue to offer a competitive projects which create new employment and entrepreneurship option to jobs being outsourced. More importantly, these new options to the rural population. They end up reinforcing the thinking skills will spur innovation, as this rural but trained labour force that rural India is only about agriculture and farmers. would be better positioned to transform rural areas and the larger rural population from predominantly agricultural labour force to Break the traditional perception There is a need to break the traditional perception and the picture that engaged in other employment opportunities. Here too IT can be an advantage, as with an even spread and we conceive in our mind when any body talks about rural India. robut IT-infrastructure and availability of trained human resources, We should start envisioning rural areas as potential IT farms where it should not matter whether companies are being set up in rural or with the right infrastructure inputs, the right policy support, hard urban areas. In fact rural-based call-centres can offer an even work, and of course some patience we can raise a new generation of competitive option to the urban call-centres which are witnessing IT-trained youths which will ensure that rural areas provide us with high-growth rates but are also finding it difficult to search and many new products and services, besides agricultural produce. February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
7
R OGER H ARRIS A SSOCIATES (RHA)
Experience based ICTs solutions in rural Asia RHA supports local initiatives with rural ICTs that help the organisations to develop and test its own theories with regard to how ICTs can be used to bring meaningful development to poor rural Asians.
Roger Harris Associates (RHA) is a consulting and social entrepreneurial firm started in 2001 based around the work of Roger Harris in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for rural development and poverty reduction in Asia. It began with advising governments and international development agencies. In partnerships with a variety of like-minded collaborators from many walks of life, RHA only provides advice that is based on personal experiences and first-hand research. Unlike many consultants, who never get mud on their shoes, the organisation draw its credibility directly from the work that it undertake in partnership with poor rural communities and the projects that it operate and support directly in the field. This has enabled RHA to generate its own knowledge base that can be used to influence governments and aid agencies in the promotion of development and poverty reduction that is based on the effective use of ICTs. The consulting work for ICTs for poverty reduction and rural development ranges from the design and implementation of both individual community-based development projects and wider programmes involving multiple locations, as well as assisting in the formulation of government policy mechanisms for national schemes for e-Inclusion. At the same time, it operates and support local initiatives with rural ICTs that help the organisations to develop and test its own theories with regard to how ICTs can be used to bring meaningful development to poor rural Asians.
Projects experimented Roger Harris Roger Harris Associates People’s Republic of China harris@netvigator.com
8
e-Bario, a pioneering project of RHA has set up a telecentre successfully in the remote and isolated community of Bario in order to demonstrate the benefits that ICTs could bring to an marginalised indigeneous
people and now, continues to apply ICTs to the problems of rural life and to the opportunities that exist for the community to appropriate contemporary technologies for development. Another initiative is Asian Encounters, which promotes a form of pro-poor community-based tourism through the use of local ICTs. This project is working in six communities in four countries and is demonstrating how poor rural communities, mostly consisting of indigenous minorities, can make use of ICTs to promote local tourism that is under their own control. Once they have become accustomed to the use of ICTs for this purpose, they can proceed with using the technology to foster other forms of locally-appropriate development, for instance in support of education, health and agricultural activities. One of the guiding principles of Asian Encounters is that ICTs can only contribute to sustainable local development if they are in support of, and subsumed within, effective development strategies that reflect the needs, problems, opportunities and aspirations of the communities in which they are deployed. The relationship can be depicted as follows. It has been recognised that Asia’s indigenous minorities offer extremely rich cultural learning opportunities for the right type of sensitive traveller. RHA intends to help willing communities to make use of the potential for small-scale tourism to generate incomes in a way that ensures the terms of trade that are not dictated by outside interests and that retains the natural environment of the destination and its people.There is growing evidence of an emerging demand for this type of travel product, emphasising authentic homestay encounters with indigenous minority cultures in a manner that enables the community to retain control over i4d | February 2006
the process. ICTs in the form of community telecentres offer a means for achieving this; becoming an income generating pumpprimer for further ICT-led community development.
Challenges faced Unfortunately, too many initiatives, at both grass roots and government levels, pay less attention to such innovative development strategies and begin with the technology strategy; perhaps implementing a network of telecentres, and only then beginning to think about how it can be used to foster effective development. Invariably, the results of such an approach are disappointing and disillusionment quickly sets in. The challenge of formulating effective development strategies that use ICTs innovatively is much greater than implementing an ubiquitous network, but it is the latter that usually dominates project, programme and policy deliberations. International depictions of the digital divide, with all their e-Readiness rankings, confound the issue by sending the message that achieving e-Development is primarily a problem of ensuring all citizens have access to ICTs and are trained how to use them. RHA’s work has consistently refuted this misconception. In Bario, for instance, a great deal of effort was put into understanding the community before any technology was introduced. In this way, both the residents and project team developed a harmonised, demand-driven view of how ICTs would be used to contribute to the future of well-being of the community. Its consulting activities with the Government of Malaysia in developing a framework for bridging the digital divide emphasises the value that underserved sections of society can obtain from ICTs that are meaningfully embedded within their day-to-day lives. Achieving this value of course requires far more than merely facilitating access to technology, demanding a more holistic approach to e-Inclusion. The UN has recently outlined the Socially Inclusive Governance for Information Society Framework, which is “a call to developing countries to shed the emphasis on connectivity and access and substitute it with a focus on inclusion for all groups in the population” (UN Global e-Government Readiness Report 2005). The EU has similarly acknowledged that e-Inclusion and social inclusion are highly correlated. According to ‘e-Inclusion: New Challenges and Policy Recommendations Report’ by the Expert Section of the e-Europe Advisory Group, “Access to ICT tools, networks and services, and even digital literacy, are merely preconditions for e-Inclusion. The issue is one of empowerment rather than access. Empowerment is not an automatic consequence of access”.
e-Inclusion for social inclusion e-Inclusion begins therefore with a commitment to a more socially inclusive approach to poverty reduction and community development. It then adopts ICTs in support of innovative practices that February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
can achieve these pre-determined goals. RHA has long been associated with the development of rural telecentres; public community development centres that use ICTs to deliver and exchange information that can be used to achieve demand-driven, community led development. It understands the importance of local facilitating conditions in the achievement of such goals and has developed a methodological approach, based on live experiences, to ensure that community telecentres are capable of delivering the full potential of ICTs to underserved communities. It is called as ‘Infomobilisation’, which fosters an organic process of change in which collaborative groups explore and learn about problems and solutions in an iterative manner. It is a collection of participative activities that ensure ICTs to have optimal impacts for development within the given communities. It provides a methodology to design technology and social systems simultaneously through a participative and incremental process that does not require coercion and creates no resistance to change. ICT architects and target community groups jointly determine how technology can be used to develop new ways of accomplishing group and community goals. The development of the ‘Infomobilisation’ methodology by RHA is a response to field level experiences that has encountered in conjunction with an appreciation of sociotechnical systems theory.It believes in an approach to ICTs for poverty reduction that deals with the facts leading to actions and advice that are based on direct evidence rather than on unsubstantiated conviction. A great deal of potential is claimed for the use of ICTs to alleviate poverty, but much less is paid for understanding the circumstances that make it possible. Its research in India, for instance, highlights the importance of community acceptance of telecentre initiatives in achieving desirable outcomes, and the role that telecentre staff play in fostering acceptance by the community. It advises programmes for widespread deployment of telecentres to take these lessons into account saving the risk of creating networks of under-utilised facilities. Subsidised cyber cafés that are used primarily for entertainment and social purposes contributes little to the socio-economic development of the community. Moreover, experience shows that communities take much longer to appropriate technologies than is commonly imagined by aid agencies and government programmes. Communities will set their own pace, with little or no reference to the artificial budgeting schedules of funding agencies. RHA continues to promote ICTs for poverty reduction and rural development in Asia. Its consulting activities are an effective platform both to fund the field activities and to put to good use the experience gained directly from them. Clients appreciate the fact that RHA ‘walk the talk’, continually updating the knowledge from own experiences. One day RHA could be working with the poor community in a remote and neglected rural backwater, the next day the experiences will be relating to a government minister, in its war against poverty.
9
IICD’ S ICT P ROGRAMMES
IN
M ALI
AND
B URKINA F ASO
Overcoming rural infrastructure barriers ICTs in a rural setting can be a tool that can contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation?
In this landlocked west-African country, five rural development projects using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) started implementation during 2005. Despite difficult start-up circumstances in terms of infrastructure (lack of electricity, paved roads, telephone and/or Internet access) and human resources, all five projects show a remarkable dynamism, and first results obtained only after less then one year are promising. Each of these projects is piloted by a local organisation in a rural setting, or addresses problems of rural populations.
ICT to produce a spicy sauce
François Laureys Programme Manager for the IICD country programmes in Mali and Burkina Faso flaureys@iicd.org
10
In the ‘Sissili Vala Kori’ project the main objective of the implementing organisation FEPASSI (Fédération Provinciale des Producteurs Agricoles de la Sissili) in the district of Leo is to reinforce communication and information between the federation and its constituency. Nobody had foreseen how quickly the multimedia tools would be used by rural peasants. The kick off was the creation of two small telecentres in the villages of Bieha and Boura and the active members received a basic training in the production and dissemination of digital information. This has triggered a process to actively seek for relevant local content. In the past peasants reported specific crop diseases over the telephone or when travelling to the capital. The feedback from research centres or extension centres would take many days or weeks - if it was to come at all. Today the extension worker of FEPASSI takes a digital picture of the crop and sends it in an attachment by email to the researcher. In some cases the feedback has been immediate. It has also motivated researchers to work much more towards solving direct problems encountered in the field.
A women group took the initiative to travel with a digital video camera to the north eastern part of Burkina Faso. They heard about how elderly women were producing a delicious spice mix, called sumbala - a rich nutritious ingredient. It is praised very much by men in complement to their rice or maze meals. The whole process of harvesting the seeds, fermentation and preparation was filmed during three consecutive days. When the women’s association Pag La Yiri in the remote town of Zabré heard about this initiative they decided the ‘sumbala’ recipe should also go on the radio airwaves. With the support of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), Pag La Yiri is setting up a community radio and Internet centre, in order to better inform and communicate with its constituency of 11.000 members in the surrounding region. Unknown in the region before, ‘sumbala’ and the women of the villages of Bieha, Boura and Zabré have found a new way of stimulating the appetite of their husbands …
ICT to clean your hands before eating This project aims at reinforcing the communication capacities of local project staff of the NGO Sahel Solidarité (www.fasonet.bf/sahelsolidarite) in order to inform villagers in the district of Bokin on the hygienic use of water. During its pilot phase, the project targets 10 villages in the surroundings of Bokin, with a total of 20.000 villagers. In order to do so in an efficient way, the local office of Sahel Solidarité in Bokin has been equipped with an Internet connection, four computers powered by solar energy, five digital cameras and memory sticks, and portable projection equipment which will make it possible to organise multimedia sessions in remote i4d | February 2006
villages. The total budget for two years is 70.500 euro, of which a large part will be invested in connectivity and equipment, and another part will be devoted to content development and internal capacity development. The project started implementation in March 2005. All necessary equipment in Bokin and in the national offices of Sahel Solidarité in Ouagadougou was up and running in June 2005. Some initial difficulties with the capacity of the solar power system during the rainy season were overcome by the installation of additional solar panels. Training of Sahel staff started in May 2005, according to a cascading train-the-trainers model: the five project team members were trained in computer and multimedia use by IICD’s local training partners Yam Pukri (www.yam-pukri.org) and ZCP (www.zcp.bf ), and following they trained four extension workers in Bokin. The extension workers in Bokin started training local teachers, pupils, women and municipal staff in basic computer use from July onwards. Approximately 100 people in Bokin were trained in the following months. In September 2005 the extension workers started to work on materials and contents, in order to experiment with the use of multimedia tools. They filmed and photographed theatre sketches on hygiene performed by local pupils, digitized existing drawings on water use, and integrated these into PowerPoint presentations. At year end 2005 the collaborators of Sahel Solidarité presented officially and not without proud their first PowerPoint presentation on water hygiene and sanitation. Compared to the past this is again a small revolution. Instead of using standard posters, often only printed in French, staff and extension workers in the district of Bokin have developed a model for the promotion of hygienic water use and sanitation through the use of enhanced information and communication technologies. Experimental methodologies of sensitization consist of digital pictures of local examples of wrongdoings in water use. The FEPASSI staff already witnessed a much greater impact of their campaigns in the villages as people recognise places and neighbours. In addition, drawings of a Japanese volunteer were digitised to clarify how mosquitoes can infect food when excrements are left in the open air. Through the use of ICTs, Sahel Solidarité has developed in a record time an innovative approach on awareness creation and capacity development for farmers on information and communication. At an almost zero cost the presentation on water hygiene and sanitation can be adapted to local languages (Moré, Bisa, Fulfulde, Duala, etc.), by using subtitles or adding spoken translations. The economic benefits for the targeted villages are not to be underestimated, as a better understanding of water-related problems and solutions can lead to an immediate reduction of illnesses, and to a more cost-effective use of water and water-related materials. The project has a large element of capacity building, and will lead to empowerment of villagers in general, and women and youth in particular. Not surprisingly, the extension workers in Bokin have indicated a high level of satisfaction with the project: they feel strongly empowered on a personal level, and express that their work has become more efficient – especially reporting and communicating with the Sahel headquarters has become much more transparent and fluid. They see the use of multimedia as a challenge that gives them more satisfaction and confidence in their work. One February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
lady said, “I now feel more important than a Minister who is probably not able to send a mail to his son in France or receive documents in attachment!” Local villagers, who have received basic computer training, also express satisfaction: some of them have started to regularly use the centre to write, copy and send documents. Related to the topic of water use, pupils have indicated that they have become more interested in the subject thanks to the use of the multimedia tools. They feel more implicated and think they can also benefit in other ways from mastering computer skills. From IICD perspective the project is developing very successfully. The project team has shown that it is possible to overcome difficult technical circumstances and to involve the local community in an innovative process.
From chalk to internet The Koodo-tv (www.iaber.bf) project of IABER (Institut Africain de Bio-Economie Rurale) in Koudougou, wants to broadcast and diffuse market price information on a national scale via the combined use of television shows and a dynamic website. The reaction of the TV-audience has been overwhelming. Instead of letting panellists give lengthy talks on their views on the rural world, a puppet (representing a goat – called Chevrina) is challenging the speakers with lively comments. This contrasts with the traditional respectful attitude of TV journalists in Burkina towards dignitaries. A puppet goat is less tied by formalities towards authorities in the field of agriculture. A second reason is that children know better than their parents when the programme on rural life is to be broadcasted and ask their parents to switch on the television (television covers 95% of the territory). The Ministry of Agriculture has proposed to contribute to the programme with the market prices they have in their possession (on vegetables and cattle markets). Big notice boards on the markets themselves (see picture) avail the information for non-internet users: the table is filled out with a piece of chalk, giving the market figures of the day. The impact is not only economical but also sociological. Better and more transparent market information systems somehow pacify the relations between producers and middleman of groceries. The traditional animosity and fear of being cheated is now more balanced, thanks to a better insight in the real value of cattle and vegetables on the market.
Conclusion The examples described above demonstrate that ICTs in a rural setting can be a tool that can contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation. However, this specifically applies when ICTs are supporting existing development activities. The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) assists developing countries to realise locally owned sustainable development by harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs). IICD works with its partner organisations in selected countries, helping local stakeholders to assess the potential uses of ICTs in development. Contact: Sahel Solidarité, saso@fasonet.bf www.fasonet.bf/sahelsolidarite. More info on IICD’s Burkina Faso programme: www.iicd.org, www.burkina-ntic.org
11
e-B ARIO ICT P ROGRAMME
Improving incomes for the local communities The improved communications that Bario, in the Sarawak region of Malaysia, now enjoys with the outside world has led to perceivable improvements in the lives of the local Kelabit communities.
Origin e-Bario is a research project undertaken by the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) with the support of the International Development Research Centre of Canada and the Government of Malaysia. Its objective is to demonstrate the opportunities for sustainable development in a remote and isolated rural community from the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Beginning in 1998, the project was undertaken against the background of the Government of Malaysia’s aggressive adoption of ICTs for national development and the underdeveloped infrastructure and scattered population of the Nation’s largest state, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. It has as its rationale the delivery of equal access to ICTs for those remote and marginalised communities that characterise rural life in Sarawak, and which contain more than half of the State’s population. Many such communities are un-served by road and have access to meagre or non-existent telecommunications services. The objectives were to demonstrate that access to ICTs, specifically the Internet, could precipitate significant improvements in the lives of such communities.
Implementation methodology
John Tarawe e-Bario Project Coordinator, Malaysia jtarawe@bario.net
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The methodological approach was to conduct a pilot telecentre implementation within one remote community. The remote highland community of Bario in northern Sarawak was selected. It has a population of around 1,000 people and is the traditional centre of the Kelabit ethnic group of Borneo, which consists of around 5,000 people. Baseline studies were conducted in order to understand the conditions of life in the chosen community and computers were progressively introduced, beginning with the school. A community telecentre was
established with the intention of providing community access to computers and to the Internet. Bario is a remote and isolated community accessible only by air. Before the e-Bario project, communications were limited to rudimentary radio links. Electricity is obtainable from household generators or solar panels. It represents an extreme example of the digital divide. Despite its isolation, the community includes two schools that participated in the study. A computer laboratory with satellite Internet connection was established in the junior-secondary school, and the schools teachers were trained how to use computers. As the school children readily took to the computers, this had an immediate effect in acculturating the entire community towards the use of ICTs. Over time, the research team formed a close relationship with the project’s community steering committee, and this allowed them to jointly formulate a development agenda designed to make effective use of improved access to abundant information sources within initiatives that reflect the needs, aspirations, problems and opportunities within the community. With the assistance of Telekom Malaysia, a community telecentre was established which consisted of computers with satellite (VSAT) access to the Internet as well as public telephones and a reliable generatordriven power supply, augmented with solar panels and batteries. In July 2002, the project was handed over by the research team to the community, with a local management committee and a project manager.
Benefits e-Bario has delivered a variety of important benefits to the community. In the school, the pupils have benefited from earlier exposure to ICTs than would have otherwise i4d | February 2006
interactions have greatly improved, and this has been most keenly felt at the time of family emergencies, such as at times of sickness and bereavement. Previously, relatives often heard about such emergencies well after the event when it was too late to act. Additionally, the telecentre played a crucial role in co-ordinating search and rescue operations after a helicopter crashed in the nearby rugged highlands. Flight operations have also been enhanced by the improved communications that provide pilots with vital weather conditions that can be highly variable over short distances in the highland terrain.
Applauses won
been the case. This has had the effect of accelerating their learning, not only in computer subjects but also in other areas of the curriculum in which access to the Internet has broadened their knowledge base and expanded their learning horizons. Not least among these benefits, the pupils’ English language ability has also improved, owing to its predominance on the Internet. This is a highly desirable outcome in view of the Malaysian Government’s emphasis on English language teaching in the national curriculum.
Impacts visible The Bario community is also using the telecentre to promote its local tourism activities through their website. Bario has enjoyed a steady trickle of visitors who are attracted by the unique culture and hospitality of the residents as well as the pristine highland rainforest environment. Tourism is a significant contributor to the local economy as it generates incomes for a range of individuals, many of them women. There has been an increase in the number of lodges and restaurants providing accommodation and meals since e-Bario began. The increase in tourism has had the effect of doubling the number of flights between Bario and Miri, the nearest town on the coast. This has also improved the agricultural economy. Bario is famous for its rice, which is grown organically, and is highly sought after due to its light taste and delicate fragrance. The increase in the number of flights has enabled farmers in Bario to send more rice to the urban markets, and this in turn has stimulated rice production. Another benefit relates to the use of the telecentre by the local clinic, which became the first rural clinic in Sarawak with Internet access. The medical technician at the clinic has been able to share medical information with doctors in the towns, obtain better information about the drugs at the clinic and about the common ailments among the residents. The Kelabit community of Sarawak, whose heartland is in and around Bario, regularly conduct on-line discussions on topics that affect their future. The e-Bario telecentre now allows Kelabits living in the highlands to participate in these discussions on an equal footing with their compatriots in the towns and overseas. The Kelabit community is preserving their cultural heritage by capturing the recollections of the old folks online, and developing digital library. The improved communications that Bario now enjoys with the outside world have lead to a number of significant impacts. Family February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
The e-Bario experience has been shared nationally and internationally with several agencies, including presentations organised by UNESCAP, IDRC and the Government of Malaysia. The project has also won several awards, as follows: • Mondialogo Engineering Award by UNESCO and DaimlerChrysler in partnership with OSEAN, Cambridge University UK, Engineers Without Borders UK, Berlin, 31 May 2005 • eAsia Award by Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business, Taipei, 24 September 2004 • Demonstrators’ Application Grant Scheme 2004 Convention – Special Mention • Anugerah Perdana Teknologi Maklumat IT Premier Award – Presented by Prime Mnister of Malaysia, 18 December 2003. • Bario as one of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities 2001 by World Teleport Association. • Special presentation on e-Bario at 2003 World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) by Strategy and Policy Unit of ITU (ITU-SPU). • Industry Innovators Award for Systems Development and Applications by Society of Satellite Professionals International on March 6th, 2002, Washington DC.
The way ahead e-Bario continues to develop as a resource to foster local development. It has become clear that a number of critical success factors have contributed significantly to the desirable outcomes that are being experienced. In the first instance, the research team focussed on the development needs of the community as they themselves expressed them and on the characteristics of the community that would influence the extent to which such development could be realised. The project was conducted in a participatory style in which community representatives were equal partners. Local champions were encouraged to adopt leadership roles within a multidisciplinary team. Smart partnerships with outside agencies have created considerable benefits in contributing to the solution of operational difficulties and achieving development opportunities. The project is now managed by a local committee that is organised within the formal governance structure of the community. It oversees daily operations and continues to promote the use of the telecentre within the development of the community. e-Bario has evolved into a community initiative, regularly organising fund-raising and social events which serve to stimulate community interest and to maintain its profile as a shared resource.
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APWK OMITEL
Independent capacity building Association of Community Internet Centre(CIC) established as a nonprofit association in 2002 focusing on running Public Internet Centre (PIC) or Community Access Point (CAP) in urban towns and cities across Indonesia.
Rudi Rusdiah Chairman APWKomitel-Association for Community and Internet Centre (CIC) Indonesia rusdiah@rad.net.in
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Relevance of PSOs Internet was started mostly in urban areas of Indonesian community by the SME’s. Initially many government bodies and NGOs were averse to idea of incorporating private sector organisation(PSO) into the venture. Though PSOs by nature are nonprofit, majority of the members are profit oriented. But in later stages, many of their projects were facilitated and recognised by government MoCI (Ministry of Communications and Information) as they realised that without the backup of PSOs, no one else would dare to venture in such projects in building Internet access/PIC for the community and citizens in Indonesia, considering the government’s limited resources and lack of foreign direct investment, barely enough to cover the cost of CAP in the rural areas. Since then, APWKomitel, a grass root enterprise and its SME members work hand in hand, in forming PPP (public private partnership) with government institutions or projects in developing PIC or CIC or CAP focusing on urban cities and towns (bottom up approach), while government on donor projects focused in developing rural villages through USO(Universal Service Obligation) as top to down initiative by MoCI. APWKomitel has nearly 500 members operating PIC, known as ‘Warnet’, in Indonesian language or cybercafe in English, or Internet Cabin in Latin America. Majority of these ‘Warnet’ are small ones owned and operated by SME as family business so as to support income for the family or in recent times by graduated students or unemployed bank staff due to bankruptcy of many banks that occured during economic crisis (1998-2000). The ‘Warnet’ industry, has to an extent helped the government in solving the unemployement problems. It is roughly estimated that if there are 5,000
cybercafe in Indonesia, more than 20,000 IT/Internet operators, cashiers are working in the industry and unaccountable number are supporting the industry in terms of hardware(PC, Internet access), software (billing systems, OS) and training.
Role of APWKomitel Currently APWKomitel is a part of the government team on Strategic Planning (renstra) in the ICT Sectors. It is also a consultant for joint UNDP and Bappenas (Indonesian Planning and Development Agency) projects, called SMCD(Sustainable Multipurpose Community Development) Telecentre, adopting association, vision/future model called MCI Centre, which reflected the independent business model of PIC operated by private sectors(SME). The ideas of the private sector participation as a consultant is simple, if the private sectors can develop PIC in urban areas without government interventions, grants and subsidies, then there is absolutely no reason why many Telecentres with government backed subsidies and finance are struggling to survive and sustain in the operation afterwards. Many Telecentres are found to have ran(survived) only during the subsidy period and closed down afterwards. Evidently vision was lacking in the business plan and in the long run, this would prove to be futile exercise for the future of Information Society driven by the WSIS (World Summit on Information Society) Plan of Actions ( PoA) paragraph 6, which envisions all villages in the world should be wired by 2015.
Expertise guidance To assist the Government Telecentre projects, the author and chairman of APWKomitel, has come out with a book entitled ‘Step by Step Guide for Developing SMCD Telecentre’ in native language for the operators and i4d | February 2006
managers interested in developing Telecentres in future in rural villages and for establishing Warnet in Cybercafe as well. The book is also in line with the business management model of ITC (UNCTAD/WTO) segregating the ‘business’ and the ‘management’ aspects of any venture. This is relevant because the Association is trying to adopt business model of private sectors’ profit oriented model for nonprofit telecentres. The effectiveness and efficiency of any management model will be the same, whether it is meant for profit or nonprofit, in order to sustain the business from operations. The key point is to be not too dependent anymore on donors, sponsors or government subsidies in the long run.
One of the APWKomitel projects with MoCI since 2004 was to develop ‘Directory of Warnet, PIC, Telecenter’ to push the demand side of the Internet user or Market, and at the same time to develop future business model for Warnet/cybercafes or PICs. This model is named as ‘Multipurpose Community Internet (MCI) Centre’ a dream PIC which is multifunctional benefit provider to community in the future(global information society). It is common phenomenon that during the early period of installation, many Warnet/cybercafe mushrooms, due to the Internet-hype factor. If neighbour has started a PIC business, there is always a tendency for the person to have one. The initial period of high growth is followed by a downsize, because many Warnet businesses have closed down competing on price alone without any proper strategy or innovation in implementation. It was then the Association was established to solve these problems and traced out that many of these SMEs had set the businesses without any ground plan. Even the Association has been setup following the strategy. But, using its future model, it has emphasised the importance of knowing one’s environment and market to follow the future model of MCI Centre in order to be more sustainable and competitive. It therefore asks its members to know the needs of their customers in tuning their products and frill to the community requirement of Internet access and information technology.
Details of Directory
Since the book was designed for telecentre, the business aspects were mostly tuned for nonprofit operations and encourage the private sector participation and the readers are also evoked of their moral consciousness to share their profit, as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Moreover irrespective of being big or small, Private Sector Organisations (PSOs) are also responsible enough for the environment and community and have to serve them if they want their own businesses to survive.
Overcoming barriers Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world today with 15,000 big islands and countless small islands spread in three time zones, where majority of the territory is almost, 70 percent water. So it is once more divided than any other country in the world in connecting these villager in thousands of islands. There are 70,000 villages, in Indonesia that have to develop more than 10,400 cybercafes in urban area and more than 56,000 in rural villages within year 2015 (as per the WSIS PoA). During the WSIS Tunis, in the ITU pavillion of Partnership to Connect the world, the Association has signed a MOU with Indonesian National Satelite and Internet Provider to facilitate the member and future members in the rural areas with affordable VSAT connections and distributing the bandwidth using outdoor wireless LAN (OWLAN 802.11b). But the challenges are beyond technological advancement for any remote villages to be connected to a satellite. The bigger challenge here lies in overcoming cultural, financial, social and political transformations along with gaining public acceptance. February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
The Directory, posted in the website http://www.apwkomitel.org has helped tourists and students of Distant Learning University (Open University of Indonesia) to find the nearest Warnet/cybercafe in their town in many remote islands. Thus the directory provides the feeling of ‘Near On’ or Near to the Internet in developing countries, as opposed to ‘Always On’, a concept introduced by mobile operators in developed countries. The directory, still lacks promotion and dynamic features of the current website technology and encourages the MoCI to facilitate the directory for further promotion as the Internet user and penetration is still in its lower ebb. The directory is not just limited to the Indonesian territory. Any neighbouring countries interested to join can just submit their Warnet or cybercafe, since many of the islands are closer to the neighbouring countries. http://www.itu.int/wsis/goldenbook/search/ display.asp?Quest=5608238&lang=en ) APWKomitel also introduced a unique eBilling System for PIC that is equipped with photo authentications. It is felt that with authentication of people, using public facility(user) will ensure its responsibility in using the public facility to reduce cybercrime, cyberterorrism or negative use of Internet. APWKomitel distributed the Millenia eBilling Systems at a very affordable price of $100 (include webcam), so that many small Warnets can afford and encourage the positive use of Internet in the future also. (http:// www.milenia.net ) As NGO, APWKomitel will work hand in hand with Public sectors to promote PIC in rural town and villages as well in developing its directory, business model and Billing Systems, as a showcase that enables to declare in the ITU Pavillion Partnership to Connect the World. (http://www.itu.int/partners/projects/mci.html or http://wsis-online.org/smsi/organization/organizationview?group_id=326287 )
15
S USTAINABLE L IVELIHOODS
WITH
ICT
IN
R URAL I NDIA
Rural India to shine, smile and roar Using ICT, rural India can be accorded its place in the World Economy, while still maintaining its predominantly agrarian economy. This will facilitate “Rural India to shine, smile and roar”.
Madaswamy Moni Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre, Government of India moni@nic.in
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Viable society in a rural space India is a land of diversity with different types of terrain, various agro-climatic conditions, different levels of socio-economic conditions, and varied levels of regional development. Agriculture, including crop husbandry, animal husbandry, forestry and agro-forestry, fisheries, and agro-industries, provides livelihoods to over 70 % of the rural Indian population. Agriculture is decentralised but small scale manufacturing (small and marginal farmers) units. Agricultural development, along with village and cottage industries, tiny and micro enterprises, are the cornerstone for promoting sustainable rural livelihoods. More than 60% of our workforce is still in Agriculture. Water, crucial for agriculture, faces rapid depletion, thanks to free farm power that encourages over-irrigation and hence empties aquifers. Since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, agriculture remains high on the international agenda because it brings together critical issues like water, poverty, hunger, and health. The Agenda 21 of the Rio Earth Summit 1992, the action pathway for sustainable development, clubbed sustainable agriculture and rural development under one head in its Chapter 14. ‘Access’ to ‘sustainable livelihoods for all’ is ‘a gateway’ to ‘sustainable development’. Agriculture productivity is a function of seed quality, nutrient adequacy, irrigation and adoption of appropriate package of practices. Agricultural sector faces constraints for achieving its sustainable growth in many parts of the country. The national efforts in ‘bridging this Social Divide’ are visualised through: • National eGovernance Plan - bridging rural digital gap • National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) Act – bridging rural poverty gap
• Bharat Nirman – bridging Rural Infrastructure gap - Rural Roads - Rural Telecom Connectivity - Rural Housing - Rural Drinking Water - Rural Electrification - Irrigation • National Rural Health Mission with Rural Sanitation – bridging rural health gap • Right to Information Act – bridging information gap • Strengthening Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan with Universalisation of Midday Meal programme – bridging education gap • National Urban Renewal Mission bridging urban infrastructure gap.
Providing digital opportunities ICT’s diffusion and infusion in agricultural sector provide the necessary ‘digital opportunities’ or ‘advantages’ for productivity increase, for income generation, for decrease in regional disparity, and for improving their linkages with the market. Markets, the driver for agricultural growth, depends on effective information system, i.e. what people want, at what price, where to get it, and who can supply it (http://www. agmarknet.nic.in) There have been both national and international efforts (DOT Force of the UN, the UN/ESCAP Committee on Poverty Reduction, the Millennium Development Goals, Poverty Net of the World Bank) to improve information flows and communication services to eliminate poverty (ICT for Poverty Reduction).
Mainstreaming models for collaborative research Developing appropriate ICTs (i.e. a framework) for sustainable development and sustainable livelihoods is, therefore, i4d | February 2006
essential at grassroots level (i.e. at society level). ICTs is, however, not a panacea for grassroots level development problems, but it has the potential and opportunities to help the rural poor to leapfrog some of the traditional barriers to development by: improving access to information, expanding their market base, enhancing employment opportunities and making government services work better. There is a ‘need to bridge theory and reality (i.e. grassroots)’. Rural India desires to take advantage of ‘knowledge-intensive’ techniques for sustainability of its Stakeholding: farm and non-farm linkages. Grassroots level Information access (Contents) and Grassroots level access to Information (Networking) are the two essential components for grassroots level development strategies through ICT. The Digital Initiatives such as AgRIS, DISNIC, eCooperative and CoopNET, Digital SME etc are essential to usher in ‘digital inclusion’ for fostering rural prosperity.
Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS) Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS) is the Central Sector Scheme for strengthening / promoting Agricultural Information System in the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC) Ministry of Agriculture. This Project is based on the recommendation of the Report of the Core Group- V of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Soils, National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) of the Planning Commission (March, 2000). During the Tenth Plan, the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, in association with National Informatics Centre (NIC), has undertaken ‘Proof–of-Concepts-Projects’ in districts across the country, facilitating the followings: • Initiate pilot projects on ‘Agricultural Resources information System’ (AgRIS) in districts in order to work out the cost and efficiency of this project and then expand to the entire country; • Develop a comprehensive database on various parameters related to land use, inputs (seeds, fertiliser, agricultural technology, agricultural credit) use, and water use; • Development of decision support systems (DSSs) packages for strengthening advisory services to farmers; and • Capacity building through Human Resources Development.
“…miles to go” There is a need to bridge theory and reality at grassroots. Farmers, in particular SMFs, must be able to choose agricultural practices and technologies from the full range of approaches available for tackling their problems: agro-ecological methods, conventional research methods, and molecular biology research methods. Converting millions of poor farmers to the use of new technologies has been a colossal task. The implementation of ‘Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS)’ will facilitate development of typology specific agriculture development plan in the country. As “resources application and agronomic practices” are to match with soil attributes and crop requirements, the Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS) is a “way-forward” to improve agricultural productivity in rural areas, and a much “needed domestic strategy” for sustainable rural livelihoods. The AgRIS is a step towards establishing a location-specific e-Government model for the Poor. Project Details can be seen at the Website http://www.agris.nic.in February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
ICT for micro level planning at grassroots level: DISNIC programme While, in principle, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) can be the effective bodies for local level planning and implementation, they may not be so in practice because of a number of constraints : most of the PRI Members do not have the necessary background in planning and implementation of development programmes (Source: 9th Five Year Plan, Vol-1, Para 5.35). The Gram Sabhas will have to play a leading role in identification of local needs, mobilisation of local resources including human resources, identification of target group beneficiaries and monitoring of implementation of local projects. Grassroots level Information access (Contents) and Grassroots level access to Information (Networking) are the two essential components for grassroots level development strategies through ICT. A significant barrier to the adoption of the appropriate technologies for rural villages has been the absence of analytic tools (databases) that accurately compare the alternative options, both conventional and renewable. The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) has recommended the establishment of Rural Knowledge Centres (RKCs) all over the country using modern information and communication technology (ICT) under the Mission 2007 Programme. In India, ‘district’ is the basic administrative unit at the sub-state level and also consistent with the decentralized planning process prevailing at the grass-root. With the establishment of NICNET in districts numbering about in 1985-87, National Informatics Centre (NIC) has launched its ‘district information system (DISNIC)’ in about 27 sectors viz., agriculture, animal husbandry, education, health, industries, rural development, micro-level planning, etc, as an informatics tool for development planning and responsive administration. Indian village is a cognizable unit located in a specific agro-ecological and sociological environment. Its potentials and constraints for development are well known. A significant barrier to the adoption of the appropriate technologies for rural villages has been the absence of analytic tools (databases) that accurately compare the alternative options, both conventional and renewable. The Decentralised Planning and Implementation: DISNICPLAN programme has been taken up for implementation in for implementation on pilot scale in 28 Districts (one district per state, one block in that selected district, and all villages in that Block, and the District Planning Unit and One Department of Geography/Research institution dealing with spatial planning and data analysis). The DISNIC-PLAN new initiative will support building up databases (spatial and non-spatial), decision support systems, and communication systems to facilitate: sustainability of resources, poverty alleviation, and empowerment of women, full employment, production systems planning, infrastructure planning, and habitat planning. Production potentials of a village through ‘circularflows’ and “chain-effect” should be understood. The objective of this consultation is to arrive at “an Informatics Blueprint that covers Villages” for economic and social development; derivation of various development indicators which will act as pointers to understand the development potentials as well as constraints for sustainable development; use of data and sensitization at the lower level spatial
17
AGMARKNET
units; relevance of geospatial intelligence, research, education, training and extension for micro level planning; institutional linkages and plan of action for implementation, etc.
e-Cooperatives and CoopNet This is an Internet Enterprise Development Programme for fostering agricultural and rural industries. Rural Connectivity is the lifeline of rural economy. There are about 5.5 Lakh cooperative societies with a membership of more than 236 Million and working capital of more than Rs. 3400 Billion. Cooperatives have made remarkable progress in agriculture, banking, credit, agro-processing, storage, marketing, dairy, fishing and housing. This network covers 100% villages and 85% of rural households, and occupies a key position in agricultural development with respect to resources use, inputs use, harvesting of water resources, marketing channels, storage facilities, distribution channels, value addition, market information, and a regular monitoring network system. Cooperatives are also engaged in economic activities like disbursement of credit, distribution of agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilisers, and agrochemicals), and arranging for Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) measures of farm produces. To begin with, it is suggested to network about 146000 Primary Agriculture and Credit Cooperatives (PACS), 19 National Level Cooperative Federations, 367 State Level Cooperative Federations and 2890 District level Cooperative Federations. Networking of Cooperatives through state-of-the-art technology is essential, which will facilitate to get connected to a National Data Centre (24/7 Infrastructure) for achieving the followings, for which an initial investment of Rs. 2500 Crores is required: • Build relationships and alliances faster • Re-engineer and integrate their processes • Develop more and better value-added products and services; • Share knowledge and experiences • Enhance innovation • Promote Web-based business trading
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As a step towards to globalisation of agriculture, the Union Ministry of Agriculture has embarked upon an ICT project: NICNET based Agricultural Marketing Information System Network (AGMARKNET) in the country. This AGMARKNET project has already networked 735 Agricultural Produces Wholesale Markets (APWMs), during 2000-02 and embarked upon additional 2000 Markets during the Tenth Plan Period (2002-2007). As of 31 December 2005, 2500 APWMs have been brought under the AGMARKNET Programme, which has facilitated in developing the database on 300 commodities and about 2000 varieties. The Government initiative of the networking of agricultural produce markets (AGMARKNET) and the AGMARKNET Portal would facilitate the development of B2B and B2C e-Commerce Model in the Country. This project has the potential of expansion to about 7000 Wholesale Markets located through out the country and further to 35000 Rural Markets in India. This ICT Project is a ‘farmer-centric’ project to put the progressive farmers on ‘global free trade zone on Internet’.
Digital SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have always been the engine of growth in developing as well as in transition economies. In India, SMEs are the second biggest employment generators after agriculture, providing jobs to over 9.2 million people, and accounts for 39 per cent of industrial production and 34 per cent of exports. It is estimated that there are around 350 Urban SME clusters and approximately 2000 Rural and Artisan based clusters (Rural SMEs) in India. This does not include the Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs), who constitutes of about 67% of the farming community in India. The process of globalisation has impacted SMEs much more than larger business enterprises, and there have been a lot of studies which show that SMEs are at crossroads. While developed countries have already taken a lead in this direction, developing countries have yet to fully exploit this system particularly to invigorate Small and Medium Enterprises. There is a need for serious global thinking on how to ensure greater stability of SMEs, how to provide greater social security for those working in this sector, and, at the same time, how to retain the dynamic force that drives this secto. Areas of business that are targeted for improvement of SMEs are: User profiling, Supply Chain, Value Chain, Customer-RelationManagement (CRM), SME Networks, and Suppliers Cooperation. The challenge for entrepreneurs is to think about creating solutions for the twin engines of future growth – Rural India and SMEs. Cluster approach, Industrial Estates, Industrial Growth Centres, Export Processing Zones, Industrial Parks and Integrated Infrastructure Development Centres etc., have been the spatial policies for infrastructure development of SMEs. The Hypothesis: “the proximity of a web of businesses lowers the unit cost of infrastructure, leads to accretion of skills and i4d | February 2006
is a source of informational economies” holds good in respect of SMEs.
Agricultural informatics and communication in India According to the National IT Task Force (1999) recommendation (No.79), “the Government shall take all necessary steps to boost IT for Agriculture and Integrated rural development”. The Ministry of Agriculture and National Informatics Centre (NIC) emphasized informatics for Agricultural development in the National Conference on “Informatics for Sustainable Agricultural Development (ISDA-95), Many follow up actions (ICT projects: AGMARKNET, DACNET, etc) were taken up, to provide relevant agricultural information in rural areas, helping farmers to improve their labour productivity, increase their yields, and realise a better price for their produce. India is expected to become a ‘Knowledge Society’ by 2008 and by which time, any farmer in a remote village can demand and get the information about landuse planning for cropping strategy for farmers fields based on integrated information on soil, water, weather, fertiliser and pest management models; source to get proper seeds or good quality nursery plants; prevailing prices of farm equipments, agricultural produce, products and series of such set of information, which can lead to high productivity and optimum cost benefit to the farmers. To achieve this, the following things should happen: • An agriculture information centre in each village • Interactive exchange of information for planning and day-today operations by farmers • Availability of all the extension and advisory services on demand
Some suggested action plan India has a vast knowledge in social sectors and natural resources. India has many states, which are minerals-rich, income-poor. Grassroots democracy has firmly taken root since the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution. Rural India should be given a chance through Digital Networks for Farmers (DNF), DISNIC Programme, e-Cooperatives, and digital SMEs, to usher in a ‘digital inclusion’ for fostering rural prosperity and grassroots level development. ‘Grassroots level access to information (Networks)’ and ‘Grassroot level information to access (Digital Contents)’ through ‘local language interface’, will hopefully help ‘bridge theory and reality at grassroots’. An ICT-triggered rural knowledge revolution can help to break the barriers that stand between ‘localised rural economies’ and the ‘globalised market’. Using ICT, an area in which India has expertise, rural India can be accorded its place in the World Economy, while still maintaining its predominantly agrarian economy. This will facilitate “Rural India to shine, smile and roar”. Strategies for Effective Communication and Public Awareness to be adopted, are as follows:• Development of Proof-of-Concept Projects in pilot districts (as per the typology identified) • Agricultural Resources Information System (AgRIS) • AGMARKNET led Market extension system • Digital SMEs covering Urban Clusters and Rural Clusters • E-Cooperative and COOPNET of Agricultural and Rural Credit Societies February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
• ICT for Micro level Planning : DISNIC Programme • Rural Empowerment and Development through e-Learning (READ): Community Information and Communication Centres and Digital Libraries (DL) Centres – READ Centres through Broadband Connectivity in about 12000 Rural Colleges, which produce about 9 Million students in the age group of 21 -23 Years annually • Establishment of AgRIS Centres in 300 Agricultural Colleges (215 under SAU System, 85 under CAU and General Universities), 89 ICAR Institutions, and 35 State/Central Agricultural Universities • Networking of Departments of Geography, Departments/ Faculties of Agricultural Marketing, Schools of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Schools of Social Sciences, Centres for Regional Development Studies, and Agricultural Colleges • Adoption of Quality Management System (QMS) • Intranet for Collaborative Research, Extension and Training • Portals in officially recognised Indian Languages - Localisation • Adoption of Portal Models • Broadcasting / Wider-Dissemination Model • Critical Flow Model • Comparative Analysis Model • E-Advocacy/ Lobbying and Pressure Group Model • Integrated Services Model • Documentation of Geometry of Information Flow • Capacity Building of all Stakeholders involved in the Collaborative Research and Development Models This ‘ICT for Development with a Rural Focus’ is a ‘much needed domestic strategy for sustainable livelihoods in Rural India’.
Walter Fust awarded Walter Fust, Chairman of Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), was awarded by the organiser of the Second Gyanmela (Knowledge Fair) as the Best Global Knowledge Worker. The second Gyanmela was organised on January 2021, 2006 by Amader Gram ICT4D Project in Sreefoltola village under Rampal Upzila (sub-district) of Bagerhat district. It was an innovative fair for knowledge, attempted to demonstrate how rural development can be achieved utilizing the power of information and communication technology (ICT). The credential was handed over in the inaugural ceremony of the Project’s second annual event the Knowledge Fair in a remotest village of southwest Bangladesh on 20 January. Dr. Dora Rapold, Swiss Ambassador in Bangladesh was the Chief Guest in the opening of the Fair where she received the award on behalf of Mr. Walter Fust from a grassroots Knowledge Worker Ms. Lima Khatun. It is our pleasure to state that Walter Fust is i4d’s Advisory Board Member. We congratulate him for this honour.
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V IRTUAL A CADEMY
FOR THE
S EMI -A RID T ROPICS (VASAT)
Tools to combat drought and desertification Rural areas have some typical characteristics associated with huge limitations in terms of communication and other infrastructural facilities. But if the rural areas, especially in the developing countries, are located in such a region which are by means of geographic location problematic, the problems associated with the rural community reciprocate. Such a situation can be solved by promoting community awareness with the help of ICT. Virtual Academy for the Semi-Arid Tropics (VASAT) has shows the way. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), with the support of the ICT-KM programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Desert Margins Programme in WCA, have initiated the VASAT. It is a strategic information, communication and non-formal distance education coalition for rural communities and intermediaries led by ICRISAT.
What VASAT is all about? The aims of VASAT are • to link rural farm communities with researchers, credible intermediaries and markets through an interface of ICT and open and distance learning (ODL) methods • to host a virtual college of experts through a web-based learning content management system (LCMS) and link them with various stakeholders • to empower vulnerable rural communities to collectively identify problems, articulate their needs and take up informed action in relation to drought preparedness VASAT emphasizes creating demanddriven easy-accessible, easily understanda-
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ble content that can be applied by rural stakeholders. Need-based content thus developed with national or international partners is uploaded at www.vasat.org. which are then accessed and adapted by local partners, intermediaries and rural farm communities. Trained community animators in partner organisations and multi-disciplinary professionals act as field experts. In this way, VASAT turns scientific knowledge into practical solutions to help mitigate the effects of drought and desertification. It offers lifelong learning opportunity to the poor, lesseducated and illiterate people of the semi-arid tropics (primary learners). VASAT complements, supplements and builds on existing agricultural extension-communication initiatives, it designs content into instructional modules which create a foundation for further learning, keeping in mind literacy levels. VASAT is sustained by community involvement, local relevance and strategic partnerships among local, national and international organisations.
VASAT in Asia and Africa VASAT is operating as a virtual academy in South Asia (SA) and West and Central Africa (WCA), in partnership with the Deserts Margins Programme. It is an innovative and cost-effective medium to inform, educate and support a critical mass of rural women and men spread across vast geographical areas about drought and desertification. It is a response to the need of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to implement a communication strategy for combating drought and desertification. The Seed support and technical advice are being provided by Commonwealth of Learning (COL) while the Technical Partners are Sun Microsystems and US National Academy of Sciences.
In India, a pilot information hub with connectivity to the Internet was established in Addakal village, in partnership with Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Programme. A 4,200-member federation of micro-credit societies of rural women uses the hub for their information needs. It has a low-cost connectivity to the Internet. ICRISAT in Hyderabad offers significant advice and feedback on content. VASAT extends information/instruction support to organisations that have established hundreds of rural ICT hubs. VASAT-WCA (West and Central Africa) uses low frequency and solar powered community FM radio stations interfaced with new digital radio satellite (WorldSpace) technology for sharing and accessing data/voice. A pilot hub was established in Niger in partnership with the local federation of farmers. Radio Kahé has a 20 Km radius, reaching about 4,000 villagers. A broadcast program dedicated to VASAT and integrated with agricultural broadcasts is aired six hours a week. The other pilot station is located 300 Km from Niamey in a village called Gabi.
Recent activities of VASAT VASAT is an active member of the National Alliance for Mission 2007, which organised the First National Virtual Congress of Farmers, (NVC) a part event of the 93rd Indian Science Congress in Hyderabad (India). In NVC, The President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam met with drought stricken farm families of seven villages from across India via video link. He answered their questions on drought management and improved agricultural practices. An expert centre was organised at ICRISAT, Hyderabad for the Virtual Congress. More information is available at http://www.vasat.org, http:// www.icrisat.org Source: ICRISAT, Hyderabad (India) i4d | February 2006
ICT
IN I NDIAN
A GRICULTURE
ICTs catalyse the rural and farm economy ICT will definitely strengthen the current ongoing extension reforms in bridging gaps in access and in bridging rural economy with globalised markets.
M. Ariz Ahammed Addl. Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Assam SFAC Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam, India arizahmed@yahoo.com
February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
Indian scenario of agriculture The latest Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers, 2005 of NSSO (http://mospi.nic.in/ mospi_nsso_rept_pubn.htm) observes that the average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of a farm house hold is just Rs 503 in 2003 across regions, classes and income groups with 27 per cent of farmers not liking farming while 40 per cent felt that given the option they prefer other career, due to poor incomes. It is also reported that only 29 per cent understood what minimum support prices meant while only 40 per cent of farmer households accessed information on modern technology in Farming. The observations clearly illustrate the ailment of Indian Agriculture and highlight the issue of access to technology, government endeavor, markets, institutions and services into focus, indicating the limitations in the current public service delivery and need for new intervention with right means. At national level the impact is visible with low GDP contribution (22 per cent) of Agriculture sector, though more than 65 per cent of Indians derive their livelihood on it. Despite the avowed target of 4 per cent in Agriculture to achieve 8 per cent growth in over all GDP during tenth plan (2002-07), till date agriculture performance has been a serious concern for the economy and talk of the day in the nation both in the government, industry and civil society. In economic sense Agriculture is taken to encompass all farm enterprises viz., Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Fishery and Sericulture and several other allied activities. Thus Agriculture upliftment will not only benefit farmers and many rural poor, but also will give fillip to overall growth of the economy through backward and forward linkages of agriculture with the rest of the economy. Under the circumstances and new global trade regime, government
has been endeavouring to make the Agriculture sector, perform.
ICT’s potential in agriculture sector In Indian context, the performance of agriculture basically means the performance of small holder farming. It is only by empowering small and marginal farmers to overcome their handicaps that, they can become instruments of evergreen revolution and growth in agriculture sector. The limiting factors of farmers in maximising their farm incomes are access to technology, government endeavour, resources, markets, institutions and services. As farming is becoming highly knowledge intensive, commercialised, competitive and globalised against traditional resource based approach, the need to adopt right means to bring in all players of agribusiness, cannot be over emphasised. Innovations in ICT are of great help in offering a communication platform circumventing all traditional physical barriers and backwardness with its wider reach out and neutrality to social and gender bias; and it’s inclusive nature of public and private sectors and its innate strength of offering a reliable, good and cost effective communication platform to various management agencies involved in the extension to and from to the farmers. With these features, ICT will definitely strengthen the current ongoing extension reforms in bridging gaps in access and in bridging rural economy with globalised markets.
What observations say A case study of Assam Agriculture will strengthen the above listed observations of a need for the use of ICT for any sustainable development and growth in Farm Sector. To mention in one of the recent homework
21
workshop organised by the Government of Assam, the Agricultural Development Officers, civil society and farmer representatives could list out maximum 8 number of schemes while there were a plethora of schemes being offered by a number of agencies and institutions. Moreover, even the information that they have is incomplete with their admission that guidelines were available for only 2-3 schemes. This is bound to raise the basic issue of ‘for whom the schemes / programmes / projects/technologies are being developed by the centre and state Governments and several other agencies at the cost of convergence and synergy’. On the contrary extension functionary of a department agency is not aware of opportunities offered by multitude of agencies related to same target group and enterprise. If we look from the side of spread and magnitude of the problem taking the case study of Assam State again, where in there are 2.5 million farm families. The Agriculture department extension machinery comprises approx. 5000 personnel (VLEWs + ADOs + Others) but is expected to provide service to more than 5 million farmers (if we consider two farmers in each farming family). This is naturally a herculian task, illustrating the limitation of traditional extension in providing access to the farmers and the role of ICT. In India knowledge revolution through ICT is being spearheaded by Mission 2007, an alliance for providing Every Village One Knowledge Centre under the chairmanship of M.S. Swaminathan engaging governments, institutions, technologists, civil society and the corporates.
ICT in Indian agriculture Till date, the available Indian ICT public service delivery models in Agriculture sector are very few and are mostly in private sector viz., knowledge centres of MSSRF (http://www.mssrf.org/special_ programmes/mission_2007_NA/namain.htm), e-Choupal of ITC, Ikisan of Nagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd and Parrys corner. Besides a number of Agribusiness Corporates viz., TAFE, Mahindra and Mahindra and several others are adopting ICT in their business. The Private sector initiatives are very critical and essential given the strong presence of the corporate in Agriculture sector. In Cooperative sector the often quoted old examples are Dairy Information Services Kiosk (DISK) of NDDB and wired village WARANA. Amongst civil society, GRASSO of West Bengal is pioneering the ICT access in farm sector. Increased realisation of rural markets potential has become a driving force for the interest of corporate. In government the major ICT based service delivery initiative is
22
limited to ASHA (www.assamagribusiness.nic.in) initiative of Assam SFAC (Government of Assam) with its networking with large ICT infrastructure (CICs) spread all over the state. Kerala is coming up with two different initiatives (i) kissan kerala (www.kissankerala.net) and (ii) e-Krishi (www.e-krishi.org/web/main/). The Government of Andhra Pradesh is providing agribusiness services through Rajiv Internet Village Centres in partnership with ikisan. The IIIT Hyderabad is experimenting with e-Sagu (http://agriculture.iiit.net/ esagu/esagu2004). The Uttaranchal state is planning for Kisan Soochna Kendras in private partnership while the Haryana state recently inaugurated its first Agribusiness Information Centre. The Tamilnadu and Maharashtra are pursuing comprehensive Agrisnet. Several state agricultural universities launched telephonic help lines. Related to land records the Bhoomi Project of Karnataka state has been one of the highly successful public sector initiatives in the country having direct impact in improving health of agriculture sector and is being replicated in several other states.
Initiatives and achievables At national level the Government of India has been undertaking a number of initiatives. Of them, popular public service models are its telephony initiative – Kissan Call centres (www.kisancallcenter.net) and web portal initiative www.agmarket.nic.in providing market price information. Most of the central organisations are accessible through their websites. The Government of India initiative of AGRISNET (http://agricoop.nic.in/PolicyIncentives/BRIEF% 20NOTE%20ON%20AGRISNET.htm) to institutionalise IT empowerment and networking of research and development institutions and services under Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation is an harbinger of ICT in Indian Agriculture. It is expected that National e-Governance Plan, the AGRISNET, proposed Common Service Centres and Village Knowledge Centres by Government of India will further take India to harness emerging potential of ICT comprehensively for the benefit of farmers and all partners of agribusiness offering both synergy and value addition. Besides, the commodity exchanges are using ICT extensively in their agribusiness.
Hope for better future Despite its prospects and practical uses the ICT is not without limitations, the foremost is the limitation of masses who have to understand and avail its benefits in the prevalence of endemic functional illiteracy. However given the current CIC/Kiosk models based on intermediary (operator with functional and digital competency) the problem is being addressed suitably. Then follows the connectivity, infrastructure, content development (especially in local language), affordability, coordination, management issues and access to reliable power supply. The just concluded World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) at Tunis symbolises global commitment of using ICT for sustainable development. The views expressed in the article are personal and are not that of organisation for which the author is working. The full version of the article is available on www.i4d.csdms.in i4d | February 2006
April 25 - 28, 2006
The Asian conference on e-Government
Rama Gardens Hotel and Resort Bangkok, Thailand
The Asian conference on ICT and Education
Program Advisory Board Ake Gronlund Professor Örebro University, ESI / Informatics Sweden
Matthias P. FINGER Professor Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne – EPFL Switzerland
Dennis Pamlin Policy Advisor WWF Sweden
Norma Mansor Dean/Professor Faculty of Economics & Administration University of Malaya, Malaysia
Jeremy Millard Head, eGovernance Program Danish Technological Institute Denmark
Nooraini Mohamed Ismail Dean, Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia
Jeongwon Yoon Director National Computerization Agency Republic of Korea
Nagy Hanna e-Leadership Academy,University of Maryland USA
Kenneth Keniston Andrew Mellon Professor of Human Development Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
P K Mohanty Director General & Executive Director Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad India
Karl Harmsen Director United Nations University - Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), Legon - Accra, Ghana
San Ng The Asia Foundation USA
Mohamed Sameh Bedair e-Government Program Director Ministry of State for Administrative Development Egypt
Thaweesak Koanantakool Director NECTEC Thailand
Organisers
Co-organiser
Media partners
Institutional partners University of Malaya Malaysia
Supporting partners
Technical Sessions •
e-Government Country Plans
•
Policy and Technology Framework in e-Government
•
Funding and Financing Mechanisms in e-Government projects
April 25 - 28, 2006 Introduction
•
Content Management, Data Standardisation and GUI
•
Public-Private Partnerships and Service Level Agreements
•
Emerging trends in Mobile Government
•
Government Process Re-engineering and Change Management
Asian countries are witnessing a dramatic change in their
•
Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Auditing Mechanisms
economy. So is the scene of e-Governance! Some countries are
•
e-Democracy through e-Government
already topping the international charts of e-Governance, some
•
e-Security and Cyber Laws for efficient Governance
have just begun their journey, while there are a few others
•
ICTs and Rural e-Governance
who are yet to step into the e-Governance arena. The scope for these countries to learn from their advanced Asian
Exhibition
neighbours is immense and opportunities are unbound.
egov Asia 2006 will have an elaborate exhibition of latest e-
The present need is to create a common ground of equitable
Government products, solutions suites, services, initiatives and
learning which facilitates a process of overall development of
case studies from all across Asia and beyond. Professional service
the region.
providers, IT vendors, consulting firms, government agencies and national/international development organisations involved
The Event
in the e-Government domain are encouraged to participate in
egov Asia 2006 - the international conference on e-Government,
the exhibition.
aims to provide a knowledge-sharing platform and a forum for policymakers, practitioners, industry leaders and
Important Contacts
academicians of Asia-Pacific nations to carry forward the
Registration:
registration@egovasia.net
e-Government vision of the region and consolidate them into
Papers:
papers@egovasia.net
actionable programme, through collaborative learning and
For Sponsorship:
sponsorship@egovasia.net
partnerships.
For Exhibition:
exhibition@egovasia.net
Keynote Sessions
For General Information:
info@egovasia.net
Eminent experts and senior government officers from various parts of Asia and outside Asia will discuss the e-Government
Submit abstract online at www.egovasia.net/abstractonline.asp
developments in their respective countries. The discussion will include but not limit to the following topics:
Call fo
•
e-Government trends in Asia
•
e-Government strategies of Asian countries
•
Leadership reflections in e-Government
for egov Asia 2006, Digi Asian Telec
www.egovasia.net
Abstract Submission: Abstract Acceptance: Full Paper Submission:
Asian Telecentre Forum 25-28 April 2006, Rama Gardens Hotel and Resort, Bangkok, Thailand
A conference and workshop programme has been conceptualised to bring the Asian practitioners in a platform for learning and sharing the experiences, and to address critical issues of content, collaboration, sustainability and up-scaling. Further, issues relating to monitoring projects that have been steered by external financial support, be it from the international development agencies, or from governments in Asia, require close assessment. We invite stakeholders from various sectors, viz., NGOs, Governments, Private sector, Donors, and Development agencies, Academic researchers etc. to participate in this workshop. Please provide a brief outline (abstract of not more than 500
Keynote Sessions
April 25 - 28, 2006 Today, education and training have become foundation of global competitiveness. Education and skill levels of human resource are significant determinants of success or failure of human resource-led strategy of a knowledge society in a globalised world. In recent years, several countries in East and Southeast Asia have embarked on the creation of a globally competetive human resource through national education strategies, with a focus on integrating ICT in education at all levels. However countries are still in different stages of this integration, coping with challenges of infrastructure and implementation.
The Conference Digital Learning Asia will take stock of the progress of the Asian countries in utilising Information and Communication Technologies to enhance the quality and reach of education with a focus on building a human capital that responds to the needs of a globalised world. The conference will provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners, industry leaders and academicians to showcase best practices, share experience, knowledge and perspective and learn from exploring solutions to meet challenges of integrating technologies in all level of education.
Exhibition Digital Learning Asia 2006 will have an exhibition of latest e-solutions, services, initiatives and case studies from across Asia and beyond. Professional service providers, IT vendors, consulting firms, government agencies and national/international development organisations involved in the ICT in Education domain are encouraged to participate in the exhibition.
Eminent experts from the education system and senior government officials from various part of Asia and outside will discuss debate the current policies and trends in ICT in education in their respective countries. This discussion will include the following broad themes
National ICT and Education strategies
ICT in Education trends in Asian countries
Best Practices in ICT in Education in Asia
Sessions The conference will focus on the following board thematic sessions
Public private partnership in ICT in education
Technologies for education and training
Information and communication technology education
Online teaching and learning
Distance education/learning elearning in classrooms
Instructional design e-learning content
Monitoring and evaluation of ICT in education
Quality standards in e-content
Future trends in e-learning
Important Contacts Registration:
registration@DLasia.csdms.in
Papers:
papers@DLasia.csdms.in
Sponsorship:
sponsorship@DLasia.csdms.in
Exhibition:
exhibition@DLasia.csdms.in
General Information:
info@DLasia.csdms.in
or Papers
ital Learning Asia 2006 and centre Forum
Submit abstract online at www.DLasia.csdms.in/abstractonline.asp
February 28, 2006
and
We welcome new themes/session ideas.
www.DLasia.csdms.in
March 05, 2006 March 30, 2006 words) of your work and perspectives that you wish to share. You will have an opportunity to showcase your work, share your experiences in presentation sessions and/or share case stories. The format of the workshop will be participatory, and will be facilitated.
Keynote Sessions Taking stock of Asian Telecentre movement Telecentres: Content, Connectivity, Capacity Building Best models and upscaling For more details: info@asiantelecentreforum.net
Conference Secretariat Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) G - 4, Sector-39, NOIDA - 201 301, India Tel: +91-120-2502180 to 87, Fax: +91-1202500060 URLs: www.egovasia.net, www.DLasia.csdms.in, www.asiantelecentreforum.net E-mails: info@egovasia,net, info@DLasia.csdms.in info@asiantelecentreforum.net
www.asiantelecentreforum.net
Organisers’ profile Supporting partners
NECTEC
AEN (Asia e-Learning Network)
National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) is a statutory government organization under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Ministry of Science and Technology, Royal Thai Government. Its main responsibilities are to undertake, support, and promote the development of electronic, computing, telecommunication, and information technologies through research and
In September 2001, the Japanese government with the help of people republic of China and republic of Korea helped establish the “Asia e-Learning Initiative” to promote economic development and human resources training in the region. www.asia-elearning.net
APDIP (Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme), UNDP
development activities. www.nectec.or.th
In collaboration with National Governments, APDIP seeks to assist national and regional institutions in AsiaPacific to improve access, knowledgesharing, networking, and management, and application of ICTs for social and economic development. APDIP also helps to target and focus regional ICT initiatives to achieve relevant development goals by making ICT an integral part of development cooperation and solutions for developing countries and their partners in the Asia-Pacific region can work to address economic, social and digital divides in more innovative and effective ways.
SITF
www.apdip.net
The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) was established on 30 November 1965 as a chartered international organization whose purpose is to promote cooperation in education, science and culture in the Southeast Asian region. The vision is to have a dynamic, self reliant, strategic, policy-driven and internationally recognized regional organization for strengthening regional understanding and cooperation in education, science and culture for a better quality of life. www.seameo.org
The Centre for Good Governance
The Centre for Good Governance (CGG) was established by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India in October, 2001 to help it achieve the State’s goal of transforming governance. CGG undertakes action research, provides professional advice to, and conducts change management programmes for government departments and agencies to help them implement their refor m agenda successfully. www.cgg.gov.in
EPFL The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL) is, with its sister school in Zurich, one of Europe’s leading institutions of science and technology. The threefold mission is: to educate engineers and scientists; to be a national center of excellence in science and technology; and to provide a hub for interaction between the scientific community and industry. www.epfl.ch
The Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) is Singapore’s premier infocomm industry association and was formed as a result of the merger of the Singapore Federation of the Computing Industry (SFCI) and the Microcomputer Trade Association of Singapore (MTAS) in 1999. The SiTF brings together around 400 corporate members from MNCs and local companies. www.sitf.org.sg
SEAMEO
SIPA Software Industry Promotion Association (SIPA) is a Thai goverment agency that was founded in the period of great changes of software technology. The changing technologies have dramatically expanded the world software market and the country has got more chances in the software market shares. Missions of SIPA are: Promote the software industry by pushing on the skill practice enhancement; Promote the software industry by pushing on the employment increasing and Promote the software industry by stimulating the varying channels of marketing both in domestic and international. www.sipa.or.th
Organisers Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) is a leading Asian non-governmental institution engaged in advocacy, research and community building in e-government, Digital Learning, ICT for Development and knowledge management issues. www.csdms.in
Institutional partners The University of Malaya, Faculty of Economics and Administration UNIVERSITI MALAYA, the first University of the countr y, was established on 8 October 1949 as a national institution to serve the higher education needs of the Federation of Malaya and Singapore. The University of Malaya was set up to help lay the foundations of a new nation by producing a generation of skilled and educated men. The University’s motto, “Ilmu Punca Kemajuan” (Knowledge is the key to success) reflects the philosophy of the University in its constant endeavour to seek knowledge in all fields to produce successful graduates and a successful nation. www.um.edu.mu
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA MARA College was officially renamed Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM) on 14 October 1967. Its establishment came as a response to a crucial need in the country of Malaysia for trained manpower in the professional and semiprofessional levels. In August 1999, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad announced the change of name of ITM to Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). www.uitm.edu.my
NUS (National University of Singapore) Established in 1905 and acknowledged as one of the finest universities in the world, National University of Singapore (NUS) is a comprehensive university offering a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. NUS enjoys a close teaching-research nexus with 13 national-level, 12 university-level and more than 60 faculty-based research institutes and centres. www.nus.edu.sg
Rangsit University Rangsit University is the most comprehensive private University with the most diverse faculties in Thailand, producing substantial manpower resources for the society and for serving the country. www.rsu.ac.th
Co-organiser GIS Development GIS Development strives to promote and propagate the usage of geospatial technologies in various areas of development for the community at large. It remains dedicated to foster the growing network of those interested in geoinformatics worldwide and Asia in particular. www.GISdevelopment.net
Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark The Danish Technological Institute (DTI) is one of the oldest technological institutes in the world. DTI has successfully carried out projects like BEEP (Best eEurope Practices), PRISMA (Providing innovative service models and assessment). www.danishtechnology.dk
Vol. IV No. 2
February 2006
Information for development w w w. i 4 d . c s d m s . i n
Agriculture Corporates plan to enter Indian agri-marketing space Reliance Industries and ITC have expressed interest in setting up big box agrimarketing complexes, to be positioned as terminal market complexes (TMC). Each TMC will handle fruits, vegetables, flowers, aromatics and herbs, besides poultry and meat, and may cost anywhere between Rs 60 crore to Rs 120 crore. The plan is to have eight TMCs operational in centres like Mumbai, Nasik, Patna, Chandigarh, Rai (Haryana), Bhopal, Nagpur and Kolkata. The handling capacity in each TMC ranges from two lakh tonnes annually to six lakh tonnes. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
Education Web education for faculty members soon in India Web based education would be shortly introduced for faculty members of private engineering colleges in India opting for higher studies in computer science and information technology. Chennai Anna University ViceChancellor D Viswanathan says, the course to be started in this University in the southern Indian state Tamil Nadu would facilitate faculty members to pursue higher education (ME) in the forth-coming year. www.newindpress.com
Australians deserting IT education Even though a large number of overseas IT students are getting permanent residence in Australia, fewer local students are choosing to enroll for computer courses. February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
The number of Australian students enrolling for IT courses has hit a 15-year low, according to a study. An increasingly large number of Indian students enroll for Australian IT and computer courses and apply for permanent residence after the completion of the mandatory two-year period. www.newkerala
Community Radio Big investors may tune into Indian FM radio India’s private FM radio sector is expected to get foreign investments of Rs 500 crore in the next 12 to 18 months. Now that the sector is open to foreign direct investment and the government has moved from licence fees to a revenue-share regime, the sector has become attractive to investors. The government is in the process of awarding the second round of FM radio licences. Bids for 13 cities will be opened soon. http://www.business-standard.com
e-Commerce Telecom firms stall e-Commerce growth in Zimbabwe The slow progress of infrastructure development in the telecommunications sector has negatively affected the growth of e-Commerce in Zimbabwe. Currently, Zimbabwe has four telecommunication companies, namely TelOne, which is the only fixed telephone line operator, and three mobile phone operators - NetOne, Econet Wireless and Telecel Zimbabwe, who are battling to adequately provide services to ICT companies. http://allafrica.com
Now insurance policy taking an e-Route Tech-savvy insurers such as Bajaj Allianz General, ICICI Lombard and Birla Sun Life now offer their policyholders the option of buying insurance policies online. General insurer Tata AIG has an eMarine policy that helps an exporter secure an insurance document online. Private sector insurer ICICI Lombard offers customers the facility to log on to the company’s website www.icicilombard. com and buy all retail products online. These include motor insurance, health insurance, travel insurance (individual and student travel insurance) and home insurance. http://www.business-standard.com
e-Governance India to open e-Stamping facility There’s good news for those getting hassled about shortage of stamp papers, used for paying stamp duty on various instruments. Government of India is firming up plans to introduce electronic stamping (e-Stamping) facility across the country and has advised states to move towards this computer-based system. The move towards e-Stamping will help states like Maharashtra which earn substantial revenue from stamp duty. Maharashtra has taken the lead, with the state announcing the setting up of Computerised Stamp Duty Administration System (C-SAS). Designated banks and financial institutions are authorised to sell stamps and provide information on all transactions to stamp and registration authority. http://infotech.indiatimes.com
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The i4d News
Indian President presents blueprint for v virtual irtual varsity President of India A P J Abdul Kalam has proposed an ambitious blueprint for a tele-education revolution in the country with Rashtrapati Bhavan as the nodal hub of the project to link all major universities across India. Kalam announced the birth of the first virtual university at his New Delhi residence that aimed to network even small teaching centres in rural India. In his view this virtual university grid has the capability to trigger academic excellence and National development at an unparallel scale by expanding education to the remotest corner of the country. www.newindpress.com
Oracle announces e-Governance awards
Electronic ID system for company directors in India
Oracle has announced the 22 winners of the ‘Oracle Excellence in e-Governance Awards’ at the Oracle Open World event. The winners were Indian e-Government projects, implemented by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the Department of Information Technology and the Government of India. The projects were assessed by Skoch Consultancy Services and judged by a panel of judges. A few of the winning projects were- Rural eSeva project (Andhra Pradesh), ComputerAided Administration of Registration Department (Andhra Pradesh), IT in judiciary, Customs Department, Vahan & Sarathi, etc. All these projects were based on Oracle systems.
The company affairs ministry in India is planning to issue mandatory identification numbers for all directors on the boards of companies after a thorough verification of their credentials and antecedents. The director identification number (DIN) will be used to keep a constant eye on them as the ministry’s e-Governance system takes off on January 16. It will help the government track whether a director sits on the boards of more than 15 companies or whether a director on the board of a company, which has defaulted on its statutory obligations, is violating the law by sitting on the board of another company. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
http://www.ciol.com
Karnik Dataquest IT Person of the Year 2005
Company Affairs Ministry in India in egov mode
Dataquest has named Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom, the apex body for the software industry, the ‘Dataquest IT Person of the Year 2005’. The DQ Awards panel also announced the choice of Hemant Sonawala for the Lifetime Achievement Award, saying he has been a forerunner in introducing high technology products in India through strategic alliances and has essayed the role of a pioneer and an entrepreneur in the industry. R. Chandrashekhar is selected for DQ Pathbreaker Award 2005, for initiating a model of public-private partnership, which is now being replicated to drive the country’s e-Governance agenda.
The Ministry of Company Affairs in India is coming up with a major e-Governance project, known as MCA21, on March 1. The project aims at transforming the Ministry into a paperless, modern, service-oriented, quality-conscious and customer-centric organisation. The project envisages shifting the entire business process of the Registrar of Companies (RoCs) to e-Governance mode. On completion, the project will all bu t eliminate the physical interface between companies and the RoCs and all services, such as registration of new companies, filing of annual returns and balance-sheets and also viewing of documents, would be online. This is expected to enable transparency as well as speedy monitoring of non-compliance by the companies.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14111006
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Parliament Website remains closed in Kenya Kenya is the only East African country without a website for its Parliament. The National Assembly’s official website was shut down last September after The Standard published education backgrounds, hobbies, ages and other details of MPs from the site. The site was shut down after complaints that the information was “too sensitive” and that MPs had been embarrassed. Posted on the website, http://www. parliament.go.ke, are the words: “... We are currently updating this site... visit us shortly.” Kenya’s Parliament now lags behind its Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts, which have websites that have detailed information on MPs. http://allafrica.com
Health Using technology for blood donation Creating and maintaining a good voluntary blood donor base is a major problem for blood banks and hospitals. Lack of communication with donor groups is perhaps the most daunting challenge. A Technopark-based company has come forward to use its technological expertise for a unique venture to support blood donation. Named Fastblood, the project is the latest initiative from Torque Incubation Technologies, a start-up company promoted by seven engineering students in the southern Indian city Thiruvananthapuram. The project will leverage a blend of rapid information delivery streams. Fastblood will link the 132 licensed blood banks in the State with other localities. http://www.hindu.com
Online birth certificates through hospitals in India With the online registration and issuance of birth certificates becoming the in thing in the Indian state Kerala, long wait for birth certificates at corporation and municipal offices is turning a thing of the past. The Ernakulam General Hospital, the only one in the Ernakulam district where the pilot project is being implemented, will soon issue on-the-spot birth certificates through the hospital kiosk. The State Government is implementing the project in 52 Government hospitals and i4d | February 2006
The i4d News 130 private hospitals in the five corporation areas of the state, as part of its efforts at improving the service delivery related to civil registrations in the corporations. http://www.hindu.com
Livelihood Website to enable the disabled With more than 30 years’ experience in specialised education, Leon du Toit, the Jan Kriel school principal in South Africa has established a website called www.enabler.co.za to assist people with disabilities to get employment. The website is designed to help people with disabilities register their CVs online for employment opportunities. In turn, businesses and companies registered by the website browse and peruse the CVs online to get suitable candidates for the jobs available. http://allafrica.com
Philippine ICT sector generates 41,000 jobs in 2005 About 41,000 jobs were generated through ICT-related services in Philippines in the first nine months of 2005, according to the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). The Philippine ICT sector is led by the outsourcing industry, which covers business process outsourcing, medical transcription, animation and software development. The jobs generated this year equaled 95 percent of the 43,000 projected new workers needed in the ICT sector this year. http://www.asianjournal.com
Open source French police go open source The French Gendarmerie Nationale, the national military police force which employs 115,000 staff, has opted for the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client. The agency will deploy Firefox and Thunderbird to 70,000 and 45,000 seats respectively. Every gendarme will have four tools at his disposal, an (office) suite for writing documents and doing procedural work, a browser to access the information systems, a mail client to communicate and an antivirus package. February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
ATMs recognising fingerprints Pune-based Axis Software, has developed an innovative biometric automated teller machine (ATM). The machine works by recognising fingerprint rather than the usual ATM card. Axis is the first Indian company to develop such an ATM machine. There is no need to insert card to operate the biometric ATM. This system supports a very user-friendly interface with both audio as well as visual display. A person can register his or her finger print with bank and can do financial transactions through ATM very easily. Axis sotware has developed three models of this biometric ATM. http://www.business-standard.com
The goal is to migrate all the upper layers of the workstation to open source software to be independent of the operating system.
data and video connectivity from disaster sites to all crisis control centres. http://www.business-standard.com
http://www.vnunet.com
Telecentres Technology HCL introduces ‘designed in India’ desktop HCL has introduced a range of ‘Designed in India’ desktop computers designed by the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. The new range of desktops has been designed keeping in view changing lifestyles, future trends and specific customer needs and preferences. Through survey NID sought direct feedback from Indian customers on factors such as user environment, buyers psyche, health factors, experience & trends before designing this desktop computer. http://www.ciol.com
Satellite may link rail freight centres in India To improve service quality and connect as many as 200 freight operation information service centres in far-flung areas, the Railways may start operating its own V-SAT hub from Delhi by March. As the reach of the terrestrial network based on the optical fibre route was limited, it was important that remote areas be connected through the satellite. The hub would have enough spare capacity to be used for the expansion of the computerised public reservation system to remote areas. The hub might also be used to provide voice,
3000 rural kiosks to come up in Indian state A group of a IITians working with n-Louge Communications Private Limited are setting up kiosks offering crucial information and services in rural areas of Gujarat state in India. The company will install around three thousand kiosks across the state by next fiscal year. Currently, it has installed 250 kiosks including one in each village of seven towns - Palanpur, Patan, Viramgam, Prantij, Mehamdabad, Vyara and Palitana. These kiosks are known as ‘Mahiti Kendra’ (information centre). They provide information on weather, agriculture, education, computer education, astrology, photography on digital camera, certificates for land ownership and telemedicine. http://www.business-standard.com
ITC lines up US$1bn investment for e-Choupal Tobacco major ITC Ltd plans to invest US$1 billion over a period of seven to ten years in its ongoing e-Choupal business. The investment is to create village level infrastructure by establishing ‘Choupal Sagars’ as business hubs covering about 25 villages where e-Choupals have already been in operation. The company is targeting to establish about 30 Choupal Sagars by mid-2007. http://www.financialexpress.com
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The i4d News
CDMA majors making rur rural al push through veg mandi operators oper ators The CDMA-based telephony operators like Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) are sailing into unchartered territories to sell their products and services. They have already roped in the most unconventional channel partners such as vegetable and grain vendors to help them sell services and offerings in every single village in India. Reliance Infocomm, the largest CDMA-based service provider, is planning to tie-up with vegetable and grain mandis, cable operators and cooking gas distributors among others. If this move gains momentum, Reliance Infocomm would become the first company to sell a sophisticated product through this rustic channel. http://www.business-standard.com
Britain city hotspots to offer wireless Internet use From March, residents in nine urban centres across Britain will be able to access the internet from their laptops outdoors, without cables, and use their mobile phones to make calls over the web after a small technology firm launches the first part of a nationwide WiFi network. The move to roll out wireless Internet technology will threaten the revenues of Britain’s mobile phone operators. Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds are among eight cities, plus three London boroughs singled out for the installation of so-called ‘WiFi hotspots’. Together, the hotspots will provide blanket coverage of outdoor areas in the city centres. http://business.timesonline.co.uk
Telecommunication Land cable to link Indo-Pak telecom India will be linked to Pakistan with a cable laid through the Wagah border as part of an international system. Consortium submarine cable SEA-ME-WE-4 will take the land route to provide telecom connectivity between the two neighbours. This is the fourth in a series of cable systems connecting three continents over a distance of 20,000 km of optical fibre with a capacity of 1.28 terabits per second. And this will be the first cable that crosses over to another country over a land route, which has two landing stations in India, at Mumbai and Chennai. The cable links 14 countries that include the UAE, Egypt, Algeria, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh , India and Pakistan on its route from Europe to Asia. http://www.business-standard.com
Indo-Nepal IT highway opens Nepal’s first information highway built with Indian assistance has been opened, slashing phone call rates and promising a boost to e-Commerce, telemedicine, TV and radio transmission links among other things. The information highway is the singlemost important step in developing rural infrastructure in Nepal. In 2002, India had pledged US$10.3 million for the construction of the East West Telecom Information Super Highway using a network of optical fibre that ended the dependence on satel-
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lites and reduced Nepal’s domestic trunk tariff from Rs 9 to Rs 5 and international trunk tariff for SAARC countries from Rs 45 to Rs 25. The project is expected to have a triggering effect by changing the entire ICT landscape in the Himalayan kingdom, eventually making phone connections available and affordable in rural areas where people have not yet seen a telephone set. It would also boost telephone traffic between India and Nepal with a proportional growth of subscribers in both countries. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
Wireless Kenya enters global Information Highway Kenya makes a dramatic entry into the information superhighway early in the new year with the completion of an optic fibre project from the Indian Ocean town of Mombasa to Nairobi. The commissioning of the project by March, is expected to change the face of telecommunication as it is known in Kenya today with data travelling at unprecedented speeds, super clear voices and for once a reliable fixed telephony. The fibre whose construction works has already reached Athi River-all the way from Mombasameans that a student who has been spending five hours at a cyber cafe communicating with a foreign university will now spend less that an hour for the same output. http://allafrica.com
General Ghana gets place in country index for offshore services Ghana has been named for the first time among the elite countries tracked for their attractiveness as locations for offshore services. It ranked 22 according to the annual ranking results for 2005 among 40 countries tracked by A. T. Kearney, one of the world’s largest management consulting firms based in the United States. Ghana is now tracked in the index alongwith the only other country from SubSaharan Africa, that is South Africa, which ranks 32. This report comes as a great boost for Ghana’s efforts to establish itself as the communications hub of the SubRegion and major destination for ICT investment in Africa. http://www.ghanaweb.com
Vietnam passes tax free list for ICT products The Vietnam Government has approved in principal the finance ministry’s list of information and communications technology (ICT) products and its roadmap for tariff reductions until 2010 under the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) trade agreement. Under the ministry’s plan, 325 ICT products including computers, printers, telephones, mobile phones, cameras, and digital media discs would be tax free, in accordance with the regional agreement. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn
i4d | February 2006
N ANASALA N ETWORK
e-Literacy venture The project aims at improving the ICT literacy of the rural population and provides incentives for largely urban based training institutes to take on the challenge of conducting a training course in rural area. A Nanasala refers to global knowledge centre.
Nalini Senasekera ICTA, Sri Lanka Nalini@icta.lk
February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
Since the inception of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), the low rate of computer literacy in Sri Lanka has been a matter of major concern. With a mere 3% of rural households owning a computer (according to the survey by the Department of Census and Statistics, 2004), access to a computer and information is certainly a challenge for the predominantly rural population (70%). One of the steps taken by ICTA to address the issue is the establishment of network of Nanasalas. With over 150 Nanasalas now in operation, ICTA is ready to launch another project to strengthen and further develop the network of Nanasala.
e-Literacy: Nanasala Network A skill-imparting project, entitled ‘e-Literacy for Citizens through Nanasala Network’ offers two recognised courses in all three languages to ensure equal access to information for all communities in the country. The first one is especially designed to cater to beginners or those with minimal knowledge of ICT. The second course is for applicants who have a substantial knowledge of ICT, ideally those who have successfully completed the first phase. Completion of this second course will offer participants internationally accepted certification, certifying that the holder has knowledge of the basic concepts of Information Technology (IT). This project aims to improve the ICT literacy of the rural population and provide incentives for largely urban based training
institutes to take on the challenge of offering training courses in rural areas.
Rural Knowledge Centres Nanasala, also known as ‘Rural Knowledge Centres’ (RKCs), have multi–service platforms providing access to ICT and related services. ICTA’s objective in establishing Nanasalas is thus to provide wider access to Internet and to promote the use of ICT at the grass roots level. Through the Nanasala venture, marginalisation and isolation of rural communities are expected to be reduced through increased awareness and access to knowledge. It will also facilitate a dialogue between rural communities and bridge the gap between those who influence them such as policy makers, development agencies, educators, and others with whom they would not have considered any linkage previously. The programme initially targets ICT literacy for 6000 rural citizens giving them unprecedented opportunities and choices to enhance their quality of life and employability. This project geared upto commence from February 2006, will elevate Sri Lanka to better a position in ICT literacy in the future.
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Nanasalas in social development: providing access to masses Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), Sri Lanka has crossed yet another milestone in its ongoing journey towards providing affordable access to the masses.The 150th Nanasala Network was inaugurated by Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the country at the Dalada maligawa. The role of the Nanasala's has been phenomenal with both the Rural Knowledge Centres (Entrepreneurial Model) and the e-Libraries(Community Model) been opening across the country. In accordance with the President’s vision, ICTA intends to have a 1000 Nanasalas by the end of the year 2007. The first phase of implementation is almost complete and has concentrated on the most under served regions of the country, the Deep South and the Northeast. ICTA is getting ready for the implementation of the second phase which will cover the Central, Northwest and Eastern regions of the country. The public can expect a range of ICT based services through the Nanasalas, such as Internet access, e-mail, telephone facility, photo copy service, scanning, fax and computer training for enhancing their all round development.
Operational facilities All of the centres are fully equipped with 2-4 Computers and peripherals ranging from printers, fax machines, scanners, web cameras and copiers to provide ICT services in rural and semi-rural communities. Internet access is provided with high speed broadband connectivity, using satellite (VSAT) technology. Two telephone lines with local and international dialing facility are also available at the centres that do not have fixed phone lines. Internet charges are kept to a minimum to allow people in the area to access Internet at a lowest possible cost. These Nanasalas mainly operate as information hubs in the area and with emphasis on local content in local languages. A content management tool is scheduled to be introduced so that center operators can easily upload the information collected by them. Operators and staff are inducted after 5day residential training programme, consisting of 8 capacity building modules with regard to operations of Nanasala. This training while providing invaluable information, motivate the operators to work together in team with the local people.
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Participative programme ICTA also runs several programmes to encourage the local communities to make use of the facilities.The Voucher Programme is one such initiative. Customers can visit the Nanasala, ask for a Rs. 50 voucher and use a computer or the Internet for the exchange of this voucher. The owner is then reimbursed by ICTA for the cost of the voucher, also providing a source of income for the owners. Currently, the voucher programs are in operation in RKCs of 3 districts -Hambantota, Moneragala and Badulla. It will be extended to the rest in the near future. ICTA has also obtained the services of SEEDS of Sarvodaya to create awareness of this voucher program. SEEDS is currently running outdoor advertising campaigns with village meetings in areas near the Nanasala centres. ICTA also ran a rural awareness campaign through the use of street drama which also proved to be extremely effective in communicating the complex message of ICT4D to mainly ICT illiterate communities. A digital literacy program to get the local people familiar with e-mail and Internet will be also be introduced to the nanasala's in the near future. The programme will encompass a standard framework of computer courses that will taught by accredited instructors.
Aim The objective of establishing a Nanasala in these areas is for it to act as a resource center to gain knowledge and to share information through Internet, with the ultimate goal of reducing poverty, peace building and socio-economic development. The 'digital divide' between the rural areas and urban areas, the poor areas and affluent areas is striking in most countries, both developing and developed. This divide leads to an a gap where rural populaces are denied some of the prospects that are available to those in urban areas and many a concept has been proposed and actioned to bridge these gaps. The ICT Agency is executing some of the more promising ideas - with the Nanasala project being the front runner among them - to ensure that the digital divide, in Sri Lanka at least, becomes a thing of the past, and every student, entrepreneur or any citizen, regardless of location, gets an opportunity to reach their fullest potential. Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), SriLanka www.icta.lk
i4d | February 2006
WENT A FRICA 2005, K AMPALA , U GANDA , 4 - 8 D ECEMBER , 2005
Building gender and ICTs capacities APC-Africa-Women is the convenor of WENT Africa 2005, in partnership with WOUGNET, Women’sNet, Linux Chix Africa, Isis-WICCE and Bellanet Africa, and funding support from HIVOS. Women’s organisations and women techies across Africa who are keen on the free and open source software for empowerment and social development, participated in WENT Africa 2005, the ‘Women’s Electronic Network Training’ in Kampala, Uganda. 22 women from 12 countries in Africa participated to learn skills in free and open source software (FOSS) solutions. The how-to’s of installing Linux and exploring a variety of FOSS programmes were part of this 5-day workshop, which covered the evaluation of ICT initiatives, software licensing and development and inclusive ICT strategies. The workshop opened with a round table discussion on gender, ICTs and FOSS. “Many participants who work in rural-based organisations expressed concerns around the lack of access to facilities that enable safe and reliable electronic communication,” commented Jenny Radloff, APC Africa Women coordinator. Interest in FOSS solutions has grown in Africa precisely because of the difficulty to pay for expensive proprietary software or being dependent on a particular vendor for support or upgrades. Open source software is royalty- and license free, which means that the cost of acquiring the software is lower than that of proprietary software. Because the source code is accessible, open source software can be modified to meet the needs of users in particular contexts and languages.
Training in electronic network The end-users of any software will need support; and making solid organisational decisions around technology is hard to do without a technological background. For this reason, WENT II approached FOSS training and awareness from two directions. February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
Track 1 was geared towards women systems and network administrators in order to hone their ability in the use of FOSS and prepare them to handle responses of women’s organisations technology needs. Track 2 offered technology planning training and aimed to build awareness of FOSS applications for women’s organisations. This track was geared towards decision-makers and end-users in women’s organisations, to increase their ability in assessing and choosing
and reflections about the workshop. Full of encouraging comments and inside jokes, the blog teases different teams with the nicknames that have emerged: ‘the hypotheticals’, the ‘e-feminists’ and the ‘e-enabled women’. The sparkle of all WENT workshops shines through in the blog: how women train women. The participant blog allows a glimpse at the personal paths that brought the women to this moment together: a secretary who was inquisitive enough about the machine she was required to use eventually turned out to be a systems administrator, an activist is persistently now putting ICTs to maximum use in supporting women’s reproductive and sexual health decisions.
Experiences
Some of the WENT participants
appropriate technology solutions for their organisations, and to become aware of the full gamut of FOSS possibilities available. A a session covered web-publishing possibilities using FOSS, that required no greater skill than basic word processing knowledge. Both tracks required hands-on practice: Track 1 members installed GNU/Linux distribution Ubuntu and were advisors for Track 2 participants’ detailed technology plans. Participant enthusiasm was high.
Participants enthusiasm The growing camaraderie among the workshoppers is clear in the WENT Africa participant blog- open to all for perusal and comments. It features participant interviews
In Cameroon, commented Track 1 participant Edith Tchimeu, “ICTs present women with an opportunity to set up e-Businesses and the less literate in particular the rural women have been able to learn how to make soap and detergent, do colour separation (tie and dye) of materials through demonstrative videos and CDs that are in the local language”. Jane Nabwira’s experience in Uganda running wireless network points for the ‘Reflect ICT Project’ that has helped her own professional development, she shares, but what is more impressive is “the impact IT has by providing timely and relevant information available to marginalised communities,...information improves, informs, empowers and enhances women’s lives”. WENT Africa 2005 blog is available at http://wentafrica.blogspot.com Source: APC News, http://www.apcwomen.org/ news/index.shtml?x=91921
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I NTERVIEW
ICT policy initiatives to promote rural economy Hyderabad, Bangalore, Noida, Chennai etc. There is a need to spread it ICTs to rural areas. Here government policies can help. If you leave it to private sector alone, they prefer urban areas.
S. Mahendra Dev Director, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad India profmahendra@yahoo.co.in
In developing nations like India, do you think that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can play a major role in the field of rural development? ICT can play a major role in rural development. The spread of green revolution to the poorer states in India shows its potential for reducing regional disparities in development. This is because, unlike capital, land and labour are widely distributed across the country. The experience with information technology is equally encouraging and holds the prospect for raising productivity in millions of farms and factories and the government offices throughout the country. What are the main areas of rural development where ICT can play a role? e-Chaupals are playing important role in giving information to farmers on prices and markets. Similarly small and medium industries can also benefit from ICTs. Cell phones will be useful for farmers, self help groups, informal sector workers. e-Governance is another example where rural areas can benefit from ICTs. How can policies support the development of ICT for rural development? National policy support is important for ICT development in rural areas. Right now there are enclave types of IT in big cities like
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Do you think that ‘digital divide’ is a big hindrance for sustainable socio-economic development with ICT? Although there is potential for reducing social and economic disparities, right now ICTs have increased inequalities. A software person can get Rs.1 lakh or more per month while agricultural labourers are getting only around Rs.60 per day. Nearly 50 per cent of women and 40% of men are illiterates. Without improving education of the masses, ICTs can not succeed. It will succeed only in urban areas. Even if ICT succeeds, the employment is mainly for high skilled workers. Out of 400 million workers, only 2 million workers benefit from IT sector even by 2010. There is a usual crisis in the standardisation of data and information for the development activities in the developing countries like India. In what way this can be overcome? It is true that standardization of data and information is a problem. But this can be overcome easily by adopting from the countries that have developed these procedures. Do you think that the mere introduction of e-Governance in any nation can solve much of the problems and constraints associated with rural development? Mere introduction of e-governance can not solve problems and constraints with rural development. e-Governance is only one aspect of the rural development. There are many constraints for rural development. Physical infrastructure and human development are big constraints. Also with so much illiteracy, people in rural areas can not
benefit from ICTs. There is a need for improvements in education in order to benefit from this technology. What is the scope and potential of replication of rural development models of developed nations in the developing nations? Rural development models of developed countries may not be useful for developing countries like India. In countries like India, agriculture is important. Livelihoods of more than 60% of Indian workers are dependent on agriculture while in the USA, only 2% of total workers are dependent on agriculture. What role can researchers play to bring innovative ideas in the field of rural development and which areas should be immediately emphasized for that? For sustainable rural development, we need four things. One is infrastructure like roads, irrigation and markets. Second, development of health and education is important. Third, environment protection, in ways of organic farming, water manament techniques are important. Fourth is decentralization of administration and giving powers to panchayats. e-Governance helps in delivering better services to rural people. Women play important role for achieving sustainable rural development. Self help groups can also play an active role in it. What is your opinion about the association of the academic research with the ground level ICT based activities? What steps need to be taken for the same? There is a gap between academic research and ICT based activities. Only high skilled and urban areas are benefiting. In order to spread it to rural areas, there is a need for advocacy and also information should be provided in local languages instead of English. i4d | February 2006
February 2006
ICTD Project Newsletter Participants Profile The women have been members of the MSK Sanghas for some years. Of the 20 participants only two could read and write. The others were either illiterate or could barely sign their names.
Criteria for selection
Developing Community Radio Skills for women in villages of Mysore Executive summary Mahila Samakhya Karnataka (MSK) in partnership with IT for Change and CEMCA conducted a 5- day workshop on developing community radio skills among disadvantaged rural women in the villages of Mysore, in Southern Indian state of Karnataka, at Mysore from the 20-24 December 2005. This workshop was supported by VOICES, Bangalore, Namma Dhwani Community Radio Project, Budhikote, Kolar, the Srishti, School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore, the Deccan Development Society (DDS), Hyderabad and Department of State Research and Educational Training, (DSERT), Karnataka. This workshop was a first step in including radio as an integrated ICT strategy that the Mahiti Manthana (MM) project will develop for the MSK Sangha women. The project is being
implemented by IT for Change under the ICTD project. The project will introduce the Sangha women to ICTs that they are most comfortable with and, through hand-holding and demonstrated benefits, graduate to a fuller range of useful technologies. The workshop kick started a process of using radio in innovative combinations with other ICTs to provide ‘enhanced information and communication processes for MSK activities’, which is the main objective of the MM project. The workshop was designed keeping in mind that the majority of the participants were illiterate. It had a mix of both talks and activity, through which a variety of subjects were covered. All discussions were conducted in Kannada, with no text based presentations or resource materials. Instead, simple but potent use of audio and visual technology was made.
Participants were selected from those who demonstrated leadership roles in the Sanghas. Some of the women present were elected Panchayat representatives. Many of the women were also enthusiastic performers with singing, story telling, and role playing skills. A couple of days before the workshop, the project field coordinators visited many of the women and asked them to come prepared to the workshop with story ideas for programmes. The women thus came prepared with what they wanted to share in the workshop like stories, real experiences, role-plays and skits.
Resources While the workshop was coordinated by Swati, a consultant with the Mahiti Manthana Project of ITfC, the key resource person, A. R Pasha came with many years of experience of working at All India Radio. Ram Bhat and Vijaya from the ‘Namma Dhwani’, Budhikote Radio Initiative, Karnataka came and shared the history of how and why Namma Dhwani was developed. Geetha Narayanan from Srishti, School of Art. Design and Technology contributed to the workshop by sharing a radio programme that was jointly produced by children living in a slum in Bangalore and the facilitators at the learning centre that the children go to.
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The technological resources that were used at this workshop were digital voice recorders, tape recorders, microphones - both omni directional and lapel, speakers with an amplifier, computers with audio editing software, LCD projector and a DVD player.
of three kinds, the All India Radio (AIR), the Karnataka State Open University (institutional radio) and a private recording studio and shown how editing is done and broadcasting takes place. The participants were also introduced to community radio initiatives in the
Workshop design and methodology
country following different models.
The workshop was designed keeping in mind that the women cannot read or write. The methodology was a combination of discussions, participatory activities, audio-visual presentations, and films, exposure visits to studios and actual hands on experience with production work, all done in Kannada language.
Workshop content This workshop introduced the Sangha women to some key concepts: • Radio as a means of mass communication • Ownership of radio by listeners • Importance of community radio • Village communities as programme makers • Possibility of having a Mahila Samakhya Radio or Radio programme The participants were given an exposure to basic production techniques and were also taken to recording studios
A note on workshop content and participants’ response The training focused on two main objectives – instigating the thought processes in the Sangha women and introducing them to technology. Generally technology tends to overpower any discussion on media. Therefore, the sessions on technology were geared to make the Sangha women realize that whether it is a big expensive recorder or a small ordinary one, it is essentially a device that records sound. In many cases, the small and less expensive technologies serve our purpose just as well, and give us the power to make our voice heard. The Coordinators consciously focused on initiating thought processes among the women that could open their minds to empowering possibilities with radio technologies. The initial sessions introduced them to the core concept that
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radio is a means of mass communication and that they can own it as listeners as well as programme makers. Since Mahila Samakhya had already invested considerable empowerment training in these women, the women were able to grasp quickly and effectively. In the sessions on programme production the focus was on introducing the women to the formal process of thinking about a programme. There were initial concerns on conducting the workshop without using any written text anywhere and working without a script. These apprehensions were soon addressed with many of the women spontaneously generating ideas, stories and skits on the spot, as well as generating their own songs to incorporate new ideas etc. The importance of documentation of ideas and stories generated was also highlighted at the workshop. While most of the women had good memory and were used to committing everything to memory, they did not see the need to document in any formal way. Once the coordinators convinced them that the ideas they generate towards a programme is their script and it needs to be revisited at a later point, they began to pay more attention to this. The idea of developing programme formats was new to the participants. While they had heard programmes in all formats, they were not able to see the subject of a programme and its format as two different things. This remained a somewhat blurred distinction for many, though some women towards the end did learn that the same subject can be dealt with through different formats like radio plays, discussions, songs, riddles, etc. and that each format has its own strength and weakness. They understood that programmes have a fixed duration and that one had to express the content within that. For example, in one group women were enacting a play on child marriage. The two women playing the 12 year old
bride-to-be and the hapless mother, who was bent on marrying her off, acted well and were expanding their scene by adding dialogues to it one after another. After a while, the other women in the group began to lose interest and started to look around at other groups. This example was used to talk about the need to keep the programme crisp to retain audience interest. Since the Sangha has been an identity building feature of their lives, most of them viewed being a member of the Sangha as an answer to many of their problems. However, in the workshop they were encouraged to think openly about radio and incorporate humour as well as some larger non-Sangha issues in their programmes as well.
Detailed report on workshop processes and activities The participants were first given an introduction to radio as a means of mass communication. The concept of ‘preparing to be listeners’ was introduced to the participants. The women were then introduced to the concept of ‘community radio’ in two stages. First the concept of ‘community’ was discussed. The introduction started with a game, in which cards with images of women engaged in various activities were handed out. The women organized themselves into four groups on the basis of the activities on the cards. The facilitators then used the game to talk about the concept of a community. Later community radio was introduced to the women by talking about various such initiatives in India along with images and short video clips. Community radio projects in India that were presented were the ‘Namma Dhwani’ initiative at Budhikote, that uses cable-casting technology, Deccan Development Society (DDS), Pastapur that uses narrow casting with audio cassettes and Kutch Mahila Vikas Sanghatan, Gujarat that broadcasts on AIR. This was a build up to the radio programme by slum children, interaction with the team from
Namma Dhwani and the film on the DDS project. The film on the DDS project was in Telugu, but was translated into Kannada by the resource persons. The participants were inspired to see young women do the recording and editing and even run a full fledged radio station. The women related better to the documentary, though it was in an alien language, because of the similarity of the rural context. The women were very enthused and opined that if children and women elsewhere could do it, so could they. Recording exercies started with an introduction to production equipment where the women saw and held production equipment while exploring the various parts of the equipment. In one such exercise, the women were divided into four groups and the groups were given one piece of audio equipment- a digital voice recorder, a tape recorder with radio, a walkman with a recording option and a small radio. The women were then asked to draw a picture of the equipment on a sheet of paper, concentrating on its functional parts. Their drawings were later displayed and the four different recor-ders compared on the basis of the different buttons, inputs, symbols etc. that they had. This helped the participants to identify the i m p o r t a n t buttons and the symbols and recognize their functions. This activity was followed by the women practising recording with a microphone attached to recorder. The interviewer in each group chose the topic for the interview - subjects on which the interviewee could speak well. For instance the group that comprised a
Panchayat member chose the Panchayat elections and the workings of the Panchayat as the topic. Legal issues were the subject of a Sangha woman who was in the legal rights committee and so on. All the interviews were played back and analysed collectively. This exercise progressed to a session on “how to conduct an interview”. The participants visited the studio at Karnataka State Open University, where the station manager, Jayashree, took the participants through the production process to broadcast and also did a small exercise of recording a discussion by four volunteers from the group. The women were excited to see the equipment at close quarters and the visit helped demystify the broadcasting process. The next visit was to a private recording studio where the participants were taken through the process of editing. The clips that they had recorded earlier in the day were played back to them. They identified their own voices and ‘saw’ its audio wave forms on the screen. They were then shown the possibilities of digital editing and
explained concepts of cutting, pasting, repeating, reordering and layering. It was also fascinating for them to listen to their own voices with special sound effects such as an echo or a delay. They also understood the concept of equalizing and altering volume levels. After this visit they commented on how the quality
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of sound recorded at the studio was superior to the quality of sound recorded outdoors at the workshop. They understood that it is best that one pays attention to detail while recording and expressing the content crisply without repetitions. They also visited the AIR studio where they were shown recording rooms where different formats of programmes were produced. The facilitator explained the entire process of production in detail starting from the need for air conditio-ning to how the programmes are broadcast. In one recording room, one woman was asked to sing, and they were shown how it was recorded and edited. Over the five days, the participants had got inputs on the different kinds of formats that were possible and were exposed to examples of different radio programmes. They also had an introduction to use of sound effects and music. This was done by playing recorded sounds and asking them to identify the sounds. They also listened to a radio programme and analysed the use of sound effects and music. From the afternoon of day three onwards, the women formed four groups and each group planned and produced two programmes. Planning extended into deciding how long each programme would be, how many characters it’d have, what sound effects would be required, etc. After this, began rehearsals and recording. Within the groups some women took on leadership responsibilities and steered the discussions in an effective manner. Women who spoke better would coach those who needed some training and so on. What is interesting is that most of the women found it easier to remember something that was in the format of a play or a song, and they struggled with formats such as interviews or discussions. Also, since the women could only organize or remember lines and sequences by committing them to
memory, perhaps they found the play or the song format easier to learn. The group that had decided on a discussion format found that each of their rehearsals was very different. The most spontaneous and best discussion didn’t end up getting recorded since it was a rehearsal! Four programmes (one from each group) were edited and played back to the participants. Each programme was analysed for its content, format and sound quality by the entire group and the participants’ analysis was insightful and this provided good feedback to the whole team. One of the most important activities at this workshop was the recapitulation that was done every morning. This was a group activity and everyone benefited from it. For a group that did not take notes because they were non-literate, they did a fantastic job of keeping all that they had absorbed in their memories. Terming the workshop experience as exhilarating, Pasha cautioned that it is essential to bring the Sangha women out of the limiting circle of their allegiance to Mahila Samakhya if they have to be useful to general audience.
Outcomes • The participants have understood the context of community radio for their needs as displayed in a programme produced by them on the need for radio for their village • MSK staff saw the potential for the use of radio in their activities • The participants are able to produce radio programmes with some technical assistance. Eight programmes have been produced at this workshop. A resource bank of songs, sayings, etc. has been started. • MM staff has gained insights on content and formats that will best serve the needs of the Sangha women • KSOU has agreed to give half an hour of air time per week to broadcast programmes produced by MSK staff and Sanghas. Additionally KSOU has of-
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fered half a day of studio time every week to edit programmes. • There is a proposal to start a media committee at the Sangha level • The workshop has been video documented
The future The success of the workshop will be evident only in its follow up. Immediate follow up to strengthen and sustain the learning and also to make concentrated efforts to tie up with IGNOU Radio to start broadcasting is essential. While the Sangha women can certainly learn to conduct the recordings themselves, we felt that their life experience and their association with the Sangha make them better programme planners. In short, they can be the programming team. For the production team, the emphasis will be on building the capacity of the ‘Kishoris’, or adolescent girls, most of who have been through school, and as younger generations everywhere, are likely to more easily adapt to using technology. As a follow up to this workshop a shorter production training workshop with the Kishoris will be organized. Once these Kishoris are able to effectively handle radio technologies, some of the older women can also be roped into core technology processes. Community radio licences have not been extended to NGOs yet, but today we may be closer to such a provision than ever. When such a license comes through, this capacity building exercise will have prepared women and MSK for it. Meanwhile, they have an offer from the station manager at KSOU of half hour of air time and half a day of studio time per week. That’s not a bad start at all! For further information, contact: ictd@nisg.org NISG and i4d reserve the right to reprint articles produced for the ICTD section of the i4d magazine and website, with due credits to NISG and i4d. Please write to the editor for any request of reprints.
G AMOS
Promoting handicrafts through e-Commerce Many rural areas of India are known for their beautiful crafts, and there has always been a significant trade in these products. Can new markets for handicrafts be made using the Internet and e-Commerce tools? In order to answer this question fairly, recent research has suggested that it is important to look at the product and its market before entering into a detailed discussion of the technical mechanisms for marketing, selling and delivering.
Commerce before e-Commerce The global craft market is significant and there is some growth in the gift market, but in general there is a slight trend against the long life products that many traditional hand crafts people produce. Consider – if you sell an intricately woven blanket to a customer, who lovingly treasures it, will they want more blankets? They will only need perhaps one or two more for themselves at best and they may buy some to gift their friends and family, but the potential to sell more of the same product to the same customer is limited. Therefore the next sale either has to be a different product or to a different customer. To some extent new customers may come through word of mouth from the first customer who praises the product, but people only have a limited number of friends. And to create a different handicraft takes time and innovation – many handicrafts are traditional, centuries old, so new shapes and new patterns all take time and effort to create. This means that long February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
life products (robust clothing, brass candle holders, stone carvings, etc.) can be a challenge to market. It is significantly different to build a business around eg. soap, candles, food, clothing. If a customer buys a candle and finds it appealing, they may well come back for more candles once the first is gone. A repeat product combined with good service will produce a loyal customer. At the very start of considering supporting a community through the marketing of a product, the first ‘e-Commerce’ question is therefore not “what can e-Commerce do for us” but is the commerce question - “Do we have a viable product that will sell sustainably?”. e-Commerce works best with repeat products
e-Commerce – Business to Customer (B2C) So how does this insight into the market for crafts affect the view and role of e-Commerce? There are a number of potential roles for technology in a rural craft market. Lets break it down: information and communication technology (ICTs) • can attract new customers • assist customers to make the purchase • assist the supplier to create the product • assist the supplier to provide the product to the customer
Attracting new customers A website would seem to be an obvious way to attract customers. However, websites are fairly passive in their ability to attract new customers. They can be very important if someone asks to see the product, and they can be very effective ‘sales brochures’ – they can be updated, have colour pictures, be interactive. On their own though they rarely attract new customers without person to person contact.
The exception to this is if considerable effort is put into getting the Internet search engines to rank your site high for some key words – but this is an art form! It is difficult for an individual organisation to achieve this although it is possible for networks and trade portals to achieve it. At the time of writing this article, typing “handicraft” into the Google search engine brings up the Indian Gift and Handicraft Trade Promotion Network. So the challenge for the individual organisation is to make strategic alliances with larger retail companies – again, this is not an ‘eCommerce’ challenge but one that faces most types of retail commerce. The research also found a few other challenges when selling handicraft products over the Internet. Sophisticated consumers as found in the cities and Europe say some or all of the following: • ‘You can see, but you cannot touch, feel and smell’. The Internet is good at displaying colour images of handicraft items in an online catalogue or web page (accompanying specifications, product history and stories of artisans and their communities), but cannot do what any buyer almost instinctively does in a retail shop, or when examining a sample: handle the merchandise to examine its weight, quality, finish, colour, smell, texture etc. • Digital photographs are not colour accurate. By the nature of the way digital images are captured, compressed and viewed, digital photographs are not colour accurate. While this is a factor for consumers, it is even more critical for retail buyers (Business to Business B2B), who are unlikely to place a major order on the strength of digital images alone, but who may order a sample for further investigation.
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Assist customers to make the purchase
focus on the importance of local markets before global markets.
Assist the supplier to provide the product to the customer
Having attracted the customer, can eCommerce assist with the sale? In theory yes, and an e-Commerce section for a website can now be purchased as software “out of the box”. However, the research found that there were a number of challenges to purchasing through the Internet or with electronic only contact:• Expectation of high service standards by consumers - Consumers expect high standards of service from retailers in the High Street, and by extension, on-line retailers. This can present a formidable barrier to artisans in developing countries hoping to sell direct to individual consumers in the West. Consumers will expect B2C businesses to offer rapid delivery, effective means of redress (if the product is faulty, the customer wants an easy way of returning it and getting a replacement or refund), efficient back up service, and high quality of workmanship. • Trusting the company/brand - Customers are increasingly wary of ordering from companies or shops unknown to them ‘at home’, especially since it can be hard to measure a company’s worth or effectiveness from a web site alone. It is interesting to note that while the indiamart.com site encourages trade enquiries it does not attempt to make sales directly to the consumer. • Financial security - Consumers have legitimate concerns about using their credit/debit cards to make on-line payments – especially internationally. • Personal data - Increasingly consumers are becoming aware of the amount of personal data which is held about them. Data Protection legislation gives consumers and individuals certain rights of access and redress, and outlines responsibilities for those holding such data within their companies and organisations. However these laws, such as the UK Data Protection Act, and the bodies which monitor and enforce their application, are not internationally recognised. Reaching the global market can still seem daunting to the small rural organisation or co-operative. The conclusion of the research was that Trading organisations are advised to
Business to Business (B2B)
As discussed briefly above, the reality remains that direct business to customer sale remains beyond the reach of a small rural organisations. However, trade organisations and other alliances can provide business to business supply chains that allow retailers to sell crafts to customers. In a survey of fair trade organisations, e-mail was identified as the most important communications medium, ahead of fax and telephone, by both producers and importing organisations. Of 34 fair trade producer groups who answered the questionnaire, 91% had e-mail (62% had a web site). Consumers are currently wary of buying handicrafts directly online but commercial buyers can effectively use the Internet to identify and pursue larger orders. The distinction between using e-Commerce to provide trading goods directly to the consumer, and using various information and communication technologies in rural areas to improve the profitability of a business is an important distinction. The research has shown that there are various challenges to e-Commerce that rural handicraft producers may find overwhelming. However there are some very obvious supporting activities to the supply chain that can clearly be enhanced by the use of ICTs. Finally it is worth noting that the research drew out a few alternative roles for information and communication technology for use in rural areas:• Websites are good for advocacy, building awareness and improving working conditions for artisans. • The Internet can protect and even market indigenous knowledge; trading organisa-tions are advised to explore this. • Trips to handicraft workshops can be made a part of ethical tourism – ethical tourism has a growing market that can be supported through the Internet?
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The above does not seem very encouraging, especially given the enthusiasm some people show for the new digital world? However, e-Commerce really comes into its own for rural craft organisations when we consider Business to Business (B2B) activities. These are the latter two on our list:• assist the supplier to create the product and • assist the supplier to provide the product to the customer.
Assist the supplier to create the product Using the information and communication world for the supply chain is a reality. It is possible to see trends in society, find out key market information, gain ideas about variations of ones products, even discuss the design of the product with a designer in another country. Many fair trade organisations work with local crafts people to generate new designs. In the research one such organisation had fused a Celtic symbol (an ancient British symbol), with Indian brass and work crafts to create a new product which found a high volume market in the UK. ICTs can improve the supply chain of existing handicrafts, and give access to new sources of information and advice.
The full research can be found at www.ecommerceandpoverty.info S J Batchelor Managing Director, Gamos, United Kingdom research@gamos.org
i4d | February 2006
Books received Access, Empowerment & Governance Creating a World of Equal Opportunities with ICT Published by: Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) Edited by: Rinalia Abdul Rahim, Daniele Waldburger, Gabriele Siegenthaler Muinde ISBN 983-2588-08-1 Pages: 180 ICT can be a unique and powerful platform for promoting sustainable human development, provided that the focus is not on technology, but on the people who use it. The book has tried to bring out the above conclusion through many examples of innovative projects, which successfully use ICT. GKP, the leading multi-stakeholder network committed to harnessing and unleashing the potential of ICT for sustainable and equitable development, has tried to further its promise through this book, to make available to a wider audience the considerable knowledge, insight and expertise of it. With valid arguments and researches, presented in three prominent parts, the book hopefully can turn out to be a stimulating and substantial contribution to the current ICT4D debate.
Community Multimedia Centres around the World A Global Directory Published by: UNESCO Editors: Stella Hughes, Ian Pringle ISBN 81-89218-10-7 Pages: 160 In addition to new facilities and increased local capacity in communities around the world, the Community Multimedia Centres (CMCs) are providing a number of creative and dynamic new initiatives and solutions in key areas, from content creation to financial and social sustainability. This UNESCO publication is a directory of CMCs, which explains about where these CMCs operate, what their focus of activity is, what media they use and what type of community they serve. February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
UNESCO has established some fifty CMC in a wide range of contexts in some twenty countries on three continents. But this volume, not only shares the context and experiences of UNESCOsupported CMCs, but also has tried to facilitate direct, practical cooperation between international and national agencies with CMCs at the ground level by providing a directory of local CMC services and contact information. Edited by Stella Hughes and Ian Pringle, the directory narrates on the CMCs located in Africa, Latin America and South Asia. The publication supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation can be considered as a yellow page for a number of grassroots communication and information platforms.
Village Phone Replication Manual Creating Sustainable Access to Affordable Telecommunications for the Rural Poor Published by: UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force Author: David Keogh ISBN 92-1-104546-0 Pages: 200 This Replication manual is an invaluable howto source for setting up a village phone project. Grameen’s Village Phone Programme in Bangladesh says about villages where no telecommunications service has previously existed. Mobile phones are provided to poor women there who use the phone to operate a business. These micro entrepreneurs purchase the phone with a loan from Grameen Bank and then sell the use of it on a per call basis. The Grameen Technology Centre, an initiative of Grameen Foundation, USA, launched an initiative to replicate the success of Village Phone Programme outside Bangladesh. Uganda was identified as the first country for replication. This book is a guideline for replicating the Village Phone Programme in a new country. It contains a realistic, practical and detailed set of instructions, templates and lessons learned and is generic enough to be applied in any context where a Village Phone initiative can help empower people and promote development. Through this document, ICT Task Force can surely be able to promote, through dialogue, creative thinking and advance the creation of an inclusive information society by bringing together governments, the private sector, civil society, international organizations and citizens too.
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Bytes for All... ICT4D Village Computing The Village Computing Consortium is a multi-sector, international association of experts in ICT4D working to catalyze the global village computing movement. The Consortium seeks to identify and discuss emergent trends in village computing, and generate actionable insights for practitioners, policymakers, as well as technology and service developers and providers. http://www.villagecomputing.org/ New Telecenter Model – Ghat KATALYST/Swisscontact, a project funded by DFID, SDC and SIDA is working in Bangladesh to promote the competetiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises of Bangladesh. Rural ICT is a new area of the project and we have come out with a new Business Model, basicaaly focusing to serve the businesses as well as rural communities. www.ghatbd.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7417 eGranary Digital Library The eGranary Digital Library provides over 2.5 million digital resources to institutions lacking adequate Internet access. Through a process of copying Web sites and delivering them to intranet Web servers inside partner institutions in developing countries, this digital library delivers educational materials for instant access over LAN. http://www.widernet.org/digitalLibrary/ Free and Open Source Software Frederick Noronha Summarizes FLOSS in Asia. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7397 Financial institutions lead march to Linux in Korea In the latest in a series of moves aimed at getting Korean government institutions to move away from their reliance on Windows and Unix and adopt open source software, two state-owned financial institutions planned to launch the country’s first Linux-based Internet banking services in December. http://business.newsforge.com/business/05/12/20/ 2116234.shtml?tid=37&tid=138 IDRC Champions Intellectual Platform for Developing Countries Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) announced plans to create an Open Archive, the first among Canadian research funding organizations. The Open Archive will provide full access over the Internet to IDRC’s rich research archive. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7437 From South Africa To The World: A Gift Of Six Million Free Software Cds He became the first-ever Afronaut. But the debonair young South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth has also touched another
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high, by distributing for free six million CDs of Free Software. He has posted these software tools to enthusiasts across the globe, with the goal of planting new ideas of sharing and creating knowledge. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7445 NepaLinux, a complete Nepali language operating system NepaLinux, a complete Nepali language operating system was launched yesterday, Thursday, December 22. It is open source software. It has packages like: localized Gnome Desktop environment, OpenOffice.org, Gimp Graphics Editor, Gaim Messaging Tool and Mozilla Suit. http://www.nepalinux.org/ FOSS Community Contacts on the BytesforAll list Free and Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan is developing a database of key FOSS practitioners and consultants around the world with the objective of identifying key contacts. If you are associated with the FOSS Movement in your regions (locally or globally) within Public, Private and Civil Society sectors or participate in activities related to the usage and adoption of FOSS, kindly forward your contact information and/or CVs to FOSSFP at bajwa@fossfp.org Open Access Edition of NGO-in-a-Box NGO-in-a-box is a project run by Mahiti Infotech, Bangalore in collaboration with the Tactical Technology Collective from the Netherlands. It aims to help NGOs make the best use of IT by providing them with FOSS tools selected specifically for their needs. http://ngoinabox.org/
Events and Announcements “The Dynamics of Technology for Social Change” The book’s primary objective is to help people understand how to successfully design, implement, and evaluate ICT projects in a complicated landscape, explaining the principles that influence outcomes. http://technologyforsocialchange.com CALL FOR PROJECTS for a residency at Point Ephemere (Paris) in April-May-June 06 Point Ephemere, centre for artistic dynamics in Paris, and The Dune Beach Village near Pondicherry are starting an Artist In Residence program for Indian and French artists. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7409 Call for success stories on women operating ICTbased enterprises in Bangladesh and West Bengal, specifically micro and small-scale enterprises. Change Initiatives from Kolkata, supported by the University of Manchester, is preparing a handbook in Bengali on women’s ICTbased enterprises. Topics include success stories on women operati4d | February 2006
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Bytes for All... ing ICT-based enterprises in Bangladesh and West Bengal, analytical justification for such enterprises and a guide to set up such enterprises. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7413 The Official Chinese Government Portal Launched The Chinese central government website, www.gov.cn. was officially launched on January 1st after three months of trial operation, according to China Radio International. http://english.gov.cn/ Reuters Digital Vision Program (RDVP) at Stanford University The Reuters Digital Vision Program (RDVP) at Stanford University is accepting applications for the 2006-07 academic year (September 2006 - June 2007). The deadline is April 3, 2006. Fellowships will be awarded at the end of May, 2006. http://rdvp.org/ Call for papers:Digital Learning Asia 2006 Conference Digital Learning Asia 2006 [www.dlasia.csdms.in] will take stock of the progress of the Asian countries in utilizing Information and Communication Technologies to enhance the quality and reach of education with a focus on building a human capital that responds to the needs of a globalised world. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7349
Bangladesh organisation provides Internet service on boats in North Bengal. Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangshtha (SSS), an innovative organisation, is imparting education on information technology to the deprived and poor people in North Bengal over 12 boats equipped with computers with Internet service, mobile phones and libraries. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7402 Nepal Government plans new authority, high fees to stifle radio stations Reporters Without Borders called on the United Nations and the international community to persuade the government to rethink its plans to create a Broadcasting Authority with broad powers over radio stations, cable TV and online media, and to increase the cost of a radio broadcasting licence by at least 10 or 20 times. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7435 Building Analytical Capacity through Peer-Taught Software Engineering The goal of this project is to create a comprehensive curriculum for learners aged 8 to 18, which develops their analytical skills through the use of software and software engineering tools. http://wiki.tsf.org.za/shuttleworthfoundationwiki/ClassroomCoders Waiting for That $100 Laptop? Don’t hold your breath. By Cyrus Farivar
The Community e-Health Initiatives Special Issue [http://www.cijournal.net] will focus on the use of community driven e-Health services, systems and technologies, highlighting applications in less developed countries (LDCs) and indigenous settings. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/7448
At the World Summit on the Information Society, MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte unveiled the laptop he believes will digitize the developing world... What Negroponte doesn’t want Brazil, Thailand, and his other clients to know is that this isn’t the first time a $100 computer has briefly seduced the press. Just like the little green laptop, each of these machines came with a gigantic catch. http://www.slate.com/id/2131201/?GT1=7428
Miscellaneous
The ‘e-Maroc’ strategy
Pictures/Graphics
The Ministry-Delegate in charge of General and Economic Affairs has published the first document on ‘e-Maroc’ (e-Morocco) strategy, which is part of a communication package aiming to give a clear vision on the future objectives and perspectives of the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Morocco. http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=11832
CfP: Special Issue JoCI Community e-Health Initiatives
Village Computing Program http://www.grameen.us/images/programs/boys_computer.jpg
Bytes for All: www.bytesforall.net Bytes For All Readers Discussion: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ bytesforall_readers Bytes for All RSS syndication: http://www.bytesforall.net/index_html/ RSS Bytes for All Readers Forum RSS syndication: http://rss.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/rss Bytes for All Summary Archive: http://www.bytesforall.net/Summary/ Bytes for All discussion summary compiled by: Miraj Khaled, Bytes for All, Bangladesh February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
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for for for for for for for
All...By All...By All...By All...By All...By All...By All...By
Rendezvous S EMINAR R EPORT
ON
ICT
IN
A GRICULTURE
AND
H EALTH , 12 J ANUARY , 2006, H YDERABAD , I NDIA
Health-FarmIT The two areas-Agriculture and Health being so close to the hearts of many, a high level of interest and participation by the delegates was observed during the National e-Governance Seminar ‘Health-FarmIT’, which was held at Hotel Taj Banjara, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills, in the southern Indian city Hyderabad on 12 January 2006. The seminar on the theme ICT for rural areas with a focus on Agriculture and Health sectors proceeded through three prime segments:Global Trends - where the world is going in usage of ICT in Agriculture / Health sectors; National Scenario - how is India doing on this front and are there any best practices around; State Scenario focussing on a few initiatives from the states and see what are the lessons learnt. The seminar tried to showcase those initiatives which can be adopted by State Governments with the existing resources, those initiatives which can be quickly rolled out by having a little additional resources, those initiatives which are eventually required to be in place for effective service delivery to even interior areas and also showcased relatively lesser known initiatives / ideas for enabling the stakeholders to think on those lines as well. Key Note address was deliveredthrough video conferencing by Raj Reddy, Carnegie Mellon University, USA. Sanjay Jaju, Commissioner, MCH, Hyderabad narrated District Level Replicable Models in his presentation entitled ‘Reinventing Governance: Bringing Government Close to People’. S.P. Singh, Sr. Director, Ministry of Comn. & IT Govt. of India described National egov Plan and Mission Mode Projects in Agriculture and health. There was broadband demo from Turkaya-mzal village, Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh (India), described by T.V. Parthasarathi, Director (Commu-nications), Government of Andhra Pradesh. Address by Chief Guest, N. Raghuveera Reddy, Minister for Agriculture, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh was the last part of the inaugural session.
44
ICT and agriculture sector First forum was started with video conferencing address on ‘Global Trends’ by Mohan Kanda, Member of National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi which gave insight into the lapses of information. Moni, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre, New Delhi addressed on ‘Role of ICTs on Agricultural Development and its future prospects in Rural India’. M. Ariz Ahmed, Addl. Secretary to the Government of Assam and CEO of Assam SFAC, explained the project ‘ASHA-Hope for Farm Prosperity’ which is also a member of Mission 2007. V. Ranga Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Ramoji Film City described ETV programme- Annadata in his paper ‘Annadata in the Service of the Farmer- the changing face of Rural India’. P. Raghuveer, IFS and coordinator of the seminar in his paper ‘Parishkaram’ gave an example of the Chiluvuru village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh (India) successfully. V.P. Sharma, Director (IT), National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, presented his paper on ‘Cyber Extension- Innovative usage of ICT’. ‘e-Sagu’ - meaning eCultivation, that was the topic adopted by Krishna Reddy IIIT, Hyderabad in which he elaborated a three tier system with farmers as end users.
ICT and health sector In the Health sector panel, the moderator and the lead presenter was Ranjan Dwivedi, UNAIDS, New Delhi (India). In this session, B.S.Bedi, Senior Director (MCIT), Government of India presented his paper on National Initiatives in Healthcare using ICT and the achievements of Media Lab Asia project. On behalf of Subba Rao, Prl.Secretary (Health) Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Prathiba presented his paper ‘PHC Computerisation–AP Experience’. Sangeetha Reddy, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad made a brief
talk on ‘Technology Enabling Rural Health Care’. Satyamurthy, Director Telemedicine, ISRO, Bangalore gave an overview of health scenario system which requires reduction in cost of health care system. Krishnan, Addl. Director CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, in his presentation ‘ONCONET’ – Cancer Care for rural masses’ insisted on the improvisation of follow up consultation. P.K. Madhav, Director of Byrraju Foundation talked on ‘Telemedicine – Urban Quality Healthcare @ Rural Prices’. Rajendra Nimje, Collector, Khammam, Andhra Pradesh (India) made two sided presentations on paper e-Immunisation and Health Call Centre.
‘Where to go from here’ The seminar was ended with a panel discussion entitled as ‘Where to go from here’, chaired by Gopikrishnan. The panel included S.R.Rao, Gopikrishnan, Vikas Nath, Ranjan Dwivedi, P.Raghuveer, Sukhbilas Barman. Each of the panelists shared their views and later on there was an open discussion with the audiences. Dr Rao stated that health is divided into 12 chief directorates, each of which is an isolated island, 6 among those act independently. Vikas Nath emphatically said that the government is there as public service provider, we need to broaden the target areas as well as the view of the public in terms of development sector and their involvement into that process. P. Raghuveer concluded the seminar by summing of views collected through this important seminar. i4d | February 2006
What’s on
Thailand 15-17 March, 2006 “Strengthening the Business Fabric with Dynamic ICT” IDC’s Asia/Pacific CIO Summit 2006, Bangkok
Australia
Ghana
http://www.idc.com.sg/CIO_Summit2006
7-10 March 2006 11th National Conference on Volunteering Melbourne
14-18 March, 2006 Global Summit on HIV/AIDS, Traditional Medicine & Indigenous Knowledge, Accra
Default.asp
www.volunteering2006.com
www.africa-first.com/gsaidstmik2006/default.aspx
18-20 April, 2006 Asian Conference on Digital Commons Bangkok
Italy
www.asia-commons.net
Bangladesh 12-16 February, 2006 Impact of Global Issues on Women and Children, Dhaka www.ic2006.info/conference.htm
China 13-16 March, 2006 Effective Science Communication in an Era of Globalisation, Beijing http://www.scidev.net/ms/beijingworkshop2006/
England 21 February, 2006 Community Development and Health Birmingham http://shop.btcv.org.uk/shop/level3/554/stock/4664
15-17 March, 2006 1st World Congress on Communication for Development Rome cmorry@comminit.com
Kenya 23-25 February, 2006 IDLELO2: Achieving Millennium Development Goals through Community Software Nairobi
25-28 April, 2006 Digital Learning Asia 2006, Bangkok www.DLasia.csdms.in
25-28 April, 2006 eGov Asia 2006, Bangkok www.egovasia.net
25-28 April, 2006 Asian Telecentre Forum, Bangkok www.asiantelecentreforum.net
http://www.fossfa.net/idlelo2/
UAE
Nepal
26-29 March, 2006 Map Middle East 2006 Dubai
20-25 February, 2006 Good Governanace in Civil Society
http://www.mapmiddleeast.org/2006/index.htm
http://www.aidmat.com/idmat/gg.html
Ethiopia
United States
24-27 April, 2006 2nd International Conference and General Assembly Meeting of the African Network for Strategic Communication in Health and Development Addis Ababa
Qatar 7-15 March, 2006 World Telecommunication Development Conference, Doha http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/wtdc/index.html
http//www.africomnet.org/downloads/ AFRICOMNET%20Announcement%20Flier.pdf
South Africa
22-24 March, 2006 National Technology Conference (NTC) Seattle www.nten.org
March 31-April 2, 2006 The National Summit for Wireless Community Networks http://www.cuwireless.net/summit
http://www.okfn.org/wsfii/wiki/
22-24 February, 2006 Conference on Knowledge Management in Higher Education: A Gateway to Excellence and Innovation in Africa Pietermaritzburg
WirelessCommunityWeekend
http://www.ukzn.ac.za/km/conf.htm
http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/events/ictd2006
Germany 24-27 March, 2006 Wireless Community Weekend, Berlin
25-26 May, 2006 ICTD 2006 Berkeley, California
Get your event listed here. www.i4d.csdms.in/events February 2006 | www.i4d.csdms.in
45
I N F ACT
People with mobile, people on net Initially, offices were full of papers, now we are going towards a ‘paperless’ office. Now we have files on our PC, all the information are on web!! We started communicating with speech, then writing, then speech through wire, now it’s the age of ‘wireless’ which is approaching. Let’s have a quick look on where do we stand today with these new age ICTs-
World Internet usage and population statistics Population % of World
Internet Usage, Latest Data %
% Population (Penetration)
915,210,928
14.1 %
22,737,500
2.5 %
2.2 %
403.7 %
3,667,774,066
56.4 %
364,270,713
9.9 %
35.7 %
218.7 %
Europe
807,289,020
12.4 %
290,121,957
35.9%
28.5 %
176.1 %
Middle East
190,084,161
2.9 %
18,203,500
9.6%
1.8 %
454.2 %
North America
331,473,276
5.1 %
225,801,428
68.1%
22.2 %
108.9 %
Latin America/ Caribbean
553,908,632
8.5 %
79,033,597
14.3%
7.8 %
337.4 %
Oceania/ Australia
33,956,977
0.5 %
17,690,762
52.9%
1.8 %
132.2 %
6,499,697,060
100.0 %
1,018,057,389
15.7%
100.0%
182.0%
World Regions
Population (2006 Est.)
Africa Asia
World total
Usage% of World
Usage Growth 2000-2005
Notes : Internet Usage and World Population Statistics were updated for December 31, 2005. Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Worldwide penetration of handheld devices through 2005 Country Asia Germany UK France Netherlands Belgium Austria US
46
Global Internet and Wireless Users, 2001, 2004 and 2007
2005 (in millions)
Subscriber
2001
125 22 21 17 7 3 3 1.7
310 62 45 45 12 7 6 24
Internet users (millions)
533
945
1460
16
41.5
56.8
Wireless Internet users as % of all Internet users
2004
2007 (Project)
1999 (Millions)
Source: http://www.epaynews.com/statistics/mcommstats.html#44
i4d | February 2006
A forum for digital LEARNING
practitioners
A publication on ICT and Education from knowledge for change
www.DL.csdms.in