Gender and ICTs : October 2006 Issue by i4d magazine

Vol. IV No.10

October 2006

The first monthly magazine on ICT4D

Gains of engendering ICTs in rural Uganda Women and ICT in development of Africa

Information for development

www.i4donline.net

Internet radio: by women, about women FIRE campaign in Costa Rica

Comunity ownership critical for success

ISSN 0972 - 804X

Gender and ICTs

Telecentres movement in Nepal

knowledge for change

We build

We explore

Documentation We search

We capture We cooperate We advocate

Discussion

We converse We inform

We collaborate

We share

Dissemination

We interact We deliver

We propagate We serve

We reach out to communities

We bring change for progress www.digitalLEARNING.in

Contents

Vol. IV No. 10

October 2006

Mail box

Features

Strategic recommendation paper An autonomous Afghan media commission Sanjar Qiam

Women and ICT in development of Africa Gains of engendering ICTs in rural Uganda Margreet van Doodeward

13 16

27 News Rendezvous

International Information Centre and Archives of the women’s movement

Dipsikha Sahoo

Rahul Kumar

FIRE campaign in Costa Rica

Columns

Internet radio: by women, about women FIRE (Hivos Partner)

Bytes for All

Books received

45 46

What’s on

divide in gender and 20 Digital religion, India Economic impact of IT education among Muslims Farida Umrani, Rehana Ghadially

‘Soochna Se Samadhan Sewa’ 28 September 2006, New Delhi, India Phone-based agri info service for farmers

Making sense of the Internet Lin McDevitt-Pugh

A workshop report on ‘Right to Information’ Act,24 July 2006, Hyderabad, India A right move for citizen centric governance

WOUGNET National ICT policy on gender in Uganda Dorothy Okello, Goretti Amuriat

The Global Teenager Project, Johannesburg

Community ownership critical for success Jayendra Pathak

35 ICTD project newsletter

i4donline.net

News Search ICT4D news by date in the sectors of governance, health, education, agriculture and so on.

Research e-Learning projects from India. www.i4d.csdms.in/elearn.asp

6-8 February, 2007 Palace of the Golden Horses Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Thank you for publishing the profile of our project in September issue of i4d. I would like to have a long term association with your Centre and keep on sharing the latest developments on SmartVillages Programme. We are targeting education as a major focus now to be improved with the help of IT. Kanwal Singh Smart Villages Project, Haryana kanwal67@hotmail.com

Gender aspects in ICT policy issues

E-mail Subscribe to daily, weekly, monthly newsletters online or send request to info@i4donline.net

Conference Preview

Gbenga Sesan Programme Manager, Lagos Digital Village me@gbengasesan.com

errata

Evaluating the Akshaya programme Shambhu Ghatak

33 Telecentres Movement in Nepal

Thank you for the continued support being received from i4d Magazine and News Service. I am glad to understand that some of the references I have provided have been useful and will gladly keep you posted on development on ICTs and the application of the same towards developments in Nigeria (and Africa).

In Fact

Gender and online collaborative learning Titi Akinsanmi

facts in Malappuram, 31 Gender Kerala

et online.n info@i4d

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

Cover image credit: UNESCO: Kothmale Community Radio Project, Sri Lanka

In the article by Monique Doppert in August 2006 issue of i4d the URL has to be www.zonakz.net instead of www.zonakg.net and the name of the journalist is Sergey Duvanov (not Duranov).

In i4d magazine, now you will regularly find some contents on Telecentres. We shall be happy to receive your opinions and experiences on telecentres to be shared with our readers.

Send you feedback at info@i4donline.net www.i4donline.net/feedback.asp

Subscription Form

EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Information for development www.i4donline.net

i4d contains articles and features on the theme of ‘ICT for development’ and related issues. Authors are requested to follow the guidelines while sending their articles to i4d.

Duration

Issues

(Year)

News stand

Subscription

Price Rs.

Rs.

Saving

Subscription US$

1200

1080

10% (Rs. 120)

US$100

2400

2040

15% (Rs. 360)

US$160

3600

2520

30% (Rs. 1080)

US$200

Please also consult the editorial calendar to choose the theme of your interest. We also accept soft or hard copy submissions of your contributions. We encourage you to share your original research with our readers. The Editor’s decision will be final to select, accept, modify or adjust your write-ups due to space constraints.

Nowribe

Editorial guidelines are available at http://www.i4donline.net/guidelines.asp All correspondence should be addressed to: The Editor, i4d G-4, Sector-39, Noida, India Tel +91-120-2502180 to 87 Fax +91-120-2500060 Email info@i4donline.net

sc s u b ne! onli I/We would like to subscribe for (circle as applicable)

years.

First name............................................................................................ Last name .......................................................................... Designation/profession ........................................................................ Organisation ...................................................................... Mailing address ................................................................................... City .................................................................................... State ................................................... Country ................................ Postal code ......................................................................... Tel (o) ................................................... Tel (r)................................................................. Fax .......................................................... Email ................................................... Website .............................................................................................................................

Acknowledgement

Payments for mailed subscriptions are only accepted via cheque or demand draft. Cash payments may be made in person. (tick one and fill as applicable) Please find enclosed my/our cheque/demand draft numbered dated ......................... for Rs......................................... in

We would like to acknowledge the support of Hivos in producing Gender and ICTs www.hivos.nl issue. This issue features articles on diverse initiatives happening globally for Gender and ICTs. Disclaimer: The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in these articles and the opinion expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of HIVOS and do not commit the organisation. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of HIVOS concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.

favour of CSDMS - i4d a/c payable at New Delhi. I am submitting this form in person and paying by cash Please use photocopies of this form as required. i4d, G-4 Sector 39, Noida 201 301, India Tel +91 120 250 2180 to 87 Fax +91 120 250 0060 Email info@i4donline.net

i4d Editorial Calendar 2006 Month

Theme

January

ICT and evolution process

February

ICT and rural development

March

ICT Policy

April

e-Health

May

ICT and Microfinance

June

Cultural diversity, localisation and ICTs

July

Open content

August

Media and ICTs

September

ICTs and SME

October

Gender and ICTs

November

ICTs for the disabled

December

HIV/AIDS

i4d | October 2006

Editorial Information for development

www.i4donline.net

Are ICTs Gender Neutral?

ADVISORY BOARD M P Narayanan, Chairman, i4d Chin Saik Yoon Southbound Publications, Malaysia 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 Rinalia Abdul Rahim Global Knowledge Partnership, Malaysia Walter Fust Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Switzerland Wijayananda Jayaweera UNESCO, France EDITORIAL BOARD

Eleven years after the Fourth World Conference on Women which was held in 1995 in Beijing that came out with a Action Plan, and six years after the Millennium Summit which focused on some of the common goals relating to gender equality, poverty reduction, education for all, maternal mortality, etc., the gender gap continues to worry development planners locally in developing countries and globally. The Millennium Development Goals, for the first time, set up targets to be achieved. It was not just a statement of intent but actionable goals. Countries that committed to these goals set the target date as 2015. When the Beijing Plus Ten meeting was held last year in New York, the civil society organised, with the support of a number of international agencies, including UNIFEM, use of cyberspace to ensure greater participation among women in the conference. The Internet allows for greater participation, and connects women for campaigns and advocacy for ensuring their rights, as well as addressing the issues of gender violence.

Akhtar Badshah, Frederick Noronha EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Ravi Gupta Editorial Consultant Jayalakshmi Chittoor Sr Assistant Editor Saswati Paik Assistant Editor Dipanjan Banerjee Research Associates Ajitha Saravanan, Dipsikha Sahoo

Most importantly, women, who face cultural, social, and political divides, face different challenges. Without women’s participation in decision-making positions, poverty is not likely to be eliminated. Gender issues must be mainstreamed and integrated with development strategies. ICTs are transforming economies and yet, women are often left behind.

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.i4donline.net 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.

Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies, 2006

When we talk about ‘digital divide’, there are distinct, perceived and noticeable disparities for women to infrastructure access and skills development. But do we have any idea how many of the women in the developing countries are regular ICT users? What is the increase in percentage of ICT using women in comparison to men? Gender disaggregated data and impacts of technology are still few and far between to obtain. But we do have stories of transformation and impacts where efforts have been made to create enabling environments and supportive facilitation for women to access and use technology for livelihoods development, health, education, farming, etc. This promotes also entrepreneurship. We need to think of a proper way out to find out the gap, to find out the women who are lagging behind. Let us start brain storming for that – let us start counting the heads which need ICT support to stand up, to be empowered in its true sense. Three critical strategic inputs need to be put in place: gender sensitive policies, ICT infrastructure and access to where women live and increased educational levels. Innovative efforts that are documented in this issue can throw light on the possibilities of benefiting from the ICT especially to achieve gender equality objectives.

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

i4d is supported by: Ravi Gupta Ravi.Gupta@csdms.in

October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Opener STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATION PAPER, AFGHANISTAN

An autonomous Afghan media commission The commission needs to live in coordination with the information industry, governmental agencies, local and tribal shuras in order to adjust policy efforts in serving the public interest.

Formluation of a strategy The Afghan independent information and communication commission is a grand step toward strengthening and regulating the media system in Afghanistan. Among the very first priorities of the commission and its first meeting in Paris, one could perceive the creation of a strategic plan. The creation of such a plan parallel to the mission of the commission should ensure the availability of an information system which is in accordance with journalistic standards of fairness, impartiality and inclusivity as well as the media law. Such an information system should be efficient, at reasonable cost and nationwide whether by radio, television, print or cable. Within the strategic plan framework the commission needs to set general goals and objectives defining how the commission will fulfill major segments of its mission; a description of the means and strategies that will be used to achieve the general goals and objectives and identification of key factors that could affect achievement of the general goals and objectives.

Ensuring autonomy

Sanjar Qiam Manger-Projects tolo TV, Afghanistan sanjar.qiam@gmail.com

Drastic measures should be put in place to ensure the independence of the commission. Most importantly the commission should be independent of the government. The commission shall be directly responsible to the parliament. That requires the passage of a bill by the parliament to endorse the commission, which is established by a presidential decree, and to charge it with regulating interstate communications. The bill will also confirm the number of commissioners and their term of service. The Paris meeting shall nominate a chairman, who preferably does not hold a state position. To seal approval on the designated chairman authority it ought to

be approved by the president. The chairman and other commissioners oversee, regulate and legislate the information and communication services; delegating selected responsibilities to the relevant state offices. The commissioners may divide the functions. This will allocate enough time and attention to each of the sub-sections of the information and communication network. It is also a good way of using the specialised knowledge of the commissioners. Some of the most significant responsibilities the commissioners should undertake includes- overseeing the process of licenses applications and other filings, analysing complaints, conducting investigations, developing and implementing regulatory policies, and taking part in hearings. The distribution of individual functions does not mean the commissioners not to share expertise in addressing common commission issues; methods should be identifiable so the commissioners work together regularly. As part of its functions the commission will educate and inform Afghan citizens about information and communication services and engage their inputs to help guide the work of the commission. The commission needs to work in coordination with the information industry, governmental agencies, local and tribal shuras in order to adjust policy efforts in serving the public interest. The Afghan media commission will have a clearer way ahead and follow up work in Kabul, if the Paris meeting could decide on a set of general goals for the commission. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the first step for the commission toward fulfilling its responsibility to Afghan people for ensuring that an orderly framework exists within which communications and information services can be quickly and reasonably provided to citizens. The commission, in accordance with its statutory i4d | October 2006

authority and in support of its mission, would need to establish general goals for a specific period of time. The goals should cover the following fields: Media: The Nation’s media regulations must promote competition and diversity. One of the very first steps would be to ensure harmonised regulatory treatment of competing state and private sector. Establishment of equal licensing process, complaints handling, investigations and other developing and implementing regulatory policies for state and private media. The removal of all discriminatory policies currently in place. Policies should also facilitate the transition to digital modes of delivery. Regulatory policies must promote technological neutrality, competition, investment, and innovation to ensure service providers with sufficient incentive to develop and offer such products and services. Spectrum: Efficient and effective use of national spectrum promotes the growth and rapid deployment of innovative and efficient communications technologies and services. Competition: Competition in the provision of media, information and communications brings about better quality services and supports the Nation’s economy. The competitive framework for communications services should foster innovation and offer consumers reliable, meaningful choice in affordable services. Internet: Attempts toward expanding Internet access, product and services directly and indirectly through other media to the nation. Regulatory policies must promote technological neutrality, competition, investment, and innovation to ensure service providers have sufficient incentive to develop and offer such products and services.

Media and ICTs ICTs has depended on telecom to some degree but today, ICTs are converging in unprecedented ways. But lack of knowledge does not pursue one to comment on communication services. It also bewilders one on role of commission and competencies in communication services and the resources at its disposal. In order to promote public and stakeholders inputs and ensure transparency the overall objectives for each of the goals need to be explained. In addition, the means and strategies for achieving these goals and objectives also should be outlined. Finally, key factors external to the commission and beyond its control need to be identified for each goal. These key factors can significantly affect the commission’s achievement of the general goals.

The media vision The nation’s media regulations must promote competition and diversity. Policies should also facilitate the transition to digital modes of delivery. Harmonised should be ensured for regulatory treatment of competing state and privte sector. The commission shall develop media rules and policies that achieve statutory policy objectives in light of significant changes to traditional media services. Media development is closely connected with other forms of national development, an emerging media scene increases competition, changing ownership patterns which will challenge both the legal and economic foundations of the commission’s media regulation. The commission shall examine current rules and make changes as required to accommodate the October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

policy goals of competition, diversity, ruralism and localism within the evolving media landscape. The commission shall do the following: • enforce compliance with media rules and media law; • investigate alleged violations and take enforcement action, where appropriate; • ensure the availability of at least one media to all Afghan citizens, media empowers by providing increased access to information; • continue to encourage and promote media development and availability, particularly to those in rural, low-income, or underserved areas; • seek to understand citizen’s demand for media-information and to encourage all three tiers of broadcast media; • To meet this objective, the commission shall work in partnership with local and tribal civil society organisations and authorities, as well as media consumers and the industry. • ensure harmonised regulatory treatment of competing tiers of media outlets, robust competition among media outlet is key to the further development and maturation of the sector; • ensure harmonised regulatory treatment of media tier services across platforms; • ensure that its regulatory approach does not promote state tier or one tier over another, the creation of a harmonised regulatory framework encourages and facilitates an environment that stimulates investment and innovation in media industry.

Factors affecting the achievement of the media goals The commission must be diligent in enforcing any necessary marketopening regulations to ensure that all Afghans have access to quality media, while at the same time refraining from any unnecessary regulation. Some of the external factors affecting the achievement of the media goals are as follows: Socio-religious : Supreme Court, Ulema Council, local Mullahs and other religious authorities’ decision and perception have affected the media freedom in the last four years of relative media freedom era. As a matter of fact, religious authorities have not only imposed sanctions on media and have brought regulation and laws to media players and state authority attention, but they have also been the major actor in imposing outlaw limitations on media and pushing for conservative approaches for issue which concern investigative, political, social reporting and entertainment programmes. Ullema and their formal religious structures have consented in continuous revision of the media in the hope to bring to force more and more conservative regulations. They have not had much chance, partly to the fact that their representation in such revision has been given to relatively moderate elements. Nevertheless, continuous revision of press laws culminates in creation of a media environment of uncertainty, where unremitting changes to journalists’ rights does not give them a chance to find out more about their legal rights, role and priorities. Legal: The new parliament being assuming its role, there might come some legal changes to the media framework. The parliament might mandate continued review of information and communication rules, which may result in further court challenges. Similarly, the parliament might mandate more coordination among different

GenARDIS fund: future prospects The GenARDIS grants programme developed in recognition of the ICT-related constraints and challenges faced by rural women in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries conducted a knowledge-sharing workshop on gender, agriculture and rural development in the information society in Entebbe, Uganda from July 3 to 8. The programme is a partnership between Hivos, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). The programme is administered by the Association for Progressive Communications. Participants at the GenARDIS workshop in Uganda had the opportunity to learn some concepts of the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM), a tool developed by the APC-Women’s Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP). Building the capacities of those involved in implementing GenARDIS projects is proving to be crucial, as these skills can be used to determine whether ICTs are really improving the living conditions of women. The workshop emphasised on ICT policy recommendations, gathered from the lessons learnt through various such GenARDIS projects: • Telecommunications operators should take small food producers into account, especially with regard to access to quality services from remote locations,

• Farmers need special consideration and training if they wish to use ICTs for their agricultural livelihoods, • The government should draft an ICT policy for rural development through the involvement of peasant women, who are mainly farmers, • The ICT approach should be integrated into the various socioeconomic development programmes, • Decision makers can improve rural women’s access to ICTs by creating an institutional environment that promotes ICT development and the electrification of rural areas, • Encourage and finance the development of national language software. The GenARDIS fund thereby acknowledges in bringing together diverse partners around with the same vision, and in enabling access by women farmers to ICTs in rural areas. With regard to future prospects for the GenARDIS fund, the interesting prospects are as follows: • Exposing rural women to ICTs and developing strategies to use ICTs to improve their activities globally and, • Awaiting for the results of the evaluation to see how the issues raised can be translated into research issues, and how to integrate them into its research programmes.

players, which might be difficult in practice. So far the ministry of information and culture was quite cooperative and easy going in regard to regulations; parliament might also require more serious implementation of laws. Economic: Ongoing changes in the methods of delivering news and entertainment programming may introduce economic uncertainty and thus, risk, into communications markets. Economic factors may spur consolidation within the media industries that could potentially affect competition and diversity. This is a process which could be managed, the integrity of the commission and the superiority of the laws are the prerequisite. Technological: Advances in technology create the potential for significant increases in media outlets available to the public. This requires coordination among various industries. Organisational: Commissioners must be in extensive contact and maintain access to current data on industry and forecasts of future trends in order to conduct rigorous and effective policy analysis. Commissioner and personal of the relevant governmental department also need to be in contact so policy and implementation goes hand in hand. Commissioners need to obtain information on the resources and personnel available at the state level for achieving the goals and objectives in a timely manner. The Commission must employ rigorous, effective policy analysis, innovative rulemaking, and sound economic decision-making in addressing policies regarding media development. Furthermore, working in partnership with all stakeholders, the Commission must facilitate discussions among key groups of constituents, including industry and consumer groups, to identify and establish best

practices. National media strategy indicators are the creation of media regulations that promote competition and diversity. And the availability of at least one media to each Afghan citizens.

Source: http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?apc=a—e948151&x=94815

Request for research If the commission is to bring changes to the legislative and regulatory framework for media in order to improve competition and efficiency in the interests of consumers, it would need to understand and take into account the public benefit that the current system facilitates through provision for media. Scattered studies and research has been undertaken by international media NGOs and organisations. The commission shall collect all available data. The commission shall coordinate future researches and create provisions to avoid duplication and increase efficiency. There is little quantified data about the economics of media. Analysis of the demand for services and the underlying value of inputs to the sector would be of considerable benefit to a thorough empirical understanding of the sector. There are some strategic performance goals for the Media. Certain suggestions can be made on understanding and analysing the demand for services. It could recommended that the commission call for research to all actors and take a leading role in the process, and at the same time it should be diligent in enforcing any necessary regulations which might hinder potential research work. The research shall help the following strategic performance: • review the media law, • steps toward understanding consumer needs, • enforce compliance with media rules. i4d | October 2006

W OMEN

AND

ICT

D EVELOPMENT

A FRICA

Gains of engendering ICTs in rural Uganda Women and Information are two crucial elements in rural development, ICTs are an intrinsic part of this equation. Documenting the impacts and lessons learnt of ICT capacity development projects are likely to earn the support of donors and governments.

Margreet van Doodewaard Programme Officer ICT and Media for Development, Hivos m.van.doodewaard@hivos.nl

A case study One of the female participants of an ICT training for women in Uganda gave me a hand-written letter of thanks. I met her during my visit to our ICT and gender partners in rural Uganda. Throughout a series of sessions in their local community information centre she and her fellow colleagues were taught how to use the computer, how to connect to the Internet, how to use such as applications as word processing, e-Mail, MSN and MS Office. Had they absorbed their newly acquired skills into their daily lives? Were they now among the connected, happily using ICTs to improve her livelihood? The hand-written letter symbolises part of the answer to this question and brings to mind a few important lessons to be reminded of in ‘engendering’ ICT at the grassroots level. Many reports by multilaterals, governments and gender CSOs alike indicate that women in developing countries can benefit from ICTs. That’s nice but donors and government continue to favour classic aid over investment in gender friendly rural ICTs. It is also common knowledge that the digital divide is worst for those who are poor, live in rural areas or happen to be female. And women in rural Africa often combine all three. As a reminder, only 12 percent of all Internet users in Senegal are female; 14 percent in Ethiopia, 36 percent in Zambia and 31.5 percent in Uganda. These data do not differentiate between rural and urban areas. Taking this into account one can safely assume that percentages are even lower for rural women. In Africa and elsewhere a myriad of activities have sprung up over the years, trying to get especially rural women connected through the provision of access and by building ICT savviness. With the establishment of rural community

information centres combined with ICT training especially geared towards women it was hoped that these women would benefit from the economic and social opportunities ICTs offer. Now, almost a decade later, the time has come to reflect on the impact these initiatives had on rural women’s participation in the economy. Unfortunately, gender disaggregated statistical data and wellanalysed and documented case studies are still rare. Nevertheless by studying what material is there, some interesting lessons can be learnt that practitioners and donors should take to heart.

CEEWA and Wougnet in rural Uganda In this article two examples from Uganda will be used to look into the effects of gender based ICT capacity building in rural areas. The first is a women’s ICT training programme by CEEWA-U, a CSO that aims at the economic empowerment of Ugandan women (www.ceewauganda.org). The second is a rural information outreach programme, run by Wougnet, a CSO that works in gender and ICT(www.wougnet.org). These initiatives give a clear picture of the challenges women in Africa face to make ICTs work to their benefit and indicate some of the solutions that can be found. Central African Uganda is a country that recently held quite a bit of economic promise, but now seemed to have slipped back on all economic ladders. With a UNDP Human Development Index of 0.509, UNDP in 2005 it is one of the poor countries of the African continent (www.undp.org/statistics). In the rural areas the HDI is even lower. Literacy rates for women vary between urban and rural areas and per district. On average 60 percent of women can read and write but this figure drops to 45 percent for men and women in the northern regions. i4d | October 2006

Women usually have very limited access to economic assets such as land, houses and finances. Women are often the breadwinners through farming and/or micro businesses. They usually combine this with care for the young and the elderly. Yet, it is common practice that what money these women earn is handed over to their husbands or other male relatives. The Ugandan Human Development Report 2005 notes that the weak economic and social position of women is undermining equitable development in particular. In short, women are the most important driving force to rural economic and social development. The Council of Economic Empowerment of Africa (CEEWA) works to empower these women and supports women towards economic independence. CEEWA Uganda runs several rural information centres and through these centres implements ICT and business skills training for women. Three of their centres (in Nabweru, Buwamu and Mukono) are at easy travelling distance from Kampala and situated in relatively densely populated areas. Some of the women make their living solely through farming. Nevertheless a substantive part of the participants are entrepreneurs running small businesses such as restaurants, shops or stalls. In its baseline study CEEWA noted that rural women found it difficult to get comfortable with ICTs due to literacy problems and general education levels. CEEWA also noted that, in the initial stages, some women entrepreneurs, not having access to credit, preferred money over the acquisition of ICT and entrepreneurial skills. This implies that initially women were not able to see the connection between the added value ICTs may offer to the improvement of their economic activities. The ICT training focussed on business applications such as word processing and spreadsheets, the use of the Internet, e-Mail and the use of additional business tools such as mobile phones, faxes and photocopiers. The ICT training was part of a package which included other business skills training such as book keeping. At the end of the training all women recognised the possibilities using ICTs in general and felt grateful and empowered to have been introduced to them. A much smaller group really integrated the use of ICTs into their day-to-day lives. They would use those tools that proved worth the investment either in terms of effort, money and time. This was particularly true for the mobile phone. The phone is easy to use, affordable and it can be carried with you wherever you go. It allowed women to organise their social and economic logistics from home and the benefits were instant and tangible (one call and you have placed an order, as simple as that). The use of Internet and e-Mail was much less embedded in their lives. Because women have few financial assets and difficulty in accessing credit, it is not easy for them to purchase the necessary equipment. Even if they could afford the first investment, the dependency on (male dominated) ICT service firms for technical maintenance continues to be another major barrier. Alternatively, women could go to their local community information centre or Internet cafe. Those women who live close enough and felt that the social or economic gain were worth the investment of time, money and effort, did so. However, those living farther away from the centre would not. A woman who is travelling to town to access ICTs is not working, or caring for the children and someone else in her community needs to carry the added burden. October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

The investment of effort, time and money is much higher and often will outweigh the perceived benefits. Another interesting observation about the absorption of the ICT skills into these womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work life is related to the line of business in which they were active. Farmers are first and foremost consumers of information. Their primary interest is to be up to date with market prices and learn as much as possible about farming techniques, health, education and so on. ICTs can help, but there are alternatives such as the rural extension worker or brochures and leaflets. The entrepreneurs not only consume information but are also producers of information. They write invoices, place orders, write menus and some even had websites. Although this line of research has not been pursued, one can assume that the women entrepreneurs are more willing to invest in ICTs because the perceived benefits in terms of efficiency and effectiveness are more substantial and they have fewer alternatives to reach the same level of efficiency and effectiveness. Wougnet is a membership organisation which aims at harnessing ICTs as a tool to strengthen information exchange and address common issues. Part of its programme focuses on the improvement of information access and exchange amongst women in rural areas. The organisation tries to address the previously identified challenges of distance, effort and costs of deployment of ICTs through its outreach programme in the northern province of Apac. The heart of the programme is the Kubere information centre in Apac town. The Kubere centre aims at improving access to information for rural women on the basis of the outcomes of information needs assessments. Women indicated that their main interest was in farming techniques, market prices for farmer produce and health and education issues. The information centre has newspapers and magazines, distributes leaflets and brochures on a variety of topics, many of which are agriculture and health related. It has Internet

connectivity and makes use of World Satellite Radio as a source of external information. A reporter seeks out rural communities and collects local information. The material thus gathered is repackaged from their original to suit the needs and capacities of the recipients. This results not only into folders and leaflets, but also in special radio programmes, produced by women for women, which are then broadcasted through Radio Apac (the local community radio). Women in rural communities have established women listeners group and will gather to listen to the radio. Each of these groups has

a mobile phone through which they receive information on market prices and with which they can phone into radio Apac for Q and A sessions. The women were very enthusiastic about both the radio and the mobile phone as they are easy to use, create a sense of community and does not require them to travel or to acquire complex technical skills. The user threshold and level of investment is relatively small and well balanced with the perceived gains.

Similarities and differences: whichever way – it’s worth the effort Rather than providing ICT capacity building activities as part of a business training programme, the way CEEWA did, Wougnet linked ICT capacity building directly with information brokerage in agriculture. They combined application of ICTs in close cooperation with physical agents, using more traditional avenues for information exchange through rural extension workers. The combination of digital, analogue and physical information channels empowered the participating women groups and stimulated new ideas and initiatives. In general, the women targeted by Wougnet have very little education, live far from urban centres and agriculture is the dominant source of income. They have neither the financial means nor time to travel to a centre or to invest in ICT equipment. There is no electricity in their communities. Their information needs are relatively homogeneous. It is difficult for women in Apac to access and then process information to meet their own requirements. Wougnet adapted its information strategies accordingly to address these women’s most urgent needs and thus became an information broker. ICT capacity building of the target group remains limited to the necessary skills to be able to receive, understand and act upon the information presented. In this case, part of the burden of the investment is taken over by the information brokers as they have to prepare the information for the farmers and find suitable avenues to get it to them. The consequence of this is that the women in Apac are more dependent on the information brokers for the information that they require. Their choices are based on what is presented to them. They are less well positioned to compare, weigh and value different content and sources of information. Economic empowerment and independence is, in this particular case, intertwined with the equality of the relationship between information brokers and information producers. Not only is it important that the rural women can trust the information presented to them, they should also feel free and be able to question this information. This implies that the information brokers present more than one angle to the same topic, provide the women insight into their sources, the opportunity to value different information and last, but not the least, encourage debate. The women targeted in the three CEEWA centres were more heterogeneous including farmers and business women, resulting in more heterogeneous information needs. Not only were they eager recipients of information, they produce information themselves too. Education levels on average were a bit higher than those of their peers in Apac. CEEWA addressed their needs by building their capacity to access and process information using ICTs. In other words, the information broker is the woman herself. She is less dependent on the ‘middle-man of information’, and can do the

AWORC – facilitating net-advocacy for Asian women An Internet-based information service and network in Asia for women, the Asian Women’s Resource Exchange (AWORC) aspires to contribute to the global efforts to address the gender disparities on the Internet. The members of the growing AWORC community includes women’s information, resource and documentation centres, women’s information providers and users and communications organisations working closely with gender networks.Some of the nation wise AWORC Participating Organisations are: • Japan: AJWRC (Asia Japan Women’s Resource Center ), JCANET (JCA-NET) • South Korea: APWINC (Asian Pacific Women’s Information Network Centre) KWDI (Korean Women’s Development Institute) • Malaysia : ARROW (Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women) APC-WNSP (Association for Progressive Communication Women’s Networking Support Programme) • Mongolia: GCSD (Gender Centre for Sustainable Development) • Philippines: IWS (Institute of Women’s Studies), Isis Manila (Isis International-Manila), UP-CSWCD (UP, College of Social Work and Community Development) weighing and balancing herself. For those women who can and will access these ICTs ( in the case of CEEWA, mostly the entrepreneurs) this gives an enormous boost in terms of economic empowerment. However, for those women who cannot access these sources for information, the impact will be a lot less noticeable as they have no one they can turn to for assistance. Nevertheless, the not to be underestimated outcome of both initiatives is the increased sense of empowerment by the women that participated in these activities. In both cases, their self-confidence had increased by the fact that they understood better what ICTs are and can do. All women spoken to felt empowered and inspired. This had led to several new ideas and the courage to actually take these ideas in hand and do something with them. One women’s group in Apac had started a piggery. A woman in Buwama scaled up her small restaurant to a full fledged catering business. Their newly acquired knowledge, skill and self-confidence also gave them increased status amongst their peers, in their communities and even with their husbands. Readers, who implement similar activities will not be surprised by these outcomes, yet donors and governments still favour more traditional aid over investments in gender friendly rural information disclosure through ICTs. Many of them still question the effectiveness of ICT capacity building activities for rural women, because the impact has not been captured in happy statistics. I would like to encourage all practitioners out there to monitor more closely the effects of their work, not only during, but also after they have completed them and to make this information publicly available. Not only will this yield lessons learnt that will help all of us. This will also lead to factual evidence on impact that may encourage donors and governments to recognise what we all know: Women and Information are two crucial elements in rural development. ICTs are an intrinsic part of this equation. i4d | October 2006

W OUGNET

National ICT policy on gender in Uganda WOUGNET’s overall objective is to build capacities in ICT use and application, and to expand activities to reach out to women in rural areas in Uganda.

Introduction

ICT Programme Manager

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely accepted as tools that can enable the participation of men and women in economic and civic life as well as promote and support national development priorities. The Government of Uganda recognises the role ICTs, can play in enhancing national development, and in 2002, the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (UNCST) was commissioned to formulate the National ICT Policy Framework. The primary aim of the framework was to address the challenges and to develop the potential and opportunities offered by ICTs in Uganda. Uganda’s ICT policy defines ICT broadly as ‘technologies that provide an enabling environment for physical infrastructural and services development for generation, transmission, and processing, storing and disseminating information in all forms, including voice, text, data, graphics and video1.’ ICTs consist of ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ technologies including radio, television, video, mobile and fixed telephones, print, computers, the Internet, etc. While stories abound of ICTs as important contributory tools to addressing developmental challenges like poverty, bad governance, poor health, market shortage, low quality of education, and poor access to information, much of the potential of ICTs remains untapped. This is more so for groups experiencing time constraints, social isolation, lack of access to knowledge and productive resources. In particular, women in countries such as Uganda have been identified as being one of the most affected groups.

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET),Uganda

The need for a ‘gender lens’ on the policy

Dr.Dorothy Okello Coordinator

Goretti Amuriat

info@wougnet.org

October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

Gender is widely recognised as a critical development issue. Gender is a social

construct specifying the socially and culturally prescribed roles that men and women are to follow in a given society. As such, gender determines the social roles, responsibilities, relationships, and privileges between men and women in a given society. In relation to ICTs, gender determines the access, utilisation and application of ICTs among men and women. For example, a telecentre may be located in an area where women would not be in position to visit due to location, time or cultural normsmanifested in attitudes that discourage women and girls from studying or using information and communication technology. In Uganda, research indicates that women’s awareness and usage of ICTs is nearly three times less than that of male counterparts2. However, it is important to bear in mind that not all development concerns are gender issues. Some are general situations of disadvantage. For instance the fact that a man or a woman from a poor household cannot afford to tune a radio on account of inability to afford batteries cannot be described as a gender issue. It is a general state of poverty. But when batteries are bought and the rules governing it’s access are such that only the man gives permission or he roams the village with it and appoints himself the key listener and disseminator of information obtained thereof, then gender issues/concerns arise. The article highlights activities by Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) to engender national ICT Policy Developments in Uganda. Established by several women organisations in 2000, WOUGNET is a nongovernmental organisation that seeks to develop the use of ICTs among women as a tool to share information and address challenges collectively. WOUGNET’s

overall objective is to strengthen the use of ICTs among women and women organisations in Uganda, to build capacities in ICT use and application, and to expand activities to reach out to women in rural areas. WOUGNET’s overall objective is implemented through four major programme areas of Information Sharing and Networking, Technical Support, Gender and ICT Advocacy, and Rural Access. Activities of the Gender and ICT Advocacy Programme are carried out under the auspices of the Uganda Women Caucus on ICTs (UCWI), comprising women and gender activists and organisations, formed to promote the engendering of ICT processes in Uganda. WOUGNET also hosts the UWCI secretariat.

Gender inclusive ICT policy developments The current policy and regulatory environment in Uganda was established through the telecommunications sector policy of 1996, and operationalised by the Uganda Communications Act, 1997 (Laws of Uganda Cap 106)2. The Telecommunications Sector Policy (1996) was driven by the need to provide an acceptable minimum of infrastructure to enable basic voice communication. The Uganda Communications Act of 1997 specifically spells out the following extended objectives of the Act: • enhancing the national coverage of communications services and products, with emphasis on provision of communication services, • expanding the existing variety of communications services available in Uganda to include modern and innovative postal and telecommunications services, • reducing Government direct role as an operator in the sector, • encouraging the participation of private investors in the development of the sector, • introducing, encouraging and enabling competition in the sector through regulation and licensing competitive operators to achieve rapid network expansion, standardisation as well as operation of competitively priced, quality services, • minimising all direct and indirect subsidies paid by Government to the communications sector and for communications services, and • establishing and administering a fund for rural communications development. In addition to the National ICT Policy and the Telecommunications Sector Policy, the legal, regulatory and policy framework to promote ICT in Uganda includes the Electronic Media Act (cap 104), Access to Information Act (2005), Copyright Act (2006), Rural Communications Development Policy for Uganda (2001), and National Broadcasting Policy (2004). Bills that are in place include the National Information Technology Authority Bill, the Communications Act Amendment Bill, the Electronic Transactions Bill, the Electronic Signatures Bill, and the Computer Misuse Bill. Also, a Ministry of ICT has recently been created to coordinate, harmonise, and spearhead the development of ICT in Uganda. A clear marker for the beginning of WOUGNET’s engagement with ICT policy processes was introduction to the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) process. This was via participation at the WSIS Africa Regional Preparatory Meeting held in May 2002 in Bamako, Mali. It was at this meeting that the WSIS Gender Caucus was initiated. WOUGNET went on to participate as a

member of the interim civil society taskforce, established to bring together individuals and organisations working on open source in Africa and consequently seek mandate to establish the ‘Open Source Foundation for Africa’. The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) was launched on February 21, 2003 during the WSIS PrepCom2. On January 27, 2003, a National WSIS Taskforce was created to coordinate Uganda’s input to the WSIS. WOUGNET was a member of the inaugural taskforce that also included representatives from the then Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), MTN – one of the two national telecommunications operators, UNCST.

WOUGNET in action WOUGNET’s experiences, and through interaction in various fora as well as given WOUGNET’s mission and based on the available data with respect to the use and applications of ICTs by women in Uganda, it was clear that there was urgent need to have gender concerns explicitly addressed in all policy processes including policy elaboration, implementation and evaluation. The Gender and ICT Policy Advocacy programme builds upon WOUGNET activities and fora to gather and make input to Uganda’s contribution to the WSIS process. The programme seeks to build the capacity of policy makers, ICT experts and the media to articulate gender issues in the ICT policy making processes in Uganda, to assess the implementation of the Rural Communication Development Fund (RCDF) from a gender perspective, and to advocate for gender sensitive ICT policy processes. With support of the Association of Progressive Communications (APC) and Hivos, and in collaboration with a variety of partners including the Ministry of ICT, UCC, I-Network, National Planning Authority, CIPESA, Makerere University Department of Gender and Women Studies, recent activities undertaken include: • conducting training for UWCI members and WOUGNET staff in the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM). Developed by APC, GEM is a guide that integrates gender analysis into planning and evaluation of initiatives that use ICTs for social change. This training was to build capacity in gender and ICT policy advocacy, • a public forum targeting policy makers, ICT experts, and journalists on the theme ‘The ICT Policy: Does it address the Gender Digital Divide?’ was organised in March 2006. The objective of the public forum was to sensitise and create awareness on the need to integrate gender into ICT Policies. A total of 103 participants attended the forum. As a result of the public forum, awareness has been created on gender issues in the ICT Policy and there has been a positive response on the need to integrate gender in policy processes from policy makers. Awareness creation is a continuous process that WOUGNET and the UWCI will carry out using various means, • a gender analysis training workshop for policy makers, ICT experts, and journalists was conducted in April 2006. The workshop was aimed at building the skills of policy makers, ICT experts and journalists in gender analysis. Participants were introduced to key gender concepts and how to identify gender issues. Participants were also introduced to the GEM tool, i4d | October 2006

Labour market not rosy in Asia Pacific In recent times Asia-Pacific region has witnessed a rapid, economic and intra-regional trade growth much faster than trade with the rest of the world. However, the increasing labour productivity has not resulted neither in higher wages nor generated better employment opportunities. Among the 1.71 billion workers in the region, over one billion still do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the $2-a-day poverty line. Unemployment among the youth is deteroriating and in the informal economy is worsening. While numerically rapid increases are expected in the labour force in countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, other countries of the Asian region, such as China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, where demographic trends have resulted in rapidly aging populations, will face labour shortages. While there has been marked increases in wages in China and Sri Lanka, in India and Pakistan real wages in the manufacturing sector actually fell despite an increase in labour productivity - over 84 per cent between 1990 and 2001 in the case of India. ILO’s report also leads to disillusionment that Asia’s strength in cost- competitiveness and expansion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is not as rosy as imagined. Basically, this translates into a condition where the wages are not perhaps as good as in the developed world than what most people earn in the developing world. For instance, a software engineer in the United States is likely to earn five times than a person employed in India. The gap between productivity and wages is further accentuated where women are concerned. The hype about the ICT sector generating lots of employment is also unfounded, according to the report. A great deal of research and ground work need to be done in this area. Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20061020001008000.htm

• a number of advocacy materials have been developed including a position paper on gender issues and concerns with ICT policies in Uganda3, and • a policy brief on gender issues and gaps in the ICT policy framework that recommends strategies and actions to address the gender issues and gaps4, • an assessment with a gender perspective has been undertaken in nine districts in which projects with support of the RCDF had been implemented, These projects include district portals, multipurpose community telecentres, Internet cafes, school based telecentres, ICT training centres. The objective is to find out the extent the fund had provided universal access to rural communications and whether the implementation process had taken into consideration any gender concerns for the equitable benefit of women and men. The findings will be used to undertake a media campaign and other advocacy activities to promote gender sensitive implementation of communication policies and to inform the policy makers of the risks taken if gender issues are not considered. The RCDF was used to argue the case for inclusion of women’s specific needs in ICT policies and programmes aimed at universal access. Currently, the Rural Communications Development Policy takes a gender neutral stand and has no mention of women or gender anywhere. • In addition, WOUGNET staff and UWCI members actively participate in a variety of ICT-related meetings, fora and bodies, including ICT sector policy committees, the National InterAgency ICT/e-Government Planning Taskforce, and the National Working Group of the Regional ICT Support Programme that is coordinated by the COMESA Secretariat. Also, in April 2006, UWCI was invited to make a presentation on ‘Gendering the e-Government Policies in East Africa’ at an East African Stakeholders workshop on Cyber laws and e-Justice and Information Security. The workshop was convened by the East African Community Secretariat and locally coordinated by the National Planning Authority. October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

It is expected that through engagement in activities such as highlighted above, the awareness and capacity to identify gender issues among policy makers, ICT experts and journalists will be raised, and that the level of incorporation of gender issues within ICT policy processes will be increased.

Conclusion ‘Gendering’ ICT policy processes involves identifying and eliminating gender disparities in access to and use of ICTs. It also involves adapting technology to men and women’s needs – for example, in the case of women, taking advantage of their strong informal networks and support systems. Available evidence indicates that without explicit articulation of gender in policy frameworks, gender issues and concerns are not likely to be considered during implementation. As such, without specific attention and action to incorporate a gender perspective, equitable distribution of ICT benefits and opportunities for both men and women will not be realised. While the prevailing ICT policies have significant holes to plug with respect to being truly gender responsive, both in spirit and in implementation, Uganda is fortunate to have a variety of ICT stakeholders from government, private sector and the civil society that are genuinely interested in addressing the issue of universal access to and use of ICTs by all Ugandans.

References 1 Republic of Uganda, 2003. The National Information and Communication Technology Policy. 2 Uganda Communications Commission, 2005. Uganda Telecommunications Sector Policy Review. 3 WOUGNET, 2006. Gender Issues and Concerns in ICT Policies. 4 WOUGNET, 2006. A Policy Brief on Gender Issues and Gaps in the Draft National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy Framework 2002.

I NTERNATIONAL I NFORMATION C ENTRE

AND

A RCHIVES

OF THE

W OMEN ’ S M OVEMENT

Making sense of the Internet The IIAV ‘s mission is to make knowledge relating to the position of women available and accessible and to promote research that will contribute to the quality of women’s lives.

IIAV- a missionary move for women If one has ever been to Amsterdam, and visit the library of the International Information Centre and Archives of the Women’s Movement (IIAV – www.iiav.nl), one will find it in a part of the town where mostly people who migrated to Holland from Turkey, Suriname and Morocco live. In the middle of this cosmopolitan part of the city is a big old church that looks more like a Turkish mosque rather than a Catholic church. But it is no longer a church, it has been renovated and now houses the IIAV. The IIAV ‘s mission is to make knowledge relating to the position of women available and accessible and to promote research that will contribute to the quality of women’s lives. It’s history is not unlike that of the building where one stores the books and magazines, photo archives and archives, and where one can have offices from where one can coordinate for alliances and build its websites. The women who started the IIAV 70 years ago knew that the books and papers, documents and research they had collected in the course of their successful women’s suffrage campaign would be useful in the future campaigns. The IIAV now preserves hundreds of such documentations and archives.

IIAV’s mode of operation Lin McDevitt-Pugh Programme Director, International Information Centre and Archives for the Women’s Movement (IIAV) Amsterdam, The Netherlands, L.McDevitt-Pugh@iiav.nl

As time went by the mission probably changed very little, but the way the work being executed definitely did. It is now able to present the information on the Internet. Information seekers in Asia, Africa and Latin America can access one’s information using the same tools and, as quickly as women in the Netherlands.The information is presented in Dutch and English. But very importantly, the new technologies

made it possible to work with women’s information organisations throughout the globe. More information is available now than ever before, and Internet and eMail have become key instruments in creating information that makes a difference for women. In this article three different projects are looked at where the IIAV is involved. Though different in all three, ICT4D plays an important role. Yet, it is the difference what makes the sense! When developing each of the projects, the first question asked was: what is needed? The next question was: what makes sense to do? And the third question was: is the same being done/doing is what needed?

Women’s Information Technology Transfer (WITT) Women’s organisations in central and eastern Europe were not well represented on Internet when the IIAV and its partners in the region surveyed the situation in 2002. Most women’s organisations did not have a web site. Many of those that did only had a page– and that was more to make them visible to potential funders. Internet was certainly not being used in their strategical interventions. But many women’s activists had seen how women’s organisations in western Europe were effectively using ICTs in their information strategies. In 2001 a Belgrade based women’s organisation requested for a training from European and North American Women Action, an alliance in which the IIAV was active, in using ICTs. The trainers of that training, and the women being trained, became the early leaders of what is now known as WITT(www.wittproject.net). From those early beginnings, WITT has developed a training methodology. The primary tool is the ‘needs assessment’ that i4d | October 2006

the trainers make before each training. By knowing exactly what the women in the training know and don’t know, and what they want to do, the trainers can deliver a three day training that completely meets the needs of the women in the session. Lenka Simerska of the Czech Republic, a trainer with WITT, says of the WITT training she recently organised “WITT didn’t want to just provide skills, we wanted to provide understanding as well. We wanted to empower the participant’s choice of tools.” WITT Executive Director Christina Haralanova, says the trainings achieve something fundamental every time. “They link the technology that women use to the policy framing it. This nice blend of theory and practice is meant to help women make informed decisions about technology solutions for their organisations.” In this way. WITT is helping women’s organisations throughout the region to discover which ICTs make sense in their own specific context.

Shahrzad News Shahrzad News (www.shahrzadnews.org) is an independent news organisation run for and, by Iranian women. It began its daily news production in July 2006. Shahrzad News aims at promoting media diversity, freedom of expression and the promotion of human rights in Iran. Its focus is on the power of Iranian women in a society where Islamic laws, regulations and traditions have denied women a voice and limited their freedom of expression both in public life and the media. Shahrzad News will produce and publish independent, reliable and high quality news and information on the Internet, in Farsi and English, on issues that affect the lives of women in Iran. The IIAV was part of the beginnings of this project. The editor in chief of Shahrzad News, Mina Saadadi, was a former project worker at the IIAV. Herself a political refugee from Iran, as she worked to develop WITT she asked herself the question: What do one need in Iran? What have one got? What are the possibilities? She and many of her friends knew there was too little access to ‘free’ information in Iran, that women had very little freedom, that many Iranian women living all over the world wanted information and some of them can provide information. She also knew the IIAV is a massive clearing house of information from around the world, and anyone wanting to write articles needs only to tap into the IIAV as a resource. By creating a cooperation between the Dutch Radio Training Centre (RNTC), the IIAV and her own volunteer journalist activity Dokhtarak, Mina was able to realise a tremendously ambitious project. It has been set up for a two year period and hopefully, if proved successful, can be continued, providing feminist news to Iran. If one is wondering where the name Shahrzad News came from: one may already aware of the classic Persian story ‘One Thousand and One Nights’. Married to the cuckolded king who murders successive wives after their honeymoon night, the young bride Shahrzad uses her powers of story telling to weave a tale so intriguing, so hypnotising, that the king repeatedly postpones her execution in order to hear the next spell-binding serialised chunk, night after night. Using the power of words, Shahrzad thus breaks the cycle of violence and oppression suffered by her predecessors. October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

Know How Conference 2006 The IIAV has been working with colleagues throughout the world to develop projects in which ICT tools play a significant role. To facilitate this work, the IIAV has been a driving force behind the Know How Community (www.knowhowcommunity.org) since 1998. The Know How Community consists of women’s information and communication organisations throughout the world. Some are libraries, others are online documentation and news centres and, training organisations and media organisations. The community meets once every four years in a space it defines itself – ‘the members see each other regularly at meetings they attend with the purpose of informing others.’ The Know How Conference represents the convergence between the professions of the participants and their commitment to human rights and women’s rights. The Know How Conference provides a context for evaluating their work of collecting, repackaging and disseminating women’s information in the context of women’s rights and human rights. The Know How Conference 2006 was organised by PUEG, the gender studies department at the Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. How did the Know How Conference address the issue of ‘what makes sense’? Organiser Felix Barrientos Martinez says “The information landscape has changed tremendously. When we refer to women’s information nowadays, we are talking about all media, including film, radio and the Internet. That is why all of these media were given a place in the Know How 2006 programme.” Over fifty percent of the participants in the conference came from Latin America, and many of these were indigenous women. From January 15th to the end of February 2006, the Know How Secretariat and the Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas (Southern Region) managed an online discussion on indigenous women, ICTs and the information society. This online discussion was used by the 175 participants as preparation for face-to-face discussions to be held at the Know How Conference 2006. “We received a lot of responses and valuable testimonies on how ICTs are having a specific impact on indigenous women’s lives,” says Nidia Bustillos Rodriguez, moderator of the online discussion and active in the Know How Secretariat. Indigenous women may get involved in ICTs slowly, but the process of inclusion has started. They are aware of the importance of ICTs for improving their enjoyment of their human rights. On the one hand, the possibilities for finding work, sharing ideas and exchanging experiences and suggestions grow, together with being heard. The difficulties, on the other hand, are related to the limited access these women have to computers and to the Internet. They also have to struggle with taboos, ‘machismo’, lack of time, money and training, and lack of information that fits their needs. WITT is up for organising trainings throughout the European region. Contact WITT through christina@consultant.bg or via the website. For more information on any of these projects and activities, follow the links provided in this article or write to info@iiav.nl. Join the Know How discussion list by sending a message to listserv@nic.surfnet.nl, with the following message, ‘Your first name Your last name’. (i.e. Join Knowhowconf Lin McDevitt-Pugh in my case)

FIRE C AMPAIGN

C OSTA R ICA

Internet radio: by women, about women Violence against women and Internet Gender-based violence occurs in various forms including rape, domestic violence, ‘honour’ killings, trafficking in women, etc. Violence against women is persistent, yet, sometimes, under-recognised human rights violation. The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, gave priority to this problem. Gender-based violence is now being recognised as a major public health concern and a serious violation of basic human rights. With the increasing use of Internet, fast route of mobilisation, creation of networks of instantaneous contact, multiplication of the information, support, solidarity, etc. has become possible, but, unfortunately, at the same time, Internet is sometimes being used as means of perpetration of crimes which are not adequately regulated by national or international legislations. Emergence of

FIRE is not ‘for’ women, rather it is by and about women and their thoughts on various issues, mainly produced by Latin American and Caribbean feminists. 18

Internet has opened a space where the violence against the women reproduces. It acquires new forms, expressions and dimensions. The most common modes of violence against women through Internet includes sexual harassment, violence in the pornography, the traffic of people, violation of the privacy and infantile pornography.

FIRE - not ‘for’ women, by and about women Feminista International Radio Endeavour (FIRE) is the first international Internet radio produced by women. Based in Costa Rica, FIRE started in 1991. It was originally created as a resource to amplify the voices of the women worldwide. It was originally a shortwave radio programme by and about women. Inspired by the Women’s Peace Tent in Nairobi in 1985, FIRE sought to create a communications channel on shortwave. The objectives of FIRE are to promote non-stereotyped images of women in media; recognising and respecting the diversity of women; to promote non-sexist communications, and an inclusive language in the media; to promote the human rights of women; and to produce FIRE in English and Spanish for radio and Internet. Its programmes address such themes as gender perspective. These include neoliberal policies, women’s human rights, the environment, racism, disabilities, militarism, sexualities, education, arts and culture. In 1998, it merged its traditional radio service with the Internet. This has enabled diverse formats of communication, through re-broadcasts in local radios, international short wave radio, magazines, newspapers, electronic networks and web pages. Internet provides the possibility of converting the computer into a transmitter of high freque-ncy, more economical than traditional radio.

FIRE is not ‘for’ women, rather it is by and about women and their thoughts on various issues. Latin American and Caribbean feminists who are FIRE’s permanent producers and directors mainly produce it. Its strategy is to amplify the voices and ideas of women, promote women’s rights, connect multiple voices, technologies and actions as well as strengthen women’s and Third World media efforts by participating in local, regional and global initiatives. It also seeks to generate individual and collective commitment to movementbuilding and action and it wants to produce high quality, non-sexist, activist programmes in Spanish and English for radio and the Internet. It introduced the ‘FIRE-PLACE’ on the Internet in 1999 as a virtual radio station. In 2000, FIRE initiated the development of another kind of webcast called webcast marathons in the form of uninterrupted webstreaming lasting for 8 to 25 hours. Under the name ‘Full Spectrum Against....’ the marathons are organised on special dates of celebration and commemoration such as International Day Against Violence Towards Women and International Women’s Day. Through marathons, it has broadcast the voices of women affected by inequality at work and also the voices of those women who battle against racism and other related forms of intolerance. Another success story is the production of the PEACECASTS. It took place in the immediate aftermath of 11th September 2001. The project is based on the belief that peace on earth can be achieved by realising women’s values. A joint effort with other groups such as Women’s International News Gathering Service (WINGS) and Feminists for the Gift Economy (FGE), the PEACECASTS were designed to get women from across the board to discuss issues. i4d | October 2006

• to the creation and diffusion of network, data bases of resources, site and program that participates in the elimination of violence towards women in Internet.; • to deepen the subject of violence towards women in Internet from the feminists perspective; • to contribute to visualise the violence against women and their connection with other forms of oppression, sexism, homophobia, discrimination, racism, ethnocentrism and imperialism.

Subscribing to the campaign

Campaign against violence in the Internet FIRE conducts special coverage of events for web casting. In August this year, an international event ‘International Know How Conference 2006’ was launched by FIRE to address the issues related to violence against women in the Internet, and to carry on research on the international audience of FIRE’s Internet radio. The theme of the conference was ‘Weaving the information society: A multicultural and gender perspective’. FIRE brought a massive gathering of 400 women participants around the world to talk on issues of gender justice, cultural diversity, and access to information and communication as a women’s human right. In the event 2006, FIRE ignited a spark towards a global campaign entitled, ‘Campaign Against Violence in the Internet: Connected by a Network Free of Violence,’ and demonstrated the same in a workshop. It was designed to raise ‘awareness and contribute to the elimination of violence against women in the Internet, which may range from sexual harassment and abuse in chat rooms and blogs to stalking through eMails to violent pornography, all of which violate the human rights of women’. Some of this violence takes similar forms that have existed outside the Internet, whereas others reflect new forms of expression and abuse.

Unique view of FIRE campaign The campaign aims to contribute to eliminate the violence against women in the Internet, being visible and facing the abusive use of that tool to violate the human rights of women. It also aims to stimulate the networks, organisations and users to restrict free practices of violence and to create and to promote respectful policies and forms to use the Internet. To contribute to generate respectful interactions of the human rights of women in the use of the Internet like part of the processes of democratisation of the network. The campaign targets to promote the development of a network free of violence, sexism, discrimination and racism, where they are promoted and the human rights are respected, including those of the women. It hopes to contribute: • to visualise the interaction between the forms of violence against women in the Internet and other forms of social and political violence; • to the documentation and harvesting of testimonies and cases; • to the creation and diffusion of data bases on violence forms, sites in Internet, etc; October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

Individuals, organisations and networks were invited to join the campaign by committing to renounce and counteract any form of violence against women on the web, and likewise assume a personal commitment to end violence against women. They were requested to post the campaign logo on their website as a commitment to keep it free of violence and promote the respectful use of the Internet. Any person, network or organization may join the campaign. To join one will have to request through electronic mail sent to oficina@radiofeminista.net. In the website of the campaign, names of the subscribers of the campaign will be added. The people, networks or organisations who subscribe to the campaign commit to renounce and to resist any form of violence against the women in the web. The subscribers assume a personal commitment against violence against women. And the websites that subscribe will maintain their pages free of violence and will promote the respectful use of the Internet. They have placed their logos in this page as it forms to express their support to the campaign.

Focus on impact of FIRE Apart from the campaign, FIRE has also shown its major initiatives to look into some critical factors associated with gender issue. In ‘International Know How Conference 2006’, FIRE presented a workshop entitled, ‘A feminist reconceptualisation of interactivity of media: FIRE coverage of women and armed conflict’, both in Spanish and English. The four-year multi-method study examines the impact of FIRE on its audience and connects it to an in-depth analysis on coverage of women in armed conflicts in Colombia and the Middle East. The study positively reflects an interactive impact of FIRE on the audience in amplifying women’s voices and perspectives in synchronisation with the political organisations and movements, and also in strengthening and building the movements. In armed conflict, FIRE augmented the voices of women, whose perspectives were staged as an active agent for peace, which otherwise are ignored by mainstream media, portraying them mainly as passive victims. Likewise, FIRE’s broadcasts facilitates as a bridge to the audience to learn about and get involved in political actions and activities of women’s peace organisations, and also to promote collaborations to help in building political and social movements for peace. Source: FIRE (FIRE is a Hivos partner)

References: • http://www.radiofeminista.net/ • http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/thematic.cfm?&men uid=229&thematicid=5&action=ThResView&ResId=592&type=14

D IGITAL D IVIDE

G ENDER

AND

R ELIGION , I NDIA

Economic impact of IT education among Muslims This paper presents a gendered view of hindrances restricting the economic impact of computer education among Muslim youth in Mumbai and discusses policy recommendations to optimise this impact.

Farida Umrani Research Scholar farida@iitb.ac.in

Over the past decade, the proliferation of ICTs has presented both opportunities and challenges for young people. Being at the forefront of the technology revolution, they serve as indicators of what will occur within their communities. However, the level at which the youth are placed depends upon their access to quality education, and decent work. In the Indian society, besides gender, one of the overlooked operant of the digital divide is religion. ICT use appears to be more closely associated with income and educational factors. The available data makes a case for low development index and marginalisation of Muslims in India. This paper presents a gendered view of hindrances restricting the economic impact of computer education among Muslim youth in Mumbai and discusses policy recommendations to optimise this impact. The study was conducted at three computer-training centres in Mumbai. To gauge the impact of computer education, two months after completion of the course, twenty-five boys and twenty-seven girls; alumni of a subsidised one-year diploma course in ‘Computer Applications and Multilingual Desk-Top Publishing’ were interviewed. During the course of the interview, the trainees mentioned hindrances that obstructed the impact. The objectives of this paper are to list and discuss these obstacles to impact, highlight gender differences if any, and suggest policies to rectify the situation.

Hindrances to impact of computer education Rehana Ghadially Professor rehana@hss.iitb.ac.in Indian Institute of Technology Bombay India

96.3 percent females and 72 percent males report hindrances to the impact of computer education. Limited access to computer/ Internet emerges as the most important constraint for both the sexes (50 percent males and 46.15 percent females). The

reason may be that 94 percent trainees are financially dependent on their parents and majority of them belonged to low (less than Rs.5,000/- per month) or low middleincome group (Rs. 5,000/- to 10,000/- per month). Without access to computer, the trainees cannot practice the technical skills and are likely to forget what they learned. Besides, computers are dynamic technology with newer versions of software coming to foray; without up-gradation, their skills will become obsolete. The reasons for low Internet use are high connectivity cost, nonavailability of subsidised public access points and language. While home access to Internet is not common, the cost of surfing Internet at cyber cafes restricts its usage. Besides access, women are also disadvantaged further by socio-cultural considerations. Fueled by reports in the community newspapers on pornography and online chatting, families impose sanctions on young women’s visit to cyber cafes. Besides, females themselves are uncomfortable visiting a place that is frequented by boys. This is brought out by comments of Noorjahan, “I cannot go to cyber café alone as the environment there is not appropriate; it is dark and full of boys”. The second most important hindrance to the impact of basic computer education is familial pressure in career and academic decisions, a constraint that affects females (26.92 percent) but not males. As the country opened its doors to liberalisation and privatisation, multinational companies have been set up in metros. Under-represented in the public sector, Muslim boys and girls see, in the private sector, a promise for meritbased employment. While professionalism of the corporate world is appreciated, it is also equated with adoption of western culture. Such ideas particularly disadvantage the young women as familial pressure affects their job choice. This is brought out i4d | October 2006

Table 1: Percentage, frequencies and chi-square of hindrances to the impact of computer education of males and females Si. No.

Hindrance

Overall (N=44) Rank

Limited Access to Computer/ Internet

Family Pressure (academic/ job decisions)

No College Degree

Financial Constraints (edu/ business)

Lack of Job Experience

No Space for Home PC

Minority Status

Low English Competency

Lack of Information (edu /job)

10 Course Inadequate for Job

Rank

47.73 (f=21) 15.91 (f=7) 13.64 (f=6) 11.36 (f=5) 6.82 (f=3) 6.82 (f=3) 6.82 (f=3) 4.55 (f=2) 4.55 (f=2) 2.27 (f=1)

by Farzana’s comments, “When I asked my father permission to work as a computer operator, he said, conditions have not worsened so much that I’ve to live on my daughter’s earnings, what will the world say.” Secondly, families steer the girls towards Muslim workplaces. Thirdly, as young women are groomed to shoulder their future role as wife and mother, domestic responsibilities limit the availability of time. Kauser, a science graduate, mentions, “I have to help my mother in household chores. I need a part time job.” In addition to career, girls’ aspirations to enroll for higher education - college and computer - are thwarted due to the families’ concern that if the girls are over educated, they will face difficulties in finding a spouse. Caught between their aspirations and parental expectations, young women overcome the dissonance by making compromises. Not possessing a college degree emerged as the fourth most important hindrance, and it is more important for the boys (22.22 percent) than the girls (7.69 percent). In the dynamic IT job market, to have a competitive edge, certificates from training centres have to be complemented with college degrees. As higher numbers of boys were still in college but most of the females had completed graduation before the course; this constraint affected boys more than girls. Financial constraints to pursue advanced course/self-employment hindered the impact for both the sexes. As mentioned earlier, majority of the subjects came from poors families; this curtailed enrollment in advanced computer courses, and setting up personal businesses. The diploma course that trainees had completed was available at subsidised rate. Moving on to high-end course demanded financial investments that were beyond their reach. This obstacle affected males (16.67 percent) more than females (7.69 October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

Male (N=18)

1 NA 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 5

Female (N=26) Rank

50.00 (f=9) 0

22.22 (f=4) 16.67 (f=3) 11.11 (f=2) 11.11 (f=2) 5.55 (f=1) 5.55 (f=1) 5.55 (f=1) 5.55 (f=1)

3 4 4 3 4 4 NA

% 46.15 (f=12) 26.92 (f=7) 7.69 (f=2) 7.69 (f=2) 3.85 (f=1) 3.85 (f=1) 7.69 (f=2) 3.85 (f=1) 3.85 (f=1) 0

X2 (df=1) 0.42 7.00** 0.66 0.2 0.34 0.16 0.32 0 0 0.10

percent), probably because of social conditioning that trains the girls to compromise their needs for familial responsibilities. Due to the traditional preference for business among Muslim communities of western part of India, the trainees had plans to set up computer related business. The businesses mentioned by males included starting a cyber café, computer assembly and maintenance, while females wanted to open a cyber café doubling as a training centre. However, arranging for the capital was found to be a daunting task. For instance, Naved said “I applied for a loan in a bank, they asked me to get bank statement, salary slips or property document; how can I get these!” Besides, subjects had limited awareness about government youth employment schemes like Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana and Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rozgar Yojana. The latter has a component especially directed to women that provides credit to a group of ten urban poor women to take up any economic activity suited to their skill, training, aptitude and local conditions.

Challenges continue The fifth obstacle restricting the impact of computer education was lack of space for a home computer. Trainees complained that there was no space to work at home; as the houses in the mohollas (ethnic enclaves) are small and families are large (6 members). The paucity of space not only affects computer purchase but also constraints business activity. Mumbai is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Households in Mumbai consume an average of 2.9 square metre of floor space per person, one of the lowest in the world. This constraint affects more males (11.11 percent) than females (3.85 percent) probably because being socially conditioned to be accommodative, the girls do not perceive it as an obstacle.

minority, are further disadvantaged, as more females than males choose to work in ‘safe’ Muslim firms. Besides, some prefer to wear their covering dress to work, which is sometimes not well received. For instance, Nasreen who was informed about job vacancy by her friend said, “I was not selected because I wore a burqa.” Thus, there are a variety of impediments that obstruct the optimum impact of computer education for the Muslim youth. While limited access to computers/Internet, financial constraints, lack of job experience and space for home PC hinder the impact of computer education for both males and females, the obstacles of the latter are further compounded due to socio-cultural factors. Besides, there is evidence to suggest that males compared to females dominate home computers. Searching for jobs, the trainees realise that not having job experience disadvantages them. Most of the organisations look for experienced candidates; in the absence of internship in the training program, the trainees have not had the opportunity to work on live projects, thereby rendering them a fresher in the job market. This constraint affected more boys (11.11 percent) than girls (3.85 percent). Varied career aspirations may account for this difference. A similar pattern was found with regard to inadequacy of the course to get a job, wherein males (5.55 percent) but not females report it as an obstacle. It appears that females are content with basic course that offers low-end jobs but males seek advanced skills that promise high-end jobs. Low competency in English language and lack of information about computer courses and jobs affected both males (5.55 percent) and females (3.85 percent). Majority of the trainees were educated in Urdu medium schools and were taught English as a third language. The advertisements of a global computer-training institute bring out the importance of this value addition. For instance, NIIT used occasions like Valentine’s Day to highlight the importance of English language- ‘Having trouble proposing in English? Join our English for Excellence program’. Without competency in global business language, their standing in the global market is bleak. Besides, majority of the content on the Internet is available in English as also the books/manuals of technical knowledge. It is a paradox that on the one hand, the youth are becoming tech-savvy and on the other hand, they continue to be plagued by lack of information about computer courses, job portals on the Internet and placement agencies. For instance, Irfan said, “I think students living in mohollas do not have enough information to take an appropriate vocational decision.” The above hindrances bring forth, need for value addition like training in English language skills, and information literacy. In addition to the above, minority status hindered the impact of computer education for females (7.69 percent) and males (5.55 percent). There is real and perceived discrimination against Muslims in the job market. The dismal employment figures (2-3 percent) of Muslims in government jobs bear testimony to this. However, minority status does not emerge as a major hindrance for the present sample, probably because of the jobs created in the private sector and the euphoria about the Information Technology field in India. 15.38 percent trainees (12 percent males; 18.51 percent females) preferred to work in community owned firms, as the non-Muslim firms do not make allowances for religious observances of Muslim employees like Friday prayers and fasting during Ramzan. The young Muslim women, being a minority within a

Optimising the impact In order to harness the benefits of computer education, it is essential that the above listed hindrances be overcome. This calls for actions at the level of the individual, family, community and society. At the individual level, boys and girls have to improve their marketability by getting a college degree and value-addition like English language skills and information literacy. Familial support is the crucial factor for females to stretch their horizons; they need to provide girls more autonomy in academic and job-related decisions. Community centres based on tele-centre model can provide subsidised access points for hands-on practice and surfing. Cyber cafés can do a service by reserving spaces/timings for women users. The computer training institutes can play a double role as placement agencies and training

centres for value-added skills. In order to address the issue of discrimination, fair selection practices need to be followed. Equally important is the self-effort of young Muslims; they have to work doubly hard so that it becomes difficult not to recognise them. At the societal level, government needs to take affirmative action by providing micro-finance for purchasing a PC and kick-start a micro-enterprise. Civil society can bridge the gap and make available micro-credit to urban poor youth. Awareness programmes to popularise government schemes among Muslims need to be put in place. This is in line with the suggestion of Dr. Shariff, member secretary of Prime Minister’s High Level Committee for preparation of Report on Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India, who emphasised identification of entrepreneurship in urban areas with investment needs of Indian Rupeestwo to three hundred thousand and entire household’s labour contribution. These steps can go a long way in maximising the economic impact of computer education among young Muslims. i4d | October 2006

The Asian ICTD Platform

Opportunities for

Digital Asia 3

W W W. C S D M S . I N / E A S I A

6-8 FEBRUARY 2007 PALACE OF GOLDEN HORSES

ORGANISED BY

KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA

5 events : 1 venue Improved communication and information services are directly related to social and economic development of nations. Internet and modern communication platforms offer immense potential as multipurpose tools through which information and services can be delivered anytime and anywhere. However, upon delivery, the uptake of information and online services depends on the capacity of people and organisations. Again, of prime importance is service access points such as telecentres and boderless technologies like mobile technology as an way to address the 'reaching the unreached' and empowering the rural community. In the emerging global knowledge economy, it is imperative for countries, communities and enterprises to strategise towards adoption and use of information and communication technologies and enhance their overall capacities. Asian countries are increasingly realising these critical factors of success and are becoming proactive in improving existing conditions. A lot of collaborative efforts are required between governments, industry, academia and civil society across nations to materialise these objectives of balanced development in a digital era. eASiA 2007 is an open ICT for development co-operation platform for Asian countries for discussing opportunities and challenges for promoting growth of ICT for development in Asia through consultative dialoguing, strategic planning, knowledge networking and business partnering. eASiA, through its five seminal conferences, will focus on five emerging application domains of ICT for Development - e-Government, ICT in Education, ICT and Rural Development, ICT-enabled Health services and Mobile application and services for development. The five conferences - namely egov Asia 2007, Digital Learning Asia 2007, Telecentre Forum 2007, eHealth 2007 and mServe 2007 will address the issues of digital divide and identify and explore opportunities for Digital Asia.

ASiA 2007

Asian nations are emerging as most promising global economies; traditional governments and their ways of governance surely need to be redefined. With a plethora of public management and administrative challenges facing most Asian nations, coupled with heightened expectations of rapid socioeconomic development, the need for efficient government is higher than ever before.

Today Asian countries are competing with each other to be the frontrunner in technology-enabled education. While most countries do not want to miss the opportunity to connect to this ‘connected world’, the struggle to close the existing divides continues. Research and practices have confirmed that a holistic approach that integrates and emphasises process, be it capacity building of the educators or transforming pedagogy or creating localised and relevant ICT-based content, has substantial impact and sustainable and effective integration.

Telecentres are increasingly emerging as one of the most important equalizers of digital divide among urban and rural citizens. Telecentres or common service centers are aimed at expanding access to information and communication technologies. Telecentres as sustainable, multi-purpose service centres are emerging as a tool for empowerment of the community, enabling their access through ICTs to relevant information and common services.

There is a significant action happening in the sphere of e-Health globally led by experts in healthcare and hi-tech industries with a an aim to fully harness the benefits available through convergence of the Internet and health care. e-Health is today’s tool for substantial productivity gains, while providing tomorrow’s instrument for restructured, citizen-centred health care.

The lack of adequate connectively has been one of the biggest cause of the limited impact of ICT to bridge the digital divide. Mobile phones have spread throughout much of the developing world more quickly and deeply than any previous technologybased as rolling out a mobile phone network is far cheaper than building a fixed-line systems and Internet networks for computers.

There are many examples of successful eHealth developments taking place in Asia including health information networks, electronic health records, telemedicine services, portable monitoring systems, and health portals. However, there are challenges to overcome in access, technology and the right practices. There are much more to gain from sharing knowledge on the existing practices and deliberating on the opportunities and possibilities that ICT use for healthcare delivery.

Mobiles offer a lot more services than phones and entertainment (Games, Screensaver, Ring tones, Movie clips). These include: News, Stock Prices; Location tracking; Telephone directory; Mobile banking; Ticket reservation; Trading and so forth.

Modern ICTs provide boundless potential with proven credibility in transforming organisations and economies; governments across the world are increasingly getting active to embrace technology and leap-frog administrative reform. With a purpose of creating an invaluable Asian platform for consultative dialoguing, strategic planning, knowledge networking and business partnering in the field of eGovernment, egov Asia 2007 is will bring together some of the best minds from the highest echelons of government, industry, academia and civil society to discuss and deliberate on the key strategies for eGovernment.

Asia has geared up to this challenge. Within these countries, while the private sector and the civil society has assumed leadership in some countries, governments in others are drawing the roadmap for a systematic integration of technologies in education.

Highlights:

Digital Learning Asia 2007 will bring some of the key drivers from the leading countries of technology-enabled education to deliberate on the pressing challenges of technology enabled education from capacity building to reengineering pedagogy, change management to providing digital access.

• National e-Government strategies

Highlights

• International and regional projects, case studies and best practices • Policy reforms for ICT-enabled governments

• National strategies on ICT in education • Localisation, customisation and content development • Educating the educators

The Asian Telecentre Forum 2007 aims to bring the Asian practitioners on a platform for learning and sharing the experiences. Experts will be engaged in close assessment of issues relating to project monitoring steered by external financial support, from international development agencies and governments in Asia. Stakeholders from various sectors, viz., NGOs, Governments, Private sector, Donor agencies, Research organisations etc. will participate in this conference. There will be opportunity to showcase key project work and experiences through presentation sessions and/or panel discussions and through an exposition of products and projects. Highlights • Telecentre movement in Asia: Road ahead • Partnerships for developing telecentre networks

• Models of e-Service delivery

• Re-engineering pedagogy

• Financing mechanism and sustainability factors of rural telecentres: A reality check

• Emerging technology solutions for eGovernment

• e-Learning trend and practices in higher education and school education

• Service delivery and capacity building through telecentres

• Public private partnerships in eGovernment

• Education technology trends in Asia.

eASiA2007 EXHIBITION The eASiA 2007 conference will host an exhibition of latest e-solutions, services, initiatives and case studies from across Asia and beyond. Professional service providers, IT vendors, telecom venders, satellite providers, consulting firms, government agencies and national/ international development organisations involved in the domains of ICT for Development, education, governance and health, are participating in the exhibition.

Highlights

mServe Asia aims to discuss and showcase the different aspects of mobile services, technologies, implementation and implications, developments on the public administration and tie them to the existing and future m-Government, education, agriculture and other applications. The conference will provide a platform to share local and international developments, experiences and lessons learned for knowledge sharing, and promote networking and business opportunity development.

• e-Health in developing countries

Highlights

• e-Health administration and management

• Mobile government

• Rural telemedicine

• m-Learn

• Emerging technologies in e-Health

• m-Agriculture

• Challenges and opportunities for collaborative action in e-Health

• m4development

eHealth Asia 2007 aims to provide a platform to discuss the recent trends and emerging issues in the development of Information & communication science and technology and its integration in healthcare systems.

• m-Health • m-Infrastructure • m-Services

Important Date Last date for receipt of abstracts: 25th November 2006

For any information/enquiry contact: Himanshu Kalra himanshu@csdms.in Tel: +60166852201

Conference Secretariat Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), G-4, Sector - 39, Noida - 201301, India Tel. : +91-120-2502181- 87 Fax: +91-120-2500060 Web: www.csdms.in Email: info@csdms.in

The whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of ICTD Sector is part of our journey Kraisorn Pornsutee Aminata Maiga Afrilinks, Mali

Peter Moore

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, MoCIT), Government of Thailand

Region Managing Director -Asia Pacific Public Sector, Microsoft, Singapore

R. Chandrashekhar Karl Harmsen Senior Advisor, e-Strategies, World Bank, United States of America

Director, United Nations University Institute of Natural Resource in Africa, UNU INRA Accra, Ghana

Additional Secretary, eGovernance, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India

Chaturon Chaisang

Kunying Kasama Varavarn

Suchai Charoenratanakul

Minister of Education, Royal Thai Government, Thailand

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt. of Thailand

Minister of ICT, Royal Thai Government, Thailand

Bruno Lavin

Lars H. Bestle Dennis Pamlin Policy Advisor WWF, Sweden

Subhash Bhatnagar

Programme Specialist - Policy, Asia Pacific Development Information Programme UNDP - Regional Centre in Bangkok, Thailand

eGov Practice Group, World Bank, on leave from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India

Susanne Ornager Dorothy Gordon

Mark Surman

Director Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence in IT, Ghana

IDRC, telecentre.org, Canada

Devindra Ramnarine

Manoo Ordeedolchest

Advisor Public Sector Informatics, Governance Institutional Development Division, Commonwealth Sectt., UK

President, Software Industry Promotion Agency, Public Organization, Ministry of ICT, Thailand

Advisor for Communications and Information in Asia and Pacific, UNESCO, Bangkok, Thailand

San Ng The Asia Foundation, United States of America

Edilberto de Jesus Director, South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation, SEAMEO,Thailand

Dr Morten Falch

Teresa Maria Camba

Danish Technological Institute, Denmark

Director, National Computer Centre, Govt. of Philippines

Dr Hyunjung Lee

Minja Yang

Asian Development Bank, Philippines

Director and Representative UNESCO, India

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT - USA, Advisor to the Knowledge Commission, India

Michael Gurstein

Prof Yin Cheong Cheng

Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training, Canada

President, Asia-Pacific Educational Research Association, APERA Hong Kong

M V Rajasekharan

Walter Fust

Director, National Computerization Agency, Republic of Korea

Hon'ble Minister of State for Planning, Planning Commission, Govt. of India

Director -General, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland

Kenneth Keniston

Nagy Hanna

Andrew Mellon Professor of Human Development, MIT, United States of America

e-Leadership Academy University of Maryland, United States of America

Prof Vijay Kumar

Jeremy Millard Head, eGovernance Program, Danish Technological Institute, Denmark

Jeongwon Yoon

W W W. C S D M S . I N / E A S I A

Are You?

Vol. IV No. 10

Ocbober 2006

Information for development www.i4donline.net

Agriculture OSWAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lifelines for farmers in India The South Asian Centre of the OneWorld Network has inaugurated Lifelines India on 28th September 2006, at capital city. OWSA aims to strategically position ICT tools to enable the poor to communicate on developmental issues and work towards realisation of a better quality of life embodied in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Lifelines India is an IVRS based service for marginalised communities, to provide connectivity, content and capability via a phone-based service. OneWorld South Asia (OWSA) with support from British Telecom and CISCO systems are piloting the service in North India in partnership with other civil society organisations. The pilot phase is concentrating on the agribusiness sector by providing information related to agriculture to the farming community. southasia.oneworld.net

Community Radio Farm Radio Internet radio station for UK farmers Defra is promoting the Farm Radio Internet radio station for UK farmers. It is aimed at people who are interested in farming and residing in the countryside. It is proving a great success, clocking up nearly one million hits on its website in the past year. The station, launched in Dorset in November 2003, aims to create stronger links between rural communities. Professional farming journalists and volunteers from farming backgrounds, make the programmes, which cover up-to-the-minute farming issues. Each month a new edition of Farm Radio is available to listen online October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

and all previous programmes also remain on the site. Farm Radio is funded by the EU LEADER+ scheme, the South West Foundation and the Sustainable Development Fund. LEADER+ is a European Union programme, managed in England by Defra, to help rural communities improve their economic prosperity and quality of life. publictechnology.net

Education IBM signs MoU with Uttar Pradesh on IT education IBM Global Services India has signed a deal with the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government, India, to promote IT education at the grassroots level as well as build capa-city and improve skills of the IT workforce. The programme is called Initiative to Nurture a Vibrant IT Ecosystem (INVITE). The MoU was signed by Munindra K Bharti of IBM and UP Industrial Development Commissioner Atul Gupta. Elaborating on the need for the programme for IT excellence, Bharti said the need for skilled IT professionals was greater than ever. For the government, the objective of the programme is to build a repository of e-Governance/solutions/prototypes and make it freely available to the government agencies solution providers and the academia. www.business-standard.com

e-Commerce eBay in charity platform eBay has joined hands with the Goa Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) to auction the special belongings of Bollywood stars to treat animals both stray and wild. Film stars John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Soha Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgan,

Bohman Irani and Raveena Tandon have come forward to offer an array of interesting memorabilia for auction as a preview of the World Animal Week celebrations, to be held in Goa from October 4 to 16. The proceeds from the exclusive charity auction, undertaken on eBay India charity platform, will be used by GSPCA to provide food, shelter and medical care to stray and wild animals at Socrates Oliver Veterinary Hospital in Goa. business-standard.com

e-Governance CSI gets 100 eGov projects from 21 states for evaluation The Computer Society of India (CSI) has received over 100 eGovernance projects from 21 States for evaluation based on the project features, sustainability and technology innovation. The Convener of CSI Nihilent e-Governance Awards 2005-06, Dr Ashok Agarwal, said that the awards sought to identify best IT projects from the perspective of citizen friendliness, their technological innovation and their sustainability. The committee comprising Dr Vijayaditya, Director General of NIC, Mr. S.P. Singh, Senior Director of MIT, Mr L.C. Singh, President of Nihilent, and Prof Vaidya of IIM, Lucknow among others, will evaluate these projects. The selection is based on what CSI calls an analytical hierarchy process that has been designed in collaboration with IIT, Delhi. After shortlisting the projects, a team of experts will visit the sites and assess their implementation and their impact on the people. The National Institute of Smart Government is working on a framework that would potentially help replicate successful eGovernance projects. www.thehindubusinessline.com

The i4d News

NIIT,, IIMs team up NIIT Three IIMs (Indian Institute of Mnagements) — Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Indore will now make their executive development programmes available at six remote learning centres in India on the tech- http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/ nology provided by NIIT. The classes would be run after-working hours and on weekends enabling the students to continue with their jobs and pursue education simultaneously. Under the system, the faculty would operate from an in-house studio located within the campuses of the IIMs and the students would undergo interactive sessions through two-way live video and audio and other related software to replicate face-to-face teaching. NIIT, under project ‘Imperia’, will foray into management education, and set up centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. There is also plan to have 75 remote classrooms in the next five years with an investment of Rs 20 crore. The duration of these courses range from four months to one year and the fees from Rs 54,000 to Rs 1,94,000. www.thehindubusinessline.com

Health PGI to extend medical consultation to patients in African countries Under the new proposal floated by the Government of India, PGIMER would soon be providing medical expertise and consultations to patients in the African countries. PGIMER is one among the few centres across the country that have been selected as a part of the prestigious project and it would soon be providing medical advice to African countries through its telemedicine services. The Telemedicine Project is already catering to many hospitals across the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Now, under the new project, the hospitals across the African countries would be able to seek medical advice from experts in various super specialities.’ Further, the hospital would also extend educational facilities across the borders through Clinico Pathological Conferencing (CPC) programme, wherein academic lectures would be delivered through teleconferencing. PGI Director Prof K K Talwar, said that the telemedicine project was a great achievement of the hospital and it helped solve the problem of excessive workload. cities.expressindia.com

Open Source Malaysia plans to move into second phase of open source initiative The Malaysian Administrative Modernisa-

of the country to drive productivity and India’s competitiveness. Now it was time to improve the connectivity and information available any time, any place, in any form and anyhow, he said. www.thehindubusinessline.com

Telecommunication Saudi to extend Internet access to all areas of the Kingdom

tion and Management Planning Unit is ready to move into the second phase of its open source initiative. The Malaysian government has saved up to 30 percent on Information and Communications Technology costs among its agencies under the Open Source Software (OSS) initiative. According to Dr. Yusseri Yusoff, former OSS consulting project director at the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu), OSS implementation has enabled the government to address increasing licensing fees and constant upgrades of proprietary software. There were also plans to start bilateral initiatives with countries adopting OSS, he added.

Saudi Arabia’s government is looking at ambitious plans to extend Internet access to all areas of the Kingdom by setting up a fund enabling Internet service providers (ISPs) to share the cost of the project. To ensure all citizens can access these services from anywhere in the Kingdom, it is looking at working with ISPs to help provide services in more remote and less profitable areas. Fahad Al Hoymany, minister’s advisor for IT and Head of the e-Government infrastructure department at the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), revealed that the government was currently in talks with service providers over proposals for them to share the costs of providing services to some areas. One of the obstacles that the Saudi Government could face in establishing eGovernment across the country is that Internet penetration across the Kingdom is currently very low.

www.technewsworld.com

www.itp.net

Livelihood Tamil Nadu has potential to achieve 25 percent of Indian ICT market Tamil Nadu has the potential to achieve 25 percent share of the Indian market for Information, Communication and Technology, which is about $30 billion revenue across IT and ITES sectors. This would mean that Tamil Nadu would be able to generate over 20 lakh jobs by 2011, according to Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology. The Nasscom has projected the software exports to be $90 billion by 2011. Mr Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, said that India needs ‘Infostructure’. Communication is a vital lifeline

Wireless Nortel wireless network for Indian Railways Indian Railways will use wireless railway communications technology from Nortel(x) (NYSE/TSX: NT) to help improve the safety and efficiency on one of the most important and busiest rail arteries in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. The wireless system will be used to connect trainconductors, on-board crew, train dispatchers, station personnel and other operations groups, such as those responsible for attaching and separating rail cars at station yards. This is Nortel’s second such contract in India. Nortel was previously chosen as sole provider of a GSM-R solution to Eastern Railway of West Bengal. www.finanznachrichten.de

i4d | October 2006

THE GLOBAL TEENAGER PROJECT, JOHANNESBURG

Gender and online collaborative learning Titi Akinsanmi Joint Programme Manager The Global Teenager Project, Johannesburg t.akinsanmi@schoolnetafrica.org

Introduction The Global Teenager Project (GTP) is an inter-classroom exchange of information and ideas. Originally established in 1999 by the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) it aims to promote inter-cultural awareness by providing regular classroom debates in a safe, structured environment. In addition to this, it aims to improve the quality of secondary school education (both formal and informal) by introducing schools to the exciting new applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). On the international level, the GTP is characterised by two major initiatives, Learning Circles (English, French and Spanish) and Understanding Diversity. Both of these programmes provide learners with the opportunity to engage in project-based learning adapted to meet and fit with local curricula needs, collaborating with students from other cultures at home and abroad. The Learning Circles (LC) are based on the simple, yet effective, thematic learning model which are project-based virtual exchange programmes that typically consist of eight to twelve classrooms connected through the Internet. Each class sponsors a question, which invites the other participants to provide responses. Each session lasts for 12 weeks with preparations in the first two weeks of the technological platform DGroups as provided by Bellanet (www.dgroups.org). During this active period each class in the learning circle responds to the questions sent by the other classes that October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

make up the circle. The session culminates in a ‘Circle Publication’ in which the findings of each class’s research are published. This article takes a first look into the success of collaborating online in Learning Circles for female teachers as well as students and the motivating factors and ends on the question of further exploring via an impact assessment if gender really influences motivation, participation and successful completion in the project.

Project value add Learning Circles are highly structured and facilitated by the class teachers with the support of a Circle coordinator. Interaction between classes takes place in a safe learning environment and is moderated. Circles are based on themes such as ‘our school’, ‘the world around us’, ‘travelling’, ‘sports’ and ‘life values which are pre-determined by consultation of learners with their teachers. The technology, particularly the Internet as a learning platform, plays an essential role in facilitating the exchanges on the Learning Circle, but it is not the focus of the activity. Students and teachers alike further learn about technology particularly the use of the Internet as a knowledge tool and the computer as a facilitative medium of allowing focussed learning.

This article looks into the success of collaborating online in Learning Circles for female teachers and students.

The broad curriculum overview of countries currently part of the GTP virtual learning network have many common goals relating to the specific goals of the two GTP programmes, such as: • contextual learning; • tolerance and intercultural understanding, • affirmation of national constitutional values; • socialisation of the learner; • working critically with information in a global society; • solving problems collaboratively, in communities and wider networks; • using Information and Communications Technology. Although technology plays an essential role in Learning Circles, it is not the main focus of the project but is one of the added values of participation. The technology is a means to an end. It will help students collaborate and alongside teachers in a global virtual classroom.These activities have been implemented in the last eight years with core funding received from IICD.

Facts: technology use The following analysis are based on the evaluation process on the September 2005 (LC1) and March 2006 (LC 2) learning circles in French, English and Spanish (language of communication) involving teacher and learner respondents from 21 countries globally. • 32 percent of the teachers used 5-10 computers for the LCs. 26 percent had more than 10. Only 11 percent had to manage with only one computer. (31 percent had between 1-4 computers) • 95 percent of the students themselves used the computer for the LC. In the majority of cases (56 percent, no significant difference between the two

LCs), there were 2-3 students working on one computer. In 33 percent of the cases, the students could work by themselves. • 84 percent of the teachers indicate that the computers are in a separate room in the school. Very few (1-3 teachers) have computers in every classroom, in 8 percent of the cases, the students had to go out of the school (internet café, etc.) to work on the computer. In some cases the home computer of the teacher or that of students was used.

• The virtual campus was mostly used for sending and receiving LC messages (67 percent). To a lesser extent also for reading the news items (47 percent), getting background information (45 percent) and for the chat sessions (38 percent) • There is some difference between the two LCs when it comes to the Internet connection. In the first LC, 70 percent claims that all computers are connected to the internet, in LC2 that is only 46 percent. For LC2, 28 percent of the teachers have to go out of the school to get to the Internet. This is striking as this does not have seemed to influence satisfaction on the LCs. • Amongst the problems encountered with technology (Internet and computers) were: • Internet connection is not there or is very slow and/or instable • Not being able to enter the chat platform • Connection is expensive, so limited time to use it • Electrical Power failures • Problems with sending or receiving (all of ) the messages • None (or as some teacher put it: “Thanks God, none”.)

Online collaborative learning: gender, a success factor? This is not an attempt to generalise or give absolutes as to the role gender plays and how it influences success in online collaborative learning in each of these countries or others. Rather the data beneath indicates a partly open door to a room begging for exploration on the gender dynamics operating within online collaborative learning such as the GTP LC.

Percentage of female teachers and LC implementation in classroom Total % Female number teachers Argentina Bolivia Burkina Faso Cameroon Colombia Ghana

11 12 3 5 1 11

Hungary

Kenya

Latvia Macedonia Madagascar Netherlands Nigeria Paraguay Peru Romania Senegal

19 3 6 4 1 2 1 11 4

Ukraine

Zimbabwe Spain

8 1

Mexico

How LC was implemented mostly

100% 33% 0% 80% Xxx 36%

Part of curriculum (73%) Extra-curricular, voluntarily (67%) Extra-curricular, voluntarily (67%) Extra-curricular, voluntarily (100%) Extra-curricular, voluntarily Extra-curricular, voluntarily (46%) or obliged extra-curricular (46%) 50% Extra-curricular, voluntarily (50%) or obliged extra-curricular (50%) Xxx Extra classroom activity, not connected 0% Extra-curricular, voluntarily (37%) 100% Extra-curricular, voluntarily (67%) 50% Extra-curricular, obliged (50%) 50% Extra-curricular, voluntarily (50%) Xxx Extra classroom activity, connected Xxx Extra classroom activity, connected Xxx Extra classroom activity, connected 100% Extra-curricular, voluntarily (82%) 0% Extra classroom activity, connected (75%) 100% Extra classroom activity, connected (31%) 63% Extra-curricular, voluntarily (38%) Xxx Extra classroom activity, not connected Xxx Extra classroom activity, (not) connected

It should be noted that 72 percent of all teachers that filled in the questionnaire are female (28 percent male) and that the percentage of female teachers is even higher than that in previous LC year analysis (62 percent). On the part of learners, 55 percent of those who filled in the questionnaire are female (with 45 percent being male). The percentage of female students is high, but not as high as it may have been assumed based on the high percentage of female teacher in respondents.

Certain apprehensions Can it be postulated that there are more female learners in schools and teachers across the countries that participated in this evaluation than female teachers? If yes to the above what factors have really influenced the change in trend? Does this then mean that there is less technophobia and or that online collaborative learning such as the GTP LC are indeed an effective tool for introduction to technology and attainment of agreed upon Millennium Development goals such as universal basic education and education for all goals such as education of the girl child? Does gender influence the adoption of ICT in Education projects and their implementation style in the classroom or outside? These are questions that over the next year or two based on earlier and emerging evaluations the GTP will seek to have informed answers for based on interaction with actual learners and teachers. i4d | October 2006

G ENDER F ACTS

M ALAPPURAM , K ERALA

Evaluating the Akshaya programme Shambhu Ghatak Research Scholar Jawahar Lal Nehru University, shambhughatak@yahoo.com

In order to bridge the digital divide Kerala (a state situated at the southern part of India) started with the ‘Akshaya Project’ on November 18, 2002. It was expected that Akshaya will be a watershed in effacing the divide between ‘information haves’ and ‘information have-nots’. According to The Tribune, Chamravattom village in Kerala’s Muslim-dominated Malappuram district became the first village in India to be 100 per cent computer-literate.

Kerala model development Kerala has performed well in the past in terms of literacy and social protection to the unorganised sector owing to the trade union movement, presence of churches (with a large social base and catering in the field of education) and presence of Left Front in power. Kerala’s development achievement is often been held as a model for its equity and is cited as an example of what mass mobilisation and public action can achieve by interfacing with responsive democratic governments. The state has achieved good success in coverage of basic minimum services. Its universal public distribution system provides reasonable food security despite being a food deficit state.

Akshaya site Malappuram district became the site of Akshaya project because it had high mobile phone penetration amidst the population, and people had purchasing power in their hands (owing to the inflow of remittances October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

from the Gulf ). Malappuram is usually seen as an educationally backward district compared to rest of the districts of Kerala. In order to disseminate information to the people, government sponsored advertisements were put in some of the local newspapers, and registration of applicants was made in the districts panchayats. Information was also disseminated in

of networked multi-purpose community information kiosks (can be called Akshaya centres) to provide ICT access to the entire population of the state, starting from the district of Mallapuram. At least one person in each of the 65 lakh families in the state will be made IT-literate. Enhancing the quality of available IT infrastructure in the state is another objective, including the state of electricity. To bridge the rural-urban divide, IT infrastructure will be expanded to the rural parts. Through achieving the above-mentioned objectives, the state of Kerala is expected to achieve the following: • Create and expand economic opportunities in the knowledge economy. • Empower individuals and communities through enhanced access to information. • Modernise and upgrade skill sets. Malappuram district, • Integrate communities through creation of e-Networks. informal ways. Around 2000 applications were filed by the potential Akshaya • Create awareness of ICT tools & usage. entrepreneurs for the opening of the • Generate locally relevant content. Akshaya centres. Loans were arranged for • Generate over 50,000 direct employment opportunities in 3 years. the potential entrepreneurs from the local • Generate direct investment of over Rs. banks (such as Western Union Money 500 crores in 3 years. Transfer Bank), without the need for collateral, at a minimal rate of interest spanning between 12-13 percent. It was mandatory for the entrepreneurs to keep at least three trainers and five computers in these Akshaya Centres. Arrangements were made so that the Akshaya entrepreneurs could be trained, and work in collaboration with the local panchayats (village level administrative unit). The district of Malappuram, at present comprises 6 talukas and 14 development bslocks. It has 5 towns and 135 inhabited villages. The objective behind the Akshaya project is to develop over 10,000 numbers

The CTCs or the computer training centres/ kiosks will function mainly with the following services: • Continued e-Learning programme, • Internet Kiosk, • Data entry under e-Governance programme, • DTP and Job work, • Other computer training for public, • Design of invitation cards, visiting cards, banners, posters, paper bags etc and screen printing, • Data bank services, • Telemedicine applications.

Loopholes in the programme (i) Gender Equality: It is obvious that generating gender equity was not part of the objectives and also the strategies behind the Akshaya programme. Developing entrepreneurial skill such as the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) of the UNDP among women, was never part of the agenda, unlike the other programme i.e. ‘Kudumbashree’. As per the interview conducted with the women entrepreneurs, some of the problems they faced came to the forefront. They are: (a) mobility of women is suspected, even for weekly or monthly meetings held with the Akshaya officials as a part of mitigating problems/ arrival of new packages (part of training); (b) difficulty in managing both the kiosks and the household chores; (c) some women face problem from the men community regarding setting up of kiosks; (d) initial hindrance (in terms of permission granted by the family members); (e) Most of the women had to close down their kiosks as they could not run their businesses due to non-profitability by the end of the third phase of Akshaya programme (the number of women entrepreneurs came down from over 85 to around 25); (f ) Lack of mentors in the family for encouraging them to take such activities (number of

It is obvious that generating gender equity was not part of the objectives and also the strategies behind the Akshaya programme.

(iii) State of infrastructure: In some parts of the Malappuram town, there is high prevalence of power cuts. The state of electricity (power) in the state of Kerala has suffered, as was reported by some of the interviewees. The Akshaya entrepreneurs suffered due to VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.) moving out till Tulip (a Delhi based company) made its entry as the Internet provider. (iv) Lack of knowledge: In one of the interviews conducted with a district level government official, it came to the knowledge of the researcher that he lacked the information that State Government’s IT policy can be influential in promotion of IT. Instead he recommended for the influence of State Government’s IT policy for BPO industry (to make the BPO industry more gender sensitive in terms of better work environment; social security, etc.) (v) Prioritisation of programmes: During the interview, it came to the knowledge that in the II Phase of the Akshaya, problems were encountered by the Akshaya officials in generating awareness about the uses of IT amidst village/district level workers. Some of the workers of local administrative level demanded for giving priority to basic amenities instead of IT. (vi) Capacity building: It was expected that e-Literacy drive will lead to better demand for IT services by the community. However, in some of the areas (Nilambur, a tribal hilly belt, where rubber plantation and other such plantations take place), it was found that the kiosks could not target the population since they were illiterate and poor, and lacked basic facilities. Distance to the nearest hospital was more than 20 kilometres. (vii) Preference for private institutes: In some cases it was found, the kiosks are not running well, since people prefer private institutes over Akshaya centres because of the quality of training imparted. Moreover, some of the private centres guaranty employment after the training is over. Although some male entrepreneurs remarked that Akshaya provides a cheap and better quality education.

Positive features of Akshaya programme applications put forward by the women was low); (g) The Akshaya/ government officials seemed to be not have been gender sensitised, while training the entrepreneurs so that they can help them with the new technology (neither all of them were aware of the type of problems female entrepreneurs face); (h) Women entrepreneurs seldom run their kiosks during night hours, affecting the profitability since this is the time during which chances of doing business is high; in the day time people hardly come to the kiosks (they are highly dependent on male colleagues who are paid to work during night shifts; (i) Some women interviewed were very casual in their approach and were dependent on their husbands for running the kiosks; (j) Some women faced the problem of arranging credit from banks for opening up their kiosks. (ii) Selection of entrepreneurs: Although in the course of interview, the researcher found that most of the entrepreneurs had basic degrees in software and/hardware (and even electronic engineering) applications, but very few were formally trained as entrepreneurs. The total number of kiosks came down from around 625 (when Akshaya started) to below 600 (during the time of field visit). Lack of training (for updating the knowledge base) as had been planned, could be another factor for closures of the kiosks besides some entrepreneurs leaving for Gulf.

Despite its negligence to women the programme has succeded in achieving following factors: • Generating employment: The Akshaya programme has generated employment for the youths, particularly women for work like DTP, typing etc. Trainees particularly women can search for better employment opportunities at the end of their course. • IT literacy: Akshaya programme provides cheaper e-Literacy courses to the people. The courses offered ranges from easier ones (like MS Office, DTP) to harder ones (like Diploma courses). • Enhancing communication/s: Internet enabled kiosks are used by people to contact their relatives/ friends who are staying abroad (such as Gulf ) or other states. Communication is also done for marketing of products. • Providing e-Services: Akshaya kiosks are providing a range of services like registration of births and deaths; collection and feeding of health related data (in a way acting as databanks) of the local population (by tying up with local panchayats/PRIs). There are always some plus and minus points which emerges out of the evaluation that helps in learning, and remodelling the framework for scaling up of such ICT programme. Sustainability of the programme is the most difficult part in the long run, which requires long term vision. i4d | October 2006

Telecentre Talks T ELECENTRES M OVEMENT

N EPAL

Community ownership critical for success Lack of initiative on part of the implementing agency to create in the community a desire to see the project implemented, often results in the failure of the project, as the people do not identify with the intervention provided.

Jayendra Pathak High Level Commission for Information Technology Government of Nepal Jayendra_p@hlcit.gov.np

October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

Introduction Digital opportunities have emerged as a powerful tool for fostering agricultural growth, poverty reduction, health related issues, and sustainable resource use in developing countries. The Tenth Five Year Plan of Nepal has envisioned Nepal with rural telecentres in 1500 VDC (Village Development Committees). National Planning Commission (NPC) set this target realising the necessity of the establishment of a number of rural telecentres to develop rural areas in Nepal. The aim is to accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by harnessing the potential of ICTs in development programmes. Telecentres in Nepal often focus on ICT and improving communication as the telephone density is extremely low (4 percent). The telecentre will be able to demonstrate clearly the outcomes of deliverable of its efforts (e.g. number of computers provided, numbers of people trained, etc). Throughout recent years, a number of different types of telecentres have been established in developing countries, ranging from small phone shops to large Multipurpose Community Telecentres. They cater to different needs, require different amounts of capital, skills and human resources, and make a varying contribution to community development. In Nepal, Telecentres have been focussing on providing Internet and eMail access, providing ICT related training, telephone facility (wherever possible), office equipments such as CDROM, printer, and photocopy, etc.

An assessment of the movement However, this movement is still at a nascent stage in Nepal. Ongoing insurgency,

migration of native IT experts, poor physical infrastructure, inadequate communication infrastructure/ slow connectivity, under mortality, underrated emphasis on knowledge connectivity, unavailability of locally relevant content and services, and communication gap between government and people are considered to be among the crucial challenges ahead. Knowledge revolution is not only about setting up telecentres but also to ensure that these are viable in the long run. Needs assessment study involves assessment of the requirements of the target community to see if services and information provided by the telecentre is relevant to local places and thus helps to ascertain the demand for, and willingness to use, these technologies and finally to identify the linkage of people to telecentres. National Planning Commission is involved from the beginning in infrastructure build-up, however the big set back was realised due to lack of appropriate funds. Nepal is a country with diverse geographical structure and providing connectivity through dial-up connections may not be always practical, such as in mountainous region. In such regions, use of alternative power such as solar power for connectivity purpose would be more appropriate and sustainable in the long run. In Nepal, most of the existing telecentres use dial-up connectivity; few use VSAT implementations for instance, telecentre in Okhaldhunga Mustang. One of the inspiring initiatives is the one taken by the UNDP funded ICT4D project in Mustang District, whose dedication resulted in accessibility of Internet through wireless connectivity. UNDP has handed this project to Government of Nepal and it is looked after by High Level Commission for Information

Internet charge in telecentres

Source: HLCIT Annual Telecentre Report

Technology. Now, computers and Internet access are provided in remotest part of the district and are mostly used by students and teachers residing there. This showcases interesting implementation in conditions where basic infrastructure does not exist. Similarly in Durgapur, Jhapa Telecentre, local people were able to browse the School Leaving Certificate examination results that was posted on the Internet instantaneously. Had it not been the Internet, the people had to wait for at least 2 days to get the newspaper from the capital and see the results. This signifies an interesting development in the change in habit for getting the content whenever required. However, the Internet costs are still very high and an ordinary Nepali person cannot afford these costs. Urgency to find adequate funding from the government agencies and organisations involved in the telecentre movement and especially to convince and encourage private sector investment is still acting as the biggest hurdle. Nepalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IT policy includes a policy for creating conducive environment to attract private sector investment in the IT sector according to which it states; policy, legal, procedural reforms would be initiated to increase the participation of private sector in IT and venture capital fund will be encouraged in the IT sector. Legal provisions are still found weak and slow in process hindering speedy progress.

Need based centres A database showing an exact number and location of existing telecentres in Nepal and how they have been operating and other details are still vague. According to the official figure, telecentres operated by Government of Nepal is 28; ranging from the foothills of the Himalayas to the smooth landscapes of the Terai region. Determining an appropriate location for a telecentre is important and should be done such that the telecentre is easily accessible to the local people for ensuring its full utilisation and so that it is easy to expand it at the minimum cost in future. Geographic Information System (GIS) Application for telecentre mapping can be an appropriate tool to precisely opt for the most appropriate location for a telecentre to be established, taking important criteria into consideration. Though development projects are implemented with the sole motive of making a positive change in the lives of the communities, More often than not, the community is not consulted, and is left out of the project planning, development and implementation processes. Lack of initiative on part of the implementing agency to

create in the community a desire to see the project implemented, often results in the failure of the project, as the people do not identify with the intervention provided. The diversity of information is an important issue to ensure that the values and experiences of local cultures and languages are preserved. The question is what the primary language used by the majority of people is and what for? With the advent of Nepali Windows XP and Office 2003 and Nepali Linux (Bhasha Sanchar at Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya), one barrier has been moved in bridging the existing digital divide between rural and urban areas of the country. One of the remarkable initiatives taken by High Level Commission for Information Technology (HLCIT) is to form Rural Telecentre Coordination Committee for effective establishment, operation and management of telecentres. They link up several agencies working for rural development using ICTs. These include various initiatives of UNDP-RUPP (Rural Urban Partnership Programme) like working in co-ordination and partnership with FNCCI to build National B2B e-Commerce service of Nepal â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nepali e-Haat Bazaarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; establishing a telecentre in Tulsipur municipality and Attariya RMC. UNDP-RUPP initiated the dissemination of daily agricultural market price information (through www.agripricenepal.com) with the coordination from Agro Enterprise Centre (AEC)/ Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce &

Source: HLCIT Annual Telecentre Report

Industry and local CCIs; and established telecentres in RUPP working municipalities and rural market centres with the coordination from Nepal Telecom Authority/ World Bank funded TSRP.

Conclusion Effective utilisation of ICT has the potential to make the rural communities in Nepal prosperous. Failure to exploit benefits of ICT would make them isolated, victims of the vicious cycle of poverty and widen the gap between the haves and the have nots. The use of ICT should not be restricted to simply establishing information flow channels; rather there is a need to find a way to integrate it with the various livelihood needs (natural, social, human, physical and financial) of the rural community. The narrow ICT coverage is found to be financially and practically non-viable. Further, no single agency can deliver all these critical inputs. The entire process should be endorsed by a well organised network of human resources/ government/ organisations/ institutions, etc. Besides the public sector, the need for a proactive participation by the private sector, NGOs, government agencies and other civil society organisations is also important. i4d | October 2006

October 2006

Road Ahead for CSCs Recently the Cabinet gave its approval to set up one lakh Common Service Centres. What implications does this have for the estimated 13,000 kiosks currently operational in the country? This article highlights some of the lessons learnt from the existing CSCs and the issues that need to be tackled for the ambitious roll-out.

he Union Cabinet has approved a Rs. 5,742-crore scheme to set up 100,000 Common Service Centres (CSCs) in rural areas across the country that will offer a basket of Government to Citizen (G2C) and Business to Citizen (B2C) services. These CSCs have been conceived as a strategic cornerstone of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) which is envisaged to ensure anytime, anywhere web-enabled delivery of Government services. The CSCs are expected to be rolled out over the next 18 months, by March 2008. Each CSC would be Internetenabled with broadband connectivity with a speed of 256 kbps. The whole scheme would be implemented as a public-private partnership (PPP) with involvement of government, civil society and industry. The CSCs would provide video, voice and data content and services in the area of e-Governance, education, health, agriculture, etc. They will also make available application forms and certificates and have facilities for payment of electricity, water, telephone bills. They will also offer services such as e-enabled vocational training, rural BPO, weather information and market & supply chain linkages. Out of the estimated 12,000-13,000

kiosks currently existing in the rate houses like ITC, Tata, country; 45 percent kiosks are Unilever, ICICI Bank, and owned by the government or govMahindra have set up private ernment mandated agencies. Out kiosks in various parts of the of these over 65 percent kiosks are country. It is estimated that 35 located in rural and peri-urban percent of the kiosks are owned areas and remainder in urban arby the private sector. eas. Regarding ownership and operation there are four models: (a) (c) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Government kiosks (b) Private Kiosks: A PPP framework inkiosks (c) Public Private Partnervolving the government and ship (PPP) kiosks and (d) NGO/Civil private sector or NGO brings Society kiosks. together multiple stakeholders working together towards (a) Government Kiosks: Since the shared goals and objectives. government has a major stake Each PPP partner contributes in the delivery of its services to time, money, technical expertise the citizens, majority of the and other resources in kind for kiosks are owned by the govthe sustainable running of the ernment. Broadly the governkiosks. Less than 10 percent ment owned kiosks offer serkiosks operate in the PPP mode. vices like provision of various The prominent ones are: eSeva certificates like land records, in AP, Bangalore One in birth and death certificates, Karnataka, eMitra in Rajasthan caste certificate, etc; payment and eSampark in Chandigarh. of utility bills; and provision of information about govern- (d) NGO and Civil Society Kiosks: ment schemes. NGOs and civil society have a major interest in leveraging the (b) Private Kiosks: The private secover-arching role of ICTs in rutor has a major interest in exral transformation. Therefore panding its market share in the large numbers of donor-driven rural areas as well as to tap the NGO models have been workrural market for its supply ing in rural areas on wide rangchain. Large number of private ing ICT for Development and ecompanies including top corpoGovernance issues. The Right to

www.nisg.org

Make ICTs Work for People

and breakdown in the service delivery was a critical issue. Printers are most prone to breakdowns due to lack of timely servicing in rural areas. Hardware majors do not extend services to stand-alone installations in rural areas. They insist that the PC and its peripherals be brought to the nearest service centre. This is a time-consuming and costly affair for a rural entrepreneur.

Integrated citizen services centre at Dudhai, Kutch, Gujarat. Information Act (RTI 2005) and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has provided further impetus to the information kiosks run by NGOs. Kiosks run by M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Dhan Foundation and RASI are examples of kiosks run by civil society organisations. Issues Concerning CSCs In light of the rollout of the CSCs we briefly touch upon the operational issues with the existing government kiosks. (i) Multiplicity of authorities: For the roll-out of services multiple authorities from the State HQ level to the District, Tehsil, Block and Panchayat level are involved. The involvement of various authorities including the presence of a large number of government departments raises accountability issues. Creation of IT Departments in various states and setting up of e-Governance not-for-profit societies have tried to streamline some of the operational issues; yet a lot needs to be done.

(ii) Government projects need champions: It has been conclusively established that the presence of a project champion has a catalytic role in the project implementation; and the absence of a project champion retards project implementation. The pace of the eMitra Project in Rajasthan significantly slowed down after the transfer of Director (IT), and even the running eMitra societies in different district started experiencing difficulties in getting requisite support from the District Administration. (iii)Low usage of government services: A primary reason for low usage is that there are very few services available from a majority of the projects including Rural Digital Services (RDS) of Karnataka offering 7-8 services at this point of time in which Bhoomi Land Record has been integrated; eMitra of Rajasthan (6 services), Akshaya (6-7 services). (iv) Downtime of computers and peripherals: In 75 percent of the government kiosks during last one year, hardware downtime

Lessons Learnt In addition to the operational issues listed above there are lessons learnt from the existing kiosks in government, private, NGO or PPP mode. Some of them are as follows: (1) Balance between supply and demand: From the sustainability point of view the supply and demand of services has to be balanced. A case in point is Akshaya. Despite the number of services being offered from the Akshaya centers, some kiosks have shut down since the ratio of 500 households per Akshaya Center was unviable. Five hundred households did not generate enough demand for the government services, as well as for the private and education services. Consequently the operators were not able to recover the costs. All across the country rural kiosks are languishing due to low footfall and inadequate usage. (2) Integration with village level governance structures: From all over the country it has been conclusively proven that the support of the village panchayat is one crucial element in the success of rural kiosks. It is even better if the CSC is housed within the

www.nisg.org

(3) Inclusion of all sections of society: For long-term sustainability inclusion of Dalits, backward classes, women and physically challenged people into the CSC programme is essential. For example rural eSeva centres in predominantly Dalit villages in West Godavari district of AP see very low usage due to lack of integration efforts. (4) Over-reliance on revenue generation from utility payments: Over 85 percent of the transactions in CSCs are related to payment of water, electricity and other utility payments. This uneven revenue generation pattern poses a threat to the long-term sustainability of the CSCs because: (a) Utility companies use CSCs for supplementary collection. They have not discarded their own collection arrangements nor their tie-ups with banks. Therefore the total no. of transactions gets distributed

Integrated citizen services centre at Sitapur, U.P. over a large no. of collection centres, leaving each with a small share of transactions. (b) In large parts of rural India households having legal electricity and water connections is too few to translate into a viable business opportunity.

sion activities is rolling out Agriculture Information Centres. Given the handicap of limited viability there is no scope for such competing structures in rural India. Apart from working at cross-purposes competing structures would threaten service delivery quality and create confusion in the minds of the consumers where to go and for what. Consequently it is very crucial to integrate these efforts with the CSC roll-out.

(5) Integration of the CSCs with other initiatives and programs: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Govt. of India is setting up Panchayat level ICT centers apart from converting these into Rural Business Hubs (6) Felt need for educational ser(RBHs). Likewise Ministry of vices: It is seen that education Agriculture as part of its extenservices offering basic ICT literacy, advanced computer skills and e-Learning modules on Maths, Sciences and English constitute over 40-45 percent of the services delivered from rural kiosks. This indicates that this is a felt need of the community and this segment of the market is growing significantly due to an evolving knowledge economy wherein even rural citizens understand the value of good education and want to avail quality, value added educational services. This is evident Rural e-Seva in West Godavari District, A.P. from the huge demand for Arawww.nisg.org

Make ICTs Work for People

panchayat premises. This not only ensures panchayat ownership but also eliminates delays due to the absence of panchayat officials when signatures are needed on government documents.

Make ICTs Work for People 38

Citizen services in PPP mode : BangloreOne in Karnataka (Left), e-Seva in A.P. (Right)

bic learning modules implemented by a large number of Akshaya kiosks in Kerala, and skills enhancement modules implemented by TaraHaat. (7) Felt need for information: There is a demand for information on different government schemes, subsidies and benefits. Currently the information is scattered across hundreds of different government websites. There is a need to evolve a pan-India information platform in different languages to enable people to get the information they need at the click of a mouse. (8) Local content for the kiosks: Absence of local language, usable content impedes the usage of the kiosks by the rural users. Therefore substantial investments in developing useful, value added content needs to be undertaken as part of the CSC roll-out. (9) Need for reliable and clean power supply: Most of the country, specially rural India, faces huge power cuts, ranging from 2 hours to 18 hours per day, and some parts of the country do not even get power supply for days at a stretch. A large number of projects spend huge sums of

money for purchase and operation of generator sets, invertors, etc. Power supply in rural areas is beset with problems of over-voltage and low voltage which causes heavy damage to appliances. Sustenance of the eGovernance initiatives in the absence of reliable and clean power supply is very difficult. Appropriate and alternative cost-effective power sources need to be identified very quickly, to help the CSC initiative take-off, consolidate and upscale. Renewable energy based solutions viz. solar panels, agriculture waste enabled power generation systems, biogas and co-generation power options need to be examined carefully for their low-cost and high yield advantage. (10) Need for a rugged, dust and dirt-proof, low power consuming PC: In the rural conditions, many kiosks face down-time due to equipment malfunction because of the conditions under which they have to operate. Therefore it is crucial to devise a rugged, dust & dirt proof PC which can work in the heat, humidity and dusty conditions of rural India. In addition a low cost, low power consuming

battery operated cost-effective PC is necessary since there are frequent power outages. There is lot of work being done in this area by Intel, AMD and they have given such PCs for field trials to a number of private organizations like Drishtee, TaraHaat, Datamation Foundation, etc. The results of field trials of these PCs may be examined very carefully for a long term policy perspective. With the imminent roll-out of the CSCs it is imperative that there is a debate on the operational issues and the learnings outlined above. The concerns of the existing stakeholders who are currently running kiosks also need to be addressed. A holistic perspective on all issues would ensure that overlaps are avoided, long-term sustainability of the CSCs is ensured and that the community for whom the CSCs are meant really benefit. The article is based on a case study prepared by Chetan Sharma, Datamation Foundation, for NISG. ICTD

NISG and i4d jointly hold the copyright to the articles printed in the ICTD section of the i4d magazine and website. For permission to reprint the articles please write to the Editor i4d.

www.nisg.org

Feedback survey for Name: _____________________________________________ Designation: _____________________________________ Organisation: (please also provide URL) _____________________________________________________________________ Email ID: ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. How long have you been reading i4d magazine? 4 years 3 years 2 years 2. How would you rate i4d magazine for i. Content ii. Layout and Design iii. Ease of Reading iv. Relevance of Topics and Stories v. Impact vi. Language and Grammar

Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent

1 year

Very good Very good Very good Very good Very good Very good

Occasionally

Only online copies

Good Good Good Good Good Good

Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory

3. Which section of the magazine you like the best? (Rate 1 to 5 in the box provided) Editorial i-Opener Thematic Features ICT Newsletter Bytes for All Summary Telecentre Talks Books received What’s on In Fact

News Rendezvous

4. Which section of the magazine needs to be improved? Editorial i-Opener ICT Newsletter Bytes for All Summary Books received What’s on

News Rendezvous

Thematic Features Telecentre Talks In Fact

Poor Poor Poor Poor Poor Poor

5. Which section of i4d needs more attention in terms of quality and quantity? 6. Do you want any additional section in i4d? If so, please mention. 7. In 2005 and 2006 (till now), which themes did you like the most? 8. How often do you visit i4d website www.i4donline.net ? Everyday Once in a week Once in a month

Once in three months

Occasionally

9. Which feature seems to be missing in i4d website? 10. How would you rate i4d portal in terms of its functionality and usefulness? Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory

Poor

11. Are you subscribed to the email news service and e-zines that are produced by the i4d programme? Yes i. Daily ezine ii. Weekly ezine iii. Monthly ezine iv. Monthly magazine digest No 12. Would you like to link up your organisation’s website as partners with i4d? Please send your proposals to ravi.gupta@csdms.in You may respond to this feedback via email to ajitha@csdms.in or by post, addressed to The Editor, i4d, G-4 Sector, 39, NOIDA, UP 201301, INDIA

RENDEZVOUS A W ORKSHOP R EPORT

‘R IGHT

I NFORMATION ’ A CT , 24 J ULY 2006, H YDERABAD , I NDIA

A right move for citizen centric governance The Right to Information (RTI) Act which view the RTI Act as an adverse legislation came into force from October 2005 signals that would affect their interests or an important change in the process of functioning. The CIC underscored that this governance in India. The present act provides RTI Act would bring a ‘transparency ample opportunities to make governance revolution’ in the functioning of the transparent, though India is late in initiating government bodies. The session ended with it as an institutional device to make people’s several questions and answers concerning RTI right to know. Act and health sector. A workshop on ‘Right to Information’ The second session was chaired by former was held at University of Hyderabad on professor and Head of the Department of 24th July 2006, that was organised law, Osmania University, V Negeswar Rao. by Academic Staff College. The Vice- The discussants were R Venkent Rao, Chancellor, Syed E. Hasnain, University of principal of University college of law, Andhra Hyderabad, presided the session. Pradesh, M Sridhar, principal of Nalsar and In the first session, the Chief Information G B Reddy, principal, College of Law Commissioner, Government of India, Osmania University. In that session the legal Wajahat Habibullah delivered inaugural foundation of Right to Information Act was address as a chief guest. He stated that private discussed. institutions that were substantially funded by the government and those governed by Indian laws were liable to be covered under the Right to Information Act. RTI Act was one of the most radical pieces of legislation, which was instrumental to strengthen the governance. He said that enormous awareness should be created to empower people to reap the benefits of the Act. He also mentioned that the success of the Act depends upon whether people wanted good Panellists at the RTI workshop at Hyderabad governance and were ready to participate in the process of governance. He The third session was on RTI and Good made it clear that the RTI should not be an Governance. Former Vice-Chairman of AP instrument for humiliating the Government. Minorities Commission, F D Vakil, who The Act propagates an invitation to all to chaired the session, stated that RTI ensured actively participate in governance. He enlightenment. M Narayana Rao, Director pointed out that ‘weakening the Act will be General of MCR institute of Human akin to weakening ourselves’. He emphasised Resource Development, opined that RTI Act that NGOs and media should take up task was a key that could open many doors of of spreading awareness about it. State Chief government. P K Mohanty, Director of Information Commissioner (CIC), CD Arha Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad while delivering the keynote address, said stated that e-Governance, good governance the Act was pro-development. He said it was and RTI jointly constituted a powerful important for government employees not to tool which could promote governance.

H Natarajan, Sr. Partner of Harisson, Hyderabad, gave an industry perspective of RTI. He talked on how much industry per se could be affected by RTI Act. He said country like India is very strong in legislation and weak in implementation. The discussions in this session gave a closer perspective on RTI in building a good governance. The next session captured the theme of implementation issues involved in RTI Act. Founder of Loksatta and Vote India, Jayprakash Narayan, explored various issues involved in RTI Act. He said that it is an outstanding law. Deputy Director of The Hindu, Siddarth Varadarajan stated that this RTI Act had to join up with various other laws existing in the country for the proper implementation. He shared some of his experiences concerning RTI. Dileep Reddy, Information Commissioner of Government of Andhra Predesh spoke on the official secrecy and RTI Act. In the valedictory session, Rambrahmam, Director, Academic Staff College, presented a brief report on the proceedings and overview of workshop. Justice Bilal Nazki, Andhra Pradesh High Court, presided the session and told that it was a very good beginning, but the process should evolve. Kamal Kumar, Director, SVP National Police Academy, as Chief Guest delivered the valedictory address and said that RTI as a regime was gaining ground in India. This would make information for the people and would create an open regime of functioning of government. It would definitely substantiate a participatory governance. He said the Act is citizen centric and progressive in outlook. Report prepared by : Dipsikha Sahoo dipsikha@csdms.in i4d | October 2006

RENDEZVOUS ‘S OOCHNA S E S AMADHAN S EWA ’ 28 S EPTEMBER 2006, N EW D ELHI , I NDIA

Phone-based agri info service for farmers Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, the secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj opened a phone-based information service for farmers, ‘Soochna Se Samadhan Sewa’. The service, which is part of a new community project in support of one of the UN Millennium Development goals on digital inclusion, is aimed at helping developing countries to become part of the digital society. OneWorld is working in collaboration with BT and Cisco to implement this programme which brings agricultural and veterinary advice to farmers in selected villages in North India. Using the power of digitally engineered information the farmers are able to get answers by phone to questions that are key to improving their lives. Based on an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) the farmers can access the service by dialing – 022-39116000 – to register their query. The system stores the call on a web-based application and knowledge workers seek answers from experts and provide these back to the farmers

Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, Secretary, Panchayati Raj connecting with a farmer through the phone service

within 24 hours. The content and agriculture information is being provided by Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) while TARAhaat is helping in implementing the service. October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

Speaking at the service launch event in National Rural Employment Guarantee Delhi, Meenakshi Datta Ghosh said: “This scheme (NREGA), the National Rural initiative will demonstrate the use of Health Mission (NRHM) and similar other Information Communications Technology initiatives. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to empower people provided it penetrates the rural areas. It is a unique initiative as it is TARAhaat Ranjit Khosla said: “Through not an urban-centric technology like projects like these we are trying to deliver innovative solutions to developmental issues. Google-search or dial-a-query.” Providing details about the initiative, Our end aim is to make development selfOneWorld Project Manager TN Anuradha said: “We aim to use the power of ICT to deliver content and capability to farmers using the most-used communication tool – the phone in this instance – for this initiative. We have done this based on feedback from grassroots communities and farmers on how this technology will best provide them the information they need.” Highlighting the benefits of the initiative, ISAP chairman Rajendre Khargi, Chair, OneWorld International Board PV Thomas said: “We find that reviewing children’s perception of the service the phone is one of the most acceptable mediums of sustaining for which we have to ensure that receiving information because it is the market accepts our products.” Speaking on OneWorld’s work in faster and more economical than postcards. Another advantage is that development issues Chair of the OneWorld information is provided to the farmers International Board Rajendre Khargi said: in their own language and the only “We want to use new media and thing that they have to do is to ring information technology in a way that will empower communities. We also recognise us up.” Thomas added that the initiative that to be successful all such projects have is being launched at a time when to be demand driven.” Khargi thanked the farmers for providing morale amongst many farmers in many parts of the country is low and vital feedback and the inputs while setting it is expected that this initiative will up the technology which helped in supplement implement ongoing improving the ‘Soochna Se Samadhan research and funding to improve Sewa,’ service. The project is currently being agriculture output and improve farmers’ run in Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh and will soon be started in Shimla and Solan in livelihood. Ghosh hopes that the initiative will also Himachal Pradesh. Reported by Rahul Kumar lead to improved governance and have an rahul.kumar@oneworld.net impact on government schemes like

Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All...

All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for

for All... Bytes All... Bytes for All... Bytes for All... Bytes for All... Bytes for All... Bytes for All... Bytes for

for All...Bytes for All... Bytes fo All...Bytes for All... Bytes for A All...Bytes for All... Bytes for A All...Bytes for All... Bytes for A All...Bytes for All... Bytes for A All...Bytes for All... Bytes for A All...Bytes for All... Bytes for A

Bytes for All... Israeli solution for language problem By year-end, life should get a wee bit simpler for computer users preferring the vernacular, thanks to an Israeli connection forged by CK Technologies, part of the TeNet Group of companies. Shakti Office Suite, an “indigenous, affordable bilingual alternate to popular office suites” will be the first to integrate FastKeys, software developed by the Israel-based FTK Technologies. FastKeys would address this problem by projecting a real-time simulation of the keyboard and user’s hands as they type, onto the monitor. The keys on the virtual keyboard would show the characters in the vernacular, simplifying the process for a new user who might otherwise have to plough through scripts of character positions on the keyboard. Shakti Office: http://www.shaktioffice.in; Tenet Partners: http://www.tenet.res.in/ Partners/index.php#ck; FTK Technologies Israel: http://www.ftk.co.il

Software freedom day It was observed in many parts of South Asia. In Nepal, the FOSS Nepal Community announced plans for a “range of activities for promotion and awareness of FOSS”. They said: “The main event will be organised on Sept 16, 2006 at Yala Maya Kendra, while sub events organised at different colleges during the week.” They were expecting over 1500 participants in this celebration from different colleges, institution, government bodies, media and civil society. Software Freedom Day: http://www.softwarefreedomday.org

IT by boat Recently a case study on “Shidhulai Swarnivar Sangstha: Bringing Information Technology to Rural Bangladesh by Boat” was published by the Council on Library and Information Resources, Washington D.C., U.S. http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub136abst.html

Hacking and Bangladesh Bangladesh is making law to check computer hacking. Dhaka is proposing a punishment of 10 years prison term or fine of 1 million taka (US$14,300) or both to the hackers. Source: Xinhua http://english.people.com.cn/200609/11/print20060911_301681.html

Urdu localisation Pakistanis are carrying out Urdu localisation efforts around the globe. The tool is called Rosetta. This is an opportunity for Pakistanis to volunteer by donating their time and effort to share the translation activity covering over 1,100 translation tasks. Source: Fouad Riaz Bajwa’s recent article in SPIDER http://www.spider.tm/ sep2006/cstory1.html Please help to build the network below: BytesForAll FLOSS Localisation Consortium www.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_floss

India, knowledge commons debate What do seeds have in common with software? Or age-old medicines with copyright lawyers? And, what’s the link between ayurvedic medicines and techies talking free software in Bangalore?

Such issues are getting closely enmeshed in a deepening debate on how knowledge is shared or controlled in this new informationdominated century. Frederick Noronha for IP Watch http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=389&res=1280_ff&print=0

Rural Bangladesh and ICTs Development Research Network (D.Net) has developed a model and experiments providing livelihood information through common access (rural information centre) point. http://bangladeshictpolicy.bytesforall.net/?q=node/198

Gender toolkit for journalists The Gender Toolkit for Journalists is designed to raise awareness in news rooms worldwide of gender inequality and the crucial role that media can play to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women. http://www.cpu.org.uk/cpu-toolkits/gender_reporting/index.html

253,000 phones in 50,000 villages Globally acclaimed Village Phone Programme, a joint initiative of GrameenPhone Ltd and Grameen Telecom to provide universal access to mobile phone services in rural areas, has crossed the 250,000 subscribers mark. The programme has now spread in over 50,000 villages, and has distributed over 253,000 village phones. http://bangladeshictpolicy.bytesforall.net/?q=node/204

WIKIS for Africa Afrophonewikis is a discussion group on developing Wikipedias in African languages. Africa has approximately 2000 languages, of which only a few have Wikipedias. Source: Joitske Hulsebosch, IICD, the Netherlands <joitske@cs.com> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/afrophonewikis/

SISU SAMRAKSHAK, a Child Protector health portal Rufina Fernandes of the NASSCOM Foundation rufina@nasscom foundation.org introduced Hasrat at Hasrat@gmail.com to the BytesForAll network. Rufina mentions that Hasrat is working with NASSCOM Foundation to convert the Sisu Samrakshak (Child Protector) health portal into several local languages. http://www.itforchange.net/ict4d/display/144

Panos Radio, South Asia Panos South Asia, a non-profit development communication organisation that works with media and civil society organisations in South Asia, with its regional head office in Kathmandu, has launched Panos Radio South Asia (PRSA) from August 30, 2006. Contact: Panos Radio South Asia Panos South Asia P.O. Box 13651, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: +977-1-5521889/5531447 E-mail: prsa@panosradiosouthasia.org http://www.panosradiossouthasia.org i4d | October 2006

... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes for All...Bytes for All... Bytes

Bytes for All... Telecentres, cost, and South Asia: A BytesForAll Debate Summary by Partha Sarkar, Co-Founder, BytesForAll Recently BytesForAll and other fora have witnessed a heated debate on the issue of telecentre costs. The debate, initiated by Nazrul Islam from Relief International-Schools Online (http://connectbangladesh.org) reacted to a decision of Commonwelth Secretariat for setting up four access centres in Bangladesh with 20 million taka. “This means a centre will cost four million taka (UKP 38250). I am not sure how the access centre would look like and where it will be set up. Why are these centres so costly?,” said Nazrul. “We have more than 25 school based access centers in Bangladesh and each cost only around 2000 USD for a year including min 5 computers, internet connetivity, staff cost, maintenance, etc.” http:/ /tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/8591 Reza Salim from Amader Gram [www.amadergram.org] responded that each centre that he manages under his project, have four PC, one digital camera, printer, few employees, logistics and furniture and all these do not cost more than Taka 200,000 (GBP 1500). He also writes, “By 12 months the centres will run by its own income.” http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/8593 Shahid Uddin Akbar from ICTDPB had some doubt with mentioning of this figure - 20 million or 2 million. Even the amount of two million is also too much given his experience. But later Reza Salim also confirmed the figure of 20 million as mentioned in the Commonwealth Secretariat website. http://www.thecommonwealth. org/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=153381 Also Monjur Murshed confirmed the figure. Satish Jha made a point, saying, “Its tough to create meaningful applications in poorer environments as the cost of moving up the learning curve is rather steep. In other words, for a similar scale of benefits, poorer countries may face a higher cost in the beginning and should be able to bring it down as they develop local experiences and capabilities.” http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/8596

He also felt that a serious debate exists ‘between those who think they can do it and those who do it’ and he argued that this divide is scarier than the real divide. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/8598

Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala informed us that they have been setting up Internet kiosks in India at Rs. 55,000 ($1200) per kiosk. The only requirement is that all these kiosks had to be set up in a cluster of nearby villages i.e about 200 in 25 kms radius. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/8600

Gopal TV asked whether any (quantitative) performance measures available for these kiosks. A number of journalists from the Bangladesh ICT Journalists Forum expressed their interests in discussing the issue and to bring this to media. For more on this discussion, check a summary at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/8700

October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

Pakistan ICT policy group BytesForAll is organising this space to discuss, highlight and monitor ICT policy issues, from civil society perspective in Pakistan. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/pakistanictpolicy/, http://pakistanictpolicy.bytesforall.net/

Global telecentre alliance At the Indian Telecentre Forum held in New Delhi, India, August 23-25, 2006 telecentre networks agreed to endorse and participate in an initiative sponsored by the Telecentres of the Americas Partnership and the European Union of Telecottage Associations towards the creation of a Global Telecentre Alliance. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/8635

Kerala dumps Windows Kerala plans to switch all school computers from Microsoft Windows to the free Linux operating system. The changeover on computers used in some 12,500 high schools is planned and teachers are being trained on Linux, said the state’s education minister, M.A. Baby. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Aug31/

Library related software from Bangalore Vishwamithra (for classifying documents), Vyasa (for maintaining Colon Classification scheme), Panizzi (automatic identification of bibliographic data elements), Promethus (automatic indexing), Ida (retrospective conversion pacakge), Manu (thesaurus construction), Pygmalion (convert data), Socrates (computer-aided instruction shell). Source: http://drtc.isibang.ac.in/DRTC/ardcv.html

Free Wiki textbooks A US-based initiative plans to make new textbooks available for free on the Internet for university students in “developing” nations. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/138756/1/1138

APDIP e-Note 9 - Internationalised domain names Butt Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) have become a hot topic in the field of Internet governance, with more non English content coming up in big way around the world. Learn more about the issue in the e-Note 9 of APDIP. http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/ All APDIP e-Resources are available at http:/ /www.apdip.net/elibrary/

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: Frederick Norohna, Bytes for All, India

for for for for for for for

All...Bytes All...Bytes All...Bytes All...Bytes All...Bytes All...Bytes All...Bytes

Books received ICT for Social Welfare Publisher: The Policy Press Authors : Luke Geoghegan and Jason Lever with Ian McGimpsey ISBN: 1861345054 Pages: 194 A valuable treatise for the social cares practitioners and government officers at local level, to help themselves with the benefits of ICTs and harness it successfully to the development of modern public services. The book looks into the current context and use of ICT in the public and voluntary sectors and builds on this to provide practical guidance for practitioners. It provides the ideas, tools and resources to think critically and creatively about current ICT practice and inspires to implement a positive change at individual, team and organisational level. Some of the important aspects covered in the book are introduction to ICT in relevance to people and society, in social welfare practice, modelling information flows and needs in improving service quality, improving organisational effectiveness, exclusion and the digital divide, e-Government, and emerging technology.

OECD e-Government Studies, Norway Publisher: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ISBN: 926401067X Pages: 200 The book provides an in-depth analysis of e-Government in Norway from the perspectives of the government. Progress has been tracked and the unresolved challenges the Norwegian government faces in implementing e-Goverance have also been analysed in terms of policy cycle, role of the central state as a policy actor, etc. Norway has been active in using ICT that provides important tools for attaining efficiency in government activities, bringing qualitative improvement to public services and mechanisms of governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s functioning. The report thus proposes for action ways to improve the delivery of electronic services to citizens, to understand public demand for online services and

participation in government, to develop frameworks for monitoring and evaluation of e-Government, to respond to agenciesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; demands for more central guidance, and to improve co-ordination. The important aspects covered in this book are assessment and proposals for action, e-Government structure, external barriers to e-Governance, planning and leadership, organisational change, user-focussed e-Governance, monitoring and evaluation of case studies, etc.

TRADE AND GENDER Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries Publisher: United Nations Publications Author: United Nations ISBN: 9211126347 Pages: 504 The book is the outcome of the findings undertaken by the task force of the UN Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality. The members of the task force study the interconnections between trade and gender from different perspectives. The objective is to identify and review some complex technical issues with a view to sensitising policy-makers on the importance of these issues, fostering discussion among experts and providing a good basis for consensus-building. It proves to be an important statistical and analytical tool for presenting the gender problem at a global level as well as demonstrating the need for the empowerment and participation of women in economic and social processes. Case studies of women in various countries and regions enrich the documentation of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution. Some important aspects covered in the book are: an introduction providing an overview of the main arguments and importance of integrating gender considerations into trade and development issues. Next, it focuses on sectoral analysis of crucial negotiating areas in which women workers predominate such as agriculture, textiles, services and TRIPS. Studies of women in various countries and regions have enriched the documentation with their contribution. It also looks into the formal linkage of Human Rights-Gender- and Trade issues. It eloquently elaborates upon the undeniable fact that gender equality is a matter of human rights, and therefore can be incorporated into all socio economic processes and policy planning, particularly those referring to trade liberalisation. Precisely a pro-active voice has been given to women in entirety in this book. i4d | October 2006

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on

Pakistan

Africa

Germany

14-15 November, 2006 IT Africa Congress Gallagher Estate Conference and Exhibition Centre, South Africa

15-21 March, 2007 CeBIT Hannover Hannover, Germany

7-9 December, 2006 Connect it: Second International Exhibition for Connectivity and IT Karachi Expo Centre Pakistan http://connectitpakistan.com/Main.htm

Spain

www:cebite.de

25-27 October, 2006 eChallenges e-2006 Conference, Barcelona

http://www.itafrica-congress.com/

24-27 October, 2006 Africa Media & Broadcasting Congress 2006 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg South Africa http://terrapinn.com/2006/mediaza/

Australia 15-16 November, 2006 Australasian Media and Broadcating Congress 2006 Hilton Hotel, Sydney http://www.terrapinn.com/2006/media%5Fau/

Greece 6-8 December, 2006 1st International Conference on Semantics and Digital Media Technology (SAMT) Athens

13-15 November, 2006 Wi-World, China 2006 InterContinental Pudong, Shanghai http://www.terrapinn.com/2006/ww%5Fcn/

16-17 November, 2006 China Telecom Future Executive Summit Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing

http://www.rediris.es/jt/jt2006/

India

Turkey

5-8 December, 2006 The 2nd ICDL (International Conference on Digital Libraries), 2006 India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

6-24 November, 2006 The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference Antalya

http://static.teriin.org/events/icdl/index.htm

25-27 October, 2006 1st World Congress on Communication for Development, Rome http://www.devcomm-congress.org/worldbank/

Malaysia CSDMS Events

http://www.ibgintl.com/events/telecom/

4-8 December, 2006 ITU TelecomWorld 2006, Hong Kong http://www.itu.int/WORLD2006/

11-13 December, 2006 NextGen Search 2006 Conrad Hotel, Hong Kong

http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2006/index.html

United Arab Emirates 3-5 December, 2006 Bridging the Digital Divide Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai http://www.terrapinn.com/2006/govme/

10-13 December, 2006 Telecoms World Middle East 2006 Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai http://www.terrapinn.com/2006/twme/

United States O pportunities for

D igital A sia

6-8 February, 2007 Palace of the Golden Horses Kuala Lumpur http://www.digitallearning. in/dlasia/

http://www.terrapinn.com/2006/ngs%5Fhk/

http://www.egovonline.net/ egovasia/

Denmark

http://www.csdms.in/ eHealth/

13-14 November, 2006 Forskningsnet Conference 2006 Konferencecentret Comwell, Middelfart, Denmark

15-17 November, 2006 Jornadas TĂŠcnicas de RedIRIS 2006 Universidad de Granada, Granada

http://samt2006.org/

Italy

China

http://www.echallenges.org/e2006/

http://www.csdms.in/ MServe/ http://www.i4donline.net/ ATF/

5-9 November, 2006 The 5th International Semantic Web Athens, GA http://iswc2006,semanticweb.org/

10-12 November, 2006 11th International Conference on Information Quality Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA http://www.cesweb.org/default.asp

9-10 May, 2007 GovSsec Washington DC USA http://www.govsecinfo.com

http://www.forskningsnettet.dk/konference2006

Get your event listed here. www.i4donline.net/events October 2006 | www.i4donline.net

IN FACT

Gender aspects in ICT policy issues World Bank has highlighted some important gender aspects while compiling the list of ICT policy issues. The gender aspects mentioned in this section are provided below. ICT/Education/Labour policy component

GENDER ASPECT

General

• Sensitise policymakers to gender issues, and sensitise gender advocates to ICT issues. • Establish gender units within a ministry, department, or regulatory agency. Revise regulations/circulars/procedures of all departments to remove gender bias. • Develop and establish systems to gather gender statistics. • Mandate participation of women in watchdog institutions. • Provide incentives for developing e-Commerce platforms that serve women owned enterprises. • Provide tax breaks, subsidies, and funding assistance to develop technologies for the illiterate and neo-literate.

Infrastructure

• • • •

Regulatory frameworks

• Reduce licensing fees, spectrum prices, and interconnection charges and introduce affordable tariffs in rural and urban areas. • Impose universal service obligations on telecom operators. • Develop and deploy technologies that can promote penetration of telephone and Internet access in rural areas. • Provide incentives to develop and deploy technologies such as WiLL/corDECT. • Factor convenience of women in location choices. Introduce incentives to encourage ownership by women of telephones, cellular phones, community radios, and Internet kiosks. • Gather data on women’s use and obtain feedback from women even if their use is low.

Engendered labour policies

• • • • • •

Deploy infrastructure throughout the country in the areas where women predominate. Ensure the selected locations are convenient for women. Encourage women to own and manage these facilities in equal proportions to men. Gather data on women’s use and obtain feedback from women regardless of their level of use.

Promote equal hiring opportunities for women and men. Ensure there is no wage disparity among genders. Undertake campaigns to attract women professionals to technical and management positions. Provide nondiscriminatory working conditions, employee privileges, and flexible timing. Impose tough measures to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace. Institute commissions that are empowered to swiftly redress complaints of discrimination.

• Ensure equal access to training opportunities. Engendered education • Provide gender-awareness training for all. • Institute technical and management programmes to train women professionals and establish internship programmes policy with educational institutions. • Provide free education, subsidised fees, and reserved quotas in technical education for girls. • Establish scholarships and grants for women in science and technology. • Create training programs to establish ICT-related business such as e-Commerce, telecentres, and public call offices. Licensing

e-Government

• Establish incentives to encourage ownership by women of all types of communication services: telephones, cellular phones, community radios, and Internet kiosks. • Promote a gender equality licensing policy that would allocate a certain number of telecommunications licenses to women-owned businesses and waive license fees for communications businesses run by women entrepreneurs or those that provide services to under served areas. Licenses can obligate providers to discount prices for service to certain customers such as poor women in rural areas. • Institute licensing procedures that are transparent so that women applicants can have ready access to the information. Many countries do not permit community radios, but when run by women’s groups these radio stations have proved effective in involving women in the affairs of the community. • Ensure that women can benefit from e-government services, especially those that deliver health and education information. Women can profit from online availability of services that would otherwise require travel to the capital city.

Source: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTGENDER/EXTICTTOOLKIT0,,contentMDK:20271920~menuPK:562594 ~pagePK:64168445~ piPK:64168309~theSitePK:542820,00.html

i4d | i4d October | July 2006

Do you know an innovator or a creative project that is unknown or little known to the media?

We need your help in identifying nominations for ICT Innovation Awards in the fields of i4d, egov and Digital Learning

write to info@csdms.in

d d A ON

The first and only medium to reach leading think-tanks, policy makers, practitioners and industry leaders of ICT4D across the world i4d print magazine is one of its kinds, and is intended to provide much needed platform for exchange of information, ideas, opinion, and experiences both inside and outside the Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) sector. While several electronic publications do currently exist, i4d is, perhaps, the first that addresses the need by utilising the strength and potential of print media. Frequency: Monthly Print run = 15,000 Readership: 1,10,000 www.i4donline.net monthly hits: 6,27,119

Readership Profile A B C D E

Government departments/ ministries Policy institutions, Educational institutions, R&D organisations IT industry and NGOs Academicians, Students, Researchers, Administrators Donors, Funding organisations, UN bodies SDC, Hivos, IDRC, UNDP, ICTD, GKP, IICD, ADB, NISG, Sida, UNESCO, World Bank, etc.

Our Advertisers till now Microsoft

GIS Development

JT Maps

SAP

GIS Institute

CDAC

Event Ads Conflux Euro India Map Asia Connecting Rural Communities

Global ICT Summit Euro-Southeast Asia

For more details contact Rakesh Tripathie (rakesh@csdms.in) Mobile: +91 9899821364