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**** July 2001 issue of BytesForAll ****
---------- Forwarded message ----------
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_/ B y t e s F o r A l l --- http://www.bytesforall.org
_/ Making Computing Relevant to the People of South Asia
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JULY 2001 ISSUE * SECOND ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
Thanks to all who have helped us reach 2!
BytesForAll was founded in July 1999.....
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IN ADDITION TO creating the info-structure, we have to create a
knowledge society that is not only computer literate but has the
capacity to create content and application solutions in order to
leverage on ICT for development. Meeting this requirement represents
one of the biggest challenges that developing countries face in the
information age. -- Mahathir Bin Mohamad, prime minister of Malaysia.
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HINDI WEBSITE ON CAREERS: The first Hindi website on careers has become
functional. Editor of careerduniya.com Meena Bhandari, has said that more
than 100 million students and youths would benefit from the career-related
information in Hindi. The website provides updated facts on various
competitive examinations dealing with subjects such as computers,
management, commerce and arts and on courses and scholarships worldwide.
Link: careerduniya.com
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KEEPING ABREAST WITH IT IN SOUTH ASIA: S-Asia-IT, a mailing/discussion list
for IT developments in South Asia -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka -- is intended to provide a forum for those
interested in the development and use of information technology in the South
Asian context. Its specific interest is in advancing information
technologies to support equitable social and economic development in the
region, recognising that the development of information and communication
technologies, particularly Internet connectivity, are important tools in
this work by activists, donors, NGOs, government and the private sector.
To subscribe to the S-Asia-IT mailing list send mail to the address
<majordomo@lists.apnic.net> with the following command in the body of
e-mail message: subscribe s-asia-it
The S-Asia-IT mailing list is archived at
http://www.apnic.net/wilma-bin/wilma/s-asia-it
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I.T HELPS THE MILKMAN TOO: Akashganga - using simple but appropriate
information technology, to facilitate timely collection of milk and thereby
generating, higher profits for the rural milk producers has won the ICT
Stories Competition 2001 from India. This project was conceptualized more
than four years ago, when IT awareness in the country was limited to big
urban centers only. The fact that illiterate and semi-literate farmers
accepted the system and are operating it confidently, is an achievement by
itself. Computers are being used for a very basic activity like collection
of milk for the past so many years and rural masses are comfortable with it
and have reposed their confidence in it. Local entrepreneurs could spot the
latent potential and have spread the system in the remote areas, through
diligent work and timely support. They kept their system, without any
monetary compensation for weeks together, for the DCS to try out and feel
comfortable with it. The popular and widespread usage of AKASHGANGA breaks
the myth that ICT will not help in solving the day-to-day problems of the
rural masses. On the contrary, the farmers are very open to adopting new
technologies (without being granted any kind of subsidies!), provided it
delivers tangible benefits.
Read about AKASHGANGA at
http://www.iicd.org/base/story_search_read?id=105
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VILLAGES ONLINE PLANNED IN PAKISTAN: ePoor.org a non-profit civil society
initiative has developed a flagship Programme in Pakistan by the name of
Villages Online (VOL). The VOL (Villages Online) initiative of ePoor.org, is
spearheaded to change the development scene, increase social well-being, and
expand opportunities of wealth generation by making IT relevant to community
needs at the village levels. The philosophy of ePoor.org is based on the
highly successful efforts of community development led by such pioneers as
Akhter Hameed Khan and Shoaib Sultan Khan. These efforts revolve around the
creation of social capital to enhance the coping and adaptive capacities and
strategies of the poor.
Details: Zubair Faisal Abbasi. CEO/Project Director,
ePoor.org Waheed Plaza, West 52, First Floor, Blue Area, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Ph: 092-051-2201484, 0303-7759274
zubair@isb.sdnpk.org
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TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERMENT: Check out the Technology Empowerment Network.
http://www.techempower.net The strength of TEN ultimately resides in the
size and quality of our member network. And you play a key role. The only
way to become a member is to be invited by a current member, like you. When
you invite active people into TEN you add value to the network. Remember,
membership is free.
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MAILING-LISTS ON EDUCATION, HEALTH, CULTURE: Jiva is working in three areas:
Education, Health, and Culture. Because so much is happening in each area,
and because we have different audiences, we have decided to split our
mailing lists into three: one for Education, one for Health, and one for
Culture. These are:
PRAGATI: Pragati (which means "progress" in Sanskrit) is a newsletter from
Jiva's Education department, edited by Steven Rudolph, Educational Director.
It provides updates on educational trends, IT in Education, useful learning
resources, methods to enhance teaching, the development of ICOT (India's
Curriculum of Tomorrow), and more. It is meant for teachers, principals,
educators, parents, administrators, policy makers, and anyone concerned
about the state of education in India and internationally.
SEND BLANK EMAIL TO: pragati-subscribe@topica.com
AROGYA: Arogya (which means "health" in Sanskrit) is a newsletter sent out
by Dr. Partap Chauhan. It provides tips for healthy living according to the
principles of Ayurveda, including recipes, home remedies, diets, types of
exercise (yoga and breathing), and more. It is meant for anyone interested
in maintaining and improving their health, as well as for doctors, nurses,
researchers, and medical/health professionals.
SEND BLANK EMAIL TO: arogya-subscribe@topica.com
SAMSKAAR: Samskaar (which means "impression" in Sanskrit) is a newsletter
written by Satya Narayana Das, Jiva's Cultural Director. It focuses on
topics including spirituality, Indian philosophy, Vedic arts, and more. It
is intended for anyone seeking deeper meaning in life.
SEND BLANK EMAIL TO: samskaar-subscribe@topica.com
MORE INFO: The Jiva Newsletter Team info@jiva.org
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MDLF-C@MP New Media Fellowships: Wanted, creative individuals to develop
new-media products and projects in cooperation with C@MP. Interested in
supporting the development of: products that can efficiently function in
low-bandwidth conditions, secure web-mail interfaces, remote management of
radio transmitters, secure wireless communications, new-media solutions for
the print media, etc. The fellowships will be awarded to a maximum of $4,000
for a six-month period. Fellows will be able to work at our media lab in
Prague. Details from c@mp.mdlf.org
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UNITeS LAUNCHES EXPANDED WEB SITE: United Nations Information Technology
Service (UNITeS), a global volunteering effort to help bridge the
international digital divide, has launched a new, expanded web site
[http://www.unites.org] that includes a list of volunteering opportunities,
activities already underway, and a resource center of applications of
information and communications technologies (ICT) to human development.
UNITeS is a global initiative that allows volunteers from any country to
work directly with people and institutions in developing countries to build
their capacity on the applications of information and communications
technologies (ICT) to human development. The United Nations Volunteer
programme (UNV), as the volunteer arm of the UN, coordinates this innovative
volunteer initiative.
UNITeS has three primary goals: (1) Improve the capacity of individuals and
institutions in developing countries to make practical use of ICTs in their
development processes, through the cooperation of volunteers from all around
the world. (2) Establish a significant knowledge base/network on
applications of ICT to various areas of human development(e.g., support to
small and medium enterprises, health, education, governance, gender equity,
environment) and humanitarian aid. (3) Promote ICT volunteering in
development initiatives and organizations, particularly among
volunteer-sending agencies (VSAs), resulting in increased participation of
volunteers in efforts to bridge the digital divide.
-- DETAILS: Manuel Acevedo Email: Manuel.Acevedo@unv.org
Alexandra Haglund-Petitbo Email: Alexandra.Haglund-Petitbo@unv.org,
Richard Nyberg Email: Richard.Nyberg@unv.org
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CHECK OUT Free Software Foundation-India's mailing list
FSF-India@river-valley.com
http://202.88.232.42/mailman/listinfo/fsf-india
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IT CONFERENCE ON DEVELOPMENT: Gaurab Raj Upadhaya <gaurab@wlink.com.np>
informs us of an International Conference on IT, Communications and
Development from November 29-30, 2001 at Kathmandu.
The main objective is to learn from one another and also to draw up
recommendations for better policies and better projects that benefit people,
particularly in developing countries. The conference will have five main
topics for presentation and discussion: Information Communication
Technology; Communication, Media and Internet; Using ICT in Development;
Web and society; Policy and Legislation
Info from: http://www.fesnepal.org Email: alfred.diebold@fesnepal.org
Paper/proposal submission deadline: September 30, 2001.
Confirmation for presentation deadline: October 15, 2001.
Full paper / presentation submission deadline: October 30, 2001.
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GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE FOR DEVELOPMENT: Archives of previous GKD messages can be
found at: <http://www.globalknowledge.org> To join this list, send a message
to: <majordomo@mail.edc.org>. In the first line of the message type:
subscribe gkd
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FROM eMARKETER -- The Killer App: eMail. The report by NetSense ...indicates
that e-mail is by far the most popular online activity among Indian users.
Not only does this preference follow similar trends worldwide, but it also
underscores the need for Indians to have a cheap and efficient way of
communication. In a country as big as India, e-mail can serve as a vital
link between friends, family and co-workers.
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FREE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION: Navaid Abidi <cybdev2@yahoo.com> is making the
case for a Free Knowledge Foundation "to lay down the basics for sharing of
information and knowledge in the public domain". He is currently studying
the nature of collaborative Open Source Software development, and trying to
apply it to a more general concept of using ICT "for common good of human
kind."
CONTACT: Navaid Abidi, Founder & President, Free Knowledge Foundation
Email: CybDev2@Yahoo.com http://www.FreeKnowledgeLicense.org
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I.T. FOR THE FARMER: The Centre for Alternative Agricultural Media (CAAM) -
India - focuses on farmer friendly communication systems. It aims to promote
alternative efforts in agricultural communication, bridge the communication
gap between farmers and scientists/government, set up a library on
alternative agriculture and alternative agricultural communication, and
maintain a website and publish an e-bulletin.
http://www.comminit.com/pds52001/sld-1881.html
Contact Dr. Shivaram Pailoor caam@vsnl.net
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TAKING EMAIL TO THE MASSES: Planning to tap the potential of e-mail as a
low-cost communication medium in developing economies, a Bangalore-based
startup, iNabling Technologies Pvt. Ltd., has introduced a $150 e-mail
appliance called iStation that also helps with chores like word processing
and spreadsheets. INabling Technologies is bundling the device with its own
Internet service designed exclusively for text-based e-mail. Users will be
charged $3 per month for unlimited mail.
http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=499833
iNabling Technologies can be reached at http://www.ipcellindia.com/
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CHECK OUT SARAI'S newsletter: Newsletter@sarai.net
https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
If you wish to involve a wider audience, please subscribe to the
Reader-list, which is a discussion list that grew out of the responses to
the Sarai Reader 01: The Public Domain.
(http://www.sarai.net/journal/reader1.htm). The Reader list has grown into a
lively community of programmers, web designers, artists, academics and media
practitioners, and anybody is free to post on any issue related to
communication and media technologies and urban space. To subscribe, please
go to the url http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list, or mail
monica@sarai.net
Sarai was a lively space the whole of the month of May. The Cybermohalla
workshop - a collaboration between Sarai and Ankur, Society for Alternatives
in Education - was attended by ten children between 14 \15 years, and what a
time we all had. The adeptness with which the children took to the computer,
the camera, the audio recorder was truly amazing. The work generated by the
workshop will soon be uploaded on to the Sarai website. The project is now
on at the Ankur Centre at the Basti Vikas Kendra, J.P. Colony, Turkman Gate,
New Delhi.
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FROM A LINUX STARTUP IN BANGALORE, INDIA -- Abhas Abhinav
<abhas@deeproot.co.in> explains his work thus: I head a Linux startup here
in Bangalore, India - called DeepRoot Linux (www.deeproot.co.in). We are a
young company involved in developing products based on Linux... not only are
we working on developing commercial Linux products, we are also helping
others architect Linux solution for their needs. All along, we are trying
hard to be able to "eat" Open Source. We want to write Free Software and
create great products based on it, but also be able to base practical and
viable business models around it. We believe the the way of selling Linux is
to sell the value Linux will provide - not Linux alone. Our first product, a
Network Attached-Storage (NAS) device is not only based on Linux but will be
able to compete with a lot of proprietary and closed source offerings from
other companies.... We are silently doing our bit. Talking to college
students to get them more involved in development (not just system
administration), creating resources (articles, infrastructure etc.) to help
contribute to the Open Source movement ourselves and more...
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SOS PROJECT: The State of Open Source (SOS) describes how this unusual way
of making software 'accessible' is working in various parts of the globe.
http://www.gnacademy.org/psip/sos/
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'REINVENTING GOVERNMENT in the Information Age' has just been published in
paperback. The book explains why so many government IT projects fail, and
how to improve success rates. It includes four detailed case studies from
Third World countries, each of which has an educator's guide, enabling the
cases to be easily used in training. http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm/rgia.htm
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WORLD COMPUTER EXCHANGE: Using discarded computers in rich countries for the
benefit of disadvantaged populations in poorer countries sounds like one of
those great ideas that, well, is still just a great idea. Fortunately World
Computer Exchange, a non-profit group based in Massachusetts, is actually
collecting used computers in the US and sending them to schools in Africa,
Asia and Latin America - helping to bridge the global digital divide for
youth in the process. The Exchange, led by founder and President Timothy
Anderson, takes a hands on approach to the hardware it supplies: each
donation is accompanied by installation, connection, and maintenance plans,
and recipient schools are partnered with tech-savvy schools in developed
countries. To learn more about the World Computer Exchange go to their web
site at www.WorldComputerExchange.org or send an email to
inquiries@worldcomputerexchange.org
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INDIAN MEET ON THE THIRD SECTOR: In an attempt at bridging the gap between
research based knowledge and practical application, ATRI's first National
Conference on Third Sector and Knowledge based Development, seeks to look at
varied issues concerning the Third Sector to gain a better understanding of
the Voluntary sector. ATRI (Association for Third Sector Research in India)
has extended the deadline for receiving the application for the First
National Conference to be held on 22-23 Oct. 2001 in New Delhi from 30 June
2001 to 20 July 2001. http://www.ngoresearch.org/conference_main.htm
Papers should be submitted to Rhitu Jain rhitu@ngoresearch.org
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WWW.IITIAN.COM: We are currently running a website called www.iitian.com
that provides a platform for all IITians from 6 IITs in India. Going forward
we are planning to create a virtual community of engineers, institutes and
industry in India. We strongly believe that the power of the Net can be
exploited to transform the Indian engineering community. It is in this
context that we would like to explore opportunities to be of some value to
this project.
Contact: content@iitian.com OR Nilesh Khare, Director,
TechAveNU.com India Pvt. Ltd. http://www.iitian.com
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INDIA'S SOCIAL AND DEVELOPMENT SECTOR:
Your virtual window to the Indian Social and Development Sector:
http://www.IndianNGOs.com
Headlines of the social and development sector:
http://www.DevelopmentToday.org
One-place for NGOs (non-government organisations)
http://www.NGOCareers.com
Benefits, opportunities of volunteering. Gateway to volunteering
http://www.IndianVolunteers.org
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IT IN GOVERNANCE: DigitalGovernance.org functions on a continuous learning
mode. More knowledge products would be brought into light in the free
automated updates. You may subscribe to these updates by sending a blank
email to digitalgovernance-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Contacts: Vikas Nath Inlaks Fellow 2000-1, London School of Economics, UK
Home Page : http://www.vikasnath.org
Email : knownet@knownetweaver.org or V.Nath@lse.ac.uk
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GLOBAL POOL OF CREATIVE IDEAS: CreativityPool.com is a global pool of
creative ideas - people can browse through the database for original
solutions and inspiration, or donate their unused creativity. Unlike
"bulkier" projects, the Creativity Pool works more or less like the penny
cup next to the cash register: Ideas are basically free (except for an
acknowledgement reward in case of success), and people can simply submit
their spare ideas or help themselves.
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*
* This Prix Arts Electronica is based in Germany.
* (http://prixars.orf.at/) It has chosen BytesForAll for a *honorary
* additional faith in the work we do... which, we are proud to say,
* is done entirely by an unpaid, voluntary team scattered across
* South Asia.
Bytesforall.org has been designated by the Changemakers.net Library as one
of the top Web sites for social entrepreneurs. Changemakers focuses on the
rapidly growing world of social entrepreneurship, and is an initiative of
Ashoka - Innovators for the Public. Its mission is to provide inspiration,
resources, and opportunities for those interested in social change
throughout the world. Thank you Changemakers for the honour!
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bYtES For aLL is a voluntary, unfunded venture. CopyLeft, 2001. bYtES For
aLL e-zine volunteers team includes: Frederick Noronha in Goa, Partha Sarkar
in Dhaka, Zunaira Durrani in Karachi, Zubair Abbasi in Islamabad, Archana
Nagvenkar in Goa, Arun-Kumar Tripathi in Darmstatd, Shivkumar in Mumbai,
Sangeeta Pandey in Nepal, Daryl Martyis in Chicago, Gihan Fernando in Sri
Lanka, Rajkumar Buyya in Melbourne, Mahrukh Mohiuddin in Dhaka and Deepa Rai
in Kathmandu. To contact them mail bytes-admin@goacom.com
Two years on, BytesForAll thanks all those who have volunteered their time,
energy and motivation in taking this experiment forward, since its launch in
July 1999.
BytesForAll's website www.bytesforall.org is maintained by Partha Sarkar,
with inputs from other members of the volunteers' team and supporters. To
join or leave this mailing-list simply send a message to
fred@bytesforall.org with s u b s b4all or u n s u b b4all as the subject.
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