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Tulu Wikipedia Workshop cum Editathon at Udupi
A three-day programme was held at Udupi from October 15 to 17, 2014 with an aim to increase the presence of Tulu in the online world. The first day comprised the inauguration programme and a workshop to understand the Wiki markup. The next two days were devoted to the edit-a-thon where participants added articles to Tulu Wikipedia.
Comments to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014
On behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society (“CIS”), the following are the comments and recommendations on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 (“RPD Bill”). It was submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in October 2014.
Samskrita Vaibhavam (Sanskrit Wiki Outreach Program)
To celebrate the revival of Sanskrit language, the Bangalore chapter of Samskrita Bharati organised a two-day mega event "Samskrita Vaibhavam" at VSR Kalyan Mantapa in Bangalore on August 9 and 10, 2014.
Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions: Mapping the Stakeholders' Response
The procedure and tests surrounding software patenting in India have remained ambiguous since the Parliament introduced the term “per se” through the Patent (Amendment) Act, 2002. In 2013, the Indian Patent Office released Draft Guidelines for the Examination of Computer Related Inventions, in an effort to clarify some of the ambiguity. Through this post, CIS intern, Shashank Singh, analyses the various responses by the stakeholders to these Guidelines and highlights the various issues put forth in the responses.
Good Intentions, Recalcitrant Text - I: Why India’s Proposal at the ITU is Troubling for Internet Freedoms
The UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is hosting its Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) this year in South Korea. At PP-14, India introduced a new draft resolution on ITU's Role in Realising Secure Information Society. The Draft Resolution has grave implications for human rights and Internet governance. Geetha Hariharan explores.
Odia Wikisource Goes Live!
Odia netizens have more than one reason to celebrate this festive season.
Open access platform to save the Odia Indian language
In February 2014, the Government of India declared the South Asian language Odia as the 6th classical language of India which is one among 22 scheduled languages of India and has a literary heritage of more than 5,000 years. There are documents for more than 3,500 years, and the rest are undocumented oral histories.
Letter to the Prime Minister on Indo-US Bilateral Relations on Intellectual Property
This is a letter that many organizations sent to the Prime Minister. The Centre for Internet and Society was one of the signatories.
Odia Littérateur Ramakrushna Nanda's 4 Books Now Available Under a Creative Commons License
Children literature in Odia language went through an ennoblement after the intervention of Ramakrushna Nanda's writings.
Second Draft of Open Access Policy of the Department of Biotechnology and Department of Science released
The Department of Biotechnology and the Department of Science, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India drafted an Open Access Policy (“Policy”) in consultation with several open access experts, government officials and CIS. The second draft of the Policy released last week and is open for comments till 17th November, 2014.
More Than 40 Million People Await the Launch of Odia Wikisource
Speakers of Odia will soon have mountains of books to read online in their mother tongue, following the launch of the Odia Wikisource, which will make accessible many rare books that have entered the public domain.
Rethinking Conditions of Access
P. P. Sneha explores the possibilities of redefining the idea of access through the channels of education and learning.
The Legal Framework for Enforcement of Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In order to get a complete understanding of the legal framework governing the rights of persons with disabilities, we need to understand the several legislations that cover the field. The Constitution of India is the founding legal document guaranteeing fundamental rights to all persons which includes persons with disabilities. The main legislation on disability rights is the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 ("PWD Act") which this chapter will be providing a detailed overview of.
Bharat Majhi Writings Now Available Under a Creative Commons License
Before the advent of Odia Wikisource becoming live, Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) got in touch with notable Odia author Bharat Majhi for bringing his writings on the Internet.
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷା ବିକାଶରେ ପ୍ରତିବନ୍ଧକ ଓ ସମ୍ଭାବନା
I authored an editorial in today's Samaja (Odia daily). It talks about the hurdles Odia language has been facing and potential aspects of the language including it being used massively on the Internet in Wikipedia and other platforms.
Big Data and Positive Social Change in the Developing World: A White Paper for Practitioners and Researchers
I was a part of a working group writing a white paper on big data and social change, over the last six months. This white paper was produced by a group of activists, researchers and data experts who met at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Centre to discuss the question of whether, and how, big data is becoming a resource for positive social change in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Developing Digital Open Knowledge Resources in Indian Languages
A two-day workshop for students was organized by Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre, University of Pune (KSPWSC), Centre for Indian Languages in Higher Education (CILHE), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Access to Knowledge Programme, Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore (CIS-A2K) on September 11 and 12, 2014 in Pune. Tejaswini Niranjana and Tanveer Hasan summarize the developments from the workshop in this report.
Fab to Fabless: Understanding the Process of Chip Manufacturing (Interviews with Semiconductor Industry - Part 2)
This is the second of a four-part blog series highlighting findings from a small sample of interviews with fabless semiconductor industry professionals in Taiwan. These industry insiders was approached for the intent of understanding expert knowledge on the process of integrated circuit design. This post explores the process of chip manufacturing and the foundry business model.
Consultation on Figures of Learning in the Digital Context - Report
The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society organised a consultation on ‘Figures of Learning in the Digital Context’ on September 22, 2014 in Bangalore.
