The Centre for Internet and Society
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April 2014 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/april-2014-bulletin
<b>The newsletter for the month of April can be accessed below:</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) welcome you to the fourth issue of the newsletter (April) for the year 2014. Archives of our newsletters can be accessed at: <a href="https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/">http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters</a></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Highlights</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We have published a compilation of the various central government schemes in a blog post as part of our National Resource Kit project.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The 27<sup>th</sup> session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (WIPO-SCCR) was held in Geneva from April 28 to May 2, 2014. Nehaa Chaudhari participated in the event. CIS made its statements on Technological Measures of Protection on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives, Orphan Works, Retracted and Withdrawn Works, and Works out of Commerce on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives, and on the WIPO Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations. </li>
<li>CIS signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mysore University for converting to Unicode and re-releasing their encyclopaedia under Creative Commons License. Dr. U.B. Pavanaja on behalf of the CIS-A2K team signed the MoU.</li>
<li>A two-day global stakeholder meeting on future of internet governance (NETmundial) was organized by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee in partnership with /1Net at Sao Paulo in Brazil on April 23 and 24, 2014. Achal Prabhala participated in the event. As part of its research to enable productive discussions of the critical internet governance issues at the meeting and elsewhere CIS published a total of 16 blog entries. </li>
<li>We conducted an empirical study of five separate and diverse banks (State Bank of India, Central Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank) to gain a practical perspective on the existing banking practices and policies in India, and published a Banking Policy Guide. </li>
<li>As part of the Making Change project Denisse Albornoz interviewed Tuhin Paul, an artist and storyteller behind Menstrupedia, an India-based social venture creating comics to shatter the myths and misunderstandings surrounding menstruation around the world. Denisse provides an analysis of ‘menstrual activism’ — a movement that despite its trajectory in feminism remains unnoticed in most accounts of traditional and digital activism.</li>
<li>Six research studies were commissioned by HEIRA-CSCS (over November 2013-March 2014) as part of the collaborative exercise with CIS to map the Digital Humanities within a broad rubric of exploring changes at the intersection of youth, technology and higher education in India. P.P.Sneha in her blog post presents a broad overview of some of the key learnings from these projects.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br /><b><a href="https://cis-india.org/jobs">Jobs<br /></a></b>CIS is seeking applications for the post of <a href="https://cis-india.org/jobs/programme-officer-access-to-knowledge-and-openness">Programme Officer</a> (Access to Knowledge). There are two vacancies for this post one in Delhi and one in Bangalore. To apply, please send your resume to Sunil Abraham (<a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org">sunil@cis-india.org</a>), Nirmita Narasimhan (<a href="mailto:nirmita@cis-india.org">nirmita@cis-india.org</a>) and Pranesh Prakash (<a href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org">pranesh@cis-india.org</a>) with three writing samples of which at least one demonstrates your analytic skills, and one that shows your ability to simplify complex policy issues.</p>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility">Accessibility and Inclusion</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Under a grant from the Hans Foundation we are doing two projects. The first project is on creating a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India. We compiled the first draft of the kit (29 states and 6 union territories). The chapters along with the quarterly reports can be accessed on the <a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/national-resource-kit-project">project page</a>. The second project is on developing text-to-speech software for 15 Indian languages. The progress made so far in the project can be accessed <a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/nvda-text-to-speech-synthesizer">here</a>.</p>
<h3>NVDA</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Monthly Update</b></p>
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<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/nvda-text-to-speech-synthesizer">NVDA e-Speak Text-to-Speech Project Update</a> (by Suman Dogra, April 28, 2014). </li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">National Resource Kit</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
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<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/central-government-schemes">Central Government Schemes</a> (by Anandhi Viswanathan and CLPR, April 27, 2014). </li>
</ul>
<h3>Other</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/polling-pains">Polling Pains</a> (by Amba Salelkar, April 30, 2014). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Media Coverage</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/new-indian-express-april-8-2014-papiya-bhattacharya-are-elections-fair-to-people-with-special-needs">Are Elections Fair to People With Special Needs?</a> (by Papiya Bhattacharya, New Indian Express, April 8, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/vijay-karnataka-april-9-2014-enabling-elections">Enabling Elections</a> (Vijay Karnataka, April 9, 2014). This was published in Kannada. </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of the Access to Knowledge programme we are doing two projects. The first one (Pervasive Technologies) under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is for research on the complex interplay between pervasive technologies and intellectual property to support intellectual property norms that encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The second one (Wikipedia) under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">WIPO SCCR</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Participation in Events</b></p>
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<li>Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights: Twenty-Seventh Session (organized by WIPO, Geneva, April 28 – May 2, 2014). Nehaa Chaudhari participated in the event. France, Greece, India and the European Union <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/france-greece-india-eu-sign-marrakesh-treaty">signed the Marrakesh Treaty</a>. CIS delivered statements on <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/cis-statement-on-technological-measures-of-protection-27-sccr-on-limitations-exceptions-for-libraries-and-archives">Technological Measures of Protection on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives</a>, <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/cis-statement-orphan-works-retracted-withdrawn-works-and-works-out-of-commerce-at-27-sccr-on-limitations-and-exceptions-for-libraries-and-archives">Orphan Works, Retracted and Withdrawn Works, and Works out of Commerce on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives</a>, and on the <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/cis-statement-27-sccr-on-wipo-proposed-treaty-for-protection-of-broadcasting-organizations">WIPO Proposed Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations</a>. Transcripts of the discussions can be <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/wipo-sccr-27-discussions-transcripts">accessed here</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/report-on-cpdip-2">Report on CDIP-12</a> (by Puneeth Nagraj, April 22, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/signing-and-ratification-of-marrakesh-treaty-to-facilitate-access-to-published-works-for-persons-blind-visually-impaired-print-disabled">Signing and Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled</a> (by Nehaa Chaudhari, April 25, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/report-on-wipo-director-general-meeting-with-ngos">Report on the WIPO Director General’s Meeting with NGO’s</a> (by Puneeth Nagraj, April 30, 2014). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Media Coverage</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/knowledge-ecology-international-manon-ress-april-29-2014-is-wipo-treaty-for-broadcasters-moving-forward-at-sccr-27">Is the WIPO Treaty for Broadcasters Moving Forward at SCCR 27?</a> (by Manon Ress, Knowledge Ecology International, April 29, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/ip-watch-catherine-saez-may-1-2014-wipo-authors-civil-society-watchful-of-rights-for-broadcasters">At WIPO, Authors, Civil Society Watchful of Rights for Broadcasters</a> (by Catherine Saez, IP Watch, May 1, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Other</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Event Organized</b></p>
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<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/events/nasa-international-space-apps-challenge-2014">NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2014</a> (CIS, Bangalore, April 12 – 13, 2014). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/online-survey-for-indian-mobile-app-developer-enterprise">Online Survey for Indian Mobile App Developer Startups & Enterprises</a> (by Samantha Cassar, April 9, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/app-developers-series-services-products-dichotomy-ip-2013-part-i">App Developers Series: Services, Products, Dichotomy & IP – Part I</a> (by Samantha Cassar, April 10, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/report-on-cpdip-2">Report on CDIP-12</a> (by Puneeth Nagraj, April 22, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/report-on-31-session-of-standing-committee-on-trademarks">Report on the 31st Session of the Standing Committee on Trademarks</a> (by Puneeth Nagraj, April 29, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Wikipedia</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The following has been done under <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/access-to-knowledge-program-plan">grant from the Wikimedia Foundation</a>:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Announcement</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/cis-signs-mou-with-mysore-university">CIS Signs MoU with Mysore University</a> (by Dr. U.B.Pavanaja, April 16, 2014): for converting to Unicode and re-releasing their encyclopaedia under Creative Commons License. Dr. U.B. Pavanaja on behalf of the CIS-A2K team signed the MoU. The signing event took place earlier on February 22, 2014. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Articles</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/openaccessweek-april-3-2014-subhashish-panigrahi-vachana-sanchaya">Vachana Sanchaya: Bringing Access to 11th century Kannada Literature</a> (by Subhashish Panigrahi, April 3, 2014)</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/subhashish-panigrahi-article-in-amalekha">୭୯ ବର୍ଷରେ ସ୍ୱତନ୍ତ୍ର ଓଡ଼ିଶା: ଶାସ୍ତ୍ରୀୟ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଓ କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟରରେ ଏହାର ବ୍ୟବହାର</a> (by Subhashish Panigrahi, Amalekha, April 4, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/kadambini-april-8-2014-subhashish-panigrahi-odia-language-and-development-in-digital-era">ଓଡ଼ିଅା ଭାଷାର ବିକାଶ ଓ କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର</a> (by Subhashish Panigrahi, The Kadambini, April 8, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/creative-commons-subhashish-panigrahi-april-18-2014-report-from-india-relicensing-books-under-creative-commons">Report from India: Relicensing books under CC</a> (by Subhashish Panigrahi, Creative Commons Blog, April 19, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/blog/dna-rohini-lakshane-april-26-2014-14-books-re-released-under-creative-commons-license">14 Odia books re-released under Creative Commons license</a> (by Subhashish Panigrahi, DNA, April 26, 2014). The article was edited by Rohini Lakshane.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Events Organized</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/events/tulu-wikipedia-workshop">Tulu Wikipedia Workshop</a> (organized by CIS-A2K, Balmatta Computer Centre, Mangalore, April 5, 2014). Dr. U.B.Pavanaja conducted the workshop. </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/daijiworld-april-6-2014-mangalore-wikipedia-workshop-held-for-konkani-writers">Konkani Wikipedia Workshop</a> (co-organized by All India Konkani Writers Organization and CIS-A2K, Kalaangann Shaktinagar, April 6, 2014). Dr. U.B.Pavanaja conducted the workshop.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/events/tulu-wikipedia-editathon">Tulu Wikipedia Editathon</a> (co-organized by Karnataka Theological College and CIS-A2K, Mangalore, April 19, 2014). Dr. U.B.Pavanaja conducted the workshop.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Participation in Events</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/wiki-session-for-prajavani-journalists">Wikipedia Session for Trainee Journos</a> (organized by Prajavani, Bangalore, April 28, 2014). Dr. U.B.Pavanaja took a session for the trainee journalists of Prajavani Kannada daily on Wikipedia. </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/world-book-day">World Book Day</a> (organized by Karnataka Publishers’ Association, Indian Institute of World Culture, Basavanagudi, Bangalore, April 23, 2014). Dr. U.B.Pavanaja was a speaker.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/relevance-of-bhagabat-tungi-in-evolution-of-odia-language?searchterm=Relevance+of+Bhagabat+Tungi+in+the+evolution+of+Odia+language+from+Buddha+era+to+digital+age">Relevance of Bhagabat Tungi in the evolution of Odia language from Buddha era to digital age</a> (organized by The Intellects, Shree Jagannath Mandir and Odisha Art and Cultural Center, New Delhi, April 24, 2014). Subhashish Panigrahi participated in the event.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Media Coverage<br /></b>CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/daijiworld-april-6-2014-mangalore-wikipedia-workshop-held-for-konkani-writers">M'lore: Wikipedia Workshop held for Konkani writers</a> (Daijiworld, April 6, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2014/04/10/odia-loves-wikipedia/">Odia Loves Wikipedia</a> (Rising Voices, April 10, 2014). This was also published in <a href="http://es.globalvoicesonline.org/2014/04/12/el-idioma-oriya-ama-a-wikipedia/">Spanish</a> and in <a href="http://ru.globalvoicesonline.org/2014/04/13/28775/">Russian</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/international-book-day/article5932673.ece">International Book Day</a> (The Hindu, April 21, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/deccan-herald-april-23-2014-books-are-a-bridge-between-generations">Books are a bridge between generations</a> (The Deccan Herald, April 23, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/vijayavani-april-23-2014-world-book-day">World Book Day Report</a> (Vijaywani, April 23, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/eodishasamacharseminar-on-odia-language-in-new-delhi-by-the-intellects">Seminar on Odia Language in New Delhi by the Intellects</a> (Odisha Samachar, April 24, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/delhi-meet-focuses-on-bhagabat-tungi-revival.html">Delhi meet focuses on Bhagabat Tungi revival</a> (The Pioneer, April 26, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and International Development Research Centre (IDRC)) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on studying the restrictions placed on freedom of expression online by the Indian government.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">NETmundial</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its participation in the NETmundial event organized in Brazil by Brazilian Internet Steering Committee in partnership with /1Net at Sao Paulo on April 23 and 24, 2014 CIS produced a total of 16 outputs:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Sumandro Chattapadhyay produced these visual representations: <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-comparing-appearance-of-fifty-most-frequent-words">Comparing Appearance of Fifty Most Frequent Words</a>, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-contributions-by-countries-of-origin">Contributions by Countries of Origin</a>, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-contributions-by-types-of-organisation">Contributions by Types of Organisation</a>, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-which-countries-have-not-contributed-to-net-mundial">Which Countries Have Not Submitted Contributions to NETmundial?</a>, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-which-governments-have-not-contributed-to-net-mundial">Which Governments Have Not Submitted Contributions to NETmundial?</a>, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-word-clouds-of-contributions-by-types-of-organisation">Word Clouds of Contributions by Types of Organisation</a> and <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-tracking-multi-stakeholder-across-contributions">Tracking *Multistakeholder* across Contributions</a>. Achal Prabhala participated in the event and wrote these: <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-day-0">Day 0</a>, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-day-1">Day 1</a>, and <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-day-2">Day 2</a>. <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/netmundial-transcript-archive">Transcript of the NETmundial</a> for archival purposes was made available by Pranesh Prakash. Smarika Kumar produced two research outputs: <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-and-suggestions-for-iana-administration">NETmundial and Suggestions for IANA Administration</a> and <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/accountability-of-icann">Accountability of ICANN</a>. Geetha Hariharan wrote two blog posts: <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/marco-civil-da-internet">Marco Civil da Internet: Brazil’s ‘Internet Constitution’</a> and <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/brazil-passes-marco-civil-us-fcc-alters-stance-on-net-neutrality">Brazil passes Marco Civil; the US-FCC Alters its Stance on Net Neutrality</a>. Jyoti Panday wrote one blog post: <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/net-mundial-roadmap-defining-roles-of-stakeholders-in-multistakeholderism">NETmundial Roadmap: Defining the Roles of Stakeholders in Multistakeholderism</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Privacy</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Analyses</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/report-of-group-of-experts-on-privacy-vs-leaked-2014-privacy-bill">Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy vs. The Leaked 2014 Privacy Bill</a> (by Elonnai Hickok, April 14, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/banking-policy-guide">Banking Policy Guide</a> (by Elonnai Hickok, April 22, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-embodiment-of-right-to-privacy-within-domestic-legislation">The Embodiment of the Right to Privacy within Domestic Legislation</a> (by Tanvi Mani, April 29, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Articles</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/yojana-april-2014-sunil-abraham-who-governs-the-internet-implications-for-freedom-and-national-security">Who Governs the Internet? Implications for Freedom and National Security</a> (by Sunil Abraham, Yojana, April 4, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-hoot-bhairav-acharya-april-15-2014-privacy-law-in-india-a-muddled-field-1">Privacy Law in India: A Muddled Field – I</a> (by Bhairav Acharya, The Hoot, April 15, 2014). </li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/council-for-responsible-genetics-april-2014-sunil-abraham-very-big-brother">Very Big Brother</a> (by Sunil Abraham, GeneWatch, January – April 2014 Issue).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
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<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/south-african-protection-personal-information-act-2013">South African Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013</a> (by Divij Joshi, April 16, 2014). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Participation in Events</b></p>
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<b> </b>
<li><a href="http://cgcs.asc.upenn.edu/fileLibrary/PDFs/MW_Updated_Agenda_for_Website.pdf">Milton Wolf Seminar on Media and Diplomacy: The Third Man Theme Revisited: Foreign Policies of the Internet in a Time Of Surveillance and Disclosure</a> (jointly organized by the Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, the American Austrian Foundation (AAF), and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA), Vienna, March 30 – April 1, 2014). Nishant Shah participated in the event as a panelist.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/gsma-partners-meeting">GSMA Partners Meeting</a> (organized by Privacy International, London, April 9, 2014). Elonnai Hickok participated in this meeting.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/critical-life-of-information">The Critical Life of Information</a> (organized by Yale University, 100 Wall Street, April 11, 2014). Nishant Shah spoke in the panel on Big Data and Governance. Malavika Jayaram spoke in the panel on Big Data and the Arts.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/round-table-on-user-safety-on-internet">Round-table on User Safety on the Internet</a> (organized by Consumer Voice and Google, Infantry Road, Bangalore, April 24, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/ssn-2014-sixth-biannual-surveillance-and-society-conference">6th Biannual Surveillance and Society Conference</a> (organized by Eticas Research and Consulting, University of Barcelona and CCCB, April 26 – 24, 2014). Malavika Jayaram gave a talk on “Biometrics in beta: experimenting on a nation (while normalising surveillance for 1.2 billion people)”.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Other</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Articles</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cgcs-nishant-shah-april-1-2014-between-the-local-and-the-global">Between the Local and the Global: Notes Towards Thinking the Nature of Internet Policy</a> (by Nishant Shah, cgcsblog, April 1, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/dml-central-april-17-2014-nishant-shah-networks-what-you-dont-see-is-what-you-for-get">Networks: What You Don’t See is What You (for)Get</a> (by Nishant Shah, April 17, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/news">News & Media Coverage</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/outlook-april-1-2014-two-indians-in-global-commission-on-web-governance">Two Indians in Global Commission on Web Governance</a> (April 1, 2014): Sunil Abraham was named as one of the experts. This was published in <a href="http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=835007">Outlook</a>, <a href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-04-01/news/48767578_1_internet-governance-two-indians-general-dynamics">Economic Times</a>, and in <a href="http://mattersindia.com/two-indians-among-25-selected-for-internet-governance-network/">Matters India</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/newslaundry-april-1-2014-somi-das-the-take-down-of-free-speech-online">The Take Down of Free Speech Online</a> (Newslaundry, April 1, 2014): CIS research on Intermediary Liabilities is quoted.</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/livemint-april-1-2014-shweta-taneja-the-politics-of-facebook">The politics of Facebook</a> (by Shweta Tiwari, April 1, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/business-standard-april-3-2014-surabhi-agarwal-new-privacy-bill-more-refined-has-wider-ambit-say-experts">New privacy Bill more refined & has wider ambit, say experts</a> (by Surabhi Agarwal, Business Standard, April 2, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/economic-times-april-3-2014-m-rajshekhar-should-nandan-nilekani-aadhar-project-for-identity-proof-and-welfare-delivery-exist">Should Nandan Nilekani's Aadhaar project, for identity proof and welfare delivery, exist at all?</a> (by M. Rajshekhar, April 3, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/economic-times-april-10-2014-varuni-khosla-lok-sabha-polls">Lok sabha polls: Social media companies launch special pages for polls</a> (by Varuni Khosla, Economic Times, April 10, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/governance-now-april-12-2014-pratap-vikram-singh-parties-give-short-shrift-to-privacy">Parties give short shrift to privacy</a> (by Pratap Vikram Singh, GovernanceNow.com, April 12, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/governance-now-april-13-2014-pratap-vikram-singh-no-party-has-got-clear-stand-aadhaar-fate-hangs-in-balance">No party's got a clear stand, Aadhaar's fate hangs in balance</a> (by Pratap Vikram Singh, GovernanceNow.com, April 13, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/the-times-of-india-april-24-2014-india-wants-core-internet-infrastructure">'India wants core internet infrastructure'</a> (by Indrani Bagchi, April 24, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/the-times-of-india-april-25-indrani-bagchi-india-for-inclusive-internet-governance">India for inclusive internet governance</a> (by Indrani Bagchi, April 25, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/news/dna-amrita-madhukalya-april-26-2014-facebook-launches-fb-newswire-for-journalists-loses-part-of-its-immunity-under-it-act-2000">Facebook launches FB Newswire for journalists; loses part of its immunity under IT Act 2000</a> (by Amrita Madhukalya, DNA, April 26, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities">Digital Humanities</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Digital will be used as a way of unpacking the debates in humanities and social sciences and look at the new frameworks, concepts and ideas that emerge in our engagement with the digital. The clusters aim to produce and document new conversations and debates that shape the contours of Digital Humanities in Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/confession-in-digital-age">Confession in the Digital Age</a> (by Rimi Nandy, April 14, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/animating-the-archive">Animating the Archive – A Survey of Printed Digitized Materials in Bengali and their Use in Higher Education</a> (by Saidul Haque, April 14, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/doing-digital-humanities">‘Doing’ Digital Humanities: Reflections on a project on Online Feminism in India</a> (by Sujatha Subramanian, April 14, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/the-machinistic-paradigm-collapse">The Machinistic Paradigm Collapse</a> (by Anirudh Sridhar, April 14, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/exploring-the-digital-landscape">Exploring the Digital Landscape: An Overview</a> (by P.P.Sneha, April 14, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/digital-humanities-problem-of-definition">Digital Humanities and the Problem of Definition</a> (by P.P.Sneha, April 25, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives">Digital Natives</a></h2>
<p>CIS is doing a research project titled “Making Change”. The project will explore new ways of defining, locating, and understanding change in network societies. Having the thought piece 'Whose Change is it Anyway' as an entry point for discussion and reflection, the project will feature profiles, interviews and responses of change-makers to questions around current mechanisms and practices of change in South Asia and South East Asia:</p>
<h3>Making Change Project<b> </b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers">Multimedia Storytellers: Panel Discussion</a> (by Denisse Albornoz, April 16, 2014).</li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/menstrupedia-taboo-beautiful">From Taboo to Beautiful – Menstrupedia</a> (by Denisse Albornoz, April 30, 2014).</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Event Organized</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<b> </b>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/events/tech-talk-landscape-of-wireless-communications-and-electromagnetic-spectrum">Tech Talk: Landscape of Wireless Communications & Electromagnetic Spectrum</a> (CIS, Bangalore, April 28, 2014). A. Radha Krishna gave a talk on wireless communication technologies.</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects.</i></p>
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No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceOpennessResearchers at Work2014-07-04T03:38:00ZPageStorytelling and Technology - Sartaj Anand
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-sartaj-anand
<b>This post outlines the general characteristics of storytelling. The second section is an interview with Sartaj Anand, the founder of EgoMonk and BIllion Strong, who talks about storytelling as a strategy to build trust at the intersections of business and technology. This is the first of a series of installments exploring the potential of storytelling for social change.</b>
<pre><strong>CHANGE-MAKER:</strong> Sartaj Anand<strong>
ORGANIZATION: </strong>EgoMonk & Billion Strong<strong>
STRATEGY OF CHANGE: </strong>Leverage technology by focusing on the relationship between people and technology, and build trust by localizing and personalizing communication
<strong>
METHOD OF CHANGE:</strong> Storytelling<strong>
</strong></pre>
<h3 align="right"><em>“We all have something to say. Question is: will anyone listen?”</em></h3>
<div align="right">Understanding Comics<br />Scott McCloud, 1994</div>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<p align="justify">Today, everybody seems to be talking about ‘storytelling’. From activists to corporates; they are all jumping on this nostalgic bandwagon and embracing once again an enthralling habit of yesteryear: the ability to tell good stories. The practice has taken an identity of its own. It's distancing itself from its roots in oral tradition, and morphing into a state-of-the-art communication strategy. This is no selfless trend, though. Behind the hype, lies their thirst for (your) attention, and the belief that they do not only have a story to tell, but that it is a story that matters. In the context of “making change” particularly, when political and social crises emerge, the public space is flooded by a series of narratives and discourses as told by different actors. This explosion of stories culminates in an overload of information that could end up saturating its intended audience. This is not only undesirable, but dangerous when underneath the noise lies a message important for human dignity and survival. So, what is it about a story that will make it worthy of your attention? And how can this seemingly simple, yet complex tactic culminate in further engagement?</p>
<p align="justify">To explain storytelling as a method to create change, I will focus on how this practice can be utilized to enhance visibility and effectiveness of advocacy practices, as outlined in the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-to-conceive-condense-social-change">research overview</a>. I will start by unpacking ‘storytelling’: focusing on its purpose and functions. I will also look at the the relationship between the storyteller and the audience, and also at how storytelling redefines ‘the public space’. Although I will be putting my best effort to explain the workings behind his method, I will rely on the storytellers themselves to learn about the power of well-crafted and well-delivered stories to make change. This opportunity’s change-actors: Sartaj Anand, The Ugly Indian, Blank Noise, come from different fields and will show very different perspectives of how the narratives of change utilized in their stories, re-articulates how users/citizens/customers interact and experience content.</p>
<h2><strong>Telling Stories</strong></h2>
<p>So, what is storytelling? And what makes it so different from other forms of narration? I consulted the work of German philosophers Walter Benjamin and Hannah Arendt to unpack the nature of this practice and its ability to transmit knowledge.</p>
<div align="justify" class="pullquote">“the storyteller takes what he tells from the
experience and <span class="st">he in turn makes it the experience of those who are listening</span>” <em><br /></em>
<div align="right">W. Benjamin, 1977</div>
</div>
<p align="justify">In Benjamin’s essay “The Storyteller” (1955) he laments the demise of storytelling: “<em>less and less frequently do we encounter people with the ability to tell a tale properly [as if] the ability to exchange experiences [had been taken away from us]”.</em> Having its origins in oral tradition, storytelling for the most part consists of taking experiences worth sharing and disseminating them in the community with a specific, and according to Benjamin, a useful purpose in mind. It could be a moral, a maxim or a practical advice (1977), but at the end of the day, the audience takes away a new piece of information it did not have at the beginning of the story. This lesson may be related to the past of the storyteller or one of his characters, but its value lies in how it can now be extrapolated to the audience’s future. </p>
<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Benjamin1.jpg/image_preview" title="Benjamin 1" height="246" width="419" alt="Benjamin 1" class="image-inline image-inline" /></p>
<p align="center" class="discreet">Ann Rippin's rendition to The Storyteller by Walter Benjamin. Visit her wordpress <a href="http://annjrippin.wordpress.com/thirteen-notebooks-for-walter-benjamin/">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Hannah Arendt, German-American philosopher from the early 20th century also had a lot to say about storytelling and ‘narratives’. She understood it as a framework, backed up by a strong tradition of its own, and a structure that embodies how our mind works: <em>“the mind doesn’t simply re-create sequences of events as they occur, but it creates new sequences and integrates events into appropriate existing sequences; the mind is constantly forming narratives” </em>(Kieslich, 2013.). This understanding of the practice goes beyond Benjamin’s proposition that we become part of the narration as it occurs. Arendt posits that our mind is already manufactured to construct sequences and connections in the same way in which we build stories -as opposed to the way we structure our essays, novels or tweets- before we tell them. Being such an embedded cognitive process, it feels familiar, comfortable and natural, which derives into a “critical appreciation” for the events of the story, and leads you to make deeper connections on how they relate to your life (Oni, 2012).</p>
<p> (Read more on Arendt and storytelling here: <a href="http://www.hannaharendtcenter.org/?p=5229">The Story of Reconciliation – Hannah Arendt Center)</a></p>
<p align="justify">However, both Benjamin and Arendt’s analysis is still very focused on the oral vs. prose question. Entering the 21st century we face the question of the role of digital technology and our highly visual culture in facilitating, amplifying or limiting the process of storytelling. On this point, I jumped to the end of the 20th century and looked at one of the many forms of storytelling: the comic. Scott McCloud’s “Understanding the Comic” (1994) takes you through the whole process of creating a coherent interplay of words and pictures that “convey information” and/or produce an “aesthetic response in the viewer”. Why are aesthetics important? , Because, according to McCloud, the inclusion of art is both the rejection and affirmation of our human condition. On one hand, art (or how we respond to it) is a rejection to our basic instincts, allowing us to express needs beyond survival and reproduction. On the other hand, it is a vehicle through which we assert our identities as individuals and pursue a “higher purpose and truth” (1994). Digital storytelling is imbued with visual stimuli: pictures, videos, graphics, that enhance the sensory experience, and as we explored in the Information Design posts (Find Part 1:<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-information-is-power">Information Activism</a>, and Part 2: <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-design-activism-1">Information Design</a>) create new (and deeper) channels to approach and understand the message delivered by these stories.</p>
<table class="plain" align="center">
<thead align="center"></thead>
<tbody align="center">
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/UnderstandingomicsMcCloud.jpeg/image_preview" style="float: left;" title="SMC" height="341" width="228" alt="SMC" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td>
<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/FotoFlexer_Photo.jpg/image_preview" style="float: right;" title="SMC 2" height="346" width="400" alt="SMC 2" class="image-inline image-inline" /></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Comic3.jpg/image_preview" alt="SMC 3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="SMC 3" /></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="right" class="discreet">Excerpts of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud</p>
From these three perspectives we understand the following about storytelling. It is:
<blockquote>
<ul><li>A practice rooted in the tradition of sharing experiences</li></ul>
<ul><li>Participatory and interactive: the experience of the storyteller becomes the experience of the audience.</li></ul>
<ul><li>The purpose of storytelling is to pass on a message, moral guidance or practical advice to the audience, through its content.</li></ul>
<ul><li>The form or structure of narratives is determined by sequences of facts and events, which is the same way we build stories in our minds.</li></ul>
<ul><li>The experiential and familiar nature of storytelling makes it easier to engage with and relate to. </li></ul>
<ul><li>The inclusion of images, art and media produces an aesthetic response in the viewer, providing the audience an opportunity for self-expression and freedom.</li></ul>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify">Translating these characteristics to the theme of the Methods for Social Change project (how to build a sense of citizenship and civicness through technology-mediated practices. More <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-to-conceive-condense-social-changehere">here</a>): storytelling (re)emerges as a promising vehicle for political change, especially when in par with the “technological possibilities” of our times (Benjamin, 1977). If we choose to entertain this thought, we find how its roots in community traditions make stories an excellent meeting point to form solidarity networks and stronger offline communities to sustain activism. The logical and sequential format of stories are interesting mediums, not only to transmit new ideas on citizenship and engagement; but make them relevant and appealing. Finally, 'the moral of the stories' are seeds for introspection and reflection, that may shape how we understand our role in society as a whole. At the end of the day though, it is storytellers who will lead this journey and meeting them is the first step to gauge how the theory of storytelling unfolds in the practice.</p>
<p align="justify">In the next section, we will meet some of the actors utilizing this method in different fields - and there are plenty of storytellers out there, gifted in skill and
practice conveying an array of messages to an equally diverse public- but before moving on I will close with an excerpt from Lisa Disch’s essay that brings all these points together:</p>
<blockquote>
<h3 align="center">“[Storytelling] is more adequate than arguments to depict ambiguities of a multidimensional social reality” <br /></h3>
</blockquote>
<p><br />In other words, it is a practice that strips narratives from all ornaments, displaying the complexities of humanity in its most intuitive and experiential form.</p>
<h2 align="JUSTIFY"><strong>(Story)Tellers</strong></h2>
<h3 align="right"><em>Great storytellers: creators who devote their resources in controlling</em></h3>
<h3 align="right"><em> this medium to convey their messages effectively”</em></h3>
<p align="right">Understanding Comics<br />Scott McCloud (1993)</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Sartaj.jpg/image_preview" style="float: right;" title="Sartaj" height="185" width="255" alt="Sartaj" class="image-inline image-inline" /></p>
<p align="justify">Our first storyteller is Sartaj Anand; an India-based entrepreneur, founder of the innovation and strategy consulting firm: EgoMonk and active member of TED, Ashoka, Sandbox, Kairos Society and the Pearson Foundation networks (More about his work in his <a href="http://www.plussocialgood.org/Profile/19625">Social Good profile</a>). His self-described “unreasonable dream” is to impact one billion people with his work and create “life-changing experiences”. He strives to do this by a) leveraging the relationship between people and technology and b) through his recently launched non-profit Billion Strong. Also, as opposed to other change-makers we’ve interviewed in the project, he comes from an engineering and business background; bringing a for-profit perspective into our melange of multi-stakeholder approaches to change.</p>
<p align="justify">The following interview touches on digital storytelling as one of the ways Anand is using to leverage technology. His vision highlights how you cannot disconnect people from the processes you are utilizing to impact their lives. Incorporating a more humane focus in the way we use technology, and in how we construct stories, is according to his experience, the best way to have practices resonate to and be appropriate for the public.</p>
<p align="right" class="discreet">Sartaj Anand,</p>
<p align="right" class="discreet">Founder of EgoMonk and Billion Strong<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="left" class="callout"><strong>Tell us about your background and the intersections of your work with technology.</strong></p>
<p align="justify">I started with an engineering background and my thesis was on language processing; figuring out how people talk and how that needs construction data. Fundamentally at some point, I figured out that technology is not the problem, people are; so that’s how I moved into my current focus in business: which is innovation strategic consulting. I frequently rely on technology to enable or actualize change but I don’t necessarily create it. The challenge is how we leverage the technology we have [...] and that’s where I can add the most value.</p>
<p align="left" class="callout"><strong>How do you leverage technology in the context of making change then?</strong></p>
<p align="justify">I leverage technology in terms of using it but focusing on the ‘people’ side of it”: the relationship between people and technology. That’s the main intersection point. [...] This is what I mean when I talk about technology, innovation, social structures and change.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/26146622" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" align="middle" height="356" width="427"> </iframe></p>
<div align="center"> <strong> <a title="Ideas for Change" href="https://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand/ideas-for-change" target="_blank">Ideas for Change</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand" target="_blank">Sartaj Anand<br /></a></strong>
<div align="left"> </div>
</div>
<p align="justify">Economically, business models have to replicate and service society. If businesses serve their people, they capture maximum value and gain efficiency over ten, twenty years (and this is appealing to all the capitalists in industrial businesses). However, towards the course of these years a lot of things can change and you progressively become more and more outdated. When you have this premonition, that's the point when you need to step in and cannibalize your own business model.</p>
<p>
For example, for seven years, music labels sold cds only. Then Apple came in with iPods and digital music downloads. After milking this for 10 years, what it should have done is fortify it and start streaming music to capture maximum value, like Spotify did. [...] This is a model EgoMonk works with and we try to communicate these things to our clients. They have the power to execute it, but they have to internally feel confident with all their stakeholders, whether it is for-profits with their board; or non-profits with donors and program partners. This is a choice we need to commit to. A lot of the problem in the change process (technology enabled or otherwise) is trust building. At the end of the day you are working with people, and this is a challenge.</p>
<p class="callout"><strong>In order to build this trust you must be aiming for a deeper and personal communication with your clients. How are you including this in your business model?</strong></p>
<p align="justify">We focus a lot on communication and that’s something we rely on increasingly; and I found it has to have a Why-What-How model -borrowing from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Tw0PGcyN0">Simon Sinek's gold circles</a>. In that order.</p>
<div align="center"><iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/20996308" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" height="356" width="427"> </iframe></div>
<div align="center"> <strong> <a title="Storytelling 101" href="https://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand/storytelling-101-20996308" target="_blank">Storytelling 101</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand" target="_blank">Sartaj Anand</a></strong></div>
<p> </p>
<p>People don’t buy the 'what' of it, without the 'why' you do it. For example, Apple is great because it works to improve your life, to inspire you, amuse you: make your life better. What they do comes second: Apple is an electronics company, an application company. Last is the how: It makes the iPhone. We apply a similar model and this is something I apply in my storytelling also. I’m a believer that every story has to have an end or a moral: something that is more hopeful and optimistic. Rely on that but decide that also, I’m not the only one around: stories are increasingly personal and local.</p>
<p class="callout">
<strong>Given the personal and experiential nature of storytelling, I assume it is a challenge to mainstream it in your services. Tell us more about the practices you are using to implement it and how they break from more traditional communication practices in the past.</strong></p>
<h3>EgoMonk<br /></h3>
<p>EgoMonk is an Innovation and Strategic Management Consultancy (More about EgoMonk <a href="http://egomonk.com/">here</a>). Particularly this means that:</p>
<p align="justify">a) We start with the hypothesis that<strong> we don't know everything</strong>. With that in mind, we borrow amazing frameworks from amazing institutions. For example, <a href="http://holacracy.org/how-it-works">Holacracy</a>;
(a “purposeful organization” technology that changes how the
organization is structured, how decisions are made and how power is
distributed); '<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2013/02/04/playing-to-win-how-strategy-really-works/">How will you win</a>'
philosophy from traditional large companies,, where they equate every
decision to a couple of questions like what's your winning aspiration?,
where will you plan?, how will you win?, what capability
systems/processes need to exist to make this a sustainable practice that
outlives you? This approach gets us halfway there, [especially] working
with people who haven't had access to this before.</p>
<div align="center">
<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/EGomonk3.jpg/image_preview" title="egomonk 3" height="246" width="419" alt="egomonk 3" class="image-inline image-inline" /></div>
</div>
<p align="center" class="discreet"> <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/egomonk.com">EgoMonk</a>'s services</p>
<p align="justify">b) <strong>We localize it.</strong> We work with high impact entrepreneurs and turn their life goals into a four week plan. We frame it: What happens if after four weeks, you die. If these are four weeks you have to live: what really matters to you? What do you want to accomplish professionally and personally? Once you go through that exercise we say: What can continue sustainable during your life? What can you take away? We focus on timing and what you have to do. Once you put that concept of mortality into every day's existence, you start behaving differently.</p>
<p align="justify">c) We work with <strong>gamification</strong>. For example, we worked in a factory and completely changed the incentivization for their workers into something that is more fun. The challenge was: how do you improve the process of well-being in an industrial environment. How do we make working enjoyable for them? This model consists of short-term rewards: if you work really hard over this much time, you get 10 points and this gets you a (reward) with your family. This has never happened before.</p>
<h3><strong>Billion Strong</strong></h3>
<p>
Billion Strong is a platform. We want to impact a billion people and mobilize a billion dollars every year. The concept behind it is that the future is completely decoupled from our reality. It is highly utopian and right now we are not there and my hypothesis is that we'll never get there because our perspectives and assumptions keep evolving. This non-profit aims to accelerate the future in our lifetime so we can at least enjoy some of its benefits. It focuses on six things: culture, mobility, technology, art, nutrition and divinity. Each of these will be used as levers to impact a billion people.
In the case of Billion Strong, user adoption is the most frequent challenge you face in the non-profit space. I will explain this using our first two projects:</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>a) Project 1 - Divinity:</strong><br />We want to take religion, God and spirituality as a lever to impact people. A manifestation of this is the release of an open source tool kit to convert religious institutions into co-working spaces.</p>
<blockquote style="float: left;">
<p align="center"><strong>Centers of religion are:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Everywhere and permanent</li>
<li>Well known by the community</li>
<li>Community centers</li>
<li>Safe</li>
<li>Non-profit and non-taxable</li>
<li>Underutilized 99% of the time</li>
<li>Disconnected from youth</li></ul>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify"> Centers of religion have always been centers of education and community oriented, but within the last generation they've become prayer halls, and I think this is the wrong way of using this infrastructure. There are a couple of narratives being negotiated here (See box to the left).</p>
<p align="justify">In this case [the open source tool-kit] has a framework, and it is dynamic to the point where your choices in real time will influence the policies of this place and their physical manifestation. So you ask questions in a flow chart: Do you want men and women to work together or not?; Do you have the ability to buy new furniture or you want to use the existing furniture?; when you ask these questions you navigate a flow chart, depending on your choices. They will lead to a different output and when they see that, it is immediately empowering. This is storytelling, and this what will help us navigate the adoption issues. It's essentially us saying you own it; you know exactly what is good for your own community. In terms of the narrative, each copy will be different and adapted to its language. It has to be made for this community and everything has to be localized for that story you are telling. The religious and cultural narrative needs to be blended into it.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>b) Project 2 - Nutrition:<br /></strong>Meat consumption is a huge challenge and highly unsustainable. We will use kick-start mechanics in a mobile app to trigger and enable change in food habits. We are obviously very digitally inclined right now. It's easy to capitalize on that, but instead of giving them money, we will ask them to skip a meal, go vegetarian for today or for the week and we are going to support that.</p>
<p align="justify">Adoption is a huge challenge, so we'll ask them: Where do you stay? They'll say: Amsterdam [for example], and it will provide them with a template. If you are vegetarian for today, for the week, or the month, this is your meal plan and all you need. Users will find meals close to them and won't have to worry about it anymore. And we will map their impact in real time through info-graphics and data visualization. They will be constructing and visualizing their own story in real time and we’ll present it through different narratives.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout">
<strong>We are also looking at multi-stakeholderism in this project. Both EgoMonk and Billion Strong seem to be a combination of business, technology and communication strategies. Why multi-stakeholderism? </strong></p>
<p align="justify">Three reasons:</p>
<p align="justify">a) The future is<strong> multi-domain. </strong>You will never understand the whole picture if you say: I’m only going to solve water, but what about the pipes, the roads, the environment, infrastructure, cultural issue. One domain is no longer good enough. You will never be a complete expert of the complete ecosystem.</p>
<p align="justify">b) <strong>Adoption models</strong> will always be a challenge and right now it’s a compromised formula. Now it's a zero-sum game. We literally need to escape that and make it future-oriented; make it 1+1 through partnerships.</p>
<p align="justify">c)<strong> Storytelling </strong>is also getting more mainstreamed into change management and multi-stakeholderism. At the end of it, if you tell a good enough story, you can sell and get people to believe in your projects. This inherently builds partnership models. There is something that is permission marketing: all sales in the future are relationship based and indirect sales.(E.g. Red Bull is all about the experience) That’s how we have to be when we talk about multi-stakeholderism. Everything needs to be built in.</p>
<p align="justify">_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>
<p align="justify"><em>** Next installment will look at how storytelling enhances visibility and accessibility, and how it is being used by Urban Governance groups in Bangalore.**</em></p>
<h3><strong>Sources:</strong></h3>
<ul><li>Arendt, Hannah (1994) Essays in Understanding Edited with an
Introduction by Jerome Kohn. The literary Trust of Hannah Arendt
Bluecher.p.308
</li><li>
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Benjamin, Walter. (1977): "The storyteller."89.</div>
</li><li>Disch,Lisa Jane (1994) Hannah Arendt and the limits of Philosophy. Cornell University Press. p.172-173
</li><li>
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Kieslich, Ingo. (2013) "Walter
Benjamin, Hannah Arendt: Storytelling in and as theoretical writing."
PhD diss., Vanderbilt University,</div>
</li><li>McCloud, Scott. (1994)."Understanding comics: The invisible art." <em>Northampton, Mass</em> <br /></li><li>
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Oni, Peter (2012). "The Cognitive Power of Storytelling: Re-reading Hannah Arendt in a Postmodernist/Africanist Context."</div>
</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-sartaj-anand'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-sartaj-anand</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseMaking ChangeDigital Natives2014-03-12T11:43:19ZBlog EntryInstitute for Internet & Society 2014, Pune
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/institute-for-internet-society-2014-pune
<b>Last month, activists, journalists, researchers, and members of civil society came together at the 2014 Institute for Internet & Society in Pune, which was hosted by CIS and funded by the Ford Foundation. The Institute was a week long, in which participants heard from speakers from various backgrounds on issues arising out of the intersection of internet and society, such as intellectual property, freedom of expression, and accessibility, to name a few. Below is an official reporting summarizing sessions that took place.</b>
<p style="text-align: center; "><iframe frameborder="0" height="500" src="http://www.slideflickr.com/iframe/J3JYk2bm" width="700"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h1></h1>
<h1></h1>
<h1>Day One</h1>
<p>February 11, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 9.40 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Introduction: Sunil Abraham, <i>Executive Director Centre for Internet and Society</i><i> </i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10.00 a.m. – 10.15 a.m.<br /></td>
<td>
<p>Introduction of Participants</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10.15 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.</td>
<td>
<p>Internet Governance and Privacy: Sunil Abraham</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.00 p.m. – 12.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.30 p.m. – 1.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Keynote: Bishakha Datta, <i>Filmmaker and Activist, and Board Member, Wikimedia Foundation</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Participant Presentations<i> </i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea Break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Histories, Bodies and Debates around the Internet: Nishant Shah, <i>Director-Research, CIS</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This year’s Internet Institute, hosted by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), kicked off in Pune to put a start to a week of learnings and discussions surrounding internet usage and its implications on individuals of society. Twenty two attendees from all over India attended this year, from backgrounds of activism, journalism, research and advocacy work.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Attendees were welcomed by<b> Dr. Ravina Aggarwal</b>, Program Officer for Media Rights & Access at the Ford Foundation, the event’s sponsor, who started off the day by introducing the Foundation’s initiatives in pursuit of bridging the digital divide by addressing issues of internet connectivity.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/DSC_0050.JPG/image_preview" title="Pune_Sunil" height="243" width="367" alt="Pune_Sunil" class="image-inline image-inline" /><br /></th>
<td>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Internet Governance & Privacy</b>, Sunil Abraham <br />The Institute’s first session was led by <b>Sunil Abraham</b>, Executive Director of CIS, and engaged with issues of internet governance and privacy with reference to four stories: 1) a dispute between tweeters from the US and those in South Africa over the use of hashtag <a href="http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/khayadlanga/2009/11/05/yesterday-a-short-lived-war-broke-out-between-america-and-south-africa/comment-page-1/">#thingsdarkiesays</a>, which is said not to be as racially derogatory as it is in the US; 2) Facebook’s contested policies on <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-clarifies-breastfeeding-photo-policy/8791">photos featuring users breastfeeding</a>, 3) a lawsuit between <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/26/tata-sue-greenpeace-turtle-game">Tata and Greenpeace</a> over the organization’s use of Tata’s logo in a video game created for public criticism of their environmentally-degrading practices, and lastly, 4) the case of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savita_Bhabhi">Savita Bhabhi</a>, an Indian pornographic cartoon character which had been banned by India’s High Court and which had served as a landmark case in expanding the statutory laws for what is considered to be pornographic.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Each of these stories has one major thing in common: due to their nature of taking place over the internet, they are not confined to one geographic location and in turn, are addressed at the international level. The way by which an issue as such is to be addressed cuts across State policies and internet intermediary bodies to create quite a messy case in trying to determine who is at fault. Such complexity illustrates how challenging internet governance can be within today’s society that is no longer restricted to national or geographic boundaries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil also goes on in explaining the relationship between privacy, transparency, and power, summing it up in a simple formula; <b>privacy protection s</b>hould have a <i>reverse</i> relationship to <b>power</b>—the more the power, the less the privacy one should be entitled to. On the contrary, a <i>direct correlation</i> goes for <b>power</b> and <b>transparency</b>—the more the power, the more transparent a body should be. Instead of thinking about these concepts as a dichotomy, Sunil suggests to see them as absolute rights in themselves—instrumental in policies and necessary to address power imbalances.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>The Web We Want</b>, Bishakha Datta<br />The Institute’s kickoff was also joined by Indian filmmaker and activist, <b>Bishakha Datta</b>, who had delivered the keynote address. Bishakha bridged together notions of freedom of speech, surveillance, and accessibility, while introducing campaigns that work to create an open and universally accessible web, such as the <a href="https://webwewant.org/">Web We Want</a> and <a href="http://www.sexualityanddisability.org/">Sexuality and Disability</a>. Bishakha stresses how the internet as a space has altered how we experience societal constructs, which can be easily exhibited in how individuals experience Facebook in the occurrence of a death, for example. Bishakha initiated discussion among participants by posing questions such as, “what is our expectation of privacy in this brave new world?” and “what is the society we want?” to encompass the need to think of privacy in a new way with the coming of the endless possibilities the internet brings with it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Histories, Bodies and Debates around the Internet</b>, Nishant Shah<br />CIS Research Director, <b>Nishant Shah</b>, led a session examining internet as a technology more broadly, and our understandings of it in relation to the human body. Nishant proposes the idea that history is a form of technology, as well as time, itself, for which our understanding only comes into being with the aid of technologies of measurement. Although we are inclined to separate technology from the self, Nishant challenges this notion while suggesting that technology is very integral to being human, and defines a “cyborg” as someone who is very intimate with technology. In this way, we are all cyborgs. While making reference to several literary pieces, including Haraway’s <i>Cyborg: Human, Animus, Technology</i>; Kevin Warwick’s <i>Living Cyborg</i>; and Watt’s small world theory, Nishant challenges participants’ previous notions of how one is to understand technology in relation to oneself, as well as the networks we find ourselves implicated within.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Also brought forth by Nishant, was the fact that the internet as a technology has become integral to our identities, making <i>us</i> accessible (rather than us solely making the technology accessible) through online forms of documentation. This digital phenomenon in which we tend to document what we know and experience as a means of legitimizing it can be summed in the modern version of an old fable: “If a tree falls in a lonely forest, and nobody tweets it, has it fallen?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nishant refers to several case studies in which the use of online technologies has created a sense of an extension of the self and one’s personal space; which can then be subject to violation as one can be in the physical form, and to the same emotional and psychological effect—as illustrated within the 1993 occurrence referred to as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rape_in_Cyberspace">A Rape in Cyberspace</a>.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Attendee Participation</b><br />Participants remained engaged and enthusiastic for the duration of the day, bringing forth their personal expertise and experiences. Several participants presented their own research initiatives, which looked at issues women face as journalists and as portrayed by the media; amateur pornography without the consent of the woman; study findings on the understandings of symptoms of internet addiction; as well as studies looking at how students engage with college confession pages on Facebook.</p>
<div></div>
<hr />
<h1>Day Two</h1>
<p>February 12, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wireless Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy, <i>CEO and Co-founder at Teritree Technologies</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wired Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Network, Threats and Securing Yourself: Kingsley John, <i>Independent Consultant</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea Break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Practical Lab: Kingsley John</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">4.45 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wrap-up: Sunil Abraham</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<td>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day Two of the Institute entailed a more technical orientation to “internet & society” across sessions. Participants listened to speakers introduce concepts related to wired and wireless internet connectivity devices and their networks, along with the network of internet users and how one may secure him or herself while “online.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Wireless & Wired Technology</b>, Ravikiran Annaswamy<br />Senior industry practitioner, <b>Ravikiran Annaswamy</b> had aimed to enable the Institute’s participants to “understand the depth and omnipresent of telecom networks” that we find ourselves implicated within. Ravikiran went through the basics of these networks—including fixed line-, mobile-, IP-, and Next Generation IP-networks—as well as the technical structuring of wired and wireless broadband. Many participants found this session to be particularly enriching as their projects aimed to provide increased access to internet connectivity to marginalized areas in India, and had been without the know-how to go about it.</p>
</td>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/5.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Participants" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Participants" /><br /></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Network, Threats and Securing Yourself</b>, Kinglsey John<br />An instructional session on how to protect oneself was given by <b>Kingsley John</b>, beginning with a lesson on IP Addresses—what they are and the different generations of such, and how IP addresses fit into a broader internet network. Following, Kingsley demonstrated and explained <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/lupucosmin/encrypting-emails-using-kleopatra-pgp">email encryption through the use of software, Kleopatra</a>, and how it may be used to generate keys to <a href="http://thehackernews.com/2014/01/PGP-encryption-Thunderbird-Enigmail_12.html">encrypt emails through Thunderbird mail client</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Evening Discussion</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A handful of participants voluntarily partook in an evening discussion, looking at the role of big players in the global internet network, such as Google and Facebook, how they collect and utilize users’ data, and what sorts of measures can be taken to minimize the collecting of such. Due to the widely varying backgrounds of interest among participants, those coming from this technical orientation towards the internet were able to inform their peers on relevant information and types of software that may be found useful related to minimizing one’s online presence.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Three</h1>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">February 13, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Free Software: Prof. G. Nagarjuna, <i>Chairperson, Free Software Foundation</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Open Data: Nisha Thompson, <i>Independent Consultant</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Freedom of Expression: Bhairav Acharya, <i>Advocate and Adviser, Centre for Internet and Society</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Copyright: Nehaa Chaudhari, <i>Program Officer, Centre for Internet and Society</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The third day of the Internet Institute incorporated themes presented by speakers ranging from free software, to freedom of expression, to copyright.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Free Software</b>, Prof. G. Nagarjuna<br />Chairman on the Board of Directors for the Free Software Foundation of India, <b>Professor G. Nagarjuna</b> shared with the Institute’s participants his personal expertise on <b>software freedom</b>. Nagarjuna mapped for us the network of concepts related to software freedom, beginning with the origins of the <b>copyleft movement</b>, and also touching upon the art of hacking, the <b>open source movement</b>, and what role software freedom plays in an interconnected world.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nagarjuna looks at the free software movement as a political movement in the digital space highlighting the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">user’s freedoms</a> associated to the use, distribution, and modification of software for the greater good for all. This is said to distinguish this movement from that of Open Source—a technical and more practical development-oriented movement. The free software movement is not set out to compromise the fundamental issues for the sake of being practical and in that sense, ubiquitous. Instead, its objective is “not to make everybody <i>use</i> the software, but to have them understand <i>why</i> they are using the software,” so that they may become “authentic citizens that can also resonate <i>why </i>they’re doing what they’re doing. We want them to understand the ethical and political aspects of doing so,” Nagarjuna says.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Open Data</b>, Nisha Thompson<br />Participants learned from <b>Nisha Thompson</b> on Open Data; what it is, its benefits, and how it is involved in central government initiatives and policy, as well as civil society groups—generally for uses such as serving as evidence for decision making and accountability. Nisha explored challenges concerning the use of open data, such as those pertaining to privacy, legitimacy, copyright, and interoperability. The group looked at the <a href="http://www.indiawaterportal.org/">India Water Portal</a> as a case study, which makes accessible more than 300 water-related datasets already available in the public space for use from anything from sanitation and agriculture to climate change.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Freedom of Expression</b>, Bhairav Acharya<br /><b>Bhairav Acharya</b>, a constitutional lawyer, traced the development of the freedom of speech and expression in India. Beginning with a conceptual understanding of censorship and the practice of censorship by the state, society, and the individual herself, Bhairav examines the limits traditionally placed by a nation-state on the right to free speech.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In India, modern free speech and censorship law was first formulated by the colonial British government, which broadly imported the common law to India. However, the colonial state also yielded to the religious and communitarian sensitivities of its subjects, resulting in a continuing close link between communalism and free speech in India today. After Independence, the post-colonial Indian state carried forward Raj censorship, but tweaked it to serve to a nation-building and developmental agenda. Nation-building and nationalism are centrifugal forces that attempt to construct a homogenous 'mainstream'; voices from the margins of this mainstream (the geographical, ethnic, and religious peripheries) and of the marginalised within the mainstream (the poor and disadvantaged), are censored.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Within this narrative, Bhairav located and explained the evolution of the law relating to press censorship, defamation, obscenity, and contempt of court. Free speech law applies equally online. Broadly, censorship on the internet must survive the same constitutional scrutiny that is applied to offline censorship; but, as technology develops, the law must innovate.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Copyright</b>, Nehaa Chaudhari<br />CIS Programme Officer, <b>Nehaa Chaudhari</b> examined the concept of Copyright as an intellectual property right in discussing its fundamentals, purpose and origins, and Copyright’s intersection with the internet. Nehaa also explained the different exceptions to Copyright, along with its alternatives, such as opposing intellectual property protection regimes, including the Creative Commons and Copyleft. Within this session, Nehaa also introduced several cases in which Copyright came into play with the use of the internet, including Hunter Moore’s “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Anyone_Up%3F">Is Anyone Up</a>?” website, which had showcased pornographic pictures obtained by submission bringing rise to the phenomenon of “revenge porn.” Instances as such blur the lines of what is commonly referred to as intellectual property, and what specific requirements enables one to own the rights to such.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Four</h1>
<p>February 14, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>E-Accessibility and Inclusion: Prashant Naik, <i>Union Bank</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Patents: Nehaa Chaudhari</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Fieldwork Assignment</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/DSC_0053.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Rohini" class="image-inline" title="Pune_Rohini" /><br /></th>
<td style="text-align: justify; ">
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day Four of the Internet Institute introduced concepts of eAccessibilty and Inclusion on the internet for persons with disabilities, along with patents as an intellectual property right. Participants were also assigned a fieldwork exercise as a hands-on activity in which they were to employ what they’ve learned to initiate conversation with individuals in public spaces and collect primary data while doing so.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>eAccessibility and Inclusion</b>, Prashant Naik</p>
<b>Prashant Naik</b> started off the day with his session on E-Accessibility and Inclusion. Prashant illustrated the importance of accessibility and what is meant by the term. Participants learned of assistive technologies for different disability types and how to create more accessible word and PDF documents, as well as web pages for users. Prashant demonstrated to participants what it is like to use a computer as a visually impaired individual, which provided for an enriching experience.</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Patents</b>, Nehaa Chaudhari<b><br />Nehaa Chaudhari </b>led a second session at the Internet Institute on intellectual property rights—this one looking at patents particularly and their role within statutory law. Nehaa traced the historical origins of patents before examining the fundamentals of them, and addresses the questions, “Why have patents? And is the present system working for everyone?” Nehaa also introduced notions of the Commons along with the Anticommons, and perspectives within the debate around software patents, as well as different means by which the law can address the exploitation of patents or “patent thickets”—such as through patent pools or compulsory licensing.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Fieldwork Assignment</b>, Groupwork<br />Participants were split into groups and required to carry out a mini fieldwork assignment in approaching individuals in varying public spaces in Pune in attempts to collect primary data. Questions asked to individuals were to be devised by the group, so long as they pertained to themes examined within the Internet Institute. Areas visited by groups included the Pune Central Mall, MG Road, and FC Road.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Five</h1>
<p>February 15, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>E-Governance: Manu Srivastav, <i>Vice President, eGovernments Foundation</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Market Concerns: Payal Malik, <i>Economic Adviser, Competition Commission of India</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Digital Natives: Nishant Shah</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Fieldwork Presentations</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<td>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day Five of the Internet Institute brought with it sessions related to themes of e-governance, market concerns of telecommunications, and so called “Digital Natives.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>eGovernance</b>, Manu Srivastava<br />Vice President of the eGovernments Foundation, <b>Manu Srivastava</b> led a session on eGovernance—the utilization of the internet as a means of delivering government services communicating with citizens, businesses, and members of government. Manu examined the complexities of the eGovernance and barriers to implementation of eGovernance initiatives. Within discussion, participants examined the nuanced relationship between the government and citizens with the incorporation of other governing bodies in an eGovernance system, as well as new spaces for corruption to take place.</p>
</td>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/19.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Chatting" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Chatting" /><br /></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Market Concerns</b>, Payal Malik<br /><b>Payal Malik</b>, Advisor of the Economics Division of the Competition Commission of India shared her knowledge on market concerns of the telecommunications industry, and exclaimed the importance of competition issues in such an industry as a tool to create greater good for a greater number of people. She demonstrated this importance by stating that affordability as a product of increased access can only be possible once there is enough investment, which generally only happens in a competitive market. In this way, we must set the conditions to make competition possible, as a tool to achieve certain objectives. Payal also demonstrated the economic benefits of telecommunications by stating that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration, increase in GDP of 1.3%. She also examined the broadband ecosystem in India and touched upon future possibilities of increased broadband penetration, such as for formers and the education sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Digital Natives</b>, Nishant Shah<br /><b>Nishant Shah</b> shed some light on one of the areas that the Centre for Internet & Society looks at within their research scope, this being the “<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives">Digital Native</a>.” As referred to by Nishant, the Digital Native is not to categorize a specific type of internet user, but can be said for simply any person who is performing a digital action, while doing away with this false dichotomy of age, location, and geography.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nishant examines varying case studies in which “the digital is empowering natives to not merely be benefactors of change, but agents of change,” from the <a href="http://blog.blanknoise.org/2012/07/i-never-ask-for-it.html">Blank Noise Project</a>’s “I NEVER Ask for it…” campaign in efforts to rethink sexual violence, to <a href="http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/">Matt Harding</a>’s foolish dancing with groups of individuals from all over the world.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As occurrences in the digital realm, however, these often political expressions may be rewritten by the network when picked up as a growing phenomenon, in order to make it accessible to online consumers by the masses. In doing so, the expression is removed from its political context and is presented in the form of nothing more than a fad. For this reason, Nishant stresses the need to become aware of the potential of the internet in becoming an “echo-chamber”—in which forms of expression are amplified and mimicked, resulting in a restructuring of the dynamics surrounding the subject—whether it be videos of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_Dorm_Boys">boys lipsyncing to Backstreet Boys</a> in their dorm room going viral, or a strong and malicious movement to punish the Chinese girl who had taken a video of her heinously and wickedly killing a kitten after locating her using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_flesh_search_engine">Human Flesh Search Engine</a>.<b><br /></b></p>
<p><b>Fieldwork Presentations</b>, Groupwork</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To end off the day, participant groups presented findings collated from the prior evening’s fieldwork exercise, in which they were to ask strangers in various public places of Pune questions pertaining to themes looked at from within this year’s Institute. Participants were divided into four groups and visited Pune’s FC Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, and Central Mall.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Groups found that the majority of those interviews primarily accessed the phone via the mobile. There was also a common weariness of using the internet and concern for one’s privacy while doing so, especially with uploading photos to Facebook and online financial transactions. People were also generally concerned about using cyber cafes for fear of one’s accounts being hacked. Generally people suspected that so long as conversations are “private” (i.e. in one’s Facebook inbox), so too are they secure. Just as well, those interviewed shared a sense of security with the use of a password.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Six</h1>
<p>February 16, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wikipedia: Dr. Abhijeet Safai</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Open Access: Muthu Madhan (TBC)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Case Studies Groupwork</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Case Studies Presentations</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As the Institute came closer to its end, participants got the opportunity to hear from speakers on topics pertaining the Wikipedia editing in addition to Open Access to scholarly literature. Participants also worked together in groups to examine specific case studies referenced in previous sessions, and then presented their conclusions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Wikipedia</b>, Dr. Abhijeet Safai<br />The Institute was joined by Medical Officer of Clinical Research at Pune’s Symbiosis Centre of Health Care, <b>Dr. Abhijeet Safai</b>, who led a session on Wikipedia. Having edited over 3700 Wikipedia articles, Dr. Abhijeet was able to bring forth his expertise and familiarity in editing Wikipedia to participants so that they would be able to do the same. Introduced within this session were Wikipedia’s different fundamental pillars and codes of conducts to be complied with by all contributors, along with different features and components of Wikipedia articles that one should be aware of when contributing, such as how to cite sources and discuss the contents of an article with other contributors.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Open Access</b>, Muthu Madhan<br /><b>Muthu Madhan</b> joined the Internet Institute while speaking on Open Access (OA) to scholarly literature. Within his session, Muthu examined the historical context within which the scholarly journal had arisen and how the idea of Open Access began within this space. The presence of Open Access in India and other developing nations was also examined in this session, and the concept of Open Data, introduced.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Case Studies</b>, Groupworks</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/11.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Group2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Group2" /><br /></td>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/8.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Group" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Group" /><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Participants were split up into groups and assigned particular case studies looked at briefly in previous sessions. Case studies included <a href="http://siditty.blogspot.in/2009/11/things-darkies-say.html"><i>#thingsdarkiessay</i></a><i>,</i> a once trending Twitter hashtag in South Africa which had offended many Americans for its use of “darkie” as a derogatory term; the literary novel, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hindus:_An_Alternative_History"><i>The Hindus</i></a>, which offers an alternative narrative of Hindu history had been banned in India for obscenity; a case in which several users’ avatars had been controlled by another in a virtual community and forced to perform sexual acts, referred to as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rape_in_Cyberspace"><i>A Rape Happened in Cyber Space</i></a>; and lastly, a pornographic submission website, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Anyone_Up%3F">Is Anyone Up?</a>, for which content was largely derived from “revenge porn.” Each group then presented on the various perspectives surrounding the issue at hand.<b><br /></b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>The Cyborg</b>, Nishant Shah<br />Nishant Shah led an off-agenda session in the evening looking more closely at the notion of the human cyborg. Nishant deconstructs humanity’s relationship to technology, in suggesting that we “think of the human as <i>produced</i> with the technologies… not who <i>produces</i> technology.” Nishant explores the Digital Native as an attained identity for those who, because of technology, restructure and reinvent his or her environment—offline as well as online. Among other ideas shared, Nishant refers to works by Haraway on the human cyborg in illustrating our dependency on technology and our need to care for these technologies we depend on.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Seven</h1>
<p>February 17, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Internet Activism: Laura Stein, <i>Associate Professor, University of Texas </i>and <i>Fulbright Fellow<br /></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Domestic and International Bodies: Chinmayi Arun, <i>Research Director<br /></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Participant Presentations</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Hot Question Challenge</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b>The last day of the week-long Internet Institute examined concepts of Internet Activism and Domestic and International Bodies. Some participants led presentations on topics of personal familiarity, before a final wrap-up exercise, calling upon individuals to share any new formulations resulting from the Institute.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Internet Activism</b>, Laura Stein</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/17.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Laura" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Laura" /><br /></td>
<td style="text-align: justify; ">Associate Professor from the University of Texas, <b>Laura Stein</b>, spoke on activism on the internet. Laura examined some grassroots organizations and movements taking place on the online and the benefits that the internet brings in facilitating their impact, such as its associated low costs, accessibility and possibility for anonymity. Despite the positive effects catalyzed by the internet, Laura stresses that the “laying field is still unequal, and movements are not simply transformed by technology.” Some of the websites exemplifying online activism that were examined within this session includes the <a href="http://www.itgetsbetter.org/">It Gets Better Project</a>, which aims to give hope to LGBT youth facing harassment, and the national election watch by the <a href="http://adrindia.org/">Association for Democratic Reforms</a>. Additionally, Laura spoke on public communication policy, comparing that of the US and India, and how this area of policy may influence media content and practice.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Domestic and International Bodies</b>, Chinmayi Arun<br />As the Internet Institute’s final speaker, Research Director for Communication Governance at National Law University<i> </i>,<b> Chinmayi Arun</b>, explores the network of factors that affect one’s behavior on the internet—these including: social norms, the law, the markets, and architecture. In referring to Lawrence Lessig’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathetic_dot_theory">pathetic dot theory</a>, Chinmayi illustrates how individual’s—the pathetic dots in question—are functions of the interactions of these factors, and in this sense, regulated, and stresses the essential need to understand the system, in order to effectively change the dynamics within it. It is worth noting that not all pathetic dots are equal, and Google’s dot, for example, will be drastically bigger than a single user’s, having more leveraging power within the network of internet bodies. Also demonstrated, is the fact that we must acknowledge the need for regulation by the law to some extent, otherwise, the internet would be a black box where anything goes, putting one’s security at risk of violation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Hot Question Challenge</b><br />The very last exercise of the Institute entailed participants asking each other questions on demand, relating back to different themes looked at within the last week. Participants had the chance, here, to bridge together concepts across sessions, as well as formulate their own opinions, while posing questions to others that they, themselves, were still curious about.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/DSC_0371.JPG/image_large" alt="Pune_Everyone" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Everyone" /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/institute-for-internet-society-2014-pune'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/institute-for-internet-society-2014-pune</a>
</p>
No publishersamanthaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomResearchers at WorkWikipediaAccessibilityInternet GovernanceFeaturedWikimediaOpennessHomepage2014-04-07T11:31:23ZBlog EntryFebruary 2014 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/february-2014-bulletin
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) welcomes you to the second issue of its newsletter (February) for the year 2014: </b>
<p>-------------------------------<br />Highlights<br />-------------------------------</p>
<ul>
<li>We published revised chapters for the states of Mizoram, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, as part of our National Resource Kit project.</li>
<li>In the concluding blog post of a three-part study Ananth Padmanabhan looks at the Indian law in the Copyright Act and the Information Technology Act, and concludes that both those laws restrain courts and private companies from ordering an ISP to block a website for copyright infringement.</li>
<li>Telugu Wikipedia celebrated its 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary. An event was co-organized in Vijaywada to celebrate the same.</li>
<li>The second Institute on Internet and Society was held in Pune from February 11 to 17. The proceedings from the workshop are captured in a blog post. </li>
<li>CIS announced an Open Call for Comments for the latest draft of the Privacy Bill, 2013 prepared by Bhairav Acharya.</li>
<li>Forbes India published its “30 Under 30 List”. Pranesh Prakash is featured in the list.</li>
<li>As part of the Making Change Project, Denisse Albornoz wrote a blog post that compares the production behind a performance with the process of storytelling.</li>
<li>Beli gives an introduction to spectrum sharing. The post looks at GSM and CDMA, and touches upon LTE, and how they might share spectrum.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------<a href="https://cis-india.org/jobs"><br />Jobs<br /></a>-----------------------------------------------<br />CIS is seeking applications for the post of Program Officer (Access to Knowledge): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fnydB0">http://bit.ly/1fnydB0</a>. There are two vacancies for this post and it is full-time based in Delhi. To apply, please send your resume to Sunil Abraham (<a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org">sunil@cis-india.org</a>), Nirmita Narasimhan (<a href="mailto:nirmita@cis-india.org">nirmita@cis-india.org</a>) and Pranesh Prakash (<a href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org">pranesh@cis-india.org</a>) with three writing samples of which at least one demonstrates your analytic skills, and one that shows your ability to simplify complex policy issues.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility">Accessibility and Inclusion<br /></a>----------------------------------------------<br />As part of our project (under a grant from the Hans Foundation) on creating a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India, we bring you draft chapters for the states of Mizoram, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. With this we have completed compilation of draft chapters for 35 states.</p>
<p><i>Based upon discussion with the office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) the following chapters were revised</i>:</p>
<p>► National Resource Kit Chapter</p>
<ul>
<li>The Mizoram Chapter (by CLPR, February 5, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1eUSvxW">http://bit.ly/1eUSvxW</a> </li>
<li>The Dadra & Nagar Haveli Chapter (by CLPR, February 6, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1mv3YhJ">http://bit.ly/1mv3YhJ</a> </li>
<li>The Haryana Chapter (by Anandhi Viswanathan, February 10, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1dVOiKI">http://bit.ly/1dVOiKI</a> </li>
<li>The Himachal Pradesh Chapter (by Anandhi Viswanathan, February 12, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1jSk03x">http://bit.ly/1jSk03x</a> </li>
</ul>
<p>► Other</p>
<p># Participation in Events</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">National Consultation on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Development Process (organized by CBM India in collaboration with United Nations Solution Exchange for Gender Community, WHO Regional office for South-East Asia, New Delhi, February 12, 2014). Anandhi Viswanathan participated in a panel discussion. She made a presentation on the National Resource Kit project: <a href="http://bit.ly/OlkHVq">http://bit.ly/OlkHVq</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Zero Project Conference on Accessibility: Innovative Policies and Practices for Persons with Disabilities (organized by Essl Foundation, the World Future Council and the European Foundation Centre, United Nations Office, Vienna, February 27 and 28, 2014). Pranesh Prakash spoke on Affordable Text-to-Speech Software from India: <a href="http://bit.ly/1czo32s">http://bit.ly/1czo32s</a>. Nominations on e-speak were recognised as examples of innovative practices and policies from India. Pranesh Prakash was also a speaker on Copyright Exception for Accessible Formats: <a href="http://bit.ly/1l8HRth">http://bit.ly/1l8HRth</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a><br />-----------------------------------------------------------<br />The Access to Knowledge programme addresses the harms caused to consumers and human rights, and critically examines Open Government Data, Open Access to Scholarly Literature, and Open Access to Law, Open Content, Open Standards, and Free/Libre/Open Source Software.</p>
<p># Analyses</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Can Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 2) (by Ananth Padmanabhan, February 5, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cddoKm">http://bit.ly/1cddoKm</a>. Analyses the law laid down by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court on secondary and contributory copyright infringement.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Can Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 3) (by Ananth Padmanabhan, February 5, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1g35mDg">http://bit.ly/1g35mDg</a>. Analyses the Indian law in the Copyright Act and the Information Technology Act. </li>
</ul>
<p># Participation in Events</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">2nd International Conference on Managing Intellectual Property Rights and Strategy (MIPS 2014) (organized by Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay with support from the Ministry of Human Resources Development IPR Chair Project, Government of India): <a href="http://bit.ly/PsPEbq">http://bit.ly/PsPEbq</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Consultation on Institutional Arrangements for IP management under MHRD (organized by the Planning Commission and Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi, February 21, 2014). Nehaa Chaudhari participated in this consultation: <a href="http://bit.ly/1fTCoar">http://bit.ly/1fTCoar</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">National Conference on Use of Technology in Higher Education (organized by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development and Planning Commission in partnership with Microsoft Research and British Council, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, February 25, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/P6u78i">http://bit.ly/P6u78i</a>. Nehaa Chaudhari participated in the event as a panelist in the session on "Future of Content Creation". </li>
</ul>
<p align="left"># Media Coverage</p>
<ul>
<li>Pranesh Prakash: Influencing India's IP Laws (by Samar Srivastava, Forbes India, February 15, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1kBzLMq">http://bit.ly/1kBzLMq</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The following has been done under grant from the Wikimedia Foundation (<a href="http://bit.ly/SPqFOl">http://bit.ly/SPqFOl</a>). As part this project (<a href="http://bit.ly/X80ELd">http://bit.ly/X80ELd</a>), we organised 4 workshops in the month of January, published an article in DNA, and signed a memorandum of understanding with KIIT University and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences to further the development of Odia Wikipedia:</p>
<p>►Wikipedia</p>
<p># Articles / Blog Entries</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Odia Language's Presence in Digital Media and Wikipedia's Role (by Subhashish Panigrahi, The Samaja, March 2, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ieF3sC">http://bit.ly/1ieF3sC</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Indian Wikimedia community coordinates Women’s History Month (by Netha Hussain and Jeph Paul, Wikimedia Foundation, March 6, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cyRfqf">http://bit.ly/1cyRfqf</a>,</li>
</ul>
<p># Events Co-organized</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Cinemathon2014 Bangalore (organized by Pad.ma and CIS-A2K, CIS, Bangalore, February 8-9, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/MRRkZz">http://bit.ly/MRRkZz</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Tewiki 10th Anniversary (organized by CIS-A2K and Telugu Wikipedia community, February 15, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1iI2Pxs">http://bit.ly/1iI2Pxs</a>. T. Vishnu Vardhan and Rahmanuddin Shaikh were speakers at the event.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Cinemathon2014 Mumbai (organized by Pad.ma and CIS-A2K, CAMP Studio, Mumbai, February 15-16, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/P5YGL8">http://bit.ly/P5YGL8</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Wikipedia Mangalore Workshop (organized by Roshini Nilaya and CIS-A2K, Mangalore, February 26, 2014). Dr. U.B.Pavanaja gave a presentation on Wikipedia with a special focus on students and women.</li>
</ul>
<p>CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<p># Media Coverage</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Father-son duo promote Punjabi online (by Jatinder Preet, Sunday Guardian, February 1, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1l87b2h">http://bit.ly/1l87b2h</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">୧୦ ବର୍ଷରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ୱିକିପିଡିଆ (Rabibara Sambad (Sunday supplement of Odia newspaper The Sambad), February 9, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1igMynn">http://bit.ly/1igMynn</a>. This is a feature about Odia Wikipedia's 10th anniversary and the story of a dead volunteer community reviving after 8 years.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Wikipedia Mangalore Workshop (Prajavani, February 27, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1gVMG6f">http://bit.ly/1gVMG6f</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p># Participation in Event</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Dynamics of Education to Employment Journey: Opportunities and Challenges (organized by KIIT School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, February 21-22, 2014). T. Vishnu Vardhan gave a talk: <a href="http://bit.ly/1ePwqHc">http://bit.ly/1ePwqHc</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p>Event Organized</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Wiki Women's Workshop (ICG – Dona Paula, Goa, March 9, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/MRRJLy">http://bit.ly/MRRJLy</a>. The event is being organized as part of the commemoration of the International Women's Day. </li>
</ul>
<p>Openness</p>
<p># Event Organised</p>
<ul>
<li>Bitcoin & Open Source with Aaron Koenig (CIS, Bangalore, February 7, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fbN6mP">http://bit.ly/1fbN6mP</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a><br />-----------------------------------------------<br />CIS is doing a project (under a grant from Privacy International and International Development Research Centre (IDRC)) on conducting research on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). So far we have organised seven privacy round-tables and drafted the Privacy (Protection) Bill. Gautam Bhatia gives an analysis of the right to privacy from a constitutional perspective. Bhairav Acharya prepared an updated version of the Privacy Protection Bill which was published for comments.</p>
<p># Call for Comments</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Privacy Protection Bill, 2013 (by Bhairav Acharya, February 25, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1g3TwIX">http://bit.ly/1g3TwIX</a>. CIS announced an Open Call for Comments to the latest version of the bill.</li>
</ul>
<p># Articles</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Internet Way (by Nishant Shah, Biblio Vol. 19 No.8 (1&2), January – February 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1kBp9gJ">http://bit.ly/1kBp9gJ</a>. Dr. Nishant Shah's review of the book “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon” by Bantam Press/Random House Group, London can be found on page 16.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Surveillance and the Indian Constitution - Part 3: The Public/Private Distinction and the Supreme Court’s Wrong Turn (by Gautam Bhatia, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog, February 25, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1kBosnw">http://bit.ly/1kBosnw</a>. This was originally published on Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Big Democracy, Big Surveillance: India's Surveillance State (by Maria Xynou, Open Democracy, February 28, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1nkg8Ho">http://bit.ly/1nkg8Ho</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Will You be Paid to Post a Picture? (by Nishant Shah, Indian Express, February 18, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/P65d8L">http://bit.ly/P65d8L</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p># Blog Entries</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">February 11: The Day We Fight Back Against Mass Surveillance (by Divij Joshi, February 14, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1e7drCV">http://bit.ly/1e7drCV</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Calcutta High Court Strengthens Whistle Blower Protection (by Divij Joshi, February 24, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cG8v7t">http://bit.ly/1cG8v7t</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS Welcomes 52nd Report on Cyber Crime, Cyber Security, and Right to Privacy (by Elonnai Hickok, February 24, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1oviMJ4">http://bit.ly/1oviMJ4</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">UIDAI Practices and the Information Technology Act, Section 43A and Subsequent Rules (by Elonnai Hickok, February 25, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fbSfep">http://bit.ly/1fbSfep</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p align="left"># Events Organized</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Nullcon Goa Feb 2014 — International Security Conference (organised by Nullcon, Bogmallo Beach Resort, Goa, February 12 – 15, 2014). CIS is one of the sponsors for this event: <a href="http://bit.ly/1lrBu5I">http://bit.ly/1lrBu5I</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Counter Surveillance Panel: DiscoTech & Hackathon (co-organized by CIS, MIT Centre for Civic Media Co-Design Lab, Tactical Technology Collective, Hackteria.org, and Shristi School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore, March 1, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/NCGMyH">http://bit.ly/NCGMyH</a> </li>
</ul>
<p># Participation in Events</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">First Meeting of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group for India Internet Governance Forum (organized by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, New Delhi, February 10, 2014). Sunil Abraham participated in this meeting: <a href="http://bit.ly/1fKu5xz">http://bit.ly/1fKu5xz</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Internet Intermediary Liability: Towards Evidence-based Policy and Regulatory Reform to Secure Human Rights on the internet (organized by Association for Progressive Communications, The Wedgewood, Melville, Johannesburg, February 10-11, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fMAEK2">http://bit.ly/1fMAEK2</a>. Elonnai Hickok was a speaker. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Towards an Equitable and Just Internet (organized by IT for Change, New Delhi, February 14-15, 2014). Bhairav Acharya was a speaker: <a href="http://bit.ly/1cz9EDt">http://bit.ly/1cz9EDt</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Workshop on Media Law & Policy Curriculum Development (organized by the Centre for Communication Governance, National Law University, Delhi and University of Oxford in support with the International Higher Education-Knowledge Economy Partnerships Programme of the British Council, February 16, 2014, National Law University, Delhi): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ovoT00">http://bit.ly/1ovoT00</a>. Bhairav Acharya was a speaker. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Changing Role of the Media in India: Constitutional Perspectives (organized by School of Law, Christ University, February 28, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1lB2nTO">http://bit.ly/1lB2nTO</a>. Snehashish Ghosh moderated a session at this conference. </li>
</ul>
<p>--------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/news">News & Media Coverage</a><br />--------------------------------<br />CIS gave its inputs to the following recent media coverage:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Dangers of Birdsong (by Namrata Joshi, Outlook, January 25, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1kB8J7L">http://bit.ly/1kB8J7L</a>. </li>
<li>A Tale of Two Internet Campaigns (by Deepa Kurup, The Hindu, February 11, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1lDdRZy">http://bit.ly/1lDdRZy</a>. </li>
<li>Dark days for the creative class in India: Siddiqui (by Haroon Siddiqui, thestar.com, February 16, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1gdtgbC">http://bit.ly/1gdtgbC</a>. </li>
<li>The Forbes India 30 Under 30 List (by Abhilasha Khaitan, Forbes India, February 21, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ovnvKM">http://bit.ly/1ovnvKM</a>. Pranesh Prakash features in the list. </li>
<li>India ‘tea parties’ enable politicians to woo urban youth with technology (by Avantika Chilkoti, Financial Times, February 26, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cGfOMm">http://bit.ly/1cGfOMm</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities">Digital Humanities</a><br />--------------------------------<br />CIS is building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Digital will be used as a way of unpacking the debates in humanities and social sciences and look at the new frameworks, concepts and ideas that emerge in our engagement with the digital. The clusters aim to produce and document new conversations and debates that shape the contours of Digital Humanities in Asia:</p>
<p># Blog Entries</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Defending the Humanities in the Digital Age (by Nishant Shah, DML Central, February 24, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1czdZqg">http://bit.ly/1czdZqg</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Humanities in India- Mapping Changes at the Intersection of Youth, Technology and Higher Education (by Sneha PP, February 21, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1qd6xo4">http://bit.ly/1qd6xo4</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives">Digital Natives</a><br />--------------------------------<br />CIS is doing a research project titled “Making Change”. The project will explore new ways of defining, locating, and understanding change in network societies. Having the thought piece 'Whose Change is it Anyway' as an entry point for discussion and reflection, the project will feature profiles, interviews and responses of change-makers to questions around current mechanisms and practices of change in South Asia and South East Asia:</p>
<p>►Making Change Project</p>
<p># Blog Entries</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Storytelling as Performance: The Ugly Indian and Blank Noise 1 (by Denisse Albornoz, February 24, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1jX4qBb">http://bit.ly/1jX4qBb</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Storytelling as Performance: The Ugly Indian and Blank Noise 2 (by Denisse Albornoz, February 27, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fKwQil">http://bit.ly/1fKwQil</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a><br />--------------------------------<br />Shyam Ponappa, a Distinguished Fellow at CIS is a regular columnist with the Business Standard. The articles published on his blog Organizing India Blogspot is mirrored on our website:</p>
<p># Newspaper Column</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Centre- or State-Driven Development? (by Shyam Ponappa, Business Standard, February 5, 2014, Observer India Blogspot, February 7, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ceuWFS">http://bit.ly/1ceuWFS</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p># Blog Entry</p>
<ul>
<li>An Introduction to Spectrum Sharing (by Beli, February 24, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/NZlknd">http://bit.ly/NZlknd</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/knowledge-repository-on-internet-access">Knowledge Repository on Internet Access</a><br />----------------------------------------------------------<br />CIS in partnership with the Ford Foundation is executing a project to create a knowledge repository on Internet and society. This repository will comprise content targeted primarily at civil society with a view to enabling their informed participation in the Indian Internet and ICT policy space. The repository is available at the Internet Institute website: <a href="http://bit.ly/1iQT2UB">http://bit.ly/1iQT2UB</a>.</p>
<p>►Event Organized</p>
<ul>
<li>Institute on Internet and Society (organised by Ford Foundation and CIS, Yashada, Pune, February 11-17, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fpTdDS">http://bit.ly/1fpTdDS</a>. Bishakha Datta, Ravikiran Annaswamy, Kingsley John, Prof. G. Nagarjuna, Nisha Thompson, Prashant Naik, Nehaa Chaudhari, Bhairav Acharya, Manu Srivastav, Dr. Abhijeet Safai, Payal Malik, Nishant Shah, Laura Stein, Sunil Abraham, Madan Muthu and Chinmayi Arun taught at the institute. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a><br />-----------------------------------------------------<br />The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.</p>
<p>► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<ul>
<li>Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K"> </a><a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Facebook group: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k">https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>Visit us at:<a href="https://cis-india.org/"> </a><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge</a></li>
<li>E-mail: <a href="mailto:a2k@cis-india.org">a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p>► Support Us</p>
<p>Please help us defend consumer / citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of ‘The Centre for Internet and Society’ and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd ‘C’ Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru – 5600 71.</p>
<p>► Request for Collaboration:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We invite researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at <a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org">sunil@cis-india.org</a> or Nishant Shah, Director – Research, at <a href="mailto:nishant@cis-india.org">nishant@cis-india.org</a>. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia, write to T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director, A2K, at <a href="mailto:vishnu@cis-india.org">vishnu@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, IDRC and the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects</i>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/february-2014-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/february-2014-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceDigital HumanitiesOpenness2014-04-07T07:27:46ZPageNishant Shah: “We will develop new textual and visual practices to facilitate the transfer of knowledge worldwide”
https://cis-india.org/news/nishant-shah-we-will-develop-new-textual-and-visual-practices-to-facilitate-the-transfer-of-knowledge-worldwide
<b>Today we are starting with a new format for the blog of the Hybrid Publishing Lab. There will be an interview series with our International Tandem Partners giving an insight on their current work, interest and cooperation with HP.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://hybridpublishing.org/2014/02/nishant-shah-we-will-develop-new-textual-and-visual-practices-to-facilitate-the-transfer-of-knowledge-worldwide/">Read Dr. Shah's interview by Julia Rehfeldt published on the website of Hybrid Publishing Lab</a></p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">First up is our Tandem Partner <a href="http://cdc.leuphana.com/people/#nishant-shah">Dr. Nishant Shah</a>, Research Associate at Common Media Lab and Hybrid Publishing Lab. He is the co-founder and Director-Research at the <a href="https://cis-india.org/">Centre for Internet and Society</a> in Bangalore, India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Julia Rehfeldt</b>: Dr. Shah, can you introduce yourself briefly und tell us what you are currently concerned with in your research?<br /> <br /> <b>Dr. Nishant Shah</b>: This is a question that has always flummoxed me. I have spent all of the last decade trying to figure out how to explain what I do and what my research concerns are and I never have one straightforward answer to give.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The easiest way to answer this would be to say that I wear many hats. I am deeply interested in looking at how the digital shift is changing the way in which we see the world around us. And so my work spans several sectors, disciplines and intersections, trying to look at the mechanics and logics, logistics and structures of the world that we live in.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the Hybrid Publishing Lab, as an International Tandem Partner, I look at the knowledge infrastructures of the digital times. I learn from the research and practice of my colleagues to explore the future of academic publishing, and I try to critically think through questions of Intellectual Property, Open Access movements, and concerns of Digital Humanities in the global knowledge circuits. Apart from that, I like to translate my research and knowledge for different stakeholders, to work with practitioners, policy makers, artists, technologists, hackers, legal scholars and development actors at the intersection of Internet and Society. As the Director – Research at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, I have been trying to develop South-based global networks that examine the conditions of being human, being social, and being political in emerging network societies. I also enjoy exploring new forms and content of pedagogy for students in and out of the classrooms, to develop new conditions of learning through and with digital media and cultures.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b><br /> Rehfeldt:</b> What was the most significant change, talk or lecture you experienced in 2013 that had an impact on the rights of open access or on your personal insights on that matter?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Dr. Shah</b>: I think, on a very personal and a professional level, the death of Aaron Swartz and the horrific face of Intellectual Property tyrannies that surround the academic publishing which ironically focuses on questions of human liberty, values, equity and access, has had the most dramatic impact on me. Aaron Swartz committed suicide just over a year ago, and the conditions of his persecution, on the behalf of the American legal system, the intellectual property conglomerates and a globally reputed university that claims to build better futures for our digital worlds, has shocked most of us.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While playing the blame-game is redundant now – it is not going to bring back a young man who only believed in dreams of utopic sharing and commons – it is important to remind us that these battles of information and intellectual property are not for niche circles. We are increasingly living in worlds where more and more of our everyday life is being mediated, mitigated and measured in big data and quantified services.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We don’t only live in information age, but we also live through information, constantly producing data. And the technologies we use, the applications we live with, the platforms we live on, the social networks that we belong to, all take our information and data and copyright it so that we have almost no rights over it. This problem becomes only more amplified in the traditional academic knowledge industries where publicly funded research and practice gets hidden behind paywalls so that it remains in niche circles of access to those with privilege. We are reaching a stage where not only our formal knowledge but even our thoughts, desires and memories are quickly being contained in forms and formats that are no longer accessible to us.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">2013 has shown that the more we lose control of our data, the more we lose battles of access to our collective knowledge, the more we concede our rights to information, which is the de facto currency of our times, the more we are going to be at the service of private and governmental conglomerates that shall control and contain the possibilities of radical transformation and change in our future.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b><br /> Rehfeldt:</b> You are currently involved in setting up a ‘Making Change’ project based on your paper ‘Whose change is it, anyway?’ published April 2013. Can you tell us what prompted your reflections in that paper, and what you seek to achieve with the project?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Dr. Shah:</b> The ‘<a href="http://cdc.leuphana.com/structure/common-media-lab/making-change/">Making Change</a>‘ project is an example of the multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary, knowledge methods and production that I am interested in. It is shaped by the framework proposed in the ‘Whose Change is it anyway?’ concept paper that proposes that in order to look at the change processes around us, we need to change the ways in which forms, formats, conditions, structures, processes, and life-cycles of knowledge practices need to be re-examined. The project aims to build conceptual frameworks by engaging different change actors in digital storytelling to understand how we analyse and examine the radical processes of change in the times to come.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Making Change is a knowledge exploration through which we seek to unpack the form, function, and practice of social and political change in emerging network societies. With this project, we will map existing traditional and innovative change practices through new knowledge methods and propose hybrid ways of building a knowledge commons that helps consolidate, curate and disseminate these new insights for change actors.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Hence, we will create a Knowledge Commons. The Knowledge Commons is a mash-up of resources, which we will set in motion through four distinct processes of getting insight into the mechanics, logistics, and catalysts of social and political change:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">1. In this project, we will use new methods of collaborative knowledge production methods that bring in different knowledge stakeholders and actors to reflect upon and consolidate their existing projects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">2. We will develop new textual and visual practices to facilitate the transfer of knowledge worldwide.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">3. We will work with existing knowledge communities – academia, policy, and practice – to build pedagogic resources for training knowledge visionaries about the future of change.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">4. We will produce, curate and disseminate knowledge prototypes through storytelling to debate, question and re-energize discussions on important keywords and concepts in the change narratives.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The core of the Knowledge Commons will consist of new narratives and prototypes of how these narratives might help other approaches for social and political change. We shall further organize these narratives to train and help social change actors to develop better strategies of working within digital and network societies. The Knowledge Commons seeks to generate cross-fertilization between different networks of knowledge actors to generate critical insights to gain access, exchange and contribute to knowledge dialogues.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Knowledge Commons is not just an online platform, but is built up through a combination of knowledge generating workshops (production sprints) as well as reflections, which are curated through online dialogues and critique. The production sprints invite the key change actors from our networks to incite conversations inspired by the thought piece ‘Whose Change is it Anyway?’. The conversations will be further annotated by the ‘Making Change’ white paper which offers more complex and nuanced ways of looking at the contexts, catalyst and processes of change embedded in particular movements.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Rehfeldt:</b> There has been a lot of talk about ‘Twitter revolutions’ and ‘Blackberry riots’ – what would you say do digital technologies contribute to contemporary social movements and political action in the public sphere more generally?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Dr. Shah:</b> I have spent some time trying to do away with the binaries and polarised responses that phrases like ‘Twitter Revolutions’ and ‘Blackberry Riots’ produce. They seem to bring pre-defined responses – they either suggest that the emergence of new digital technologies and applications, by their very presence, are producing radical change practices. They deny the historical conditions, the political contexts, the social and cultural practices of the region, and the structures of inequity and injustice that are often characteristic to particularly geographies and cultures. They refuse to understand that the digital does not merely produce things new – instead, it helps extend the existing movements of social and political change and are a part of a much larger paradigm shift. They alienate existing human endeavours of change and create false dichotomies like the old and new activisms, or traditional and digital movements.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I think it is better to understand that the digital produces ruptures and interruptions in the narrative of change; but the digital also has historical continuities which need to be better embedded in the geographical and political contexts of change. At the end of the day, we need to debunk the idea that digital activism around the globe is the same. Just because everybody uses Twitter to orchestrate people’s movements in different countries, it doesn’t mean that they are doing the same thing or in the same way. We need to do away with the homogenizing rhetoric of the digital that presumes that digital cultures are universal, and learn to look at the intersections of life that inform and are shaped by the emergence of the digital technologies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Rehfeldt</b>: To finish up, is there an interesting online article, or video you have read or seen lately which you could suggest to our readers?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Dr. Shah:</b> I think one of the most interesting collections around digital and new activism last year was the anthology edited by Kees Biekart: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dech.2013.44.issue-3/issuetoc">Development and Change – Special Issue: FORUM 2013</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/nishant-shah-we-will-develop-new-textual-and-visual-practices-to-facilitate-the-transfer-of-knowledge-worldwide'>https://cis-india.org/news/nishant-shah-we-will-develop-new-textual-and-visual-practices-to-facilitate-the-transfer-of-knowledge-worldwide</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaDigital Natives2014-03-06T12:05:45ZNews ItemJanuary 2014 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2014-bulletin
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) welcomes you to the first issue of its newsletter (January) for the year 2014:</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-------------------------------<br /> Highlights<br /> -------------------------------</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Amba Salelkar provides an analysis of the three stages of the Rights for Persons with Disabilities 2013 since it was initially commissioned.</li>
<li> We published revised chapters for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as part of our National Resource Kit project.</li>
<li> In the first of a three-part study Ananth Padmanabhan examines the "John Doe" orders that courts have passed against ISPs, which entertainment companies have used to block websites.</li>
<li> The second Institute on Internet and Society is being held in Pune from February 11 to 17.</li>
<li> CIS signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KIIT University and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences for furthering Odia Wikipedia.</li>
<li> Dr. Nishant Shah co-authored a chapter on video games in a book published by Palestinian Art Court-al Hoash.</li>
<li> Sneha gives an overview of the research enquiry in the field of Digital Humanities in her blog post on Mapping Digital Humanities in India.</li>
<li> In the first of the insightful seven part series, Gautam Bhatia looks at surveillance and the right to privacy in India from a constitutional perspective, tracing its genealogy through Supreme Court case law and compares it with the law in the USA.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------- <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4718&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> Jobs</a><br /> -----------------------------------------------<br /> CIS is seeking applications for the posts of Program Officer (Access to Knowledge): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4719&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1fnydB0</a> and Program Officer (Internet Governance): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4720&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1aA57K6</a>. There are two vacancies each for these posts and these are full-time based in Delhi. To apply, please send your resume to Sunil Abraham (<a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org" target="_blank">sunil@cis-india.org</a>), Nirmita Narasimhan (<a href="mailto:nirmita@cis-india.org" target="_blank">nirmita@cis-india.org</a>) and Pranesh Prakash (<a href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org" target="_blank">pranesh@cis-india.org</a>) with three writing samples of which at least one demonstrates your analytic skills, and one that shows your ability to simplify complex policy issues.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4721&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> Accessibility and Inclusion</a><br /> ----------------------------------------------<br /> As part of our project (under a grant from the Hans Foundation) on creating a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India, we bring you draft chapters for the states of Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, and the union territory of Daman and Diu. With this we have completed compilation of draft chapters for 27 states and 5 union territories.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Based on the feedback and comments received from our readers the following chapters were revised</i>:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► National Resource Kit Chapter</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Andhra Pradesh Chapter (by Anandhi Viswanathan, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4722&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1lzUFcG</a>.</li>
<li> Chhattisgarh Chapter (by Anandhi Viswanathan, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4723&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1fY4NZ0</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entry</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> The Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2013 and the Lack of Access to Accessibility Rights (by Amba Salelkar, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4724&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1diSg40</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------------------- <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4725&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> Access to Knowledge</a><br /> -----------------------------------------------------------<br /> The Access to Knowledge programme addresses the harms caused to consumers and human rights, and critically examines Open Government Data, Open Access to Scholarly Literature, and Open Access to Law, Open Content, Open Standards, and Free/Libre/Open Source Software.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Analysis</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Can Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 1) (by Ananth Padmanabhan, January 30, 2014). Ananth looks at the theory behind John Doe orders and finds that it would be wrong for Indian courts to grant "John Doe" orders against ISPs: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4726&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1nteYaK</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Open Letter to the Vatican: Request for Holy See to Comment on IPR (by Samantha Cassar, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4727&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1dGN7OS</a>.</li>
<li> The Game of IPR: Insights from the 6th Global Intellectual Property Convention in Hyderabad (by Samantha Cassar, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4728&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1fY5qS6</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The following has been done under grant from the Wikimedia Foundation (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4729&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/SPqFOl</a>). As part this project (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4730&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/X80ELd</a>), we organised 4 workshops in the month of January, published an article in DNA, and signed a memorandum of understanding with KIIT University and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences to further the development of Odia Wikipedia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Wikipedia</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Articles / Newspaper Columns</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Odia Wikipedia: Three Years of Active Contributions Gives Life to a Ten Year Old Project (by Subhashish Panigrahi, HASTAC, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4731&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1jvxD8r</a>.</li>
<li> WikiSangamotsavam 2013 brings Indian Wikimedians together (by Netha Hussain and Subhashish Panigrahi, DNA, January 14, 2014). The article was edited by Rohini Lakshane: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4732&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1jvynKP</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Announcement</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> CIS-A2K, KIIT University and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences sign MoUs (by Subhashish Panigrahi, January 11, 2014): KIIT University, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and the Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoUs) for furthering Odia Wikipedia: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4733&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1j1qtFv</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Wikipedia Editing as Assessment Tool in the Indian Higher Education Classroom (by Dr. Tejaswini Niranjana, Ashwin Kumar A.P. and T. Vishnu Vardhan, January 30, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4734&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1m5QHMD</a>.</li>
<li> Wikipedia at Forefront in Christ University (by Syed Muzamiluddin, January 29, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4735&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/LTFA8E</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Odia WikiMeetup (Bhubaneswar, January 11, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4736&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/NBkFJi</a>.</li>
<li> Introductory talk about "Wikipedia in Academics" (KIIT School of Technology, Bhubaneswar, January 12, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4737&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1j1yv1f</a>.</li>
<li> Odia Wikipedia's 10th anniversary @ KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Bhubaneswar, January 28, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4738&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1gsqkJC</a>.</li>
<li> Odia Wikipedia 10th anniversary (Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, January 29, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4739&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1dGRBoy</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Event Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> The Dynamics of Education to Employment Journey: Opportunities and Challenges (organized by KIIT School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, February 21-22, 2014). T. Vishnu Vardhan gave a talk: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4740&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ePwqHc</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Media Coverage</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Digitising contest to preserve rare books in Malayalam (The Hindu, January 4, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4741&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/NBtVgz</a>.</li>
<li> ‘With Internet in every pocket, power to the people’ (by Shubhadeep Chaudhury, The Tribune, January 12, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4742&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ojb1IZ</a>. Shubhadeep interviews T. Vishnu Vardhan on internet and social media.</li>
<li> ଆଦିବାସୀଭାଷାରଉନ୍ନତିକଳ୍ପେଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ(Odishan.com, January 12, 2014):<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4743&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1kAWJmG</a>.</li>
<li> KIIT University to lead building free knowledge repository initiative (India Education Diary.com, January 20, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4744&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1j1Rzwk</a>.</li>
<li> Odisha: KISS to create tribal languages and heritage repository (Odisha Diary Bureau, January 20, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4745&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1bLBhmB</a>. </li>
<li> FDC recognition for the Centre for the Internet and Society (Wikimedia Foundation, January 30, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4746&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1fYdxOz</a>. Wikimedia Foundation published a resolution declaring CIS eligible for funding through the Annual Plan Grants program. </li>
<li> Tech-savvy students given tips to enter IT field (The Times of India, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4747&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1j1QvIX</a>.</li>
<li> Odia Wikipedia (Sanchar, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4748&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ePwAON</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Openness</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Event Organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> What is happening in South America and how Openness is an opportunity to Social, Political and Activist Movements? (Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, January 17, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4749&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1bnZaq0</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------- <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4750&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> Internet Governance</a><br /> -----------------------------------------------<br /> CIS is doing a project (under a grant from Privacy International and International Development Research Centre (IDRC)) on conducting research on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). So far we have organised seven privacy round-tables and drafted the Privacy (Protection) Bill. Gautam Bhatia gives an analysis of the right to privacy from a constitutional perspective and Elonnai Hickok analyses a public report published by GNI.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Analyses</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Surveillance and the Indian Constitution - Part 1: Foundations (by Gautam Bhatia, January 13, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4751&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ntqsen</a>.</li>
<li> Surveillance and the Indian Constitution - Part 2: Gobind and the Compelling State Interest Test (by Gautam Bhatia, January 27, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4752&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1dH3meL</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Newspaper Columns / Book Chapter</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Big Brother is Watching You (by Chinmayi Arun, The Hindu, January 3, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4753&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1cGpg0K</a>.</li>
<li> Making the Powerful Accountable (by Chinmayi Arun, The Hindu, January 30, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4754&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1nvzSpC</a>.</li>
<li> Video Games: A Case Study of a Cross-cultural Video Collaboration (by Larissa Hjorth and Nishant Shah, January 31, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4755&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1eTaXLX</a>. A new book focusing on Palestinian artists’ video, edited by Bashir Makhoul and published by Palestinian Art Court- al Hoash, 2013, includes a chapter co-authored by Larissa and Nishant. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Letter requesting public consultation on position of GoI at WGEC (by Snehashish Ghosh, January 7, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4756&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1g66bL7</a>.</li>
<li> Electoral Databases – Privacy and Security Concerns (by Snehashish Ghosh, January 16, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4757&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/Mb4ktM</a>.</li>
<li> GNI Assessment Finds ICT Companies Protect User Privacy and Freedom of Expression (by Elonnai Hickok, January 20, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4758&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1mjbpmL</a>.</li>
<li> Interview with Mathew Thomas from the Say No to UID campaign - UID Court Cases (by Maria Xynou, January 27, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4759&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1eT9XHv</a>. Maria interviewed Mathew Thomas on UID.</li>
<li> India's Central Monitoring System (CMS): Something to Worry About? (by Maria Xynou, January 30, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4760&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1gsM4oQ</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Organized</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Biometrics or Bust? Implications of the UID for Participation and Inclusion (CIS, Bangalore, January 10, 2014). Malavika Jayaram gave a talk: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4761&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1lJZhuK</a>. </li>
<li> Digital Citizens: Why Cyber Security and Online Privacy are Vital to the Success of Democracy and Freedom of Expression (CIS, Bangalore, January 14, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4762&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/KucEU5</a>. Michael Oghia gave a talk. </li>
<li> Nullcon Goa Feb 2014 — International Security Conference (organised by Nullcon, Bogmallo Beach Resort, Goa, February 12 – 15, 2014). CIS is one of the sponsors for this event: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4763&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1lrBu5I</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Co-organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> CPDP 2014 Reforming Data Protection: The Global Perspective (organised by CPDP, Brussels, January 22 – 24, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4764&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/KsgCws</a>. CIS is one of the sponsors for this event. Malavika Jayaram was a speaker.</li>
<li> The Future of the Internet, Who Should Govern It and What is at Stake for You? (organised by Internet and Mobile Association of India, Cellular Operators Association of India, Internet Democracy project, Media for Change, SFLC and CIS, India International Centre, January 29, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4765&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1eqkSUu</a>. Chinmayi Arun moderated a session. Snehashish Ghosh participated in the event as a speaker.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Seminar on "Hate Speech and Social Media" (organized by NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and British Deputy High Commission, Hyderabad, January 4 – 5, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4766&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1dmcEkT</a>. Chinmayi Arun was one of the speakers.</li>
<li> Multistakeholders Consultation on International Public Policy Issues (organized by the Department of Electronics & Information Technology, New Delhi, January 21, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4767&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/Mbfkao</a>. Snehashish Ghosh participated in this meeting.</li>
<li> Internet Governance and India: The Way Forward (organized by Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, January 22, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4768&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ePFueY</a>. Snehashish Ghosh participated in the event.</li>
<li> Data Privacy Day 2014 (organized by Data Security Council of India, Infosys, Bangalore, January 28, 2014). Elonnai Hickok was a panelist: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4769&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ePFfk8</a>.</li>
<li> TACTIS Symposium 2014 (organized by Tata Consultancy Service, TCS Siruseri, Chennai, January 28 and 29, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4770&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1bo9y0R</a>. Sunil Abraham gave the keynote address. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4771&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> News & Media Coverage</a><br /> --------------------------------<br /> CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Inventions that will make a difference (by Geeta Padmanabhan, The Hindu, January 1, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4772&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/MKwmfu</a>.</li>
<li> Rise of the bot: all you need to know about the latest threat online (by Danish Raza, Hindustan Times, January 5, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4773&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1dHgNex</a>.</li>
<li> Despite apex court order, IOC proceeds with Aadhaar-linked DBT (by Deepa Kurup, The Hindu, January 6, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4774&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1g6ffjn</a>.</li>
<li> Worldwide: International Privacy - 2013 Year in Review – Asia (by Gonzalo S. Zeballos, James A. Sherer and Alan M. Pate, Mondaq Yearly Review, January 8, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4775&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1iOaYRO</a>.</li>
<li> Election panel rejects Google’s proposal for electoral services tie-up (by Anuja and Moulishree Srivastava, Livemint, January 9, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4776&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1gpaGjF</a>.</li>
<li> Social Notworking - 'Murder by Twitter'(by Malini Nair, The Times of India, January 19, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4777&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1j2kT63</a>.</li>
<li> The net is taking over (by Veenu Sandhu and Surabhi Agarwal, Business Standard, January 24, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4778&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1hb4eQL</a>.</li>
<li> The Dangers of Birdsong (by Namrata Joshi, January 25, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4779&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1kB8J7L</a>.</li>
<li> Is Bhutan selling its soul to Google? (by Lucky Wangmo from Thimphu and Pema Seldon form Bangalore, Business Bhutan, January 25, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4780&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1fYl3sO</a>. </li>
<li> What is net neutrality and why it is important (The Times of India, January 30, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4781&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1ePFZ8P</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4782&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> Digital Humanities</a><br /> --------------------------------<br /> CIS is building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Digital will be used as a way of unpacking the debates in humanities and social sciences and look at the new frameworks, concepts and ideas that emerge in our engagement with the digital. The clusters aim to produce and document new conversations and debates that shape the contours of Digital Humanities in Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entry</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Mapping Digital Humanities in India (by Sneha PP, January 16, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4783&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1gsQEEQ</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4784&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> Digital Natives</a><br /> --------------------------------<br /> CIS is doing a research project titled “Making Change”. The project will explore new ways of defining, locating, and understanding change in network societies. Having the thought piece 'Whose Change is it Anyway' as an entry point for discussion and reflection, the project will feature profiles, interviews and responses of change-makers to questions around current mechanisms and practices of change in South Asia and South East Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Making Change Project</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entry</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Creative Activism - Voices of Young Change Makers in India (UDAAN) (by Denisse Albornoz, January 20, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4785&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1cxXAMI</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Other<br /> # Newspaper Column</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> 10 Ways to Say Nothing New (by Nishant Shah, Indian Express, January 19, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4786&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1gsONjn</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------------------<br /> <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4787&qid=376274" target="_blank">Knowledge Repository on Internet Access</a><br /> ----------------------------------------------------------<br /> CIS in partnership with the Ford Foundation is executing a project to create a knowledge repository on Internet and society. This repository will comprise content targeted primarily at civil society with a view to enabling their informed participation in the Indian Internet and ICT policy space. The repository is available at the Internet Institute website: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4788&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1iQT2UB</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Ongoing Event</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Institute on Internet and Society (organised by Ford Foundation and CIS, Yashada, Pune, February 11-17, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4789&qid=376274" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/180mQi9</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------------<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4790&qid=376274" target="_blank"><br /> About CIS</a><br /> -----------------------------------------------------<br /> The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Twitter:<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4791&qid=376274" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li> Facebook group: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4792&qid=376274" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li> Visit us at:<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4793&qid=376274" target="_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge</a></li>
<li> E-mail: <a href="mailto:a2k@cis-india.org" target="_blank">a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Support Us<br /> Please help us defend consumer / citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of ‘The Centre for Internet and Society’ and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd ‘C’ Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru – 5600 71.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Request for Collaboration:<br /> We invite researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at <a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org" target="_blank">sunil@cis-india.org</a> or Nishant Shah, Director – Research, at <a href="mailto:nishant@cis-india.org" target="_blank">nishant@cis-india.org</a>. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia, write to T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director, A2K, at <a href="mailto:vishnu@cis-india.org" target="_blank">vishnu@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects</i>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2014-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2014-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceDigital HumanitiesOpenness2014-04-07T07:09:59ZPageDecember 2013 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2013-bulletin
<b>Our newsletter for the month of December 2013 can be accessed below. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) wish you all a great year ahead and welcome you to the twelfth issue of its newsletter (December) for the year 2013:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-------------------------------<br />Highlights<br />-------------------------------</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The National Resource Kit team has published a draft chapter highlighting the state of laws, policies and programmes for persons with disabilities in the state of Gujarat.</li>
<li>Government of India has passed the National Electronic Accessibility Policy. CIS had worked with the Department of Electronics and Information Technology to formulate this policy. We bring you a brief analysis of the policy and provisions therein in a blog post.</li>
<li>Nehaa Chaudhari on behalf of CIS submitted comments on the Proposed WIPO Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.</li>
<li>CIS-A2K team has published a report highlighting the key accomplishments about the work accomplished on Konkani Wikipedia from September to December 2013.</li>
<li>Vipul Kharbanda has provided an analysis of the laws and regulations that apply to Bitcoin in India concluding that government can regulate Bitcoin. </li>
<li>We released the first documentary film (DesiSec) on cyber security in India in Bangalore on December 11.</li>
<li>In the module on Global Histories of the Internet (part of the Knowledge Repository on Internet Access project) Nishant Shah analyses the understanding of the internet, cyberspace and everyday life and why do we need to know the history of the internet.</li>
<li>The second "Institute on Internet and Society" will be held in Yashada, Pune from February 11 to 17, 2014.</li>
<li>As part of the Making Change project, Denisse Albornoz provides an analysis of the benefits and limitations of increasing access to information to enable citizenship and political participation.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4615&qid=367159">Jobs</a><br />-----------------------------------------------<br />CIS is seeking applications for the posts of Program Officer (Access to Knowledge) and Program Officer (Internet Governance): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4616&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1aA57K6</a>. There are two vacancies each for these posts and these are full-time based in Delhi. To apply, please send your resume to Sunil Abraham (<a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org">sunil@cis-india.org</a>) and Pranesh Prakash (<a href="mailto:pranesh@cis-india.org">pranesh@cis-india.org</a>) with three writing samples of which at least one demonstrates your analytic skills, and one that shows your ability to simplify complex policy issues.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">----------------------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4617&qid=367159">Accessibility and Inclusion</a><br />----------------------------------------------<br />As part of our project (under a grant from the Hans Foundation) on creating a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India, we bring you draft chapters for the states of Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, and the union territory of Daman and Diu. With this we have completed compilation of draft chapters for 27 states and 5 union territories. Feedback and comments are invited from readers for the following chapter:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► National Resource Kit Chapter</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Gujarat Chapter (by Anandhi Viswanathan, December 31, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4618&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/Kxbg3b</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Note: <i>All of the chapters published so far in this project are early drafts and will be reviewed and updated</i>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br />►Other</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Media Coverage</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>An “Advocacy” Saga and the Inspiring Legacy of Rahul Cherian (by Shamnad Basheer, Spicy IP, December 16, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4619&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1a5B7sU</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entry</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility – An Analysis (by Anandhi Viswanathan, December 27, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4620&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1dfCW3I</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4621&qid=367159">Access to Knowledge</a><br />-----------------------------------------------------------<br />The Access to Knowledge programme addresses the harms caused to consumers and human rights, and critically examines Open Government Data, Open Access to Scholarly Literature, and Open Access to Law, Open Content, Open Standards, and Free/Libre/Open Source Software.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Submission</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Comments on Proposed WIPO Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations (by Nehaa Chaudhari, December 7, 2013). CIS submitted its comments to the Ministry of Human Resource Development: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4622&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1hpWeuu</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>3rd Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest & Open A.I.R. Conference on Innovation and IP in Africa (organized by University of Cape Town, December 9-13, 2013). Sunil Abraham participated as a speaker in the sessions on Bridging into the Global Congress: Global Issues, Local Answers?, User Rights Track: What Medicines Can Teach Tech: Exploring Patent Pooling and Compulsory Licensing in the Indian Mobile Device Market (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4623&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1f74yir</a>), User Rights Track: Reclaiming the World Trade Organisation: A Modest Proposal for a WTO Agreement on the Supply of Global Public Goods (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4623&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1f74yir</a>), and was a keynote speaker on The Freedom Continuum (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4624&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1dH1WEM</a>). Nehaa Chaudhari also participated in this event: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4625&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1bJArFJ</a>. </li>
<li>Twenty-Sixth Session of the Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (organized by WIPO, Geneva, December 16 – 20, 2013). CIS gave its statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4626&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/JWnjq7</a>) and on Limitations and Exceptions for Education, Teaching and Research Institutions and Persons with Other Disabilities (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4626&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/JWnjq7</a>). Nehaa Chaudhari participated as a speaker. India and the United States introduced 6 proposals on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4627&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1edqvr3</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The following has been done under grant from the Wikimedia Foundation (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4628&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/SPqFOl</a>). As part this project (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4629&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/X80ELd</a>), we held 3 workshops in the month of December, published a detailed report of key accomplishments of the work done in Konkani Wikipedia, a report on Train the Trainer Program held in the month of October and published an article in DNA.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Wikipedia</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Article</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Telugu Wikipedia completes 10 years (by Rahmanuddin Shaik, DNA, December 16, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4630&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19OAvUV</a>. The article was edited by Rohini Lakshané. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Report</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>CIS-A2K: Work Accomplished on Konkani Wikipedia (by Nitika Tandon, December 31, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4631&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1l6ttmp</a>. The report throws some light on the work accomplished on Konkani Wikipedia from September to December 2013.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>First ever Train-the-Trainer Program in India (by Nitika Tandon, December 5, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4632&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1euwSXt</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>The following are videos of participants from the Konkani Vishwakosh Digitization project (jointly organised by CIS-A2K and Goa University) speaking on their experiences with Wikimedia projects</i>.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Priyadarshini Tadkodkar on Konkani language (by Subhashish Panigrahi, November 17, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4633&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1hldNM8</a>. <i>We are featuring this here as we didn’t carry this in the last newsletter</i>. </li>
<li>Varsha Kavlekar on Konkani Wikipedia Incubator (by Nitika Tandon, December 12, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4634&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/KmxyFo</a>.</li>
<li>Darshan Kandolkar on Konkani Vishwakosh Digitization Process (by Nitika Tandon, December 13, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4635&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1cqKyQ2</a>.</li>
<li>Darshana Mandrekar speaks on Konkani Wikipedia (by Nitika Tandon, December 16, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4636&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1keWyya</a>.</li>
<li>Pooja Tople on Wikimedia Projects (by Nitika Tandon, December 17, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4637&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1hlbubU</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>You Too Can Write on Wikipedia! — Training workshop (National Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, December 5, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4638&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1edmx1z</a>.</li>
<li>Telugu Wikipedia Training Workshop (KBN College, Vijaywada, December 16, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4639&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1i8ScnL</a>.</li>
<li>Kannada Wikipedia Workshop at Alvas Vishva Nudisiri Virasat (Moodabidre, December 19 – 22, 2013). Dr. U.B. Pavanaja gave a presentation about Kannada Wikipedia and also conducted a workshop on Kannada Wikipedia as a parallel track. The event was covered by Prajavani (December 22), Hosadigantha (December 22), and Deccan Herald (December 22): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4640&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1dGTBkw</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Co-organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Wikipedia Orientation Workshop (organised by CIS-A2K and Christ University, Bangalore, December 2, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4641&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1lrkwEy</a>. </li>
<li>Wikipedia Training Session @ Tiruvur (organised by CIS-A2K and Telugu Wikipedia community, Srivahini College, Tiruvur, December 19, 2013). T. Vishnu Vardhan and Rahmanuddin Shaik conducted the workshop: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4642&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1e3oQX7</a>. It was covered by Andhraprabha (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4643&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1bU5VsQ</a>), Eenadu (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4644&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19fsttf</a>), Sakshi (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4645&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1e3pQdU</a>), and Prajasakthi (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4646&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/JJs7ja</a>) on December 19, 2013.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Event Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>A Wikipedia Workshop at IISC (organised by the Assamese Wikipedia community, Bangalore, December 1, 2013). CIS-A2K team and Wikipedian Shiju Alex supported this event: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4647&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1dSutY2</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Media Coverage</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS gave its inputs for the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>A Feature on Telugu Wikipedia (Namaste Telengana Newspaper, December 8, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4648&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19Yjwj6</a>.</li>
<li>Odisha: Odia Wikipedia reaching 5000 article mark! (Odisha Diary Bureau, December 17, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4649&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1dGU2vc</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4650&qid=367159">Internet Governance</a><br />-----------------------------------------------<br />CIS is doing a project (under a grant from Privacy International and International Development Research Centre (IDRC)) on conducting research on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). So far we have organised seven privacy round-tables and drafted the Privacy (Protection) Bill. This month we bring you an analysis on whether Bitcoin can be banned by the government and a blog post on misuse of surveillance powers in India. As part of its project (funded by Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto and support from the IDRC) on mapping cyber security actors in South Asia and South East Asia a film DesiSec: Episode 1was screened. We also did an interview with Pranesh Prakash on cyber security. With this we have completed a total of 13 video interviews so far:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Analysis</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Can Bitcoin Be Banned by the Indian Government? (by Vipul Kharbanda, December 24, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4651&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1lJrnGF</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Misuse of Surveillance Powers in India (Case 1) (by Pranesh Prakash, December 6, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4652&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1donbaJ</a>.</li>
<li>Brochures from Expos on Smart Cards, e-Security, RFID & Biometrics in India (by Maria Xynou, December 18, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4653&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1f714fN</a>.</li>
<li>India’s Identity Crisis (by Malavika Jayaram, December 31, 2013 Internet Monitor Annual Report: Reflections on the Digital World, published by Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4654&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1lTRuuz</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Upcoming Events</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Digital Citizens: Why Cyber Security and Online Privacy are Vital to the Success of Democracy and Freedom of Expression (CIS, Bangalore, January 14, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4655&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/KucEU5</a>. Michael Oghia will give a talk. </li>
<li>CPDP 2014 Reforming Data Protection: The Global Perspective (Brussels, January 22 – 24, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4656&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/KsgCws</a>.</li>
<li>Nullcon Goa Feb 2014 — International Security Conference (organised by Nullcon, Bogmallo Beach Resort, Goa, February 12 – 15, 2014). CIS is one of the sponsors for this event: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4657&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1lrBu5I</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Big Democracy: Big Surveillance - A talk by Maria Xynou (CIS, Bangalore, December 3, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4658&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19YnA31</a>.</li>
<li>DesiSec: Episode 1 - Film Release and Screening (CIS, December 11, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4659&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1lJt2fm</a>.</li>
<li>Legal Issues pertaining to Cloud Computing (NLSIU Campus, Bangalore, December 14-15, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4660&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1cvcmGq</a>.</li>
<li>Biometrics or Bust? Implications of the UID for Participation and Inclusion (CIS, Bangalore, January 10, 2014). Malavika Jayaram will give a talk: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4661&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1lJZhuK</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Convention on Crisis of Capitalism and brazen onslaught on Democracy (organized by INSAF, December 6, 2013). Snehashish Ghosh participated as a speaker: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4662&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1gAxmNy</a>.</li>
<li>International View of the State-of-the-Art of Cryptography and Security and its Use in Practice (IV) (jointly organized by Microsoft Research India, Indian Institute of Science, and Indian Institute of Technology Madras, December 6, 2013). Sunil Abraham was a panellist: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4663&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1eAXl5t</a>.</li>
<li>Technology in Government and Topics in Privacy (organized by Data Privacy Lab, CGIS Cafe, Cambridge Street, Harvard University Campus, December 9, 2013). Malavika Jayaram participated as a speaker on Biometrics in Beta – India's Identity Experiment: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4664&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1bJDqht</a>.</li>
<li>Cyberscholars Working Group at MIT (organized by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University, December 12, 2013): Malavika Jayaram made a presentation on Biometrics or Bust - India’s Identity Crisis: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4665&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1eIpHef</a>.</li>
<li>Seventh NLSIR Symposium on “Bridging the Security-Liberty Divide” (organised by National Law School, Bangalore, December 21-22). Chinmayi Arun and Bhairav Acharya were speakers at this event: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4666&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1gjsxYe</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4667&qid=367159">News & Media Coverage</a><br />--------------------------------<br />CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>MongoDB startup hired by Aadhaar got funds from CIA VC arm (by Lison Joseph, Economic Times, December 3, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4668&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1f77bRg</a>.</li>
<li>A Three-Way Race Draws Delhi’s Young, and Everyone Else, Out to Vote (by Betwa Sharma, New York Times, December 4, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4669&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1gAxoFf</a>.</li>
<li>India for UN body to resolve internet governance issues (by Kim Arora, The Times of India, December 5, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4670&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/JWESqe</a>.</li>
<li>Card transactions with Aadhaar validation need more time: experts (by Kirti V. Rao and Moulishree Srivastava, Livemint, December 5, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4671&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1hq35UL</a>.</li>
<li>Indian government wakes up to risk of Hotmail, Gmail (originally published by AFP, December 7, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4672&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19LrlOS</a>. This was also mirrored in The Times of India (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4673&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1hpYEJu</a>), Reuters (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4674&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1gaHhZk</a>), Dawn (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4675&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1azuV95</a>), NDTV (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4676&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19Ys7lS</a>), Yahoo News (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4677&qid=367159">http://yhoo.it/JCSreE</a>), The Malaysian Insider (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4678&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1eAPAMW</a>) and Asia One Digital (<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4679&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/JWuw9R</a>). A slightly modified version was published by Silicon India on December 11: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4680&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1gAtzjd</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Announcement</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Pranesh Prakash has been elected as the Asia-Pacific representative to the executive committee of the NonCommercial Users Constituency (NCUC) (part of the Non-Commercial Stakeholders Group, which is in turn part of the Generic Names Supporting Organization, which is in turn part of ICANN): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4681&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/KuIVeC</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4682&qid=367159">Telecom</a><br />-------------------------------<br />Shyam Ponappa, a Distinguished Fellow at CIS is a regular columnist with the Business Standard. The articles published on his blog Organizing India Blogspot is mirrored on our website:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Newspaper Column</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>For a Telecom Revival (by Shyam Ponappa, Business Standard, December 4, 2013 and Organizing India Blogspot, December 5, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4683&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1avRDii</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4684&qid=367159">Digital Humanities</a><br />--------------------------------<br />CIS is building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Digital will be used as a way of unpacking the debates in humanities and social sciences and look at the new frameworks, concepts and ideas that emerge in our engagement with the digital. The clusters aim to produce and document new conversations and debates that shape the contours of Digital Humanities in Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entry</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Conflict of Konigsberg (by Anirudh Sridhar, December 17, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4685&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1cEXhhU</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">--------------------------------<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4686&qid=367159"><br />Digital Natives</a><br />--------------------------------<br />CIS is doing a research project titled “Making Change”. The project will explore new ways of defining, locating, and understanding change in network societies. Having the thought piece 'Whose Change is it Anyway' as an entry point for discussion and reflection, the project will feature profiles, interviews and responses of change-makers to questions around current mechanisms and practices of change in South Asia and South East Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Making Change Project</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Tactical Technology: Information is Power? (by Denisse Albornoz, December 26, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4687&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1cEUrcY</a>.</li>
<li>Tactical Technology: Designing Activism (by Denisse Albornoz, December 27, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4688&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1a9IuzH</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Other</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Newspaper Column</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Digital Native (by Nishant Shah, Indian Express, December 22, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4689&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1f7mU2P</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">------------------------------------------------------------<br /><a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4690&qid=367159">Knowledge Repository on Internet Access</a><br />------------------------------------------------------------<br />CIS in partnership with the Ford Foundation is executing a project to create a knowledge repository on Internet and society. This repository will comprise content targeted primarily at civil society with a view to enabling their informed participation in the Indian Internet and ICT policy space. The repository is available at the Internet Institute website: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4691&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/1iQT2UB</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Upcoming Event</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Institute on Internet and Society (organised by Ford Foundation and CIS, Yashada, Pune, February 11-17, 2014): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4692&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/180mQi9</a>. Registrations are closed for this event.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Modules</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>History of the Internet: Building Conceptual Frameworks (by Nishant Shah, December 31, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4693&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19WRHLb</a>.</li>
<li>Internet Privacy in India (by Elonnai Hickok, December 31, 2013): <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4694&qid=367159">http://bit.ly/19SNk6v</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-----------------------------------------------------<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4695&qid=367159"><br />About CIS</a><br />-----------------------------------------------------<br />The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Twitter:<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4696&qid=367159">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Facebook group: <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4697&qid=367159">https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>Visit us at:<a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4698&qid=367159">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge</a></li>
<li>E-mail: <a href="mailto:a2k@cis-india.org">a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Support Us</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Please help us defend consumer / citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of ‘The Centre for Internet and Society’ and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd ‘C’ Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru – 5600 71.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Request for Collaboration:<br />We invite researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at <a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org">sunil@cis-india.org</a> or Nishant Shah, Director – Research, at <a href="mailto:nishant@cis-india.org">nishant@cis-india.org</a>. To discuss collaborations on Indic language wikipedia, write to T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director, A2K, at <a href="mailto:vishnu@cis-india.org">vishnu@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects</i>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2013-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2013-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceDigital HumanitiesOpenness2014-02-25T13:51:47ZPageInformation Design - Visualizing Action (TTC)
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-design-activism-1
<b>This is the second part of the Making Change analysis on information activism. It explores the role of the presentation and design of information to translate information into action.</b>
<pre style="text-align: justify;"><strong>CHANGE-MAKER:</strong> Maya Ganesh
<strong>
PROJECT</strong>:
Visualizing Information for Advocacy
<strong><strong>
METHOD OF CHANGE</strong>:
</strong>Redesign the production, presentation and representation of data to stimulate citizen action.<strong>
STRATEGY OF CHANGE: </strong>
- Demystify the technology, strategy and tactics behind information design
- Train people on how to use them for their projects.
- Empower people and increase political participation at the grassroots</pre>
<h2>Part 2: Information Design</h2>
<p align="justify">Tactical Technology aims to demystify strategies that stimulate citizen participation through the production, presentation and representation of data. Their 2010 program:<a href="https://tacticaltech.org/visualising-information-advocacy"> Visualizing Information for Advocacy</a> focuses on finding "the right combination of information, design, technology and networks" (2010) to communicate issues and stimulate action. As explored in the last post, campaigns must not only inform citizens, but must persuade them into acting. The way information is presented: the symbols, shapes and sequences plays a big part in creating deeper connections between the consumer and information. Using more visual advocacy examples, I will list three elements that underpin this connection: symbols, design and consumption culture.</p>
<h3>I. Symbols</h3>
<p><strong>Marks or characters representing an object, function or abstract process</strong></p>
<p>Lance Bennett’s work on civic engagement (2008), identified two features in information that motivate citizens to act:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">a) Familiar values and activities<br /> b) Action options that facilitate decision-making and the participation process</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">By personalizing data and finding symbols that embody these values and action options, the citizen is more likely to engage with the information. Throughout this post we will look at some examples, outside of Tactical Tech, that are applying these principles.</p>
<pre style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Example 1:<br />Dislike Poverty Campaign- Un Techo para mi Pais (TECHO) Latin America<br /></pre>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">First example is this is the <a href="http://vimeo.com/15656801">campaign</a> by the Chilean NGO<a href="http://www.techo.org/en/"> Un Techo para mi Pais</a>. The organization’s main objectives are to a) to eradicate poverty and b) build a strong body of volunteers that epitomize a new way of understanding citizenship in the region. They are very popular among youth, in part due to their communication strategies and their use of social media. Recently, the ‘No Me Gusta’ (Dislike) campaign was featured in Spanish graphic design activism blog:<a href="http://www.grafous.com/no-me-gusta/"> Grafous</a>, and the non-profit marketing website<a href="http://osocio.org/message/no_me_gusta_i_dislike_this/"> Osocio</a> for its creative use of 'slacktivism' to mirror the young citizen's attitude towards poverty.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="callout"><strong>Slacktivism</strong>: "actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement, e.g. liking or joining a campaign group on a social networking website"</p>
<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/TECHO1.jpg/image_preview" alt="Techo 1" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Techo 1" /></p>
<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/TECHO2.jpg/image_preview" alt="Techo 2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Techo 2" /><br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-3c3e8713-307f-8c4d-a5bf-1b5269c5701e">No Me Gusta campaign, Un Techo para mi Pais. Photo courtesy of Grafous: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.grafous.com/no-me-gusta/">http://www.grafous.com/no-me-gusta/</a>.</span></p>
<p align="justify">The images juxtapose pictures of slums and an adaptation of the Facebook Like button - a familiar symbol of affirmation and approval among youth- into a Dislike button: enabling expression of discontent. This is coupled with the phrase: “<em>if you dislike this, you can help by logging onto (...)</em>”, channeling this disapproval into a plan of action. The campaign shows a thorough understanding of its target audience: including the visual culture of social media users, their digital habits and their satisfaction driven behavior (embodied by the like button). It ridicules the user by facing him with two realities: the ineludible situation of poverty versus his redeemable slacktivist idleness. This strategy proved to be effective and attracted the attention of potential volunteers; asserting the middle class, tech-savvy identity of the TECHO volunteer throughout Latin America.</p>
<blockquote style="float: left;">
<p align="center"><strong>Nonviolent methods and <br />Civic Participation</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Capture attention.</li>
<li>Increase visibility of activism.</li>
<li>Reduce the stake of participation <br />for citizens</li>
<li>Attracts 'risk-averse' citizens and<br />creates 'safety in numbers'.</li>
<li>Success of campaign is more likely<br />(if 3.5% of population participates)</li></ul>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify">The use of familiar symbols is one of the <a href="http://www.starhawk.org/activism/trainer-resources/198ways.html">198 strategies</a> listed by Gene Sharp in Part Two of <a href="http://www.aeinstein.org/books/the-politics-of-nonviolent-action-part-2/">The Politics of Nonviolent Action</a> (explored in a<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digitally-enhanced-civil-resistance"> past post</a>). In the same spirit, Tactical Technology’s project <a href="https://archive.informationactivism.org/">10 tactics</a> provides “original and artful” wide communication non-violent methods to capture attention and disseminate information. This includes slogans, caricatures, symbols, posters and media presence, which besides from grabbing attention also reduces the stake of participation for citizens. According to Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, these methods increase the visibility of activist efforts, because they create a sense of ‘safety in numbers” and hence draw the “risk-averse” into the movements. Furthermore, their study shows that if a campaign manages to capture the active and sustained participation of only 3.5% of the total population, it is likely to succeed (2008).</p>
<p align="justify">While this statistic shows that enhancing the visibility of social change campaigns is an extremely resource-efficient strategy, on the other hand, it confirms information is in the hands of a privileged minority. The information-poor activist is completely reliant on the values and symbols the middle class chooses to downstream, unless information is designed by grassroots organizations who can localize it -one of the main objectives of Tactical Technology. The flow of ideas and conversations among the middle class, though not inclusive, is already stimulating the spirit of information dissemination. However, representations of data are not enough to trigger cognitive associations between the citizen and the issues. We must also consider the design and aesthetic features of these representations and how they inspire civic engagement.</p>
<h3>II. (Graphic) Design</h3>
<p><strong>Communication, stylizing and problem-solving through the use of type, space and image. </strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p id="docs-internal-guid-3c3e8713-3345-6c35-9147-f1533da6a2fe" style="text-align: justify;" class="callout" dir="ltr"><strong>MG</strong>: Presentation continues to be a problem. We have focused a lot on this, but it continues to be an issue when people have and are using information. You can’t assume people will get it and you need to think about what kind of information you have and what kind of audiences you want to see it, etc.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Liz Mcquiston, author of the 1995 and the 2004 editions of Graphic Agitation explored how art and design brings political and social issues to the fore. She argues that the increasing ubiquity of digital technology since the 90s, plus a popular ‘do-it-yourself’ culture, is creating a new environment of political protest that empowers individuals to take ownership of the creation and consumption of information. This is in line with Richard Wurman’s argument on the rise of the <strong>prosumer: </strong>digital users who are not only consuming but are also producing an unprecedented amount of information, which states that larger volumes of information, coupled with the expressive potential of art and design, makes personalized relationships with data possible, having it cater to our interests, needs and contexts (2001).</p>
<pre style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Example 2:<br />Design for Protest by Hector Serrano (University Cardenal Herrera)<br /></pre>
<div style="text-align: justify;" class="pull quote" dir="ltr">Information design is creating ready-made avenues for civic engagement by breaking data down and providing step by step guides for implementation. For instance, students from the University Cardenal Herrera in Spain collaborated together in the project: “<a href="http://designforprotest.wordpress.com/proyectos/">Design for Protest”</a>, led by <a href="http://www.hectorserrano.com/">Hector Serrano</a>, graphic designer and activist. The concept was to design “effective and functional” tools of demonstration, rooted in the rising number of protests around the world during the economic crisis. The students created communication tools: from foldable banners to protest umbrellas that allow protesters in Spain (and around the world) to convey their messages in creative, quick and affordable ways. This is the perfect conflation between consuming information proposals and producing new information from the grassroots to intervene in the public space.</div>
<p align="center" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><br /><img src="http://designforprotest.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/10.jpg?w=920" alt="" height="450" width="665" align="middle" /></p>
<p align="center">Paraguas (Umbrella). Photo courtesy and How-to: <a href="http://designforprotest.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/paraguas/">Design For Protest: Paraguas<br /></a></p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://designforprotest.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/4_01.jpg?w=920" alt="" height="450" width="665" align="middle" /><br /> Light Banner. Photo courtesy and How-to: <a href="http://designforprotest.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/light-banner/">Design For Protest: Light Banner</a></p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://designforprotest.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/paraguas/"><br /></a></p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://designforprotest.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/2_05.jpg?w=920" alt="" height="558" width="397" align="middle" /></div>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr">Pocket Protest. Photo courtesy and How-to: <a href="http://designforprotest.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/protesta-de-bolsillo/">Design for Protest: Protesta de Bolsillo</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">The field of information design is creating ready-made avenues for civic engagement. It is breaking down data and providing step-by-step guides for implementation. Although the Design for Protest project is not creating a permanent source of information, it is providing feasible alternatives to display information both in short-lived protests as much as in long-term campaigns, facilitating action-taking and abiding to the second feature of Bennett's hypothesis: providing action options to aid decision-making. Ganesh commented how these tool kits are also a mean Tactical Tech uses to secure sustainability and continuity:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="callout"><span id="docs-internal-guid-4b925b2a-3424-bea4-cc67-94b3cb5dc47a"><strong>MG:</strong> We have many available resources: from tools and guides (mobile in a box, security in a box, etc.), to the website. It is very focused on the digital tools that support what you want to do with your campaigning. You have a plethora of websites telling you what tools to use but not how to use it or how to think about how you want to use them for campaigning. As a result you have campaigns that are not well thought or that don’t use the appropriate type of technology, or driven by the technology first than what they want to do. This is one of the ways in which it continues.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<h3></h3>
<h3>III. (Culture) Design</h3>
<p><strong>Localizing information design</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The <strong>‘prosumer’ model </strong>aligns with an active model of citizenship we describe in a <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/blank-noise-active-citizen-dissonance">previous post.</a> It fits citizens who are active and willing to find resources, and create and disseminate information that resonates within their context. Yochai Benkler’s work on information production (2006) Also touches on how cultural production enhances democratic practices in network societies. He argues that creating cultural meaning of the world has two important effects:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">a) Sustains values of individual freedom of expression.<br />b) Provides opportunities of participation and cultural reassertion.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Ganesh’s account of the experience of Tactical Technology in the Middle East also highlights how cultural remix is a form political and creative empowerment:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="callout" dir="ltr"><strong>MG:</strong> It is interesting how the Arab version has evolved. We had support to extend Ten Tactics in the Arabic region, but we didn’t want to do translations and tell people what to do. We wanted to see how people are thinking about information activism in their region, what kind of products would be useful to them. We’ve already printed 2000 copies and we are left only with 140. It is really popular because people really want to do this. We’ve met with 5-7 groups in the Arab region we’ve known for a long time. We said: here’s money (originally meant for translations) take our resources, anything you’ve found that we’ve published and: customize it, remix it, break it up and put it back together again; turn it into a resource that you can feel you can use with your communities. Partnering up, you must keep in mind their mandates and their communities.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Localizing design and aesthetics is essential to keep the connections between data-citizen relevant. This is explored from the perspective of post-colonial computing by Irani et. al; a project that aims to understand how ‘good design’ must be consistent with cultural identities and the transformative nature of cultural formation between the context and the individual (2010).</p>
<pre style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><strong>Example 3:</strong><br />Proudly African and Transgender by Gabrielle Le Roux (In collaboration with Amnesty International and IGLHRC)</pre>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">An interesting example of this is the work done by Gabrielle Le Roux, in collaboration with African trans and intersex activists (<a href="http://www.iglhrc.org">IGLHRC</a>). A showcase of portraits and uncovered narratives of transgendered Africans in East and Southern Africa: that reasserts interesex and transgender identity in a society were these issues remain taboo and hence under the radar.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><img style="float: left;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/f1HV0NnuLqLOP-N36QGFbr-eXSILqtz0vFXA6OrSTqPuqiniOe89xiyxhJqnlD2wRLgcOtPQYZf3po7biJGQZ9gCAwROMbywL9xyjO6OkyzcK3jNzIqWwT8J4Q" alt="" height="427px;" width="303px;" /> <img style="float: right;" dir="ltr" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/vCK1YHfG-_rOjr8VS8dRv4GVGE7AmrsalUMhIgMNP4Io6Th8IVHg4h5syGa0-NRrEMKhRjtpFPB877ssMJwtncjtM_w8YTt-gCiDpEgh64kbZlAuunQ-hvwrvw" alt="" height="431" width="303" /></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"> </p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">These visuals were exhibited in Europe by Amnesty International, and showcased in the <a href="http://www.blacklooks.org">Black Looks </a>community (who participated in Tactical Tech’s 2009 <a href="http://camp2013.tacticaltech.org">InfoCamp</a>) as well as in the WITS Centre for Diversity Studies research on <a href="http://incudisa.wordpress.com/">Politics of Engagement:</a> an interactive collaboration on social change through art-activism and research.</p>
<pre><strong>Example 4:</strong>
Camp Acra et Adoquin Delmas 33 - Haiti</pre>
<p align="justify">An example less inclined on aesthetics but focused on visual documentation is the <a href="http://chanjemleson.wordpress.com/">Camp Acra et Adoquin Delmas 33</a> blog, from Haiti. A site in which Camp Acra members are documenting their settlement and growth after the 2010 earthquake through essential information and images, fostering community building and communal identity reassertion.</p>
<p align="center"><img id="docs-internal-guid-4b925b2a-33b7-4c5f-4371-534d21958e0f" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/JaZwKtfIODw6LQuJOdRlEofLtr9tEZox9mw9WMTDJJxLnlJaX6RCmxjGbNggtgF2pD0B706J1kShumAImBWJ7X0Po44ktKjs5SmMh402BmjjNB4whfLowh1ixw" alt="" height="377px;" width="486px;" /></p>
<div align="right" class="pullquote">“visual representations of information gives context to numbers, uncovers relationships and engages the viewers in ways that raw information could never do”<br /> David McCandless</div>
<p align="justify">As <a href="http://www.davidmccandless.com/">David McCandless</a>,data journalist, information designer and author of <a href="http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/the-visual-miscellaneum/">The Visual Miscellaneum</a> points out: “visual representations of information gives context to numbers, uncovers relationships and engages the viewers in ways that raw information could never do” (2009). Having these representations mingle with culturally specific undertones provides opportunities to create solidarity ties between the citizen and its culture, as well as the add of “individual glosses” through action, critical reflection and participation (Benkler, 2006). However is this need for an aesthetic approach to information and culture representation a result of our consumer behaviour? Is it problematic that activism is catering to a model of promotion and presentation of information to incite participation? The next section will look shortly at the consumption culture in information activism.</p>
<h3 align="justify">IV. Consumption (Culture)</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Is information design catering to consumption habits instead of citizen needs?</strong><br />As seen, information design is grounded on the premise that the representation of data must create deep connections with its audience in order to incite a reaction. However, is this the result of a culture of consumption? Let’s not forget the citizens targeted by visual campaigns are also consumers in constant interaction with the market. Kozinet’s study of virtual communities of consumption (1999), is in line with Wurman's description of the behavior of a prosumer:</p>
<h3 align="center" style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><strong>Behaviour of consumer vs. information prosumer</strong></h3>
<table class="plain" align="center">
<thead>
<tr>
<th><strong>Kozinet - Virtual communities of consumption</strong></th>
<th align="center"><strong>Wurman - The prosumer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Discerning consumer</td>
<td>Displays curiosity in information</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Less accessible for one-to-one processes</td>
<td>Suspicion over information gate-keepers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Producers of large amounts of cultural information</td>
<td>“New-found hunger” to find information related to its interests</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Moreover, the Kozinet suggests a few strategies of how to interact with the consumer that also fit the strategies presented by Bennett at the beginning of this analysis:</p>
<h3 align="center">How to connect with the consumer vs. citizen</h3>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Kozinet - Virtual communities of consumption</th>
<th align="center">Bennett - Features of information for civic engagement</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Segmentation of consumers<br id="docs-internal-guid-4b925b2a-3456-5d05-0f33-04a2bd0b87b2" /></td>
<td>Tailor information to values and activities familiar to the citizen</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>More interaction with consumer</td>
<td>Suggest action options to facilitate decision-making and participation</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Create loyal networks of consumption</td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>With this parallel in mind, we asked Ganesh the extent to which info-activism resembles market consumption models:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="callout" dir="ltr"><strong>MG:</strong> You need to think strategically about how it’s going to get picked up, where you want to promote your information, how you want to publish, present it; and push it. The problem with NGO, activists and independent individuals is that they are not as empowered financially [...]. If you look at the corporate section, journalism, etc; you have huge institutions and a lot of more finances behind this stuff. NGOs have one shot to make it work. That’s when people like us come in, to demystify, give people training and create platforms.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Comparing activists with ‘virtual consumption communities’ questions the extent to which corporate and social impact models are feeding of each other to present information and succeed. A deeper analysis of this relationship falls out of the scope of this post, but it is worth mentioning when exploring activism in information network societies. As Ganesh clarified, info-activism is not related to marketing, but visualizing information in attractive and interesting ways is crucial not only to persuade, but to make activism accessible and enticing. Today, ten years after it was founded, Tactical Tech maintains a critical approach to their work. It is now moving on to a next stage, beyond the mere representation of data and paying closer attention to the type of information that enhances impact and influence of their tactics.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="callout" dir="ltr"><strong>MG</strong>: We have definitely moved on thinking about interesting ways of looking at this. Our questions are more critical and political right now. The nature of platforms, the nature of information sharing, what is the true face of social media? There is so much information and data right now. Once information is out there how do you actually make it evidence for evidence-based advocacy. We are trying to play with that idea a little bit. It's not only about having impact but also influence.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Conclusion:</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Part 1 and 2 of this analysis have explored the process of transforming data into civic action. In part 1 we re-visited the question of information communities. We found that diversity in political opinion democratizes the debate in the public space. Information strategies must focus on making information from the grassroots visible and strengthening offline networks that facilitate information dissemination. In part 2, we explored the strategies behind the presentation and representation of this information.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Three main findings came from this analysis:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">a) Non-violent visual advocacy is more likely to reduce the stakes of participation for the common citizen making political engagement more likely.<br /> b) The role of design for short or long-term advocacy is to simplifythe process of civic action, facilitate decision-making and makethese projects self-sustainable. <br />c) Our consumption habits in the market are shaping how we process and interact with information in the public space. The possibility of consumer behavior permeating modalities of activism reinforces the need to explore the most interesting strategies for information dissemination.</p>
<p align="justify">From the perspective of the <strong>Making Change</strong> project’ it is interesting to explore this method to social change as a breach from the ‘spectacle’ criticism outlined by Shah. He argues that in contemporary activism, only a limited production of images enter the network - images in many cases detached from the material realities and experiences that shape the change process in the first place. This tendency results in paraphernalia over the visual, disregarding the crises that led to the inception of protests. The findings from this analysis indicate that visual persuasion is essential to capture the attention of citizens, and hence, the need for a pinch of ‘spectacle’ in data presentation cannot be overlooked. The challenge info-activism now faces is making data’s dissemination self-sustainable in offline communities through the strategy and design of its campaigns.</p>
<p align="justify">Furthermore, the data, stories and narratives Tactical Tech is working to uncover can only be effectively transformed into action through a reconfiguration of the data-citizen relationship. Information strategies, besides from focusing on how to make data enticing, must also focus on the recognition of a status quo of idleness around how we consume, produce, question or interact with information. Tactical Tech has gone a far way at spearheading this line of thought and spreading graphic resistance through civil society, however this is not sufficient unless this recalibration occurs at the individual citizen level.</p>
<h2 align="justify">Sources:</h2>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bennett, W. Lance. "Changing citizenship in the digital age." Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth 1 (2008): 1-24.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Benkler, Yochai. <em>The wealth of networks: How social production transforms markets and freedom</em>. Yale University Press, 2006.</div>
</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Bimber, Bruce, Andrew J. Flanagin, and Cynthia Stohl. "Reconceptualizing collective action in the contemporary media environment." Communication Theory 15, no. 4 (2005): 365-388.</div>
</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Brundidge, J.S. & Rice, R.E. (2009). Political engagement online: Do the information rich get richer and the like-minded more similar? In Chadwick, A. and Howard, N.H. (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics (pp. 144-156). New York: Routledge </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Kozinets, Robert V. "E-tribalized marketing?: The strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption." European Management Journal 17, no. 3 (1999): 252-264. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">McCandless, David. The Visual Miscellaneum: A Colorful Guide to the World's Most Consequential Trivia. Collins Design, 2009.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Shah, Nishant “Whose Change is it Anyways? Hivos Knowledge Program. April 30, 2013.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Wurman, Richard Saul, Loring Leifer, David Sume, and Karen Whitehouse. Information anxiety 2. Vol. 6000. Indianapolis, IN: Que, 2001.</li></ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-design-activism-1'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-design-activism-1</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseResearchers at WorkWeb PoliticsMaking ChangeDigital Natives2015-04-17T10:34:22ZBlog EntryInformation Activism - Tactics for Empowerment (TTC)
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-information-is-power
<b>This is the first of a two-part analysis of information activism for the Making Change project. This post looks at the benefits and limitations of increasing access to information to enable citizenship and political participation. </b>
<pre style="text-align: justify;"><strong>CHANGE-MAKER</strong>: Maya Ganesh<br /><strong><br />PROJECT</strong>: 10 Tactics for Information Activism<br /><strong><br />METHOD OF CHANGE</strong>: <br />Information activism at the intersection of data, design and technology<br /><strong><br />STRATEGY OF CHANGE</strong>:<br />-Demystify the technology, strategy and tactics behind information activism.
-Train people on how to use them for their projects.
-Empower people and increase political participation at the grassroots<br /></pre>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I came into the office today and CIS Director gifted me the Red House edition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: ‘We are All Born Free”. Skimming through it, I found a series of graphics and artistic interpretations of Articles 1 to 30:</p>
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<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/bornfree.jpg/image_preview" alt="Article 5 - We are all born free" class="image-inline" title="Article 5 - We are all born free" /></p>
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<td><strong>Article 5 </strong><br /> Photo courtesy of Library Mice blog: <a href="http://librarymice.com/we-are-all-born-free/">http://bit.ly/1cAMpYy</a></td>
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<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/bornfree2.jpg/image_preview" alt="Article 24 - We are all born free" class="image-inline" title="Article 24 - We are all born free" /></p>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><strong>Article 24 </strong><br /> Photo courtesy of Illustration Cupboard: <a href="http://www.illustrationcupboard.com/illustration.aspx?iId=3405&type=artist&idValue=351&aiPage=1">http://bit.ly/1kI5EBd</a></td>
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<p>The purpose of this book is to find “exciting ways to socialize young people to very real issues”, rewrite human rights in a “simple,accessible form” and stimulate imagination to “observe and absorb details in a way that words struggle to express”. While specifically targeted for 12+ children, these images create associations and connections that trump the dullness of black and white texts for any audience; offering an alternative way of presenting complex bodies of knowledge crucial for our survival, such as the Declaration of Human Rights.</p>
<div style="text-align: left;" class="pullquote" dir="ltr">Change: information interventions to inspire and facilitate change-making among civil society networks.</div>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">In the same spirit, Tactical Technology aims to use information design strategies to create similar associations in the field of activism. The <a href="https://www.tacticaltech.org/">Tactical Technology Collective</a> is an organization dedicated to the intersections of data, design and technology in campaigning. Its has two main programs:<a href="https://www.tacticaltech.org/#evidence-and-action"> Evidence & Action</a> that works with data management in digital campaigning; and <a href="https://www.tacticaltech.org/#privacy-and-expression">Privacy & Expression</a> that provides digital security and privacysupport advice to activists. The collective envisions change as a creative and pragmatic intervention that inspires and facilitates change-making among civil society networks. We interviewed Maya Ganesh, who is part of the E&A program, and our conversation shed light on benefits and the challenges of using visual advocacy strategies to create social change.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">On this opportunity, I will explore the potential of information activism to create opportunities and spaces of engagement. Following Saussure’s dyadic model of the sign, it will be split in two parts. The first entry will look at the ‘signified’: the ideas, associations and cultural conventions derived from information and how these could solve crises of civic engagement and citizen action. The second entry will look at the ‘signifier’ -the shapes and sequences that compose the knowledges navigating political activism. These will be viewed from the strategic, design and technological point of view. Both parts will be informed by our conversation with Maya and complemented by literature on political engagement in the digital age. On a less academic note, the posts will also refer to the experience of graphic designers, artists and bloggers who are experimenting with information design to express dissent in transnational platforms.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Part 1: Is Information Power?</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">‘Transforming Information into Action’ is Tactical Technology’s take on the traditional idiom ‘Knowledge is Power’. The collective’s experience shows there are a number of steps to transform raw data into political power and for the purpose of this analysis, I will only look at information disseminated with this particular intention. This will aid to understand the relationship between increasing information availability and having it trigger civic action in contemporary activism. According to Fowler and Biekart, acts of public disobedience and activism after 2010 share the objective of reclaiming active citizenship through ‘novel ways’ that counter traditional political participation mechanisms (2013). Hence, we want to know if information activism is one of these ‘novel’ strategies enabling citizenship in the digital era.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">More power to whom?</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Overcoming information inequity</strong><br />If information activism is “the strategic and deliberate use of information within a campaign”, the first step is to question the type of information used in these campaigns. While many scholars claim that access to political opinion increases participation in the democratic process by fostering debate and inclusive deliberation on policy issues (Dahl, 1989, Bennett, 2003, 2008; Montgomery et al. 2004,) Brundidge and Rice’s exploration of Internet politics shows that strategies that merely increase access to information are flawed by design. They claim that increasing information mainly benefits the middle class, who counts with previous exposure to political knowledge and hence processes it with greater ease. This group ultimately dominates the public discourse widening -what they call- the ‘knowledge gap’ between socioeconomic classes (Brunridge and Rice, 2009, Bimber et al. 2005). This is the ‘information’ version of the gentrification of politics explored by Shah in the <a href="http:http:/cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/hivos-knowledge-programme-june-14-2013-nishant-shah-whose-change-is-it-anyway">Whose Change is it Anyway</a> thought piece, and a definite deterrent of collective action at the grassroots level.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">A basic example to show how this manifests in the information environment is this info-graphic on <a href="http://www.2012socialactivism.com/">Social Activism</a> created by <a href="http://www.columnfivemedia.com/">Column Five</a> and <a href="http://www.takepart.com/">Take Part</a> and presenting the findings on their 2010 study on Social responsibility:</p>
<pre><strong>Example 1:
</strong>Social Activism Study (2010): <span class="st">How can brands engage Young Adults in Social Responsibility? </span></pre>
<p align="center"><img class="decoded" src="http://www.2012socialactivism.com/images/infographic.png" alt="http://www.2012socialactivism.com/images/infographic.png" height="878" width="310" align="middle" /><br />Access complete info-graphic here: <a href="http://www.2012socialactivism.com/images/infographic.png">http://www.2012socialactivism.com/images/infographic.png</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">The information is clear, the presentation is clean. This graphic could mobilize the middle class citizen who works in a company and has time and money to spare in donations and fund-raising activities. The graphic is informational yet it does not offer alternative participation avenues for groups outside of the politically savvy, young, educated and affluent circle (Brundidge and Rice, 2009) Instead, it reiterates socioeconomic inequalities from the offline community into the information landscape. With this in mind we asked Maya whether gentrification was a barrier for info-activism interventions at the grassroots:</p>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><strong>MG</strong>: The things we are documenting are by citizens with socioeconomic barriers and obstacles. It is not our mandate to reach out to the ‘common citizen’ but it is very much our mandate to look at what is happening and what is happening to people with socioeconomic barriers who are lower on the ladder. If you look at <a href="https://tacticaltech.org/first-look-syrian-info-activism">Syrian info-activism</a>, these are people facing the worst situations you can imagine, and they are doing it [...] and we document what they are doing, trying to understand it, pull out trends and then showing people.<br /></blockquote>
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<h3 id="docs-internal-guid-55c9389d-2e66-a4f1-cb32-393bdd9637f0" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Empowering information communities</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Offline networks support information dissemination</strong><br />In this respect, offline community networks are key to bridging the knowledge gap cited above. The relationship between organizations like Dawlaty, SMEX and Alt City and groups in the Arab region function as a core of ideas and resources from which localized methods and solutions emerge (read more <a href="https://www.tacticaltech.org/info-activism-resources-localised-and-arab-world">here</a>). This flow of information, coupled with the offline support, makes information from less visible demographics visible, deepens democracy and creates opportunities for these actors to participate and set the public agenda (2009). We asked Maya in what other ways information activism facilitates this process:</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><strong>MG</strong>: We have moved on a lot from information activism. <a href="https://informationactivism.org/en">10 Tactics</a> is quite old for us now but it is still interesting to see how this stuff works. This material was produced in 2008-9 and is very popular with our audience. A lot of our work now is [...] take this material to newer communities of activists or people who have been around for a long time but are getting involved with the digital for the first time. That’s one part of our work and it’s sort of self-sustainable that way.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Therefore the value of information activism, rather than increasing the quantity of available data, is how it enables diversity and visibility of political opinion in the public sphere. One of the better known examples of information design interventions that gloat inclusiveness is:</p>
<pre><strong>Example 2</strong>
Occupy Design: the collective that builds “visual design for the 99%”:</pre>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><img src="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy1.jpg/image_preview" alt="Occupy 1" class="image-inline" title="Occupy 1" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><strong>2011</strong></p>
<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy2.jpg/image_preview" alt="Occupy 2" class="image-inline" title="Occupy 2" /></div>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><strong>2011</strong><br />Images courtesy of Experimenta Magazine: <a href="http://bit.ly/1hGpvOP">http://bit.ly/1hGpvOP</a></p>
<p align="justify">By presenting income and unemployment statistics about the American middle and lower class in the public space, activists from Occupy Design made the claims of the Occupy Wall Street Movement visual and visible. This enabled this group, the 99%, to reclaim the space not only through physical mobilization but also through the expression of subjectivities and open -graphic- power contestation. According to Pleyers, the pervasiveness of the movement both at the offline, online -and in this case, visual- levels created opportunities of horizontal participation, asserting spaces of democratic experience (2012).</p>
<h3>From Information to Action</h3>
<p><strong>Is information enough?</strong><br />Nevertheless, exposure to powerful images does not necessarily guarantee impact and influence, much less civic engagement. We asked Maya what she thought motivated civic action:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> MG: </strong>External things push you over the edge. A flash-point issue could tip you over to do something different, even if you are that someone that has never been involved in anything. The gang rape in Delhi for example: it has sparked a lot of people who have never been involved and are now pushed to [act]. There are different precipitating factors and that’s why the stories of people: what people do, how they do it and why they do it, matters.</p>
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<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Galhigangrape.jpg/image_preview" alt="Delhi Gang Rape" class="image-inline" title="Delhi Gang Rape" /></p>
<p align="center">Women protesting in Bangalore after the Delhi gang rape. Photo courtesy of Dawn: <a href="http://bit.ly/1cAFLRP">http://bit.ly/1cAFLRP</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Whether it is ‘external things’, a ‘flash-point issue’ or ‘precipitating factors’; the individual must make a connection between new events and how they affect the current status quo. A set of critical skills must be in place, as well as a desire to participate in civic life. (Brundidge and Rice 2009, as well as Montgomery et al. 2004) Richard Wurman, the american graphic designer, refers to this in his book ‘Information Anxiety’. He posits that there is an ‘ever-widening gap’; a ‘black hole’ between data and knowledge that limits our ability to make sense of information; even if it is vital for our context and survival. “The opportunity is that there is so much information; the catastrophe is that 99 percent of it isn’t meaningful or understandable” (Wurman et. al 2001) How do we reconcile this challenge with Tactical Technology’s mandate? What is the turning point between exposure to information and engagement in civic action?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">In this post two issues behind information dissemination have been explored:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The risk of creating homogeneous political discussions by catering only to middle class’ interests; overlooking diversity of political expression in the public discourse. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The need for offline communities to facilitate information dissemination on the ground and mainstream the technical and financial support offered by collectives such as Tactical Technology. </li></ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="callout">The next question is how info-activism creates the connections between data and information to trigger civic engagement, and on this note, we proceed to analyse the role of the ‘signifier’ in information dissemination on the next post. Part two post will look at the strategy, design and technology behind the symbols and sequences of information, and how these determine the citizen’s perception of its ability to create change.</p>
<h2></h2>
<p>Access Part 2: Information Design, following this link:</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Sources:</h2>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Biekart, Kees, and Alan Fowler. "Transforming Activisms 2010+: Exploring Ways and Waves." Development and Change 44, no. 3 (2013): 527-546.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Brundidge, J.S. & Rice, R.E. (2009). Political engagement online: Do the information rich get richer and the like-minded more similar? In Chadwick, A. and Howard, N.H. (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics (pp. 144-156). New York: Routledge</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bennett, Winston. "Communicating global activism." Information, Communication & Society 6, no. 2 (2003): 143-168.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bennett, W. Lance. "Changing citizenship in the digital age." Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth 1 (2008): 1-24.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Dahl, Robert A. Democracy and its Critics. Yale University Press, 1989.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Kathryn Montgomery et al., Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation. Center for Social Media, 2004. Retrieved February 15, 20</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Pleyers, Geoffrey. "Beyond Occupy: Progressive Activists in Europe." Open Democracy: free thinking for the world 2012 (2012): 5pages-8.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Shah, Nishant “Whose Change is it Anyways? Hivos Knowledge Program. April 30, 2013.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Wurman, Richard Saul, Loring Leifer, David Sume, and Karen Whitehouse. Information anxiety 2. Vol. 6000. Indianapolis, IN: Que, 2001.</li></ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-information-is-power'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-information-is-power</a>
</p>
No publisherDenisse AlbornozResearchers at WorkWeb PoliticsMaking ChangeDigital Natives2015-04-17T10:36:01ZBlog EntryDigital Native
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/indian-express-december-22-2013-nishant-shah-digital-native
<b>The end of the year is supposed to be a happy, feel-good space for families, friends, societies and communities to come together and count our blessings. It is the time to look at things that have gone by and look forward to what the New Year will bring.</b>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">The article was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/digital-native/1210347/0">originally published in the Indian Express</a> on December 22, 2013.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify;">And yet, when I started writing this piece, my horizons seemed to be eclipsed by the amount of violence we have witnessed in the last year, and the inability of our governance systems to deal with them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Around this time last year, the nation had woken up to the horrors a young woman suffered as a group of men raped her in a moving bus in Delhi. The inhumanity of the crime, her tragic death, and the fact that despite our collective anger and grief, the year has been dotted with violence of a gendered and sexual nature, should be enough to quell any celebrations. What happened to her and then to many other reported and invisible survivors of sexual violence in the country has seen a dramatic transformation of the digital public sphere.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Spurred by anger, frustration and the realisation that we are often the agents of change, people have taken to the streets and the information highway in unprecedented forms. Every reported incident of sexual violence — from the young intern who was molested by a former Supreme Court judge to the now infamous Tehelka case — sparked great ire on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and collaborative user-generated content sites. Hashtags have trended, videos have gone viral. Men and women have bonded together to speak against the increasingly unsafe spaces we seem to inhabit.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Responding to this public demonstration and outrage, we have seen some positive developments from the governments and judiciary systems which are morally, legally and constitutionally bound to look after us. And yet, we are quickly realising that much of this is not enough. While the law takes its course and tries to craft and enforce more efficient regulation to prevent and protect victims of such violent crimes, we have despaired at how it doesn't seem to change things materially.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The digital spaces that we have used to fight, to protest and to call for action, are also where we have shared the frustration at how little material reality has changed. Hashtags on Twitter have gone through life cycles of anger, protest and despair, as the complex structures of archaic laws, slow judiciary processes, prejudiced judges, and a populist politics which is often superficial, take their toll on processes to establish justice, equality and freedom for our societies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As tweets and Facebook updates have now clearly told us, through testimonies and witness accounts, these questions cannot be understood in isolation. The social media has consistently reminded us that the December 16 gang rape was not just about one woman. It was about the misogynist societies that we are constructing and the fundamental flaws in systems which encourage the idea that men have ownership of the bodies and lives of women in our country. Across the year, through campaigns by online intervention groups like the Blank Noise Project or through note-card viral memes like "I need feminism" have emphasised the need to acknowledge these not as "women's problems" or "exceptional" problems. These are problems that need to be understood in the larger context of human rights, and our rights to life, dignity, equality and freedom enshrined in our Constitution.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">And yet, as another year comes to an end, the social media is ablaze at a decision that has marked one of the darkest days in recent judicial history. On December 11, the Supreme Court of India repealed the landmark historical judgement issued by the Delhi High Court that read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises same-sex relationships. Finding this in defiance of our constitutional rights, the well-weighed judgment was celebrated across social media — nationally and globally — for its recognition that the problem of discrimination is never just about one demography or section of the society. As the LGBTQ communities stood in shock, there was something else that happened on social media.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">For once, the comments of disbelief, anger and surprise turned into a roar for correcting such a verdict. And it is not only the LGBTQ identified people and activists who are joining this clamour. Straight people, people with families, families with LGBTQ children, are all coming out and finding a common bond of solidarity that works around hashtags and viral sharing of messages. The world of social media has shown how we have learned, that we cannot leave the underprivileged to fight for themselves. Because, if we ignore the discrimination against them, we will have nobody to support us when we are being treated as sub-human and irrelevant in a country that has often done poetic interpretations of what constitutional rights mean.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I started writing this piece with despair. But I slowly realise that maybe there is something to be thankful about this year. That even when our archaic systems of justice are catching up with the accelerated transformations in our lives, the social media does act as a public space where those bound together in their belief for equality and justice can act in solidarity. On Twitter, this fateful day, everybody was queer. And they did not have to identify themselves as men or women, straight, gay or lesbian. Despite our bodies, our differences, our status and practices, we can claim to fight for those whose voices, bodies, lives and loves are being negated in our country. And if you cannot take to the streets to make your support felt, remember that the digital public sphere is active and buzzing. Those in power have no choice but to take into account the collective voice on the internet, which demands and shall build open, fair and equal societies.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/indian-express-december-22-2013-nishant-shah-digital-native'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/indian-express-december-22-2013-nishant-shah-digital-native</a>
</p>
No publishernishantSocial mediaWeb PoliticsResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-04-17T10:40:02ZBlog EntryNovember 2013 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2013-bulletin
<b>Our newsletter for the month of November 2013 can be accessed below. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) welcomes you to the eleventh issue of its newsletter (November) for the year 2013:</p>
<h2>Highlights</h2>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>CIS is pleased to announce the second "Institute on Internet and Society" to be held in Yashada, Pune from February 11 to 17, 2014. Any members from the civil society (students, research scholars, academicians, scientists, legal professionals, etc.) who engage in issues concerning Internet and Society are encouraged to apply.</li>
<li>The National Resource Kit team is pleased to bring you its research for the states of Tripura, Nagaland and Chattisgarh.</li>
<li>CIS-A2K team signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Christ University in Bangalore to introduce Wikipedia in classrooms. </li>
<li>The Access to Knowledge narrative report capturing the work done by CIS-A2K team in the first ten months of the grant along with its strategy for the next 1 year is published.</li>
<li>Last month we organised the Seventh Privacy Round-table in collaboration with FICCI, DSCI, and Privacy International in Delhi. The developments are captured in a report by Elonnai Hickok.</li>
<li>Along with Wikimedia India and Acharya Narendra Dev College, we organised the Relaunch of Creative Commons in India. Dr. Shashi Tharoor was the chief guest.</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility">Accessibility and Inclusion</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of our project (under a grant from the Hans Foundation) on creating a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India, we bring you draft chapters for the states of Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, and the union territory of Daman and Diu. With this we have completed compilation of draft chapters for 27 states and 5 union territories. Feedback and comments are invited from readers for the following chapters:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► National Resource Kit Chapter</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Tripura Chapter (by CLPR, November 13, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1bCFPwq">http://bit.ly/1bCFPwq</a>. </li>
<li>The Nagaland Chapter (by CLPR, November 13, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cmKzq0">http://bit.ly/1cmKzq0</a>. </li>
<li>The Chattisgarh Chapter (by Anandhi Viswanathan, November 30, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cSczSt">http://bit.ly/1cSczSt</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Note: <i>All of these are early drafts and will be reviewed and updated</i>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Other Accessibility Update</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>E-Accessibility Workshop 2013 (organised by Directorate of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra, Mahaonline Limited and National Internet Exchange of India, November 19-20, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cQ0wd8">http://bit.ly/1cQ0wd8</a>. CIS was one of the trainer organisations for the event.</li>
<li>National Conference on Harnessing Technology for the Empowerment for Persons with Visual Impairments (organized by NAB Centre for Blind Women & Disability Studies, Indian Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi, November 19, 2013). Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan participated as a speaker: <a href="http://bit.ly/IzLOty">http://bit.ly/IzLOty</a>. </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Access to Knowledge programme addresses the harms caused to consumers and human rights, and critically examines Open Government Data, Open Access to Scholarly Literature, and Open Access to Law, Open Content, Open Standards, and Free/Libre/Open Source Software.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The following has been done under grant from the Wikimedia Foundation (<a href="http://bit.ly/SPqFOl">http://bit.ly/SPqFOl</a>). As part this project (<a href="http://bit.ly/X80ELd">http://bit.ly/X80ELd</a>), we held 8 workshops, signed a MoU with Christ University for teaching Wikipedia to students, published a detailed narrative report of activities done during the initial period of the Wikimedia grant.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Wikipedia</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Articles</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಟ್ಟ ಸಸಿಗೆ ಈಗ ಹತ್ತು ವರ್ಷ (by Dr. U.B. Pavanaja, Kannada Prabha, November 1, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/17LOw4O">http://bit.ly/17LOw4O</a>. The article highlights 10 years of Kannada Wikipedia, the current status of the Kannada Wikipedia vis-a-vis number of articles, number of editors, active editors, and page views per month.</li>
<li>Train The Trainer Programme for Wikipedians (by Subhashish Panigrahi, DNA, November 14, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ehr8kz">http://bit.ly/1ehr8kz</a>. The article was edited by Rohini Lakshane of DNA. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Announcement</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>CIS Signs MoU with Christ University, Bangalore (November 20, 2013): The Access to Knowledge team signed a MoU as part of which CIS-A2K and Christ University will impart Wikipedia education in Indian classrooms: <a href="http://bit.ly/1ehr8kz">http://bit.ly/1ehr8kz</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Report</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>CIS-A2K Narrative Report (September 2012 – June 2013) (by T. Vishnu Vardhan, Nitika Tandon and Subhashish Panigrahi, November 29, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1dFyjpO">http://bit.ly/1dFyjpO</a>. The report throws some light on the CIS-A2K program strategy in the next one year.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Note: A couple of the below blog entries were carried in the Access to Knowledge newsletter last month</i>.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Konkani Vishwakosh Digitization Project (by Nitika Tandon, November 13, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1dodyuK">http://bit.ly/1dodyuK</a>. </li>
<li>Konkani Vishwakosh Under CC-BY-SA (by Nitika Tandon, November 13, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cm9wBH">http://bit.ly/1cm9wBH</a>. </li>
<li>Train the Trainer Program (by Subhashish Panigrahi, November 18, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/18hjw0n">http://bit.ly/18hjw0n</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Event Co-organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Relaunch of Creative Commons India (co-organised by Wikimedia India, Acharya Narendra Dev College and CIS, India Islamic Cultural Centre, November 12, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/HPxrAO">http://bit.ly/HPxrAO</a>. Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development was the chief guest at the event.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Wikipedia Orientation Programme for MA Students (Christ University, Bangalore, November 12, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/ItxAtu">http://bit.ly/ItxAtu</a>. Syed Muzammiluddin was the trainer. Twenty students participated. </li>
<li>Wikipedia Orientation Programme for the Second Language Students (Christ University, Bangalore, November 12, 13, 16 and 19, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1bxsOYF">http://bit.ly/1bxsOYF</a>. T. Vishnu Vardhan, Syed Muzammiluddin and Dr. U.B.Pavanaja were the trainers. About 1200 second language students participated in the programme. </li>
<li>Documentation and Wikipedia Contribution — A One Day Workshop (Kalinga Institute of Social Studies, Bhubaneswar, November 14, 2013). The workshop was conducted by Subhashish Panigrahi: <a href="http://bit.ly/1fSvl1v">http://bit.ly/1fSvl1v</a>.</li>
<li>Documentation and Wikipedia Workshop (Kalinga School of Management, Bhubaneswar, November 16, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/Imf0DV">http://bit.ly/Imf0DV</a>. Subhashish Panigrahi conducted the workshop. </li>
<li>Konknni Wikipedia Workshop (organised by Dalgado Konknni Akademi and CIS-A2K, Goa Central State Library, November 16 and 17, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fSwiH5">http://bit.ly/1fSwiH5</a>.</li>
<li>Tenth Anniversary of Wikipedia (H N Multimedia Hall, National College, Basavanagudi, Bangalore, November 17, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1eJ6da9">http://bit.ly/1eJ6da9</a>. Dr. U R Ananthamurthy, Prof. G. Venkatasubbiah and Ravi Hegde were the guests of honour. Dr. U.B. Pavanaja conducted the workshop.</li>
<li>First Phase of Odia Wikipedia Workshop (Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Bhubaneswar, November 18, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/18doDer">http://bit.ly/18doDer</a>. Subhashish Panigrahi conducted the workshop.</li>
<li>Konkani Wikipedia Workshop (Nirmala Institute of Education, Goa, November 19, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fSAUwT">http://bit.ly/1fSAUwT</a>. Nitika Tandon conducted the event. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Event Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Wikimedia Diversity Conference (organized by German Wikipedia Community, GLS Campus, Berlin): <a href="http://bit.ly/Ixr9W8">http://bit.ly/Ixr9W8</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Media Coverage</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS gave its inputs for the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Kannada Wikipedia and its Tenth Anniversary (RadioCity, November 2, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1dHEwBI">http://bit.ly/1dHEwBI</a>. </li>
<li>10th anniversary of Kannada wikipedia (The Times of India, November 15, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/IxqDr7">http://bit.ly/IxqDr7</a>.</li>
<li>Tenth Anniversary of Kannada Wikipedia (Udayavani, November 15, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1aFwqF1">http://bit.ly/1aFwqF1</a>. </li>
<li>ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಈಗ ದಶಮಾನೋತ್ಸವ. ಅದರ ಪ್ರಯುಕ್ತ ಒಂದು ಆಚರಣೆ (Avadhi Website, November 16, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/ImiBSy">http://bit.ly/ImiBSy</a>. </li>
<li>ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಗೆ 10, ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ ಸಾಲದು : ಪ್ರೊ .ಜಿವಿ (OneindiaKannada, November 17, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fSAUwT">http://bit.ly/1fSAUwT</a>.</li>
<li>Tenth Anniversary of Kannada Wikipedia (Vijayavani, November 17, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1b7exSa">http://bit.ly/1b7exSa</a>. </li>
<li>ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ದಶಮಾನೋತ್ಸವ ಸಂಭ್ರಮ (Prajavani, November 18, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1hWtt9v">http://bit.ly/1hWtt9v</a>.</li>
<li>ಕನ್ನಡದ ಆನ್ಲೈನ್ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶ ದುರ್ಬಲ (Vijaya Karnataka, November 19, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1hWtsCy">http://bit.ly/1hWtsCy</a>. </li>
<li>Panaji: DKA organizes two day Konkani Wikipedia workshop (Daijiworld, November 18, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1inoi03">http://bit.ly/1inoi03</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Note: The following are not a part of the Wikimedia Grant:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Other</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>History of Creative Commons in India (by Priyank Dwivedi, November 13, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/17txcH7">http://bit.ly/17txcH7</a>.</li>
<li>How Can We Make Open Education Truly Open? (by Dr. Nishant Shah, DML Central, November 22, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ezsAyj">http://bit.ly/1ezsAyj</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Conference on e-Governance for India: Opportunities, Challenges and Policy Alternatives (organised by OECD Korea Policy Centre in partnership with the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad, November 6-7, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cGP13c">http://bit.ly/1cGP13c</a>. Sunil Abraham was a panelist in the session on OECD Principles on eGovernment and their applicability to the developing world and India. </li>
<li>Indo-European Conference on the Role of the Patent System in Fostering Innovation and Technology Transfer (organized by European Patent Office, FICCI and European Business & Technology Centre, November 29, 2013, New Delhi). Nehaa Chaudhari participated in this conference.</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project (under a grant from Privacy International and International Development Research Centre (IDRC)) on conducting research on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). So far we have organised seven privacy round-tables and drafted the Privacy (Protection) Bill. This month we bring you a report from the seventh privacy round-table held in Delhi, and an analysis on why Facebook is more dangerous than government spying. As part of its project (funded by Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto and support from the IDRC) on mapping cyber security actors in South Asia and South East Asia we did an interview with Namita A Malhotra, a researcher and lawyer from Alternative Law Forum. With this we have completed a total of 12 video interviews:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Privacy</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Event Report</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Seventh Privacy Round-table (organised by FICCI, DSCI, Privacy International and CIS, October 19, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/187pFOO">http://bit.ly/187pFOO</a>. The report was published in the month of November. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Newspaper Columns</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Open Secrets (by Nishant Shah, Indian Express, October 27, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1b5uvK0">http://bit.ly/1b5uvK0</a>.</li>
<li>I Just Pinged to Say Hello (by Nishant Shah, Indian Express, November 24, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/183H34t">http://bit.ly/183H34t</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>An Interview with Caspar Bowden (by Maria Xynou, November 6, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/17LQqFX">http://bit.ly/17LQqFX</a>. </li>
<li>India's Response to WGEC Questionnaire (by Snehashish Ghosh, November 13, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/HX0r96">http://bit.ly/HX0r96</a>. </li>
<li>Why 'Facebook' is More Dangerous than the Government Spying on You (by Maria Xynou, November 19, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/HWLFzi">http://bit.ly/HWLFzi</a>. </li>
<li>CIS Supports the UN Resolution on “The Right to Privacy in the Digital age” (by Elonnai Hickok, November 30, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1c2A89q">http://bit.ly/1c2A89q</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Organised</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>IDEX Impact Assessment Workshop (organised by IDEX, CIS, Bangalore, November 16, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1bxRfFm">http://bit.ly/1bxRfFm</a>. </li>
<li>The Evolving Cyber Threat and How to Address It (CIS, Bangalore, November 22, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1cEkUZY">http://bit.ly/1cEkUZY</a>. </li>
<li>Panel on Privacy, Surveillance & the UID in the post-Snowden era (Institution of Agricultural Technologists, Bangalore, November 30, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ctSHW3">http://bit.ly/1ctSHW3</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Events Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Chances and Risks of Social Participation (organised by Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Berlin, November 22, 2013). Dr. Nishant Shah gave the keynote: <a href="http://bit.ly/18PcMXN">http://bit.ly/18PcMXN</a>. </li>
<li>Expert Committee Meeting on Human DNA Profiling Bill (organised by the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, New Delhi). Sunil Abraham participated in the meeting: <a href="http://bit.ly/19CpDbD">http://bit.ly/19CpDbD</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Upcoming Event</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Big Democracy: Big Surveillance - A Talk by Maria Xynou (CIS, Bangalore, December 3, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1j4mzgu">http://bit.ly/1j4mzgu</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Cyber Security</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Laird Brown, a strategic planner and writer with core competencies on brand analysis, public relations and resource management and Purba Sarkar who in the past worked as a strategic advisor in the field of SAP Retail are working in this project:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Video Interview</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Part 12: An Interview with Namita A. Malhotra (November 15, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1j8MCjN">http://bit.ly/1j8MCjN</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Documentary Film</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>First Look: Cyber Security Film (by Purba Sarkar, November 18, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1alHhVu">http://bit.ly/1alHhVu</a>. The trailer was presented by Laird Brown recently at the IGF.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Upcoming Event</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>DesiSec: Episode 1 - Film Release and Screening (December 11, 2013): Screening of the first documentary film on cyber security in India.</li>
</ul>
<h3><a href="https://cis-india.org/news">News & Media Coverage</a></h3>
<p>CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>EC guidelines on social media: Welcome move, but not enough (by Shruti Dhapola, FirstPost, November 1, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1c3fNkt">http://bit.ly/1c3fNkt</a>. </li>
<li>NSA leaks helping India become 'Big Brother' state? (British Broadcasting Corporation, November 1, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1b7ftDG">http://bit.ly/1b7ftDG</a>. </li>
<li>Spy agencies, IB and RAW, put spanner in proposed privacy law (by Nagender Sharma and Aloke Tikku, Hindustan Times, November 2, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1aox4HP">http://bit.ly/1aox4HP</a>.</li>
<li>India must support UN's e-snooping move: Human rights activists (by Indu Nandakumar, Economic Times, November 11, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/18LrI5s">http://bit.ly/18LrI5s</a>. </li>
<li>Social media promotions can backfire, too (by Ratna Bhushan and Varuni Khosla, The Times of India, November 11, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1gMj7rg">http://bit.ly/1gMj7rg</a>. </li>
<li>YouTube is the answer to what has changed in India (by Moulishree Srivastava, Livemint, November 20, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1fg214A">http://bit.ly/1fg214A</a>. </li>
<li>When the virtual world wakes up the real one (by Malini Nair, November 24, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1hovyd3">http://bit.ly/1hovyd3</a>. </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives">Digital Natives</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a research project titled “Making Change”. The project will explore new ways of defining, locating, and understanding change in network societies. Having the thought piece 'Whose Change is it Anyway' as an entry point for discussion and reflection, the project will feature profiles, interviews and responses of change-makers to questions around current mechanisms and practices of change in South Asia and South East Asia.:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Making Change</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Methods to Conceive and Condense Social Change (by Denisse Albornoz, November 30, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1ezrBhw">http://bit.ly/1ezrBhw</a>.</li>
<li>Blank Noise and the Active Citizen Dissonance (by Denisse Albornoz, November 30, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/IwOHu9">http://bit.ly/IwOHu9</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Other</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "># Blog Entry</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Digitally Enhanced Civil Resistance (by Denisse Albornoz, November 20, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/18ndc7p">http://bit.ly/18ndc7p</a>. </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa, a Distinguished Fellow at CIS is a regular columnist with the Business Standard. The articles published on his blog Organizing India Blogspot is mirrored on our website:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Newspaper Column</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Predictability in Infrastructure (by Shyam Ponappa, Business Standard, November 6, 2013 and Observer India Blogspot, November 10, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/1dLZ0Fp">http://bit.ly/1dLZ0Fp</a>. </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/knowledge-repository-on-internet-access">Knowledge Repository on Internet Access</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS in partnership with the Ford Foundation is executing a project to create a knowledge repository on Internet and society. This repository will comprise content targeted primarily at civil society with a view to enabling their informed participation in the Indian Internet and ICT policy space. The repository is available at the Internet Institute website: <a href="http://bit.ly/1iQT2UB">http://bit.ly/1iQT2UB</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Upcoming Event</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Institute on Internet and Society (organised by Ford Foundation and CIS, Yashada, Pune, February 11-17, 2014): <a href="http://bit.ly/180mQi9">http://bit.ly/180mQi9</a>. The application form is available at <a href="http://internet-institute.in/form">http://internet-institute.in/form</a>. Registrations close on December 15, 2013. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Modules</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Internet Engineering Task Force (by Anirudh Sridhar, November 30, 2013). The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an open standards body with no requirements for membership and does not have a formal membership process either: <a href="http://bit.ly/1c4aOQr">http://bit.ly/1c4aOQr</a>. </li>
<li>World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) (by Anirudh Sridhar, November 30, 2013). The World Summit on Information Society was first proposed by the International Telecommunication Union in 1998. The main focus of the WSIS was to address issues related to the global digital divide. However, the scope of the WSIS was broadened later to include internet related public policy issues: <a href="http://bit.ly/186dbnV">http://bit.ly/186dbnV</a>. </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities">Digital Humanities</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Digital will be used as a way of unpacking the debates in humanities and social sciences and look at the new frameworks, concepts and ideas that emerge in our engagement with the digital. The clusters aim to produce and document new conversations and debates that shape the contours of Digital Humanities in Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Event Participated In</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>From Seemingly Transparent to Definitely Opaque (organised by University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, November 4-7, 2013): <a href="http://bit.ly/19b6IW1">http://bit.ly/19b6IW1</a>. Nishant Shah taught this course and also presented on a panel on 'Secrets of Digital Culture'.</li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="https://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K"> </a><a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Facebook group: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k">https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>Visit us at:<a href="https://cis-india.org/"> </a>https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge</li>
<li>E-mail: <a href="mailto:a2k@cis-india.org">a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Support Us</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Please help us defend consumer / citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of ‘The Centre for Internet and Society’ and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd ‘C’ Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru – 5600 71.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Request for Collaboration:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We invite researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at <a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org">sunil@cis-india.org</a> or Nishant Shah, Director – Research, at <a href="mailto:nishant@cis-india.org">nishant@cis-india.org</a>. To discuss collaborations on Indic language wikipedia, write to T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director, A2K, at <a href="mailto:vishnu@cis-india.org">vishnu@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects</i>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2013-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2013-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceDigital HumanitiesOpenness2014-01-04T04:38:08ZPageMethods for Social Change
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-for-social-change
<b>On this brief introduction, I outline the main targets of my research project for CIS and the HIVOS Knowledge Program. As a response to the thought piece ‘Whose Change is it Anyway’ I will explore civic engagement among middle class youth over the course of the next 9 months by interviewing change makers and collectives that are part of multi-stakeholder projects in Bangalore.</b>
<h3>Why look at the civic engagement of digital natives?</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Some of the main knowledge gaps in the literature revolve around understanding the type and extent of political motivation and engagement of citizens (Fowler and Biekart, 2011) and how these motivations translate into sustainable and meaningful participation (Cornwall and Coelho, 2007) in the public space. Having the digital platforms as a space of participation, expression and experience (Cornwall and Coelho 2007, Pleyers, 2012) is necessary but insufficient infrastructure for civic engagement. It is the equivalent of building highways to improve the mobility and communication transactions of a community, disregarding the extent to which it connects the interests, knowledges and identities of those who transit these roads. Through the ‘Methods for Social Change’ project I want to explore the different factors behind building a strong sense of citizenship and sustained civic engagement through technology-mediated change practices.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">The project seeks to respond to the questions around change-making raised in the thought piece '<em>Whose Change is it Anyway?', </em>as part of the Making Change project.<em> </em>One of the main challenges today is how to move beyond the ‘spectacle’ created around digitally mediated change. The third axis of the piece specifically refers to what Shah calls the ‘spectacle imperative’, and suggests us to take a look at the less visible, undocumented narratives that are currently shaping change. Maro Pantazidou also makes the distinction between mass events and every-day practices of change; an interesting complement to Shah’s critique. Both frame ‘spectacle’ events that signal change in the public space as frequently short-lived instances of change, that lack a strong foundation to carry the “revolution” forward through every-day behaviour and practices.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">This is not to say I am discrediting the impact of visibility of mass event citizen action. Change must be tackled from different fronts; whether it is by occupying the social imaginary through highly visible displays of civil disobedience or by tackling smaller community battles. However, according to John Gaventa and Gregory Barrett and their findings on mapping the outcomes of citizen engagement, there must be two elements to sustain activism culture: a) the presence of informed active citizens in the movement and b) practicing prefigurative activism, which is establishing horizontal democratic values in the internal organization of this movement. In other words, one of the ways to move beyond the ‘spectacle’ paradigm in citizen action, is through embedding civicness and solidarity networks in its citizens. Hence, my research will be based on the hypothesis that in order to make a transition from spectacle to quotidian activism, change practices must be infused with citizenship-building methods and the negotiation of the citizen identity in public and private spaces.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">Who, Where and How</h3>
<p>From this proposition, there are three areas to be explored:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">First, the profile of our <strong>change agents. </strong>The population interacting with political and social issues through digital technologies is a very specific and privileged demographic. This group, assuming motivation and disposition, must count with the corresponding access and resources to act. As brought up in the Mapping Digital Media: India Report, recently published by the Open Society Foundation, middle class activism is not only on the rise but is currently experiencing the highest visibility when compared to political and social activism. This is the case not only for India but also for emerging economies in the Global South where the internet penetration rate is very much related to socio-economic status as well as to the urban-rural divide. Shah refers to this as the gentrification of contemporary politics and it is one of the core poignant critiques of his piece.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">However, it also leads to the question of how to channel the resources and privileged accessibility of this group for the 'greater good'. Instead of focusing on the problematic behind this power inequality, I would like to look at how this group is using these resources to create partnerships that allows them to disseminate knowledge, awareness and confidence to other citizens; the formula behind strong citizenship and willingness to act according to Gaventa. This underscores the need for a mapping exercise that looks at the Indian political and social context in Bangalore and India, and identify the main challenges and opportunities to build citizenship and engagement among the middle class.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">Second, <strong>the spaces </strong>where responsible citizenry must be instilled. As mentioned above, one of the main questions is how to translate the horizontal values of pre-figurative activism proposed by Gaventa into the horizontal forms of organization at the community level proposed by Pantazidou. The latter claims that establishing solidarity networks fights citizen alienation by providing a sense of belonging and adds that in order to strengthen these communal relations, citizens must be fully active, present and available in the social arena. In this respect, the possibilities for collaboration through online tools are grand for activism. Online tools and net-ability as pointed out by Fowler and Biekart in their exploration of post-2010 trends in activism, increase connected solidarity and collective consciousness, which are paramount for engaging the populace with its civic duties both in the community as in the larger public space.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">Nevertheless, digital tools remain neutral in the question of how to translate it into sustainable every-day practices for change. In order for online engagement to be truly sustained it must be backed up by a solid offline community that carries this lifestyle forward; a question at the backbone of this research. I will be looking at individuals and collectives from different fields that build partnerships to create positive and sustainable change in Bangalore and India. The objective is to see how further collaboration between change agents translates to the ground level by bringing new groups of people, with different skill sets, lenses and networks into the field of social change. Another interesting possibility is exploring whether these new amalgams of change practices prove to be more enticing and provoking for the 21st century citizen.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">Along these lines, the <strong>methods </strong>utilized to engage this group will be the third area of research. Although the prevalence of the ‘spectacle’ blurs the lines between engaging in meaningful civicness and succumbing into the fad of ready-made activism, it would be interesting to look at what makes the ‘spectacle’ appealing and borrow some of those elements to improve advocacy practices. As outlined in the piece, events of change now seem to demand three characteristics to be effective: legibility, intelligibility and accessibility. Creating an image following these criteria provides the message a degree of visibility and clarity that enables its recognition and further amplification through digital technologies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">Therefore, the final research goal is to explore multi-stakeholderism and its potential to enhance visibility for social change. Identify artists, graphic designers, start-ups, entrepreneurs and collectives who are remixing their skills with technology to revisit the question of impact and influence on their audience. I would like to test whether Pleyers’ thesis on the cross-fertilization of activisms also applies to strategie and analyse whether this approach helps overcome the limitations of each tactic, foster ownership by different stakeholders and ultimately empower citizens. Furthermore, as part of a generation that is highly stimulated by the 'visual', I am curious to see how the role of aesthetics and inter-disciplinary collaboration behind middle class activism unfolds. Particularly in Bangalore, a crossroads of technology, activism and creativity, innovation is becoming a praxis norm among change makers. What is left to explore is the extent to which this creative ecosystem can produce and attract the apathetic citizen into the camp of sustainable civic action.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">All interviews and change-makers profiles will be published regularly on the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/" class="external-link">Making Change</a> page on the CIS Website.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">Sources</h2>
<ol>
<li>Biekart, Kees, and Alan Fowler. "Transforming Activisms 2010+: Exploring Ways and Waves." <em>Development and Change</em> 44, no. 3 (2013): 527-546</li>
<li>Cornwall, Andrea, and Vera Schatten Coelho, eds. <em>Spaces for change?: the politics of citizen participation in new democratic arenas</em>. Vol. 4. Zed Books, 2007.</li>
<li>Gaventa, John, and Gregory Barrett. "So what difference does it make? Mapping the outcomes of citizen engagement." <em>IDS Working Papers</em> 2010, no. 347 (2010): 01-72.</li>
<li>Open Society Foundations “Mapping Digital Media: India, 2012. Retrieved from: <a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/mapping-digital-media-india-20130326.pdf">http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/mapping-digital-media-india-20130326.pdf</a></li>
<li>Shah, Nishant “Whose Change is it Anyways? <em>Hivos Knowledge Program. </em>April 30, 2013.</li>
<li>Pantazidou, Maro. "Treading New Ground: A Changing Moment for Citizen Action in Greece.</li>
<li>Pleyers, Geoffrey. "Beyond Occupy: Progressive Activists in Europe." <em>Open Democracy: free thinking for the world</em> 2012 (2012): 5pages-8.</li></ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-for-social-change'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-for-social-change</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseResearchers at WorkWeb PoliticsMaking ChangeDigital Natives2015-04-17T10:42:11ZBlog EntryPublic Art, Technology and Citizenship - Blank Noise Project
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/blank-noise-citizenship
<b>Jasmeen Patheja speaks about the active citizen in the digital age, its challenges in the public and private spheres and interdisciplinary methods to overcome them.</b>
<div align="center">
<pre><img src="https://cis-india.org/copy2_of_copy_of_PhotoComic.jpg/image_preview" alt="Reconceptualizing Eve-Teasing" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Reconceptualizing Eve-Teasing" />
<strong>
CHANGE-MAKER:</strong> Jasmeen Patheja
<strong>
PROJECT</strong>: Blank Noise Project: A volunteer-led arts collective community
<strong>
STRATEGY OF CHANGE</strong>:
Fostering an active, participatory and horizontal model of citizenship,
empowering its volunteers to participate politically and address issues
of street sexual harassments in the public sphere.
<strong>
METHOD OF CHANGE</strong>: Public space interventions using community art and technology.</pre>
</div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">To open the interview series for the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/" class="external-link">Making Change project</a>, I interviewed <a class="external-link" href="http://fellows.ted.com/profiles/jasmeen-patheja">Jasmeen Patheja</a>. She is the founder of <a class="external-link" href="http://blog.blanknoise.org/">Blank Noise</a>, a <a class="external-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_Noise">volunteer-led arts collective community that started in Bangalore</a> and has now spread to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, and Lucknow. It seeks to address street sexual harassment and violence by triggering dialogue and building testimonials around notions of "teasing" and "harassment" in the public discourse. The collective has garnered attention and momentum since it was founded in 2003, and ever since, it’s fostering a model of active citizenship across India through its volunteer network. The story of Blank Noise and the working of community art with technology highlight the need to create spaces of expression and experience in which civic and political creativity can develop and unfold organically.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">One of the main reflections stemming from my conversation with Jasmeen was the question of how technologies can create a sense of ownership and active citizenship. At the moment, we are moving on to a scenario in which technology has a more pervasive and complex presence. It is no longer judged merely on its connective utility, but is also understood as an actor, a space and a context within the ecosystem of social change and political democratic systems. For this reason, it is paramount to get to know the citizen that is being exposed to, influenced and impacted by these technologies and identify the ways in which his self-identity, social membership and political participation (King and Waldron 1988, Turner 1986, 1990) are being molded by them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In this post, I aim to unpack ‘active citizenship’ drawing from political science literature around citizenship and civic engagement. The analysis will be based on two dichotomies proposed by Turner: the tension between the active-passive citizen, and the contradictions between its private and public presence. I will then refer to Westmeister and Kahnein, Kabeer, Gaventa and Bennett to identify the type of citizen that Jasmeen Patheja hopes to yield through her project and the main challenges of manoeuvering in the public space. Finally, I will look at some of the tactics taken by Blank Noise to reconcile these tensions through community art and technology. This exploration of citizenship is a first stage in the journey of detecting the undertones of citizen action for social change in the digital era.</p>
<h2 align="center" style="text-align: justify;">Unpacking Citizenship</h2>
<h3><br />ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE CITIZEN</h3>
<p><strong>What is the difference between an active and a passive citizen?</strong></p>
<div class="pullquote">A passive citizen comes to existence as a subject, recipient or client of the state (...) regards its rights as privileges handed down from above (...)complies with norms yet does not act to change circumstances (...)and its security and survival are merely determined by constitutional and common law traditions</div>
<p align="justify">Turner places the citizenship question on two points of contention. The first: the vectorial nature of citizenship and how to recognize an ‘active or passive’ citizen. According to his analysis, a citizen either comes to existence from above as mere subject of the state, or from below as an active bearer of its rights (Mann 1987, Ullmann 1975, Turner 1990). The force and direction from which the citizen emerges has important implications for the self-identity of the individual, its confidence and disposition for political participation (Merrifield, 2001). A passive citizen regards its rights as privileges handed down from above, in such a way that citizenship becomes a strategy for social integration and cooperation (Mann, 1986). Westheimer and Kahne find the manifestation of this model in what they call a “Personally Responsible Citizen”: a dutiful citizen who complies with norms, pays taxes and obeys laws, yet does not act to change the circumstances of other communities (2004). However, defining the citizen as a passive actor constraints its role within its network. If the citizen’ security and survival are merely determined by constitutional and common law traditions, and the negotiation between institutions and the individual (Weber 1958 - refer to Turner 1990), the individual is a disempowered recipient or client (Cornwall, 2007) as opposed to the proactive agent Blank Noise looks to recruit and shape through heir interventions.</p>
<p>Patheja, as shown by the interview, aims to disrupt the passive citizen model by fostering political participation and putting its counterpart: ’the active citizen’ forward. Blank Noise believes the citizen must ground its claims from the grassroots and grow from below; yet still be visible and present in the public space, redefining problematic concepts looming in society’s social imaginary; what Turner would describe as revolutionary citizenship (1990).</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How is your practice building a stronger model of citizenship?</strong><br />Change cannot happen only at one level. It would involve more people and different groups from different communities. For example, with citizen-led street action; we can’t end it there. It needs to push home the cause and make [the issues] visible with the government. How do we work with the government? Learning to ask and not assume it’s all their responsibility, but learning to assert our citizenship. What does it mean to do this? What does it mean to ask for safer cities in a way that it doesn’t become somebody else’s business entirely but that it’s about being able to see we are a society. We must understand the process of citizenship; what it means to be in a democratic country and what means to be a female citizen in it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/blank-noise-citizenship" alt="null" align="middle" title="Public Art, Technology and Citizenship - Blank Noise Project" /><img src="https://cis-india.org/SafeCityPledgeDelhi.jpg/image_preview" alt="Safe City Pledge - Delhi" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Safe City Pledge - Delhi" /></p>
<p align="center">Safe City Pledge - Delhi<br /> <img src="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/uploads/SafeCityPledgeMumbai.jpg/image_preview" alt="Safe City Pledge - Mumbai" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Safe City Pledge - Mumbai" /><br />Safe City Pledge - Mumbai<br />Courtesy of Blank Noise blog: <span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHMm">http://bit.do/fHMm</a></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The message is: “this is your city, this is your space. Don’t be apologetic for your presence” And over time, Action Heros are reporting change: ”I'm getting my space. I'm not thinking twice about what I have to wear.” [...]So it was not only about a vocabulary shift, but a shift in attitude.</p>
</blockquote>
<div align="justify;" class="pullquote">
<p><br />An active citizen comes from below as an active bearer of its rights (...), feels impelled to engage and mobilize its network (...) keeps government and community members in check (...) and evolves with a higher sense of individual purpose favoring solidarity and maintaining networks of community action.</p>
</div>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<p align="justify">Westheimer and Kahne label this stronger orientation towards a social-change approach as the second degree of civic engagement or as the behaviour of a <strong>‘participatory citizen</strong>’; an individual who feels impelled to engage and mobilize its network, skills and action to respond to a community need. This participation impetus is one of Patheja’s main expectations from its Action Hero Network. However, this entails relying on intimate shifts of behaviour and attitude among the volunteers, which are in essence hard to demand, inculcate and entrench by a third party.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Their approach also reflects a vision of citizenship that relies on collective action (Montgomery, 2004) to, not only keep the government in check as suggested by Westheimer and Kahnne, but other community and society members as well. From Bennett’s point of view and taking the role of information technologies into account, he would define the ideal Action Hero as a self-actualizing citizen. In contrast to its counterpart: the dutiful citizen, who sees its obligation to participate in government-centered activities, the AC evolves with higher sense of individual purpose, favouring and maintaining networks of community action, backed up by a growing distrust in media and the government. In this sense the role of technology is also paramount to how Blank Noise spreads its predicament and expands its outreach:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="normal"><strong>What is the role of technology and media in your project?</strong><br />Using the web for example, we happened to stumble upon blogging and we realized there was a community there. Once [Action Heroes] started blogging and the press started writing about it, it created a community further. So, going back to the fact that our constant thread of conversation has been the web, there is a large percentage of the English speaking youth who are action hero agents anidd now have the responsibility of taking the conversations and actions forward.</p>
<p class="normal">On the other hand, this is not always the case. In Delhi we did an event in collaboration with Action Aid. Many of the Action Aid volunteers weren’t necessarily on Facebook. They were people who were largely Hindi speaking; their stories were about harassment in slums and these were men and women wanting to do something about the issue. So being a loose volunteer is one way, but identifying different communities is also important. Every space is a point of engagement and we use different forms of media to enable that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Citizen participation, communication and mobilization mechanisms, mediated by the state in the past, are now taken up by the people in the form of social protest, civil disobedience, digital activism, consumerism, etc. (Bennett, 2008). The emphasis on collective action also calls for a broader understanding of the citizen, away from the state-conferred rights and duties, and a definition that includes solidarity and membership to broader communities (Ellison 1997), Heater and Kabeer defines this as a “horizontal view” that stresses the relationship between citizens over that of the state and the individual (Heater 2002, Kabeer 2007) and Berlin has also made the connection between group identity and affiliation as a building block of citizenship (1969).</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="normal">[on Giving Letters to Strangers] We trigger a conversation and it takes its own journey. Over time, what does it take to lean back and relax? Each person participates establishing their own level of comfort and every person’s narrative is different. [The project is] happening in Delhi while it is happening in Bangalore; allowing it to happen in a very individual, self-confrontational and at the same time, collective experience. They are doing this alone knowing that others are doing the same.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br /><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/LettersStrangers.jpg/image_preview" alt="Giving out letters to Strangers" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Giving out letters to Strangers" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Dear Stranger</strong>:<br />Giving out letters to strangers in the streets of Bangalore. Courtesy of Blank Noise blog: <span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHJw">http://bit.do/fHJw</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHJw"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_LettersStrangers2.jpg/image_preview" alt="Giving out letters to Strangers 2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Giving out letters to Strangers 2" /><br /></a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In this way, Blank Noise has envisioned and designed a project that fosters an active, participatory, self-actualizing and horizontal model of citizenship. This combination builds a citizen prototype with a positive disposition and attitude to civic action; traits that Gaventa identifies as elements of empowerment and political agency that can derive into higher possibilities for social change. Having citizens identify community’s ailments as their own and their network’s responsibility, results in conversations that act as causal nexus of community action. The main challenge at the moment is the implementation of this model. To what extent will the Action Hero represent this model uniformly and steadily, preventing dissonance between Blank Noise’s discourse and its practice. And secondly, how will Blank Noise volunteers negotiate their political participation between public and private spaces?</p>
<h3>PRIVATE VS. PUBLIC SPACE</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Where should the active citizen operate?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The second tension on citizenship, as identified by Turner, is its political expression on the public arena versus its manifestation on the individual’s private space. We asked Jasmeen about the crises and spaces in which Blank Noise is operating:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>To what crisis is the project responding to?</strong><br />The project responds to the crises and experiences of street harassment. To the sense of getting defensive, agitated, angry; creating a wall and feeling vulnerable in a city. Blank Noise was initiated at a time were street harassment was disregarded and dismissed as teasing. This ‘eve-teasing’, just going by the pulse of things, included concepts of molestation and sexual violence. There was denial, there was silence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">First point on the public vs. private dilemma lies on the issue at hand. Volunteers are working to re-conceptualize social norms around ‘safety’, ‘agency’ and ‘gender’, that are not only deeply entrenched in society, but that can also be traced back to the private domain of traditions and culture at the household level. By openly discussing ‘sexual harassment’ in the public space and enabling volunteers to express and act on the basis of a new understanding of citizenship and freedom, the collective is possibly also redefining dynamics at the private space of its volunteers. What is more, the motivation and determination to be an Action Hero, as mentioned by Patheja, must be grounded in a "<em>personal shift and challenge</em>".</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>How does this translate it into citizens taking ownership of the cause and sustained behavioral change in everyday practices?</strong><br />Anger is a good starting point. It is worrying when there is no anger. And then it has to be a personal shift. We’ve learned from conversations and feedback that volunteers who would say: “we came to address the issue and we are realizing that we are doing something in ourselves”. So what is the spirit of an Action Hero? Allowing something to shift and challenging something in yourself. Last year for example we worked towards having locality specific Action Hero networks and on how this intuitive citizen can become a full citizen, in terms of being an informed citizen as well.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;" class="normal"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_ActionHeroGame.jpg/image_preview" alt="Action Hero Game" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Action Hero Game" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;" class="normal">Acton Hero Game. Courtesy of Blank Noise blog: <span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHKq">http://bit.do/fHKq</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal">The expectation of a personal pledge at the individual, community and public level, signals the project is blurring the lines between the private and public domain and fostering the politicization of the citizen at all fronts. This suggests that in order for the claims and behaviour of Action Heroes to become sustainable, they must also trickle into the common citizen’s routine. In words of Arendt: <em>“the space of appearance comes into being whenever men are together in the manner of speech and action, predating all formal constitutions of the public realm” </em>(1989). Establishing the private-public space as a common ground works towards bringing consistency and coherence to the interventions, yet it remains in many ways problematic and threatening to individual freedoms.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Does your project create new spaces for citizen expression and action?</strong><em><br /></em>Our role is to build testimonials and translate them back into the public domain. An example of this is the blogathon that happened in 2006, initiated by our Action Hero. She said: let’s invite bloggers to share their experiences of street harassment. 4-5 male and female Action Heroes made the event happen and in a couple of days we had hundreds and hundreds of testimonials and people talking about this for the first time. Maybe it was the first time speaking about it, remembering things that happened ages ago and that they had never shared. Suddenly the web was seen as a space where people could speak. Suddenly people had so much to say about the issue, the person dismissing the issue and their relationship with their body and the city.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/TalktoMe1.JPG/image_preview" alt="Talk to Me" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Talk to Me" /><br /><strong>Talk To Me:</strong><br />Creating spaces for conversation and collaboration. Courtesy of Blank Noise blog: <span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHKq">http://bit.do/fHKq</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Turner reflects on the French revolution tradition to shed light on this particular challenge for active citizenship, as what bound Frenchmen together was their citizen identity (Baker 1987). Passing on from state subjects, to actively voicing their political, civic and social aspirations coupled with meaningful mechanisms of participation. However, how do we reconcile this tradition of positive democracy with the American understanding of citizenship that enshrines the autonomous sanctity of the private space. American individualism values personal success and the main way to exercise political participation is through voluntary associations that do not represent a large-scale force -or a threat- with enough power to shape their lives (Bellah et. al 2008, Turner 1990). Translating this to the Bangalorean context: a changing society in which community- based traditions in the household are coexisting with an agitated and growingly individualist youth culture; the issues and interventions must be addressed in an implicational manner. The connections between the issue and individual freedoms must be made, in order for these actors to be willing to politicize their action in both the public and private spheres.</p>
<h3><strong>MIDDLE CLASS ACTIVISM<br /></strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Can everybody be an active citizen?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The second challenge is rooted in the socio-economic group that comprises the body of volunteers of Blank Noise. I asked Jasmeen the extent to which the Action Hero Network was being led by middle class citizens.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Are you only reaching out to the middle class activist that has the resources to be part of the Blank Noise project?</strong><br /> Yes and no. A large percentage of our volunteers are usually web-savvy, English speaking, teenagers or in their early 20s. Others have been around for the last decade. The mainstream media also reports back mainly to the web-savvy groups. But it is also about one action hero inspiring another Action Hero. I find [the project] fascinating in terms of the spaces it leaks into. Some people tell me they were at their religious meeting and they overheard two women talking about the project, who were not necessarily web-savvy. Ultimately the media is not only reporting us but we see them as point of engagement in which more and more citizens take ownership of the issue. Although our network is largely urban middle class, we are at the point where we collaborate largely with other groups that are working with different communities so it completes the entire picture. The question is: how do you take the conversation forward? What can be that medium? and what kind of technology can get to people?</p>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;" class="pullquote"><br />
<div align="right">
<div align="left">“We use different strategies to enable dialogue across communities. It could be on the street, on the blog, within a workshop; the web has been a constant space. If you are an Action Hero, yes you may be web-savvy, but you also carry the responsibility to take the conversation to another space."</div>
Jasmeen Patheja</div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br />This demographic is ultimately an interest group leading a movement and has taken on the responsibility of spreading the call to action among its network. Foregoing the assumption that every Indian citizen wants to challenge concepts of sexual harassment in the city, the fact that one group is spreading a specific opinion puts forward a tension between the dynamics of public social protest and the existence of privatized dissent. Turner reflects on Mill’s On Liberty and shows how this could entail a threat of spreading mass opinion to the extent it makes all people alike (Turner, 1990).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Kabeer also highlights this by exploring the tension between universality versus particularity — a debate that questions the extent to which human rights advocacy in the public sphere will be equally received and supported by every group, given diversity of opinion within as well as obstacles to freedom of speech. Nyamu-Musembi attempts to bridge this dichotomy by framing universality as “the experience of resistance to general oppression” and particularity as “how resistance speaks to each relevant social context”. In order to have the issue speak to all citizen groups, Blank Noise is currently also depending on the the ability of its Action Heroes to pass on a message that speaks to the different needs and cultural sensibilities of communities who do not belong to the Anglo-speaking middle class it is currently operating with.<br /><br />In response to having the protest of a specific social group translate into homogenized dissent, Jasmeen is looking to increase her outreach by approaching and working with other groups.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>How can you build effective solidarity networks among middle class activists, their networks and further communities?</strong><br />It is an attitude we are trying to push forward: have that conversation with your grandma; with your domestic help. We would love to do something with domestic workers for example. We don’t hear enough stories of who empowers or harasses them. That’s definitely a rising concern within the collective. We really need to have the complete spectrum and what kind of technology or strategies can be used to get it. Identifying these groups is a proposed future project and also an ongoing preoccupation. For now, our role is to trigger conversations and have them take their own journey.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">METHODS FOR CHANGE</h3>
<p><strong>How does the combination of art and technology foster active citizenship?<br /></strong></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Some of the strategies Blank Noise has devised to overcome these obstacles relate back to the interdisciplinary design of its interventions. First, they are designed to be highly visible and aimed at triggering dialogue. This enables opinions and thoughts to flow from the private space into the public realm. Also, community art and technology as tools of expression and reflection, work as effective channels for responses to flow back and forth between both spaces.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Why did you take a multi-stakeholder approach and brought together technology and art?</strong><br />The entire collective is really based on defining strategies and identifying approaches to breaking denial and building conversation. Our role is enabling dialogue across forms of media and using different strategies to enable dialogue across communities. There are also lots of questions of how to create an art practice that can be collaborative and participatory. Where does art exist? How can art exist, be, feel confrontational? Can arte provoke? How can we build testimonials? Could be on the street, on the blog, twitter or within a workshop. The web has been a constant space. We also work with the web in a way that we have a growing community of Action Heroes, and if you are web-savvy, you carry the responsibility to take the conversation to another space.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_Twitter.jpg/image_preview" alt="Twitter" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Twitter" /><br />Twitter campaign. Courtesy of: <span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHLK">http://bit.do/fHLK</a></span><br /><br /><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Ineverasked1.jpg/image_preview" alt="I never asked for it" class="image-inline image-inline" title="I never asked for it" /><br />Public art installation to redefine sexual harassment and eve-teasing. Courtesy of Caravan Magazine: <span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHLV">http://bit.do/fHLV</a></span></p>
<p align="justify">Bennett and his work on civic engagement in the digital age, notes that one of the main strategies for positive civic engagement is nurturing creative and expressive actions in this generation.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>How does this approach work towards creating sustainable change?</strong><em><br /></em>We are creating tool kits for different ideas so the community can take it forward. There are many creative processes that equip them to initiate action in a community space. For instance, the Yelahanka Action Heroes workshop (http://yelahankaactionheroes.wordpress.com/), was a one month initiative that got Sristhi students to arrive to action heroism through games, like the Hahaha Sangha for example. We invited women out of their homes, and we would speak through pure laughter, gibberish and a sense of play. In doing that, people felt they knew each other. Anonymity was broken, people felt comfortable and safety was established. We are working towards creating safe public spaces and going beyond the biases that come from language or through age. But through the Hahaha Sangha we found there is still a need for facilitators to continue the project with the purpose of creating a safe space. Also, one of our interns is in charge of creating an Action Hero College Network and spreading information about different events, calendars, etc. It is still fluid but we are moving in that direction. Action Heroes are the strength of the project.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_Hahaha.jpg/image_preview" alt="Hahaha" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Hahaha" /><br />Hahaha Sangha sessions - Courtesy of Blank Noise blog <span id="url_shortened"><a href="http://bit.do/fHMb">http://bit.do/fHMb</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The ideal of an engaged youth must be sustained by the empowerment of young people; getting them to recognize their personal expression and identities in collective spaces (Bennett, 2008). By setting in place mechanisms and opportunities to critically dissect societal problems and develop a political perspective as put forward by Westheimer and Kahne, as well as the awareness, self-identity and political confidence to act, as noted by Gaventa, the Blank Noise interventions become a context in which active citizenship is more likely.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This analysis, part of the Methods of Social Change research project, aimed to shed light on how change-makers such as Blank Noise still place a heavy consideration on the notion of citizenship when designing, framing and implementing their projects. What is more, it is paramount to identify the working characteristics of an ‘active citizen’ and reflect on whether these are desirable and necessary in the populace to make political and social change more likely. It also contributes to the Making Change project by unpacking the workings of a change actor that is not confined to the ‘category of citizen’ but is still closely linked to processes of citizen action and social change in Bangalore.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As seen throughout this post, the analysis of our citizen is not grounded on its relationship with the state, but instead on its disposition, self-identity and notion of social membership. After identifying our ideal active citizen: an active bearer of his rights, that defines itself horizontally in relation to other citizens and their rights, participates in political processes and is informed about and at odds with power imbalances, the Blank Noise experience demonstrated spatial tensions in implementing this ideal and practice in the public and private realms. Designing strategies and identifying technologies that enable a flow of thought and action between both spaces is a way of restructuring the ecosystem in which volunteers from the Action Hero Network interact with each other, reclaim their citizenship and alter the status quo from within. While Blank Noise is not starting a revolution, it is consolidating a process of steady and growing resistance in the public and private discourse of sexual harassment and eve-teasing in the city.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Shah also notes there are implicit codes allowing only certain people to embrace this model of citizenship. This was evident on the demographic that comprises the activist bases of Blank Noise and the risks of homogenizing the political space with their discourse of change. Jasmeen Patheja brought this point forward herself, but with full confidence on the ability of dialogue and conversation to keep luring other social groups and communities into joining the debate. We discussed opportunities from exploring the foreign women experience in the public space in India to expanding the Blank Noise basis through simultaneous international interventions enabled and coordinated through technology. The network is ever-growing and its mechanisms of change are constantly innovating and adapting through its content. In the meantime, the ‘active citizen’ remains at the core of it all, pushing the project forward; fighting among other battles, that of its identity’s reassertion in the landscape of change.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Sources</h2>
<ol>
<li>Arendt, Hannah (1989) The Human Condition. Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press.</li>
<li>Baker, Keith Michael. <em>The French Revolution and the creation of modern political culture</em>. Vol. 3. Pergamon Press, 1987.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bennett, W. Lance. "Changing citizenship in the digital age." <em>Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth</em> 1 (2008): 1-24.</li>
<li>Berlin, Isaiah. "Two concepts of liberty." <em>Berlin, I</em> (1969): 118-172.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bellah, Robert Neelly, ed. <em>Habits of the heart: individualism and commitment in American life: with a new preface</em>. University of California Pr, 2008.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Cornwall, Andrea, and Vera Schatten Coelho, eds. <em>Spaces for change?: the politics of citizen participation in new democratic arenas</em>. Vol. 4. Zed Books, 2007.</li>
<li>Ellison, N. (1997) ‘Towards a new social politics: citizenship and reflexivity in late modernity’, Sociology, 31(4): 697–717.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Gaventa, John, and Rajesh Tandon “Citizen engagements in a globalizing world." <em>Globalizing citizens: New dynamics of inclusion and exclusion</em> (2010): 3-30.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Heater, D. (2002) World Citizenship: Cosmopolitan Thinking and Its Opponents, London: Continuum</li>
<li>Kabeer, Naila, ed. <em>Inclusive citizenship: Meanings and expressions</em>. Vol. 1. Zed Books, 2005.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Kathryn Montgomery et al., Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation. Center for Social Media, 2004. Retrieved February 15, 2007. <a href="http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/project.htm">http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/project.htm</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Mann, Michael. "Ruling class strategies and citizenship". <em>Sociology </em>21, no.3 (1987): 339-354</li>
<li>Shah, Nishant “Whose Change is it Anyways? <em>Hivos Knowledge Program. </em>April 30, 2013.</li>
<li>Turner, Bryan. Outline of a Theory of Citizenship. Sociology (May 1990), 24 (2), pg. 189-217</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Westheimer, Joel, and Joseph Kahne. "What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy." <em>American educational research journal</em> 41, no. 2 (2004): 237-269</li></ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/blank-noise-citizenship'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/blank-noise-citizenship</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseSocial MediaWeb PoliticsDigital NativesMaking ChangeBlank Noise ProjectResearchers at Work2015-04-17T10:43:55ZBlog EntryDigitally Enhanced Civil Resistance
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digitally-enhanced-civil-resistance
<b>This reflection looks at how civil disobedience unfolds in network societies. It explores the origins of nonviolence, describes digital and non-digital tactics of non-violent protest and participation and finally comments on the possibilities of this form of civil resistance to foster individual and collective civic engagement. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Reflections of the possibilities of non-violence flooded newspapers on October 2, commemorating Gandhi’s birthday and the long-lasting legacy of civil resistance and non-violence. Debashish Chatterjee reflected on India’s founding father as <em>“the true source</em>” of timeless principles on his column in the <a class="external-link" href="http://newindianexpress.com/opinion/Gandhi-was-a-true-source/2013/10/02/article1813747.ece">New Indian Express</a>. He claimed that his unswerving commitment to the core purpose of truth and having non-violence as the main way to achieve his goals was the formula behind the success of his bloodless revolution for political independence. Rajni Bakshi questioned the power and relevance of non-violence in our times in his article for <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-science-of-nonviolence/article5191397.ece">the Hindu</a>. <em>“Stating and repeatedly restating our intention in favour of non-violence is an essential starting point (…) so vital to our species’ present and future”. </em>Courage and ‘the ability to strike’, states Bakshi, are the pre-requisites of non-violence tactics; a claim that ignited reflections and considerations on the political motivations of Digital Natives and the nature of the strategies behind digital activism.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The idea of nonviolence that underpin civil resistance or ‘civil disobedience’ if you will, as outlined in the foreword of Richard Gregg’s essay <em>The Power of Nonviolence, </em>had its origins in the Upanishads back in the 500 BC. Since then, it traveled through Buddhism, Jainism, Jesus, Socrates, and Tolstoy among others, before making its way back to India and Gandhi in 1910. Since then, this idea has gathered “meaning, momentum, organization, practical effectiveness and power” as non-violence tactics are put into action in several instances of political and social resistance. Dr. Gene Sharp drew for the first time in 1973 a list of one hundred ninety eight methods to engage in nonviolent protest, persuasion and noncooperation in his book <em>The Politics of Nonviolent Action</em>. This repository was taken up in 2011 by digital activism scholars Mary Joyce and Patrick Meier, who are identifying the ways in which these methods have been digitally enhanced, in their crowd-source project <a class="external-link" href="http://www.meta-activism.org/2012/04/civil-resistance-2-0-a-new-database-of-methods/">Civil Resistance 2.0</a>. Regardless of the larger debate that evaluates the effectiveness of non-violent tactics to deter the use of violence, the conceptualization of non-violent civil resistance is a body of knowledge that has not been explored from the point of view of network and information societies as of yet (Joyce, 2011).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, tracing the idea of non-violent resistance in the light of Gandhi’s legacies is an interesting point to discuss digital strategies towards change. Is digital activism mainstreaming the use and proliferation of non-violent tactics of protest, taking them from a booming trend to an advocacy norm? Do non-violent online tactics make offline self-sustainable and continuous change more likely? Are these methods more conducive to citizen engagement and a consequent behavioral change in everyday practices? To start answering these questions we will refer back to the principles of Ahimsa and Satyagraha taken up by Gandhi for civil disobedience, complement them with Gregg’s work of the power of nonviolence, and finally with Sharp’s work on the tactics and complexities of defiance, resistance and struggles with social, economic, environmental and political objectives. These three texts will dialogue throughout this entry with the objective of understanding the nature of these methods and how they touch on civic and digital natives’ engagement.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Digital nonviolence and collective action</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In Christopher Chapple’s account of nonviolence in Asian traditions, he describes the fundamentals of Ahimsa or non-violence as “the absence of the desire to kill or harm”. This concept, coupled with Satyagraha, the ‘power of truth’, was translated into what is civil disobedience and non-cooperation. Both methods were utilized to break unjust laws back in Gandhi’s struggle for political independence from the British. Aside from the moral debate on what constitutes truth and evil, we can already identify a relationship between these precepts and what sustains collective action. Mario Diani identified “<em>shared beliefs and ties of solidarity attached to specific collective events” </em>and <em>“political and cultural conflicts arising for social change”</em> as two fundamental characteristics in all sorts of social movements. The power of non-violent action and large-scale disobedience requires the intervention of suitably organized and disciplined individuals, acting collectively to stand up against authorities such as the thousands of peasants who stood up against soldiers under Gandhi’s leadership, or the thousands of Egyptian citizens who distributed copies of Sharp’s work on 198 non-violent methods to foster civil resistance and overthrow Mubarak’s regime. As stated by Gregg, the approach unified Indians by giving them the necessary self-respect, self-reliance, courage and persistence to collectively withstand the resistance efforts that ultimately led them to independence. In other words, in the midst of different ‘truths’, a shared set of beliefs and the use of non-violent methods invoked unity among citizens.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">How are digital technologies mainstreaming these methods in the social imaginary of digital natives? Collective action requires the mobilization, organization and coordination of “networks of informal interactions” according to Diani’s characterization. This task is being facilitated and amplified by rapid and low-cost communication enabled by digital technology as argued in Anastasia Kavada’s essay on digital activism. She adds that the potential of internet for social movement activities lies on the possibilities of information dissemination, decision-making, and a crucial pillar for citizen engagement: the building of trust and a sense of collective identity. Therefore, although connectivity and collectivity are indeed made more likely through technology, digital tools are still value and content neutral. The challenge for digital non-violent civil resistance is the degree to which it is appeals to the populace and persuades them into being actors of the movements as opposed to loosely connected by-standers; in other words, the need for Gandhian digital leaders that transmit the need and power of civic involvement and public opinion.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Individual and collective resistance</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The concept of non-violent civil resistance should be feasible and desirable for the 21<sup>st</sup> century digital native, both in the digital and offline realm due to its individual and collective possibilities. In terms of individual resistance; while collective defiance is powerful it starts through individual awareness and everyday actions that build up the public opinion (Gregg, 1960). As Nishant Shah notes while distinguishing resistance from revolution: resistance-based change comes about to correct failures of infrastructure, administration, policy or law, and is not only an integral part of the system but it is also an encouraged form of citizen action, among others (2011). Individuals have now broader options than before to exert this resistant, starting with Sharp’s list of 198 methods. From group-coordinated persuasion strategies including social non-cooperation boycotts, withdrawal from institutions to the use of arts and symbolisms and psychological interventions, there is plenty of room for creativity and action. Furthermore, 196 of these methods have been digitally enhanced through peer-production, self-broadcasting, media attention-competition and other methods which, according to Joyce and Meier, can be feasibly executed by the fluent digital native.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">What is more, aside from coordinating offline activities, individuals can also exert civil disobedience on the online realm as demonstrated by Andrew Chadwick’s list of online defiance tactics in <em>Internet Politics</em>. Instances of <em>hacktivism</em>, denial-of-service boycotts and virtual sit-ins (Kavada, 20120) are a few examples of expressions of activism through non-cooperation that showcase the digital autonomy of netizens. For example, recently, the Vietnamese activist group Viet Tan launched a visible and creative online campaign showing citizens how to remove the block from the Facebook site, denouncing state’s censorship and advocating for freedom of expression through ethical hacking. Ultimately, non-violent resistance methods have never been as relevant as today, when citizens are recurring to new mechanisms of participation and contestation to claim their rights, reclaim citizenship and assert democratic freedoms through increased participation (Sharp, 2002; Khanna, 2012).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">On the side of possibilities for enhanced collectivity, it is worth looking into the moral covenants present in social justice struggles. Gregg’s work, in spite of being written in 1935 and revised in 1960, provides a very up to date description of the power of information in network societies<em>: </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>“Although there have been violations of moral laws in the world, there has never been such clear, strong recognition on the part of the holders of power of the importance of public opinion […] shown by propaganda and censorship practiced by governments and the press”</em>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Whether it comes from the state, civil society or the citizens; attempts to put justice, democracy and rightness at the forefront of all public discourse is today a norm, demonstrating the persuasive power of moral laws if put at the core of citizen action. Glasius and Pleyers also state that democracy, social justice and dignity are the main tenets of collective action enabling solidarity networks and the rise of a collective consciousness that transcends borders (2012). In this respect, it seems that connectivity and collectivity to engage in non-violent resistance is made more likely through technology, and although these tools remain ‘value neutral’, the processes of change will be defined by the consistency between methods and rhetoric brought forward by the citizen. This will also lead to a more complete model of citizenship as these individuals take ownership of the methods, content and the values cross-cutting both; not only for and during the protest, but as a value system defining coherent every day activities and the exercise of responsible democracy beyond the spectacle of mass protests (Pleyers, 2012; Shah, 2013).</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Gandhi’s implementation of civil disobedience methods and his adherence to Ahimsa were the result of a combination of religious and cultural factors, which coupled with education and experience, deemed his beliefs a lifestyle as opposed to a mere political strategy. This reflection puts the citizen on the spot light. Having non-violent and digitally facilitated methods of protest and participation on hand what is defining the political motivations and engagement of the digital native? Having the flexibility to adapt these methods to their skills and lifestyles, what is holding back the civic energy of the 21st century citizen? According to Gaventa and Barrett, confidence, awareness and self-identity are the pre-conditions for citizenship and action. The first two can be fostered by non-violence: Sharp argues that experience in applying effective non-violent struggles increases self-confidence, while Gregg explains how unity is a result of adding oneself to a mass civil movement. The latter: self-identity and how the citizen looks at its role in the larger discourse of social struggles, as well as other factors that enhance its civic engagement, sense of citizenship and creativity in political movements, is a question I will leave open to explore in my following blog posts.</p>
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Sources</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">“198 Methods of Nonviolent Action” The Albert Einstein Institution <a href="http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations103a.html">http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations103a.html</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">“iRevolution. From Innovation to Revolution” last updated April 26, 2012 <a href="http://irevolution.net/tag/gene/">http://irevolution.net/tag/gene/</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Chapple, Christopher. <em>Nonviolence to animals, earth, and self in Asian traditions</em>. SUNY Press, 1993.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Gaventa, John, and Gregory Barrett. "So what difference does it make? Mapping the outcomes of citizen engagement." <em>IDS Working Papers</em> 2010, no. 347 (2010): 01-72.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Gregg, Richard Bartlett, and Mahatma Gandhi. <em>The power of non-violence</em>. Clarke, 1960.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Horgan, John. “<a title="Permanent Link to Egypt’s revolution vindicates Gene Sharp’s theory of nonviolent activism" href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/2011/02/11/egypts-revolution-vindicates-gene-sharps-theory-of-nonviolent-activism/">Egypt’s revolution vindicates Gene Sharp’s theory of nonviolent activism</a>” Last updated February 11, 2010. Scientific American: <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/2011/02/11/egypts-revolution-vindicates-gene-sharps-theory-of-nonviolent-activism/">http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/2011/02/11/egypts-revolution-vindicates-gene-sharps-theory-of-nonviolent-activism/</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Joyce, Mary C. ed. <em>Digital activism decoded: the new mechanics of change</em>. IDEA, 2010.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Joyce, Mary. Last updated November 29, 2012. “Webinar on Digital Nonviolence” Meta-Activism: Activism analysis for the digital age. <a href="http://www.meta-activism.org/2012/11/wedinar-on-digital-nonviolence/">http://www.meta-activism.org/2012/11/wedinar-on-digital-nonviolence/</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Khanna, Akshay. "Seeing Citizen Action through an ‘Unruly’Lens."<em>Development</em> 55, no. 2 (2012): 162-172.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Meier, Patrick. Last updated April 25, 2012. “Civil Resistance 2.0: A new database of methods” Meta-Activism: Activism analysis for the digital age<em> </em><a href="http://www.meta-activism.org/2012/04/civil-resistance-2-0-a-new-database-of-methods/">http://www.meta-activism.org/2012/04/civil-resistance-2-0-a-new-database-of-methods/</a><em></em></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Pleyers, Geoffrey. "Beyond Occupy: Progressive Activists in Europe." <em>Open Democracy: free thinking for the world</em> 2012 (2012): 5pages-8.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Sharp, Gene. "The politics of nonviolent action, 3 vols." <em>Boston: Porter Sargent</em>(1973). </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Sharp, Gene “From Dictatorship to Democracy: A conceptual framework for liberation” <em>The Albert Einstein Institution.</em>(2010)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Travers, Will. “Civil disobedience for the digital age” Last updated December 23, 2010. <em>Waging NonViolence </em><a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/civil-disobedience-for-the-digital-age/">http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/civil-disobedience-for-the-digital-age/</a><em></em></li></ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digitally-enhanced-civil-resistance'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digitally-enhanced-civil-resistance</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseWeb PoliticsResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-04-17T10:46:50ZBlog EntryOctober 2013 Bulletin
https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2013-bulletin
<b>Our newsletter for the month of October 2013 can be accessed below. </b>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Highlights</h3>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The National Resource Kit team is pleased to bring you its research for the states of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Department of Electronics and Information Technology invited comments on the Framework on the proposed adoption of Open Source Software in E-Governance Systems. CIS gave its feedback. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Access to Knowledge team in collaboration with the Goa University re-released the Konkani Vishwakosh under Creative Commons License CC-BY-SA-3.0. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham, Pranesh Prakash and Chinmayi Arun participated in the Internet Governance Forum held in Bali, Indonesia from October 21 to 25. Overall CIS spoke in 7 panels. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">In an article on Spy Files, Maria Xynou examines the legality of India’s surveillance technologies and their potential connection to India’s central monitoring system.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">A clause-by-clause comments on the Working draft version of the Human DNA Profiling Bill, 2012 was sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS started the first Privacy Watch in India. The map includes data on the UID, NPR and CCTNS schemes, installation of CCTV cameras and the use of drones throughout the country.</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Accessibility</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of our project (under a grant from the Hans Foundation) on creating a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India, we bring you draft chapters for the states of Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, and the union territory of Daman and Diu. With this we have completed compilation of draft chapters for 24 states and 5 union territories. Feedback and comments are invited from readers for the following chapters:</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">National Resource Kit</h3>
<ul>
<li>The <a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1dPoDph">Daman and Diu Chapter</a> (by Anandhi Viswanathan, October 28, 2013).</li>
<li>The <a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1hl4gW4">Arunachal Pradesh Chapter</a> (by CLPR, October 29, 2013).</li>
<li>The <a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/17dPn3c">Madhya Pradesh Chapter</a> (by Anandhi Viswanathan, October 30, 2013).</li>
<li>The <a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/HU91p9">Delhi Chapter</a> (by Anandhi Viswanathan, October 31, 2013). </li>
</ul>
<p>Note: <i>All of these are early drafts and will be reviewed and updated</i>.</p>
<p><b>Survey (Other Organisation)</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1dGSsuI">Accessibility of Banks and Financial Services Institutions: A Global Survey</a> (posted by Nilofar Ansher, October 20, 2013). G3ict and Scotiabank, requests senior managers, COO / CEOs, Managing Directors, IT Directors, HR Directors, and accessibility professionals from banks and financial services companies to participate.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/19FSShz">Bengali eSpeak Aids in Disaster Management</a> (by Anirudh Sridhar, October 15, 2013).</li>
</ul>
<h2>Access to Knowledge</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Access to Knowledge programme addresses the harms caused to consumers and human rights, and critically examines Open Government Data, Open Access to Scholarly Literature, and Open Access to Law, Open Content, Open Standards, and Free/Libre/Open Source Software. We produced a column in the Economic and Political Weekly, submitted our feedback on Framework on Open Source Software Adoption in E-Governance Systems, and conducted 3 Wikipedia workshops:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Article</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/18ii0GH">The Fight for Digital Sovereignty</a> (by Sunil Abraham, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol-XLVIII No. 42, October 19, 2013).</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/16ukO3F">Mobile Phone Patents: Prior Art Survey</a> (by Nehaa Chaudhari, October 23, 2013).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/19FxUzz">Ambiguity in the App Store: Understanding India’s emerging IT sector in light of IP</a> (by Samantha Cassar, October 24, 2013).</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Submission</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1dCOKSS">Feedback on the Framework on OSS Adoption in E-Governance Systems</a> (by Nehaa Chaudhari, October 26, 2013). In September, 2013, the DeitY invited comments on the Framework on the proposed adoption of Open Source Software in E-Governance Systems. CIS gave its feedback.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Events Participated In</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/18FO6Aa">OSOD 2013: International Workshop on Open Science and Open Data</a> (organised by Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, October 7, 2013). Nehaa Chaudhari participated as a panelist and gave a presentation on Government Accessibility and Copyright Conundrum.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/17RkUq8">National Conference on Opening up by Closing the Circle: Strengthening Open Access in India</a> (co-organised by UNESCO, Central Library, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, October 21, 2013). Nehaa Chaudhari was a panelist in the discussion on "Why Open Access?". She gave a presentation on 'Pondering Copyright and Recasting Openness'. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Note: The following has been done under grant from the Wikimedia Foundation (<a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/SPqFOl">http://bit.ly/SPqFOl</a>). As part this project (<a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/X80ELd">http://bit.ly/X80ELd</a>), we held 3 Wikipedia workshops in October:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Event Co-organised </b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/19y0EJx">Re-release of Konkani Vishwakosh under CC-BY-SA 3.0</a> (organised by Goa University and CIS-A2K, Goa University Conference Hall, September 26, 2013). Nitika Tandon has blogged about the event.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Events Organised</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/HIiC30">Workshop on Wikipedia in the Indian Undergraduate Language Classrooms</a> (October 1, 203, Christ University, Bangalore). Dr. U.B. Pavanaja conducted the workshop.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1b8MH6a">Train the Trainer — Four-day long Residential Programme</a> (October 3 – 6, 2013, CEO Center, Gubbi, Bangalore. CIS-A2K Team conducted the workshop. Seventeen people participated in the event.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1a9m8N2">Konkani Vishwakosh Digitization</a> (Goa University, October 19-20, 2013). CIS-A2K team conducted the workshop. Thirty-seven people participated in the event.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Events Participated In</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/18Obr2P">Re-sourcing Indian Cinema: Humanities Research, New Archives and Collaborative Knowledge Production</a> (organised by the Centre for Contemporary Studies and the Centre for Study of Culture and Society, October 29, 2013). T. Vishnu Vardhan gave a talk on “Let Cinephiles Collaborate: Pleasures and Perils of Indian Film History on Wikipedia”.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Media Coverage</b></p>
<p>CIS gave its inputs for the following media coverage:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "> <a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1ek8AzW">Mangalore: Konkani writers resolve to form all-India forum at JKS conference</a> (Daijiworld, October 1, 2013).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/Hfh7sI">Wikipedia in Indian Languages on Mobile Phones</a> (by Megha Prakash, Sci Dev Net, October 15, 2013).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/18J3YlB">कोंकणी विश्वकोश ‘विकिपीडिया’वर</a> (Navprabha Daily, October 22, 2013). A detailed article about the digitalization of Konkani Vishwakosh. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Internet Governance</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is doing a project (under a grant from Privacy International and International Development Research Centre (IDRC)) on conducting research on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). So far we have organised seven privacy round-tables and drafted the Privacy (Protection) Bill. This month we bring you clause-by-clause comments on the Human DNA Profiling Bill, 2012, and a map monitoring privacy in India. As part of its project (funded by Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto and support from the IDRC) on mapping cyber security actors in South Asia and South East Asia we did an interview with Anja Kovacs on cyber security. With this we have completed a total of 10 video interviews:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Internet Governance Forum</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham, Pranesh Prakash and Chinmayi Arun participated in the Internet Governance Forum held in Bali, Indonesia in the month of October. Overall, CIS spoke in 7 panels:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1ayYuqJ">Charting the Charter: Internet Rights and Principles Online</a> (organised by IRP Coalition, October 22, 2013). Pranesh Prakash was a panelist.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/17ZzPdf">Fair process frameworks for cross-border online spaces</a> (organised by the Internet & Jurisdiction Project, Civil Society of France, Western Europe and Others Group and Internet & Jurisdiction Project, Civil Society of Germany, Western Europe and Others Group, October 22, 2013). Sunil Abraham and Chinmayi Arun were panelists for this workshop.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/16OoH6N">Removing Barriers to Connectivity: Connecting the Unconnected</a> (organised by Internet Society and ETNO, October 23, 2013). Pranesh Prakash was a panelist.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1av3v2U">FOSS: Smart Choice for Developing Countries</a> (organised by TechNation and Open Source Alliance of Central Asia, October 23, 2013). Sunil Abraham spoke on FOSS and IT Growth Policies in South Asia.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/17DMHGW">Privacy: from regional regulations to global connections?</a> (organised by Internet Society, Bali, October 24, 2013). Sunil Abraham was one of the panelists.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/16OtkxD">Human rights, freedom of expression and free flow of information on the Internet</a> (a Focus Session on Openness, October 24, 2013). Pranesh Prakash was a speaker at this event.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/1bgvkNl">Taking Stock: Emerging Issues - Internet Surveillance</a> (a session on Internet Surveillance, October 25, 2013). Pranesh Prakash made intervention in this session.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/17DhpzM">Tweets from Bali IGF 2013</a>: To enable research by those who didn't want to mess around with Twitter's APIs, CIS has made available tweets from the IGF as downloadable .CSV files.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<p><b>Magazine Article</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://bit.ly/HiJ5E1">What India can Learn from the Snowden Revelations</a> (by Elonnai Hickok, Yahoo, October 23, 2013). The title of the article was changed in the version published by Yahoo.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Concerns Regarding DNA Law (by Bhairav Acharya, October 9, 2013): http://bit.ly/1aoxXM9.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Interview with Big Brother Watch on Privacy and Surveillance (by Maria Xynou, October 15, 2013): http://bit.ly/1cRDMbV.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Interview with Bruce Schneier (by Maria Xynou, October 17, 2013): http://bit.ly/GS6oDX.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">An Interview with the Tactical Technology Collective (by Maria Xynou, October 18, 2013): http://bit.ly/1i1lVNo.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Interview with Dr. Alexander Dix (by Maria Xynou, October 23, 2013): http://bit.ly/1a7dgtQ.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Open Letter to Members of the European Parliament of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (by Elonnai Hickok, October 23, 2013): http://bit.ly/17eZntz.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">An Interview with Jacob Kohnstamm (by Elonnai Hickok, October 25, 2013): http://bit.ly/17NcQmD.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Spy Files 3: WikiLeaks Sheds More Light on the Global Surveillance Industry (by Maria Xynou, October 25, 2013): http://bit.ly/1d6EmjD.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Comments</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Re: The Human DNA Profiling Bill, 2012 (by Bhairav Acharya, October 9, 2013). CIS provided clause-by-clause comments on the on the Working Draft version of the Human DNA Profiling Bill: http://bit.ly/17Jpp63.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Announcement</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The India Privacy Monitor Map (by Maria Xynou with assistance from Srinivas Atreya, October 9, 2013). CIS has started a first of its kind Privacy Watch in India. The map includes data on the UID, NPR and CCTNS schemes, as well as on the installation of CCTV cameras and the use of drones throughout the country: http://bit.ly/19A5mCZ.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Event Organised</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Privacy Round-table, New Delhi (organised by FICCI, DSCI and CIS, FICCI, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi, October 19, 2013): http://bit.ly/GAsStr. </li>
</ul>
<p><b>Event Participated In</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">'Free Speech and Media in South Asia: Human Rights Concerns in a Globalizing World (organised by the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford, in collaboration with the Centre for Media and Governance, National Law University, Delhi, Oxford University, October 25, 2013). Chinmayi Arun spoke about “Privacy and Surveillance in India” in a panel discussion: http://bit.ly/18bRGi5.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cyber Security</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Laird Brown, a strategic planner and writer with core competencies on brand analysis, public relations and resource management and Purba Sarkar who in the past worked as a strategic advisor in the field of SAP Retail are working in this project:</p>
<ul>
<li>Part 11: An Interview with Anja Kovacs (October 15, 2013): http://bit.ly/15EAZOE.</li>
</ul>
<p><span><b>Other IG Updates</b></span><b><br />Event Organised</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Mapping Digital Media: Broadcasting, Journalism and Activism in India (co-organised by Alternative Law Forum, Maraa and CIS, Bangalore International Centre, October 27, 2013). Samantha Cassar has blogged about the event: http://bit.ly/17EVtdw. It was covered by the New Indian Express (http://bit.ly/1dGENE6) and Hindu (http://bit.ly/1bcVUIU) on October 28. </li>
</ul>
<p><b>Events Participated In</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Religious Pluralism and the Tensions between Freedom of Expression and Respect for the 'Other’ (organised by Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations project, in cooperation with Jamia Millia Islamia, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, October 10, 2013). Chinmayi Arun was a speaker at the session on “Democracy and the Tension between Freedom of Speech and Respect for the Other’s Religion, Culture, Identity, India and Europe”: http://bit.ly/194dtI7.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Fragmentation in a Democracy: The Role of Social Movements and the Media (organised by the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Berlin at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, October 16, 2013). Sunil Abraham was a panelist in the session on “Impact of Media, Social Media & Technology on Democracy / Governance”: http://bit.ly/17e3PZ9.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Internet, Mobile & Digital Economy Conference (IMDEC) 2013 (organised by FICCI, in association with the Ministry of Communications & IT, Government of India, New Delhi, October 25, 2013). Sunil Abraham participated as a speaker in the session on "The Internet We Want: A Multistakeholder Approach": http://bit.ly/1b8QHDD. </li>
</ul>
<h3><b>New and Media Coverage</b></h3>
<p>CIS<b> </b>gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Decline in web freedom steepest in India: Report (by Javed Anwer, The Times of India, October 3, 2013): http://bit.ly/1cVOJ99.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Google survey: 37% of urban Indian voters are online (by Anuja and Moulishree Srivastava, Livemint, October 8, 2013): http://bit.ly/1gtqqDY.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The quest for genuine clout on the internet (by Karthik Subramanian, October 13, 2013): http://bit.ly/1b8TdKa.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">India believes in Complete Freedom of Cyber Space: Kapil Sibal (by Elizabeth Roche, Livemint, October 14, 2013): http://bit.ly/1fZgwd1. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Location Tracking: Why the Govt-Mobile Manufacturer War Won’t End Soon (by Danish Raza, FirstPost, October 15, 2013): http://bit.ly/HkIvF7.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Bouquets & brickbats for Google's new privacy policy (by Indu Nandakumar, Economic Times, October 18, 2013): http://bit.ly/18Rzkqm.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Bali meet to discuss Internet governance issues (by Moulishree Srivastava, October 22, 2013): http://bit.ly/17I4r3M.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Indian politicians yet to tap voters online: CIS’s Abraham (by Venkatesh Upadhyay, Livemint, October 22, 2013): http://bit.ly/17HRV4s. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Beyond the Searchlight (by Debarshi Dasgupta, October 23, 2013): http://bit.ly/17IitlZ.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Nowhere to hide: Govt making your personal details public (by FirstPost editors, FirstPost, October 28, 2013): http://bit.ly/1dGE6KJ.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Your private data may be online, courtesy govt (by Somesh Jha and Surabhi Agarwal, Business Standard, October 29, 2013): http://bit.ly/HpQRMp.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Saving privacy as we knew it (by Somesh Jha and Surabhi Agarwal, Business Standard, October 29, 2013): http://bit.ly/16HNYwu.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">E-governance hopes rise as India crosses 1 billion transactions (by J Srikant, Economic Times, October 29, 2013): http://bit.ly/1cnJIKd.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Digital Humanities</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Digital will be used as a way of unpacking the debates in humanities and social sciences and look at the new frameworks, concepts and ideas that emerge in our engagement with the digital. The clusters aim to produce and document new conversations and debates that shape the contours of Digital Humanities in Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Events Participated In</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">GFM 2013 (organized by the University of Luneberg, Germany, October 3 – 5, 2013). Dr. Nishant Shah participated in a panel discussion with Wendy Chun, Tom Levine and Geert Lovink, around 'The End of Bibliographies: New Media and Research'. Nishant also participated as a panelist in a panel discussion on 'Open Up: Pragmatism and Politics of Open Access': http://bit.ly/1f9LCOH.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Digitalization of Culture (organized by Leuphana University, Luneberg, October 8, 2013). Dr. Nishant Shah did an introduction keynote to 1600 undergraduate students. A video of the lecture can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/1enWQPv. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">RENEW: The 5th International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science and Technology (hosted by RIXC Centre for New Media Culture in Riga in partnership with the Art Academy of Latvia, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and Danube University’s Center for Image Science, October 8 - 11, 2013). Dr. Nishant Shah was a part of the selection committee for the conference and chaired a session on Network Art on October 9: http://bit.ly/17e41aJ. </li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
<ul>
<li>A Hitchhikers Guide to the Cyberspace (by Anirudh Sridhar, October 4, 2013): http://bit.ly/1ga8yfH. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Knowledge Repository on Internet Access</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS in partnership with the Ford Foundation is executing a project to create a knowledge repository on Internet and society. This repository will comprise content targeted primarily at civil society with a view to enabling their informed participation in the Indian Internet and ICT policy space. The repository is available at the Internet Institute website: http://bit.ly/1iQT2UB.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Modules</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">World Intellectual Property Organisation (by Anirudh Sridhar and Snehashish Ghosh, October 31, 2013). WIPO is a specialized agency of the United Nations which deals with issues related to intellectual property rights throughout the world. Find out more at http://bit.ly/17a8WEk.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">An Interview on Internet Governance with Professor Milton Mueller and Jeremy Malcolm (by Anirudh Sridhar, October 31, 2013). Professor Milton Mueller from the Syracuse University School of Information and Jeremy Malcolm, an Information Technology and Intellectual Property Lawyer, spoke about current issues and debates surrounding internet governance: http://bit.ly/17ix3Ro. </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>About CIS</b><br />The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.</p>
<p><b>Follow us elsewhere</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<ul>
<li>Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K"> </a><a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Facebook group: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k">https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Visit us at:<a href="https://cis-india.org/"> </a>https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>E-mail: <a href="mailto:a2k@cis-india.org">a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Support Us</b><br />Please help us defend consumer / citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of ‘The Centre for Internet and Society’ and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd ‘C’ Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru – 5600 71.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Request for Collaboration</b>:<br />We invite researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org or Nishant Shah, Director – Research, at nishant@cis-india.org. To discuss collaborations on Indic language wikipedia, write to T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director, A2K, at vishnu@cis-india.org</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects</i>.</p>
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</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
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</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2013-bulletin'>https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2013-bulletin</a>
</p>
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