Centre for Internet and Society

Odia Wikipedia 9th Anniversary Celebration

praskrishna — 2013-01-24T09:52:13Z

The Centre for Internet & Society, New Delhi is celebrating the ninth anniversary of Odia Wikipedia. The event is being held at Academy of Media Learning, M-6, Samanta Vihar in Bhubaneswar from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ, ଅନଲାଇନରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାର ଏକ ମୁକ୍ତ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷର ୯ମ ବାର୍ଷିକ ଜନ୍ମତିଥି ୨୯ ଜାନୁଆରୀରେ ଭୁବନେଶ୍ଵରର ଏକାଡେମି ଅଫ ମିଡ଼ିଆ ଲର୍ଣ୍ଣିଙ୍ଗରେ ଅପରାହ୍ଣ ୪ ଘଟିକା ସମୟରେ ଅନୁଷ୍ଠିତ ହେବାକୁ ଯାଉଛି । ଏହି ଅବସରରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ପରିବାର ଆପଣମାନଙ୍କୁ ଏହି କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମରେ ଭାଗ ନେଇ ଏହାକୁ ସାଫଲ୍ୟମଣ୍ଡିତ କରିବାକୁ ଅନୁରୋଧ କରୁଛି ।

ଏଥିରେ ଆମେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ଉପଯୋଗୀତା, ଏହାର ବ୍ୟବହାର ଓ ଆପଣ କିପରି ଏଥିରେ ଭାଗ ନେଇପାରିବେ ଓ ଜ୍ଞାନ ବିତରଣର ଏହି ମହାପ୍ରବାହ ସାମିଲ ହୋଇପାରିବେ ସେ ବାବଦରେ ଜାଣିପାରିବେ । ଏଥିରେ ଭାଗ ନେବା ପାଇଁ ଏହି ଅନଲାଇନ ଫର୍ମଟିକୁ ଭରନ୍ତୁ: http://goo.gl/q5vnA

Agenda

Introducing Wikipedia
Celebrating Odia Wikipedia's 9th birthday!
Current status of Odia Wikipedia and WikiProjects
Press meet

Organizers

ମନୋରଞ୍ଜନ ବେହେରା
ଶ୍ରୀକାନ୍ତ କେଡ଼ିଆ
ସୁଭାସିସପାଣିଗାହି

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/odia-wikipedia-9th-anniversary-celebration

Celebrating the success of Wikipedia in Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013

subha — 2013-04-16T12:48:40Z

Wikipedia Club Pune, a local community based outreach user group in Pune has recently organized Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013 to spread words about “Spoken Wikipedia”, a project to add recorded audio for Indic language Wikipedia articles which will help the disabled to access Wikipedia and “Bridging Editor Gender Gap.”

On January 12 and 13, 2013, I was in Pune to participate in the Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013, a two day event organized by Wikipedia Club Pune to promote Wikipedia as an effective means of education, to empower and reach out to India, to bring the country under a spotlight through Spoken Wikipedia, and to bridge the gender gap of Wikipedia editors. Here is a summary of the activities.

Day 1

On the first day, January 12, more than 100 people including students from almost 10 different schools, housewives, working professionals and free and open source activists participated. The opening ceremony began with talks from Abhishek Suryawanshi, founder member of Wikipedia Club Pune, Sudhanwa Jogelkar, President of Wikimedia India Chapter, Rishi Aacharya, Principal, PAI International Learning Solutions, and social activist Ms. Vibha.

Before the formal opening Abhishek spoke for a while about the Spoken Wikipedia project which is one main agenda of the two days event. He explained about the need of spoken wikipedia, especially for people with disabilities and how effective it would be when it spreads in 20 Indic languages. In the past wikipedians in Pune gathered and recorded articles in various Indian and international languages.

Sudhanwa Jogelkar, President, Wikimedia India Chapter introduced the chapter's role for Wikimedia movement to the audience. He spoke about the chapters' in few of the national events/projects like Wiki Loves Monument, GLAM project in Crafts Museum, Delhi and many other outreach events. There were few announcements about the chapter on the MoU to be signed from the chapter with district collector of Kanyakumari, the India Chapter being partner to Springfest, IIT, Kharagpur, Commons day celebration in February and GNUnify 2013, Pune.

Vibha, a social activist based in Delhi spoke about gender discrimination in many aspects of our social and professional life. Access to knowledge for free could bridge this and Wikipedia, being so known universally and accessed by millions of people every day could be the best platform for this.' says Vibha.

Rishi Aacharya, Principal of PAI International brought the vedic saying "Ya vidya sa vimuktaye" to explain the real meaning of knowledge which is free of its existence in an Indian context. He spoke about open source movement and Wikipedia's part in it.

After the formal opening there was a Q&A session for the participants to clarify various questions they had about Wikipedia. Then they were explained about the three parallel sessions: An Open Discussion about Gender Gap, Workshop for Indic Languages, and Spoken Wikipedia. The session on gender gap was attended by many school students. Vibha and some activists coordinated this event. In the Workshop for Indic languages and Spoken Wikipedia, wikipedians helped participants for the workshop with basic editing and the participants edited Marathi and Hindi Wikipedia. Articles from various medical subjects of common interest were chosen. There were three medical professionals to support with the medical terminologies for editors contributing to Marathi and Hindi Wikipedia.

At the end of the day there were separate wrap up tracks to summarize the learning of whole session. All of the participants gathered together to educate each other about the work they have done. Many of the participants spoke about their experience and learnings. Plans for the next day was announced. Wikipedians gathered for a group photo and socialized after the closing talks.

Day 2

The second day, January 13, of the Wikipedia Summit in Pune was a sequel of the activities which happened on the first day. More than 40 students took part in this session. Vibha, Srishti and team were coordinating the gender gap track. Many topics related to Gender Gap, gender based discrimination, Role of gender gap in occupation, Gender gap in Wikipedia, Participation of Woman editors on Wikipedia were discussed.

One of the participating Wikipedians recording his voice for a Marathi article	Spoken Wikipedia is a project to bring out editors who are willing to contribute to Wikipedia by reading the Wikipedia articles, recording them and the uploading them to WikiCommons. These recorded audio could be used for articles on various Indic Wikipedias and would be really useful for users with disabilities. The first workshop was aimed for contribution for articles related to common diseases. "Those who are blind and unable to read can listen to the articles and get information. This will be beneficial to a lot of people", says Atharva, a school student who has contributed to an article about Rabies on Marathi Wikipedia.

Participants of the Spoken Wikipedia session worked on the articles on Hindi and Marathi Wikipedia and moved them from sandboxes to article namespaces. After all of the articles were created they recorded them. They formed groups of 3-4 members and worked together. One of them would search information mainly from the English Wikipedia articles and some of the available Marathi (or Hindi), some others would translate and the other member would record it using a mobile phone. That was a great team effort.

Over 25 voluntary organizers joined hands for making this a success. There were about 120 participants. At the end of the day participants from both the sessions gathered. Many of the participants and organizers shared their experiences and learnings. The program was concluded with socializing, taking group pictures, promises to stay in touch and taking active part in more Wikipedia activities.

This event was co-hosted by Centre for Internet and Society with a financial support of ₹ 21,600 granted by Kusuma Foundation.

Also see:

Wikipedia Summit Pune: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Summit_Pune
Wikipedia Club Pune: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Club_Pune
Pictures: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Summit_Pune
Spoken Wikipedia Project: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Spoken_Wikipedia_-_India
Pune Club facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WikipediaClubPune

Video

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/celebrating-the-success-of-wikipedia-in-wikipedia-summit-pune-2013

Aaron Swartz Memorial Hacknight

praskrishna — 2013-01-17T05:18:22Z

On Saturday, January 19, 2013, HasGeek and the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) are organizing a hacknight to understand Aaron’s work and contribute to his projects. The event starts from 2.00 p.m. onwards and ends at 8.00 a.m., the next day morning.

Among the hackers present will be some of Aaron's collaborators, such as Anand Chitipothu and A S L Devi.The Aaron Swartz memorial hacknight is a free event. You do not have to be a hacker to contribute and do not have to be present for the entire night. Join us even if just to show solidarity or inspire others on what they can do. HasGeek encourages participants to bring their own energy drinks and snacks for the evening so that there is enough to go around.

To register, visit: http://hacknight.in/hasgeek/aaronsw-memorial. Once your registration is approved, you can add or join a project to work on during the hacknight.

Aaron Swartz

Aaron Swartz was a hacktivist. He helped create RSS 1.0; contributed to Creative Commons; was an early builder of Reddit, where he's often acknowledged as a co-founder; created the web.py framework; and more recently, became a data liberator, first with PACER, the US public case law archive, and then with scholarly articles from JSTOR, both of which got him into trouble with the law. Aaron's Demand Progress project helped stop SOPA and PIPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act in the US, both of which threatened to have far reaching unintended consequences.

Aaron Swartz took his life on Jan 11, 2013. However, his work on making the world a better place should not die with him. On Saturday, January 19, HasGeek and the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) are organizing a hacknight to understand Aaron’s work and contribute to his projects. Among the hackers present will be some of Aaron's collaborators, such as Anand Chitipothu and A S L Devi, who can help you get started.

About HasGeek

HasGeek creates discussion spaces around emerging technologies to foster the growth of communities. Since 2010, HasGeek has organized a number of conferences, hacknights and geekups around open source, web design and development, big data, cloud computing and mobile opportunities. The HasGeek Job Board connects thousands of individuals every month with jobs around upcoming technologies. HasGeek also builds tools to assist communities with organizing events and meetups. For more information, write to info@hasgeek.com

About CIS

CIS is a research and advocacy organization based in Bangalore. Founded in 2008, the Centre critically engages with issues concerning internet governance, freedom of speech, public accountability and digital pluralism. Through multidisciplinary research, intervention, and collaboration, CIS seeks to explore, understand, and affect the shape and form of the internet, and its relationship with the political, cultural, and social milieu of our times.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/aaron-swartz-memorial-hacknight

An Introduction to Bitfilm and Bitcoin – A Discussion by Aaron Koenig

praskrishna — 2013-02-05T10:14:54Z

The Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore invites you to a talk by Aaron Koenig, Managing Director, Bitfilm Networks of Hamburg, Germany on January 23, 2013, from 7.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.

The Talk

Aaron Koenig will give a talk on the creation and use of Bitcoin, a new digital currency and payment system designed for the voting process of the Bitfilm Festival for Digital Film. Since the year 2000, the Bitfilm Festival has been showcasing films that use digital technology in a creative and innovative way. It takes place on the Internet. However, physical screenings of the films will be held in Bangalore and in Hamburg. Each of the 59 nominated digital animations has its own Bitcoin account, and users worldwide may vote by donating Bitcoins to the films they like anonymously and without any transfer costs. The donated money will be divided among the most popular films (the films with the most votes/Bitcoins).

Aaron will also present an animated short about Bitcoin which he has produced with an animation team based in Bangalore. Of course, the animators were paid in Bitcoin.

More info on the Bitfilm Festival: http://www.bitfilm.com/festival
More info on Bitcoin: http://blink.li/current-issue

VIDEO

Aaron Koenig

Aaron is the Managing Director of Bitfilm. He has run the organization since 1999. He is a vibrant member of art and film societies and an Entrepreneur. Currently engaged with Bitfilm.com, Aaron also publishes a political magazine called BLINK.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/bitfilm-and-bitcoin-a-discussion-by-aaron-koenig

Bangalore CryptoParty!

praskrishna — 2013-01-06T13:47:02Z

Care about your privacy and online security? Want to fight against pervasive governmental surveillance and corporate invasions of privacy? The Centre for Internet & Society invites you to the CryptoParty tonight (Friday) at 6.00 p.m. Make sure to bring friends (and your laptop and smart phones)!

We will discuss, install and use digital security and privacy tools and practices.

Hosts

Thejesh GN
Kaustubh Srikanth
Pranesh Prakash

Details

We Will Provide

Food and drinks: Snacks - Samosas + Kachoris + Biscuits + Tea + Soft Drinks
Software: Security-in-a-box toolkits + Ubuntu Live USBs + software + internet connection
Expertise: Kaustubh Srikanth + Thejesh GN + Pranesh Prakash

You need to bring

Your own laptop (highly recommended)
Desire to learn about secure and private communications and storage (mandatory! :D)
Expertise, to share with others (if possible)

Intro

(20 mins)

Privacy vs. convenience
Importance of Free and Open Source Software and Open Standards
Basics of Passwords

Choosing secure passwords

Dropbox Register Page

Storing comes later
2FA - Google Authenticator

Securing online Identities

Show and tell

Browsing (45 mins)
(5 mins)

Firefox (multiple platforms) / offline

(15 mins):

AdBlockPlus
RequestPolicy
HTTPSEverywhere
Ghostery / DoNotTrackMe
Noscript

(5 mins)

Anti-Google Surveillance

DuckDuckGo
GoogleSharing

(10 mins)

Password management

Keepass + Password Safe
Cloud Services

LastPass
Keepass + Dropbox

Email + IM (1 hour)
(10 mins)

Thunderbird (multiple platforms) / available offline

Enigmail

(30 mins)

GPG4Win + GPGTools / offline
Seahorse (on Ubuntu Fresh Install)
Enigmail + Key Management (Kaustubh)
Key-signing party!

(15 mins)

Instant Messaging with OTR

Pidgin + Adium / offline
OTR / offline

Tell (27 mins)
(5 mins)

Tor (Pranesh)

(5 mins)

VPNs and SSH tunnel

RiseUp (Kaustubh)
SSH tunneling using AWS / RackSpace (Thej)

(12 mins)

Mobiles

APG + K9 (Pranesh)
WhisperCore (Kaustubh mentions)
Text Secure (Thej)
Gibbberbot (Pranesh)

(3 mins)

Full-disk encryption

Ubuntu (Pranesh demoes quickly)
BitLocker
TrueCrypt

(2 mins)

Virtual machines

VirtualBox (Kaustubh demoes quickly)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/bangalore-crypto-party

Access to Knowledge Workshop @ NMAMIT, Karkala Taluk, Karnataka

praskrishna — 2012-12-19T07:20:31Z

The Centre for Internet & Society in collaboration with Metawing Technologies (P) Ltd. is organizing a Wikipedia workshop at NMAMIT, Karkala Taluk, Karnataka on December 21, 2012, from 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

Over 100 students are expected to participate in this workshop. The primary aim of the workshop is to educate them about Wikipedia in Indian languages and tell them how they can contribute to Wikipedia.

CIS is willing to bear the travelling expense for upto two wikipedians to and from Bangalore (or any other place in Karnataka that is close to Karkala).

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/a2k-workshop-at-nmamit

Technology Culture and Events in South East Asia — A Presentation by Preetam Rai

praskrishna — 2012-12-19T12:25:29Z

Preetam Rai who works with nonprofits, startups and educational institutions will do a small presentation cum discussion at the Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore on December 18, 2012, from 5.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

In 2012, Myanmar hosted one of the largest open technology event with over 5000 attendees joining the Barcamp Yangon. Every month, Cambodian youth put together dozens of self-initiated peer learning events and actively use social networks to recruit participants. Thais are creating physical spaces where social entrepreneurs and developers collaborate with each other.

Join us to explore these trends and how they are helping change South East Asia. Learn how the technology enthusiasts are ignoring past national antagonism and traveling across borders to connect with peers.

We will introduce you to events and spaces(coworking spaces, hackerspaces) that you can join in to explore this activity first hand when you are traveling through the region.


Participants from several South East Asian countries at BlogFest 2012 in Cambodia.

Preetam Rai

Preetam Rai helps put up technology and educational events in South East Asia. He works with nonprofits, startups and educational institutions helping them connect better with their audiences. He was the South East Asian Regional Editor at Global Voices Online, a social media aggregation project initiated by the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society. He is on twitter at @preetamrai.

VIDEO

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/technology-culture-and-events-in-south-east-asia

Meeting of the Network of Internet & Society Centers

praskrishna — 2012-12-11T10:18:41Z

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University together with the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet & Society in Berlin, in collaboration with the Centre for Internet and Society Bangalore, the Center for Technology & Society at the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) Law School, KEIO University SFC, the MIT Media Lab, the MIT Center for Civic Media, and the NEXA Center for Internet & Society, will host a highly interactive and participatory meeting of representatives from these and other research centers focused on Internet and society issues.

Taking place on December 6-8 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this gathering will serve as the inaugural event for a nascent global network and create an opportunity for participants to scope and identify mechanisms for collaboration, research, and informal coordination.

Theme

Internet-driven Developments: Structural Changes and Tipping Points As a starting point, the December meeting will focus on the theme of “Internet-driven Developments: Structural Changes and Tipping Points,” provoking both substantive questions to facilitate ideas for collaboration, as well as process-oriented questions regarding the structure, governance, and composition of the network of centers. This topic is intended to provide a conceptual lens for the meeting itself, and to enable myriad connections to the diverse research areas and interests of the participating organizations; however, it is not meant to frame the thematic areas of the network writ large. Rather, we hope that the theme stimulates conversations about future areas of collaboration within and beyond the topic areas outlined in this concept note.

With this goal in mind and building upon the research interests of the participants, the two proposed overarching “horizontal” questions of the meeting are:

What are the structural changes (as opposed to hype, fashion, spikes, etc.), from societal, economic, legal, and educational perspectives, promoted by the Internet and related technological advancements? What do we know about these tectonic shifts and where are knowledge gaps? How do these shifts compare to earlier changes facilitated by new technologies? What further changes do we anticipate?
2 What are the forces and tipping points that have catalyzed these structural changes— including the actions of individuals (such as users, citizens, and individual activists) and institutions (such as government, business, and civil society)? Where do we currently see or anticipate tipping points? As a research community that seeks to inform advocacy efforts, policymaking, civic discourse, and other societal interests, how can these concepts inform or drive our activities?

We hope to discuss these guiding (“horizontal”) questions in the context of exploring two areas of research or use cases (“verticals”), which might inspire future activities of the network itself as well as collaboration among participants:

Political participation: Various research efforts over the past decade have focused on the question of if and how the Internet changes political participation, from new forms of electronic voting to the broader question of potential changes in political discourse in the digitally networked public sphere. During the meeting, we will take stock of the current landscape, with a particular focus on recent elections and political movements around the globe, and explore open questions, future research directions, questions, emerging tools and methodologies.

Production modes: Digital technologies in general and the Internet in particular have changed the ways in which goods are produced and services provided. Within this context, new modes of production — most prominently “peer-based” models — have emerged, accompanied by innovative organizational models and set-ups. Questions we hope to explore include: How relevant are these shifts from an economic, organizational, societal, business, and creative perspective? Has recent empirical research confirmed the theory of commons-based peer production, or challenged it? What conditions facilitate new modes of Internet-based production and what are the benefits and challenges from a public policy perspective? What do interesting case studies in the field, from collaborative online journalism to crowd-funding, tell us about the direction of this trend?

In a number of learning calls leading up to the meeting, we hope to further specify the proposed substantive areas, identify core issues of mutual interest for discussion, nominate speakers and rapporteurs, and learn about each other’s work in respective areas.

Key Objectives

The meeting will not only focus on substantive issues within the proposed themes, but also seek to provide a foundation for discussions regarding structural and process-oriented objectives for the network.

Substantive goals include: based on the proposed themes and topics, becoming familiar with each other’s work; facilitating the exchange of information regarding current and future projects, research areas, and innovative methods; identifying connection points, concrete ideas for initial and continued institutional collaborations on projects, and tools to support sustained and future efforts; and building a shared vocabulary and structure for collaboration among Internet & society centers, including existing and potential actors in the Global South.

Structural/process-oriented objectives include: defining the scope and core DNA of the network; exploring initial structures for governance, shared research, exchange programs, and mechanisms for collaboration; and identifying tools and practices for communication among teams, within the network, and externally.

From Ideas to Action

Using the substantive discussion as a jumping-0ff point, we will collectively explore how to apply lessons learned from the process of conducting interdisciplinary and international research into a network that embodies those same values. What analytical frames and empirical indicators can researchers offer to better inform policy makers and citizenry? How can we make public debates more rational and informed? What are methodological and data issues we should consider in research projects? What role do we envision for advocacy and broader communication for greater societal impact? How do these discussions inform and scope the potential areas of activity of the network? Through what specific mechanisms, such as research, tool development, convenings, or teaching, will Centers address these challenges? Invited colleagues, collaborators, and guests will provoke discussions and pose questions that challenge current assumptions and encourage experimentation.

Mode of Engagement

We are committed to leveraging the tremendous diversity of the participants to develop novel understandings — and approaches to reaching them — by actively embracing differences in geography, discipline, organizational approach, culture and context, among many other facets. Not only must we consciously address the more straightforward challenges of translation (language and discipline), but we must proactively develop ways to meaningfully and efficiently engage the deeper divisions we identify among us. Allowing differences to become splits would be unfortunate, but more importantly, it is at precisely these gaps where new perspectives are possible, and great gains are within reach.

Fulfilling this commitment will be a real challenge because it requires behavior change on our part. We must avoid or explain terms of art, make explicit and explore our assumptions, explain our methods, perform necessary translations, and otherwise take steps to maximize hospitality and genuine understanding. Because this work is interactive in nature, it is essential that we are economical in our group discussion, leaving as much time for the interactions that will highlight and address gaps, rather than making extended monologues that risk losing other participants and sacrifice the provocative stimuli offered by our diversity. In short, let us be clear, brief and to the point. Let us listen to each other closely and encourage new voices, rather than inadvertently privileging only a few dominant ones. Let us be aware that participants will have different styles of engagement, and that we need to collectively find ways to embrace them, even as they adapt to this special environment. Above all, let us have enjoy this rare opportunity to gather and engage on issues we care about with this unique group of colleagues.

Draft Agenda

Thursday, December 6
9:30-1:00 pm (Optional) Cyberscholars Forum For those meeting participants who arrive in Cambridge early, we welcome them to attend a half day meeting of the Cyberscholars Working Group, which includes fellows from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Yale Information Society Project, MIT Media Lab / Center for Civic Media, and other institutions.
3:00 Opening Exercise: Mapping Collaboration The opening session of the symposium on “Structural Changes and Tipping Points” will include participants of the Cyberscholars forum, and will highlight the landscape of existing collaborations among researchers, as well as generate ideas for new modes and methods for collaboration to be considered over the course of the meeting. This early convening will allow the opportunity for representatives to bring the unique strengths of their institutions to the table and consider ways we can take advantage of coordinated efforts.
5:30 Opening Session Structural Change: Understanding Structural Changes, Tipping Points, and their Effects on Systems Historical examples of significant structural change, and the events and conditions leading up to those dramatic shifts, will offer a lens for the meeting where societal advancements catalyzed by technological innovation can be analyzed and understood. As digital technologies increasingly intersect with and support institutions, industries, and individuals, what cautionary tales does history reveal regarding how to study and engage important tipping points? What lessons from history will enable societal development? And what structures are currently changing or are ripe for change (and research) in the next decade?
6:45 Joint Reception with Cyberscholars Participants The reception will include displays from the Harvard metaLAb and the Harvard Library community.
Friday, December 7
8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 Welcome
9:15 Foundations: Key Ingredients for Structural Change in the Digital Ecosystem: Data, Algorithms, Intermediaries This opening session will set the stage by exploring the key elements that facilitate current and the next generation of structural shifts in the digitally networked information ecosystem and discuss both drivers and inhibitors of change from social, economic, legal, and educational perspectives. Instead of providing a holistic overview of all factors that are in play, the session will focus on three particularly important elements: the power of “big data”, the importance of algorithms, and the role of new intermediaries. Beyond phenomenological stock-taking, the participants will discuss the next generation of legal, ethical, economic and other issues that arise in the context of these key elements and the need for collaboration - and potentially intervention – with regard to these and related factors of change. The discussion will help orient the relationship between structural change and associated tipping points, and will be further explored throughout the day via participant-organized breakout sessions and use case discussions.
10:15 Use Case #1 Political Participation: New Orders, Democracy, Governance, and Civic Engagement Various research efforts over the past decade have focused on the question of if and how the Internet changes political participation, from new forms of electronic voting to the broader question of potential changes in political discourse in the digitally networked public sphere. During the meeting, we will take stock of the current landscape, with a particular focus on recent elections and political movements around the globe, and explore open questions, future research directions, questions, emerging tools and methodologies. Examples we could examine, and potentially consider as “tipping points,” may range from SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA to the Arab Spring and the post-election crisis in Kenya in 2008 to many other major political events. These examples may also highlight the limits, challenges, and dangers of the new media environment.
11:15 Coffee Break
11:30 Morning Breakout Sessions & Afternoon Proposals Semi-moderated discussion sessions proposed by participants in advance of the meeting (such as sessions on Internet & democracy, research methods, region specific issues, and other projects) will take place, with an eye towards developing contributions to the final session on future directions.
Additionally, participants will brainstorm and propose sessions to lead during the unconference sessions in the afternoon, with a preference for more exploratory topics. Anyone at the meeting can suggest, lead, or participate in the discussions, and topics can range from those relevant to the substantive themes of the symposium to ideas for networking, shared research, and anything beyond.
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30pm Use Case #2 Economic and Production Modes: New Models for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Digital technologies in general and the Internet in particular have changed the ways in which goods are produced and services provided. Within this context, new modes of production — most prominently “peer-based” models — have emerged, accompanied by innovative organizational models and set-ups. Questions we hope to explore include: How relevant are these shifts from an economic, organizational, societal, business, and creative perspective? Has recent empirical research confirmed the theory of commons-based peer production, or challenged it? What conditions facilitate new modes of Internet-based production and what are the benefits and challenges from a public policy perspective? What do interesting case studies in the field, from collaborative online journalism to crowd-funding, tell us about the direction of this trend? Examples of market and industry shifts, institutional changes, and individual impact may serve as illustrations of tipping points where new models of production have fostered true innovation, and reveal paths for what to expect in the future.
2:30 Participant-Led Unconference Sessions Meeting participants who proposed sessions will lead discussions around topics related to the main theme of the symposium or around ideas related to the formation of a network of centers.
3:30 Break
4:00 Reflections and Future Directions A rapporteur from each center will offer brief reflections and key takeaways based on their experience during the meeting. A shortlist of “low hanging fruit” (i.e. things that we can immediately start to collaborate on) will be developed in advance and serve as the basis for the session, so the group can make progress towards developing a substantive agenda and initial workplan for the network at the meeting.
7:00 Reception and Party
Saturday, December 8
9:00-12pm Breakfast session: Action plan for the next year In the Food for Thought mode, representatives will meet to discuss an innovation and collaboration agenda for the inaugural year of the network. Using inputs from learning calls and the previous days of the meeting, participants will work to identify existing or new projects where researchers, faculty, and staff can immediately begin collaborating. We will also create a rough plan for addressing action items that are “low hanging fruit” for the launch of the network.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/meeting-of-network-of-internet-and-society-centers

Autonomy, Access, Infrastructure and Future — A Discussion with C S Lakshmi on the SPARROW Archive

praskrishna — 2012-12-05T10:22:20Z

What does it take to build an archive? Why build archives in the first place? What kind of challenges do archives created through independent initiatives face in terms of infrastructure, autonomy, access and futures? On Thursday, November 29, 2012, the Centre for Internet and Society and HasGeek present a Q&A session with Dr. C S Lakshmi, founder of SPARROW in Mumbai.

Set up in 1988 as a trust, SPARROW is a repository of narratives, diaries and documentation of women's stories, struggles, movements and trajectories. This session is an attempt to understand the process of building archives and who has access to these archives. How is sensitive information — gender, in this case — interpreted and reproduced from SPARROW archives? What kind of challenges does SPARROW face in terms of infrastructure and sustenance?

C. S. Lakshmi

C. S. Lakshmi (Ambai), born in 1944 in Tamil Nadu, is a distinguished fiction writer in Tamil. Her works are characterized by her passionate espousal of the cause of women, humor, a lucid and profound style, and a touch of realism. She is one of the most important Tamil writers today. She is the only Tamil writer to have been included in the recently published Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature edited by Amit Chaudhuri. Most of her stories are about relationships and they contain brilliant observations about contemporary life. Exploration of space, silence, coming to terms with one's body or sexuality, and the importance of communication are some of the recurring themes in her works.

A Doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University in the 1970's, she is presently the Director of Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women (SPARROW) in Mumbai. She is a recipient of Narayanaswamy Aiyar Prize for her fiction. Among her works are Sirakukal muriyum, Vittin mulaiyil oru camaiyalarai and The Face behind the mask : Women in Tamil literature. Many of her stories have been translated into English. The Library of Congress holds five of her writings in its collection.

This discussion is hosted as part of the Online Open Access Debates week, and HasGeek's IDRC project on "Examination of Open Data Initiatives in India".

VIDEO <embed type="application/x-shockwave- <iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYOK0HwA.html?p=1" width="250" height="510" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYOK0HwA" style="display:none"></embed>

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/autonomy-access-infrastructure-future-a-discussion-with-cs-lakshmi-on-sparrow-archive

Art in the Open Source Age — A Talk by Gene Kogan

praskrishna — 2012-12-13T06:06:34Z

The Centre for Internet and Society is hosting a talk by Gene Kogan, a programmer and digital artist, at its office in Bangalore on November 30th, 2012, from 5.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m.

Talk Summary

The open source movement has challenged longstanding assumptions about art practice. Communities of programmers and makers have collaborated online to create mature software development kits such as Processing and OpenFrameworks, as well as websites like Instructables.com where users can document and share their process. The rapid digitization of the blueprints for creative projects have greatly lowered the barrier to getting started.

These new tools and practices have greatly influenced the workflows that artists, designers, and technologists operate with, and have upended traditional notions of authorship and copyright. Techniques manipulating existing digital content have inspired much debate over legitimacy and authenticity. This talk will critically examine this new outlook and attempt to resolve some practical issues.

Gene Kogan

Gene Kogan is an American artist and programmer currently based out of Bangalore. He is interested in performance art, generative systems, and machine learning. He writes free software for negotiating high dimensional spaces to discover the unexpected and serendipitous. He is currently based out of Bangalore.

His work can be seen on his website at www.genekogan.com. You can also follow him on twitter at @genekogan.

VIDOE

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/art-in-the-open-source-age

Digital Natives with a Cause? - Workshop in Santiago FAQs

tettner — 2015-05-15T11:46:01Z

The third and final workshop of the Digital Natives with a Cause? research project will take place in Santiago, Chile, from 8 to 10 February 2011. Below are some frequently asked questions.

The Open call for participation can be found here

1.When and where is the workshop going to be held?
The workshop will take place over three days from 8 to 10 February 2011, in Santiago, Chile.

2. Who should apply?
The organizers,Rising Voices, Hivos and the Centre for Internet and Society are interested in hearing from young people, who utilize digital technologies to create social change in their societies or social circles.
Further, the regional focus of the workshop is on Latin America and The Caribbean, hence, only those citizens or those in that setting should apply. The event is not public in nature, only those who fit the criteria and are selected will be invited to participate. However, there might be a larger public event associated with the workshop.

3. How can I apply?
You can fill an online application. Alternatively, you can email digitalnatives@cis-india.org and ask for an email application.

4. What is Digital Natives with a Cause?
"Digital Natives with a Cause?" is an international, collaborative research project which aims to increase the current understanding of Digital Natives (there is not one single definition, that’s why we’re doing this project! – but it could be understood as people who interact naturally with digital technologies) and their role in their particular societies.

5. What are the objectives of Digital Natives with a Cause? How does this workshop fit in?
"Digital Natives with a Cause?" aims to incorporate a first-person narrative of the use of technology by youth for social change into the ongoing dialogue. To do this, several case studies of varying cultural backgrounds and diverse methodologies will be compiled into a book. The case studies will be the result of three-day workshop conducted across the developing world. Last summer the Asian workshop happened in Taipei, Taiwan, and last fall the African workshop happened in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"Digital Natives with a Cause?" also aims to incorporate the participants into a broad network of Digital Natives from around the world, with similar methodology and approach. Through this network, Digital Natives will be able to express concerns, share resources, stay connected with peers and learn from each other.
You can read a report on "Digital Natives with a Cause?" here.

6. OK, so what can I expect from this workshop?
You can expect an informal setting where interactive methods of communication help you gain a better understanding of the context of your project. For example, you will get to meet and interact with the participants of the previous workshop in Taipei and Johannesburg. You can expect to reflect about your project: Your motivation, methodology, focus, and context, to name a few, and to draw parallels into other projects in the region. You can expect to interact with a varied and diverse group of young people from around Latin America and the Caribbean who like you, use technology for social causes. Overall, you can expect to gain a new perspective about yourself, and the importance of your work.

7. Will I learn any new skills in this workshop?
The short answer is no. The "Digital Natives with a Cause?" project does not aim to train or to build existing capacities among youth users of technology. That said, you will definitely gain a lot of perspective on your individual project and you will learn how it relates to ongoing development processes in the region. You will also meet, interact and hopefully befriend other young users of technology like yourself, enlarging your scope and enriching your experience.

8. Are there any language requirements?
Yes. Even though the communication during the workshop will take place both in Spanish and English, we really need the participants to have at least a working proficiency of English to be able to interact both with the organizers who come from India and the Netherlands, as well as with the participants from other workshops, thus fully contribute to the project.

9. Will expenses be covered?
Yes. Expenses associated with the workshop (travel and accommodation) will be provided for those selected participants.

10. When is the last date to apply?
The last day to apply is Tuesday, 4 January 2010.

11 Where can I get more information?
Do check out www.digitalnatives.in for more information, and please email digitalnatives@cis-india.org for questions and concerns. We would be pleased to answer them.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago

Digital Natives with a Cause?— Workshop in South Africa—FAQs

tettner — 2015-05-15T11:35:11Z

The second international Digital Natives Workshop "My Bubble, My Space, My Voice" will be held in Johannesburg from 7 to 9 November 2010. Some frequently asked questions regarding the upcoming workshop are answered in this blog entry.

1. When and where is the workshop going to be held?

The workshop will take place over three days from 7 to 9 November 2010, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

2. Who should apply?

The organizers, The African Commons Project, Hivos and the Centre for Internet and Society are interested in hearing from young people, who utilize digital technologies to create social change in their societies or social circles.

Further, the regional focus of the workshop is on Africa, hence, only African citizens or those in an African setting should apply.

3. How can I apply?

You can fill an online application. Alternatively, you can email digitalnatives@cis-india.org and ask for an email application.

4. What is Digital Natives with a Cause?

"Digital Natives with a Cause?" is an international, collaborative research project which aims to increase the current understanding of Digital Natives (there is not one single definition, that’s why we’re doing this project! – but it could be understood as people who interact naturally with digital technologies) and their role in their particular societies.

5. What are the objectives of Digital Natives with a Cause? How does this workshop fit in?

"Digital Natives with a Cause?" aims to incorporate a first-person narrative of the use of technology by youth for social change into the ongoing dialogue. To do this, several case studies of varying cultural backgrounds and diverse methodologies will be compiled into a book. The case studies will be the result of three-day workshop conducted across the developing world. Last summer the Asian workshop happened in Taiwan. Next spring the South American workshop will take place in Chile.

"Digital Natives with a Cause?" also aims to incorporate the participants into a broad network of Digital Natives from around the world, with similar methodology and approach. Through this network, Digital Natives will be able to express concerns, share resources, stay connected with peers and learn from each other.

You can read a report on "Digital Natives with a Cause?" here.

6. OK, so what can I expect from this workshop?

You can expect an informal setting where interactive methods of communication help you gain a better understanding of the context of your project. For example, you will get to meet and interact with the participants of the previous workshop in Taipei. You can expect to reflect about your project: Your motivation, methodology, focus, and context, to name a few, and to draw parallels into other projects in the region. You can expect to interact with a varied and diverse group of young people from around Africa, who like you, use technology for social causes. Overall, you can expect to gain a new perspective about yourself, and the importance of your work.

7. Will I learn any new skills in this workshop?

The short answer is no. The "Digital Natives with a Cause?" project does not aim to train or to build existing capacities among youth users of technology. That said, you will definitely gain a lot of perspective on your individual project and you will learn how it relates to ongoing development processes in the region. You will also meet, interact and hopefully befriend other young users of technology like yourself, enlarging your scope and enriching your experience.

8. Will expenses be covered?

Yes. Expenses associated with the workshop (travel and accommodation) will be provided for selected participants.

9. When is the last date to apply?

The last day to apply is Tuesday, 12 October 2010.

10. Where can I get more information?

Do check out www.digitalnatives.in for more information, and please email digitalnatives@cis-india.org for questions and concerns.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-workshop-faqs

Public Event: Exploring Maps for Making Change

anja — 2015-10-24T14:19:32Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, in collaboration with Tactical Tech, would like to invite you to 'A Conversation on Maps for Making Change - Using Geographical Mapping Techniques to Support Struggles for Social Justice in India', at the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore.

When a migrant labourer draws a map of India, what does it look like? Can maps prove a correlation between corporate investment and Operation Green Hunt in Chhattisgarh?

For the past five months, twenty five activists, researchers, artists and techies have explored together, as part of the Maps for Making Change project, the potential of geographical mapping techniques to support struggles for social justice in India. As Maps for Making Change comes to an end, they would like to share with you their journey, their thoughts and their work, and to enter into a conversation with a much wider group of people about the potential and challenges of mapping for social justice now that new technologies can in theory be mobilised to fight for social justice by anyone with an interest in maps, but in practice remain confined to the hands of a privileged few.

Join us:

from 4 pm onwards, for an exhibition that allows you to explore the work of Maps for Making Change participants through installations, websites, conversations, information, video, ... and maps.

from 5 pm to 5.30 pm, for refreshments.

from 5.30 pm onwards, for a panel discusion which our panelists will kick off by sharing some of their own reflections and comments on mapping for social justice, to open up the conversation to a much broader discussion with all those present in the audience.

Panelists:

Reuben Jacob, Inclusive Planet

Shakun Mohini, Vimochana

Shubhranshu Choudhary, Knight International Journalism Fellow and Community Media Activist

For more information, please contact Anja Kovacs, Centre for Internet and Society: 98 11 74 72 12, anja@cis-india.org. Or check out the Maps for Making Change wiki: maps4change.cis-india.org.

Looking forward to seeing you at CIS on 28 April!

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/public-event-exploring-maps-for-making-change

Third Maps for Making Change Workshop: Using Geographical Mapping Techniques to Support Struggles for Social Justice in India

anja — 2015-10-05T15:10:23Z

The third and final workshop in the Maps for Making Change project will take place at Visthar, in Bangalore, from 26 until 28 April. During this workshop, participants will fine-tune and polish their maps; explore ways to connect with broader movements and disseminate their maps among target audiences; and reflect on their own experiences so as to distill learnings that can help us decide where to go from here. While participation in the workshop is closed, the workshop will end with a public event at the CIS office on 28 April, from 4 pm onwards, open to everybody (more information to follow soon). If you, too, share our interest in mapping for social change, then do join us there.

The aims of the workshop are to:

give participants an opportunity to fine-tune and polish their maps, with the assistance of others where needed, so that they can be shared with a wider audience;
explore campaigning tools and strategies for disseminating the maps produced among target audiences, including other movements and activists;
distill the learnings participants have made from this project, both individually and as a group, and prepare a plan to build upon these in the future.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

make informed decisions about every step of the design and implementation process of a mapping project.

Also, participants and organisers will be able to:

identify the political and ethical challenges of mapping, in particular as they apply for social justice in India;
understand better the particularities of online activism and ways in which it can connect better with activism on the ground in the country;
apply their knowledge of mapping to other campaigns and movements in India and function as a point of contact for other activists for a network of activists using maps for making change.

The preliminary schedule of the workshop is as follows:

Monday 26 April

Time	Session
9.00-10.00	Registration at Visthar
10.00-11.00	Welcome and introductions (icebreaker)
11.00-1.00	90 Seconds: Where are we with our projects (and what do we need to achieve during this workshop)?
1.00-2.00	Lunch
2.00-3.30	Building partnerships between techies and activists: what is required? (debate and discussion)
3.30-3.45	Tea/coffee Break
3.45-5.00	Project time as per participants' needs (which can relate to technical issues, design, hosting, ...)
5.00-6.15	Afternoon 'Lab' Sessions (CHOOSE ONE): Elective 1. Hosting and creating websites and embedding maps Elective 2. Technology and Security Concerns for Activists
6.15-6.30	Evening Circle
6.30-7.30	Free Time
7.30-8.30	Dinner
8.30-10.00	Screening of Swagat Sen's film on the second workshop and social gathering

Tuesday 27 April

Time	Session
8.00-9.00	Breakfast
9.00-9.30	Morning Circle
9.30-11.00	Maps as agents of change – uses and challenges (including in terms of how to connect with movements on the ground)
11.00-11.30	Tea/coffee Break
11.30-1.00	Communication and campaigning strategies to take mapping outcomes forward to broader audience, both online and offline (poss. Incl. Use of creative media)
1.00-2.15	Lunch
2.15-4.00	Project time as per participants needs
4.00-4.30	Tea/coffee break
4.30-5.15	Evaluating Maps for Making Change
5.15-6.15	What next?
6.15-6.30	Evening Circle
6.30-7.30	Free Time
7.30-8.30	Dinner
8.30-...	Social evening

Wednesday 28 April

Time	Session
8.00 – 9.00	Breakfast
9.00 – 9.30	Morning Circle
9.30-12.30	Finalise preparations for public event (project work or other, eg slides on loop etc)
10.30-11.00	Tea/coffee Break
11.00-12.30	Finalise preparations for public event (cont.)
12.30-1.30	Lunch
1.30-2.00	Travel to CIS
2.00-4.00	Set up the public event
4.00-7.30	Public event (with a discussion from 5.30 onwards)
7.30-9.00	Dinner (venue to be decided) + workshop evaluation
9.00-9.30	Return to Visthar
9.30-...	Great-working-with-you-guys Party at Visthar

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/third-maps-for-making-change-workshop

Second Maps for Making Change Workshop: Using Geographical Mapping Techniques to Support Struggles for Social Justice in India

anja — 2015-10-05T15:09:51Z

The second workshop of the Maps for Making Change project will take place at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, from 1 until 3 February 2010. The workshop will allow a select group of activists and supporters of social movements and campaigns in India to start developing digital maps that they can use in their advocacy work, under the expert guidance of international digital mapping rights activists, Indian mapping experts, design professionals and techies with an interest in activism. The workshop is organised by the Centre for Internet and Society and Tactical Tech, in cooperation with MediaShala at NID.

The aims of the workshop are to:

explore in depth tools and techniques for mapping
assist participants in starting to develop their own maps in the context of the projects that they have suggested
help participants identify important design concerns and elements of their project that require attention at an early stage if they are to communicate effectively

By the end of the workshop, the participants will be able to:

identify which mapping tools best suit their project
identify additional data required to complete their mapping project
make informed choices about issues relating to privacy, licensing, etc
independently continue to develop their own maps using the tools they have explored during the workshop
apply core concerns of information design to their mapping project to maximise its effectiveness and impact

The provisional programme of the workshop is as follows:

Monday 1 February

Time	Session
8.00–10.00	Breakfast and registration at NID
10.00–10.45	Welcome and introductions (icebreaker) - Anja Kovacs & Kate Morioka
10.45–11.30	Opening plenary - Lars Bromley: “Mapping the truth: how geo-technologies are uncovering human rights violations and injustice”
11.30 – 1.00	Morning Session - MediaShala team: “Information Design: the art of making campaigning messages visually compelling”
1.00 – 2.15	Lunch
2.15 – 3.15	Project Time - All: revising project scope based on morning sessions (audience, purpose, objectives)
3.15 – 4.30	Afternoon 'Lab' Sessions (choose ONE) Elective 1. Using Google Maps for Social Activism - Henry Addo Elective 2. Mapping with Open Layers- Alagesa Pandian
4.30 – 5.00	Break
5.00 – 6.15	Elective 1. Advanced GIS- Lars Bromley Elective 2. GPS Basics - Hardeep Singh Rai, with Arky and Sajjad
6.15-6.30	Evening Circle - Anja Kovacs
6.30 – 7.30	Free Time / Knowledge Sharing @ Speakers' Green
7.30 – 9.00 (open invite)	Film screening: “10 Tactics: Turning Information into Action” - Kate Morioka. This film produced by Tactical Tech explores how rights advocates around the world have used information and digital technologies to create change.
9.00 – 10.00	Dinner

Tuesday 2 February

Time

Session

7.30 – 9.00

Breakfast (Hotel)

9.00-9.30

Morning Circle - Anja Kovacs

9.30 – 11.30

Guest Speakers

“The experiences of Ushahidi” - Henry Addo

“An Introduction to Open Street Maps for Activism” - Mikel Maron (online)

11.30 – 1.00

Participatory mapping process and techniques - Kate Morioka

1.00 – 2.15

Lunch

2.15 – 4.00

Project Time - All:

identifying methodology and technical implementation of participants' mapping projects

4.00 – 5.00

Break/ Knowledge Sharing @ Speakers' Green

5.00-6.15

Elective 1. Google Earth for Advocacy - Henry Addo

Elective 2. An Introduction to Open Street Maps - Hardeep Singh Rai

6.15-6.30

Evening Circle - Anja Kovacs

6.30 – 7.30

Free time

7.30 – 9.00

Exploring the Ahmedabad Markets

9.00 – 10.30

Dinner at Vishala

Wednesday 3 February

Time

Session

7.30 – 9.00

Breakfast (Hotel)

9.00-9.30

Morning Circle - Anja Kovacs

9.30 – 11.15

Panel Discussion

“To Map or Not to Map: Issues of privacy, licensing and other rights-related concerns”

Followed by a group discussion

11.15 – 11.45

Break

11.45 – 1.00

Introduction to GIS and remote sensing for human rights advocacy - Lars Bromley

1.00 – 2.15

Lunch

2.15 – 3.45

Project Time - All

time to work on individual projects and obtain feedback from fellow participants and facilitators

3.45-4.15

Break

4.15 – 4.45

Closing Plenary - Pratyush Shankar

“Reflection”

4.45 – 5.30

Evaluation - Madhuresh Kumar

Briefing on the next workshop - Anja Kovacs

Close - Anja Kovacs and Kate Morioka

Assistant Facilitators: Arky Ambati and Sajjad Anwar

Technical Assistance: Kiran (Jace) Jonnalagadda

VIDEO

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/second-maps-for-making-change-workshop-using-geographical-mapping-techniques-to-support-struggles-for-social-justice-in-india