Centre for Internet and Society

A Seminar on E-publishing of Odia Books

praskrishna — 2014-12-07T02:41:26Z

A seminar was organized by Molybtech Technology Solutions on November 30, 2014 for the betterment of Odia language and writers at Bhanja Kala Mandap.

Subhashish Panigrahi participated in the seminar as a speaker and shared his knowledge with the audience.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/seminar-e-publishing-odia-books

Odia books now available online

praskrishna — 2014-12-27T02:16:19Z

Book lovers can now read Odia books online with the launching of the Odia Wikisource, a sister project of Odia Wikipedia, here on Friday.

The article was published in the Pioneer on November 30, 2014

The Odia Wikimedia community, a volunteer community that contributes to Odia Wikipedia and its sister projects, in collaboration with the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) formally launched the facility.

Odia Wikisource houses scores of Odia language books online and is available for free at https://or.wikisource.org. It is not just an online library but it focuses on bringing rare and old books that are out of copyright. Notably, the CIS-A2K, a domain of the CIS, has been instrumental in encouraging many notable authors in the State to change their license terms to Creative Commons Share-Alike (CC-by-SA) license, a license that allows public access and ability to reuse the content to expand the knowledge base in Odia language on internet.

Besides, a discussion on setting of a roadmap for Odia book digitization was held on the occasion. Later, a documentary on ‘Odia: Silalekharu Mobile’ was screened followed by an award ceremony.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-pioneer-november-30-2014-odia-books-now-available-online

Odia Wikisource launched in Odisha capital

praskrishna — 2014-12-07T02:53:32Z

After the success of Odia Wikipedia, it is now the turn of Odia Wikisource to bring the best of Odia literature to the people of Odisha in the language they speak.

The article was published in Odisha Sun Times on November 28, 2014.

Having gone through a rigorous assessment process by the Wikimedia language committee and Wikimedia Foundation’s board before being released last month, the Odia Wikisource was formally launched at Jayadev Bhawan on Friday.

Launching the Odia Wikisource, eminent linguist Padhma Shree Dr Debiprasanna

Pattanayak emphasized the importance of such a project in Odia language to make the best of Odia writing available on computer, mobile and tablet to ensure that youngsters take interest in Odia.

“e-books are the key to take Odia to the masses, especially those who are outside Odisha and have no access to libraries,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Editor of leading Odia daily ‘Sambad’ said; “Internet should be treated as a friend of our language rather than as an enemy.”

He announced the relicensing of 19 books published by Ama Odisha under a Creative Commons Share Alike license that will be digitized on Wikisource.

Patnaik evinced keen interest in collaborating with the Odia Wikimedia community in the future for such language and cultural work.

Presiding over the function, noted poet and thinker Dr Haraprasad Das advised the youth for filling the gaps in the Odia language using internet.

“Odia Wikisource is connecting me with my roots, my language and culture”, said Pankajbala Sarangi, who has made the highest of 1200 edits on Odia Wikisource.

The credit for the most extensive work on Odia book digitization, however, goes to Bhubaneswar based non-profit Srujanika that digitized about 740 books.

Started two years ago as an incubator project, the Odia Wikisource is now live on the internet at or.wikisource.org.

The project now houses many precious books including writings of noted authors like Fakir Mohan Senapati, Upendra Bhanj and the entire Odia Bhagabata.

It includes most periodicals that were published between1850-1950. Odia Wikisource will further this work by going one step ahead in digitizing books in the form of text in Unicode so that they appear in a search engine search in Odia language.

It allows readers to read books from computers, mobiles and tablets, even permitting them to print and use the content elsewhere. These books are way lighter than the scanned books. This is making a way for audio books.

Books for which copyright has lapsed and many rare books could be digitized and preserved for the future.

Apart from old and valuable books, books by renowned and contemporary authors like Padma Shree Debiprasanna Pattanayak, Ramakrushna Nanda, Dr Jagannath Mohanty, Dr Subrat Prusty, Bharat Majhi and Nirmala Kumari Mohapata, and many other authors have been taken by the Odia Wikisource team to digitize.

In collaboration with Wikimedians from Bhubaneswar, Bangalore based non-profit Centre for Internet and Society’s Access To Knowledge program was instrumental in training the faculty of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). “50 students from KISS have digitized 4 books and are continuing to contribute more”, says Preetinanda Roy.

Wikimedians also converted Odia Bhagabata to Unicode by using the source text from Odia.org. “We are aiming to bring more rare books and manuscripts in Odia in the near future,” said Odia Wikimedian Mrutyunjaya Kar.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/odisha-sun-times-november-28-2014-odia-wikisource-launched-in-odisha-capital

‘Tulu Wikipedia’ in incubation stage, 600 articles uploaded, says U.B. Pavanaja

praskrishna — 2014-12-07T03:21:11Z

In all, 600 articles have been uploaded to the Tulu Wikipedia which is still in its incubation stage, according to U.B. Pavanaja, Wikipedia representative and Programme Officer, The Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru.

The article by Ravi Prasad Kamila was published in the Hindu on November 26, 2014. Dr. U.B.Pavanaja gave his inputs.

Speaking at a workshop on writing articles in Tulu, using Kannada script, for Wikipedia at Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management here on Wednesday, he said that since 2007 till this January there were 135 Tulu articles. The remaining 465 articles were added in the last over nine months.

Workshops on writing articles in Tulu for Wikipedia organised in Udupi and Mangaluru had helped in adding more articles.

Mr. Pavananja, originally hailing from Sullia in Dakshina Kannada, said that if Tulu Wikipedia was to be kept alive at least 50 to 60 articles would have to be uploaded a month and it required at least 10 dedicated writers.

If one wants to write articles in Tulu, he or she would have to log on to bilty.com/tuluwiki and later register there like registering while creating a new e-mail id. Later one can write, edit or read articles written in Tulu using Kannada script.

Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy had organised the workshop as a prelude to the three-day ‘Vishwa Tuluvere Parba’ (Global Tulu Festival) scheduled at the college from December 12.

President of the academy M. Janaki Brahmavar requested the participants to write articles about Tulu language and culture and about the coming festival and upload.

One can contact Mr. Pavanaja through pavanaja@gmail.com.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-hindu-november-26-2014-ravi-prasad-kamila-tulu-wikipedia-in-incubation-stage

Nineteen Books Published by Ama Odisha Relicensed under CC-by-SA 4.0

subha — 2014-12-07T03:35:46Z

Odisha's most circulated newspaper Sambad has collaborated with CIS-A2K to relicense 19 books published by its sister concern "Ama Odisha".

These books consists of books starting from biographies of notable personalities to historical research. Yesterday Sambad's chairman-editor Soumya Ranjan Patnaik signed a copyright migration document to help the Odia Wikisource community to enrich the project. In an interview to me he expresses, "technology should be used as a tool to take our language to masses". Mr Patnaik is joining "Odia Wikisource Sabha 2014", a launching event of Odia Wikisource co-organized by Odia Wikimedia community and CIS-A2K on November 28, as chief guest.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/nineteen-books-by-ama-odisha-relicensed

ಭಾಷಣದಿಂದ ಭಾಷೆ ಉಳಿಯಲ್ಲ, ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೇ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸಿಗುವುದು ಅಗತ್ಯ: ಪವನಜ

praskrishna — 2014-12-06T02:30:29Z

Media coverage of Kannada Wikipedia presentation at Mysuru on November 23, 2014.

The article was published in Just Kannada on November 23, 2014.

ಮೈಸೂರು, ನ.23 : ಧ್ವಜ ಹಾರಿಸಿ ಭಾಷಣ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆ ಉಳಿಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಬದಲಿಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡಲ್ಲೇ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಳು ಸಿಗುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಅಗತ್ಯವಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಗಳು, ಸಮಾಜ ಮತ್ತು ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಾಪಕ ಡಾ.ಯು.ಬಿ.ಪವನಜ ತಿಳಿಸಿದರು.

ವಿಸ್ಮಯ ಫೌಂಡೇಶನ್ ಭಾನುವಾರ ಕುವೆಂಪುನಗರದ ಉದಯರವಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕಲಾಸುರುಚಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಯೋಜಿಸಿದ್ದ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ `ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪಿಡಿಯ: ಒಂದು ಪರಿಚಯ’ ಕುರಿತು ಮಾತನಾಡಿದರು.
ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿನಾಶದ ಹಾದಿಯತ್ತ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಇಂದು ಕೇವಲ ಕಥೆ, ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕನ್ನಡ ಉಳಿಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯದಂತಹ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ, ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ದಿನಾಚರಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಧ್ವಜ ಹಾರಿಸಿ, ಭಾಷಣ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಉಳಿಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಳು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೇ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂದರು. ದೇಶ-ವಿದೇಶಗಳ ಭಾಷೆ, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿದು ಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಕನ್ನಡ ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಾಗಿ ಹುಡುಕಾಟ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹುಡುಕುವ ಮುನ್ನವೇ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಒದಗಿಸಿದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಉಳಿಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಸಿದರು.

ಭಾರತೀಯ ವಿಕಿಪಿಡಿಯದಲ್ಲಿ 20ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಭಾಷೆಗಳಿವೆ. ತಿಂಗಳಿಗೆ 50 ಕೋಟಿ ಹೊಸ ವೀಕ್ಷಕರು ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಏಳು ಸಾವಿರ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಇದೇ ಮಾದರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಜೂ.2003ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪಿಡಿಯ ಆರಂಭಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದು, ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಇಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೆ 18 ಸಾವಿರ ಲೇಖನಗಳು, 622 ಸಂಪಾದಕರು ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ 22 ಮಂದಿ ಸಕ್ರಿಯ ಸಂಪಾದಕರು ಹಾಗೂ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಮಂದಿ ಅತಿ ಸಕ್ರಿಯ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ತಿಂಗಳಿಗೆ 18.50 ಲಕ್ಷ ಜನ ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪಿಡಿಯ ಪುಟ ವೀಕ್ಷಣೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನೀಡಿದರು.

ನಾವಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಮಂದಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ(ವಿಕಿಪಿಡಿಯ, ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲ)ಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊಂದಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಲಿಯುವವರಿಗೆ, ಭಾಷಾಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಹುಡುಕುವವರಿಗೆ ವಿಕಿಪಿಡಿಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಜನರಿಂದ ಜನರಿಗಾಗಿ ಜನರೇ ನಡೆಸುವ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶಕ್ಕೆ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಅಳವಡಿಕೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು ಎಂದ ಅವರು, ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ಸಂಸ್ಕಾರಗಳನ್ನು ಅನ್ಯರಿಗೂ ಪರಿಚಯಿಸುವ ನಿಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯವನ್ನು ಬಳಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ ಎಂದು ಸಲಹೆ ನೀಡಿದರು.

ಮೈಸೂರು ವಿವಿ ಕುವೆಂಪು ಕನ್ನಡ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕ ಪ್ರೊ.ಆರ್ವಿಯಸ್ ಸುಂದರಂ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ, ಒಂದು ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷವೂ ಎಡಬಿಡದೆ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ, ಕಲಿಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಭಾಷೆ ಕನ್ನಡ. ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆಗೆ ತನ್ನದೇ ಆದ ಇತಿಹಾಸ, ಪರಂಪರೆ ಇದೆ. ಒಂದೊಂದು ಶತಮಾನದವರೆಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಅವಿಚ್ಛಿನ್ನವಾಗಿ ಇದೆ. ಇಂತಹ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಚಾರ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಆಯಾಯ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆಸಿರುವವರು ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಲಿತುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡಿದರು.

ಮೈಸೂರು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯ ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶ ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಾಹಕ ಸಂಪಾದಕ ಡಾ.ಹಾ.ತಿ.ಕೃಷ್ಣೇಗೌಡ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷತೆ ವಹಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ವಿಸ್ಮಯ ಫೌಂಡೇಶನ್ ಸಂಸ್ಥಾಪಕ ಸೋಮಶೇಖರ್ ಇದ್ದರು.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/just-kannada-november-23-2014-kannada-wikipedia-presentation-coverage

Technology and Gender Based Violence

praskrishna — 2014-12-09T16:32:34Z

Rohini Lakshane was a speaker at this event organized by the Bachchao Project on November 24, 2014. Rohini spoke about various strategies that women use to respond to online harassment, such as reporting the abuser, and enlisting support from online followers, or friends or family in order to deal with the abuser.

Click to download the event report (PDF).

Date : 25/11/2014
Time : 6:15pm to 8:15 pm
No. of attendees : 14 ppl
Organisations Involved: The Bachchao Project , CIS , Amnesty International , Breakthrough , Take Back the Tech.Venue : Center for Internet and Society , Domlur

The Bachchao Project is a community effort to build Open Source Technologies with the following aims :

1. Personal Safety with focus on women.

2. Empowering prevention of Gender Based Violence.

3. Enabling fight against Gender Based Violence.

On 25th November we honored the UN’s “ End Violence against Women” day by conducting an event where we invited various NGOs and experts to come join us in our effort by :

1. showcasing how technology has been used to fight gender based violence

2. talk about how technology has added more mediums for gender based violence

3. And discuss how we could make better solutions to fight .

Talks given :

A show case of The Bachchao Project initiatives :

Speakers : Chinmayi S K , Ankitha Herurkar and Yogesh Londhe.

The Bachchao Project talked about their applications : ( thebachchaoproject.org)

Bachchao - A distress application used to send SOS msgs and record evidence in case of a distress
Pehara - A community monitoring system. Which sends distress and alert information in case of any distress reported by anyone in the community to friend , family and the police
i-rode : An Application used to rate public transit and display the safety of a public transit.
Gender Sensitivity of public space : an initiative to provide an interface to rate gender sensitivites of public spaces based on certain questions.
readytoreport.in, an initiative by Amnesty International :

Speaker : Gopika Bashi

Gopika Bashi from Amnesty International spoke about their effort to educate and encourage women to file an FIR when an incident occurs to them . readytoreport.in is a website which educates about all the legal option and the rights of a abused .It also provide answers to their minor questions.

How Breakthrough is using technology to solve problems :

Speaker : Manoj M

Manoj spoke about two of the many initiatives breakthrough has undertaken .

Board the Bus Campaign : This was a gamification solution used by breakthrough to encourage using public transport by women. Where in for every action the woman takes they were given some points which could be

converted into incentives.

Trainer App : This was used to interact with the various trainer at breakthrough who conduct sexual harassment seminars in various States of the country.

Online Harassment in the Indian context :

Speakers :(Rohini Lakshane and Chinmayi S K )

The speakers talked about various forms of Online Harassment . They spoke about the various contextual forms of Harassment in india because of the cultural practices . That included not understanding consent and not understanding the online spaces are an extension of Physical spaces.

Rohini spoke about various strategies that women use to respond to online harassment, such as reporting the abuser, and enlisting support from online followers, or friends or family in order to deal with the abuser. Very few women take legal recourse due to lack of faith in the law, or the time-consuming, emotionally taxing and financially draining nature of legal processes, or negative experiences with law enforcement and the police. Rohini also spoke about how laws don’t necessarily take into account the consent of women and that there are grey areas where it is difficult to distinguish between sexual expression, obscenity and pornography using the existing legal framework in India.

Chinmayi also spoke about take back the tech and how it is fighting online harassment.

Discussion Takeaways :

Panelists :

Ushashri TS - MD , Manhattan Associates , India

Gopika Bashi -Women's Rights Researcher & Campaigner at Amnesty International India

Rohini Lakshane - Researcher at the Centre for Internet and Society

Manoj M - Media and technology Consultant at breakthrough

“one plug fits all” - might not be a adage that might not be applicable for technology solutions in gender based violence
Response of the application or the device needs to be time bound depending upon the application need not be real time always
Application for crisis should be time bound , should consider the limitations like battery and should provide as much accuracy in terms of location.
Technology should take into consideration environments ( rural vs urban) , Cultural tendencies and interactions .
Applications needs to simple to use to make it universal
Validation should be an important part of the technology since there is a chance of a lot of garbage data .
Attitudinal changes will support the usage of technology in a proper way esp in a country like India .
Similar apps for the same purpose without seriously considering the quality of service and sustainability can be harmful .
Everything cannot be an application .
Technology needs acts like a service provider in solving the issues.
There is need and use of technology in counselling and education.
Some technologies should not be done like online FIR since then the authorities might shy away from responsibilities. But some people might have a need for such technologies hence the implementation and validation must be thought through. Also the police would not welcome digital avenues to file FIRs. This is because they try to gauge if the complaint is false by speaking with a complainant who pays a visit to the police station. This is their way of weeding out false and frivolous complaints, and sometimes of thwarting genuine complaints because more FIRs mean more work for the police. They lose this option when FIRs are submitted through digital channels.

Harass Map Egypt is an good example of how technological projects should be implemented with 1000 volunteers working on ground tirelessly to ensure the repeated mapping and stopping of street harassment.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/technology-gender-based-violence

Now, Tulu set to be promoted through Wikipedia articles

praskrishna — 2014-12-06T01:23:43Z

With the dream of including Tulu in the list of official languages of the country (eighth schedule of the Constitution) remaining far from being realised, enthusiasts seem to be keen to promote the language through Wikipedia.

The article by Govind D. Belgaumkar was published in the Hindu on November 24, 2014.

Beginning on Wednesday, a three-day convention at Sahyadri College will ideate to find means to achieve this goal with the Karnataka Tulu Academy leading the initiative.

The convention will focus on writing Wikipedia articles in Tulu.

Nearly 30 students, mostly from Canara College and some from Aloysius College, and some teachers from Bantwal have registered for the event.

The plan is to ensure that about 25-30 people keep writing in Tulu on Wikipedia.

Some students from the Government Girls PU College in Udupi had already been contributing articles in Tulu, according to the academy’s registrar Chandrahas Rai.

He hoped that the activity would help to pressure authorities to include Tulu in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

The convention comes ahead of the mega Tulu event – Tuluvere Parba planned in December – and it is hoped that it would awaken the Tulu spirit among the people of the region.

The resource person will be Wikipedia representative and Bengaluru-based Programme Manger, Indian Languages, The Centre for Internet and Society Sri Pavanaja U.B..

Mr. Rai said the articles need to be written regularly to keep the language alive on the platform otherwise it would be notified as inactive.

The convention will be inaugurated by Shivaram Shetty, professor in Mangalore University’s SVP Kannada Study Centre.

President of the academy Janaki Brahmabar, president of Bantwal Tulukuta A.C. Bhandary and Tuluvere Parba’s chief convenor Kadri Navaneet Shetty will be present.

Others who are expected to take part include Mangaluru Tulukuta President Damodar Nisarga, General Secretary of Tuluvere Parba Nitte Shashidhar Shetty.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-hindu-november-24-2014-govind-d-belgaumkar-now-tulu-set-to-be-promoted-through-wikipedia-articles

Kannada Wikipedia Presentation in Mysuru: Coverage in Prajavani

praskrishna — 2014-12-06T02:40:17Z

Media coverage of Kannada Wikipedia presentation at Mysuru on November 23, 2014.

Scanned version of the report published by Prajavani on November 24, 2014

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/prajavani-november-24-2014-kannada-wikipedia-presentation-in-mysuru

Teaching in the Age of Wikipedia

vishnu — 2014-12-28T04:04:47Z

This course is conceived by CIS-A2K. It is currently envisaged as an add-on Certificate Course jointly offered by CIS-A2K and the Nirmala Institute of Education (NIE)-a premier teacher training establishment in Goa, India.

Read the original on Wikipedia page here.

Problem Statement

In India and in other developing countries a lot of emphasis is being laid of late on the use of ICT for improvement of literacy and education.

Massive efforts are afoot by the Government of India, provincial governments within each state, civil society organizations and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to include ICT (especially digital technology and the internet) into the teaching learning process. Most of these approaches are techno-utopian and think that giving a tablet to a child will automatically transform the learning environment.

Thus, substantial focus is on either technology or digital content creation (lesson plans, etc.) and almost singularly focussed on the student. There is very little done to empower or train the teachers on how to use digital technology in the classroom. When teachers are not equipped to deal with a digital classroom, use of digital technology is not optimised.

There are instances where the students were given free laptops or tablets by the government and the teachers banned their use in the classroom. Is the average Indian teacher equipped to handle a class of students who are always gazing at their screens?

How will an average Indian teacher approach a class with access to Wikipedia? Do we need to re-imagine the classroom? If yes, how? Consequently, do we need to re-imagine the role of the teacher in the age of Wikipedia?

How does this course attempt to address this problem?

This course is a small step in the direction of empowering the teacher trainees (mostly digital immigrants) to get a grasp on how the digital and internet has changed our mode of learning and approach to knowledge. It will show the macro and bird's eye view of how we have moved on from a Tree of Knowledge to a Web of Knowledge. The course will also introduce them to practical experiments that are being done within the Indian and global context and to also critically evaluate the relevance of a digital knowledge platform like Wikipedia.

Background

The knowledge production, consumption, dissemination and distribution is undergoing a tectonic shift with the advent of digital technologies. Within this context of the digital turn, openness and transparency have gained new significance.

On the one hand, emerging participatory knowledge production models of openness like Wikipedia are increasingly pushing us to look beyond the traditional models of the past century; on the other hand, these models are being thought of to be effective in diverse fields like pedagogy, governance and policy making.

This has been impacting the way how teaching and learning happens at the school level. Open Educational Resources for instance is becoming a key asset for the students and educational institutions alike in imagining better pedagogy models.

This creates a pre-condition for the transformation of society into a ‘Knowledge Society’, wherein the student is increasingly repositioned from a ‘spectator’ to a ‘spect-actor’, from a consumer of knowledge to a “prosumer” (producer+consumer) of knowledge.

Within this context it becomes crucial that the teacher (a key pillar to building a robust knowledge society) is familiarized with the working of digital technology, especially within the context of the classroom.

Course Objectives

This certificate course is aimed at Teacher trainees and Teachers who teach up to High school in India. This course will give the Teacher participant:

a comprehensive understanding of the changes that are brought about by digital technology to the knowledge domain
an introduction to various openness movements that have informed the discourse on Open Educational Resources
exposure and training to participate on open knowledge platforms like Wikipedia
practical examples and best practices of using Wikipedia and sister projects within the classroom context.

Key Concepts

Digital, Digital literacy, FOSS, Internet, Knowledge, Knowledge Platforms, Mirrored Technology, Openness, Open Access, Open Educational Resources, Open-Data, Sugar, Wiki, Wikipedia, Wikisource, Wikitionary, Wikimedia Commons.

Course Design

The course will approach each of these issues within the context of Indian languages and school education, so that the teacher could take back the learning to his or her immediate pedagogic environment. The course will be delivered through lectures, demonstrations and hands-on training sessions. Every participant is expected to do 2 hours of pre-course work before coming for the first contact session. The face to face contact sessions will be done in two rounds with a gap of less than 40 days in between Round 1 and Round 2. The participant is expected to spend approximately 13 hours working on a real-time project with digital output.

Duration

This course involves 45 hours of effort.

30 hours face to face contact sessions
15 hours virtual contact

Resources

YouTube: Hindi Video Tutorials Play-list - FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD, REDISTRIBUTE AND REMIX THESE VIDEOS AS THEY ARE LICENSED UNDER CC-BY-SA 3.0.
YouTube: Kannada Video Tutorials Play-list - FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD, REDISTRIBUTE AND REMIX THESE VIDEOS AS THEY ARE LICENSED UNDER CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Registration

Step 1: All participants are expected to register themselves on Wikipedia. Please note that once you register on a Wikipedia project, you can use that 'Username' (i.e. same log-in details) across all Wikipedias and Wikimedia platforms. This should be done by September 4, 2014 (10.00 am). This tutorial will help you with Registration on Wikipedia: Registration Tutorial
Step 2: Once you create a Wikipedia user id, please fill up this form to complete the registration process.

Above: Flyer of the course to be held in November 2014 and January 2015

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/teaching-in-age-of-wikipedia

Odia Wikisource, its Potential

subha — 2014-12-05T01:47:37Z

I wrote an editorial in Odia newspaper the "Samaja" on November 17, 2014. I have written about Odia Wikisource, its potential and how people can get involved in it with a short note about the digitization done already. I have also highlighted the authors and copyright holders who kindly have donated their work under CC-by-SA license.

The original article published by the Samaja in Odia on November 17 could be read here.

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବହି ପ୍ରକାଶନ ପାଇଁ ନୂଆ ରାହା
ଶୁଭାଶିଷ ପାଣିଗ୍ରାହୀ
ଓଡ଼ିଶାରେ ପ୍ରଥମ ଛାପାଖାନା ସ୍ଥାପିତ ହେବାଠୁ ଆଜିଯାଏ ବିତିଛି ଏକ ଲମ୍ବା କାଳ । ଏ କାଳ ଭିତରେ କେତେ ଲକ୍ଷ ପାଣ୍ଡୁଲିିପି ଲେଖା ହୋଇଥିବ, କେତେ ବହି ଛପା ହୋଇଥିବ । ଏ ଭିତରେ କେତେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଓଡ଼ିଶା ବାହାରକୁ ଯାଇଥିବେ । ତାଙ୍କ ଭିତରୁ ପଢ଼ାରଙ୍କୁଣା ଲୋକେ କ'ଣ ସବୁବେଳେ ସବୁ ବହି ପାଇପାରୁଥିବେ? ଓଡ଼ିଶାରେ ଥିବା ଅନେକ ମଧ୍ୟ ଲାଇବ୍ରେରୀ ଯାଇ ବହି ଖୋଜିବା ଅବସ୍ଥାରେ ସବୁବେଳେ ନଥାନ୍ତି । ଲୋକେ ବହି ପଢ଼ିବାର ସଳଖ ସୁବିଧାଟିଏ ନପାଇଲେ ଧୀରେ ପଠନ ଅଭ୍ୟାସ କମିଯାଏ । ଆଜି ଓଡ଼ିଶାର ଅଗଣିତ ପାଠକଙ୍କ ପାଠକୀୟ ରୁଚି କେବଳ ଖବରକାଗଜ, ସାପ୍ତାହିକୀ ଆଦି ପଢ଼ାକୁ ଖସି ଆସିଲାଣି । ଏ ବେଳା ଏକ ଭାଷା ପାଇଁ ଶୁଭ ନୁହେଁ । ଆଉ ଓଡ଼ିଆର ଶାସ୍ତ୍ରୀୟ ମାନ୍ୟତା ପାଇବା ପାଠକପଣ ବଢ଼ାଇବାରେ ମୁଖ୍ୟ ଭୂମିକାଟିଏ ନିଭାଇପାରିନାହିଁ । ତେବେ କେଉଁଥିରେ କିଛି ଊଣା ରହିଯାଇଛି କି? କାହିଁକି ଆଜି ଭାଷା-ସାହିତ୍ୟର ଶ୍ରୋତା-ବକତା ଉଭୟ ସମାନ? ବହି ଉନ୍ମୋଚନ ହୋଇ କେବଳ ଲେଖକ ମହଲରେ ବଣ୍ଟାହୋଇ ସମୀକ୍ଷା ହୋଇଯାଉଛି, ସଭା କିବା ବହିମେଳା ହତା ଡେଉଁନାହିଁ?

ଆଧୁନିକ କାରିଗରି ବଳରେ ବହିକୁ ଅଧିକ ପାଠକଙ୍କ ପାଖକୁ ନେବାରେ ଏଯାବତ ଅଳ୍ପ କିଛି ଉଦ୍ୟମ କରାଯାଇଛି । ରାଜ୍ୟ ସରକାରଙ୍କ ସଂସ୍କୃତି ବିଭାଗ ପକ୍ଷରୁ ସାରଳା ମହାଭାରତ ଓ ଭାଗବତ ଆଦି କେତୋଟି ପୁରୁଣା ପୋଥିକୁ ଟାଇପ କରି ଡିଜିଟାଲ ସଂସ୍କରଣ ତିଆରି କରାଯାଇଥିଲା । (ଓଡ଼ିଆ.ଓଆରଜି) ୱେବସାଇଟ ଜରିଆରେ ବିଦେଶରେ ଥିବା କେତେଜଣ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଅନେକ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବହିକୁ ଟାଇପ କରି ଏବଂ ସ୍କାନ କରି ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରାଇଥିଲେ । ପୁରୁଣା ବହିର ଡିଜିଟାଲ ଅଭିଲେଖ କରିବା କାମ ବିଧିବଦ୍ଧ ଭାବେ କିଛିବର୍ଷ ତଳେ ଭୁବନେଶ୍ୱରର ସୃଜନିକା ଅନୁଷ୍ଠାନ ତରଫରୁ ଏନଆଇଟି ରାଉରକେଲା ଓ ପ୍ରଗତି ଉକ୍ରଳ ସଂଘ ସହଯୋଗରେ ଏକ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ "ଓପନ ଆକସେସ ଟୁ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବୁକ୍ସ' ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ଆରମ୍ଭ କରାଯାଇଥିଲା । ଏଥିରେ ସ୍କାନ ହୋଇଥିବା ମୋଟ ୭୪୦ଖଣ୍ଡ ବହି ଓ ପତ୍ରପତ୍ରିକା ଭିତରୁ ୨୦୦ରୁ ଅଧିକ ବହି ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଡାଉନଲୋଡ଼ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରାଯାଇଛି । ଏସବୁ ପ୍ରମୁଖ କାମକୁ ବାଦ ଦେଇ ଆଉ କେତେକ ଉଦ୍ୟମ ମଧ୍ୟ ହୋଇଛି । ତେବେ ଏଯାବତ ହୋଇଥିବା ଏସବୁ କାମରେ ଲେଖାଖୋଜା ବା ଟେକ୍ସଟ ସର୍ଚ ସୁବିଧା ନାହିଁ । ଅର୍ଥାତ, ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଟାଇପ କରି କିଛି ଭାଗବତର ପଦଟିଏ ଖୋଜିଲେ ସେ ପଦ ଥିବା ସ୍କନ୍ଧଟି ମିଳିବ ନାହିଁ । ପାଠକୁ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ପାଖରେ ପହଞ୍ଚାଇବା ପାଇଁ ଏ ଏକ ବିରାଟ ସମସ୍ୟା । ତେଣୁ ଆହୁରି ଲକ୍ଷେ ବହି ସ୍କାନ କରି ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ରଖିଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ତାହାକୁ ପାଠକେ ଖୋଜି ପାଇବେ ନାହିଁ ।

ହେଲେ ସ୍କାନ କଲାପରେ ପୁରୁଣା ବହିର ଲେଖାକୁ ଟେକ୍ସଟରେ ରୂପାନ୍ତର କରିବା ଏତେ ସହଜ ନୁହେଁ । କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ଟେକନୋଲୋଜିରେ ନାନାଦି ସାଧନ ନିର୍ମାଣ କରାଯାଇଥିବା ଜଗତର ବହୁବିଧ ଭାଷାରେ ଏ ସ୍କାନ ଛବିରୁ ଟେକ୍ସଟ ରୂାନ୍ତର ଲାଗି ଅପ୍ଟିକାଲ କ୍ୟାରେକ୍ଟର ରେକଗନିସନ (ଓସିଆର) ନାମକ କାରିଗରୀ ବ୍ୟବହାର କରାଯାଏ । ତେବେ ଛବିକୁ ଚିହ୍ନି ତାକୁ ଅକ୍ଷରରେ ରୂାନ୍ତର କରିବା ଦୁରୂହ ଓ କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ତାଲିମ ଦେବା ସମୟସାପେକ୍ଷ । କାମଟି କିନ୍ତୁ ଏ ଭାଷା ପାଇଁ ଏକ ବିଶାଳ ବରଦାନ । ତେବେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ସମେତ ଭାରତର ଅନ୍ୟାନ୍ୟ ଭାଷାରେ ଏଯାଏ ଓସିଆର ସେତେ ବେଶି ନିର୍ଭୁଲ ଭାବେ କାମ କରିନାହିଁ । କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ଜ୍ଞାନ ଥିବା କିଛି ଲୋକ ୬-୭ ମାସ ଲାଗିଲେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ପାଇଁ ଏ ଉପକରଣର ବିକାଶ କରାଯାଇପାରନ୍ତା । ବିକଳ୍ପ ସମାଧାନ ହେଲା ବହି ପାଠକୁ ଇଉନିକୋଡ଼ ନାମକ ମାନକରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଲିିରେ ଟାଇପ କରି ଟେକ୍ସଟ ରୂପେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରାଇବା । ଏ କାମ କିନ୍ତୁ କେବଳ ମୂଲ୍ୟବାନ ବହିମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ କରାଯିବା ଉଚିତ । ଧରାଯାଉ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଆଈମା କାହାଣୀ କି ଅବଲୋକରା କାହାଣୀ କିମ୍ବା ବାକି ଲୋକକାହାଣୀ ସବୁ ଏତେ ଉପାଦେୟ ଓ ଯୁଗୋପଯୋଗୀ ସେ ସବୁକୁ ଥରେ ଟାଇପ କଲେ ଅନେକ ଲୋକଙ୍କ କାମରେ ଲାଗିବ ।

ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଇ-ବହି ବା ବହିର ଡିଜିଟାଲ ସଂସ୍କରଣ କରାଯିବାର ନୂଆ ରାହାଟିଏ ନିକଟରେ ଖୋଲିଛି । ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିିପିଡ଼ିଆର ସହଯୋଗୀ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପଭାବେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପାଠାଗାର ନାମକ ଏକ ନୂଆ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହୋଇଛି । ଏଥିରେ ଥିବା ବହିସବୁ or.wikisource.org ରେ ପଢ଼ିହେବ । ଭାରତରେ ପ୍ରକାଶକ କିମ୍ବା ସ୍ୱତ୍ୱାଧିକାରୀଙ୍କ ଦେହାନ୍ତର ୬୦ବର୍ଷ ପରେ ବହିର କପିରାଇଟ ଲୀନହୋଇ ବହିଟି ପବ୍ଲିକ ଡୋମେନରେ ଗଣାଯାଏ । ଏହି ଶ୍ରେଣୀର ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବହିସବୁକୁ ଓସିଆର କିମ୍ବା ଟାଇପ କରି ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିାଠାଗାରରେ ରଖାଯାଇପାରିବ । କିନ୍ତୁ ଏ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପର ଏକ ବିଶେଷ ସୁବିଧା ଲେଖକ ଓ ପ୍ରକାଶକଙ୍କ ମଙ୍ଗଳ ଲାଗି ମଧ୍ୟ ରହିଛି । ନିଜ ବହିକୁ ଅନଲାଇନ ବିତରଣ କରିବାକୁ ଚାହୁଁଥିବା ପ୍ରକାଶକ କିମ୍ବା ଲେଖକ ନିଜର କପିରାଇଟର ସର୍ତ୍ତାବଳୀକୁ
ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ କପିରାଇଟରୁ ଆଂଶିକ କପିରାଇଟକୁ ମଧ୍ୟ ବଦଳାଇ ପାରିବେ । ଏହି ଆଂଶିକ କପିରାଇଟର ନାଁ ହେଲା କ୍ରିଏଟିଭ କମନ୍ସ ସେଆର-ଏଲାଇକ (ସିସି-ବାଇ-ଏସଏ) । ଏଥିରେ ଅନ୍ୟ ଜଣେ ଏକା ସର୍ତ୍ତରେ ପୂର୍ବ-ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ଲେଖାର ପୁନଃପ୍ରକାଶନ କରିାରିବ । ଏହା ବଳରେ ବହିଟିକୁ ଅନ୍ୟମାନେ ପଢ଼ିପାରିବା ସହ ବିତରଣ ମଧ୍ୟ କରିାରିବେ । ଏ ବିଶେଷ କପିରାଇଟ ଆଜିକାଲି ଏତେ ଜଣାଶୁଣା ହେଲାଣି ଯେ ଜଗତର ଅନେକ ଜଣାଶୁଣା ଶିକ୍ଷାନୁଷ୍ଠାନ ଓ ପ୍ରକାଶକ ନିଜର କିଛି ବହିକୁ ଏହି କପିରାଇଟରେ ବିତରଣ କରୁଛନ୍ତି । ଆହେ ଦୟାମୟ ବିଶ୍ୱବିହାରୀ ଓ ଅଗଣିତ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଶିଶୁକବିତା-ଗପର ରଚୟିତା ରାମକୃଷ୍ଣ ନନ୍ଦ, ସୁଶିକ୍ଷକ- ଭ୍ରାମଣିକ-ଦାର୍ଶନିକ ଡ.ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ମହାନ୍ତି, ଭାଷା-ଗବେଷକ ଡ. ସୁବ୍ରତ ପୃଷ୍ଟି ଓ କବି ଭାରତ ମାଝୀଙ୍କ ବହିମାନ ସ୍ୱତ୍ୱାଧିକାରୀଙ୍କ ଅନୁମତି କ୍ରମେ ପୁନଃଲାଇସେନ୍ସ କରାଇ ଉଇକିାଠାଗାର ପରିସରକୁ ଅଣାଗଲାଣି ।

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ପାଠକେ ଏହି ଉଇକିାଠାଗାର ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପରୁ ଆଉ ଏକ ସୁବିଧା ମଧ୍ୟ ପାଇପାରିବେ । ଏଥିରେ ଟାଇପ ହୋଇ ବହିସବୁ ସିନା ଗଚ୍ଛିତ ହେବ । ହେଲେ ସେସବୁକୁ ଟାଇପ କରିବ କିଏ? ଅନେକ ସମୟରେ ଯାହା ସରକାର କିମ୍ବା ଏକ ଅନୁଷ୍ଠାନ କରିନପାରେ ସେତେବେଳେ ଜନସାଧାରଣଙ୍କ ବଳର ଉପଯୋଗିତା ବୁଝାପଡ଼େ । ଆଉ ଉଇକିପାଠାଗାର ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଭାବେ ଏହି ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀଙ୍କ ବଳରେ ବଳୀୟାନ । ଜଣେ ଚାହିଁଲେ ଲେଖାର ଭୁଲଟିଏ ସୁଧାରିପାରିବ, ବାକିଥିବା ପୃଷ୍ଠା ଟାଇପ କରିାରିବ ଆଉ ଅସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ବହିଟିଏକୁ ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ କରି କୋଟିକୋଟି ପାଠକଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ପଠନର ଏକ ନୂଆ ଝରକା ଖୋଲିଦେଇ ପାରିବ ।

ଅନେକେ ବିରସି ଉଠନ୍ତି ଗୁଗୁଲରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ନାହିଁ ବୋଲି; ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ୍‍ରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାରେ ଲେଖାର ଅଭାବ ତା'ର ଏକ ବଡ଼ କାରଣ । ଯେଉଁ ଭାଷାରେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ କାରବାର ଯେତେ ଅଧିକ ସେ ଭାଷା ନୂଆ ପିଢ଼ିର ସେତେ ନିଜର । ଆଉ ଯେଉଁ ଭାଷା ଏବେର ପିଢ଼ି ତୁଣ୍ଡରେ ଯେତେ ଅଧିକ କଥିତ, କାମରେ ଯେତେ ଅଧିକ ବ୍ୟବହୃତ, ସେ ଭାଷା ଭବିଷ୍ୟତରେ ସେତେ ଛାମୁଆ ହେବ । ଓଡ଼ିଆ ପାଇଁ ଉଇକିପାଠାଗାର ଭଳି ଏକ ବିଶ୍ୱମାନର ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ ଅଧିକ ଲେଖକଙ୍କ ସମାଗମରେ ଭରି ଆମ ଭାଷା ପାଇଁ ଏକ ବିଶାଳ ପାଠାଗାରରେ ପରିଣତ ହୋଇପାରିବ ।

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/the-samaja-november-17-2014-subhashish-panigrahi-odia-wikisource-its-potential

Odia author Nirmala Kumari Mohapatra's 21 books relicensed under CC-by-SA 4.0

subha — 2014-12-06T02:49:12Z

Twenty one books of renowned Odia author Nirmala Kumari Mohapatra will now be available under the Creative Commons License.

Taking into consideration the request from the Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K), Odia researcher, teacher and author Nirmala Kumari Mohapatra has signed a note to release 21 of her books under CC-by-SA 4.0 license. She came and attended the "Odisha Dibasa 2014" organized by Odia Wikimedia Community and CIS-A2K on March 29 in Bhubaneswar where we got 11 books of Dr. Jagannath Mohanty. Expressing her motivation for kindheartedly donating 21 out of her 35 books she tells us, "If Jagannath Mohanty's writings could go to millions of readers online why not I also open up my work. My life as a teacher has spent on researching on simplifying education. One of the 21 books she donated "Chandaka-Damapada Hasti Abhayaranya", is one of the rarest books that has ever been written on wildlife sanctuary. It is full of many observations about the elephants that reside in the Chandaka-Damapada wildlife sanctuary. Many interesting incidents from Odisha's history like a female barber shaving Gandhi during his Padayatra that are captured in her books would add to the richness of Odia Wikipedia. These books will soon be available on Odia Wikisource for digitization.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/odia-author-nirmala-kumari-mohapatra-21-books-under-cc

Content co-ordination for the Panel Discussion on Crypto-Currencies

praskrishna — 2014-12-05T01:35:01Z

Sharath Chandra Ram was a panelist at this event organized by the Law and Technology Society on November 15, 2014 at the National Law School of India in Bangalore. His presentation was titled Scalability and Security Issues in Distributed Trust based Cryto-Currency Systems like BITCOIN.

Moderator: Ms. Sonal Basu (Program Director-Legal, Mindtree)

Panelists:
Mr. Vikram Nikkam (Co-founder, Unocoin)
Mr. Benson Samuel (Co-founder, Coinsecure)
Dr. (Prof.) TS Somashekar (Associate Professor of Economics, NLSIU)
Mr. Sharath Chandra (Researcher, Centre for Internet and Society)

Student Speakers:
Ms. Nivedita Mukhija

Download Sharath's presentation

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/news/crypto-currencies

An Article on Kannada Wikipedia

pavanaja — 2014-12-05T01:22:53Z

I wrote an article on Kannada Wikipedia which was published in the Yojana magazine on November 2014 issue.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/yojana-november-2014-pavanaja-article-on-kannada-wikipedia

Privacy vs. Transparency: An Attempt at Resolving the Dichotomy

sunil — 2015-03-08T06:26:21Z

The right to privacy has been articulated in international law and in some national laws. In a few countries where the constitution does not explicitly guarantee such a right, courts have read the right to privacy into other rights (e.g., the right to life, the right to equal treatment under law and also the right to freedom of speech and expression).

With feedback and inputs from Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Elonnai Hickok, Bhairav Acharya and Geetha Hariharan. I would like to apologize for not providing proper citation to Julian Assange when the first version of this blog entry was published. I would also like to thank Micah Sifry for drawing this failure to his attention. The blog post originally published by Omidyar Network can be read here. Also see http://newint.org/features/2015/01/01/privacy-transparency/

In other countries where privacy is not yet an explicit or implicit right, harm to the individual is mitigated using older confidentiality or secrecy law. After the Snowden affair, the rise of social media and the sharing economy, some corporations and governments would like us to believe that “privacy is dead”. Privacy should not and cannot be dead, because that would mean that security is also dead. This is indeed the most dangerous consequence of total surveillance as it is technically impossible to architect a secure information system without privacy as a precondition. And conversely, it is impossible to guarantee privacy without security as a precondition.

The right to transparency [also known as the right to information or access to information] – while unavailable in international law – is increasingly available in national law. Over the last twenty years this right has become encoded in national laws – and across the world it is being used to hold government accountable and to balance the power asymmetry between states and citizens. Independent and autonomous offices of transparency regulators have been established. Apart from increasing government transparency, corporations are also increasingly required to be transparent as part of generic or industry specific regulation in the public interest. For instance, India’s Companies Act, 2013, requires greater transparency from the private sector. Other areas of human endeavor such as science and development are also becoming increasingly transparent though here it is still left up to self-regulation and there isn’t as much established law. Within science and research more generally, the rise of open data accompanied the growth of the Open Access and citizen science movement.

So the question before us is: Are these two rights – the right to transparency and the right to privacy – compatible? Is it a zero-sum game? Do we have to sacrifice one right to enforce the other? Unfortunately, many privacy and transparency activists think this is the case and this has resulted in some conflict. I suggest that these rights are completely compatible when it comes to addressing the question of power. These rights do not have to be balanced against one another. There is no need to settle for a sub-optimal solution. Rather this is an optimization problem and the solution is as follows: privacy protections must be inversely proportionate to power and as Julian Assange says transparency requirements should be directly proportionate to power.[*]

In most privacy laws, the public interest is an exception to privacy. If public interest is being undermined, then an individual privacy can be infringed upon by the state, by researchers, by the media, etc. And in transparency law, privacy is the exception. If the privacy of an individual can be infringed, transparency is not required unless it is in the public interest. In other words, the “public interest” test allows us to use privacy law and transparency law to address power asymmetries rather than exacerbate them. What constitutes “public interest” is of course left to courts, privacy regulators, and transparency regulators to decide. Like privacy, there are many other exceptions in any given transparency regime including confidentiality and secrecy. Given uneven quality of case law there will be a temptation by the corrupt to conflate exceptions. Here the old common-law principle of “there is no confidence as to the disclosure of iniquity” – which prevents confidentiality law from being used to cover malfeasance or illegality – can be adopted in appropriate jurisdictions.

Around 10 years ago, the transparency movement gave birth to yet another movement – the open government data movement. The tension between privacy and transparency is most clearly seen in the open government data movement. The open government data movement in some parts of the world is dominated by ahistorical and apolitical technologists, and some of them seem intent on reinventing the wheel. In India, ever since the enactment of the Right to Information Act, 2003, 30 transparency activists are either killed, beaten or criminally intimidated every year. This is the statistic from media coverage alone. Many more silently suffer. RTI or transparency is without a doubt one of the most dangerous sectors within civil society that you could choose to work in. In contrast, not a single open data activist has ever been killed, beaten or criminally intimidated. I suspect this is because open data activists do not sufficiently challenge power hierarchies. Let us look a little bit closely at their work cycle. When a traditional transparency activist asks a question, that is usually enough to get them into trouble. When an open data activist publishes an answer [a dataset nicely scrubbed and machine readable, or a visualization, or a tool] they are often frustrated because nobody seems interested in using it. Often even the activist is unclear what the question is. This is because open data activist works where data is available. Open data activists are obsessed with big datasets, which are easier to find at the bottom of the pyramid. They contribute to growing surveillance practices [the nexus between Internet giants, states, and the security establishment] rather that focusing on sousveillance [citizen surveillance of the state, also referred to as citizen undersight or inverse surveillance]. They seem to be obsessed only with tools and technologies, rather than power asymmetries and injustices.

Finally, a case study to make my argument easier to understand – Aadhaar or UID, India’s ambitious centralized biometric identity and authentication management system. There are many serious issues with its centralized topology, proprietary technology, and dependence on biometrics as authentication factors – all of which I have written about in the past. In this article, I will explain how my optimization solution can be applied to the project to make it more effective in addressing its primary problem statement that corruption is a necessary outcome of power asymmetries in India.

In its current avatar – the Aadhaar project hopes to assign biometric-based identities to all citizens. The hope is that, by doing authentication in the last mile, corruption within India’s massive subsidy programmes will be reduced. This, in my view, might marginally reduce retail corruption at the bottom of the pyramid. It will do nothing to address wholesale corruption that occurs as subsidies travel from the top to the bottom of the pyramid. I have advocated over the last two years that we should abandon trying to issue biometric identities to all citizens, thereby making them more transparent to the state. Let us instead issue Aadhaar numbers to all politicians and bureaucrats and instead make the state more transparent to citizens. There is no public interest in reducing privacy for ordinary citizens – the powerless – but there are definitely huge public interest benefits to be secured by increasing transparency of politicians and bureaucrats, who are the powerful.

The Indian government has recently introduced a biometric-based attendance system for all bureaucrats and has created a portal that allows Indian citizens to track if their bureaucrats are arriving late or leaving early. This unfortunately is just bean counting [for being corrupt and being punctual are not mutually exclusive] and public access to the national portal was turned off because of legitimate protests from some of the bureaucrats. What bureaucrats do in office, who they meet, and which documents they process is more important than when they arrive at or depart from work. The increased transparency or reduced privacy was not contributing to the public interest.

Instead of first going after small-ticket corruption at the bottom of the pyramid, maximization of public interest requires us to focus on the top, for there is much greater ROI for the anti-corruption rupee. For example: constructing a digital signature based on audit trails that track all funds and subsidies as they move up and down the pyramid. These audit trails must be made public so that ordinary villagers can be supported by open data activists, journalists, social entrepreneurs, and traditional civil society in verification and course correction.

I hope open data activists, data scientists, and big data experts will draw inspiration from the giants of the transparency movement in India. I hope they will turn their attention to power, examine power asymmetries and then ask how the Aadhaar project can be leveraged to make India more rather than less equal.

Videos

Open Up? 2014: Risky Business: Transparency, Technology, Security, and Human Rights

Open Up? 2014: Data Collection and Sharing: Transparency and the Private Sector

The videos can also be watched on Vimeo:

[*].http://prospect.org/article/real-significance-wikileaks “Transparency should be proportional to the power that one has.”

Read the presentation on Risky Business: Transparency, Technology, Security and Privacy made at the Pecha Kucha session here. (ODP File, 35 kb)

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