The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 91 to 105.
Web Sites Accessibility Evaluation Methodologies: A New Imperative for State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
https://cis-india.org/events/w3c-conference-hyderabad
<b>W3C-WAI, G3ict and CIS are joining hands to organise the 20th International World Wide Web Conference in Hyderabad, India on March 30, 2011 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Room H-01.
</b>
<p>While web accessibility principles and guidelines have already become well known and been adopted by many countries, measuring the accessibility of web sites for users living with different types of disabilities remains a complex endeavor subject to a number of possible methodological challenges. Yet, with web accessibility policies and programs increasingly implemented around the world as a result of the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (98 countries representing over 75 per cent of the world population), policy makers, organizations of persons with disabilities, web site owners and courts when legal action is taken will inevitably need to rely on well-defined evaluation methodologies and benchmarks.</p>
<p>The panel, which will take place during the first day of the W3C Track with focus on web accessibility and discuss current accessibility evaluation methodologies and their challenges, policy makers requirements, current plans of the W3C-WAI, and practical technical survey methodologies alternatives.</p>
<p><strong>Panelists will include</strong>: Glenda Sims(Deque Systems), ShadiAbouZahra (W3C-WAI), Neeta Verma (National Informatics Centre, Government of India), NirmitaNarasimhan (Center for Internet and Society), and SrinivasuChakravarthula (Yahoo! India).</p>
<ul><li>Co-organizers: W3C-WAI, G3ict, CIS</li><li>Duration: 90 minutes</li><li>Moderator:NirmitaNarasimhan, Program Manager, CIS and Editor, G3ict – ITU Policy Toolkit Handbook<br /></li></ul>
<h3>Panel Agenda:</h3>
<p><strong>Introduction</strong>:NirmitaNarasimhan, Program Manager, CIS and Editor, G3ict – ITU Policy Toolkit Handbookwill welcome participants on behalf of co-organizers CIS, G3ict and W3C, introduces speakers and topics:</p>
<ol><li><strong>NirmitaNarasimhan</strong> will share G3ict’s perspective on the CRPD and its global impact as well as the legislative, regulatory and judicial requirements for a reliable evaluation methodology of web accessibility.</li><li><strong>ShadiAbou Zahra </strong>will describe the work of W3C-WAI in this domain, and discuss the multiple tools available, methodological challenges and future work currently planned.</li><li><strong>Glenda Sims</strong>, Senior Accessibility Consultant willpresents Deque’s experience and the technical details of evaluating and testing enterprise level websites, comparing methodologies and suggesting solutions to establish guidelines.</li><li><strong>SrinivasuChakravarthula</strong>, Accessibility Manager at Yahoo! India, member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) India’s National Advisory Board and of the NASSCOM’s Disability Working Committee, will present industry’s perspectives and the need to rely on clear accessibility benchmarks.</li><li><strong>Neeta Verma</strong>, Senior Technical Director, Data Centre& Web Services Division, National Informatics Centre will discuss web accessibility assessment methodologies from an e-governance standpoint.</li><li><strong>Q&As</strong> among panelists and the audience.</li></ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/events/w3c-conference-hyderabad'>https://cis-india.org/events/w3c-conference-hyderabad</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaEvent TypeWorkshopAccessibility2011-08-31T10:40:17ZEventDigital Natives with a Cause? —Workshop in Santiago — an Afterthought
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/santiago-workshop-an-after-thought
<b>The Digital Natives had their third and final workshop in Santiago, Chile from 8 to 10 February 2011. Once again CIS and Hivos joined hands to organise the event. Samuel Tettner, Digital Natives Coordinator from CIS narrates his experiences from the workshop in this blog post. </b>
<p></p>
<p>For three days, from 8 to 10 February, I spent most of the days and almost one full night at the Digital Natives with a Cause? Workshop. The day before the workshop, I met the facilitators: <a class="external-link" href="http://www.karaandrade.com">Kara</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.twitter.com/markun">Pedro</a> and <a class="external-link" href="http://mx.linkedin.com/in/jmcasanueva">Juan-Manuel</a>. All three of them were quite enthusiastic with each one specializing on an aspect of the research objectives. That night, I had my first formal meeting with the participants in the conference room of Hotel Windsor in Santiago. It is always fascinating to meet a large group of people, especially since you have been corresponding with them for a couple of weeks, have read about them and their projects, made images in your head of how they look, how they act, how they will get along with each other and so on. </p>
<p>I was particularly excited about the workshop in Santiago since it presented itself to me an opportunity to re-connect with a side of Latin America that I had not experienced. I moved from Venezuela to the United States at the age of 15. I don’t know about everyone else, but when I was 15, I was mostly interested in music, movies, my friends, fast cars, video games, and a whole lot of the nonsense stuff. Meeting these highly motivated young men and women from all over the American continent and the Caribbean islands allowed me to connect with the more nuanced and matured side of my identity— a side that had only heard English spoken to it.</p>
<p>The
actual workshop took place at the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.bibliotecasantiago.cl">Biblioteca de Santiago</a>, a library in Santiago, a beautiful modern building, with an architecture that rivalled the best libraries I ever saw in the world. Our local partner <a class="external-link" href="http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/">Rising Voices</a>, had done an incredible job of organizing the logistics. The workshop opened with an ice-breaking exercise that unlike most ice-breaking exercises required some neural movement. Participants were asked to come up with a word that described their practice, politics or ideology. You see the workshop participants were young people who engage with digital technologies to create social and political change. I chose my word ‘innovation’ mainly because it’s an idea that’s been hunting my day-dreams lately, but also because I knew it would elicit interesting responses. I briefly sat down with Luis Carlos from Peru and Joan from the Dominican Republic, whose words were ‘stories’ and also ‘creative’. A blog post about that experience can be found <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/fitoria/blogs/sharing-common-knowledge-freedom">here</a>.</p>
<p>Afterwards we had the pleasure of hearing from Juan-Manuel, the facilitator from Mexico. Juan-Manuel talked about issues of participation, motivation to do social change, impact of our engagements and other social change related processes. He left us with three big questions that stayed with us for the rest of the afternoon:</p>
<ul><li>What is our motivation to do social work? Where does it come from? Where does it end? How did it start? Can it be replicated?</li><li>What is incidence / impact? How can one measure impact?</li><li>What does one need to know to create social impact?</li></ul>
<p>I got in a group with Adolfo from Nicaragua, Maria Del Mar from Paraguay, Karl from Haiti and Julio from Chile. Kara was our facilitator for the discussion. A blog post about that experience by Maria Del Mar can be found <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/marzavala/blogs/motivation-incidence-knowledge-0">here</a>.
After discussing for about one hour, we made a white paper that visually illustrated` our discussion. We decided to make a word / concept cloud and mix it with a collage. That was it. With a lot of anticipation and nervousness the first day of our workshop ended.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/chile3.JPG/image_preview" alt="Chile3" class="image-inline" title="Chile3" /></p>
<p><br />Oh wait! I forgot to add a small detail, that day Nishant also taught us how to do a Bollywood dance. I didn’t take any pictures, but I hope someone did!</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Chileworkshop2.jpg/image_preview" alt="Chile4" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Chile4" /></p>
<p>On the second day, Pedro Markun from Brazil opened the floor with a thought-provoking presentation. Unfortunately, I missed most of the presentation, but if one is to judge by the tweets, it was very inspiring. After the presentation, we participated in a bar camp. During this activity participants proposed the topics for discussion, out of which we selected five to focus on. I decided to join the conversation about ‘digital rights’, a topic proposed by Andres from Venezuela. Brendon from Trinidad and Tobago, Luis Carlos and Roberto from Peru, and Joan from the DR also participated in this discussion. I wrote a small blog about my opinion on this conversation <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/tettner/blogs/discussion-about-digital-rights">here</a>.</p>
<p>During the second half of the day, the process was reversed and instead of us participants writing down concepts we wanted to talk about, five words were written on the board: mobilization, network building, awareness, campaigns, and representation. This activity, called HOW DO YOU SPELL PROCESS? asked us to choose the word with which we identify the most; it could be the word we know the most about, or the least about, or the word we’re most interested in implementing in our practice. I joined the mobilization group, because part of the job as the community manager for the Digital Natives project involved motivating the members, involving them in other’s ideas, helping them connect with greater initiatives – all ideas that I think connect with mobilization issues. I sat down with Maria Carmelita from Argentina, Brendon from T&B and Francisco from Chile.</p>
<p>After we were all settled in the group plenary after this activity, Fieke had a dictatorial proclamation to make: we then had around 12 hours to make a visual presentation (a video, a play, a sketch and others) about our discussions during HOW DO YOU SPELL PROCESS?</p>
<p>I met Brendon, Francisco, and Carmelita shortly after for dinner and the planning of our video. We decided to have an Indian night, which is ironic since I now live in India, yet the experience was very interesting: I tried ‘curry’ for the first time in my life! For our video, we decided to make a cheesy, 1984-esque “how to” video to change the world through mobilization. The video can be found <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/mariacarmelita/videos/mobilisation-three-steps-program-0">here</a>. Check out the other videos as well, they all are quite interesting and thought-provoking.</p>
<p>Finally, on the third day after a showing of the videos and plays, the last facilitator, Kara from Guatemala, shared with us her personal journey into her social commitment. From growing up in a banana plantation in Guatemala, to her use of digital technologies to raise funds to build a house for her uncle, Kara’s story inspired all in attendance. Kara told her story through a specific framework, which was named the Matrix. The Matrix consisted of re-framing one’s story through four lenses: dream, discovery, design and destiny. We then broke into groups and reflected into our own journeys with technology using the same framework.</p>
<p>In the end, we all went to a nice restaurant and had a common dinner. I love those tables of over 20+people; you can switch seats and change conversations instantly. Overall, the workshop was a huge learning experience. I was able to meet some similar people from Latin America, and better understand the cultural context of the intersection of technology and the social and the political spheres. With the last workshop now over, we have collected a plethora of research materials which we will analyze during the second phase of the Digital Natives with a Cause? project. The journey still continues.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you who made the
experience Possible!.</p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Chileworkshop1.jpg/image_preview" alt="chile2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="chile2" /></p>
<p>For info on schedule of events, organisers and participants, click <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/publications/workshop-schedule/at_download/file" class="internal-link" title="Digital Natives Santiago Workshop Schedule">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/santiago-workshop-an-after-thought'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/santiago-workshop-an-after-thought</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerFeaturedWorkshopDigital Natives2012-01-03T10:16:18ZBlog EntryDigital Natives with a Cause? - Workshop in Santiago FAQs
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago
<b>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. </b>
<p></p>
<p><strong>The Open call for participation can be found </strong><a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago-open-call" class="external-link"><strong>here</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>1.When and where is the workshop going to be held?</strong><br />
The workshop will take place over three days from 8 to 10 February 2011,
in Santiago, Chile.<br /><br />
<strong>2. Who should apply?</strong><br />
The organizers,<a href="http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/">Rising Voices</a>,<a href="http://www.hivos.nl/english"> Hivos</a> and the <a href="https://cis-india.org/">Centre for Internet and Society </a>are
interested in hearing from young people, who utilize digital technologies to
create social change in their societies or social circles.<br />
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. <br />
<strong><br />3. How can I apply?</strong><br />
You can fill an online<a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fromfacetointerface"> application</a>.
Alternatively, you can email digitalnatives@cis-india.org and ask for an email
application.<br />
<strong><br />4. What is Digital Natives with a Cause?</strong><br />
"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.<br />
<strong><br />5. What are the objectives of Digital Natives
with a Cause? How does this workshop fit in?</strong><br />
"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. <br />
"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.<br />
You can read a report on "Digital Natives with a Cause?"<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/uploads/dnrep1"> here</a>.<br />
<strong><br />6. OK, so what can I expect from this workshop?</strong><br />
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.<br />
<strong><br />7. Will I learn any new skills in this workshop?</strong><br />
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.<br />
<strong><br />8. Are there any language requirements? </strong><br />
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. <br />
<strong><br />9. Will expenses be covered?</strong><br />
Yes. Expenses associated with the workshop (travel and accommodation) will be
provided for those selected participants.<br />
<strong><br />10. When is the last date to apply?
</strong>
<br />
The last day to apply is Tuesday, 4 January 2010.<br />
<strong><br />11 Where can I get more information?</strong><br />
Do check out<a href="http://www.digitalnatives.in/"> www.digitalnatives.in</a>
for more information, and please email digitalnatives@cis-india.org for
questions and concerns. We would be pleased to answer them.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-workshop-in-santiago</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerRAW EventsDigital NativesWorkshopResearchers at WorkEvent2015-05-15T11:46:01ZBlog EntryDigital Natives with a Cause?— Workshop in South Africa—FAQs
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-workshop-faqs
<b>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.</b>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>1. </strong><strong>When and where is the workshop going to be
held? </strong></p>
<p>The workshop will take place over three days from 7 to 9 November 2010, in Johannesburg, South Africa.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>2. </strong><strong>Who should apply? </strong></p>
<p>The organizers, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.africancommons.org/">The African Commons Project</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hivos.nl/english">Hivos</a> and the Centre for Internet and Society are interested in
hearing from <strong>young people</strong>, who
utilize <strong>digital technologies</strong> to
create <strong>social change </strong>in their
societies or social circles.</p>
<p>Further, the regional focus of the
workshop is on <strong>Africa</strong>, hence, only
African citizens or those in an African setting should apply.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>3. </strong><strong>How can I apply? </strong></p>
<p>You can fill an online <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KLNMXGW">application</a>. Alternatively,
you can email <a href="mailto:digitalnatives@cis-india.org">digitalnatives@cis-india.org</a>
and ask for an email application.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>4. </strong><strong>What is Digital Natives with a Cause?</strong></p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>5. </strong><strong>What are the objectives of Digital Natives
with a Cause? How does this workshop fit in?</strong></p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>You can read a report on "Digital
Natives with a Cause?" <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/uploads/dnrep1">here</a>.</p>
<p><strong>6. OK, so what can I expect from this workshop?</strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">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.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><strong>7. </strong><strong>Will I learn any new skills in this
workshop?</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph"><strong>8. </strong><strong>Will expenses be covered?</strong></p>
<p>Yes. Expenses associated with the workshop
(travel and accommodation) will be provided for selected participants.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><strong>9. </strong><strong>When is the last date to apply? </strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><strong> </strong>The last day to apply is Tuesday, 12 October 2010.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><strong>10. </strong><strong>Where can I get more information?</strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> Do check out <a href="http://www.digitalnatives.in/">www.digitalnatives.in</a> for more
information, and please email <a href="mailto:digitalnatives@cis-india.org">digitalnatives@cis-india.org</a>
for questions and concerns.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-workshop-faqs'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/digital-natives-workshop-faqs</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerRAW EventsDigital NativesFeaturedWorkshopResearchers at WorkEvent2015-05-15T11:35:11ZBlog EntryPolitical is as Political does
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/political
<b>The Talking Back workshop has been an extraordinary experience for me. The questions that I posed for others attending the workshop have hounded me as they went through the course of discussion, analysis and dissection. Strange nuances have emerged, certain presumptions have been questioned, new legacies have been discovered, novel ideas are still playing ping-pong in my mind, and a strange restless excitement – the kind that keeps me awake till dawning morn – has taken over me, as I try and figure out the wherefore and howfore of things. I began the research project on Digital Natives in a condition of not knowing, almost two years ago. Since then, I have taken many detours, rambled on strange paths, discovered unknown territories and reached a mile-stone where I still don’t know, but don’t know what I don’t know, and that is a good beginning.</b>
<p> <strong>The researcher in his heaven, all well with the world</strong></p>
<p> This first workshop is not merely a training lab. For me, it was the
extension of the research inquiry, and collaboratively producing some
frames of reference, some conditions of knowing, and some ways of
thinking about this strange, ambiguous and ambivalent category of
Digital Natives. The people who have assembled at this workshop have
identified themselves as Digital Natives as a response to the open call.
They all have practices which are startlingly unique and simultaneously
surprisingly similar. Despite the great dissonance in their
geo-political contexts and socio-cultural orientations, they seem to be
bound together by things beyond the technological.</p>
<p> Each one chose a definition for him/herself that straddles so many
different ideas of how technologies interact with us; there are writers
who offer a subjective position and affective relation to technologies
and the world around them; there are artists who seek to change the
world, one barcode at a time; there are optimist warriors who have waged
battles against injustice and discrimination in the worlds they occupy;
there are explorers who have made meaning out of socio-cultural
terrains that they live in; there are leaders who have mobilized
communities; there are adventurers who have taken on responsibilities
way beyond their young years; there are researchers who have sought
higher grounds and epistemes in the quest of knowledge. The varied
practice is further informed by their own positions as well as their
relationship with the different realities they engage with.</p>
<p> How, then, does one make sense of this babble of diversity? How does
one even begin to articulate a collective identity for people who are
so unique that sometimes they are the only ones in their contexts to
initiate these interventions? Where do I find a legacy or a context that
makes sense of these diversities without conflating or coercing their
uniqueness? This is not an easy task for a researcher, and I have
struggled over the two days to figure out a way in which I can start
develop a knowledge framework through which I can not only bring
coherence to this group but also do it without imposing my questions,
suggestions or agendas on you. And it is only now, at a quarter to dawn,
as I think and interact more with the different digital natives that
things get shapes for me – shapes that are not yet clear, probably
obscured by the blurriness of sleep and the rushed time that we have
been living in the last few days – and I now attempt to trace the
contours if not the details of these shapes.</p>
<p> <strong>Questioning the Question</strong></p>
<p> The first insight for me came from the fact that the Digital Natives
in the workshop talked back – not only to the structures that their
practice engages with, but also the questions that I posed to them.
“What does it mean to be Political?” I has asked on the first day,
knowing well that this wasn’t going to be an easy dialogue. Even after
years of thinking about the Political as necessarily the Personal (and
vice versa), it still is sometimes difficult to actually articulate the
process or the imagination of the Political. It is no wonder that so
many people take the easy recourse of talking about governments,
judiciaries, democracies and the related paraphernalia to talk about
Politics.</p>
<p> I knew, even before I posed the question, that this was going to
lead to confusion, to conditions of being lost, to processes of
destabilising comfort zones. However, what I was not ready for was a
schizophrenic moment of epiphany where I tried to ask myself what I
understood as the Political. And as I tried to explain it to myself, to
explain it to others, to push my own knowledge of it, to understand
others’ ideas and imaginations, I came up with a formulation which goes
beyond my own earlier knowledges. There are five different articulations
of the legacies and processes of the Political that I take with me from
the discussions (some were suggested by other people, some are my
flights of fancy based on our conversations), and it is time to reflect
on them:</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as dialogue</strong></em></p>
<p> This was perhaps, the easiest to digest because it sounds like a
familiar formulation. To be political is to be in a condition of
dialogue. Which means that Talking Back was suddenly not about Talking
Against or Being Talked To. It was about Talking With. It was a
conversation. Sometimes with strangers. Sometimes with people made
familiar with time. Sometimes with people who we know but have not
realised we know. Sometimes with the self. The power of names, the
strength of being in a conversation – to talk and also to listen is a
condition of the Political. In dialogue (as opposed to a babble) is the
genesis of being political. Because when we enter a dialogue, we are no
longer just us. We are able to detach ourselves from US and offer a
point of engagement to the person who was, till now, only outside of us.</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as concern</strong></em></p>
<p> This particular idea of the political as being concerned was a
surprise to me. I have, through discourses and practice within gender
and sexuality fields, understood affective relationships as sustaining
political concerns and subjectivities. However, I had overlooked the
fact that the very act of being concerned, what a young digital native
called ‘being burned’ about something that we notice in our immediate
(or extended) environments is already a political subjectivity
formation. To be concerned, to develop an empathetic link to the
problems that we identify, is a political act. It doesn’t always have to
take on the mantle of public action or intervention. Sometimes, just to
care enough, is enough.</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as change</strong></em></p>
<p> This is a debate that needs more conversations for me. Politics,
Knowledge, Change, Transformation – these are the four keywords (further
complicated by self-society binaries) that have strange permutations
and combination. To Know is to be political because it produces a
subjectivity that has now found a new way of thinking about itself and
how it relates to the external reality. This act of Knowing, thus
produces a change in our self. However, this change is not always a
change that leads to transformation. Knowledge for knowledge’s sake can
often be indulgent. Even when the knowledge produces a significant and
dramatic change, often this change is restricted to the self.</p>
<p> When does this knowing self, which is in a condition of change,
become a catalyst for transformation? When does this knowing-changing
translate into a transformation for the world outside of us? Just to be
in a condition of knowing does not grant the agency required for the
social transformation that we are trying to understand. Where does this
agency come from? How do we understand the genesis and dissemination of
this agency? And what are the processes of change that embody and foster
the Political?</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as Freedom</strong></em></p>
<p> On the first thought, the imagination of Political as Freedom seemed
to obvious; commonsense and perhaps commonplace. However, I decided put
the two in an epistemological dialogue and realised that there are many
prismatic relationships I had not talked about before I was privy to
these conversations. Here is a non-exhaustive list: Political Freedom,
Politics of Freedom, Free to be Political, Political as Freedom, Freedom
as Political... is it possible to be political without the quest of
freedom? Is the freedom we achieve, at the expense of somebody else’s
Political stance? How does the business of being Political come to be?
Not Why? But How? If Digital Natives are changing the state of being
political what are they replacing? What are they inventing? Where, in
all these possibilities lies Freedom?</p>
<p> <a href="http://northeastwestsouth.net/brief-treatise-despair-meaning-or-pointlessness-everything#comment-2131"><em><strong>Political as Reticence</strong></em></a></p>
<p> We all talked about voice – whose, where, for whom, etc. It was a
given that to give voice, to have voice, to speak, to talk, to talk back
were conditions of political dialogue and subversion, of intervention
and exchange. So many of us – participants or facilitators – talked
about how to speak, what technologies of speech, how to build conditions
of interaction... and then, like the noise in an otherwise seamless
fabric of empowerment came the idea of reticence. Is it possible to be
silent and still be political? If I do not speak, is it always only
because I cannot? What about my agency to choose not to speak? As
technologies – of governance, of self, and of the social constantly
force us to produce data and information, through ledgers and censuses
and identification cards – make speech a normative way of engagement,
isn’t the right of Refusal to Speak, political?</p>
<p> Sometimes, it is necessary to exercise silence as a tool or a weapon
of political resistance. The non-speaking subject holds back and
refuses to succumb to pressures and expectations of a dominant
erstwhile, and in his/her silence, produces such a cacophony of meaning
that it asks questions that the loudest voices would not have managed to
ask.</p>
<p> <strong>The Beginning of a Start; Perhaps also the other way round</strong></p>
<p> These are my first reflections on the conversations we have had over
the two days. I feel excited, inspired, moved and exhilarated as I
carry myself on these flights of ideation, thought and
conceptualisation. It is important for me that these are questions that I
did not think of in a vacuum but in conversation and dialogue with this
varied pool of people who have spent so much of their time and effort
to not only make their work intelligible but also to reflect on the
processes by which we paint ourselves political. I have learned to
sharpen questions of the political that I came with and I have learned
to ask new questions of Digital Natives practice. I don’t have a
definition that explains the work that these Digital Natives do. But I
now have a framework of what is their understanding of the political and
what are the various points of engagement and investment.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/political'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/political</a>
</p>
No publishernishantDigital ActivismDigital NativesPoliticalYouthFeaturedCyberculturesDigital subjectivitiesWorkshop2011-08-04T10:30:51ZBlog EntryDigital Natives : Talking Back
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talkingback
<b>One of the most significant transitions in the landscape of social and political movements, is how younger users of technology, in their interaction with new and innovative technologised platforms have taken up responsibility to respond to crises in their local and immediate environments, relying upon their digital networks, virtual communities and platforms. In the last decade or so, the digital natives, in universities as well as in work spaces, as they experimented with the potentials of internet technologies, have launched successful socio-political campaigns which have worked unexpectedly and often without precedent, in the way they mobilised local contexts and global outreach to address issues of deep political and social concern. But what do we really know about this Digital Natives revolution? </b>
<p><strong>Press Release</strong></p>
<p> Youth are often seen as potential agents of change for reshaping
their own societies. By 2010, the global youth population is expected
reach almost 1.2 billion of which 85% reside in developing countries.
Unleashing the potential of even a part of this group in developing
countries promises a substantially impact on societies. Especially now
when youths thriving on digital technologies flood universities, work
forces, and governments and could facilitate radical restructuring of
the world we live in. So, it’s time we start listening to them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> Because of the age bias and the dependence of a large section of
Digital Natives around the world, on structures of authority, there has
always been a problem of power that has restricted or reduced the scope
of their practice and intervention. For younger Digital Natives,
Parental authority and the regulation from schools often becomes a
hindrance that thwarts their ambitions or ideas. Even when they take the
initiative towards change, they are often stopped and at other times
their practices are dismissed as insignificant. In other contexts,
because of existing laws and policies around Internet usage and freedom
of expression, the voices of Digital Natives get obliterated or
chastised by government authorities and legal apparatuses which monitor
and regulate their practices. The workshop organised at the Academia
Sinica brings in 28 participants from contested contexts – be it the
micro level of the family or the paradigmatic level of governance – to
discuss the politics, implications and processes of ‘Talking Back’.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> What does it mean to Talk Back? Who do we Talk Back against? Are we
alone in our attempts or a part of a larger community? How do we use
digital technologies to find other peers and stake-holders? What is the
language and vocabulary we use to successfully articulate our problems?
How do we negotiate with structures of power to fight for our rights?
These are the kind of questions that the workshop poses. The workshop
focuses on uncovering the circuitous routes and ways by which Digital
Natives have managed to circumvent authorities in order to make
themselves heard. The workshop also dwells on what kind of support
structures need to be developed at global levels for Digital Natives to
engage more fruitfully, with their heads held high and minds without
fear, with their immediate environments.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The proceedings of the first workshop in Taipei, 16-18th August, 2010 are available at <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/">http://digitalnatives.in/</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talkingback'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talkingback</a>
</p>
No publishernishantDigital ActivismDigital NativesYouthFeaturedWorkshopDigital subjectivitiesResearchers at Work2015-05-15T11:50:19ZBlog EntryCivic Hacking Workshop
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/civic-hacking-workshop
<b>CIS, with the UK Government's Foreign Office and the Cabinet Office Team for Digital Engagement, and Google India, is organizing a workshop on open data (or the lack thereof) and 'civic hacking'.</b>
<p>The UK Government's Foreign Office and the Cabinet Office Team for Digital Engagement, Google India and the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore are organizing a 'Civic Hacking Workshop' on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, bringing together civic-minded technologists who've been working with governmental data in India and Britain.</p>
<p>The workshop will discuss the problems of obtaining data, especially in India, the technological solutions that these various groups have encountered, the difficulties of technology as a mass-based civic solution, and the visions that these groups have for a more engaged civil society and the contributions they seek to make to the public.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The people attending are, from India (Bangalore):</p>
<ol><li>Alok Singh (Akshara Foundation)</li><li>Shivangi Desai (Akshara Foundation)</li><li>Arun Ganesh (Geohackers / National Institute of Design)</li><li>A. Pandian (Mapunity)</li><li>Sridhar Raman (Mapunity)</li><li>S. Raghavan Kandala (Mapunity)</li><li>Thejesh GN (Janaagraha / Infosys)</li><li>Sushant Sinha (IndianKanoon.com / Yahoo)</li><li>Vijay Rasquinha (Mahiti)</li><li>P.G. Bhat (SmartVote.in)<br /></li><li>Pranesh Prakash (CIS)</li><li>Raman Jit Singh Chima (Google)</li></ol>
<p><br />And from Britain:</p>
<ol><li>David McCandless (Information Is Beautiful)</li><li>Harry Metcalfe (TellThemWhatYouThink.org / Open Rights Group)</li><li>Tim Green (Democracy Club)</li><li>Edmund von der Burg (YourNextMP)</li><li>Rohan Silva (Special Adviser to the PM)</li></ol>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/civic-hacking-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/civic-hacking-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshOpen DataWorkshopDigital GovernanceOpenness2011-08-23T03:14:03ZBlog EntryThird Maps for Making Change Workshop: Using Geographical Mapping Techniques to Support Struggles for Social Justice in India
https://cis-india.org/events/third-maps-for-making-change-workshop
<b>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.</b>
<p><strong>The
aims of the workshop are to: </strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p>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;</p>
</li><li>
<p>explore
campaigning tools and strategies for disseminating the maps produced
among target audiences, including other movements and activists;</p>
</li><li>
<p>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.</p>
</li></ul>
<p><strong>By
the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p>make
informed decisions about every step of the design and implementation
process of a mapping project.</p>
</li></ul>
<p><strong>Also,
participants and organisers will be able to:</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p>identify
the political and ethical challenges of mapping, in particular as
they apply for social justice in India;</p>
</li><li>
<p>understand
better the particularities of online activism and ways in which it
can connect better with activism on the ground in the country;</p>
</li><li>
<p>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.</p>
</li></ul>
<p><strong>The preliminary schedule of the workshop is as follows:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Monday 26 April</strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>9.00-10.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Registration at
Visthar</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>10.00-11.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Welcome and
introductions (icebreaker)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00-1.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>90 Seconds: Where are
we with our projects (and what do we need to achieve during this
workshop)?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>1.00-2.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Lunch </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>2.00-3.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Building partnerships
between techies and activists: what is required? (debate and
discussion)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>3.30-3.45</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee Break</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>3.45-5.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Project time as per
participants' needs (which can relate to technical issues, design,
hosting, ...)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>5.00-6.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Afternoon
'Lab' Sessions (CHOOSE ONE):</p>
<p>Elective
1. Hosting and creating websites and embedding maps</p>
<p>Elective 2. Technology
and Security Concerns for Activists</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.15-6.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Evening Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.30-7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Free Time</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>7.30-8.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Dinner</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>8.30-10.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Screening
of Swagat Sen's film on the second workshop and social gathering</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuesday 27 April <br /></strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>8.00-9.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Breakfast </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.00-9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Morning Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30-11.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Maps as agents of
change – uses and challenges (including in terms of how to
connect with movements on the ground)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>11.00-11.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee Break </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.30-1.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Communication and
campaigning strategies to take mapping outcomes forward to broader
audience, both online and offline (poss. Incl. Use of creative
media)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>1.00-2.15</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Lunch</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>2.15-4.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Project time as per
participants needs</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>4.00-4.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee break</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>4.30-5.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Evaluating Maps for
Making Change</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>5.15-6.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What next?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.15-6.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Evening Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.30-7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Free Time</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>7.30-8.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Dinner</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>8.30-...</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Social
evening</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Wednesday 28 April</strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>8.00 – 9.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Breakfast</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.00 – 9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Morning Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30-12.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Finalise preparations for
public event (project work or other, eg slides on loop etc)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>10.30-11.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee Break </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00-12.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Finalise preparations for
public event (cont.)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>12.30-1.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Lunch</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>1.30-2.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Travel to CIS</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>2.00-4.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Set
up the public event</p>
<p> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>4.00-7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Public event (with a
discussion from 5.30 onwards)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>7.30-9.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Dinner (venue to be
decided) + workshop evaluation</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.00-9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Return to Visthar</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30-...</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Great-working-with-you-guys Party
at Visthar</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/events/third-maps-for-making-change-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/events/third-maps-for-making-change-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisheranjaRAW EventsPracticeWorkshopResearchers at WorkEventMaps for Making Change2015-10-05T15:10:23ZEventWikiWars - A report
https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/wwrep
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore and the Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, hosted WikiWars – an international event that brought together scholars, researchers, academics, artists and practitioners from various disciplines, to discuss the emergence and growth of Wikipedia and what it means for the information societies we inhabit. With participants from 15 countries making presentations about Wikipedia and the knowledge ecology within which it exists, the event saw a vigorous set of debates and discussions as questions about education, pedagogy, language, access, geography, resistance, art and subversion were raised by the presenters. The 2 day event marked the beginning of the process that hopes to produce the first critical reader – Critical Point of View (CPOV) - that collects key resources for research and inquiry around Wikipedia.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The
debates around Wikipedia, the de facto dynamic knowledge production system
online, are very fairly divided into two competing camps. There is a group of
people who swear by Wikipedia – celebrating its democratic processes of
knowledge production, ease of access, and the de-canonisation of knowledge to
produce the ‘WikiWay’; And then there is a group of people who swear at
Wikipedia – raising concerns over authenticity, reliability, vulgarisation of
knowledge and the de-hierarchisation of knowledge systems that Wikipedia seems
to embody. The debates between the two groups are often passionate and situated
in wildly speculative and often personal interests and investments in Wikipedia
and the Web 2.0 Information Revolution that it seems to be a symptom of. The
debates also play out in various international locations, most of them relying
on personal anecdotes, experiences and half hearted data that does not stand
the tests of rigour.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">WikiWars,
then, concentrated on things which are about Wikipedia but also not about Wikipedia.
In many ways, as Geert Lovink, the Director of INC suggested, WikiWars was a
recognition of the fact that Wikipedia has come of age and can now be
systematically and philosophically examined as a work in progress that has
long-term implications about our future. It was the ambition of the Editorial
team (consisting of Geert Lovink, Sabine Nerdeer, Nathaniel Tkacz, Johanna
Niyesito, Sunil Abraham and Nishant Shah) to veer away from the recognised
battle-lines drawn in, around and about Wikipedia, and instead examine the
fault-lines that run under many of our assumptions, prejudices and imaginations
of Wikipedia. And Wikiwars, through careful screening and invested interests,
became one of the first platforms in the world to initiate a critical discourse
on Wikipedia, seeking to engage with its histories, it contemporary
manifestations and practices, and the futures that it seeks to inhabit.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The
different presentations brought in located debates, theoretical and
philosophical concepts and personal experiences to build frameworks that
explain and contextualise Wikipedia as one of the most contested spaces online.
The eight panels across two days dealt with four major thematic areas which
need to be summarised in brief:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">1. <strong><u>Education, Pedagogy and
Knowledge:</u></strong> At the very basis of Wikipedia (and
other structures like it) is the question of knowledge production, the
possibility of using it as an educational tool and the potentials it has for
introducing new pedagogies and learning practices in and outside of institutionalised
education. Presenters from various disciplines engaged with these questions in
interesting ways.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Usha
Raman from Teacher Plus in Hyderabad, brought in the question of primary
education, the need for teacher training programmes and the ways by which
infrastructure development needs to be thought through when talking of
Wikipedia and education in the Indian context. The
necessity of locating Wikipedia in a much larger debates on learning were also
echoed by Noopur Rawal and Srikeit Tadepalli, students from Christ University
who brought their experience of Wikipedia and the expectations from classroom
education and learning in their presentation. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">In
the same field, but from a different approach, a panel examined Wikipedia as a site to critique
Western Knowledge production systems. Stian Haklev and Johanna Niyesito
concentrated on the questions of language and knowledge production. Haklev made
an impassioned argument deconstructing the utopian idea of Wikipedia’s
multilingual dreams and instead made a call for recognising the black-holes
when it comes to non-English production and consumption of knowledge on
Wikipedia. He further explored the implications that linguistic imbalance has
on the very governance structure of Wikipedia and its communities. Niyesito
challenged the ‘global’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ image that Wikipedia has built for
itself and posited the idea of Wikipedia as a translingual space where
different languages and cultures negotiate common understandings and processes
of producing knowledge. HanTeng
Liao explored knowledge production through the market economy of key-words to
see how the linguistic biases of search engines that harvest these keywords,
determines the access and visibility of different Wikipedia pages.</p>
<strong><u>Resistance, Diversity
and Representation:</u></strong> While these questions were present as
undercurrents to most of the presentations at WikWars, they were perhaps most
fiercely present in the debates that followed the presentations by Eric Ilya
Lee (Academia Sinica, Taiwan), YiPing Tsou (National Central University,
Taiwan), William Beutler and Eric Zimmerman (IDC, Israel).
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">For
Lee and Tsou, the responses to the Chinese language Wikipedia from popular
media and personal experiences, were demonstrative of the fact that the lack of
diverse means of representation and participation lead to a strong resistance
of Wikipedia in Taiwan. Beutler
looked at the heavily contested editorial space and policies of Wikipedia to
make a point about how lack of effective governance systems based on
mutual tolerance and diversity lead to
stressful and often traumatic experiences for users who might not be
represented through the mainstream ideas and
ideologies of an English speaking populace.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Zimmerman
took a startling position, calling for a regime of attribution and dissolving
the pseudonymous structures of knowledge production in Wikipedia in order to
build designs of trust and verification into the system, thus leading to better
and more credible research tools and representations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">The
tone of debates was altered with presentations by Mark Graham (Oxford Research
Institute) and the team of artists Nathaniel Stern and Scott Kildal, the team
responsible for the Wikipedia Art Project. Graham
showed the complexity of visualising space and how the production of space (or
physical geography) on Wikipedia often reflects the virtual density of access
and presence online. Showing a nuanced set of images that help mapping these
new geographies for a richer diversity and representation, Graham showed how
systems like Wikipedia ‘cannot know what they cannot know’ despite the reliance
on the wisdom of crowds.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Stern
and Kildall, in giving an account of their project which used Wikipedia’s
policies to undermine and challenge it, show how the institutionalisation of a
space and its ‘canonisation’ can quickly lead to a new set of problems where
the space becomes the very thing it had set itself against.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">3. <strong><u>Politics of Free, Open
and Exclusion:</u></strong> The rhetoric of free and open have been
built into all popular discourses around Wikipedia. However, the presentations
at WikiWars showed that these need to be taken with at least a pinch of salt
and further examined for what they signify. Alok
Nandi of Architempo made a dramatic and creative revisit of these guiding
principles of Wikipedia. He showed how an inquiry into rituals of
participation, distortion and access on Wikipedia can promote, not merely
looking at the politics of exclusion but also at the politics of inclusion and
the problems therein.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Dror
Kamir’s evocative narrative of ‘Your side, my side and Wikipedia’ illustrated
how the question of boundaries, of knowledges, of facts and truths get
distorted as language, community, nationality, etc. come into play in recording
and documenting knowledge on Wikipedia. Concentrating on conflict zones in the
Middle East, he talked about the lack and perhaps the impossibility of
producing neutrality the way in which Wikipedia demands of its users. These
ideas resonated with the propositions that ShunLing Chen from Harvard had
floated in the opening panel to explore the ‘boundary work’ of Wikipedia and
how it defines and produces itself in relation to external forces and
controversies. These
discussions on the politics of presence, absence, inclusion and exclusion were
further layered by presentations by Linda Gross, Elad Weider, Heather Ford and
Nathaniel Tkacz who produced a critique of the Free and Open, taking a
cautionary step away from accepting these as inherently good.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">While
Gross explored the structure of egalitarianism that Wikipedia builds for
itself, Ford presented an analysis of the licensing regimes of the knowledge
produced within Wikipedia and the problems they pose to traditional knowledges
and non-mainstream information. Weider,
trained as a lawyer, critiqued the neo-liberal discourse around Wikipedia and
tried to correlate the communities with markets. Tkacz’s historical overview of
Free and Open, resulted in a compelling inquiry into the very structures that
inform the shape and functioning of objects like Wikipedia.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Twitter:
#WikiWars <a href="http://twitter.com/wikiwars">http://twitter.com/wikiwars</a>
and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jackerhack/wikiwars">www.<strong>twitter</strong>.com/jackerhack/<strong>wikiwars</strong></a><cite></cite></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Flickr:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30479432@N03/sets/72157623193288710/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/30479432@N03/sets/72157623193288710/</a></p>
<p>
CPOV blog : <a href="http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/cpov/">http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/cpov/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The videos fom the Wikiwars event are embedded below:</p>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHM_HIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHM_QoA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHM_RgA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHM_z4A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHN2T4A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHN2gMA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHN2iUA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHN2z0A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHN3C4A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHN3QYA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHN3QYA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOgCwA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOgGgA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOgiUA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOqA4A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOqxYA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOrhIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOrm4A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOrycA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHOzEoA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHQoxAA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHQo3MA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHSrGAA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHSsTcA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHToz8A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHUuGIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHUuTIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHUugsA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHUvW8A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHUvk8A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHVuwwA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHdpxMA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHdz3IA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHd0DMA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHd0iYA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHf4nkA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHf404A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHf43AA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHf5EIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHf5zYA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHghjkA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgh0EA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgiAIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgiFcA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgiUMA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgijUA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgjjIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgjyAA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgjzwA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgj1QA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgkCQA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgkE8A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgkHEA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHgkTcA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHg3n8A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHg3zgA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHg4GIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHg5ykA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHg52gA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHhjUEA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHhr04A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHhsAcA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh10oA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh114A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh%2B0AA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh%2B2EA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh_AcA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh_A8A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh_lQA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHh_w4A"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHjmiIA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHjnHEA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHjuxkA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHjuzwA"></embed>
<embed height="250" width="250" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHjvRUA"></embed>
<embed height="270" width="320" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYHj4kEA"></embed>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/wwrep'>https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/wwrep</a>
</p>
No publishernishantDigital GovernanceWikipediaFeaturedCyberculturesWorkshopCPOV2010-10-06T11:21:56ZBlog EntrySecond Maps for Making Change Workshop: Using Geographical Mapping Techniques to Support Struggles for Social Justice in India
https://cis-india.org/events/second-maps-for-making-change-workshop-using-geographical-mapping-techniques-to-support-struggles-for-social-justice-in-india
<b>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. </b>
<p>
<strong>The
aims of the workshop are to: </strong></p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<ul><li>
<p align="LEFT">explore
in depth tools and techniques for mapping</p>
</li><li>
<p align="LEFT">assist
participants in starting to develop their own maps in the context of
the projects that they have suggested</p>
</li><li>
<p align="LEFT">help
participants identify important design concerns and elements of
their project that require attention at an early stage if they are
to communicate effectively</p>
</li></ul>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>By
the end of the workshop, the participants will be able to:</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p align="LEFT">identify
which mapping tools best suit their project</p>
</li><li>
<p align="LEFT">identify
additional data required to complete their mapping project</p>
</li><li>
<p align="LEFT">make
informed choices about issues relating to privacy, licensing, etc</p>
</li><li>independently continue to develop their own maps using the tools they have explored during the workshop<br /></li><li>
<p align="LEFT">
apply
core concerns of information design to their mapping project to
maximise its effectiveness and impact</p>
</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>The provisional programme of the workshop is as follows:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Monday 1
February </strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">8.00–10.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">Breakfast
and registration at NID</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">10.00–10.45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Welcome
and introductions (icebreaker) - Anja Kovacs & Kate Morioka</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">10.45–11.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Opening
plenary - Lars Bromley:</p>
<p align="LEFT">“Mapping
the truth: how geo-technologies are uncovering human rights
violations and injustice”</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">11.30
– 1.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Morning
Session - MediaShala team:</p>
<p align="LEFT">“Information
Design: the art of making campaigning messages visually
compelling”</p>
</td>
<td>
<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">1.00
– 2.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Lunch</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">2.15
– 3.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Project
Time - All:</p>
<p align="LEFT">revising
project scope based on morning sessions (audience, purpose,
objectives)</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">3.15
– 4.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Afternoon
'Lab' Sessions (choose ONE)</p>
<p align="LEFT">Elective
1. Using Google Maps for Social Activism - Henry Addo</p>
<p align="LEFT">Elective
2. Mapping with Open Layers- Alagesa Pandian</p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">4.30
– 5.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">Break</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">5.00
– 6.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Elective
1. Advanced GIS- Lars Bromley</p>
<p align="LEFT"> Elective
2. GPS Basics - Hardeep Singh Rai, with Arky and Sajjad</p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">6.15-6.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">Evening
Circle - Anja Kovacs</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">6.30
– 7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Free
Time / Knowledge Sharing @ Speakers' Green</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">7.30
– 9.00</p>
<p align="LEFT">(open
invite)</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Film screening: “10 Tactics: Turning Information into
Action” - Kate Morioka.</p>
<p align="LEFT">This film produced by Tactical Tech explores how rights advocates around the world have used information and digital technologies to create change. </p>
</td>
<td>
<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">9.00
– 10.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Dinner </p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Tuesday 2
February</strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">7.30
– 9.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">Breakfast
(Hotel)</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">9.00-9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Morning
Circle - Anja Kovacs</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">9.30
– 11.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Guest
Speakers</p>
<p align="LEFT">“The
experiences of Ushahidi” - Henry Addo</p>
<p align="LEFT">“An
Introduction to Open Street Maps for Activism” - Mikel Maron (online)</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">11.30
– 1.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Participatory
mapping process and techniques - Kate Morioka</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">1.00
– 2.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Lunch</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">2.15
– 4.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">Project
Time - All:</p>
<p align="LEFT">identifying methodology and technical implementation of
participants' mapping projects</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">4.00
– 5.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Break/
Knowledge Sharing @ Speakers' Green</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">5.00-6.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Elective
1. Google Earth for Advocacy - Henry Addo</p>
<p align="LEFT">Elective
2. An Introduction to Open Street Maps - Hardeep Singh Rai</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">6.15-6.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Evening
Circle - Anja Kovacs</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">6.30
– 7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Free
time</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">7.30
– 9.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Exploring
the Ahmedabad Markets</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">9.00
– 10.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Dinner
at Vishala</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Wednesday 3
February</strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">7.30
– 9.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT">Breakfast
(Hotel)</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">9.00-9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Morning
Circle - Anja Kovacs</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">9.30
– 11.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Panel
Discussion</p>
<p align="LEFT">“To
Map or Not to Map: Issues of privacy, licensing and other
rights-related concerns”</p>
<p align="LEFT">Followed
by a group discussion</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">11.15
– 11.45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Break</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">11.45
– 1.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Introduction
to GIS and remote sensing for human rights advocacy - Lars Bromley</p>
</td>
<td>
<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">1.00
– 2.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Lunch</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">2.15
– 3.45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Project
Time - All</p>
<p align="LEFT">time to work on individual projects and obtain feedback from
fellow participants and facilitators</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">3.45-4.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Break</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">4.15
– 4.45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Closing
Plenary - Pratyush Shankar</p>
<p align="LEFT">“Reflection”</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">4.45
– 5.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Evaluation - Madhuresh Kumar</p>
<p align="LEFT">Briefing
on the next workshop - Anja Kovacs</p>
<p align="LEFT">Close - Anja Kovacs and Kate Morioka</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT">Assistant
Facilitators: Arky Ambati and Sajjad Anwar</p>
<p align="LEFT">Technical
Assistance: Kiran (Jace) Jonnalagadda</p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"><strong>VIDEO</strong></p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<p align="LEFT"> </p>
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLW3hkA.html" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLW3hkA" style="display:none"></embed>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/events/second-maps-for-making-change-workshop-using-geographical-mapping-techniques-to-support-struggles-for-social-justice-in-india'>https://cis-india.org/events/second-maps-for-making-change-workshop-using-geographical-mapping-techniques-to-support-struggles-for-social-justice-in-india</a>
</p>
No publisheranjaRAW EventsPracticeWorkshopResearchers at WorkEventMaps for Making Change2015-10-05T15:09:51ZEventOpenness, Videos, Impressions
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/OVSreport
<b>The one day Open Video Summit organised by the Centre for Internet & Society, iCommons, Open Video Alliance, and Magic Lantern, to bring together a range of stakeholders to discuss the possibilities, potentials, mechanics and politics of Open Video. Nishant Shah, who participated in the conversations, was invited to summarise the impressions and ideas that ensued in the day.</b>
<p></p>
<p>The notion of free and open is under great debate even under
that, and I think even when you side with a camp, there are going to be further
splinters. There are many ways of defining the free and open, and I think that the
tension, rather than being resolved, needs to be sustained and creatively
perpetrated to keep an internal checks and balances on not getting carried away
with it. All the groups did indeed circle around this in different,
often tangential ways – that there is need to define, variously and almost
endlessly, in defining the context of the free that we are dealing with.</p>
<p>Open video, in that matter, has gone through different
iterations, and I think it is nice that different stakeholders have defined it
variously, and also looked at the problems that it might lead to. However, for
the sake of synthesis, I am going to let you have your own idea of free and
open but instead look at five key words which have emerged, in my selective
hearing, through the day: <strong>Access, Archive,
Share, Remix, Repurpose</strong>. And it is these five that we need to now
imbricate these concepts across different thematic that emerged in the groups
today.</p>
<p><strong>Access</strong> has been one primary question that almost everybody
dealt with; Access has its legacies in the Open and Free culture movements,
where technological access, dealing with questions of open standards and
content, of bandwidth and infrastructure. More interestingly, in an emerging
information society like India, there are other concerns of language, access,
privilege, bandwidth, education etc. To
contextualise access and to put it into different perspectives is something
that different participants have voiced the need for.</p>
<p><strong>Archive</strong> is a preoccupation with most people because
archiving has close relationships with knowledge and subsequently retrieval and
usage. If knowledge is being digitised so that it is made accessible to
different people, there are older questions of representation, voice,
empowerment, participation, ethics, privacy, ownership etc. Crop up. In
education archiving has to do with the curricula building and knowledge
production. In networking, collaboration and film making, it is the kind of
issues that pad.ma is trying to tackle with. It also leads to notions of
access, distribution etc.</p>
<p><strong>Sharing </strong>is what is almost defining the spirit of the Open
and Free culture movements. There is a need to understand and explore what
sharing means. When does it infringe laws and what kind of regulation needs to
be advocated so that sharing becomes possible. How does one overcome questions
of piracy, stealing, IPR etc? More interestingly, what do we share and who do
we share it with? Tools by which sharing
leads to innovation? How does it lead to new participation and learning
practices and pedagogies? What kind of open distribution models and networks
can be built up?</p>
<p><strong>Remix</strong> has been of great value because it means that you are
being converted into some sort of a stakeholder or a contributor to the
process. Networking and nodes, network-actor, collaborator , peer 2 peer – the
possibility of looking at questions of internet and digital traces is
interesting. Or imagine that the act of sharing is also a remix. Sometimes just
putting it into new contexts, making it available to newer constituencies, etc.
can also be looked upon as remixing. Remix as a knowledge production aesthetic
and mechanics seems to have emerged.</p>
<p><strong>Repurpose </strong>is my additional reading of something that perhaps
needs no mention to this group, but nonetheless needs flagging. The fact
remains, that the technology is not a solution in itself. It is a tool that
enables the solutions which one is seeking for. The processes, paradigms,
protocols and practices are indeed shaped and mediated by technologies and
there are new solution possibilities which are produced. However, there still
seem to be anxieties, concerns, questions and problems which are cropping up
and need to be addressed outside of technology but within technology ecologies.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/OVSreport'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/OVSreport</a>
</p>
No publishernishantConferenceOpen StandardsArtWorkshopDigital AccessFLOSSOpen ContentArchivesOpennessOpen InnovationMeetingOpen Access2011-09-22T12:23:13ZBlog EntryOpen Video Summit
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-video-summit
<b>The Open Video Summit: A one-day workshop to explore issues of intellectual property and telecom policy for video is being organized by The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), iCommons, Open Video Alliance and Magic Lantern on December 15, 2009 at TERI, Bangalore, from 9am to 6pm.</b>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), iCommons, Open Video
Alliance and Magic Lantern are organizing a workshop on December 15,
2009.</p>
<p>This workshop in Bangalore—modelled after a similar <a href="http://openvideoalliance.org/wiki/index.php?title=Open_Video_Meeting_at_Yale_Law_School_%2810/31/08%29">meeting</a>
in October 2008 at Yale University—draws together experts from tech,
art, film, NGOs and business to explore the future of online video.</p>
<p><strong>When</strong>: December 15th, 2009</p>
<p><strong>Where</strong>: The Energy and Resources Institute- Southern Regional Centre</p>
<p>(TERI-SRC)<br />4th Main, 2nd Cross, Domlur II Stage<br />Bangalore- 560071</p>
<p><strong>What</strong>: The Open Video Summit is a one-day workshop
to explore issues of intellectual property and telecom policy for
video. By inviting experts from different fields to participate in the
workshop, we aim to create a <a href="http://openvideoalliance.org/issues">framework</a> for
open video in India and to better understand how the online video
medium is developing. We also hope to expand the network of researchers
who have open video on the radar and to foster international
collaborations. We expect between 30-40 participants to attend.</p>
<p>Participants should bring some specialized knowledge or insight
about the state of online video to the event. The workshop is highly
interactive and its success will depend on the quality and dynamism of
our discussions. This workshop will in turn direct iCommons research
efforts in the area of online video policy.</p>
<p><strong>Why</strong>: We’re now surrounded by cameras in cellphones,
laptops, and everywhere else. Software and storage advances have made
video remix an emergent art form. For the first time, huge numbers of
people are communicating through video. Video is almost like a new
language, a new toolkit for self-expression. This has some pretty
profound implications.</p>
<p>But while sites like YouTube have enabled millions of people to
broadcast themselves, it offers just a glimpse into the future of the
online video medium. Heading into this future, the tools for creating,
manipulating, and sharing video must be available to everyone. And
while having community-developed, open source versions of these tools
is a critical charge, it’s only one part of a larger puzzle. Open video
requires that networks and technical, legal and business structures
support the ability of huge numbers of individuals to use video in ways
that go beyond just watching.</p>
<p>The Open Video Alliance was created to support industry coordination toward an <a href="http://openvideoalliance.org/wiki/index.php?title=Some_principles_for_open_video">open video ecosystem</a>.
OVA members develop free and open source software and conduct policy
research to support a more participatory video medium. The OVA also
coordinates the <a href="http://openvideoalliance.org/open-video-conference/">Open Video Conference</a>,
a multi-day summit of thought leaders in business, academia, art, and
activism to explore the future of online video. The first OVC was host
to over 800 guests, including 150 workshop leaders, panelists and
speakers. Over 8,000 viewers tuned in from home to watch the live
broadcast.</p>
<p><strong>Meeting Organizers:</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="http://openvideoalliance.org/"><em>Open Video Alliance </em></a>is a coalition of organizations devoted to creating and promoting</p>
<p>free and open technologies, policies, and practices in online video.
OVA founding members include Mozilla, the Participatory Culture
Foundation, Kaltura, iCommons, and the Yale Information Society Project.</p>
<p><a href="http://icommons.org/"><em>iCommons</em> </a>is a project-based incubator organization dedicated to promoting free culture and the global commons.</p>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/../../"><em>The Centre for Internet and Society</em></a>
critically engages with concerns of digital pluralism, public
accountability and pedagogic practices, in the field of Internet and
Society, with particular emphasis on South-South dialogues and exchange.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.magiclanternfoundation.org/"><em>Magic Lantern Foundation</em> </a>is a non-profit group working with media and human rights.</p>
<p><em>This meeting made possible with the support of the Ford Foundation.</em></p>
<p><strong>Working schedule:</strong></p>
<p>Morning: </p>
<ul><li>Keynote talk and brief discussion<span class="apple-tab-span"></span></li><li>Lightning presentations by selected participants<span class="apple-tab-span"></span></li><li><span class="apple-tab-span"></span>Breakout discussion groups</li></ul>
<p>Afternoon: <span class="apple-tab-span"></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="apple-tab-span"></span>Lunch<span class="apple-tab-span"></span></li><li><span class="apple-tab-span"></span>Breakout discussion groups<span class="apple-tab-span"></span></li><li><span class="apple-tab-span"></span>Plenary discussion to identify focus areas and summarize</li></ul>
<p>Evening: <span class="apple-tab-span"></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="apple-tab-span"></span>Film Screening</li></ul>
<p><strong><em>Space is limited. Please RSVP to <a href="mailto:conference@openvideoalliance.org">conference@openvideoalliance.org</a>, and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. We look forward to meeting you in Bangalore.</em></strong></p>
<p> <img class="image-inline" src="../../../../home-images/ff..jpg/image_preview" alt="ff" height="150" width="110" /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-video-summit'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-video-summit</a>
</p>
No publisherradhaOpen ContentWorkshop2011-08-18T05:08:54ZBlog EntryMaps for Making Change Kicks Off, and You Can Get Involved!
https://cis-india.org/advocacy/other-advocacy/maps-for-making-change-kicks-off-and-you-can-get-involved
<b>A first in India, Maps for Making Change explores the use of geographical mapping techniques to support struggles for social justice in India. On 3 December, the project officially kicks off during a one-day workshop in Delhi. But even if you can not be there with us in Delhi, there are ways to get involved. </b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/advocacy/other-advocacy/maps-for-making-change-kicks-off-and-you-can-get-involved'>https://cis-india.org/advocacy/other-advocacy/maps-for-making-change-kicks-off-and-you-can-get-involved</a>
</p>
No publisheranjaDigital ActivismPracticeWorkshopResearchers at WorkMaps for Making Change2015-10-05T15:03:39ZBlog EntryMaps for Making Change - The First Workshop
https://cis-india.org/events/maps-for-making-change-the-first-workshop
<b>In this first workshop in a series of three, participants will think through the potential of mapping in the context of a project that they have suggested in their application and the preparations they need to make to make these ideas a reality. </b>
<p>On 3 December, 'Maps for Making Change:
Using Geographical Mapping Techniques to Support Struggles for Social
Justice in India' will officially kick off at the India Islamic
Cultural Centre on Delhi's Lodhi Road. In this first workshop in a
series of three, participants will think through the potential of
mapping in the context of a project that they have suggested in their
application and the preparations they need to make to make these
ideas a reality.</p>
<p>A joint initiative by the Centre for Internet and Society
in Bangalore and the Tactical Tech Collective in Bangalore and the
UK, Maps for Making Change is a two month project that seeks to
explore the potential of digital mapping for social change
specifically in the Indian context. For the first time, activists
and supporters of movements and campaigns working for progressive
social change in the country will get the opportunity to collectively
debate and explore in detail the potential of digital mapping as a
tool to support their work. </p>
<p align="left"><strong>The aims of
this first workshop are to: </strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p align="left">introduce
tools and techniques for mapping</p>
</li><li>
<p align="left">assist
participants to identify the information they need to collect for
their mapping project</p>
</li></ul>
<p align="left"><strong>By the end
of the workshop, the participants will be able to:</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p align="left">understand
the socio-political context of mapping and how maps can be used to
maximise advocacy efforts</p>
</li><li>
<p align="left">identify
different types of maps (static, interactive, collaborative, etc)</p>
</li><li>
<p align="left">identify
some of the tools used for creating, uploading and editing maps (not
covering the technical aspects nor the step-by-step process for
making maps, but focusing on the general web-based mapping
techniques)</p>
</li><li>
<p align="left">understand
data collection for mapping</p>
</li></ul>
<p align="left"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="left"><strong>The preliminary workshop schedule is as follows:</strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left">Welcome
and introductions</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left">Why
mapping?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left"><strong>15 min
break</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left">Mapping
and Advocacy Discussion</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left">How
do you 'map'? Basic tools and techniques</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left">What
can you 'map'?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left"><strong>Lunch
break</strong><strong> </strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left">Project
scoping of participants' projects</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="left">Summary</p>
<p align="left"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/events/maps-for-making-change-the-first-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/events/maps-for-making-change-the-first-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisherAnja KovacsRAW EventsPracticeWorkshopResearchers at WorkEventMaps for Making Change2015-10-05T15:09:14ZEventOpen Standards Workshop at IGF '09
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/dcos-workshop-09
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society co-organized a workshop on 'Open Standards: A Rights-Based Framework' at the fourth Internet Governance Forum, at Sharm el-Sheikh. The panel was chaired by Aslam Raffee of Sun Microsystems and the panellists were Sir Tim Berners-Lee of W3C, Renu Budhiraja of India's DIT, Sunil Abraham of CIS, Steve Mutkoski of Microsoft, and Rishab Ghosh of UNU-MERIT.</b>
<p>Sir Tim Berners-Lee started the session with an address on various rights. Rights, he noted can range from being things like the rights to air and water to the right not to have the data carrier you use determine which movie you watch. Then, there are tensions between rights: the right to anonymity can clash with the right to know who posted information on making a bomb. Berners-Lee stated that for 2009, he has chosen to pursue one particular right: the right to government-held data. This data can include everything from where schools are to emergency services such as locations of hospitals. Today, we are talking about standards. </p>
<p>The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a fifteen-year old body in which all kinds of people come together for purposes of setting standards around the World Wide Web. Thus, everything from HTML, which is used to write Web pages to WCAG, which are guidelines to enable people with disabilities access websites through assistive technologies. W3C conducts its discussions openly: anybody who has a good idea has a right to participate in its discussions -- it does not matter who one works for, who one represents -- what does matter are the ideas one brings to the table. The kinds of standards that W3C deals with are of interest to an immensely wide-ranging group of people. Even ten-year olds have actually expressed their opinions about standards like HTML. All this openness of participation must be guaranteed while ensuring that the processes move forward.</p>
<p>Next spoke Renu Budhiraja of the Department of Information and Technology, which is a part of the Indian government. She started off by hoping that this workshop would be not only a platform to share knowledge, but also to reach consensus on a few matters. Next, she laid out why open standards are extremely important for the Indian government. What citizens want in their interactions with the government are ease of interaction and efficiency. For them it is immaterial whether a certain service is provided by Department A or Department B. Thus we need to move towards a single-window government service for citizens, enabling them to interact easily with the government's various departments. While such an initiative must be centralized for it to be effective, it is crucial that its implementation be decentralized and suited to each district or localities' needs.</p>
<p>There is, understandably, a huge institutional mechanism behind ensuring that these systems are based on open standards. We have expert committees, consisting of academics and knowledgeable bureaucrats, and working groups, which include industry groups. Through these, we have evolved a National Policy on Open Standards, which is currently in a draft stage, but shall be notified soon. This policy outlines the principles based on which particular standards required for governmental functioning are to be chosen or evolved. This document will ensure long-term accessibility to public documents and information, and seamless interoperability of various governmental services and departments. It will also reduce the risk of vendor lock-in and reduce costs, and thus ensure long-term, sustainable, scalable and cost-effective solutions.</p>
<p>Ms. Budhiraja noted that there are a few aspects of the policy that bear discussion in a forum such as the IGF. First is the issue of whether royalty-free is the only choice for innovation. All other things equal, between royalty-free and reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) standards, of course royalty-free is to be preferred. But what if a superior technology (JPEG200 vs. JPEG) is RAND? What should the government's position be in such a case? Further, what should the government's position be when in a particular domain a RAND standard is the only option? </p>
<p>Next is the issue of single vs. multiple open standards. When interoperability is what we are aiming at, can multiple standards be recommended as some in the industry are asking us to do? And then is the issue of market maturity. The government sometimes finds itself in a situation where a standard is available, but well-developed products around that standard aren't and there aren't sufficient vendors using that standard. All these issues are of great practical importance when a government works on a policy document on standards.</p>
<p>Next up was Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society. His presentation was on open standards as citizens' and consumers' rights. He started off by citing the example of the Smart Card Operating System for Transport Application (SCOSTA) standard, and the implications that the SCOSTA story has on large-scale projects such as the National Unique ID project currently under way in India. SCOSTA, an open standard, was being written off as unimplementable by all the MNC smart card vendors who wished to push RAND standards. IIT Kanpur helped the government develop a working implementation. Within twenty days, the card manufacturers submitted modified cards for compliance testing by NIC. Because of SCOSTA being an open standard, local companies also joined the tender. The cost went down from Rs. 600 per card to Rs. 30 per card. This shows the benefits of open standards as a means of curbing oligopolistic pricing, and working for the benefit of consumers.</p>
<p>From a rights-based perspective, access to the state machinery is a primary right. Citizens should not be required to pirate or purchase software to interact with the state. If e-governance solutions are based on proprietary standards, not all citizens would be equal. The South African example or requiring a particular browser to access the election commission's website shows that in a rather drastic fashion. When intellectual property interferes with governmental needs, governments have not been shy of issuing compulsory licences. This was seen when during the Great War the United States government pooled various flight-related patents and compulsorily licensed them, as well as what we are currently seeing with many Aids-related drugs being compulsorily licensed in developing countries. Thus, there are precedents for such licensing, and governments should explore them in the realm of e-governance. Many countries now have statutes that guarantee the right to government-held information. Government Interoperability Frameworks should take these into account, and mandate all government-to-citizen (G2C) information be transacted via open standards. This must be backed up by a strong accessibility policy to ensure that the governments don't discriminate between their citizens.</p>
<p>Proprietary standards act like pseudo-intellectual property rights, just as DRMs do. They add a layer on top of rights such as copyright, and can prevent the exercise of fair use and fair dealing rights because of an inability to legally negotiate the standards in which the content is encoded in a cost-free manner. In guaranteeing this balance between copyrights and fair dealing rights, free software and alternative IP models play a crucial role. Because of software patents being recognized in a few countries, development of free software which allows citizens to exercise their fair use rights is harmed in all countries.</p>
<p>Steve Mutkoski of Microsoft spoke next and placed the standards debate in a large context. He noted that standards are a technicality that are only a small part of the large issue which is interoperability in e-governance and delivery to citizens. The real challenges are organizational and semantic interoperability. Frequently interoperability is not harmed by technical issues, but by legal and organizational issues. Governments used to work on paper; during the shift to electronic data, they didn't engage in any organizational changes. Thus they continue to function with electronic data the same way that they did with paper-based data. Governments often lack strong privacy policies regarding the data that each of their departments holds. This harms governmental functioning. Additionally, legacy hardware and software have to be catered to by the standards we are talking about: sometimes an open standard just will not work. </p>
<p>Standards don't guarantee interoperability, and there is significant work done on this by noted academics ("Why Standards Are Not Enough To Guarantee End-to-End Interoperability" Lewis et al.; "Difficulties Implementing Standards" Egyedi & Dahanayake; "Standards Compliant, But Incompatible?" Egyedi et al.). Mandated standards lists will not help address interoperability issues between different implementations of the same standard. What would help? Transparency of implementations; collaboration with community; active participation in maintenance of standards, etc., would help. There is a need for continued public sector reform, with a focus on citizen-centric e-governance, and a need to engage with the question of whether government-mandated standards lists lead the market or follow the market.</p>
<p>Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, a senior researcher at UN University, Maastricht, spoke next. He started by noting that technical standards are left to technical experts. That needs to change, which is why discussing open standards at the IGF is important. He next set off a hypothetical: imagine you go to the city council office in Sharm el Sheik, and at the parking lot there it says that your car has to be a Ford if you are to park there; or if the Dutch government insists that you have a Philips TV if you are to receive the national broadcaster's signal. While these might seem absurd, situations like this arise all the time when it comes to the realm of software. Thus, the social effects of open standards are of utmost importance, and not just their technical qualities. Analysing the social effects of open standards takes us back to the economics of technology and technological standards. Technological standards exhibit network externalities: their inherent value is less than the value of others using them. Being the only person in the world with a telephone won't be very useful. Technological standards also exhibit path dependence: once you go with one technological format, it is difficult to change over to another even if that other format is superior to the first. Thus, clearly, standards benefit when there is a 'natural monopoly'. The challenge really arises when faced with the question of how to ensure a monopoly in a technology without the supplier of that technology exhibiting monopolistic tendencies. This can only be done when the technology is open and developed openly, of which the web standards and the W3C are excellent examples. If the technology or the process are semi-open, then because of the few intellectual property rights attached to the technology, some would be better off than others. Just as governments cannot insist on driving a particular make of cars as a prerequisite for access to them, they cannot insist on using a particular proprietary standard as a means of accessing them.</p>
<p>Many interesting questions arose when the floor was thrown open to the audience. "Should governments only mandate a particular standard when it is certain that market maturity exists?" Not really, since governmental decisions also give signals to the market and help direct attention to those standards. It would be best if roadmaps were provided, with particular under-mature standards being designated as "preferred standards", thus helping push industry in a particular direction. Examples where this strategy has borne fruit abound. This is also the strategy found in the Australian GIF. On the issue of multiplicity of standards, Sir Tim was very clear that they have to be avoided at all costs. He gave the example of XSLT and CSS, which are both stylesheet formats. He noted that their domain of operation was very different (with one being for servers and the other for clients), so having two standards with similar functions but different domains of operation does not make them multiple standards. Multiple standards defeat the purpose of the standardization process.</p>
<p>It was noted that governmental choices are of practical importance to citizens. During the Hurricane Katrina emergency, the federal emergency website only worked properly if Internet Explorer was used. How do we move forward? We must move forward by having policies that strike a balance between allowing for the natural evolution of standards and stability. The Government Interoperability Frameworks must be dynamic documents, allowing for categorization between standards and having clear roadmaps to enable industry to provide solutions to the government in a timely fashion. Governments must be strong in order to push industry towards openness, for the sake of its citizens, and not let industry dictate proprietary standards as the solution. Some opined that since there are dozens of domains that governments function in, maintaining lists of standards is a time-consuming process that is not justified, but others rebutted that by noting that for enterprise architectures to work, governments have to maintain such lists internally. Opening up that list to citizens and service providers would not entail greater overheads.</p>
<p><strong>Sunil Abraham talking Open Standards at IGF09</strong></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/dcos-workshop-09'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/dcos-workshop-09</a>
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No publisherpraneshOpen StandardsConsumer RightsDigital GovernanceFair DealingsFLOSSWorkshopOpenness2011-08-23T02:54:03ZBlog Entry