Centre for Internet and Society

ଆଦିବାସୀ ଭାଷାର ଉନ୍ନତିକଳ୍ପେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ

praskrishna — 2014-02-03T10:43:58Z

Subhashish Panigrahi is quoted in this article published by Odishan.com on January 12, 2014.

ଗତକାଲି ଭୁବନେଶ୍ବରସ୍ଥିତ କଳିଙ୍ଗ ଇନଷ୍ଟିଚ୍ୟୁଟ ଅଫ ସୋସିଆଲ ସାଇନ୍ସେସ (କିସ) ପରିସରରେ କିଟ ବିଶ୍ବବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ ସହିତ ବେଙ୍ଗାଳୁରୁର ସେଣ୍ଟର ଅଫ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ଏଣ୍ଡ ସୋସାଇଟି-ଆକ୍ସେସ ଟୁ ନଲେଜ ପ୍ରୋଗ୍ରାମ ଏକ ମେମୋରାଣ୍ଡମ ଅଫ ଅଣ୍ଡରଷ୍ଟାଣ୍ଡିଂ (ଏମ ଓ ୟୁ)ରେ ଦସ୍ତଖତ କରିଛନ୍ତି । କିସଠାରେ ଆଦିବାସୀ ପିଲା ଓ ଅଧ୍ୟାପକମାନଙ୍କୁ ନେଇ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆକୁ ସମୃଦ୍ଧି କରିବା ତଥା ଆଦିବାସୀ ଭାଷାରେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ବିକାଶ ନିମନ୍ତେ ନୂଆ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମମାନ ଆରମ୍ଭ କରାଯିବ । ଆଦିବାସୀମାନଙ୍କର ଭାଷା, ସଂସ୍କୃତି, କଳା ଓ ଜନଜୀବନର ଅନେକ ଉପାଦେୟ ବିଷୟ ଆଜି ବି ଜନସାଧାରଣଙ୍କ ଅଗୋଚରରେ ରହିଛି ।

ଏହି ବିବିଧ ବିଷୟରେ ବୁଦ୍ଧିଜୀବୀ, ଗବେଷକ ଓ ମାନବବିଦମାନେ ଅଧିକ ଗବେଷଣା ପାଇଁ ଏହି ମିଳିତ ପ୍ରଚେଷ୍ଟା ବିଶ୍ବର ଏକ ନୂଆ ଯୁଗର ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିବ ବୋଲି ଏହାକୁ ଉଦଘାଟନ କରି କିସ ଓ କିଟର ପ୍ରତିଷ୍ଠାତା ଡଃ ଅଚ୍ୟୁତ ସାମନ୍ତ କହିଛନ୍ତି । ଏଥିରେ ଯୋଗଦେଇ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ଏଣ୍ଡ ସୋସାଇଟି-ଆକ୍ସେସ ଟୁ ନଲେଜ ପ୍ରୋଗ୍ରାମର ପ୍ରୋଗ୍ରାମ ଅଫିସର ତଥା ଏହି ଦୀର୍ଘସୂଚୀ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମକୁ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକାରୀ କରୁଥିବା ଶୁଭାଶିଷ ପାଣିଗ୍ରାହୀ ଏହା ଆଦିବାସୀଙ୍କର ଜୀବନକୁ ବିଶ୍ବସ୍ତରରେ ପରିଚିତ କରାଇବ ତଥା ଆଦିବାସୀ ଭାଷାସମୂହର ନଥିକରଣରେ ସହାୟକ ହେବ ବୋଲି ମତବ୍ୟକ୍ତ କରିଛନ୍ତି । ଏହି ଉତ୍ସବରେ କିଟ ତରଫରୁ ରେଜିଷ୍ଟ୍ରାର ଡଃ ସସ୍ମିତା ସାମନ୍ତ, କିସ ତରଫରୁ ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟକାନ୍ତ ମହାନ୍ତି ଓ ସେଣ୍ଟର ଅଫ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ଏଣ୍ଡ ସୋସାଇଟି ତରଫରୁ ଟି ବିଷ୍ଣୁବର୍ଦ୍ଧନ ଏହି ମିଳିତ ଏମ ଓ ୟୁରେ ଔପଚାରିକ ଭାବେ ଦସ୍ତଖତ କରିଥିଲେ ।

ଆଗାମୀ ପାଞ୍ଚ ବର୍ଷ ନିମନ୍ତେ କିଟ ଓ କିସରେ ବହୁବିଧ କର୍ମଶାଳା ଓ ସଚେତନାମୂଳକ ଆଲୋଚନାଚକ୍ର ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ଶିକ୍ଷକ ଓ ଛାତ୍ରମାନଙ୍କୁ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ଗବେଷଣାତ୍ମକ ନଥିକରଣ ଓ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଭଳି ମୁକ୍ତ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷରେ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗମାନ ଲେଖି ଓ ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରି ନିଜ ଜ୍ଞାନର ବିକାଶ କରିବା ସଙ୍ଗେସଙ୍ଗେ ଅନ୍ୟମାନଙ୍କ ନିମନ୍ତେ ମଧ୍ୟ ମୁକ୍ତଜ୍ଞାନ ବିତରଣ କରିପାରିବେ । ଏଥିସହିତ ବିଶ୍ବର ବାକି ଦେଶମାନଙ୍କରେ ଥିବା ଅନେକ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ ଓ ଗବେଷକମାନଙ୍କ ସହ ଭାଗନେଇ ନୂତନ ଦିଗନ୍ତମାନ ଉନ୍ମୋଚନ କରିପାରିବେ ।

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଯାହା ୨୦୧୧ ମସିହା ପରଠାରୁ ଅନେକ ସମ୍ପାଦକଙ୍କ ଦ୍ବାରା ସମ୍ପାଦନା ହେବାକୁ ଲାଗିଲା, ଏବେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ବିଶାଳତମ ଅନଲାଇନ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ଓ or.wikipedia ରେ ସମସ୍ତେ ଏହାକୁ ପଢ଼ିପାରିବେ ତଥା ଏଥିରେ ଅଧିକ ତଥ୍ୟ ଯୋଡ଼ି ଏଥିରେ ଥିବା ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗସବୁକୁ ଅଧିକ ତଥ୍ୟପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ କରିପାରିବେ । ଏଠାରେ ଥିବା ଆଦିବାସୀ ପିଲାମାନେ ନିଜେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଭଳି ଏକ ବିଶ୍ବସ୍ତରୀୟ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷରେ ଜ୍ଞାନଦାନ ଓ ଗ୍ରହଣ କରି ବାକିମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ଅନେକ ସହଜ ଶିକ୍ଷଣ ତିଆରି କରିପାରିବେ ବୋଲି ବିଶ୍ବାସ ରଖନ୍ତି ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ସକ୍ରିୟତମ ସଦସ୍ୟ ଶିତିକଣ୍ଠ ଦାଶ । ବୃତ୍ତିରେ ଇଞ୍ଜିନିୟର ହୋଇ ଯଦି ନିଜେ ଅନ୍ୟମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ପାଠପଢ଼ାର ସାଧନକ୍ଷେତ୍ର ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆକୁ କିଟର ଛାତ୍ରମାନେ ଉନ୍ନତ କରିପାରିବେ ବୋଲି କହନ୍ତି ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ଆଉଜଣେ ସ୍ବେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ସଦସ୍ୟ ଜ୍ଞାନରଞ୍ଜନ ସାହୁ ।

ଆଗାମୀ କିଛିମାସ ଭିତରେ କିସଠାରେ ଅନେକ ପୁସ୍ତକ, ଜର୍ଣ୍ଣାଲ, ଅନଲାଇନ ଗବେଷଣା ନଥିଆଦି ଅଣାଯାଇ ଏକ ଭିତ୍ତିଭୂମିର ବିକାଶ କରାଯିବ । ଏହା ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ ତଥା ଶିକ୍ଷକମାନଙ୍କୁ ଅଧିକ ଜ୍ଞାନ ଆହରଣର ସୁବିଧା ଯୋଗାଇବ । ଏହି ପରୋକ୍ଷରେ ଅଧିକ ଛାତ୍ରଙ୍କୁ ପରୋକ୍ଷରେ ସ୍ବାଭାଲମ୍ବୀ କରାଇବା ସଙ୍ଗେସଙ୍ଗେ ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ଜଗତସାରା ଲୁକ୍କାୟିତ ଜ୍ଞାନର ବିତରଣରେ ସହାୟକ ହେବ । ଏହି ତୃଣମୂଳ ସ୍ତରର ପରଖ କିଟ ତଥା ଅନେକ ଅନ୍ୟାନ୍ୟ ଶିକ୍ଷାନୁଷ୍ଠାନରେ ଏହିପରି ବିଭିନ୍ନ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମ ପାଇଁ ବାଟ କଢ଼ାଇବ ।

Click to read the original published by Odishan.com here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/odishan-january-12-2014-coverage-on-odia-wikipedia

The Dynamics of Education to Employment Journey: Opportunities and Challenges

praskrishna — 2014-04-14T09:40:19Z

KIIT School of Management, KIIT Univeristy is holding the 7th National Management Convention 2014 at its campus in Bhubaneswar on February 21 and 22, 2014. T. Vishnu Vardhan and Subhashish Panigrahi have been invited to address the students of KIIT University.

Click to download the event brochure

Vishnu Vardhan and Subhashish Panigrahi spoke at the event and also evaluated submissions by students and researchers. Subhashish's presentation titled Redefining Education to Employment Journey: Voices of the Youth/Students can be accessed here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/dynamics-of-education-to-employment-journey

Father-son duo promote Punjabi online

praskrishna — 2014-02-06T01:52:17Z

A father-son duo has been working to include more information about Punjab and Punjabi on Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia.

The article by Jatinder Preet was published in the Sunday Guardian on February 1, 2014.

Charan Gill and his son Satdeep Gill have written hundreds of articles in English, Hindi and Punjabi in both Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi scripts. The father-son duo recently represented Punjabi in the first ever Train the Trainer Program in India, held at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS-A2K) in Bangalore. The four-day event was organised for capacity building amongst Wikimedia volunteers for effective and efficient outreach programs in their respective regions to expand the Wikimedia movement in India, informed Charan Gill.

Satdeep Gill, a graduate student at Punjabi University, Patiala was already a contributor to the Punjabi Wikipedia when he attended a workshop held by veteran Punjabi Wikipedian G.S. Guglani. Satdeep became quite active after the workshop and soon his father too joined in. Charan informs he has contributed around 2700 articles, while Satdeep who is one of the administrators, has written around 600 pages. When he started there were around 3000 articles and there were too many factual and other errors, said Charan. He started editing older articles and adding newer ones along with Satdeep. There were others who joined in and now it has around 8700 articles. "Our target is to reach 10,000 by April," said Charan.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/sunday-guardian-february-1-2014-jatinder-preet-father-son-duo-promote-punjabi-online

January 2017 Newsletter

praskrishna — 2017-03-01T06:00:37Z

Welcome to the January 2017 newsletter of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS).

Dear readers,

We are pleased to bring you the Centre for Internet & Society's January newsletter. Previous issues of the newsletters can be accessed here.

Highlights
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPD) Act, which was passed in December 2016, seeks to give effect to the rights and obligations enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities, which India signed and ratified nearly a decade ago. Nirmita Narasimhan in a blog entry has summarized the key provisions of the Act relating to digital accessibility. The latest judgment in the matter of Super Cassettes v. MySpace is a landmark and progressive ruling, which strengthens the safe harbor immunity enjoyed by Internet intermediaries in India. CIS was one of the intervenors in the case, and has been duly acknowledged in the judgment. Meena Gayathri became the first South Indian Wikiwoman to complete 100 Wikidays challenge. The challenge required Wikipedians to create one new article per day for one hundred days in a row. Gayathri's contribution and passion towards Telugu language and culture have transcended into a "knowledge revolution". The Committee on Digital Payments constituted by the Ministry of Finance and chaired by Ratan P. Watal, Principal Advisor, NITI Aayog, submitted its report on the "Medium Term Recommendations to Strengthen Digital Payments Ecosystem" on December 09, 2016. The report was made public on December 27, and comments were sought from the general public. CIS submitted its comments. The comments were authored by Sumandro Chattopadhyay. ICANN sought community input on the Proposed ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Policy on 7 November 2016. In response to this CIS submitted its comments. The comments were authored by Padma Venkataraman, Rohini Lakshané, Sampada Nayak and Vidushi Marda. The eleven sessions selected for the Internet Researchers' Conference 2017 (IRC17) to be held at the IIIT Bangalore campus during March 3-5, 2017 has been announced. The conference is being organised by the Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy (CITAPP) at IIIT Bangalore and CIS.

CIS in the news

India’s Digital ID Rollout Collides With Rickety Reality (Gabriele Parussini; Wall Street Journal; January 13, 2017).
Millions of Indians move from cash to digital payments. But some ask whether it’s safe (Rama Lakshmi; Washington Post; January 14, 2017).
Sunil Abraham on Aadhaar's misuse during demonetisation (Economic Times; January 14, 2017)
The soon-to-be launched Aadhaar Pay will let you make purchases using your fingerprint (Indulekha Aravind; January 15, 2017).
Lost your phone? Here's how you can make your mobile theft-proof (Sanjay Kumar Singh; Business Standard; January 16, 2017).
The Dangers Of Aadhaar-Based Payments That No One Is Talking About (Mayank Jain; Bloomberg; January 17, 2017).
Supreme Court issues notice to WhatsApp, Centre on data privacy (MJ Antony, Ayan Pramanik and Apurva Venkat; Business Standard; January 17, 2017).
Demonetisation: Cost Vs Benefit (NDTV; December 24, 2016). Sunil Abraham took part in the Big Fight programme aired by NDTV. The video was published on January 17, 2017.
For India’s complaints department, visit Facebook Live (Amy Kazmin; Financial Times; January 23, 2017).

CIS members wrote the following articles:

Cashlessness Needs Connectivity (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; January 4, 2017).
Digital Native: The Dream of the Cyborg (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; January 8, 2017).
Digital transitions in the newsroom: How are Indian language papers adapting differently? (Zeenab Aneez; London School of Economics and Political Science; January 16, 2017).
Digital native: Back at it Again (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; January 22, 2017).

Jobs

Policy Officer (Cyber Security)
Senior Policy Officer (Cyber Security)
Internship - Application accepted throughout the year
Survey Participants for Research on Musician Livelihood

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Accessibility & Inclusion
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India has an estimated 70 million persons with disabilities who don't have access to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. As part of our endeavour to make available accessible content for persons with disabilities, we are developing a text-to-speech software in 15 languages with support from the Hans Foundation. The progress made so far in the project can be accessed here.

Blog Entry

Digital accessibility in the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act 2016 (Nirmita Narasimhan; January 23, 2017).

Participation in Event

Workplace Solutions Champions Consultative Workshop (Organized by Enable India, January 21 - 22, 2017; Ecumenical Christian Centre, Bangalore). Nirmita Narasimhan attended the workshop.

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Access to Knowledge
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Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.

►Copyright and Patent

Blog Entry

Super Cassettes v. MySpace (Redux) (Anubha Sinha; January 16, 2017).

Event Organized

Seminar on Rethinking Copyright and Licensing for Digital Publishing Today (Organized by Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council, Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi, and CIS; New Delhi; January 23, 2017). Anubha Sinha attended the event.

►Wikipedia

As part of the project grant from the Wikimedia Foundation we have reached out to more than 3500 people across India by organizing more than 100 outreach events and catalysed the release of encyclopaedic and other content under the Creative Commons (CC-BY-3.0) license in four Indian languages (21 books in Telugu, 13 in Odia, 4 volumes of encyclopaedia in Konkani and 6 volumes in Kannada, and 1 book on Odia language history in English).

Blog Entries

WikiSangamotsavam 2016 (Manasa Rao; January 18, 2017).
Telugu Wikipedia Stall at Hyderabad Book Fair (Manasa Rao; January 18, 2017).
Telugu Wikipedia Stall at Rajahmundry Book Fair (Manasa Rao; January 18, 2017).
Mini Workshop on Tools: Wikipedia Monthly Meetup, Hyderabad (Manasa Rao and Pavan Santhosh; January 18, 2017).
Meet Telugu Wikipedian Surampudi Meena Gayathri – the first South Indian Wikiwoman completing 100 Wikidays Challenge (Ting-Yi Chang; January 23, 2017).

Event Organized

Odia Wikipedia and Orientation Training Programme (Organized by CIS-A2K team; Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal; January 31, 2017).

►Openness

Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.

Participation in Event

CBGA - Consultation on Opening Up Access to Budget Data in India (Organized by CBGA; January 27, 2017; New Delhi). Sumandro Chattapadhyay was a speaker.

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Internet Governance
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As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.

►Privacy

Submission

Comments on the Report of the Committee on Digital Payments (Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Amber Sinha; January 12, 2017).

Blog Entries

The Design & Technology behind India’s Surveillance Programmes (Udbhav Tiwari; January 20, 2017)
Workshop on ‘Privacy after Big Data’ (Amber Sinha; January 27, 2017).

Events Organized

Discussion on Ranking Digital Rights in India (India Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi; January 7, 2017).
Rankathon on Digital Rights (CIS office, New Delhi; January 8, 2017).

Participation in Events

Global Governance Futures 2027 - Session 3 (Organized by Global Public Policy Institute and supported by Robert Bosch Stiftung; New Delhi; January 17, 2017). Sumandro Chattapadhyay joined Ankhi Das (Facebook) and Arun Mohan Sukumar (Observer Research Foundation) to discuss the "data governance" scenarios developed by the GGF 2027 Fellows.
CPDP (Computers, Privacy and Data Protection) 2017 (Organized by Privacy International; Brussels, January 26, 2017). Amber Sinha participated as a panelist.

►Big Data

Blog Entry

New Media, personalisation and the role of algorithms (Amber Sinha; January 2, 2017).

Participation in Events

Training programme for Chairs, Convenor and Experts for International Standardization Work (Organized by National Institute of Training for Standardization, under the Bureau of India Standards; January 19 - 20, 2017; NOIDA). Udbhav Tiwari attended the training programme.
Seminar on Understanding Financial Technology, Cashless India, and Forced Digitalisation (Centre for Financial Accountability; New Delhi; January 24, 2017). Sumandro Chattapadhyay spoke on the emerging architecture of FinTech in India.

►Free Speech & Expression

Submission

Comments on the Proposed ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Policy (Padma Venkataraman, Rohini Lakshané, Sampada Nayak and Vidushi Marda; January 13, 2017).

Blog Entry

Social Media Monitoring (Amber Sinha; January 13, 2017).

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Telecom
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CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:

Article

Cashlessness Needs Connectivity (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; January 4, 2017 and Organizing India Blogspot; January 5, 2017).

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Researchers at Work
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The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:

Event

Internet Researchers' Conference 2017 (IRC17) - Selected Sessions (Organized by Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy and CIS; IIIT, Bangalore; March 3 - 5, 2017). Eleven sessions have received 10 or more nominations.

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About CIS
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The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.

► Follow us elsewhere

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cis_india
Twitter - Access to Knowledge: https://twitter.com/CISA2K
Twitter - Information Policy: https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy
Facebook - Access to Knowledge: https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k
E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: a2k@cis-india.org
E-Mail - Researchers at Work: raw@cis-india.org
List - Researchers at Work: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers

► Support Us

Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.

► Request for Collaboration

We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at tanveer@cis-india.org.

CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2017-newsletter

WIPO SCCR 42: Statement by CIS on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations Agenda Item

sinha — 2022-05-10T14:38:48Z

Anubha Sinha delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 2 of the 42nd WIPO SCCR session on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations Agenda Item.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I’m speaking on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society, India.

Mr. Chair we would like to congratulate you and the vice-chair on your election.

The current draft text of the WIPO Broadcasting Organisations treaty carries a rather weak framework of limitations and exceptions, when we consider the long duration of protection of twenty years that has been proposed.

The limitations and exceptions are not aligned to the ongoing discussions on the L&E agenda, where there is an agreement evolving amongst many member states to revisit and revise limitations and exceptions for purposes of preservation, online and cross-border uses, and research for benefit of education, research, libraries, archives and museums.

The framework does not rise to these standards, and also makes enacting of limitations and exceptions in national law optional.

Seen from this perspective, the draft text of the WIPO Broadcasting Organisations treaty is neither a balanced treaty nor a modern one.

Thank you.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr-42-statement-by-cis-on-the-protection-of-broadcasting-organisations-agenda-item

WIPO SCCR 42: Statement by CIS on the Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item

sinha — 2022-05-12T08:41:01Z

Anubha Sinha delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 3 of the 42nd WIPO SCCR session on the Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I’m speaking on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society, India.

The Proposal by the African Group for a Draft work program on Exceptions and Limitations has the potential to address issues faced in the domains of access to information, culture and education, keeping in mind that there have been systemic shifts in the knowledge ecosystem since pandemic, which will endure in the long term as well.

In India, researchers at public and private institutions in both in science and social science disciplines over the period of 2020-2021, submitted to a court of law that they faced serious challenges in remotely accessing research, especially journal articles during the pandemic.In the same vein, a study by the Confederation of Open Access Repositories found that copyright and licensing were an impediment to discovery of, and access to, COVID-19 research outputs, inhibiting research collaborations.

At WIPO, in the past few years, numerous exercises such as action plans and regional seminars implemented by this committee recognised limitations and exceptions for education and research as a priority. Digital Preservation emerged as a consensual solution that could be acted on - as identified in the regional seminar report as well.

We believe that the Proposal by the African Group for a Draft work program on Exceptions and Limitations effectively prioritises these actionable aspects without prejudging the outcome of the negotiations on the limitations and exceptions agenda. Hence, we look forward to member states making progress by constructively considering and acting on the way forward laid in the Proposal.

Thank you.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wipo-sccr-42-statement-by-cis-on-the-limitations-and-exceptions-agenda-item

Copyright Madness

Lawrence Liang and Achal Prabhala — 2012-05-30T03:46:24Z

Prompted by courts and piracy-fearing businesses, Indian ISPs have taken down popular, legitimate websites. This Op-ed by Lawrence Liang and Achal Prabhala was published in the Indian Express on May 22, 2012.

The funniest thing about the “ban” on torrent sites and video-sharing sites by a Madras high court order of March 29 is that it doesn’t work. Naturally: we’re talking about the Internet, whose users and makers have fended off twisted judgments, corporate takeovers, undue state control and outrageous censorship since its inception. So if you currently live in India and want to read the new Paulo Coelho bestseller on his preferred distribution service — otherwise known as The Pirate Bay — or want to watch your own wedding video on Vimeo, the platform of choice for independent filmmakers, then all you have to do is go through one of the many hundreds of virtual private networks that provide a workaround, most of which are free and take about two seconds to execute.

Sadly, this is where the fun ends. As you read this, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) across the country will have put in place an overreaching, wildly imaginative and totally ludicrous ban on just about everything the Internet facilitates human beings to excel at — learning, sharing and growing. The real danger is not the effect of the court order or its interpretation, but the fact that it is a part of a disturbing trend in which copyright owners presume that it is piracy that results in the failure of their films. This, coming from an industry that regularly churns out facsimiles of Hollywood hits and renders them original works worthy of copyright protection. Let’s get this clear: films fail when they are bad. Films that hit the box office jackpot do so in spite of piracy simply because they are good.

A quick recap of the facts. Earlier this year, a Chennai firm called Copyright Labs, acting on behalf of its client R.K. Productions, applied to the Madras High Court to protect the Tamil film 3 — starring Dhanush and Shruti Haasan and directed by Rajnikanth’s daughter, Aishwarya — from copyright infringement on the Internet. The petition was filed even before the film’s release; the protection sought was pre-emptive. The Madras high court passed a “John Doe” order, which is, in essence, a sweeping set of protections granted against unknown potential offenders in the future, without giving any other interested party the chance to be heard. Any order that does not give the other side a chance to be heard — without even knowing who the other side is — has to be exercised judiciously; if every new film produced in India released with an ex parte order every Friday, principles of natural justice would be diluted, to the larger detriment of the legal system itself.

This is not the first John Doe order pertaining to copyright that has been issued in India, but it is certainly the most consequential. Previous orders (in relation to copyright) are relatively recent, and have been passed over the last few years in relation to a single motion picture and to music at large — but their effects have been relatively contained. The problem with John Doe orders is that by their overly broad and sweeping nature, they extend to a range of non-infringing activities as well, thus catching a whole range of legal acts in their net. And speaking of legal acts, the ultimate irony here is that the first we heard of this film was through the viral hit song Kolaveri Di — distributed at will with the blessings of the filmmakers — which created massive pre-release publicity for 3. Consider then that this order is not quite the slaying of the golden goose, but a gag order on the animal kingdom since there could be a wild animal lurking amidst the geese.

Reading through the list of websites that ISPs have banned — as Nikhil Pahwa carefully details on Medianama — is an eye-popping exercise. The Pirate Bay, everyone’s favourite hallucination, is on it. So are Isohunt, and a few others. Two video-sharing sites are named, Vimeo and DailyMotion. (Never mind that all these websites house a sizeable percentage of perfectly legitimate content that is user-generated and user-uploaded and distributed with the full permission of the copyright owner.) Inexplicably, the ISPs — or some mysterious intermediaries between the Madras high court and them — in their wisdom, march forth and ban a website that allows the sharing of bookmarks (Xmarks), and another that primarily exists for Twitter users who want to exceed their 140 character limit (Pastebin), regardless of their complete inapplicability in this situation.

India’s copyright act allows owners of content the right to prevent infringement through the use of injunctions, but these injunctions have to be narrowly construed and applied only to specific instances of infringement. Which is to say, take down the infringing video, not the whole website, and don’t intimidate the host. When injunctions threaten freedom of speech and expression, then free speech should necessarily trump copyright claims — and the courts cannot be used as convenient shopping forums for maladies that don’t exist. The real issue here is that copyright industries have to come up with better business models that take cognisance of technologies that allow people to exchange information. The course we are currently on will only result in strangling technology and stifling innovation and creativity.

Read the original published by the Indian Express here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/copyright-madness

Wikipedia boom in Marathi, Malayalam and other desi languages

praskrishna — 2013-08-01T05:28:28Z

A vibrant vernacular Wikipedia seems to be taking root in India. In the last eight months, the number of Wikipedia entries has grown substantially in 20 Indian languages, says a study by the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS).

The article by Sandhya Soman was published in the Times of India on August 1, 2013. T. Vishnu Vardhan is quoted.

Wiki, the world's largest online encyclopaedia where anyone can write and edit articles, didn't have much content in vernacular till a few years ago. According to the study, Wikis in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi have added thousands of new articles on various subjects from September 2012 to April 2013. A few of these pages were viewed more during this period. Marathi, which had 30 lakh page views per month previously, had another 10 lakh visitors, while Bengali Wikipedia had 14 lakh page views.

While Malayalam Wiki took the top position with an enviable team of 100 plus editors, the number Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit editors came down. "Marathi has 40,000 articles. But most editors in Mumbai prefer to work on English. Pune has more Marathi editors,' says T Vishnu Vardhan, programme director, Access to Knowledge project at CIS.

"In the last two years, the demand for knowledge in Indian languages has grown as we have moved to the motto of 'roti, kapda and internet'," says Vardhan.

One of the reasons for growth is that many browsers now support Indian language scripts. But this was not the case in early 2000. Though many wanted to read and type in their own language, there was no browser support, says Shiju Alex, blogger and Malayalam Wiki editor. Moreover, many didn't know how to type in their mother tongues.

But once Indian languages were encoded in Unicode, the fonts became accessible. "There was no need to write Malayalam in English and people started blogging in their mother tongues," says Alex. According to Vardhan, communities with better literacy rates seem to have taken the lead online.

"Telugu Wiki is stronger as internet penetration in Andhra Pradesh is higher than in places where Bhojpuri or Assamese is spoken."

As with most online language initiatives, the Wiki movement was also fuelled by the diaspora. Tinu Cherian Abraham, a former board member of the Wikimedia India chapter, talks about how an NRI's love for Malayalam kick-started the project.

But now there are many Wiki foot soldiers in India, including a blind editor of Hindi Wikipedia and an elderly contributor from Kerala whose passion for free knowledge has helped him forget his ailments.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/times-of-india-august-1-2013-sandhya-soman-wikipedia-boom-in-marathi-malayalam-other-desi-languages

ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ:ମେଳଣ/ବୁର୍ଲା (ସମ୍ବଲପୁର)

praskrishna — 2013-08-05T08:04:07Z

There was a news coverage on The Sambad, Sambalpur edition about the Odia Wikipedia workshop organized on July 26 and 27, 2013 at Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla.

The Centre for Internet and Society has been credited for financial support. Click to see the report on the mailing list.

ସମ୍ବଲପୁରର ବୁର୍ଲାଠାରେ ଥିବା "ବୀର ସୁରେନ୍ଦ୍ରସାଏ ବୈଷୟିକ ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ"ରେ ୨୬ ଓ ୨୭ ଜୁଲାଇ ୨୦୧୩ (ଶୁକ୍ରବାର, ଶନିବାର) ଦିନ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ଏକ କର୍ମଶାଳା ଅନୁଷ୍ଠିତ ହୋଇଯାଇଛି ।

କର୍ମଶାଳାର ବିଷୟବସ୍ତୁ

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ଉପ‌ଯୋଗିତା
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପଡ଼ିଆରେ ସାଧାରଣ ସମ୍ପାଦନା
ମୁକ୍ତ ଜ୍ଞାନ ବିତରଣର ଉପାଦେୟତା
"ଉଇକିପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ ଓଡ଼ିଶାର ସ୍ଥାନ" ଗଣ-ସମ୍ପାଦନା

କର୍ମଶାଳା ବିବରଣୀ

ସମ୍ବଲପୁରର ବୁର୍ଲାଠାରେ ଥିବା ‘ବୀର ସୁରେନ୍ଦ୍ରସାଏ ବୈଷୟିକ ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ(ଭିସୁଟ)’ ର ଗୋଲ୍ଡ଼େନ ଜୁବୁଲୀ ସେମିନାର ହଲ ପରିସରରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧରେ ଏକ କର୍ମଶାଳା ଅନୁଷ୍ଠିତ ହୋଇଯାଇଛି । ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟର ୧୦୦ରୁ ଉର୍ଦ୍ଧ୍ୱ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀ ଏହି କର୍ମଶାଳାରେ ଭାଗ ନେଇ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ବ୍ୟବହାର ସଂପର୍କରେ ଜ୍ଞାନ ଅର୍ଜନ କରିଥିଲେ । ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟର ପୁରାତନ ଛାତ୍ର ତଥା ସକ୍ରିୟ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିଆଳି ଗୋର୍ବାଚୋଭ ପୋଥାଳଙ୍କ ତତ୍ୱାବଧାନରେ ଏହି କର୍ମଶାଳା ଆୟୋଜିତ ହୋଇଥିଲା ଏବଂ ଉପସ୍ଥିତ ସମସ୍ତଙ୍କୁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ସଂପର୍କରେ ସବିଶେଷ ବିବରଣୀ ପ୍ରଦାନ କରାଯାଇଥିଲା । ସେ କହିଥିଲେ ଯେ, ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାରେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ୍‌ରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ଏକ ଖୋଲା ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ । ଏହାକୁ ବ୍ୟବହାର କରି ଜଣେ କିପରି ନିଜର ଗବେଷଣା ଦକ୍ଷତା ବିକାଶ ଓ ମାଗଣା ଜ୍ଞାନର ବିତରଣ କରିପାରିବ, ସେହି ବିଷୟରେ ଆଲୋଚନା କରିଥିଲେ । ଏହା ବ୍ୟତୀତ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ଇତିହାସ, ଆଭିମୁଖ୍ୟ, ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ବର୍ତ୍ତମାନ ଚାଲୁଥିବା ବିଭିନ୍ନ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ ବିଷୟରେ ସବିଶେଷ ଆଲୋଚନା କରିଥିଲେ ଓ କହିଥିଲେ ଓଡ଼ିଆରୁ ଦୂରେଇ ଯାଉଥିବା ଲୋକଙ୍କୁ ଓଡ଼ିଆମୁଖୀ କରାଇବାର ଏହା ଅନ୍ୟତମ ପ୍ରଚେଷ୍ଟା । ଶ୍ରୀ ପୋଥାଳ ନିଜର ବକ୍ତବ୍ୟ ଦେଇ ସାରିବା ପରେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧରେ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀଙ୍କର ବିଭିନ୍ନ ପ୍ରଶ୍ନର ଉତ୍ତର ଦେଇଥିଲେ । ଏହା ପରେ କର୍ମଶାଳରେ ସେ ଉଇକିପିଡିଆରେ ନୂତନ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ଲେଖିବା, ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରିବା, ଆଧାର ଦେବା ଇତ୍ୟାଦିର ପ୍ରଶିକ୍ଷଣ ଦେଇ ଏକ ଗଣ-ସମ୍ପାଦନା ଆୟୋଜନ କରିଥିଲେ । କର୍ମଶାଳାରେ ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟର ପ୍ରାଧ୍ୟାପକ ଡ. ଅମରନାଥ ନାୟକ, ଡ଼ ବିଭୂତି ଭୂଷଣ ପାଣି, ଡ଼. ଅକ୍ଷୟ କୁମାର ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ, ଡ. ଜ୍ୟୋତି ରଞ୍ଜନ ମହାନ୍ତି ପ୍ରମୁଖ ଉପସ୍ଥିତ ଥିଲେ । କର୍ମଶାଳାର ସଫଳ ପରିଚାଳନା ପାଇଁ ଛାତ୍ର ପ୍ରତିନିଧି ଅବିନାଶ କୁମାର ପୁହାଣ, ସୁପ୍ରଜ୍ଞାନ ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ, ସୁଭମ ସାହୁ, ସୋମ୍ୟଶ୍ରୀ ଋତୁପର୍ଣ୍ଣୋ ସାହୁ, ଅନନ୍ୟା ସୃଷ୍ଟି ଶତପଥୀ ସାହାଯ୍ୟ କରିଥିଲେ ।

ଆର୍ଥିକ ସହାୟତା

କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମର ସଫଳ ପରିଚାଳନା ନିମନ୍ତେ "ସେଣ୍ଟର ଫର ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ଏଣ୍ଡ ସୋସାଇଟି - ଆକ୍ସେସ ଟୁ ନଲେଜ" ତରଫରୁ ଟ.୨,୦୦୦/- ର ଆର୍ଥିକ ସହାୟତା ପ୍ରଦାନ କରାଯାଇଥିଲା ।

ଯୋଗଦେଇଥିବା ପୁରୁଖା ଉଇକିଆଳି

ଗୋର୍ବାଚୋଭ ପୋଥାଳ

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/coverage-of-odia-wikipedia-workshop-in-sambad-july-26-27-2013

8th IBA International Conference

praskrishna — 2016-04-04T15:32:54Z

The 8th IBA International Conference was organized by Indus Business Academy in Bengaluru from March 24 to 26, 2016. The theme of the conference was Taking India to Greater Heights. Dr. U.B. Pavanaja gave a talk on Democratizing of Knowledge Access- Case of Regional Language Wikipedia.

India’s journey since independence has been eventful. The long struggle against colonialism left Indian private capital in a poor state. The Government intervention was essential and hence there was a need for the public sector. Experiments with socialism and national planning turned out to be a mixed success. The 1991 crisis propelled India towards a market driven economy. Politically, its unpopularity reverted India to a state of socialism once again. The 2014 elections have renewed interest in a market driven economy.

Indian achievements have been sizable. The successful Mars Mission, Agni mission, Green Revolution, White Revolution, IT industry growth all demonstrate the positive achievements that India has made in the last 60 odd years. In recent months, across the world, there is a renewed interest in India.

Yet we can hardly be complacent. The lowering oil prices, conflict in the Middle East, slowdown in Chinese economy, fears of Russian expansionism, decline in European growth, concerns about the state of US economy and rising trends in terrorism have created turbulence across different parts of the world. India cannot be immune to these changes.

India’s response can manifest itself in multiple forms. There could be rapid expansion of defence procurement and preparedness both on external as well as internal fronts. It could involve building alliances with countries aligned strategically to Indi’s interests.

It could manifest through the rapid growth of manufacturing sector. The services sector could move higher in the value chain. The spillovers generated by the establishment of industries could spawn a major entrepreneurial ecosystem.

With the UN approval to celebrate International Yoga Day, India’s soft spiritual power is also rising in the horizon. Indian philosophical and ideological thoughts are getting renewed interest across different parts of the world. Indian talent, youth demographics etc. have literally placed India on the centre stage. No doubt, exciting times are ahead.

This Conference aims to deliberate on such changes and suggest ways and means to leverage this growing interest in India and identify the new perspectives emerging in Business, Management, Leadership and Consciousness as a result of these changes.

The schedule for 8th IBA International Conference can be accessed here. More info on the event here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/8th-iba-international-conference

Global Congress 2015 - A Collection of Resources

Nisha S Kumar — 2016-05-03T02:24:01Z

The 4th edition of the Global Congress 2015 was organized at the National Law School of India University in New Delhi from 15 - 17 December 2015. The largest ever in Asia, the Global Congress was jointly organized by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) in association with National Law University, Delhi, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University.

The Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was one of the most significant events on the calendar for scholars and policy advocates working on intellectual property from a public interest perspective. This year, the discussions included attention to broad perspectives on clarifying the meaning and reality of open collaborative innovation, as well as significant focus on the sub-themes of economic development (innovation and software patents, clean technologies, climate change and green patenting, issues of branding and plain packaging); sustainable development (agriculture and geographic indicators [GI]); policy, law and regulation (role of governments, patenting, compulsory licensing [CL], global institutions [particularly WTO, WIPO and WHO] and national institutions [particularly patent offices]). Trade dominated the discussions across the IP and Dev track, including the TPP and other issues, reflecting the strong global trade agenda.

For a summary of the wrap-up of the IP and Development track click here.


Global Congress participants in one of the sessions.

Presentations by the Pervasive Technologies Team at CIS

Nehaa Chaudhari: The Curious Case of the CCI: Competition Law and SEP Regulation in India
Amba Uttara Kak and Maggie Huang: Rethinking Music Copyright Management in the Age of Digital Distribution: Business Models, Licensing Practices and Copyright Institutions in India
Rohini Lakshané: Patent Landscaping in the sub-$100 Mobile Device Market in India
Anubha Sinha: IP in Mobile Applications Development in India

Interview Series

Job Michael Mathew, an intern at CIS conducted a series of interviews as a lead up to the Global Congress: Mathew conducted interviews with Michael Geist, Zakir Thomas, Susan K. Sell, Shamnad Basheer, and Jayashree Watal.

Photographs

See the photographs from the Global Congress 2015 on Flickr: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 (Conclusion).

Free Software

praskrishna — 2013-07-31T08:50:41Z

To spread awareness on free software and its philosophy, Free Software Movement of Karnataka (FSMK) in partnership with Jnana Vikas Institute of Technology, Bidadi, organized a 9-days workshop between July 20 and 28 at the Institute campus near Bidadi to focus on free software is real freedom to compute.

Click to read the news by M.K. Madhusoodan published in the Times of India on July 20, 2013. For more pictures, click here

Dr. U.B. Pavanaja participated in the workshop and made a presentation about Wikipedia for the participants on July 24, 2013.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/free-software

Stress on posting articles on Kannada Wikipedia

praskrishna — 2013-08-02T06:27:52Z

A workshop to be held on CPDPS premises on August 6.

This article by R Krishna Kumar was published in the Hindu on August 2, 2013. Dr. U.B. Pavanaja is quoted.

For those with knowledge of Kannada and basic computer skills, here is an opportunity for posting articles in Kannada on the collaborative and free Wikipedia and facilitate the growth of Kannada online.

To help interested people learn the process of posting their articles on Wikipedia, the Centre for Proficiency Development Placement Service (CPDPS) of the University of Mysore will conduct a one-day workshop on August 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The workshop will be conducted on the CPDPS premises, Manasagangotri, and is being conducted by U.B. Pavanaja of the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore.

Niranjana Vanalli, Director, CPDPS, told The Hindu that though Kannada has got the classical language tag and several Kannada writers have got the Jnanpith, Kannada is among the least represented language on Wikipedia in terms of articles in Indian languages, and this workshop is a small step towards correcting these lacunae.

According to Mr. Pavanaja of CIS, Bangalore, though Kannada Wikipedia was launched in June 2003 and this year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the website, there are only 14,500 articles in Kannada.

This is in contrast to nearly 1,00,000 Hindi articles, 52,000 Telugu articles about 52,000 articles in Tamil, 25,000 in Bengali and 30,000 articles in Malayalam in the Wikipedia. There are over 4.6 million articles in English. German and French are close to English and so it is not merely Kannada but all Indian languages that are lagging behind, said Mr. Pavanaja.

However, there is scope for improvement as 13 lakh people visit the Kannada Wikipedia website every month. It definitely means that many people are interested in reading articles in Kannada online, so there is scope for posting more articles for their benefit.

Interestingly Wikipedia, which was launched in January 2001, has articles in 22 Indian languages and 256 languages around the world. There are over 3 crore articles and the number is growing by the day.

There are other significant aspects to the contribution of Indians to the development of Wikipedia. While Kannadigas have taken to the enrichment of Wikipedia in English their contribution to the enrichment of the Kannada section has been abysmal. Incidentally, there are nearly 16 lakh editors of Wikipedia all over the world of which about 5,500 are Indians and of them 3,300 edit and contribute regularly in English. The remaining 2,200 contribute in Indian languages.

According to Mr. Pavanaja, roughly 2 crore Indians regularly visit the Wikipedia site but very few are either contributing or editing.

“Indians were definitely taking advantage of Wikipedia as it gets more than 2 crore hits every year. But the number of Indians contributing to enrich the content is less, more so for Kannada”, he added. Mr. Vanalli, who is a professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Mysore, pointed out that it was ironical that the Kannada was the only Indian language to have an encyclopaedia of its own – Kannada Vishwakosha – published by the University of Mysore. But when it comes to the online collaborative project of Wikipedia, Kannada is lagging behind and this should be reversed.

The workshop will introduce to the participants the features of Wikipedia, and give hands-on demonstration on how to edit and contribute articles. Participants can bring articles of their choice for editing and posting on Wikipedia. For details, contact Director of CPDPS on 0821-2419337/405 or email omegauom@gmail.com for registration.

The workshop will introduce participants to features of Wikipedia, and give demonstration on how to edit and contribute articles

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/hindu-r-krishna-kumar-august-2-2013-stress-on-posting-articles-on-kannada-wikipedia

ଓଡିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର କର୍ମଶାଳା ଅନୁଷ୍ଠିତ ହୋଇଯାଇଛି ବୀର ସୁରେନ୍ଦ୍ର ସାଏ ବୈଷୟିକ ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ, ବୁର୍ଲାରେ

praskrishna — 2013-08-05T08:25:47Z

Odishan.com covered the Wikipedia event organized at Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla on July 26 and 27, 2013.

Click to read the original published in Odishan.com.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/odishan-july-27-2013-coverage-of-odia-wikipedia-workshop

Wikipedia boom in vernacular languages

praskrishna — 2013-08-12T04:29:28Z

The number of Wikipedia entries in vernacular languages has grown substantially in the last eight months

This article by Divya Saboo was published in DNA on August 1, 2013. The Centre for Internet and Society is mentioned.

In the last eight months, the number of Wikipedia entries in vernacular languages has grown substantially, says a Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society.

Wikipedia, the world's largest encyclopedia, where anyone can write and publish, was mainly written in the English language until a few years ago. There is a sudden boom of interest in regional languages on the internet because browsers now support Indian language scripts. Thus, people are now more interested in typing in their mother-tongues. Interestingly, this initiative is fueled by diaspora.

Mahit Gar, who has been working with the Marathi Language Wikipedia, said, “Since the last one year, we have concentrated on improving the quality of the content more. We are ranked #20. There are also some new editing facilities that are being introduced by the Wikimedia Foundation (WMS). We can now write in Marathi as well. 40 per cent of the people can type Marathi well but the rest still find it difficult to do so. The rural people interact mostly with Marathi."

He adds, "We have had this sudden boom because in 2011, we had some conferences with the English Wikipedia team and we talked about how people are not able to communicate without their mother tongues in place. Also, we don't spam. Most people love their mother tongue so they don't touch the content inappropriately (this is not the case with the English Wikipedia).”

Tinu Cherian Abraham who was on the Wikimedia India Chapter talks about how an NRI's love for Malyalam kick-started the project. There are people from all walks of life involved in this project. The collective passion for knowledge of a visually challenged editor of Hindi Wikipedia along with an elderly contributor from Kerala, has aided him in forgetting his ailments.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/dna-august-1-2013-divya-saboo-wikipedia-boom-in-vernacular-languages

Centre for Internet and Society

ଆଦିବାସୀ ଭାଷାର ଉନ୍ନତିକଳ୍ପେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ

The Dynamics of Education to Employment Journey: Opportunities and Challenges

Father-son duo promote Punjabi online

January 2017 Newsletter

WIPO SCCR 42: Statement by CIS on the Protection of Broadcasting Organisations Agenda Item

WIPO SCCR 42: Statement by CIS on the Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item

Copyright Madness

Wikipedia boom in Marathi, Malayalam and other desi languages

ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ:ମେଳଣ/ବୁର୍ଲା (ସମ୍ବଲପୁର)

କର୍ମଶାଳାର ବିଷୟବସ୍ତୁ

କର୍ମଶାଳା ବିବରଣୀ

ଆର୍ଥିକ ସହାୟତା

ଯୋଗଦେଇଥିବା ପୁରୁଖା ଉଇକିଆଳି

8th IBA International Conference

Global Congress 2015 - A Collection of Resources

Global Congress participants in one of the sessions.

Presentations by the Pervasive Technologies Team at CIS

Interview Series

Photographs

Further Reading

Free Software

Stress on posting articles on Kannada Wikipedia

ଓଡିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର କର୍ମଶାଳା ଅନୁଷ୍ଠିତ ହୋଇଯାଇଛି ବୀର ସୁରେନ୍ଦ୍ର ସାଏ ବୈଷୟିକ ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ, ବୁର୍ଲାରେ

Wikipedia boom in vernacular languages