Centre for Internet and Society

Bitcoin & Open Source with Aaron Koenig

praskrishna — 2014-02-06T01:40:24Z

Aaron Koenig, director of bitfilm.org and a global Bitcoin entrepreneur will give a talk at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore on February 7 at 6.00 p.m.

Learn more about Bitcoin and its global path as we explore concepts and ideaologies behind the technology behemoth.


Above is an image of a Bitcoin Expert giving a presentation. Image source: http://bit.ly/1keLpwi

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/bitcoin-and-open-source-aaron-koenig

Developing Digital Open Knowledge Resources in Indian Languages

praskrishna — 2014-08-22T00:51:52Z

The Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge team (CIS-A2K) in partnership with the School of Cultural Texts and Records, School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University, Centre for Indian Languages in Higher Education, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai is organizing a two-day workshop for students at Jadavpur University on August 25 and 26, 2014.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/developing-digital-open-knowledge-resources-in-indian-languages

Surveillance and Privacy Law Roundtable

praskrishna — 2014-08-25T15:08:33Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, COAI and Vahura invite you to a privacy roundtable at the India International Centre in New Delhi on September 1, 2014.

Download the Invite (PDF, 1207 Kb)

Recent legislative developments regarding privacy law in India
In 2010, the European Union commissioned an assessment of the adequacy of Indian data protection laws in light of the transfer of personal data of European data subjects into India for processing. That assessment made adverse findings on the adequacy and preparedness of Indian privacy law to safeguard personal data. Consequently, in 2011, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) proposed draft privacy legislation called the ‘Right to Privacy Bill, 2011’. The DoPT Bill contained provisions for the regulation of personal data, interception of communications, visual surveillance and direct marketing. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology issued the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 to give effect to section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The Justice Shah Group of Experts on Privacy and the National Privacy Principles
Aware of the need for privacy laws to enable economic growth, the Planning Commission constituted a Group of Experts under the chairmanship of Justice Ajit P. Shah to make specific proposals for future Indian privacy law. The Group of Experts submitted its Report to the Planning Commission in October 2012 wherein it proposed the adoption of nine National Privacy Principles. These are the principles of notice, choice and consent, collection limitation, purpose limitation, disclosure of information, security, openness, and accountability. The Report recommended the application of these principles in future privacy law.

Surveillance law in India
The cases of Kharak Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1963) and Gobind v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1975) first brought the questions of permissibility and limits of surveillance to the Supreme Court for judicial review. The regime governing the interception of telecommunications is contained in section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read with rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951. The Telegraph Rules were twice amended to give effect to certain procedural safeguards laid down by the Supreme Court in PUCL v. Union of India (1996). In addition, further subordinate legislation issued to fulfil the provisions of sections 69(2) and 69B(3) of the Information Technology Act permit the interception and monitoring of electronic communications to collect traffic data and to intercept, monitor, and decrypt such communications.

About these roundtable consultations
These roundtable consultations are hosted by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), COAI and Vahura. They are a series of national roundtables to focus on surveillance regulation and interception of communications in relation to telecom service providers, internet service providers, internet access providers, and internet-based service providers. These roundtables are designed to elicit comments on legal proposals to regulate surveillance. The text of these legal proposals has been drafted at CIS and continues to be modified to reflect the opinions and consensus at each roundtable consultation. The objective of these meetings is gain a stakeholder-based, participatory, and democratic consensus on the future of Indian surveillance and privacy law.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/surveillance-privacy-roundtable

Public Debate on 'Differential Pricing': Series 2

vidushi — 2016-01-28T13:51:06Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, in association with ICRIER and the Department of Civics and Politics, University of Mumbai, is pleased to announce “A Series of Public Debates on Differential Pricing” in the cities of Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi. The second public debate will be held at Pherozeshah Mehta Bhavan, Vidyanagari, Kalina, Mumbai on February 3, 2016.

In light of the recent consultation paper released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the objective of these debates will be to deconstruct the issue of differential pricing through a discussion on the variety of views this subject has attracted. Speakers will also discuss possible implications of differential pricing policy on questions of access, diversity, competition and entrepreneurship.

Each debate will comprise three rounds. In the first round, speakers will present the body of their arguments over 10 minutes each. The second round will be a rebuttal round, with each speaker being given 5 minutes. The third and final round will see the floor being opened to the audience who will engage the speakers with comments and questions.

Download the Invite

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/public-debate-on-differential-pricing-series-2

Public Debate on 'Differential Pricing': Series 3

vidushi — 2016-01-28T13:53:12Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, in association with ICRIER and the Department of Civics and Politics, University of Mumbai, is pleased to announce “A Series of Public Debates on Differential Pricing” in the cities of Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi. The third public debate will be held at India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road near Air Force Bal Bharti School, New Delhi on February 5, 2016.

Download the Invite

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/public-debate-on-differential-pricing-series-3

A Privacy Round Table in Bangalore

praskrishna — 2013-04-17T06:55:52Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, Data Security Council of India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry cordially invite you to a "Privacy Round Table" at Jayamahal Palace in Jayamahal Road, Bangalore on Saturday, April 20, 2013, 10.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

To discuss, in furtherance of Internet Governance Initiatives and Dialogue in 2013, the "Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy" by the Justice AP Shah Committee, the text of the Citizens' Privacy (Protection) Bill 2013, drafted by the Centre for Internet and Society, and the paper "Strengthening Privacy Protection through Co-Regulation" by DSCI.

The discussions and recommendations from the meeting will be published into a compilation, and presented at the Internet Governance meeting planned for October 2013.

Time	Detail
10.30	Overview, explanation, and discussion: The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy
11.30	Overview, explanation, and discussion: Strengthening Privacy Protection through Co-regulation
12.15	Tea
12.30	Overview, explanation, and discussion: The Citizens (Protection) Bill 2013
13.15	Lunch
14.15	In depth discussions: The Citizens’ Privacy (Protection) Bill 2013
16.15	Tea

Confirmations and RSVP

Please send your email confirmations for attending the Bangalore Privacy Roundtable on April 20, 2013, to Snehashish Ghosh at snehashish@cis-india.org, mobile no. +91- 9902763325,latest by end-of-business 5:30 p.m. on Monday April 15, 2013. As the conference is a roundtable dialogue, we request that attendees submit a brief introduction about themselves and their interest in the topic.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/privacy-round-table-in-bangalore

Poesis in the Information Age: Language and its Limit[ation]s

praskrishna — 2015-01-26T13:57:34Z

Alec Schachner, an independent scholar, translator, multi-genre musician and sound artist will give a talk on the limits/limitations of languages at the Centre for Internet & Society's office on January 30, 2015 at 5 p.m.

The Talk

An examination of the limits/limitations of language(s) through the lens of contemporary Vietnamese poetics and print culture, aiming to open a deeper dialogue on the nature of self/state expression and censorship in the age of internet connectivity.

Alec Schachner

Alec graduated from Columbia College with a degree in Sociocultural Anthropology, English & Comparative Literature, Creative Writing and Music Theory/Composition. Alec currently resides in Vietnam, where he has served as lecturer on literature for 5 years with the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature at the Vietnam National University of Social Sciences and Humanities HCMC. He is working on English translations of several anthologies of Vietnamese poetry, one of which - the purification festival in April - just went to print across VN earlier this month. He is also pursuing research into contemporary Saigonese print culture and the social/cyber mileus surrounding literary circles/movements in the post-Socialist cultural sphere.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/events/poesis-in-the-information-age

Digital Security Workshop for Journalists

praskrishna — 2015-03-08T05:25:34Z

The Centre for Internet and Society and the Mumbai Press Club are jointly organizing a workshop for journalists on February 7, 2015, from 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. at Mumbai Press Club, Azad Maidan.

Event Flier

The event would cover these topics:

Why should journalists care about digital security?
The threat model: assessing digital security risks and responses.
Security measures and solutions: alternatives to unsecure software and tools, good security practices, computer hygiene etcetera.

Event Pictures

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/digital-security-workshop-for-journalists

Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things

praskrishna — 2015-03-13T02:14:59Z

US Consulate Chennai formally Invite you for a talk by David F.Heyman on March 19, 2015 in Hotel Atria, Palace Road, Bangalore. The event is being organized by the US Consulate, Chennai, Cyber Security & Privacy Foundation (CSPF) and the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS).

Note: Please register to come to the event, if you are not attending please inform us.

David Heyman, former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and retired Software Engineer Reimagining and Transforming Cities, Governments, and Lives with the Internet of Things For the first time in human history more people live in cities than anywhere else.

By 2050 three-fourths of the world’s population will live in cities. As more and more people move to cities, more of the world’s challenges, from emerging infectious diseases, crime, economic growth, and environmental degradation, will be concentrated in cities. Citizens will expect and demand more from their leaders; and governments will face greater pressure to provide services better, faster, cheaper to more and more, potentially with less and less resources.

More than any other force driving change over the horizon, the Internet of Things (IoT) holds the potential to connect and infuse devices, business assets, infrastructures, and other elements of a city with greater intelligence and efficiencies to drive a new era of innovation and performance. And yet, this potential is juxtaposed against a backdrop of an explosion in cybercrimes and threats facilitated by the increased linkages between the physical and cyber world that is at the heart of IoT, and which affords malicious actors anywhere in the world the potential to disrupt services and lives on a far more consequential level than ever before.

In his remarks, David Heyman, former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and retired software engineer, will discuss the extraordinary potential of the IoT, the barriers to adoption, and how governments and businesses can navigate this new frontier, work together, and re-imagine and transform cities—and nations—for tomorrow.

David F. Heyman

David F. Heyman has over two decades of experience as a leader in spurring innovation, risk management, and strategy development in the public and private sector. He is a leading expert in national security and international affairs, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, building resilience, and critical infrastructure protection, with broad experience in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia. Heyman’s career includes service at the highest levels of the U.S. government, working in senior positions at the White House, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as in the private sector.

Most recently, Heyman concluded five years of service as Assistant Secretary of Policy (operating as an Under Secretary equivalent) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As a member of the senior management team at DHS, Heyman was responsible for the Department’s strategic planning, risk and decision analysis, policy development, and thought leadership across all five departmental mission areas: counterterrorism, border security, immigration,
cybersecurity, and building resilience to disasters. During his tenure, Heyman helped transform the Department from a budget-driven to a strategydriven organization, and instituted an enterprise risk-management architecture for managing the Department’s $60 billion budget. He oversaw and initiated the Department’s largest expansion in global engagement, and in this role, led efforts to build new strategic partnerships with the World Customs Organization, the World Economic Forum, and some of the most consequential and complicated geopolitical relationships facing the United Stated today, including China, India, the European Union, and others. Heyman designed and launched multiple domestic, bilateral, and global initiatives to bolster U.S. security and prosperity. He was the chief architect of the nation’s first National Strategy for Homeland Security—the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review—which elevated and established cyber security and building national resilience as core homeland security missions. He led efforts around five Presidential Initiatives
to: empower communities to counter violent extremism; strengthen global supply chain security; expand travel and tourism to the United States; streamline and modernize the U.S. import and export system; and develop and implement a new perimeter approach to North American Security which resulted in the Beyond the Border Initiative signed by President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Carper.

He led the creation of the Resilient STARTM program and the Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience, and is wellknown for drafting the policy to eliminate the color-code Homeland Security Advisory System and replace it with a more disciplined National Terrorism Advisory System, now used by the U.S. government. Previously, Heyman founded and directed the Homeland Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), one of the nation’s leading and most influential think tanks in international security and taught security studies and science and technology policy as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Heyman also served as a senior advisor to Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and oversaw development and implementation of a number of energy, infrastructure and technology initiatives, including leading and establishing a new portfolio approach to manage DOE’s $7 billion in research and development (R&D) investments.

Earlier in his career, Heyman was a senior policy advisor in national security and international affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and was responsible for providing science, technology, and foreign policy advice to the President’s Science Advisor and the Vice President’s National Security Advisor. Before entering government, Heyman worked for nearly a decade as a computer systems software engineer, and head of international operations for a firm developing and deploying industrial automation, robotics, and supply-chain management systems for Fortune 100 companies. Heyman holds a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Brandeis University and a Master’s in international relations and economics from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated with the highest level of distinction. He is currently a member of the Aspen Homeland Security Strategy Group, Aspen’s U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, and serves as co-chair of its Cyber Task Force.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/talk-on-cybersecurity-and-internet-of-things

NASA International Open Data Challenge 2015

sharath — 2015-04-27T01:08:27Z

As part of the initial NASA Open Government 2.0 plan, the NASA International Open Data challenge brings together the FOSS community, citizen scientists, open data practitioners , open hardware enthusiasts and students for collaborative problem solving with the goal of producing relevant open-source solutions to address global needs applicable to both life on Earth and life in Space.

On April 11 and 12, 2015 2015, the event will be organized by the Centre for Internet and Society in collaboration with mentors from Team Indus, one of India's leading Space Technology Start-Ups. The event will start off with the following keynote and workshops at 9am on Saturday, April 11th, 2015:

Pre-Hackathon Workshop: 9 a.m., Saturday, April 11, 2015

IBM Blue Mix Team + OpenCube Labs

(Big Data Analytics using Cloud Services like Bluemix/Heroku, with node.js implementation and Android APIs)

Keynote: Amar Sharma, 12 p.m., April 11, 2015

Amar is credited as being the youngest and first Indian amateur astronomer to have an Asteroid named after him in 2014 at the age of 29. (380607 Sharma) He will talk about CCD Astro Imaging and his travails and journey as a self-made astronomer and comet hunter.

We will then break off into teams to commence the hackathon that will end on Sunday,April 12, 2015 at 6pm, after which teams will upload and present their solutions for Local and Global Nominations.

Registration is free and you are required to confirm participation at the below link:

https://2015.spaceappschallenge.org/location/bangalore/

Participants are requested to bring their own laptop/computing devices.

Please see last year's event's focus on Open Science and Big data, and the various Open Data solutions developed at CIS, to get an idea of what the event is about:

https://2014.spaceappschallenge.org/location/bangalore/ This year, we will have a workshop on Big Data Analytics conducted by IBM BlueMix Labs followed by Heroku implementation and Android Programming by friends of CIS from OpenCubeLabs, that will follow a very special Keynote speaker who is first amateur astronomer to have an asteroid named after him, to join the likes of Ramanujan and Vikram Sarabhai.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/nasa-international-open-data-challenge-2015

Stand up for Digital Rights

praskrishna — 2016-07-25T15:29:41Z

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) invites you to a discussion on a set of Recommendations for Ethical Research, a report on human rights and private online intermediaries which describes key areas where such actors have responsibilities. The discussion is on coming Friday, July 29, 2016 at the Centre for Internet & Society's Delhi office from 3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.

The discussion intends to launch a report on human rights and private online intermediaries, which describes key areas where such actors have responsibilities and provides a detailed set of Recommendations for Ethical Tech. This work is the culmination of a year-long research project led by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), in collaboration with the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Open Net Korea, the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information at the University of Palermo (CELE) and researchers with the University of Ottawa and the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. The key themes for discussion would include:

General Human Rights Responsibilities and Private Online Intermediaries
Expanding Access
Net Neutrality
Content Moderation
Privacy
Transparency and Informed Consent
Responding to State Interferences

We look forward to meeting you and making this a forum for knowledge exchange a success.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/stand-up-for-digital-rights-1

Wikipedia WikiMeetup at Bangalore

praskrishna — 2016-08-12T13:31:04Z

Bangalore based Wikipedians will gather for a meeting at the Centre for Internet and Society on Sunday, August 14, 2016 at 3.00 p.m.

Anyone interested in Wikipedia (user, contributor or curious about it). Wikipedians from any part of India or the world and anyone who is interested in Wikipedia! Meetup is open to members of all Wikimedia projects and Wikipedians from all languages. All are welcome, and we are especially interested in seeing newcomers to join the experienced Wikipedians/Wikimedians.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/events/wikipedia-wikimeetup-at-bangalore

Wikiwomen’s Meetup at St. Agnes College Explores Potentials and Plans of Women Editors in Mangalore, Karnataka

ting — 2016-09-01T14:39:53Z

Karnataka is known for its diverse linguistic cultures. Aside from Kannada, many are native speakers of Konkani, Tulu, and other languages. A small Wikiwomen's meetup was held on Saturday, August 27th at St. Agnes College, Mangalore, to invite female Wikipedians from the region. Many of them were new to the online encyclopedia but demonstrated strong interest in learning and contributing more Indic language content online.

A Wikiwomen’s meetup was held at St. Agnes College on August 27^th in the hope to strengthen the bonding and communication between female Wikipedians in Mangalore. Attendees of the meetup on Saturday included five Kannada Wikipedian, one Konkani Wikipedian, one from the recently gone live Tulu Wikipedia, and Ting-Yi Chang from the CIS A2K team. Two of the Kannada Wikipedians are staff and faculty members of the College’s library and Department of Kannada respectively. Both were brought into Wikipedia by edit-a-thons held on the college campus in the last few months

The meetup started off with a round of brief self-introduction and an inspiring introductory presentation by Dhanalakshimi K T, a St. Agnes commerce student who had successfully organized the last two women’s edit-a-thons on her campus.

“Wikipedia is a great tool for knowledge sharing. When we edit in our own languages, people from outside of the city who don’t speak English can learn things more easily online.... It is the respect and passion I have for my language."

The presentation also touched upon some feasible benefits that editors gains through participating in Wikipedia/media projects: improvement in writing and research skills, nurturing a critical thinking habit when reading texts and doing research, learnings from collaborative work experience, improvement in language and communication skills, etc. One of the participants later mentioned that with the hobby of editing Wikipedia, she began actively researching in her interested topics. Even in occasions when she had no time to actually update the content onto Wikipedia, the knowledge she gained throughout the research process has already enriched her and broadened her horizon of the subject.

The second half of the presentation consists of an introduction to the 5 pillars rules and some other advice of Wikipedia editing. Participants who were newcomers showed great interest and actively raised questions surrounding the use of different editing tools including the infobox templates, translation tools, useful markups, and personal sandboxes.

When being asked about the barriers they have faced so far in editing Wikipedia, most agreed that time issues do prevent them sometimes as their offline commitments (work, family, school) can take priority over it. However, most participants also concluded that “those who are truly interested will eventually find the time.” On the other hand, access to internet and facilities has not been reported as a barrier in their cases, but all agreed that it can be for many other women. Awareness was emphasized as a crucial factor when trying to bring in more women to Wikipedia. One of the student participants shared her experience,

“Some people may have never heard of Wikipedia before; some misunderstood its use and potential… when I talked about Kannada Wikipedia with my peers, first they thought it was some website for Kannada stories writing…. But when I explained to them what it is and how we can edit, they were all very excited and very much wanted to try."

In the latter discussion of the meetup, participants talked about the tentative event plans for the next few months. Two sessions were suggested to be held by November, 2016. One as a workshop for the newcomers and the other as an editing event for more experienced female Wikipedians. All participants, old and new, are really excited to strengthen the bonding between Wikiwomens in Mangalore. Some suggested there should be more casual meetups every few weeks to help them communicate more and plan upcoming community events, including an ongoing event that can be held in March, 2017 for the International Women’s Day and Wikiwomen’s History Month.

The meetup continued with more discussion on various language Wikipedias’ development. As an experienced Wikipedian and an actively outreaching community member, participant Harriet Vidyasagar explained the complexity in Konkani Wikipedia, which contains five scripts, and the importance of those scripts in Konkani language’s history and culture. All participants agreed that seeing their mother tongues’ scripts online and creating more content to make their culture and language visible are a great source of happiness and a motivation for them to continue editing. The session ended with exchange of contacts and group pictures.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikiwomen2019s-meetup-at-st-agnes-college-explores-potentials-and-plans-of-women-editors-in-mangalore-karnataka

CIS Cybersecurity Film Screening

purba — 2014-03-20T09:34:38Z

The Centre for Internet and Society invites you to a screening of Episode 1&2 of DesiSec: the first documentary film on cybersecurity in India. Hope you can join us on 26th March, at CIS, Domlur!

Early 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society began shooting its first documentary film project. After months of researching and interviewing activists and experts, CIS released the first episode on 11th December.

CIS is hosting a special screening of DesiSec: Episode 1&2 on 26th March, 2013, 5.30 pm and invites you to this event. The first episode is centered around the issue of privacy and surveillance in cyber space and how it affects Indian society. The second episode is focused on anonymity and free speech online.

We look forward to seeing you there!

RSVP: purba@cis-india.org

Venue: http://osm.org/go/yy4fIjrQL?m=

This work was carried out as part of the Cyber Stewards Network with aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/cis-cybersecurity-film-screening

An Open House Session with George Abraham

praskrishna — 2014-05-19T01:45:58Z

Ashoka India and the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) welcome you to an open house session with George Abraham, CEO and Founder of the SCORE Foundation at Ashoka- Innovators for the Public in Domlur on Wednesday, May 21, 2014.

“Blindness or disability is not the real problem, it is the way we all think.” – Ashoka Fellow George Abraham

Made invisible in the public sphere, persons with disability are often overlooked by society as productive members of the community. Their families, friends and mainstream media too have done little to change the limited lens through which they, and ultimately individuals with disability see and define their role in their communities.

We believe that the time has come for us as a society, especially businesses, to break the barriers between different worlds. We need to create spaces that allow us to ‘step in’ to each other’s worlds and engage in meaningful dialogues that allow us to reflect, question and develop an empathetic lens to building a society that is more inclusive to persons with disability.

Join Ashoka India and the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) for an Open House Session on Wednesday, May 21, where we will be screening an episode of George Abraham’s new show on the visually impaired-“Nazar ya Nazariya”-followed by a Q&A with George, Ashoka and CIS on what it means to shift the perception and treatment of disability in society, media and big business.

Agenda

Time	Detail
15.00 15.30	Screening of Nazar Ya Nazariya
15.30 16.00	Q&A with George Abraham
16.00 17.00	An open dialogue with experts and audience members on Stepping into Disability: How can we begin to change the paradigm on the inclusion of persons with disability into mainstream society, with a special focus on corporates and business enterprise?
17.00 17.30	Connect and Share (Networking space)

RSVP

RSVP: Olina Banerji (9480826557) - obanerji@ashoka.org
Rajesh Varghese (9008998414) - rvarghese@ashoka.org
Anandhi Visvanathan (8197177080) - anandhi@cis-india.org

The Team

George Abraham

Based on his own experiences and those of hundreds of visually impaired people, George has developed a program whose combination of clinical and non-clinical components will help the seeing impaired stand on their own feet and realize their full potentials. George has designed the Vision Enhancement Center (VEC) to institutionalize comprehensive, non-medical eye care services. Like counseling, equipment, training, medical referrals, information, and rehabilitation services. George's goal is to build the first world-class institution for the visually impaired in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region to be an example that will inspire widespread reform in the way the blind and other people with disabilities are treated, cared for, educated, and employed. To garner support for his work, George is partnering with civil society organizations, medical professionals, the government, and corporations. His latest venture has been a collaboration with Doordarshan to create a 13-episode television series called Nazar Ya Nazariya, that highlights and celebrates visually impaired individuals who have overcome both physical and mental barriers to integrate successfully into the mainstream.

CIS

The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.

Ashoka

Ashoka is the world’s leading network of social entrepreneurs — men and women who are creating new institutions to implement system-changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. Since 1980, Ashoka has pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship, electing and connecting more than 3,000 Fellows with innovative, sustainable solutions in a variety of fields such as civic engagement, economic development, health, human rights, environment, and learning/education in over 70 countries. As the largest association of leading social entrepreneurs in the world, Ashoka has started and supported movements that have brought about widespread social change, and has developed a keen understanding of what individuals need to make change happen. Ashoka has been engaged in learning from and serving this historical movement across the globe for 25 years.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/open-house-session-with-george-abraham