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Multimedia Storytellers: Panel Discussion
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers
<b>This post brings three storytellers together to find points of intersection between their methods. The format will be that of a panel discussion and it features: Arjun Srivathsa from Pocket Science India, Ameen Haque from the Storywallahs, and Ajay Dasgupta from The Kahani Project. They discuss technology, interpretation and action in storytelling. </b>
<pre>CHANGE-MAKERS: Arjun Srivathsa, Ameen Haque and Ajay Dasgupta
ORGANIZATIONS:Pocket Science India, The Storywallahs and The Kahani Project
METHOD OF CHANGE: Storytelling</pre>
<p align="justify">Over the last couple of weeks, I had the privilege of interviewing three storytellers. What struck me the most, besides from their fascinating ideas about storytelling, was how many of their ideas overlapped. As much as I would love to sit all of them in the same room and enjoy the fireworks, there are a number of logistical constraints that shut my storyteller reunion daydreams down; so for this post, I decided to be a self-appointed liaison between you and them. I will mimic this discussion by putting my conversations with them side by side, in the format of a panel discussion. Their interaction will have to happen in the realm of your imagination.</p>
<p align="justify">The questionnaire I used for my interviews was open-ended. I was curious to hear what they wanted to share about their work, as opposed to filtering and steering the conversation in a certain direction; so I let them take their own turn. While I clearly inquired about the relationship between storytelling and making change, it was fascinating to see each storyteller reach the question of ‘social impact' through different channels; testimony of the influence of their education and professional backgrounds in their work.</p>
<p align="justify">If I were to bring them together, the topic of the discussion would be: '<strong>Technology, Interpretation and Action in Storytelling</strong>'. We briefly discussed mediation and semiotics<strong><a name="fr1" href="#fn1">[1]</a></strong> in the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance#pre-production">Pre-Production</a> section of the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance">Storytelling as Performance</a> post. We mentioned then:</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout"><em>"mediums are combined to enhance the visibility of the message and the power of the experience of stories. [...] Each medium: video, audio, text, music, etc.- becomes “a new literate space” or “symbolic tool” storytellers use to portray narratives about the self, community and society (Hull, 2006)”</em></p>
<em>
</em>
<p align="justify">These thoughts were triggered by the work of the French philosopher, <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/">Paul Ricoeur</a>, who considers our self-identity a result of sign mediation and interpretation. Other themes in his work include: discourse and action, temporality, narrative and identity; also useful and relevant when exploring how storytelling and reality intersect. For example, how does building a narrative develop into a discourse that mirrors our context and existence? How does the medium chosen to carry this narrative define the language system of our discourse? Finally, let’s not forget this discussion is happening amid the digital question: how does the mediation of digital technologies enable or constrain our narratives of change?</p>
<p align="justify">Against this background, I would like to propose a discussion around five points of intersection that came up organically* during my conversations with them.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a)<strong> The power of storytelling</strong>: <br />What makes it a powerful vehicle of communication? How does this practice break from more traditional strategies of information dissemination?</p>
<p>b) <strong>Storytelling as a vehicle to make change: <br /></strong>How does the practice of storytelling intervene in the social imagination of its audience? Is it the experience or the content of stories what drives the message of change forward? Where does change happen: at the value, behavioral, community or macro level?</p>
<p>c)<strong> The role of technology in storytelling:</strong> <br />What is the part technology plays in storytelling vis-a-vis traditional storytelling? Is it a static infrastructure or does it shape the force and direction of the story? How does technology influence and impact their work</p>
<p>d) <strong>Translating awareness to action through stories: </strong><br />Can you guarantee the ideas and values imbued by the story will translate into action in the public space?</p>
<p>e)<strong> Influence of stories on citizenship and political participation:</strong> <br />Can the power of stories be leveraged to instill a sense of responsibility in the audience?</p>
<p align="justify" class="discreet">* With the exception of Arjun Srivathsa, who addressed these points in a conference I attended. He later responded to a questionnaire in which I inquired about the intersections specifically.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 align="justify">Introductions<br /></h2>
<p align="justify">We first have <strong>Arjun Srivathsa</strong>. He has a Masters in Wildlife Biology and Conservation and currently works as a Research Associate for the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS India). In tandem, he started Pocket Science India, an initiative that combines wildlife science with art and cartoons to promote conservation in India and disseminate information from scientific journal articles. He aims to bridge the gap between the work of scientists and people using art and humour.</p>
<p class="callout">
<strong>Arjun:</strong> I find the world of science and scientists very cool. Finding new things, discovering and inventing ways to understand the world better is an awesome way of life. I chose a career in science for this reason, second only to my love for nature and wildlife. But the essence of science, according to me, is not just to discover, but also to communicate. Even though wildlife research in India has progressed massively in the past few decades, the only notion people have is that of exaggerated scenes from television documentaries. When I discovered that most of the work by Indian scientists on wildlife and conservation of India is making no difference to people (mostly because they are unaware), I decided to use the easiest way to bridge the gap: through humour and art.</p>
<p align="justify">Second speaker<strong> </strong>is<strong> Ameen Haque</strong> from <a href="http://www.thestorywallahs.com/">The Storywallahs</a>. In what he calls his past life, he worked for 18 years in Advertising and Brand Strategy Consulting. Ameen also has a background in theatre and now works as as storyteller for The Storywallahs.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/F8U5HAI-0TI" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420">&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/center&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe></p>
<p align="justify">Finally, we have <strong>Ajay Dasgupta</strong>, the founder of <a href="http://thekahaniproject.org/">The Kahani Project</a>, who also has a background in theatre and believes listening to stories is a fundamental right of children. His team works to capture stories in audio format and make them accessible.</p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633144&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>I will now invite them to share their thoughts on the points described above. Each panelist will respond to the questions using<strong> a different medium</strong>: Arjun will comment with text and images, Ameen will comment with video and Ajay will comment using audiobytes. The idea is for each storyteller to use the medium and language they use for their own storytelling: cartoons, body language and audio respectively, as we explore how this choice mediates how they conceptualize change. I will act as a moderator and comment on common themes in the light of Paul Ricoeur’s characteristics of narratives.</p>
<h2>1. The Power of Storytelling<br /></h2>
<h3>What makes it a powerful vehicle of communication?</h3>
<p> </p>
<h2></h2>
<div class="pullquote"><span id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-642b-76be-1e09-54a2a3103a5c">“narrative attains full significance when it becomes a condition of temporal existence” Time and Narrative<br /></span></div>
<div><span id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-642b-76be-1e09-54a2a3103a5c"></span></div>
<p align="justify">The first characteristic of narratives according to Ricoeur is:<strong> the ability to bring independent elements and episodes together into a plot within a specific context and time</strong>. The relationship between time and narrative is addressed by the philosopher in his work <em>'Oneself as Another</em>,' in which he frames narratives as the most 'faithful articulations of human time'. This leads to an understanding of time as a framework where we can locate unique events and patterns, trajectories and sequences. Our three storytellers comment on how stories are an effective mean to communicate information, and how this information resonates because it can be located in the frame of our human existence.</p>
<p class="callout">
<strong>Arjun:</strong> Storytelling really is the nascence of any communication technique. As kids we were all told stories with bees and birds, which spoke and thought. The moral life lessons and similar “information” were served to us on these fascinating platters.</p>
<div align="center"> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1524964_614398581930298_1037858013_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 1" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 1" /></div>
<div align="center">
<div align="center"><span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption"><em>Dugongs are closely related to whales and dolphins. They are peaceful mammals that swim around gracefully and feed on sea grass. <br />They are categorized as “VULNERABLE” because there are not too many of them left in the world. </em>
</span></span></div>
<span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">
<p align="center">Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=614398581930298&set=a.614397888597034.1073741836.609687355734754&type=1&theater">here</a></p>
</span></span></div>
<p class="callout">At some point in life, we all seem to stop appreciating the power of storytelling. Plain reporting of information has been done to death. Even an amazing discovery written as a formal report will fail to excite audience. It is time we all get back to appreciating stories. They sell. Movies generally do better than documentaries don’t they?</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Q5fphRoT-2k" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<p><strong>Ajay:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633135&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<h2>2. Storytelling as a vehicle to make change</h2>
<h3> How and where does change happen?</h3>
<p> </p>
<div class="pullquote">“All action is in principle interaction [...] change happens through interaction, as others are also encouraged to change” From Text to Action</div>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">The second characteristic of narratives is how the <strong>episodes in our narratives involve contingencies that will be shaped and reformulated through the development of the story</strong>. The narratives are constructed in such a way that induce us to imagine possible events in the future and how we would act in said circumstances. This characteristic is supported by Ricoeur's understanding of the <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/#3.2">'self' as an 'agent'</a>, who can act and influence causation by taking initiative or interfering<strong><a name="fr1" href="#fn1">[2]</a></strong> in the story. Even if the listener cannot necessarily influence the outcome of the story (unless it is participatory storytelling), it triggers thoughts about its capability to act and its ability to change future realities, as he imagines himself n the situation of its characters. This out-of-body experience is what turns story into experience.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Our storytellers comment on how stories can influence and activate our agency and enable listeners to act towards creating change.</p>
<p class="callout"><strong>Arjun: </strong>Of course! Like I said, it is easier to influence people when you are not being preachy. Storytelling sidesteps the moral high ground that change makers are often blamed to occupy and takes a pleasantly shrewd path, as silly as it may sound.</p>
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<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PS.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 4" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 4" /></div>
</th>
<th>
<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI2.jpg/image_preview" alt="PSI2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="PSI2" /></div>
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<td>
<em> </em><em><span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">#2:
Increase in wildlife tourism has been brought about by the increasing
population of the ‘Tourist’. This species is easy to recognize (see
figure). The species has created an ecosystem of its own. It eats any
kind of high or low profile food. Lives in resorts. Seeks charismatic
animals like the tiger. Its daily activity involves excessive use of its
camera. This species facilitates wildlife tourism </span></span></em></td>
<td><span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span><em>#9: Wildlife tourism is an excellent way to
expose people of India and abroad to its rich natural heritage [...] We
definitely need to regulate the number of tourists to avoid crowding in
the forests, but we also need to educate tourists, especially the
first-timers, about wildlife and its conservation. The tourist can be an important tool in conservation –
let’s not let it go waste!</em>"<br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="center">Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=609780439058779&set=pb.609687355734754.-2207520000.1396426793.&type=3&theater">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout">To the question of where we locate change, it depends on what this change is. Through my work, I often target <strong>individuals and smaller communities</strong> (say students, villagers etc.). I don't necessarily grab my paintbrush and declare that I will change the world. My idea of change is a tailored, targeted and therefore an efficient influence on individuals.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GJpeQMltaT4" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ajay:</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633137&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<h2><br /></h2>
<h2>3. The role of technology in storytelling</h2>
<h3>How does technology influence and impact your work?</h3>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Ricoeur’s thoughts on the relationship between text and action, makes us reconsider how we think about ‘<em>text</em>’ and how this reading can be applied to technology. According to him, the distinction between text and action is not at the linguistic, but at the discursive level. This is how he differentiates language from discourse:</p>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
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<th><br /></th>
<th>Language<br /></th>
<th>Discourse<br /></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Structure</td>
<td>A system: timeless and static<br /></td>
<td>Located at a given time and moment<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Composition</td>
<td>A sequence of signs<br /></td>
<td>A sequence of events that describe, claim and represent the world<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Meaning</td>
<td>Refers to signs<br /></td>
<td>Refers to the world<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Communication</td>
<td>Provides codes for communication. <br />Necessary but not sufficient<br /></td>
<td>Communicates</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="justify">Using these working definitions, we can understand the medium as <strong>a language:</strong> a system that provides us with signs and codes for communication. A creative use of language and mediums will hence, enable us to create narratives and produce meaning (which will be generated and negotiated by the audience). Technology is in this case our language, and how each storyteller uses it determines new ways to create meaning: experiences, connections and associations with and within their stories. We now ask them if/how the use of this 'language' mediates and impacts their work.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout"><strong>Arjun:</strong> Technology is the best facilitator in the realm of my science-art-communication. I depend on it extensively, to first educate myself. Then to create artwork (computer, tablet, smartphone). And then eventually I depend heavily on social media to broadcast my work. I will definitely credit the power of technology for fostering and enabling effective communication.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI3.jpg/image_preview" alt="PSI3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="PSI3" /></div>
<p align="center"><em># 11: The story of Ajoba was carried far and wide in newspapers, television news and the internet</em>. Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=610114332358723&set=pb.609687355734754.-2207520000.1396426793.&type=3&theater">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout">In my capacity, I feel most confident targeting students and urban youth. But thanks to the power of social media, putting my work out there has grabbed the attention of change-makers who are capable of things that is beyond my scope. This has led to collaborations through which the reach has become wider. Teachers use my art work in their classes, some organisations are using it in forest department buildings to educate visitors, some local groups have translated my work into regional languages.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/25EAnt1yi94" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ajay:</strong></p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633141&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<h2><br /></h2>
<h2>4. Translating awareness into action through stories<br /></h2>
<h3>Can you guarantee the ideas and values imbued by the story translate into action in the public space?</h3>
<p> </p>
<div class="pullquote"> “what must be the nature of action...if it is to be read in terms of change in the world?” From Text to Action</div>
<p id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-6935-a65e-1136-120c46ff2174" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">So far they have told us about the power and content of stories. However, we have yet to find out what is it in stories that make listeners translate fiction into real life action. Ricoeur's final characteristic of narratives points us in the direction of empathy and interpretation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Like discourse, action is open to interpretation. He posits t<strong>hat characters of our stories rise to the status of ‘persons’ when we evaluate their actions, including their doings and sufferings</strong>. This ethical verdict determines the identity of the character in the eyes of the audience (above any other physical or emotional characteristics) and this is what ultimately adds meaning to the events of the story, as it inspires the audience to emulate or reject this behavior through their actions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">We asked our storytellers their thoughts on how to translate stories' messages into meaningful action, or if it was even possible to guarantee this transition to begin with:</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout"><strong>Arjun:</strong> I don’t [know]. One never does, I feel. But a lot of good awareness programs have made me change little things in my life. The people or groups who initiated those campaigns don't know of this, do they? This is somewhat similar. I believe that even if ONE person in the thousand who view my work gets influenced into making little changes, then it was worth my time and effort.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>Ameen:</strong></p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/neFe7kj8dIc" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p align="left"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="left"><strong>Ajay: </strong>(Ajay commented on the impact of stories while we were discussing how to gauge the impact of his work. In our first conversation he said:<em> "Change is happening but there are no tests that can measure it and quantify it.</em>" and he elaborates on this idea below:)</p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633138&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<p align="left"> </p>
<h2 align="left">5. Influence of stories on citizenship and political participation<br /></h2>
<h3>Can the power of stories be leveraged to instill a sense of responsibility in the audience?</h3>
<div class="pullquote"><br />"You can only achieve power in common by including the opinions of as many people as possible in the discourse"</div>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<p align="justify">Finally, as stated in the brief of the project on methods for change, we are also interested in defining how political participation should be manifested in the public space. Ricoeur frames political action as a result of discourse and political deliberation.For a brief discussion of the relationship between storytelling and our political identity visit <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance-2">Part 2 of Storytelling as Performance</a>.)</p>
<p align="justify">This last section captures the storytellers' point of view on how stories may affect our sense of citizenship and political responsibility.</p>
<p align="left" class="callout"><strong>Arjun</strong>: We are living in a society which is becoming increasingly insensitive and arrogant. There seems to be no time to stop and see the big picture: what are we doing? are our demands and lifestyles sustainable? Is the future generation secure? Impacts of our actions on the natural world.</p>
<table class="plain">
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<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1511040_609776472392509_490391694_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 2" /></td>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 3" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> <span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">#1: Most of us love seafood. And why shouldn't we? It tops the charts as some of the most delicious delicacies in the world! It so happens that we rarely think about what goes on
“behind-the-scenes” and take many things for granted. The story behind
how food reaches your plate is quite a scary one!</span></span></td>
<td> <span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"><span class="hasCaption">#12: So next time you feel like a getting a seafood dinner, do it with some perspective.</span></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div align="center">Find full cartoon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.609776052392551.1073741831.609687355734754&type=1">here</a></div>
<strong>Ameen:</strong>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lO0y0QZ3vhQ" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Ajay</strong>:</p>
<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633136&color=00aabb&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"></iframe>
<p> </p>
<h2>Closing Remarks</h2>
<p align="justify">I hope you enjoyed reading, watching and listening these three wonderful storytellers share their ideas on technology, interpretation and action. The question that remains unresolved is whether the effect of the story is shaped by the use of technology or not. At the end of the day it is the interpretation of stories -more than what it is said and how it is being said- what will determine the sustainability of these intents for change. The answers of our storytellers reinforce the notion that technology is a system, a language, a medium that transports our messages and intentions, but that inherently lacks the ability to provide guarantees for action and sway users into a lifestyle of responsible citizenship the second they pull out from their cartoon, screen or mp3.</p>
<p> The box below includes a quick run through the main ideas discussed throughout the post:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>1. <strong>On the power of storytelling: </strong></p>
<ul><li>Arjun argues that storytelling is the origin of all communication techniques, and this makes it extremely attractive for the public. <br /></li><li>Both Ajay and Ameen bring up the ability to influence behavior, shape the minds of people and transmit experiences, values and beliefs.</li><li>Both also brought up how dominant religions, ideologies, markets governments use storytelling to build movements and sustain their support</li><li>Finally Ajay comments on the issue of access: stories are powerful yet only a small share of stories are being told Hence, the need for this method to become more pervasive.</li></ul>
<br />
<p>2. <strong>Storytelling as a vehicle for change:</strong><br />Each storyteller locates change in different yet complementary spaces:</p>
<ul><li>Arjun believes it must occur at the community level and hence the approach (stories) must be tailored and targeted in order to achieve an effective influence. His approach to change is very contextual.</li><li>Ameen locates it at the behavioral level; in our ability to make decisions and choices. His approach to change is based on how we use information from stories to interact with our surroundings.</li><li>Ajay locates it at the value level: He believes stories should influence us to adjust our values and only then, we will shape our behavior accordingly.</li></ul>
<br />
<p><strong>3. Role of technology:<br /></strong>We approached technology as a 'text' and as a 'language' that creates new possibilities for meaning and interpretation.</p>
<ul><li>For Arjun and Ajay, technology enabled them to connect with other organizations and increased possibilities for partnerships and collaborations. </li></ul>
<ul><li>The three of them believe technology is an accelerator of the journey of stories and that it enables them to reach a larger audience.</li><li>Ameen argued that each medium requires different fluencies, and that the language of each medium should be adapted for the story. For example, a story will be told in different ways if using body language, video, audio, etc. He uses the example of the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/Twitter">Twitter adaption of the Mahabharata.</a><br /></li><li>Ajay closes by noting that although technology enables, it cannot replace the storyteller. <br /></li></ul>
<br />
<p><strong>4. Translating awareness into action</strong></p>
<ul><li>Arjun and Ameen comment on the power of effectively and positively influencing <em>one</em> person. They believe the impact will exponentially spread and grow through that person's network or community.</li><li>Arjun believes you can guarantee it will turn into action.</li><li>Ameen believes you need to move them and inspire them through your characters to the point they feel they can be the hero of that story and act accordingly.</li><li>Ajay takes a more pragmatic approach towards action and shares some of the activities The Kahani Project uses to complement his storytelling sessions, such as: story-thons, story-booths and interactive storytelling, where they engage the audience in the production of their own stories.</li></ul>
<br />
<p><strong>5. Impact of storytelling on citizenship and political participation</strong></p>
<ul><li>Arun and Ajay believe this will come as a result of self-reflection and an evaluation of our impact in the world.</li><li>Ameen believes effective stories transmit the 'responsibility of action' through rhetoric. He uses the example of the popularity of India Against Corruption movement.</li><li>Ajay believes storytelling is a humanizing force that has the power of healing. He recommends institutions should utilize this method to spread confidence and inclusion among society and particularly with excluded groups. <br /></li></ul>
</blockquote>
<h2>Footnotes</h2>
<p align="justify">[<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers#fr1" name="fn1">1</a>] Semiotics is defined as the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. It is the study of making meaning and is essential to understand communication processes. While we will not look at any specific semiotics theory, we will focus on how stories create meaning through different signs and mediums, and how this meaning can be leveraged for making change.<br /><br />[<a name="fn1" href="#fr1">2</a>] Refer to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/">page on Paul Ricoeur</a> and the section on ‘Selves and Agents’ to learn more about how action is mediated by causation, interference and intervention. Some interesting thoughts that inspired the above post</p>
<p dir="ltr">“What must be the nature of the world … if human beings are able to introduce changes into it?. Ricoeur adopts the analysis of interference or intervention that G. H. von Wright gives in Explanation and Understanding, and shows that for there to be interference, there must be both: an ongoing anterior established order or course of things and a human doing that somehow intervenes in and disturbs that order. Moreover, interference is always purposeful. Hence an interference is not merely ascribable to an agent. It is also imputable to the agent as the one whose purpose motivates the interference.”</p>
<p>
“The second crucial question about action is “What must be the nature of action … if it is to be read in terms of a change in the world?” Ricoeur argues that every action involves initiative, i.e., “an intervention of the agent of action into the course of the world, an intervention that effectively causes changes in the world” (Oneself as Another, 109, translation modified). Initiative requires a bodily agent possessing specific capabilities and vulnerabilities who inhabits some concrete worldly situation.”</p>
<h2>Sources:</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>Dauenhauer, Bernard and Pellauer, David, "Paul Ricoeur", <em>The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy </em> (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),
URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/ricoeur/>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseMaking ChangeNet CulturesResearchFeaturedResearchers at Work2015-10-24T14:26:51ZBlog EntryExploring the Digital Landscape: An Overview
https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/exploring-the-digital-landscape
<b>One component of the Digital Humanities mapping exercise was a series of six research projects commissioned by HEIRA-CSCS, Bangalore over November 2013-March 2014. These studies attempted to chart various aspects of the digital landscape in India today, with a focus on emerging forms of humanistic enquiry engendered by the Internet and new digital technologies. This blog post presents a broad overview of some of the key learnings from these projects. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The six research studies commissioned by HEIRA-CSCS as part of the collaborative exercise to map the Digital Humanities (DH) were formulated within a broad rubric of exploring changes at the intersection of youth, technology and higher education in India. Apart from existing questions about the digital divide, and the possibilities of increased connectivity and availability of new sources of information due to proliferation of digital tools and access to the Internet, the projects also tried to address in some way the problem of understanding and formulating a research enquiry about the ‘digital’ itself. The digital as a mode of existence or being, or a new ‘social’ or as discussed in the earlier blog-posts, is essentially a premise of the DH discourse as it has emerged in different parts of the world. While the studies focus largely on youth and higher education and so are located with a certain context, they do attempt to address larger questions about understanding the digital landscape in India today, with reference to new and changing practices of interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the humanities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Just to recapitulate from an earlier blog-post; the following were the studies commissioned:</p>
<ol> </ol><ol>
<li><b>Survey of Printed Digitised Materials in Bengali</b><b> – </b>an extensive survey and report of printed digitized materials in Bengali across a few selected themes. The objective of this exercise is to map the nature of available digitized materials and explore possibilities of their use in the higher education classroom.<b><br />Researcher: Saidul Haque, Jadavpur University, Kolkata</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Confessions in the Digital Age</b><b> – </b>looks at the rising trend of ‘confession pages’ on social media, most of which are located in an educational context, and explores the manner in which the digital space and its assumed anonymity has reconfigured this practice and the interaction between youth and technology.<b><br />Researcher: Rimi Nandy, Jadavpur University, Kolkata</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Queer Expression in the Online Space</b> – this study explores the concept of digital citizenship with a focus on how youth from the LGBTQ community engage with digital technologies such as social media, mobile phones and radio to negotiate questions of identity politics, activism and citizenship in cyberspace.<b><br />Researcher: Ditilekha Sharma, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Creating Knowledge: Mapping the nature of Content and Processes on the English Wikipedia</b> - analyses the nature of content produced on Wikipedia, with a focus on the representation of women and gender-related topics to explore if online knowledge platforms contain and perpetuate a systemic gender-bias.<b><br />Researcher:</b> <b>Sohnee Harshey, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>From the Streets to the Web: Feminist Activism on Social Media</b><b>– </b>an ethnographic exploration of social media platforms to explore how feminist activists have engaged with digital technology and if this has allowed for a redefinition of political organization and new forms of activism within the movement.<b><br />Researcher: Sujatha Subramanian, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai</b></li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This exercise was also an attempt to build on some of the learnings from a four-year programme undertaken by HEIRA-CSCS titled ‘Pathways to Higher Education (supported by the Ford Foundation), which looked at the problem of <i>quality of access</i> in higher education for students from disadvantaged sections of society, particularly with respect to the digital and linguistic divide. The emphasis therefore was on understanding how young people, who are known as digital natives, negotiate with these rapidly changing modes of communication and learning. The projects therefore are located in institutional spaces and primarily address the demographic of 18 – 35 years, although there are exceptions as in the case of the studies on Wikipedia and the Bengali archival materials. Most of the studies draw from conventional methods of humanities and social sciences research, largely consisting of ethnographic and textual analysis, interviews and surveys. Adapting these methods to the digital domain, or rather formulating new research questions and methodology that is adequate to understand the nuances of the digital sphere was one of the key challenges of this exercise. Some of the learning outcomes from these studies may be summarized under the following themes:</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">The Emergence of the (Digital) Public Sphere</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The advent of the internet and digital technologies has largely been considered enabling, in terms of what it allows you to do and be both in the real and virtual worlds. The growth of online activism in the last couple of years is indicative of this change to a large extent. This has been particularly true of traditional forms of activism that have now adopted the digital space, such as the LGBTQ or feminist movements. A majority of the respondents in the studies focussing on these two themes have endorsed the positive aspect of activism in the online space, in terms of organising people and connecting civil society and the community, and bringing these issues into the mainstream. Most felt that the internet offers a space, and a relatively safe one at that, to talk about issues related to sexuality and gender. Not only in terms of its potential to garner large numbers, disseminate information and create wider transnational networks, the online space can now also be seen as the space where the activism originates, rather than merely supplementing or facilitating traditional on-the-ground movements. As such, the digital has evolved into an alternate critical public sphere were the discourse around identity, citizenship, and socio-political participation has become more varied, even if not yet adequately nuanced.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While most of the studies endorse the democratising potential of the internet and digital technology, particularly that of mobile phones which have made these networks and resources accessible to a larger cross-section of people, many have also speak about the replication of several forms of systemic injustice and marginalisation that exist in the real world in the online space. The project on the gender-gap on Wikipedia cites examples of such a politics of exclusion in the knowledge-making process, not just with respect to content on Wikipedia, but also in the inclusion of women in the process of content-generation. Respondents in the other two projects on activism also spoke of instances of gendered violence and abuse, often a repercussion of being vocal online, thus highlighting the problematic duality of the condition of being visible and vulnerable. The imperative of creating safe online spaces to voice opinions, show solidarity or express dissent has been stressed by a majority of respondents in these studies.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Being Digital: Visibility and Accessibility</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Moving from the question of doing to being, a paradox about the online space has been the way in which it accords a certain hyper-visibility, and increasingly makes invisible people and discourses, many a time not by choice. The option of anonymity accorded by the online space has been important for many voices of dissent to find expression, and for non-normative discourse to become visible in mainstream debates. However, the problems of anonymity can be several, as seen in the case of the study on the Facebook confessions. ‘Performance’ is an important aspect of these confessions; whether it is in the nature of a comment on another person or a representation of the self. The creation and performance of identities has been a significant component of studies on digital and cyber culture studies. The internet as facilitating performance of a certain gendered identity, while also in some ways obscuring certain others – as in the case of the marginalisation of lesbian, bisexual or transsexual individuals within the queer community is a case in point. Further the visibility accorded to issues in the online space is also conditional, in terms of what gets viewed, discussed and acted upon. The Wikipedia study discusses this in terms of a ‘covert alliance-building’ of editors or consensus on what goes up online.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Another positive attribute of the online space as reiterated by most people in the projects was that of increased accessibility - to networks, people and resources. But as is evident from the earlier paragraph, such accessibility often comes with a caveat - the conditions of the access are also as important. In the case of the survey on Bengali materials, the availability of a large corpus of materials in various spaces and the efforts to digitse them is an insufficient measure given the poor accessibility to such digitised materials available online, due to issues of copyright, metadata, technological support and lack of subject expertise. Accessibility is an important aspect of being digital as understood in the project on mapping the digital classroom. While students in most undergraduate classrooms have access to digital devices in one form or the other, the use of these devices in learning is contingent upon several factors such as student and teacher competence and comfort, and the ease to adapt to changing teaching-learning environments given cultural and linguistic divides. More importantly, the perception of the internet or digital technologies as a tool to merely facilitate communication or learning, rather than a space of critical engagement is the predominant understanding, with few notable exceptions.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">New Knowledge-making Practices</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Combining the being and doing in the online space are the new modes of knowledge formation engendered by this medium. The Wikipedia is illustrative of the process of collaborative knowledge production, and the politics inherent therein. The problems and challenges of digitisation and archival practice as evident in the study of the Bengali digitised materials is also an example of this knowledge vs information conundrum. However the connect with higher education, as in the availability of scholarly materials in regional languages in the latter case, and the need to acknowledge non-traditional sources as scholarly as in the former, are some of the immediate challenges identified by these studies. The model of annotations and referencing, as made possible by collaborative and dynamic knowledge repositories is an important concern of the DH debate as well, in terms of questioning existing hierarchies of authorship and expertise.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The bringing in of non-normative discourse on sexuality and gender into the mainstream, and the emergence of new issues in some sense has also been facilitated by the online space to some extent, even if within certain exclusive communities or spaces. An example of this is in terms of narratives of pleasure in feminist discussions, which seem to have found a space online but not so much in debates otherwise seen in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Changes in learning and pedagogic practice are an important aspect of new knowledge-making practices, and as mentioned earlier this is apparent in classrooms today given that students and faculty recognise the potential of digital technologies. However, the primacy of textual material in most classrooms, and a certain reluctance to engage with digital media and texts on the part of faculty and students in a substantive way is an attribute of the classroom today. Indeed, ways of reading and writing have changed with the onslaught of technology; as the study on confessions demonstrates communication on social media and mobile phones have evolved a different linguistic forms, both in English and regional languages. This and the problem of an information clutter, or ‘excess’, without the option of verifiability in most cases, is one of the major concerns of faculty with regard to technology.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While the projects in themselves may have only indirectly contributed to our understanding of DH, the process of formulating these questions and trying to find some answers to them have been insightful, particularly with respect to the problems with understanding technology, the importance of form and process, and the growth of alternative spaces of learning, all which are relevant to the DH discourse. For some reflections on the individual projects, see the guest posts by the researchers on CIS-RAW; the complete research reports are available at <a href="http://cscs.res.in/irps/heira/irps/heira/documents">http://cscs.res.in/irps/heira/irps/heira/documents</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/exploring-the-digital-landscape'>https://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/exploring-the-digital-landscape</a>
</p>
No publishersnehaFeaturedDigital Humanities2014-04-14T15:48:30ZBlog EntryReport of the Group of Experts on Privacy vs. The Leaked 2014 Privacy Bill
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/report-of-group-of-experts-on-privacy-vs-leaked-2014-privacy-bill
<b>Following our previous post comparing the leaked 2014 Privacy Bill with the leaked 2011 Privacy Bill, this post will compare the recommendations provided in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy by the Justice AP Shah Committee to the text of the leaked 2014 Privacy Bill. Below is an analysis of recommendations from the Report that are incorporated in the text of the Bill, and recommendations in the Report that are not incorporated in the text of the Bill. </b>
<h2>Recommendations in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy that are Incorporated in the 2014 Privacy Bill</h2>
<h3>Constitutional Right to Privacy</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy recommends that any privacy legislation for India specify the constitutional basis of a right to privacy. The 2014 Privacy Bill has done this, locating the Right to Privacy in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Nine National Privacy Principles</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy recommends that nine National Privacy Principles be adopted and applied to harmonize existing legislation and practices. The 2014 Privacy Bill also adopts nine National Privacy Principles. Though these principles differ slightly from the National Privacy Principles recommended in the Report, they are broadly the same, and importantly will apply to all existing and evolving practices, regulations and legislations of the Government that have or will have an impact on the privacy of any individual. Presently, the 2014 Privacy Bill locates the nine National Privacy Principles in an Annex to the Bill, but also incorporates the principles in more detail in sections relating to personal data. An analysis of the principles as compared in the Report and the Bill is below:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Notice</b>: The principle of notice as recommended by the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy<b> </b>differs from the principle of notice in the 2014 Privacy Bill. According to the notice principle in the Report, a data controller shall give sample to understand notice of its information practices to all individuals, in clear and concise language, before any personal information is collected from them. Such notices should include: (during collection) What personal information is being collected; Purposes for which personal information is being collected; Uses of collected personal information; Whether or not personal information may be disclosed to third persons; Security safeguards established by the data controller in relation to the personal information; Processes available to data subjects to access and correct their own personal information; Contact details of the privacy officers and SRO ombudsmen for filing complaints. (Other Notices) Data breaches must be notified to affected individuals and the commissioner when applicable. Individuals must be notified of any legal access to their personal information after the purposes of the access have been met. Individuals must be notified of changes in the data controller’s privacy policy. Any other information deemed necessary by the appropriate authority in the interest of the privacy of data subjects. <br /><br />In contrast, the 2014 Privacy Bill requires that all the data controllers provide adequate and appropriate notice of their information practices in a form that is easily understood by all intended recipients. In addition to this principle as listed in an annex, the Bill requires that on initial collection data controllers provide notice of what personal data is being collected and the legitimate purpose for which the personal data is being collected. If the purpose for which the personal data changes, data controllers must provide data subjects with a further notice that would include the use to which the personal data shall be put, whether or not the personal data will be disclosed to at third person and, if so, the identity of such person if the personal data being collected is intended to be transferred outside India and the reasons for doing so; how such transfer helps in achieving the legitimate purpose; and whether the country to which such data is transferred has suitable legislation to provide for adequate protection and privacy of the data; the security and safeguards established by the data controller in relation to the personal data; the processes available to a data subject to access and correct his personal data; the recourse open to a data subject, if he has any complaints in respect of collection or processing of the personal data and the procedure relating thereto; the name, address and contact particulars of the data controller and all persons who will be processing the personal data on behalf of the data controller. Additionally, if a breach of data takes place data controllers must inform the affected data subject that lost or stolen; accessed or acquired by any person not authorized to do so; damaged, deleted or destroyed; processed, re-identified or disclosed in an unauthorized manner.<br /><br />Though the 2014 Privacy Bill requires a more comprehensive notice to be issued if the purpose for the use of personal data changes, it does not specify (as recommended by the Group of Experts on Privacy) that notice of changes to a data controller’s privacy policy be issued.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Choice and Consent</b>: The principle of choice and consent in the 2014 Privacy Bill is similar to the principle in the Report of the Group of Experts on privacy in that it requires that all data subjects be provided with a choice to provide or not to provide personal data and that data subject will have the option of withdrawing consent at any time. Though not a part of the specific principle on ‘choice and consent’ listed in the annex the 2014 Privacy Bill also contains provisions that address mandatory collection of information which require, as recommended by the Report of the Group of Experts, that the information is anonymoized. Furthermore, the 2014 Privacy Bill provides individuals an opt-in or opt-out choice with respect to the provision of personal data. <br /><br />Different from as recommended in the principle in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy, the 2014 Privacy Bill does not specify that in exception cases when it is not possible to provide a service with choice and consent, then choice and consent will not be required.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Collection Limitation:</b> The principle of collection limitation as recommended in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy and the principle of collection limitation in the Annex of the 2014 Privacy Bill are similar in that both require that only data that is necessary to achieve an identified purpose be collected. As recommended in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy, the 2014 Privacy Bill also requires that notice be provided prior to collection and content taken. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Purpose Limitation</b>: Though the principle of Purpose Limitation are similar in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy and the 2014 Privacy Bill as they both require personal data to be used only for the purposes for which it was collected and that the data must be destroyed after the purposes have been served, the 2014 Privacy Bill does not specify that information collected by a data controller must be adequate and relevant for the purposes for which they are processed. The 2014 Privacy Bill also incorporates elements from the principle of Purpose Limitation as defined by the Report of the Group of Experts in other parts of the Bill. For example, the 2014 Bill requires that notice be provided to the individual if there is a change in purpose for the use of the personal information, and designates a section on retention of personal data. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Access and Correction</b>: The principle of Access and Correction in the 2014 Privacy Bill reflects the principle of Access and Correction in the Report of the Group of Experts (though not verbatim). Importantly, the 2014 Privacy Bill incorporates the recommendation from the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy that prohibits access to personal data if it will affect the privacy rights of another individual. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Disclosure of Information: </b>The principle of ‘Disclosure of Information’ in the Privacy Bill 2014 is similar to the principle of ‘Disclosure of Information’ as recommended in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy (though not verbatim). As recommended this principle requires that personal data be disclosed to third parties only if informed consent has been taken from the individual and the third party is bound the adhere to all relevant and applicable privacy principles.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Security:</b> The principle of security in the 2014 Privacy Bill reflects the principle of Security recommended in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy and requires that personal data be secured through reasonable security safeguards against unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, de-anonymization or unauthorized disclosure.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Openness:</b> The principle of Openness in the 2014 Privacy Protection Bill is similar to the principle of Openness recommended in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy in that it requires data controllers to make available to all individuals in an intelligible form, using clear and plain language, the practices, procedures, and policies, and systems that are in place to ensure compliance with the privacy principles. The principle in the 2014 Privacy Bill differs from the recommendation in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy in that it does not require data controllers to take necessary steps to implement practices, policies, and procedures in a manner proportional to the scale, scope, and sensitivity to the data they collect. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Accountability:</b> The principle of Accountability in the 2014 Privacy Bill is similar to the principle of Accountability as recommended in the Report of the Group of Experts as both require that the data controller is accountable for compliance with the national Privacy Principles. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Application to interception and access, video and audio recording, personal identifiers, bodily and genetic material</b>: The Privacy Bill 2014 incorporates the recommendations from the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy and specifies the way in which the National Privacy Principles will apply to the interception and access of communications, video and audio recording, and personal identifiers. But the 2014 Privacy Bill does not specify the application of the National Privacy Principles to bodily and genetic material (though this information is included in the definition of sensitive personal information).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">With respect to the installation and operation of video recording equipment in a public space, the 2014 Privacy Bill requires that video recording equipment may only be used in accordance with a prescribed procedure and for a legitimate purpose that is proportionate to the objective for which it was installed. Furthermore, individuals cannot use video recording equipment for the purpose of identifying an individual, monitoring his personal particulars, or revealing in public his personal information. The provisions in the Bill that speak to storage, processing, retention, security, and disclosure of personal data apply to the installation and use of video recording equipment. As a note the 2014 Privacy Bill carves out an exception for law enforcement and government intelligence agencies in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, security or the strategic, scientific or economic interest of India. <br /><br />With respect to the application of the National Privacy Principles to the interception of communications, the 2014 Privacy Bill lays down a regime for the interception of communications and specifies that the principles of notice, choice, consent, access and correction, and openness will apply to the interception of communications when authorised. <br /><br />With respect to Personal Identifiers, the 2014 Privacy Bill notes that the principles of notice, choice, and consent will not apply to the collection of personal identifiers by the government. Additionally, the government will not be obliged to use any personal identifier only for the limited purpose for which the personal identifier was collected, provided that the use is in conformance with the other National Privacy Principles.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Additional Protection for Sensitive Personal Data</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The <b>Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy</b> broadly recommends that sensitive personal data be afforded additional protection and existing definitions of sensitive personal data should be harmonised. The <b>2014 Privacy Bill</b> incorporates these recommendations by defining sensitive personal data as data relating to physical and mental health including medical history, biometric, bodily or genetic information; criminal convictions; password, banking credit and financial data; narco analysis or polygraph test data, sexual orientation. The 2014 Privacy Bill also requires authorization from the Data Protection Authority for the collection and processing of sensitive personal data and defines circumstances of when this authorization would not be required including: collection or processing of such data is authorized by any other law for the time being in force; such data has already been made public as a result of steps taken by the data subject; collection and processing of such data is made in connection with any legal proceedings by an order of the competent court; such data relating to physical or mental health or medical history of an individual is collected and processed by a medical professional, if such collection and processing is necessary for medical care and health of that individual; such data relating to biometrics, bodily or genetic material, physical or mental health, prior criminal convictions or financial credit history is processed by the employer of an individual for the purpose of and in connection with the employment of that individual; such data relating to physical or mental health or medical history is collected an processed by an insurance company, if such processing is necessary for the purpose of and in connection with the insurance policy of that individual; such data relating to criminal conviction, biometrics and genetic is processed and collected by law enforcement agencies; such data regarding credit, banking and financial details of an individual is processed by a specific user under the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005; such data is processed by schools or other education institutions in connection with imparting of education to an individual; such data is collected or processed by the government Intelligence agencies in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, security or the strategic, scientific or economic interest of India, the authority has, by a general or specified order permitted the processing of such data for specific purpose and is limited to the extent of such permission. The 2014 Privacy Bill also prohibits additional transactions from being performed using sensitive personal information unless free consent was obtained for such transaction.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Privacy Officers</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy recommends that Privacy Officers be established at the organizational level for overseeing the processing of personal data and compliance with the Act. This recommendation has been incorporated in the 2014 Privacy Bill, which establishes Privacy Officers at the organizational level.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Co-regulatory Framework</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy recommends that a system of co-regulation be established, where industry levels self regulatory organizations develop privacy norms, which are in turn approved and enforced by the Privacy Commissioner. The 2014 Privacy Bill puts in place a similar co-regulatory framework where industry level self regulatory organizations can develop norms which will be turned into regulations and enforced by the Data Protection Authority. If a sector does not develop norms, the Data Protection Authority can develop norms for the specific sector.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Recommendations in the Report that are not in the Bill</h2>
<h3>Scope</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy recommends that the scope of any privacy framework extends to all individuals, all data processed in India, and all data originating from India. The 2014 Privacy Bill differs from these recommendations by extending the right to privacy to all residents of India, while remaining silent on whether or not the scope of the legislation extends to all data processed in India and all data originating in India. Despite this, the 2014 Bill does specify that any organization that processes or deals with data of an Indian resident, but does not have a place of business within India, must establish a ‘representative resident’ in India who will be responsible for compliance with the Act.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Exceptions</h3>
<p>The Report of the Group of Experts recommends the following as exceptions to the right to privacy:</p>
<ol>
<li>National security</li>
<li>Public order</li>
<li>Disclosure in the public interest </li>
<li>Prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of criminal offenses </li>
<li>Protection of the individual and rights and freedoms of others </li>
</ol>
<p>The Report further clarifies that any exception must be qualified and measured against the principles of proportionality, legality, and necessary in a democratic state.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Privacy Bill 2014 reflects only the exception of “protection of the individual rights and freedoms of others”. The exceptions as defined in the 2014 Bill are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Sovereignty, integrity or security of India or</li>
<li>Strategic, scientific or economic interest of India; or</li>
<li>Preventing incitement to the commission of any offence; or</li>
<li>Prevention of public disorder; or</li>
<li>The investigation of any crime; or</li>
<li>Protection of rights and freedoms others; or</li>
<li>Friendly relations with foreign states; or</li>
<li>Any other legitimate purpose mentioned in this Act.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Instead of qualifying these exceptions with the principles of proportionality, legality, and necessary in a democratic state – as recommended in the Report of Group of Experts on Privacy, the 2014 Privacy Bill qualifies that any restriction must be adequate and not excessive to the objectives it aims to achieve.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Constitution of Infringement of Privacy</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy specifies that the publication of personal data for artistic and journalistic purposes in the public interest, disclosure under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and the use of personal data for household purposes should not constitute an infringement of privacy. In contrast the 2014 Privacy Bill specifies that the processing of personal data by an individual purely for his personal or household use, the disclosure of information under the provisions of the Right to information Act, 2005, and any other action specifically exempted under the Act will not constitute an infringement of privacy.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">The Data Protection Authority</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy recommends the establishment of Privacy Commissioners (and places emphasis on Privacy Commissioner rather than Data Protection Authority) at the Central and Regional level. The Privacy Commissioner should be of a rank no lower than a retired Supreme Court Judge at the Central level and a retired High Court Judge at the regional level. The privacy commissioner should have the power to receive and investigate class action complaints and investigative powers of the commissioner should include the power to examine and call for documents, examine witnesses, and take a case to court if necessary. The Commissioner should be able to investigate data controllers on receiving complaints or suo moto, and can order privacy impact assessments. Organizations should not be able to appeal fines levied by the Privacy Commissioner, but individuals can appeal a decision of the Privacy Commissioner to the court. The Commissioner should also have broad oversight with respect to interception/access, audio & video recordings, use of personal identifiers, and the use of bodily or genetic material. The Privacy Commissioner will also have the responsibility of approving codes of conduct developed by the industry level SRO’s.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Differing from the recommendations in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy, the 2014 Privacy Bill establishes a Data Protection Authority (as opposed to a Privacy Commissioner) at the Central level. Instead of creating regional Data Protection Authorities, the 2014 Privacy Bill allows for the Central Government to decide where other offices of the Data Protection Authority will be located. Furthermore, the 2014 Privacy Bill does not specify a qualification for the Data Protection Authority and instead establishes a selection committee to choose and appoint a Data Protection Authority. This committee is comprised of a Cabinet Secretary, Secretary to the Department of Personnel and Training, Secretary to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, and two experts of eminence from relevant fields that will be nominated by the Central Government.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 2014 Privacy Bill does not specify that fines ordered by the Data Protection Authority will be binding for organizations, but does allow individuals to appeal decisions of the Data Protection Authority to the Appellate Tribunal. Differing from the recommendations in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy, the 2014 Privacy Bill gives the Data Protection Authority the power to call upon any data controller at any time to furnish in writing information or explanation relating to its affairs, and receive and investigate complaints about alleged violations of privacy of individuals in respect of matters covered under this Act, conduct investigations and issue appropriate orders or directions to the parties concerned. Furthermore, the 2014 Privacy Bill does not specify that the Data Protection Authority will carry out privacy impact assessments, but the Authority can conduct audits of any or all personal data controlled by a data controller, can investigate data breaches, investigate in complaint received, and adjudicate on a dispute arising between data controllers or data subjects and data controllers. Unlike the recommendations in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy, it does not seem that the Data Protection Authority will play an overseeing role with respect to interception, the use of video recording equipment, personal identifiers, and the use of bodily and genetic material.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Tribunal and System of Complaints</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Differing from the recommendation in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy, which specified that a Tribunal should not be established as under the Information Technology Act as there is the risk that the institutions will not have the capacity to rule on a broad right to privacy, the 2014 Privacy Bill does establish a Tribunal under the Information Technology Act. The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy also recommended that complaints be taken to the district level, high level, and Supreme Court – whereas the 2014 Privacy Bill allows individuals to appeal decisions from the Tribunal only to a High Court. Similar to the recommendations of the Report of the Group of Experts, the 2014 Privacy Bill has in place Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms at the level of the industry self regulatory organization. The 2014 Privacy Bill also specifies that individuals can seek civil remedies and leaves the issuance of compensation for privacy harm to be from a Court. Unlike the recommendations in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy, the 2014 Privacy Bill does not specify that the Data Protection Authority will be able to take a case to the court.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Penalties and Offenses</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy did not provide specific recommendations for types of offences and penalties, but did suggest that offenses similar to those spelled out in the UK Data Protection Act and Australian Privacy Act be adopted – namely non-compliance with the privacy principles, unlawful collection, processing, sharing/disclosure, access, and use of personal data, and obstruction of the privacy commissioner. The 2014 Privacy Bill does create offenses for the unlawful collection, processing, sharing/disclosure, access, and use of personal data, but does not create offenses for obstruction of the privacy commissioner or broad non-compliance with the privacy principles.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Conclusion</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society welcomes the similarities between the recommendations in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy and the leaked 2014 Privacy Bill, but would recommend that on areas where there are differences, particularly in the scope of the Privacy Bill and the powers and functions of the Data Protection Authority, the 2014 Bill be brought in line with the recommendations from the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the upcoming post, we will be comparing the text of the leaked 2014 Privacy Bill to international best practices and standards.</p>
<ul>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><b>References</b></p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/leaked-privacy-bill-2014-v-2011/" class="external-link">Leaked Privacy Bill: 2014 vs. 2011 </a></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_privacy.pdf">Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy</a></li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/report-of-group-of-experts-on-privacy-vs-leaked-2014-privacy-bill'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/report-of-group-of-experts-on-privacy-vs-leaked-2014-privacy-bill</a>
</p>
No publisherelonnaiFeaturedInternet GovernancePrivacy2014-04-14T06:10:20ZBlog EntryApp Developers Series: Products-Services Dichotomy & IP (Part I)
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/app-developers-series-services-products-dichotomy-ip-2013-part-i
<b>Recently, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) held a series of interviews in attempts to better understand the ecosystem in which India's mobile app industry is emerging, how it is governed by India's current laws, and how mobile app developers are affected as a result. The following written series maps out the given responses and presents our findings from these interviews and accompanying conversations. </b>
<p align="justify">This preliminary round consisted of 10 interviews with app developers and an additional 6 with other individuals from differing perspectives within the mobile app development space; these being designers, lawyers, financial and legal advisers, and developer community mobilizers. Much insight was gained on the current legal practices of app developers within their work related to intellectual property rights (IPR), licensing, infringement and ownership. Through this preliminary research exercise, such practices are found to arise out of personal business models, sentiments towards the law, and how they are situated within the ecosystem to begin with.</p>
<h3><img src="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/copy_of_infographic1.png/image_large" style="float: left;" title="Indian mobile app developers_Infographic1" height="597" width="346" alt="Infographic1" class="image-left image-inline" />Question 1: “What is your IP?”</h3>
<p align="justify">In the legal realm, mobile apps aren't simply mobile
apps, but a final product composite of numerous forms of intellectual
property (IP)—background processes, source code, user interface, brand,
content and more. But who owns the apps that are being made? Are they
protected, and if so, is this protection enforced? And how much do
developers know about IP anyway?</p>
<p align="justify">The first of the predetermined set of interview
questions begins to address these questions. Upon asking developers what
it is exactly that constituted their intellectual property, the most
frequent immediate responses consisted of “nothing” or one's own coding
for their mobile app product. Other responses included created content,
background processes, and works unpublished, as well as trademark and a
pending patent. Discussions to follow often pertained to one's
business model, as well as their different types of mobile app IP for
clients and of their own products.</p>
<p align="justify">So what did these responses reveal then?</p>
<ul><li>
<p align="justify"><strong>70% </strong>of app developers interviewed generally do
not own the products they create, and instead assign ownership of
their IP over to their clients</p>
</li><li>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>80%</strong> of app developers interviewed have either moved away from the services sector to create their own products or would like to</p>
</li><li>
<p align="justify"><strong>75%</strong> of app developers interviewed within
services have their own mobile app products, two thirds of which are in
an early product phase</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Services for SMEs</h3>
<p align="justify">Across developers carrying out app development services, clients were often said to be based all over India, as well as the US and Europe. Despite this occurring trend within our interviews sample, Business Financial Strategist and CEO of <a class="external-link" href="https://sites.google.com/site/outsourcedcfo/">Out Sourced CFO & Business Advisory Services</a>, Jayant Tewari stresses that out-sourced 'mobile app services' is marginal as a business model here in India. Due to the fact that “apps are reasonably small in terms of code length and complexity, the concept is more important to and deliverable by a small skilled team,” he says. For this reason, mobiles apps is relatively a small-medium enterprise (SME) space: “some SMEs have grown but the ethos and challenges faced are entirely distinct from the Large Corporate.”</p>
<p align="justify">Tewari's insights reflect the few of the larger mobile app enterprises that had participated within our interviews. Of all app developers interviewed, it has been found that 80% have either moved away from the services sector to create their own products or would like to. The remaining 20%, on the other hand, represent larger enterprises that have now scaled up with teams from 70 to over 200 developers—one of which focus strictly on services for social enterprises and non-profits as clients.</p>
<p align="justify">Tewari continues in saying that “unless you're a 1000 man enterprise, there's no economic benefit in services; as competition has driven pricing so low, everyone's struggling to deliver $12-14 per hour.”</p>
<p align="justify">So then, if this is the case in India's mobile app economy and off-shore app development is marginal, why have we found developers are doing it then?</p>
<p align="justify">Vivek Durai, formerly a lawyer and now Founder of startup, <a class="external-link" href="https://www.humblepaper.com/">HumblePaper</a>, implies that this business model is not by first choice: “every startup in mobile development, especially, is doing services to stay afloat and would like to move toward a product model.” Accordingly and as mentioned above, 75% of those interviewed within services had their own mobile app products, the majority of which were only in an early product phase—suggesting the inclination for app developers to gradually move away from the services sector in pursuit of their own projects, as they are able to.</p>
<h3><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/MobileappdevelopmentinIn.png/image_large" title="Infographic2" height="585" width="344" alt="Infographic2" class="image-right" />Understandings of IP (and lack of)</h3>
<p align="justify">Come the time for this transition away from services, however, app developer enterprises may be ill-equipped to sufficiently navigate this mobile app product space. Due to the fact that those within services assign ownership to their clients with the mere signing of a contract (if any), mobile app developers do not have any need to concern themselves with all the legal nuances related to ownership and licensing of IP. Put simply by Durai, “when you ask a question about IP to developers, they don't know what it means, because it doesn't have anything to do with what they're doing.”</p>
<p align="justify">Within the responses received, we have found that
across those interviewed exist different personal understandings of the
meaning of “IP.” Badrinath Kulkarni, <a href="https://plus.google.com/104550553343399000979/posts">Google Developer Group (GDG) Bangalore Coordinator</a>,
shares his concern regarding this area of greyed understanding in
saying that “developers often do not know what part of their app is
IP... there is a gap in understanding with respect to IP.”</p>
<p align="justify">For the most part, it seems, IP was considered to
refer to content or code across interviews, and was even confused at one
point with IPR within a response referring to an SME's trademark and
pending pending. Although a subtle error, such may reflect the lack of a
comprehensive understanding across individuals—even those that are
applying for a patent.</p>
<p align="justify">For those who appeared to be better versed in matters
related to IP, a recurring theme seemed to be the need for developers
to broaden their understanding of what parts of their work are IP.
Within a conversation with Samuel Mani, Founding Partner of <a class="external-link" href="http://www.mcmlaw.in/">Mani Chengappa & Mathur</a>,
Mani stresses that developers should recognize the value within not
just the product or software itself, but the background business
processes. According to Mani, the execution of the idea is the true
source of innovation; how one accesses the market, and maybe who the
market is as well.</p>
<h3>IP understanding in services: irrelevant or important?</h3>
<p>
So what is the importance of having a concrete
understanding of notions of intellectual property to begin with? Does it
matter at all that those within development services are not as
familiar with the concept since IP is irrelevant to them? Or can knowledge of IP work to one's advantage within a services agreement?</p>
<p>
As we continue to examine the responses given across interviews pertaining to protection of one's intellectual property, perhaps these questions will answer themselves.</p>
<p></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/app-developers-series-services-products-dichotomy-ip-2013-part-i'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/app-developers-series-services-products-dichotomy-ip-2013-part-i</a>
</p>
No publishersamanthaFeaturedAccess to Knowledge2014-07-21T01:43:06ZBlog EntryLeaked Privacy Bill: 2014 vs. 2011
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/leaked-privacy-bill-2014-v-2011
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society has recently received a leaked version of the draft Privacy Bill 2014 that the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India has drafted.</b>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Note: <i>After obtaining a copy of the leaked Privacy Bill 2014, we have replaced the blog "An Analysis of the New Draft Privacy Bill" which was based off of a report from the Economic Times, with this blog post</i>.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This represents the third leak of potential privacy legislation for India that we know of, with publicly available versions having leaked in <a href="http://bourgeoisinspirations.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/draft_right-to-privacy.pdf">April 2011</a> and <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/draft-bill-on-right-to-privacy">September 2011</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">When compared to the September 2011 Privacy Bill, the text of the 2014 Bill includes a number of changes, additions, and deletions. Below is an outline of significant changes from the <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/draft-bill-on-right-to-privacy">September 2011 Privacy Bill</a> to the 2014 Privacy Bill:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b>Scope:</b> The 2014 Bill extends the right to Privacy to all residents of India. This is in contrast to the 2011 Bill, which extended the Right to Privacy to citizens of India. The 2014 Bill furthermore recognizes the Right to Privacy as a part of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and extends to the whole of India, whereas the 2011 Bill did not explicitly recognize the Right to Privacy as being a part of Article 21, and excluded Jammu and Kashmir from its purview.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b><span>Definitions:</span></b><span> The 2014 Bill includes a number of new definitions, redefines existing terms, and deletes others.<br /></span></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Terms that have been added in the 2014 Bill and the definitions</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol><ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b><i>Personal identifier</i>:</b> Any unique alphanumeric sequence of members, letters, and symbols that specifically identifies an individual with a database or a data set.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b><i>Legitimate purpose</i>:</b> A purpose covered under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, which is certain, unambiguous, and limited in scope for collection of any personal data from a data subject.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b><i>Competent authority</i></b> : The authority which is authorized to sanction interception or surveillance, as the case may be, under this Act or rules made there under or any other law for the time being in force.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b><i>Notification</i></b><i>: </i>Notification issued under this Act and published in the Official Gazette</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b><i>Control</i> :</b> And all other cognate forms of expressions thereof, means, in relation to personal data, the collection or processing of personal data and shall include the ability to determine the purposes for and the manner in which any personal data is to be collected or processed.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "> <b><i>Telecommunications system</i>:</b> Any system used for transmission or reception of any communication by wire, radio, visual or other electromagnetic means but shall not include broadcasting services.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b><i>Privacy standards</i>:</b> The privacy standards or protocols or codes of practice. developed by industry associations.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Terms that have been re-defined in the 2014 Bill from the 2011 Bill and the 2014 Bill definitions</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b><i>Communication data:</i></b>The data held or obtained by a telecommunications service provider in relation to a data subject including the data usage of the telecommunications </li>
<li><b><i>Data subject</i></b><i> </i>: Any living individual, whose personal data is controlled by any person</li>
<li><b><i>Interception</i></b><i>: </i>In relation to any communication in the course of its transmission through a telecommunication system, any action that results in some or all of the contents of that communication being made available, while being transmitted, to a person other than the sender or the intended recipient of the communication. </li>
<li><b><i>Person</i></b><i>: A</i>ny natural or legal person and shall include a body corporate, partnership, society, trust, association of persons, Government company, government department, urban local body, or any other officer, agency or instrumentality of the state. </li>
<li><b><i>Sensitive personal data</i>:</b> Personal data relating to: (a) physical and mental health including medical history, (b) biometric, bodily or genetic information, (c) criminal convictions (d) password, (e) banking credit and financial data (f) narco analysis or polygraph test data, (g) sexual orientation. Provided that any information that is freely available or accessible in public domain or to be furnished under the Right to Information Act 2005 or any other law for time being in force shall not be regarded as sensitive personal data for the purposes of this Act.</li>
<li><b><i>Individual:</i></b><i> </i>a resident of Indian </li>
<li><b><i>Covert surveillance</i>:</b> covert Surveillance" means obtaining private information about an individual and his private affairs without his knowledge and includes: (i) directed surveillance which is undertaken for the purposes of specific investigation or specific operation in such a manner as is likely to result in the obtaining of private information about a person whether or not that person was specifically identified in relation to the investigation or operation; (ii) intrusive surveillance which is carried out by an individual or a surveillance device in relation to anything taking place on a residential premise or in any private vehicle. It also covers use of any device outside the premises or a vehicle wherein it can give information of the same quality and detail as if the device were in the premises or vehicle; (iii) covert human intelligence service which is information obtained by a person who establishes or maintains a personal or other relationship with an individual for the covert purpose of using such a relationship to obtain or to provide access to any personal information about that individual</li>
<li><b><i>Re-identify</i></b>: means the recovery of data from an anonymised data, capable of identifying a data subject whose personal data has been anonymised;</li>
<li><b><i>Process</i>:</b> “process" and all other cognate forms of expressions thereof, means any operation or set of operations, whether carried out through automatic means or not by any person or organization, that relates to:(a) collation, storage, disclosure, transfer, updating, modification, alteration or use of personal data; or (b) the merging, linking, blocking, degradation or anonymisation of personal data;</li>
<li><b><i>Direct marketing</i></b>: Direct Marketing means sending of a commercial communication to any individual </li>
<li><b><i>Data controller</i></b>: any person who controls, at any point in time, the personal data of a data subject but shall not include any person who merely provides infrastructure for the transfer or storage of personal data to it data controller;</li>
<li><b><i> Government</i></b>: the Central Government or as the case may be, the State Government and includes the Union territory Administration, local authority or any agency and instrumentality of the Government;</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Terms that have been removed from the 2014 Bill that were in the 2011 Bill and the 2011 definition:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Consent: Includes implied consent</li>
<li>Maintain: Includes maintain, collect, use, or disseminate.</li>
<li>Data processor: In relation to personal data means any person (other than the employee of the data controller), who processes the data on behalf of the data controller. </li>
<li>Local authority: A municipal committee, district board, body of port commissioners, council, board or other authority legally entitled to, or entrusted by the Government with, the control or management of a municipal or local fund. </li>
<li>Prescribed: Prescribed by rules made under this Act.</li>
<li>Surveillance: Surveillance undertaken through installation and use of CCTVs and other system which capture images to identify or monitor individuals (this was removed from the larger definition of surveillance.)</li>
<li>DNA: Cell in the body of an individual, whether collected from a cheek, cell, blood cell, skin cell or other tissue, which allows for identification of such individual when compared with other individual. </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Terms that have remained broadly (with some modification) the same between the 2014 Bill and 2011 Bill (as per the 2014 Bill definition):</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Authority: The Data Protection Authority of India </li>
<li>Appellate tribunal: the Cyber Appellate Tribunal established under Sub-Section (1) of section n48 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.</li>
<li>Personal data: Any data which relates to a data subject, if that data subject can be identified from that data, either directly or indirectly, in conjunction with other data that the data controller has or is likely to have and includes any expression of opinion about such data subject. </li>
<li>Member: Member of the Authority </li>
<li>Disclose: and all other cognate forms of expression thereof, means disclosure, dissemination, broadcast, communication, distribution, transmission, or make available in any manner whatsoever, of personal data. </li>
<li>Anonymised: The deletion of all data that identifies the data subject or can be used to identify the data subject by linking such data to any other data of the data subject, by the data controller. </li>
</ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b>Exceptions to the Right to Privacy</b>: According to the 2011 Bill, the exceptions to the Right to Privacy included: </li>
</ul>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Sovereignty, integrity and security of India, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the state </li>
<li>Preventing incitement to the commission of any offence </li>
<li>Prevention of public disorder or the detection of crime</li>
<li>Protection of rights and freedoms of others </li>
<li>In the interest of friendly relations with foreign state</li>
<li>Any other purpose specifically mentioned in the Act. </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 2014 Bill reflects almost all of the exceptions defined in the 2011 Bill, but removes ‘detection of crime’ from the list of exceptions. The 2014 Bill also qualifies that the application of each exception must be adequate, relevant, and not excessive to the objective it aims to achieve and must be imposed on the manner prescribed – whereas the 2011 Bill stated only that the application of exceptions to the Right to Privacy cannot be disproportionate to the purpose sought to be achieved.</p>
<p id="content" style="text-align: justify; "></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Acts not to be considered deprivations of privacy: The 2011 Bill lists five instances that will not be considered a deprivation of privacy - namely</li>
</ul>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>For journalistic purposes unless it is proven that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, </li>
<li>Processing data for personal or household purposes,</li>
<li>Installation of surveillance equipment for the security of private premises, </li>
<li>Disclosure of information via the Right to Information Act 2005,</li>
<li>And any other activity exempted under the Act.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 2014 limits these instances to:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The processing of data purely for personal or household purposes, </li>
<li>Disclosure of information under the Right to Information Act 2005,</li>
<li>And any other action specifically exempted under the Act.</li>
</ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Privacy Principles: Unlike the 2011 Bill, the 2014 Bill defines nine specific privacy principles: notice, choice and consent, collection limitation, purposes limitation, access and correction, disclosure of information, security, openness, and accountability. The Privacy Principles will apply to all existing and evolving practices. </li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Provisions for Personal Data: Both the 2011 Bill and the 2014 Bill have provisions that apply to the processing of personal and sensitive personal data. The 2011 Bill includes provisions addressing the:</li>
</ul>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Collection of personal data, </li>
<li>Processing of personal data, </li>
<li>Data quality, </li>
<li>Provisions relating to sensitive personal data, </li>
<li>Retention of personal data,</li>
<li>Sharing (disclosure) of personal data, </li>
<li>Security of personal data, </li>
<li>Notification of breach of security, </li>
<li>Access to personal data by data subject,</li>
<li>Updation of personal data by data subject</li>
<li>Mandatory processing of data,</li>
<li>Trans border flows of personal data.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Of these, the 2014 Bill broadly (though not verbatim) reflects the 2011 Bill provisions relating to the:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Collection of personal data,</li>
<li>Processing of personal data, </li>
<li>Access to personal data,</li>
<li>Updating personal data</li>
<li>Retention of personal data</li>
<li>Data quality, </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 2014 Bill has further includes provisions addressing:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Openness and accountability, </li>
<li>Choice, </li>
<li>Consent,</li>
<li>Exceptions for personal identifiers. </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 2014 Bill has made changes to the provisions addressing:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Provisions relating to sensitive personal data, </li>
<li>Sharing (disclosure of personal data), </li>
<li>Notification of breach of security, </li>
<li>Mandatory processing of data </li>
<li>Security of personal data</li>
<li>Trans border flows of personal data. </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The changes that have been made have been mapped out below:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Provisions Relating to Sensitive Personal Data:</b> The 2011Bill and 2014 Bill both require authorization by the Authority for the collection and processing of sensitive personal data. At the same time, both Bills include a list of circumstances under which authorization for the collection and processing of sensitive personal data is not required. On the whole, this list is the same between the 2011 Bill and 2014 Bill, but the 2014 Bill adds the following circumstances on which authorization is not needed for the collection and processing of sensitive personal data:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li style="text-align: justify; ">For purposes related to the insurance policy of the individual if the data relates to the physical or mental health or medical history of the individual and is collected and processed by an insurance company.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Collected or processed by the Government Intelligence agencies in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, security or the strategic, scientific or economic interest of India.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 2014 Bill also allows the Authority to specify additional regulations for sensitive personal data, and requires that any additional transaction sought to be performed with the sensitive personal information requires fresh consent to first be obtained. The 2014 Bill carves out another exception for Government agencies, allowing disclosure of sensitive personal data without consent to Government agencies mandated under law for the purposes of verification of identity, or for prevention, detection, investigation including cyber incidents, prosecution, and punishment of offences.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Notification of Breach of Security</b>: The provisions relating to the notification of breach of security in the 2014 Bill differ from the 2011 Bill. Specifically, the 2014 Bill removes the requirement that data controllers must publish information about a data breach in two national news papers. Thus, in the 2014 Bill, data controllers must only inform the data protection authority and affected individuals of the breach. <br /><b><br />Notice</b>: The 2014 Bill changes the structure of the notice mechanism – where in the 2011 Bill, prior to the processing of data, data controllers had to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the data subject was aware of the following:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol> <ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol> <ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The documented purposes for which such personal data is being collected</li>
<li>Whether providing of personal data by the data subject is voluntary or mandatory under law or in order to avail of any product or service</li>
<li>The consequences of the failure to provide the personal data </li>
<li>The recipient or category of recipients of the personal data </li>
<li>The name and address of the data controller and all persons who are or will be processing information on behalf of the data controller </li>
<li>If such personal data is intended to be transferred out of the country, details of such transfer. </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In contrast the 2014 Bill provides that before personal data is collected, the data controller must give notice of:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>What data is being collected and</li>
<li>The legitimate purpose for the collection.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If the purpose for which the data was collected has changed the data controller will then be obligated to provide the data subject with notice of:</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The use to which the personal data will be put</li>
<li>Whether or not the personal data will be disclosed to a third party and if so the identity of such person </li>
<li>If the personal data being collected is intended to be transferred outside India and the reasons for doing so, how the transfer helps in achieving the legitimate purpose and whether the country to which such data is transferred has suitable legislation to provide for adequate protection and privacy of the data. </li>
<li>The security and safeguards established by the data controller in relation to the personal data </li>
<li>The processes available to a data subject to access and correct his personal data</li>
<li>The recourse open to a data subject, if he has any complaints in respect of collection or processing of the personal data and the procedure relating thereto</li>
<li>The name, address, and contact particulars of the data controller and all persons who will be processing the personal data on behalf of the data controller. </li>
</ol><ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Disclosure of personal data</b>: Though titled as ‘sharing of personal data’ both the 2011 Bill and 2014 Bill require consent for the disclosure of personal information, but list exceptional circumstances on which consent is not needed. In the 2011 bill, the relevant provision permits disclosure of personal data without consent only if (i) the sharing was a part of the documented purpose, (ii) the sharing is for any purpose relating to the exceptions to the right to privacy or (iii) the Data Protection Authority has authorized the sharing. In contrast, the 2014 Bill permits disclosure of personal data without consent if (i) such disclosure is part of the legitimate purpose (ii) such disclosure is for achieving any of the objectives of section 5 (iii) the Authority has by order authorized such disclosure (iv) the disclosure is required under any law for the time being in force (v) the disclosure is made to the Government Intelligence agencies in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, security or the strategic, scientific or economic interest of India. As a safeguard, the 2014 Bill requires that any person to whom personal information is disclosed, whether a resident or not, must adhere to all provisions of the Act. Furthermore, the disclosure of personal data must be limited to the extent which is necessary to achieve the purpose for which the disclosure is sought and no person can make public any personal data that is in its control.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Transborder flow of information</b>: Though both the 2011 Bill and the 2014 Bill require any country that data is transferred to must have equivalent or stronger data protection standards in place, the 2014 Bill carves out an exception for law enforcement and intelligence agencies and the transfer of any personal data outside the territory of India, in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, security or the strategic, scientific or economic interest of India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Mandatory Processing of Data</b>: Both the 2011 Bill and 2014 Bill have provisions that address the mandatory processing of data. These provisions are similar, but the 2014 Bill includes a requirement that data controllers must anonymize personal data that is collected without prior consent from the data subject within a reasonable time frame after collection.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Security of Personal Data:</b> The provision relating to the security of personal information in the 2014 Bill has been changed from the 2011 Bill by expanding the list and type of breaches that must be prevented, but removing requirements that data controllers must ensure all contractual arrangements with data processors specifically ensure that the data is maintained with the same level of security.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol><ol> </ol>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Conditions on which provisions do not apply:</b> Both the 2011Bill and 2014 Bill define conditions on which the provisions of updating personal data, access, notification of breach of security, retention of personal data, data quality, consent, choice, notice, and right to privacy will not apply to personal data. Though the 2011 Bill and 2014 Bill reflect the same conditions, the 2014 Bill carves out an exception for Government Intelligence Agencies - stating that the provisions of updating personal data, access to data by the data subject, notification about breach of security, retention of personal data, data quality, processing of personal data, consent, choice, notice, collection from an individual will not apply to data collected or processed in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, security or the strategic, scientific or economic interest of India.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Privacy Officers</b>: Unlike the 2011 Bill, the 2014 Bill defines the role of the privacy officer that must be established by every data controller for the purpose of overseeing the security of personal data and implementation of the provisions of the Act.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Power of Authority to Exempt: </b> Both the 2011 Bill and 2014 Bill contain provisions that enable the Authority to waive the applicability of specific provisions of the Act. The circumstances on which this can be done are based on the exceptions to the Right to Privacy in both the 2011 and 2014 Bill. To this extent, the 2014 Bill differs slightly from the 2011 Bill, by removing the power of the Authority to exempt for the ‘detection of crime’ and ‘any other legitimate purpose mentioned in this Act’ .</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>The Data Protection Authority:</b> The 2011 Bill and 2014 Bill both establish Data Protection Authorities, but the 2014 Bill further clarifies certain aspects of the functioning of the Authority and expands the functions and the powers of the Authority. For example, new functions of the Authority include:</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Auditing any or all personal data controlled by the data controller to assess whether it is being maintained in accordance with the Act, </li>
<li> Suggesting international instruments relevant to the administration of the Act,</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "> Encouraging industry associations to evolve privacy standards for self regulations, adjudicating on disputes arising between data controllers or between individuals and data controllers.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 2014 Bill also expands the powers of the Data Protection Authority – importantly giving him the power to receive, investigate complaints about alleged violations of privacy and issue appropriate orders or directions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the same time, the 2014 Bill carves out an exception for Government Intelligence Agencies and Law Enforcement agencies – preventing the Authority from conducting investigations, issuing appropriate orders or directions, and adjudicating complaints in respect to actions taken by the Government Intelligences Agencies and Law Enforcement, if for the objectives of (a) sovereignty, integrity or security of India; or(b) strategic, scientific or economic interest of India; or(c) preventing incitement to the commission of any offence, or (d) prevention of public disorder, or(e) the investigation of any crime; or (f) protection of rights and freedoms of others; or (g) friendly relations with foreign states; or (h) any other legitimate purpose mentioned in this Act.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This power is instead vested with a court of competent jurisdiction.</p>
<ol> </ol>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>The National Data Controller Registry</b>: The 2014 Bill removes the National Data Controller Registry and requirements for data controllers to register themselves and oversight of the Registry by the Data Protection Authority.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Direct Marketing: </b>Both the 2011 and 2014 Bills contain provisions regulating the use of personal information for direct marketing purposes. Though the provisions are broadly the same, the 2011 Bill envisions that no person will undertake direct marketing unless he/she is registered in the ‘National Data Registry’ and one of the stated purposes is direct marketing. As the 2014 Bill removes the National Data Registry, the 2014 Bill now requires that any person undertaking direct marketing must have on record where he/she has obtained personal data from.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Interception of Communications</b>: Though maintaining some of the safeguards defined in the 2011 Bill for interception, 2014 Bill changes the interception regime envisioned in the 2011 Bill by carving out a wide exception for organizations monitoring the electronic mail of employees, removing provisions requiring the interception take place only for the minimum period of time required for achieving the purposes, and removing provisions excluding the use of intercepted communications as evidence in a court of law. Similar to the 2011 Bill, the 2014 Bill specifies that the principles of notice, choice and consent, access and correction, and openness will not apply to the interception of communications.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Video Recording Equipment in public places</b>: Unlike the 2011 Bill, which addressed only the use of CCTV’s, the 2014 Bill addresses the installation and use of video recording equipment in public places. Though both the 2011 Bill and 2014 Bill both prevent the use of recording equipment and CCTVs for the purpose of identifying an individual, monitoring his personal particulars, or revealing personal, or otherwise adversely affecting his right to privacy - the 2014 Bill requires that the use of recording equipment must be in accordance with procedures, for a legitimate purpose, and proportionate to the objective for which the equipment was installed. </li>
</ul>
<p>The 2014 Bill makes a broad exception to these safeguards for law enforcement agencies and government intelligence agencies in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, security or the strategic, scientific, or economic interest of India.</p>
<ol> </ol>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Privacy Standards and Self Regulation</b>: The 2014 Bill establishes a specific mechanism of self regulation where industry associations will develop privacy standards and adhere to them. For this purpose, an industry ombudsman should be appointed. The standards must be in conformity with the National Privacy Principles and the provisions of the Privacy Bill. The developed standards will be submitted to the Authority and the Authority may frame regulations based on the standards. If an industry association has not developed privacy standards, the Authority may frame regulations for a specific sector.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Settlement of Disputes and Appellate Tribunal:</b> The 2014 Bill makes significant change to the process for settling disputes from the 2011 Bill. In the 2014 Bill an Alternative Dispute Mechanism is established where disputes between individuals and data controllers are first addressed by the Privacy Officer of each Data Controller or the industry level Ombudsman. If individuals are not satisfied with the decision of the Ombudsman they may take the complaint to the Authority. Individuals can also take the complaint directly to the Authority if they wish. If an individual is aggrieved with the decision of the Authority, by a privacy officer or ombudsman through the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism, or by the adjudicating officer of the Authority, they may approach the Appellate Tribunal. Any order from the Appellate Tribunal can be appealed at a high court. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the 2011 Bill disputes between the data controller and an individual can be taken directly to the Appellate Tribunal and orders from the Authority can be appealed at the Tribunal. There is not further path for appeal to an order of the tribunal.</p>
<ol> </ol>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Offences and Penalties:</b> The 2014 Bill changes the structure of the offences and penalties section by breaking the two into separate sections - one addressing offences and one addressing penalties while the 2011 Bill addressed offences and penalties in the same section. </li>
</ul>
<ol> </ol><ol> </ol><ol> </ol>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Offences</b>: The 2014 Bill penalizes every offence with imprisonment and a fine and empowers a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police to investigate any offence, limits the courts ability to take cognizance of an offence to only those brought by the Authority, requires that the Court be no lower than a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or a Chief Judicial Magistrate, and permits courts to compound offences. The 2014 Bill further specifies that any offence that is punishable with three years in prison and above is cognizable, and offences punishable with three years in prison are bailable. . Under the 2014 Bill offences are defined as:</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>Unauthorized interception of communications </li>
<li>Disclosure of intercepted communications </li>
<li>Undertaking unauthorized Covert Surveillance </li>
<li>Unauthorized use of disclosure of communication data </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The offences defined under the Act are reflected in the 2011 Bill, but the time in prison and fine is higher in the 2014 Bill.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Penalties</b>: The 2014 Bill provides a list of penalties including:</p>
<ol>
<li>Penalty for obtaining personal data on false pretext</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Penalty for violation of conditions of license pertaining to maintenance of secrecy and confidentiality by telecommunications service providers </li>
<li>Penalty for disclosure of other personal information </li>
<li>Penalties for contravention of directions of the Authority </li>
<li>Penalties for data theft </li>
<li>Penalties for unauthorised collection, processing, and disclosure of personal data</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Penalties for unauthorized use of personal data for direction marketing. These penalties reflect the penalties in the 2011 bill, but prescribe higher fines<br /><br /></li>
</ol><ol> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Adjudicating Officer</b>: Unlike the 2011 Bill that did not have in place an adjudicating officer, the 2014 Bill specifies that the Chairperson of the Authority will appoint a Member of the Authority not below the Rank of Director of the Government of India to be an adjudicating officer. The adjudicating officer will have the power to impose a penalty and will have the same powers as vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure. Every proceeding before the adjudicating officer will be considered a judicial processing. When adjudicating the officer must take into consideration the amount of disproportionate gain or unfair advantage, the amount of loss caused, the respective nature of the default</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Civil Remedies and compensation</b>: Both the 2011 and 2014 Bill contain provisions that permit an individual to pursue a civil remedy, but the 2014 Bill limits these instances to - if loss or damage has been suffered or an adverse determination is made about an individual due to negligence on complying with the Act, and provides for the possibility that the contravening parties will have to provide a public notice of the offense. <br /><br />The 2014 Bill removes provisions specifying that individuals that have suffered loss due to a contravention by the data controller of the Act are entitled to compensation.</p>
<ol> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Exceptions for intelligence agencies</b>: Unlike the 2011 Bill, the 2014 Bill includes an exception for Government Intelligence Agencies and Law Enforcement Agencies – stating that the Authority will not have the power to conduct investigations, issue appropriate orders and directions or otherwise adjudicate complaints in respect of action taken by the Government intelligence agencies and Law Enforcement agencies for achieving any of the objectives that reflect the defined exceptions to privacy.</p>
<ol> </ol><ol> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society welcomes many of the changes that are reflected in the Privacy Bill 2014, but are cautious about the wide exceptions that have been carved out for law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the Bill.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In 2012, the Report of Group of Expert s on Privacy was developed for the purpose of informing a privacy framework for India. As such the Centre for Internet and Society will be analyzing in upcoming posts the draft Privacy Bill 2014 and the recommendations in the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy.</p>
<ol> </ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/leaked-privacy-bill-2014-v-2011'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/leaked-privacy-bill-2014-v-2011</a>
</p>
No publisherelonnaiFeaturedInternet GovernancePrivacy2014-04-01T10:52:41ZBlog EntryIndia Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/india-access-to-knowledge-draft-work-plan-july-2014-june-2015
<b>One of the key mandates of the Access to Knowledge (A2K) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is to work towards catalysing the growth of the open knowledge movement in South-Asia and in Indic languages. CIS has been a steward of the Wikimedia movement in India since December 2008 when Jimmy Wales visited Bangalore. From September 2012 it has been actively involved in growing the movement in India through a grant received from the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Based on the 18-month experience of working with various Indic Wikimedia communities, CIS-A2K has developed its Work Plan for July 2014 to June 2015.</b>
<p>This was originally <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#cite_ref-5">published on Wikimedia blog</a></p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>This work plan consists of 21 plans across 6 verticals</b>. These are:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Language_Area_Work_Plans" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">7 Language Area Plans</a></b>: CIS-A2K has put in significant efforts in four focus language areas plans during the last year and has been successful in reaching most of its goals. In 2014-15 we will further deepen our engagement in these four language areas (<a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kannada_language" title="en:Kannada language">Kannada</a>, <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konkani_language" title="en:Konkani language">Konkani</a>, <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriya_language" title="en:Oriya language">Odia</a> and <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_language" title="en:Telugu language">Telugu</a>). Further, this experience and the learnings from it will be leveraged to work on three more large Indic language Wikipedia projects, which are <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_language" title="en:Bengali language">Bangla</a>, <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi" title="en:Hindi">Hindi</a> and <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_language" title="en:Marathi language">Marathi</a>. We have developed a detailed plan for each of these language areas, which can be seen <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Language_Area_Work_Plans" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">here</a>.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Community_Strengthening_Initiatives" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">3 Community Strengthening Initiatives</a></b>: We propose community strengthening initiatives that will further grow the Indic Wikimedia projects and the associated community, both qualitatively and quantitatively. These initiatives, focussing on building capacity and nurturing leadership in the Indic communities, will ensure that growth is sustained beyond the CIS-A2K program. A detailed plan for each of these initiatives is available <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Community_Strengthening_Initiatives" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">here</a>.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Stand-alone_Wikimedia_Projects" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">8 Stand-alone Wikimedia Projects</a></b>: These stand-alone projects will have clear deliverables in a limited span of time, and will help us understand how to take up bigger initiatives in the respective language. All the stand-alone projects are more fully described <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Stand-alone_Wikimedia_Projects" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">here</a>.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Creating_Movement_Resources" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">Creating Movement Resources</a></b>: Once CIS-A2K began actively working with the Indic Wikimedia communities, it soon realized that unlike in English there were not many Wikimedia-related resources available in Indic languages. During the last year we produced some resources which were mostly unplanned outcomes. However, we feel there is an urgent need to create movement resources in Indic languages like a Creative Commons (CC) handbook; a Copyright handbook; training manuals; video tutorials, etc. See our plans for concerted efforts to create resources for strengthening the Wikimedia movement in India and in Indic languages <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Creating_Movement_Resources" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Creating Movement Resources">here</a>.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Publicity.2C_Research_and_Documentation" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">Publicity, Research and Documentation</a></b>: Many of the Indic Wikimedia projects in spite of being in existence for more than 10 years have not received adequate publicity. Also, the Wikimedia movement in India could benefit from more systematic research and documentation. CIS-A2K will put in more intensive efforts into Publicity, Research and Documentation of the Wikimedia movement in India during this year as per the plans discussed <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Publicity,_Research_and_Documentation" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Publicity, Research and Documentation">here</a>.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#General_Support_and_Service_to_the_Movement" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">General Support and Service to the Movement</a></b>: CIS-A2K deeply believes in extending support and service to the Wikimedia volunteer community in India. This has been one of the important aspects of our work so far. We have honoured up to 100 requests of all sizes that we received from the Wikimedia volunteer communities across all Indic languages. <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/General_Support_and_Service_to_the_Movement" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/General Support and Service to the Movement">This page</a> gives more details about the proposed work.</li>
</ul>
<p>The work plan includes details of aims, objectives, programme activities and expected outcomes. Most of the language area plans were put together in active consultation with the respective Wikimedia language communities. Various inputs and ideas contributed, opportunities provided, and challenges thrown at the CIS-A2K program during the last year by the Wikimedia communities in India, our institutional partners, <a class="text external" href="http://wiki.wikimedia.in/Wikimedia_India_Chapter_Executive_Committee_Members" rel="nofollow">Executive Committee (EC)</a> of <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_India" title="Wikimedia India">Wikimedia India Chapter (WMIN)</a> and the <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Start" title="Grants:Start">Wikimedia Foundation's Grantmaking Team</a> have significantly informed our work plans.</p>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<h3>Background to CIS-A2K Program</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Wikimedia Foundation approved a grant of ₹26,000,000 to CIS in Bangalore, India to expand their A2K programme in India. The grant was released over a three phase period - first in September 2012 (₹ 11,000,000), second in June 2013 (₹ 7,500,000) and third in December 2014(₹ 7,500,000). The purpose of the grant was to enable the A2K team to work with the Wikimedia community of volunteers in India to expand the Indic Wikimedia projects and associated communities. In addition, the grant was aimed at generating improvements in India-relevant free knowledge in Wikimedia’s English projects, and the wider distribution of Wikimedia’s free knowledge within India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K created an <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Work_plan_April_2013_-_June_2014" title="India Access To Knowledge/Work plan April 2013 - June 2014">Annual Work Plan (2013-2014)</a> that is being successfully implemented. Most of the projected outcomes against the plans have already been met. There have also been many unplanned outcomes. CIS-A2K has periodically been sharing its work openly with the Wikimedia community in India, WMIN and WMF's Grantmaking team. See all our reports and newsletters <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Reports" title="India Access To Knowledge/Reports">here</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Objective</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The objective of the CIS-A2K is to catalyse the growth of open knowledge movement in South Asia and in Indic languages. Within the Wikimedia universe CIS-A2K specifically strives to further grow the Indic and English Wikimedia projects and communities by a) supporting and serving the Wikimedia communities; b) building institutional partnerships; c) bringing more content under free license; d) designing and executing projects with community participation; e) strengthening the Wikimedia volunteers; and f) fostering and enabling an appropriate legal and technological ecosystem.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Context</h3>
<p>It is important to understand the two broader contexts in which CIS-A2K program operates, which underpins the implementation of this work plan.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><b>Linguistic Diversity of India</b>: India is known for its linguistic diversity. India is home to several dominant languages and also several small languages which are facing extinction. Due to the large number of languages that exist in India, the country has more than 20 different language Wikipedias. Each Indic Wikimedia language project is different from the others in terms of community structure, speaker base, literacy level, technical knowledge, existing documentation, language corpora and challenges in the cyberspace, etc. Hence, each Indian language has its own strengths and challenges which are quite different from each other.<br /> <br />Since each Indian language is so distinct, we cannot apply a ‘one-size fits all’ approach; hence CIS-A2K early on adopted the strategy of creating a detailed plan for each language. During 2013-14 we chose five (of which only four could be executed) Indic languages for focussed intervention and developed [<a class="text external" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Work_plan_April_2013_-_June_2014#Language_area_work_plans%7Cgranular">plans</a>]. This strategy did pay off and we have now decided to work on seven languages. It is important to note that we are cautious about not massively scaling up this strategy and our choice to work on seven language areas is well informed. However, we have planned to execute some <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Stand-alone_Wikimedia_Projects" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">stand-alone projects</a> in other Indic languages and will provide <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/General_Support_and_Service_to_the_Movement" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/General Support and Service to the Movement">need based support</a> to other Indic Wikimedia communities.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Institutional Context</b>: The A2K program is housed at CIS Bangalore. CIS is an almost 6 year old non-profit organisation [with offices in Bengaluru and New Delhi] focussing on interdisciplinary policy and academic research. CIS conducts policy research in the following areas - accessibility, access for knowledge [including free/open source software, open content, open standards, open access and open data], internet governance [including privacy and freedom of speech and expression], telecom [limited to shared backhaul and shared spectrum]. CIS produces academic research focusing on digital natives and digital humanities.<br /> <br />CIS shares the same values as Wikimedia and the free and open source software community. CIS believes Wikimedia's objectives of disseminating free knowledge to each and every individual. There are certain advantages the A2K program has because of its location within CIS. Some of these include: a) opportunity to leverage the strong network CIS has developed with various free culture / openness movement stakeholders in the past 6 years of its existence; b) the advantage of having an office space in a city which is the hub of the openness movement in India; c) readily available administrative and support staff and systems that saves a lot of A2K staff's time; d) cross-pollination of ideas and work done in other CIS programs and vice-versa; e) organisational principles like subsidiarity, war on meta-work, post-facto accountability, and amorphous institutional boundaries give the A2K team members amazing programmatic agility; and f) the right kind of ecosystem for free knowledge work<a href="#fn1" name="fr1">[1]</a> There are also some disadvantages: a) CIS being a non-chapter or Wikimedia volunteer-driven entity faces very valid questions about legitimacy, representation and "voluntary sector" vs. "volunteer" dichotomy; b) a section of the community view CIS-A2K as a competitor to WMIN for financial resources which undermines trust-building and consequently threatens synergies between WMIN and A2K c) CIS has to be conservative about attributing Wikimedia growth and community growth to A2K initiatives as it can be misconstrued as credit-grabbing.<a href="#fn2" name="fr2">[2]</a></li>
</ol>
<h3>Methodology</h3>
<dl><dt>Process</dt></dl>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This work plan is put together based on an extensive engagement with various stakeholders of Wikimedia movement in India. These include a) some Wikimedia volunteers across Indic Wikimedia projects; b) WMIN Executive Committee; d) Institutional Partners of CIS-A2K; e) a few like-minded advocates of free knowledge; f) A2K Program Adviser Dr. Tejaswini Niranjana; and g) a few of the Wikimedia Foundation staff. Some of the language area plans were shared with that particular language Wikimedia community for feedback over the Wikipedia village pumps, mailing lists and social media groups. Each plan document has a list of contributors who have contributed in developing the plan.</p>
<dl><dt>Structure</dt></dl>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There are 21 diverse plans within this plan. During the work planning exercise we realized that this diversity is both a good feature and a potential bug. We were concerned about making these plans intelligible. So we have worked very hard to come up with a standard template for all plans. Thus a cursory glance may give the impression that some plans look similar, but they are not. However, you may see repetitions in strategies across plans. Also in some plans we had to deviate from the template. Moreover, it is less productive to compare one sub-plan with another sub-plan as each plan was developed taking into consideration a) specific strengths and opportunities that CIS-A2K program could build on; b) particular needs for support to which we could respond; and c) specific challenges that require localized solutions.</p>
<dl><dt>Granularity</dt></dl>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This plan is not set in stone and will be periodically (right now quarterly) reviewed and revised if required. The intention of this work plan is to continually ensure better design and better engagement. Thus this "plans within the plan" structure was essential to evolve a sense of granularity of the CIS-A2K team’s work along with micro-level outcome and impact metrics. This will give us the flexibility to amputate a plan, if it fails, without affecting the rest of the plans. We also believe that this granularity in plans will give a focussed direction for the CIS-A2K team and the volunteers who will collaborate with us in the implementation.</p>
<dl><dt>Mapping Plan to Budget/Mission Level Transparency</dt></dl>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Each plan has an independent budget and is closely mapped on to the implementation plan. An attempt is made to correlate why we are spending a certain amount on a certain activity. Thus all these budgets are very optimally planned and the overall budget is an assimilation. CIS-A2K believes that this will give mission level transparency to our work and provide a clear structure of accountability to the movement.</p>
<h2>Annual Work Plan July 2014-June 2015</h2>
<h3>Language Area Work Plans</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K has put in significant efforts in four focus language areas plans during the last year and has been successful in reaching most of the proposed goals. In 2014-15 we will further deepen our engagement in these four language areas (Kannada, Konkani, Odia and Telugu). Further, this experience and the learnings from it will be leveraged to work on three more large Indic Wikipedia projects, which are Bangla, Hindi and Marathi. We have developed a detailed plan for each of these language areas, which is given below.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Bangla" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Bangla">Bangla</a></li>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Hindi" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Hindi">Hindi</a></li>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Kannada" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Kannada">Kannada</a></li>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Konkani" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Konkani">Konkani</a></li>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Marathi" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Marathi">Marathi</a></li>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Odia" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Odia">Odia</a></li>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Telugu" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Telugu">Telugu</a></li>
</ul>
<p><b>Some of the key factors that determined the selection of languages areas have included:</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><i>Deepening the work</i>. We have decided to continue our work in the language areas chosen last year as we believe that we need to deepen our work to ensure that the momentum we have built will be sustained even after our exit.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><i>Networking of institutions and groups.</i> The A2K team has put together a list of knowledge institutions, groups and individuals with whom it has some connections and believes that it can bring them into the Wikimedia movement. These collaborations will not only result in significant quality-content contributions, but will lead to the diversification and expansion of that particular language Wikimedia community.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><i>Willingness of that particular language community to interact and engage with the A2K team.</i> Though we tried approaching other language communities informally, we were given to understand that they would like to consider engaging with us at a later stage. We respect the community's decision and express our willingness to work with newer language areas in a subsequent phase.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><i>Familiarity of the A2K team members with the language.</i> Each of us are editors/can edit or at least read the discussions in most of the above language Wikipedias. This will give us an insider's perspective of what is happening in that particular language community and the Wikimedia projects.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Community Strengthening Initiatives</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K proposes to undertake three community strengthening initiatives that will further grow the Indic Wikimedia projects and the associated community, both qualitatively and quantitatively. These initiatives, focussing on building capacity and nurturing leadership in the Indic communities, will ensure that growth is sustained beyond the CIS-A2K program.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Nurturing_Mediawiki_and_Tech_Talent_in_Indic_Communities" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Nurturing Mediawiki and Tech Talent in Indic Communities">Nurturing Mediawiki and Tech Talent in Indic Communities</a>: Through this initiative CIS-A2K aims to make the Indic Wikimedia communities relatively more self-reliant in addressing minor technical issues through nurturing and building community level technical leadership. This could go a long way in reducing excessive dependency on the Engineering resources and will help the Indic communities in building strong technical liaison with the Media Wiki global community and the WMF Engineer team. The detailed plan is available <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Nurturing_Mediawiki_and_Tech_Talent_in_Indic_Communities" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Nurturing Mediawiki and Tech Talent in Indic Communities">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/TTT_Program" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/TTT Program">Wikimedia Train the Trainer Program, CIS-A2K</a>: The program will help build capacity and enable community members to conduct outreach sessions independently or with minimal support to introduce Wikipedia to prospective editors in their respective Indian languages. See <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/TTT_Program" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/TTT Program">here</a> for a detailed design of this initiative.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Wiki-Data_India_Marathon" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Wiki-Data India Marathon">Wiki-Data India Marathon</a>: Wikidata India Marathon will be a month long travelling event (or a set of events) across India. The primary objective of this marathon will be to introduce Wikidata to various Indic Wikimedia communities and show how it can be used and what benefits it has. For more details see <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Wiki-Data_India_Marathon" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Wiki-Data India Marathon">here</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Stand-alone Wikimedia Projects</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Many project ideas came up as potential opportunities and as unplanned outcomes of our work during the last year. Based on an internal evaluation and thorough due-diligence we have short-listed some projects that could have high rate of success and learning. We propose to take up 8 such projects as stand-alone Wikimedia projects during this work plan period. These stand-alone projects will have clear deliverables in a limited span of time, and will help us understand how to take up bigger initiatives in the respective language.</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Med_GLAM_Project" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Med GLAM Project">Med GLAM Project at Calicut Medical College</a>: The main objective of this project is to create, curate and make openly available images from the Department of Pathology, Calicut Medical College (CMC) for the benefit of medical and para-medical students and staff of CMC specifically and for the larger medical fraternity across the world, using free/open knowledge database <a class="extiw" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" title="commons:Main Page">Wikimedia Commons</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Wiki_Loves_Public_Art_%28India%29" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Wiki Loves Public Art (India)">Wiki Loves Public Art (India)</a>: This is a photography competition that seeks to get photographs of works of public art on Wikipedia. The competition is modelled on Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM) which has been running successfully since 2010. We plan to execute this in active collaboration with <a class="text external" href="http://wiki.wikimedia.in/City_and_Language_SIG_subcommittee_chair#GLAM" rel="nofollow">WMIN GLAM SIG</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/100_Books_on_Gujarati_Wikisource" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/100 Books on Gujarati Wikisource">100 Books on Gujarati Wikisource</a>: The main objective of this project is to add significant content to Gujarati Wikisource using OCR. This project will be executed in collaboration with Gujarati Wikimedia community, WMIN Chapter, Forbes Gujarati Sabha (which will provide access to copyright free Gujarati content to be put up on Gujarati Wikisource) and The Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Urdu_WEP_at_MANUU" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Urdu WEP at MANUU">Urdu Wikipedia Education Program at MANUU</a>: This project aims to roll out Wikipedia Educational Programme aimed at the students of <a class="text external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maulana_Azad_National_Urdu_University">Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Odia_Wikisource_as_OER" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Odia Wikisource as OER">Odia Wikisource as OER</a>: This project aims to make Odia Wikisource a live project. Towards this three things will be done by CIS-A2K. First, to get a major Odia author's (Dr. Jagannath Mohanty) content re-released under CC-BY-SA 3.0 and to host it on Odia Wikisource. Second, with the help of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences undertake a project whereby the students will type and proof read the books on Odia Wikisource, which could be used as OER across various educational institutions. Third, the digitized children's literature in Odia will be freely distributed across the government schools in an offline form. This project is inspired by the Malayalam Wikimedia community's efforts of introducing Wikisource in schools as part of the IT at Schools program in Kerala.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Making_the_Tulu_Wikipedia_Live" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Making the Tulu Wikipedia Live">Making the Tulu Wikipedia Live</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Making_the_Santali_Wikipedia_Live" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Making the Santali Wikipedia Live">Making the Santali Wikipedia Live</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Telugu_Wiki_Bus" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Telugu Wiki Bus">Telugu Wiki Bus</a>: This pilot project aims to create massive awareness about Indic Wikimedia projects in smaller cities and towns. This is modelled on the Google bus program and will be implemented in the Telugu speaking region of Andhra Pradesh.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Creating Movement Resources</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Once CIS-A2K began actively working with the Indic Wikimedia communities, it soon realized that unlike English there are not many Wikimedia related resources available in Indic languages. During the last year we produced some resources, which were mostly unplanned outcomes. However, we feel that there is an urgent need for concerted efforts to create resources to strengthen the Wikimedia movement in India and in Indic languages. We strongly believe that creating these movement resources will go a long way in growing and strengthening the Wikimedia volunteers beyond the limits of CIS-A2K program. Some of the activities in this plan have a larger fit with the larger institutional work of CIS in the domain of Intellectual Property Rights and Openness.<a href="#fn3" name="fr3">[3] </a>We will collaborate with the legal expertise within CIS in executing some of these activities. A detailed plan of activities under this initiative along with a budget can be seen <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Creating_Movement_Resources" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Creating Movement Resources"><b>here</b></a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Publicity, Research and Documentation</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Many of the Indic Wikimedia projects in spite of being in existence for more than 10 years have not received adequate publicity. Many of the long time Indic Wikimedia volunteers have, during our interactions, expressed the need to increase the publicity about the Indic Wikimedia projects so that there is increased public awareness. CIS-A2K has left no stone unturned to get print and electronic media publicity for Indic Wikimedia projects and communities duirng 2013-14. Because of our efforts there were about 100 news items the print media<a href="#fn4" name="fr4">[4] </a>and about 10 programs on electronic media<a href="#fn5" name="fr5">[5] </a>in the last year.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Also the Wikimedia movement in India could benefit with more systematic research and documentation. It should be noted that CIS has been doing research about the Wikimedia movement way before the Access to Knowledge program got a grant from Wikimedia Foundation. Researching on various elements of the Wikimedia movement is not something new for CIS and the team will continue its efforts in this direction. In addition to action research, we undertook systematic documentation of the movement during the last year. More intensive efforts will be put in Publicity, Research and Documentation of the Wikimedia movement in India during this year as per the plans discussed <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Publicity,_Research_and_Documentation" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Publicity, Research and Documentation"><b>here</b></a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">General Support and Service to the Movement</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K deeply believes in extending support and service to the Wikimedia volunteer community in India. This has been one of the important aspects of our work. We have honoured up to 100 requests of all sizes that we received from the Wikimedia volunteer communities across all Indic languages. Most of these requests are listed <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Requests" title="India Access To Knowledge/Requests">here</a> and <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Requests" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Requests">here</a>. CIS-A2K also receives requests over e-mail and some community members do reach out to us over mobile phones to place requests. In general the quick response time of CIS-A2K to these requests has been appreciated by many of the community members. We would like to continue with our efforts in supporting and serving the Wikimedia community in India and maintain the quick response time. CIS-A2K has actively consulted with the Wikimedia India Chapter (WMIN) before supporting most of the community requests, especially when it involved allocating funds for large community events like <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ta:%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%80%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%BE:%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B4%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%80%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%BE_%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%A3%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B1%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D,_%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%88/en" title="w:ta:விக்கிப்பீடியா:தமிழ் விக்கிப்பீடியா பத்தாண்டுகள் நிறைவுக் கூடல், சென்னை/en">Tamil Wikipedia 10th anniversary</a> celebrations. We also ensure that supporting community events is done in a transparent manner. However, we would need to review our methods and further streamline systems of support, which will be worked up on during this year. <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/General_Support_and_Service_to_the_Movement" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/General Support and Service to the Movement"><b>This page</b></a> will give more details about the proposed work.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Learning and Evaluation</h2>
<p>Based on discussions with the Wikimedia India Chapter EC and with some members of the Wikimeda community, the A2K programme had put together some evaluation tools to assess the impact of its work during the last year. We have included some more metrics for evaluation this year.</p>
<h3>Evaluation Tools</h3>
<ul>
<li>Quarterly growth of no. of articles</li>
<li>Quarterly growth of no. of total editors</li>
<li>Quarterly growth of no. of new editors</li>
<li>Quarterly growth of no. of active editors</li>
<li>Quarterly growth of no. of very active editors</li>
<li>No. of page views</li>
<li>No. of articles < 2 KB < 5 KB</li>
<li>No. of new tools/gadgets made available during a time-slice</li>
<li>No. of mentoring interactions</li>
<li>No. of bugs filed and resolved</li>
<li>No. of edits (Article, Other mainspace edits)</li>
<li>Print and electronic media mentions</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Reports</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We will undertake quarterly and annually review of its work using the above evaluation tools. The team will also report the successes and learnings to the Wikimedia India & the global community. In addition to this the A2K team will actively review progress of each language area plan in collaboration with the respective Wikimedia community. Based on this feedback we will undertake mid-course corrections, should there be a need. This will be openly shared on the respective plan discussion pages on Meta. In addition to this, A2K will continue to publish monthly newsletter informing the larger community of the various activities A2K has undertaken in a certain month and is planning to undertake in the upcoming month. Towards the the end of the grant, A2K will share an impact report encompassing analysis of all year long work done by A2K. To summarize following reports will be published in the year of 2014 - 2015:</p>
<ul>
<li>Quarterly Report 1 (July 2014 - October 2014)</li>
<li>Quarterly Report 2 (November 2014 - February 2015)</li>
<li>Quarterly Report 3 (March 2015 - June 2015)</li>
<li>Impact Report (July 2014 - June 2015)</li>
<li>Monthly Newsletters</li>
</ul>
<h3>Monthly Review and Learning Sessions</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K conducted many weekly learning sessions to critically reflect on the successes and failures of our work internally. We had also used these weekly sessions to learn about new developments (tools, policies, etc) in the Wikimedia universe. However, this could not be sustained for a long period. We will take measures to revive this and make it a monthly exercise, which we will try to record or screen cast on CIS website. Simultaneously we will use this to do a monthly review of the progress of the various plans and discuss about the upcoming month's events.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Budget</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As stated above in the methodology section, each of the 21 plans have an independent budget, which is closely mapped on to the implementation plan. Below we have give a concise picture of the budget requirements against the 6 verticals. As part of the WMF's grant to CIS, we have received Rs. 15,000,000.00 or US$ 242,178.00 during the last year. The proposed budget of Rs. 18,406,454.00 or US$ 297.831.00 is about 23 per cent more than the previous year's grant.</p>
<table class="vertical listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Sl. No.</th><th>Budget Item</th><th>FDC (INR)</th><th>FDC (US$)</th><th>Other Sources and in kind support (INR)</th><th>Other Sources and in kind support (US$)</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right; ">
<td style="text-align: left; ">1</td>
<td style="text-align: justify; "><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Language_Area_Work_Plans" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">Language Area Plans</a></b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 7,466,440.00</b></td>
<td><b>120,813.05338</b></td>
<td><b>Rs. 2,100,000.00</b></td>
<td><b>33,979.70279</b></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right; ">
<td style="text-align: left; ">2</td>
<td style="text-align: justify; "><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Community_Strengthening_Initiatives" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">Community Strengthening Initiatives</a></b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 2,610,400.00</b></td>
<td><b>42,238.3886</b></td>
<td><b>Rs. 200,000.00</b></td>
<td><b>3,236.16217</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Stand-alone_Wikimedia_Projects" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015">Stand Alone Wikimedia Projects</a></b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 2,584,300.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>41,816.06949</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 2,495,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>40,371.12308</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4</td>
<td><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Creating_Movement_Resources#Budget_.26_Resources" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Creating Movement Resources">Creating Movement Resources</a></b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 1,188,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>19,222.80329</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 2,400,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>38,833.94605</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5</td>
<td><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Publicity,_Research_and_Documentation#Budget_.26_Resources" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Publicity, Research and Documentation">Publicity, Research & Documentation</a></b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 780,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>12,621.03247</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 0.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>0.00000</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6</td>
<td><b><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/General_Support_and_Service_to_the_Movement#Budget_.26_Resources" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/General Support and Service to the Movement">General Support and Service to the Movement</a></b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 636,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>10,290.99570</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 0.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>0.00000</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td><b>Other Expenses</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 1,468,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>23,753.43033</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 2,964,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>47,959.92337</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td><b>Total before Institutional Development</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 16,733,140.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>270,755.77331</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 10,159,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>164,380.85745</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8</td>
<td>Institutional Development (10%)</td>
<td style="text-align: right; ">Rs. 1,673,314.00</td>
<td style="text-align: right; ">27,075.57733</td>
<td style="text-align: right; ">Rs. 0.00</td>
<td style="text-align: right; ">0.00000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td><b>TOTAL BUDGET</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 18,406,454.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>297,831.35064</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>Rs. 10,159,000.00</b></td>
<td style="text-align: right; "><b>164,380.85745</b></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Other than item no. 7 and 8 the entire budget will go towards the programmatic implementation of the plans. The staff costs are not separately listed here as we see the CIS-A2K team as a programmatic investment and each of the team member's time is budgeted against a specific activity or plan. We propose to raise Rs. 10,159,000.00 or US$ 163,380.00 other sources and in-kind support towards executing this work plan. A detailed budget analysis is <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Budget" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Budget">available here</a>. Please <a class="external text" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AshSF7ZKRBR5dGpMUnNKdHItUFJGMHluQUFxZGRHMmc&usp=sharing" rel="nofollow"><b>See this google spreadsheet </b></a>which gives a micro level picture of the Budget against each of the planned activity.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Giving Feedback</h2>
<p>We appreciate your valuable feedback. However, for the sake of structured engagement by everyone, we request you to consider the following before you share your feedback.</p>
<ul>
<li>For feedback on the overall A2K Work Plan you can write <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For feedback on respective Language area plans, please write on the discussion page of the respective language plan.</li>
</ul>
<dl><dd>
<ul>
<li>For <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Bangla" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Bangla"><b>Bangla</b></a> plan <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Bangla" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Bangla"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Hindi" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Hindi"><b>Hindi</b></a> plan <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Hindi" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Hindi"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Kannada" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Kannada"><b>Kannada</b></a> plan <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Kannada" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Kannada"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Konkani" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Konkani"><b>Konkani</b></a> plan <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Konkani" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Konkani"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Marathi" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Marathi"><b>Marathi</b></a> plan <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Marathi" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Marathi"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Odia" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Odia"><b>Odia</b></a> plan <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Odia" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Odia"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Telugu" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Telugu"><b>Telugu</b></a> plan <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Telugu" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Telugu"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
</ul>
</dd></dl>
<ul>
<li>For feedback on <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Community_Strengthening_Initiatives" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015"><b>Community Strengthening initiatives</b></a>, please write on discussion page of the respective project page.</li>
<li>For feedback on <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015#Stand-alone_Wikimedia_Projects" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015"><b>Stand-alone Wikimedia Projects</b></a>, please write on discussion page of the respective project page.</li>
<li>For feedback on <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Creating_Movement_Resources" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Creating Movement Resources"><b>Creating Movement Resources</b></a>, please write <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Creating_Movement_Resources" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Creating Movement Resources"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For feedback on <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Publicity,_Research_and_Documentation" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Publicity, Research and Documentation"><b>Publicity, Research and Documentation</b></a>, please write <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/Publicity,_Research_and_Documentation" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/Publicity, Research and Documentation"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>For feedback on <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/General_Support_and_Service_to_the_Movement" title="India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/General Support and Service to the Movement"><b>General Support and Service to the Movement</b></a>, please write <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:India_Access_To_Knowledge/Draft_Work_plan_July_2014_-_June_2015/General_Support_and_Service_to_the_Movement" title="Talk:India Access To Knowledge/Draft Work plan July 2014 - June 2015/General Support and Service to the Movement"><b>here</b></a>.</li>
<li>Alternatively you could also share your feedback over e-mail at vishnu at cis-india.org. Please use the subject line Feedback on Work Plan.</li>
<li>Should you feel the need to discuss any aspect of the plan before sharing your feedback, please write to us and we can set up a telephone/Skype call.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<ol> </ol><ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<div id="_mcePaste"></div>
<hr />
<h2>Notes</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr1" name="fn1">1</a>]. <span class="reference-text">CIS supports the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University through a fellowship and participation on the advisory board; CIS supports the open data community through support for the founders of Data Meet; CIS is supporting venue costs for some of Cyber Security and Privacy Foundation's outreach programmes; CIS has supported the last edition of the Goa Project; CIS allows various groups to use its Bangalore and Delhi offices for meetings such as Null Con Bangalore, Bitcoin Delhi, Arduino, Dojo, Crypto Party and Maker Party communities. In the past, CIS has hosted Inclusive Planet India and Has Geek at its Bangalore office.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr2" name="fn2">2</a>]. <span class="reference-text">See the discussion in this <a class="external text" href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/06/indian-languages-drive-wikipedia-growth/" rel="nofollow">TechCrunch article</a>. Also see <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/indian-language-wikipedia-statistics" class="external text" rel="nofollow">this blog</a> which inspired TechCrunch to do a feature about the growth of Indic Wikipedia projects.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr3" name="fn3">3</a>]. <span class="reference-text"><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Openness initiative at CIS</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr4" name="fn4">4</a>]. <span class="reference-text">All the four foucs language areas during the last year's plan received significant print media coverage because of CIS-A2K's efforts. In addition, even the mainstream English print media did stories on indic Wikimedia projects, which was unprecedented.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr5" name="fn5">5</a>].<span class="reference-text">There were 6 television programs and 1 radio program on Telugu Wikipedia and 2 television programs and 1 radio interview on Kannada Wikipedia.</span></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/india-access-to-knowledge-draft-work-plan-july-2014-june-2015'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/india-access-to-knowledge-draft-work-plan-july-2014-june-2015</a>
</p>
No publishervishnuAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaFeaturedOpenness2014-04-08T09:51:27ZBlog EntryEnabling Elections
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/enabling-elections
<b>For making the 2014 General Elections in India participatory and accessible for voters with disabilities the Centre for Law and Policy Research and the Centre for Internet and Society have come up with a report. The report addresses the barriers that people with disabilities face during elections and recommends solutions for the same.</b>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Executive Summary</h2>
<p>The report examines three main areas:</p>
<ol>
<li>The barriers that people with disabilities face at the time of elections.</li>
<li>The legal framework around this issue.</li>
<li>The measures which need to be taken to eliminate the barriers in the pre-voting phase, during voting phase and also post-voting phase, so as to enhance the participation of voters with disabilities.</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Access to the public sphere and full political participation is a matter of right for persons with disabilities and the state is constitutionally mandated to enforce this right. The rights of voters with disabilities are examined under the constitutional provisions, the Representation of People’s Act 1951, the relevant directions of the Supreme Court and the international conventions. This report also considers international best practices while making recommendations, to the extent that they are suitable and practical in the Indian context.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This report looks at Electoral Participation in two dimensions:</p>
<ul>
<li>“Pre-electoral Participation” and</li>
<li>“Actual Electoral Participation”</li>
</ul>
<p>The report then goes on to make recommendations for enhancing accessibility in both these categories.</p>
<p>On Pre-electoral Participation, the report inter alia recommends the following:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in public consultations.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Immediate outreach programs for higher voter registrations.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Making election material and candidate guides available in different formats such as large print, Braille and audio formats upon request so that voters can have full knowledge of the candidate they want to vote for.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Providing information for voters about locations which have special access, wheelchair facilities, technological assistance for visually impaired, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>On Actual Electoral Participation, we inter alia recommend the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>Accessible polling sites.</li>
<li>Training election staff to be sensitive to diverse needs of voters.</li>
<li>Enabling privacy and independent voting by persons with disabilities.</li>
<li>Arranging for mobile polling booths.</li>
<li>Making EVM’s compatible and accessible such as by providing for Braille, large print.</li>
<li>Tactile buttons, 'sip and puff' and audio devices.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The report also recommends the need to monitor participation of voters with disabilities in the forthcoming elections.There is a need to collect data, surveys and studies in the pre-election, election and post-election phases.</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/enabling-elections.pdf" class="internal-link">Click here</a> to download and read the full report (PDF, 4.5 MB)</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/enabling-elections'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/enabling-elections</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaFeaturedHomepageAccessibility2014-05-10T00:12:00ZBlog EntryInstitute for Internet & Society 2014, Pune
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/institute-for-internet-society-2014-pune
<b>Last month, activists, journalists, researchers, and members of civil society came together at the 2014 Institute for Internet & Society in Pune, which was hosted by CIS and funded by the Ford Foundation. The Institute was a week long, in which participants heard from speakers from various backgrounds on issues arising out of the intersection of internet and society, such as intellectual property, freedom of expression, and accessibility, to name a few. Below is an official reporting summarizing sessions that took place.</b>
<p style="text-align: center; "><iframe frameborder="0" height="500" src="http://www.slideflickr.com/iframe/J3JYk2bm" width="700"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h1></h1>
<h1></h1>
<h1>Day One</h1>
<p>February 11, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 9.40 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Introduction: Sunil Abraham, <i>Executive Director Centre for Internet and Society</i><i> </i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10.00 a.m. – 10.15 a.m.<br /></td>
<td>
<p>Introduction of Participants</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10.15 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.</td>
<td>
<p>Internet Governance and Privacy: Sunil Abraham</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.00 p.m. – 12.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.30 p.m. – 1.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Keynote: Bishakha Datta, <i>Filmmaker and Activist, and Board Member, Wikimedia Foundation</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Participant Presentations<i> </i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea Break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Histories, Bodies and Debates around the Internet: Nishant Shah, <i>Director-Research, CIS</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This year’s Internet Institute, hosted by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), kicked off in Pune to put a start to a week of learnings and discussions surrounding internet usage and its implications on individuals of society. Twenty two attendees from all over India attended this year, from backgrounds of activism, journalism, research and advocacy work.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Attendees were welcomed by<b> Dr. Ravina Aggarwal</b>, Program Officer for Media Rights & Access at the Ford Foundation, the event’s sponsor, who started off the day by introducing the Foundation’s initiatives in pursuit of bridging the digital divide by addressing issues of internet connectivity.</p>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/DSC_0050.JPG/image_preview" title="Pune_Sunil" height="243" width="367" alt="Pune_Sunil" class="image-inline image-inline" /><br /></th>
<td>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Internet Governance & Privacy</b>, Sunil Abraham <br />The Institute’s first session was led by <b>Sunil Abraham</b>, Executive Director of CIS, and engaged with issues of internet governance and privacy with reference to four stories: 1) a dispute between tweeters from the US and those in South Africa over the use of hashtag <a href="http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/khayadlanga/2009/11/05/yesterday-a-short-lived-war-broke-out-between-america-and-south-africa/comment-page-1/">#thingsdarkiesays</a>, which is said not to be as racially derogatory as it is in the US; 2) Facebook’s contested policies on <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-clarifies-breastfeeding-photo-policy/8791">photos featuring users breastfeeding</a>, 3) a lawsuit between <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/26/tata-sue-greenpeace-turtle-game">Tata and Greenpeace</a> over the organization’s use of Tata’s logo in a video game created for public criticism of their environmentally-degrading practices, and lastly, 4) the case of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savita_Bhabhi">Savita Bhabhi</a>, an Indian pornographic cartoon character which had been banned by India’s High Court and which had served as a landmark case in expanding the statutory laws for what is considered to be pornographic.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Each of these stories has one major thing in common: due to their nature of taking place over the internet, they are not confined to one geographic location and in turn, are addressed at the international level. The way by which an issue as such is to be addressed cuts across State policies and internet intermediary bodies to create quite a messy case in trying to determine who is at fault. Such complexity illustrates how challenging internet governance can be within today’s society that is no longer restricted to national or geographic boundaries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil also goes on in explaining the relationship between privacy, transparency, and power, summing it up in a simple formula; <b>privacy protection s</b>hould have a <i>reverse</i> relationship to <b>power</b>—the more the power, the less the privacy one should be entitled to. On the contrary, a <i>direct correlation</i> goes for <b>power</b> and <b>transparency</b>—the more the power, the more transparent a body should be. Instead of thinking about these concepts as a dichotomy, Sunil suggests to see them as absolute rights in themselves—instrumental in policies and necessary to address power imbalances.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>The Web We Want</b>, Bishakha Datta<br />The Institute’s kickoff was also joined by Indian filmmaker and activist, <b>Bishakha Datta</b>, who had delivered the keynote address. Bishakha bridged together notions of freedom of speech, surveillance, and accessibility, while introducing campaigns that work to create an open and universally accessible web, such as the <a href="https://webwewant.org/">Web We Want</a> and <a href="http://www.sexualityanddisability.org/">Sexuality and Disability</a>. Bishakha stresses how the internet as a space has altered how we experience societal constructs, which can be easily exhibited in how individuals experience Facebook in the occurrence of a death, for example. Bishakha initiated discussion among participants by posing questions such as, “what is our expectation of privacy in this brave new world?” and “what is the society we want?” to encompass the need to think of privacy in a new way with the coming of the endless possibilities the internet brings with it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Histories, Bodies and Debates around the Internet</b>, Nishant Shah<br />CIS Research Director, <b>Nishant Shah</b>, led a session examining internet as a technology more broadly, and our understandings of it in relation to the human body. Nishant proposes the idea that history is a form of technology, as well as time, itself, for which our understanding only comes into being with the aid of technologies of measurement. Although we are inclined to separate technology from the self, Nishant challenges this notion while suggesting that technology is very integral to being human, and defines a “cyborg” as someone who is very intimate with technology. In this way, we are all cyborgs. While making reference to several literary pieces, including Haraway’s <i>Cyborg: Human, Animus, Technology</i>; Kevin Warwick’s <i>Living Cyborg</i>; and Watt’s small world theory, Nishant challenges participants’ previous notions of how one is to understand technology in relation to oneself, as well as the networks we find ourselves implicated within.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Also brought forth by Nishant, was the fact that the internet as a technology has become integral to our identities, making <i>us</i> accessible (rather than us solely making the technology accessible) through online forms of documentation. This digital phenomenon in which we tend to document what we know and experience as a means of legitimizing it can be summed in the modern version of an old fable: “If a tree falls in a lonely forest, and nobody tweets it, has it fallen?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nishant refers to several case studies in which the use of online technologies has created a sense of an extension of the self and one’s personal space; which can then be subject to violation as one can be in the physical form, and to the same emotional and psychological effect—as illustrated within the 1993 occurrence referred to as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rape_in_Cyberspace">A Rape in Cyberspace</a>.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Attendee Participation</b><br />Participants remained engaged and enthusiastic for the duration of the day, bringing forth their personal expertise and experiences. Several participants presented their own research initiatives, which looked at issues women face as journalists and as portrayed by the media; amateur pornography without the consent of the woman; study findings on the understandings of symptoms of internet addiction; as well as studies looking at how students engage with college confession pages on Facebook.</p>
<div></div>
<hr />
<h1>Day Two</h1>
<p>February 12, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wireless Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy, <i>CEO and Co-founder at Teritree Technologies</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wired Technology: Ravikiran Annaswamy</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Network, Threats and Securing Yourself: Kingsley John, <i>Independent Consultant</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea Break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Practical Lab: Kingsley John</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">4.45 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wrap-up: Sunil Abraham</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<td>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day Two of the Institute entailed a more technical orientation to “internet & society” across sessions. Participants listened to speakers introduce concepts related to wired and wireless internet connectivity devices and their networks, along with the network of internet users and how one may secure him or herself while “online.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Wireless & Wired Technology</b>, Ravikiran Annaswamy<br />Senior industry practitioner, <b>Ravikiran Annaswamy</b> had aimed to enable the Institute’s participants to “understand the depth and omnipresent of telecom networks” that we find ourselves implicated within. Ravikiran went through the basics of these networks—including fixed line-, mobile-, IP-, and Next Generation IP-networks—as well as the technical structuring of wired and wireless broadband. Many participants found this session to be particularly enriching as their projects aimed to provide increased access to internet connectivity to marginalized areas in India, and had been without the know-how to go about it.</p>
</td>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/5.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Participants" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Participants" /><br /></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Network, Threats and Securing Yourself</b>, Kinglsey John<br />An instructional session on how to protect oneself was given by <b>Kingsley John</b>, beginning with a lesson on IP Addresses—what they are and the different generations of such, and how IP addresses fit into a broader internet network. Following, Kingsley demonstrated and explained <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/lupucosmin/encrypting-emails-using-kleopatra-pgp">email encryption through the use of software, Kleopatra</a>, and how it may be used to generate keys to <a href="http://thehackernews.com/2014/01/PGP-encryption-Thunderbird-Enigmail_12.html">encrypt emails through Thunderbird mail client</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Evening Discussion</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A handful of participants voluntarily partook in an evening discussion, looking at the role of big players in the global internet network, such as Google and Facebook, how they collect and utilize users’ data, and what sorts of measures can be taken to minimize the collecting of such. Due to the widely varying backgrounds of interest among participants, those coming from this technical orientation towards the internet were able to inform their peers on relevant information and types of software that may be found useful related to minimizing one’s online presence.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Three</h1>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">February 13, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Free Software: Prof. G. Nagarjuna, <i>Chairperson, Free Software Foundation</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Open Data: Nisha Thompson, <i>Independent Consultant</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Freedom of Expression: Bhairav Acharya, <i>Advocate and Adviser, Centre for Internet and Society</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Copyright: Nehaa Chaudhari, <i>Program Officer, Centre for Internet and Society</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The third day of the Internet Institute incorporated themes presented by speakers ranging from free software, to freedom of expression, to copyright.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Free Software</b>, Prof. G. Nagarjuna<br />Chairman on the Board of Directors for the Free Software Foundation of India, <b>Professor G. Nagarjuna</b> shared with the Institute’s participants his personal expertise on <b>software freedom</b>. Nagarjuna mapped for us the network of concepts related to software freedom, beginning with the origins of the <b>copyleft movement</b>, and also touching upon the art of hacking, the <b>open source movement</b>, and what role software freedom plays in an interconnected world.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nagarjuna looks at the free software movement as a political movement in the digital space highlighting the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">user’s freedoms</a> associated to the use, distribution, and modification of software for the greater good for all. This is said to distinguish this movement from that of Open Source—a technical and more practical development-oriented movement. The free software movement is not set out to compromise the fundamental issues for the sake of being practical and in that sense, ubiquitous. Instead, its objective is “not to make everybody <i>use</i> the software, but to have them understand <i>why</i> they are using the software,” so that they may become “authentic citizens that can also resonate <i>why </i>they’re doing what they’re doing. We want them to understand the ethical and political aspects of doing so,” Nagarjuna says.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Open Data</b>, Nisha Thompson<br />Participants learned from <b>Nisha Thompson</b> on Open Data; what it is, its benefits, and how it is involved in central government initiatives and policy, as well as civil society groups—generally for uses such as serving as evidence for decision making and accountability. Nisha explored challenges concerning the use of open data, such as those pertaining to privacy, legitimacy, copyright, and interoperability. The group looked at the <a href="http://www.indiawaterportal.org/">India Water Portal</a> as a case study, which makes accessible more than 300 water-related datasets already available in the public space for use from anything from sanitation and agriculture to climate change.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Freedom of Expression</b>, Bhairav Acharya<br /><b>Bhairav Acharya</b>, a constitutional lawyer, traced the development of the freedom of speech and expression in India. Beginning with a conceptual understanding of censorship and the practice of censorship by the state, society, and the individual herself, Bhairav examines the limits traditionally placed by a nation-state on the right to free speech.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In India, modern free speech and censorship law was first formulated by the colonial British government, which broadly imported the common law to India. However, the colonial state also yielded to the religious and communitarian sensitivities of its subjects, resulting in a continuing close link between communalism and free speech in India today. After Independence, the post-colonial Indian state carried forward Raj censorship, but tweaked it to serve to a nation-building and developmental agenda. Nation-building and nationalism are centrifugal forces that attempt to construct a homogenous 'mainstream'; voices from the margins of this mainstream (the geographical, ethnic, and religious peripheries) and of the marginalised within the mainstream (the poor and disadvantaged), are censored.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Within this narrative, Bhairav located and explained the evolution of the law relating to press censorship, defamation, obscenity, and contempt of court. Free speech law applies equally online. Broadly, censorship on the internet must survive the same constitutional scrutiny that is applied to offline censorship; but, as technology develops, the law must innovate.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Copyright</b>, Nehaa Chaudhari<br />CIS Programme Officer, <b>Nehaa Chaudhari</b> examined the concept of Copyright as an intellectual property right in discussing its fundamentals, purpose and origins, and Copyright’s intersection with the internet. Nehaa also explained the different exceptions to Copyright, along with its alternatives, such as opposing intellectual property protection regimes, including the Creative Commons and Copyleft. Within this session, Nehaa also introduced several cases in which Copyright came into play with the use of the internet, including Hunter Moore’s “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Anyone_Up%3F">Is Anyone Up</a>?” website, which had showcased pornographic pictures obtained by submission bringing rise to the phenomenon of “revenge porn.” Instances as such blur the lines of what is commonly referred to as intellectual property, and what specific requirements enables one to own the rights to such.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Four</h1>
<p>February 14, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>E-Accessibility and Inclusion: Prashant Naik, <i>Union Bank</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Patents: Nehaa Chaudhari</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Fieldwork Assignment</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/DSC_0053.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Rohini" class="image-inline" title="Pune_Rohini" /><br /></th>
<td style="text-align: justify; ">
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day Four of the Internet Institute introduced concepts of eAccessibilty and Inclusion on the internet for persons with disabilities, along with patents as an intellectual property right. Participants were also assigned a fieldwork exercise as a hands-on activity in which they were to employ what they’ve learned to initiate conversation with individuals in public spaces and collect primary data while doing so.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>eAccessibility and Inclusion</b>, Prashant Naik</p>
<b>Prashant Naik</b> started off the day with his session on E-Accessibility and Inclusion. Prashant illustrated the importance of accessibility and what is meant by the term. Participants learned of assistive technologies for different disability types and how to create more accessible word and PDF documents, as well as web pages for users. Prashant demonstrated to participants what it is like to use a computer as a visually impaired individual, which provided for an enriching experience.</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Patents</b>, Nehaa Chaudhari<b><br />Nehaa Chaudhari </b>led a second session at the Internet Institute on intellectual property rights—this one looking at patents particularly and their role within statutory law. Nehaa traced the historical origins of patents before examining the fundamentals of them, and addresses the questions, “Why have patents? And is the present system working for everyone?” Nehaa also introduced notions of the Commons along with the Anticommons, and perspectives within the debate around software patents, as well as different means by which the law can address the exploitation of patents or “patent thickets”—such as through patent pools or compulsory licensing.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Fieldwork Assignment</b>, Groupwork<br />Participants were split into groups and required to carry out a mini fieldwork assignment in approaching individuals in varying public spaces in Pune in attempts to collect primary data. Questions asked to individuals were to be devised by the group, so long as they pertained to themes examined within the Internet Institute. Areas visited by groups included the Pune Central Mall, MG Road, and FC Road.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Five</h1>
<p>February 15, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>E-Governance: Manu Srivastav, <i>Vice President, eGovernments Foundation</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Market Concerns: Payal Malik, <i>Economic Adviser, Competition Commission of India</i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Digital Natives: Nishant Shah</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Fieldwork Presentations</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="invisible">
<thead>
<tr>
<td>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day Five of the Internet Institute brought with it sessions related to themes of e-governance, market concerns of telecommunications, and so called “Digital Natives.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>eGovernance</b>, Manu Srivastava<br />Vice President of the eGovernments Foundation, <b>Manu Srivastava</b> led a session on eGovernance—the utilization of the internet as a means of delivering government services communicating with citizens, businesses, and members of government. Manu examined the complexities of the eGovernance and barriers to implementation of eGovernance initiatives. Within discussion, participants examined the nuanced relationship between the government and citizens with the incorporation of other governing bodies in an eGovernance system, as well as new spaces for corruption to take place.</p>
</td>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/19.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Chatting" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Chatting" /><br /></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Market Concerns</b>, Payal Malik<br /><b>Payal Malik</b>, Advisor of the Economics Division of the Competition Commission of India shared her knowledge on market concerns of the telecommunications industry, and exclaimed the importance of competition issues in such an industry as a tool to create greater good for a greater number of people. She demonstrated this importance by stating that affordability as a product of increased access can only be possible once there is enough investment, which generally only happens in a competitive market. In this way, we must set the conditions to make competition possible, as a tool to achieve certain objectives. Payal also demonstrated the economic benefits of telecommunications by stating that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration, increase in GDP of 1.3%. She also examined the broadband ecosystem in India and touched upon future possibilities of increased broadband penetration, such as for formers and the education sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Digital Natives</b>, Nishant Shah<br /><b>Nishant Shah</b> shed some light on one of the areas that the Centre for Internet & Society looks at within their research scope, this being the “<a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives">Digital Native</a>.” As referred to by Nishant, the Digital Native is not to categorize a specific type of internet user, but can be said for simply any person who is performing a digital action, while doing away with this false dichotomy of age, location, and geography.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nishant examines varying case studies in which “the digital is empowering natives to not merely be benefactors of change, but agents of change,” from the <a href="http://blog.blanknoise.org/2012/07/i-never-ask-for-it.html">Blank Noise Project</a>’s “I NEVER Ask for it…” campaign in efforts to rethink sexual violence, to <a href="http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/">Matt Harding</a>’s foolish dancing with groups of individuals from all over the world.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As occurrences in the digital realm, however, these often political expressions may be rewritten by the network when picked up as a growing phenomenon, in order to make it accessible to online consumers by the masses. In doing so, the expression is removed from its political context and is presented in the form of nothing more than a fad. For this reason, Nishant stresses the need to become aware of the potential of the internet in becoming an “echo-chamber”—in which forms of expression are amplified and mimicked, resulting in a restructuring of the dynamics surrounding the subject—whether it be videos of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_Dorm_Boys">boys lipsyncing to Backstreet Boys</a> in their dorm room going viral, or a strong and malicious movement to punish the Chinese girl who had taken a video of her heinously and wickedly killing a kitten after locating her using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_flesh_search_engine">Human Flesh Search Engine</a>.<b><br /></b></p>
<p><b>Fieldwork Presentations</b>, Groupwork</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To end off the day, participant groups presented findings collated from the prior evening’s fieldwork exercise, in which they were to ask strangers in various public places of Pune questions pertaining to themes looked at from within this year’s Institute. Participants were divided into four groups and visited Pune’s FC Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, and Central Mall.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Groups found that the majority of those interviews primarily accessed the phone via the mobile. There was also a common weariness of using the internet and concern for one’s privacy while doing so, especially with uploading photos to Facebook and online financial transactions. People were also generally concerned about using cyber cafes for fear of one’s accounts being hacked. Generally people suspected that so long as conversations are “private” (i.e. in one’s Facebook inbox), so too are they secure. Just as well, those interviewed shared a sense of security with the use of a password.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Six</h1>
<p>February 16, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Wikipedia: Dr. Abhijeet Safai</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Open Access: Muthu Madhan (TBC)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Case Studies Groupwork</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Case Studies Presentations</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As the Institute came closer to its end, participants got the opportunity to hear from speakers on topics pertaining the Wikipedia editing in addition to Open Access to scholarly literature. Participants also worked together in groups to examine specific case studies referenced in previous sessions, and then presented their conclusions.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Wikipedia</b>, Dr. Abhijeet Safai<br />The Institute was joined by Medical Officer of Clinical Research at Pune’s Symbiosis Centre of Health Care, <b>Dr. Abhijeet Safai</b>, who led a session on Wikipedia. Having edited over 3700 Wikipedia articles, Dr. Abhijeet was able to bring forth his expertise and familiarity in editing Wikipedia to participants so that they would be able to do the same. Introduced within this session were Wikipedia’s different fundamental pillars and codes of conducts to be complied with by all contributors, along with different features and components of Wikipedia articles that one should be aware of when contributing, such as how to cite sources and discuss the contents of an article with other contributors.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Open Access</b>, Muthu Madhan<br /><b>Muthu Madhan</b> joined the Internet Institute while speaking on Open Access (OA) to scholarly literature. Within his session, Muthu examined the historical context within which the scholarly journal had arisen and how the idea of Open Access began within this space. The presence of Open Access in India and other developing nations was also examined in this session, and the concept of Open Data, introduced.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Case Studies</b>, Groupworks</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/11.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Group2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Group2" /><br /></td>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/8.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Group" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Group" /><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Participants were split up into groups and assigned particular case studies looked at briefly in previous sessions. Case studies included <a href="http://siditty.blogspot.in/2009/11/things-darkies-say.html"><i>#thingsdarkiessay</i></a><i>,</i> a once trending Twitter hashtag in South Africa which had offended many Americans for its use of “darkie” as a derogatory term; the literary novel, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hindus:_An_Alternative_History"><i>The Hindus</i></a>, which offers an alternative narrative of Hindu history had been banned in India for obscenity; a case in which several users’ avatars had been controlled by another in a virtual community and forced to perform sexual acts, referred to as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rape_in_Cyberspace"><i>A Rape Happened in Cyber Space</i></a>; and lastly, a pornographic submission website, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Anyone_Up%3F">Is Anyone Up?</a>, for which content was largely derived from “revenge porn.” Each group then presented on the various perspectives surrounding the issue at hand.<b><br /></b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>The Cyborg</b>, Nishant Shah<br />Nishant Shah led an off-agenda session in the evening looking more closely at the notion of the human cyborg. Nishant deconstructs humanity’s relationship to technology, in suggesting that we “think of the human as <i>produced</i> with the technologies… not who <i>produces</i> technology.” Nishant explores the Digital Native as an attained identity for those who, because of technology, restructure and reinvent his or her environment—offline as well as online. Among other ideas shared, Nishant refers to works by Haraway on the human cyborg in illustrating our dependency on technology and our need to care for these technologies we depend on.</p>
<hr />
<h1>Day Seven</h1>
<p>February 17, 2014</p>
<table class="listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><b>Time</b></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><b>Detail</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">9.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Internet Activism: Laura Stein, <i>Associate Professor, University of Texas </i>and <i>Fulbright Fellow<br /></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.00 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">11.15 a.m. – 12.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Domestic and International Bodies: Chinmayi Arun, <i>Research Director<br /></i></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">12.45 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Lunch</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">1.30 p.m. – 3.00 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Participant Presentations</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.00 p.m. – 3.15 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Tea-break</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; ">3.15 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Hot Question Challenge</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b>The last day of the week-long Internet Institute examined concepts of Internet Activism and Domestic and International Bodies. Some participants led presentations on topics of personal familiarity, before a final wrap-up exercise, calling upon individuals to share any new formulations resulting from the Institute.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Internet Activism</b>, Laura Stein</p>
<table class="invisible">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/17.JPG/image_preview" alt="Pune_Laura" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Laura" /><br /></td>
<td style="text-align: justify; ">Associate Professor from the University of Texas, <b>Laura Stein</b>, spoke on activism on the internet. Laura examined some grassroots organizations and movements taking place on the online and the benefits that the internet brings in facilitating their impact, such as its associated low costs, accessibility and possibility for anonymity. Despite the positive effects catalyzed by the internet, Laura stresses that the “laying field is still unequal, and movements are not simply transformed by technology.” Some of the websites exemplifying online activism that were examined within this session includes the <a href="http://www.itgetsbetter.org/">It Gets Better Project</a>, which aims to give hope to LGBT youth facing harassment, and the national election watch by the <a href="http://adrindia.org/">Association for Democratic Reforms</a>. Additionally, Laura spoke on public communication policy, comparing that of the US and India, and how this area of policy may influence media content and practice.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Domestic and International Bodies</b>, Chinmayi Arun<br />As the Internet Institute’s final speaker, Research Director for Communication Governance at National Law University<i> </i>,<b> Chinmayi Arun</b>, explores the network of factors that affect one’s behavior on the internet—these including: social norms, the law, the markets, and architecture. In referring to Lawrence Lessig’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathetic_dot_theory">pathetic dot theory</a>, Chinmayi illustrates how individual’s—the pathetic dots in question—are functions of the interactions of these factors, and in this sense, regulated, and stresses the essential need to understand the system, in order to effectively change the dynamics within it. It is worth noting that not all pathetic dots are equal, and Google’s dot, for example, will be drastically bigger than a single user’s, having more leveraging power within the network of internet bodies. Also demonstrated, is the fact that we must acknowledge the need for regulation by the law to some extent, otherwise, the internet would be a black box where anything goes, putting one’s security at risk of violation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Hot Question Challenge</b><br />The very last exercise of the Institute entailed participants asking each other questions on demand, relating back to different themes looked at within the last week. Participants had the chance, here, to bridge together concepts across sessions, as well as formulate their own opinions, while posing questions to others that they, themselves, were still curious about.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/DSC_0371.JPG/image_large" alt="Pune_Everyone" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pune_Everyone" /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/institute-for-internet-society-2014-pune'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/institute-for-internet-society-2014-pune</a>
</p>
No publishersamanthaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomResearchers at WorkWikipediaAccessibilityInternet GovernanceFeaturedWikimediaOpennessHomepage2014-04-07T11:31:23ZBlog EntryDigital Design: Human Behavior vs. Technology - Vita Beans
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/digital-storytelling-human-behavior-vs-technology
<b>What comes first? Understanding human behavior and communication patterns to design digital technologies? Or should our technologies have the innate capacity to adapt to the profiles of all its potential users? This post will look at accessibility challenges for digital immigrants and the importance of behavioral science for the design of digital technologies. We interview Amruth Bagali Ravindranath from Vita Beans. </b>
<pre><strong>CHANGE-MAKER:</strong> Amruth B R
<strong>
PRODUCT</strong>:
Vita Beans and Guru G
<strong><strong>
METHOD OF CHANGE</strong>:
</strong>Borrow elements from behavioral science and social marketing to make technology more intuitive.
<strong>
STRATEGY OF CHANGE:
</strong>Make technology easy to use, fun and effective.</pre>
<div align="center"><embed align="middle" width="400" height="200" src="http://chirptoons.vitabeans.com/chirplet.swf?chirpfile=60" quality="high" name="chirptoons" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" base="http://chirptoons.vitabeans.com/" wmode="transparent"></embed></div>
<div align="center"><strong>Chirptoons: </strong>Create Cartoons in a Jiffy. Designed by <a href="http://www.vitabeans.com/">Vita Beans</a><br />(The animation seems to be skipping a few lines. Check box below for a transcript)<br />Design your own here: <a href="http://chirptoons.vitabeans.com/createchirplet.php">http://bit.ly/1dOEpPo</a>
<br /><br /></div>
<blockquote style="float: right;">
<div align="center"><strong>Transcript of animation:</strong></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><strong>Ajoy</strong>: Hi!<br /><strong>Usha</strong>: Hi! What will we talk about today?<br /><strong>Ajoy:</strong> We will learn to design digital stories!<br class="kix-line-break" /><strong>Usha:</strong> What do you mean by digital stories?<br /><strong>Ajoy: </strong>What we are doing right now!.<br /> Telling a story through a digital medium.<br /><strong>Usha: </strong>Oh! But what is so complicated about that?<br />You write a story and then you post it online What’s<br />the big deal?<br /><strong>Ajoy:</strong> This is true. But you want everyone to access <br />your story right?<br /><strong>Usha:</strong> Yes! Of course!<br /><strong>Ajoy:</strong> Then you need to think about your audience! <br />Are you sure they all know how to use this technology?<br class="kix-line-break" /><strong>Usha:</strong> Well...no, not really.<br /><strong>Ajoy:</strong> Do you know what makes it challenging for them? <br />Or how to adapt technology to make it easier?<br /><strong>Usha:</strong> Eh, no...no clue :(<br /><strong>Ajoy: </strong>Then read on.Today we will take a step back.<br />We must think about human behaviour first!<br class="kix-line-break" />and then design our technology accordingly.<br /><strong>Usha: </strong>Sounds good! Let's do it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify">First off, apologies for such a feeble and sad animation. When I was given access to Chirptoons, I was quite confident I would be able to produce a somewhat interesting introduction to this post and get you excited about our next interview. However, between first-time user friction and a couple of glitches in the program, I found myself -a semi-savvy digital native who has been using technology, almost every day of her life, for the last 15 years- struggling to create the cartoon and clearly failing at it. The biggest challenge was translating what I had in mind into a digital format (The demo was very straightforward. I was just particularly inept), and it was frustrating to the point I decided to drop it, leave it as is, publish my unfinished cartoon and turn this post into a reflection on 'design challenges behind digital storytelling', so I could move on with my life.</p>
<p align="justify">What I experienced with Chirptoons is what many users: both digital natives and immigrants constantly face due to the pace at which new digital technologies are emerging. While the privileged demographic who has physical access to technology has a decent knowledge of basic web browsing and document processing features, there is still a very large gap in accessibility in terms of how to navigate more complex formats. At the end of the day, producers retain the creative power and determine the functions and flexibility of the technologies we use in the day to day. Just think of Facebook and its constant interface updates. We have all felt the wrenching need for that 'dislike' button to make our interactions a tad more honest, yet we have no power to create it or change Facebook's format to one that enables our needs better.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">So far, we have explored information from different angles: as activism, as visual design, as stories; and how digital technologies have been used strategically to disseminate it. However, our analysis is lacking a better understanding of the <em>digital</em>. We have been focusing on citizens as technology 'consumers', and we have not looked at whether digital infrastructures are accessible enough for users to become 'producers'. The question is<em>: how</em> do we do this: how do we engage different users with different digital literacy levels, skills and aptitudes in the production of digital content? With this post we bring a new topic into our series: accessibility and Information infrastructures. This one will focus on design and the role of behavioural science. Our interview with Amruth Bagali Ravindranath, brought a very unique perspective into the conversation, from
which I would like to highlight three points:</p>
<p align="justify">a) The importance of <strong>behavioral science</strong> for
design. Amruth stressed why we need a thorough understanding of
behavioral and cognitive science in the design of digital technologies
and how crucial it is to investigate the decision processes and
communication strategies of humans to make technologies user-friendly
and context appropriate.</p>
<p align="justify">b) How<strong> public relations and social marketing</strong>
concepts can also provide insight on how to target and engage potential
users more effectively. This point starts to answer some of the
questions we raised on the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-design-activism-1">Information Design post</a>: thinking about the citizen as a consumer. This point also works as
an alternative take on how to target civic engagement through
technology.</p>
c) How to engage<strong> different type of users: </strong>not
only the digital native, but also digital immigrants<a style="text-align: justify;" href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance-2#fn1" name="fr1">[1]</a>
<p> who
still play crucial roles as information gatekeepers in fields such as
education or urban governance.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 align="justify">Vita Beans<br /></h2>
<h3></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">We interviewed <strong>Amruth Bagali Ravindranath</strong>,<strong> </strong>Founder of <a href="http://www.vitabeans.com/">Vita Beans</a> to answer some of these questions. Vita Beans’ mandate is to create inspiring, easy-to-use applications in areas of education and human resources, to share knowledge in innovative, fun an effective ways.
The logic behind their technological framework is trying to mimic the profile of the human brain linked to decision making -including economic, evolutionary, emotional, and psychological elements- and design their applications based on these patterns. Some of the products they offer are cognitive skill development applications, game based learning applications, educational technology research, among others, and their latest educational product: <strong>Guru G</strong> was chosen by the <a href="http://unreasonableatsea.com/overview/">Unreasonable at Sea</a> program (by Unreasonable institute & co-founder of Stanford d.school) as one of the <a href="http://unreasonableatsea.com/companies22/">11 companies changing the world</a>.</p>
<div align="right" style="text-align: left;" class="pullquote" dir="ltr"><strong>"We are trying to adapt to how the user wants to use something, rather than expecting the user to learn. This is essential in the education space to make things work".</strong></div>
<p align="justify"><a href="http://unreasonableatsea.com/vita-beans/">Guru G</a> is a "gamified teaching, teacher training & open certification platform", that aims to democratize access to technology for quality teachers. Rather than focusing on the student as most education technologies do, Guru G believes that teachers are the most important element of the education system. Enabling teachers, means quality education will reach the lives of hundreds of students during their professional life time, and with this in mind, Vita Beans designed a platform that is engaging, easy to use and intuitive, designed specifically with teachers, schools and governments in mind.</p>
<div align="center"><iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/65920949" frameborder="0" height="281" width="500"></iframe></div>
<p align="center"><a href="http://vimeo.com/65920949">Unreasonable Barcelona: Anand Joshi, Guru-G</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/unreasonable">Unreasonable Media</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<h3 align="left">Inspiration <br /></h3>
<div align="right" class="pullquote"><em>"Teachers don't use and don't like to use technology" </em></div>
<p align="justify">The idea came from the products Vita Beans had already developed for the education space, such as their text2animation & text2game prototypes. They had produced over 80 collaborative games teachers were using in the classroom. Students play together in teams and learn about different topics through the process of gaming. However, suddenly they realized teachers had great ideas they didn't know how to translate into a<em> </em>digital form because they did not have the knowledge or the skills to create digital content. This is, according to Amruth, the crisis they are trying to solve in the education space: the quality of teachers, access to good teachers and the difficulty for teachers to adopt new technologies were the biggest challenges.<em> "</em></p>
<h3 align="left">The design challenge<br /></h3>
<p align="justify">Their initial prototypes were designed with assumptions based on their gamification experiments with students. <em>"We miserably failed with teachers and we discovered what a good gamification system for teachers looks like by prototyping with teachers and looking at the small things. It was an interesting learning experience." </em> They identified two common reasons why they hesitated to adopt anything new in the classroom.</p>
<ul><li>Teachers don't want to feel like they can't use something a student can.</li><li>Teachers can't visualize themselves using that tool, this there is an element of uncertainty and lack of confidence. </li></ul>
<p align="justify">It was imperative for Vita Beans to switch focus:<em> "Any tool you design, you expect to train the user to understand your tool, and if they refuse to do that; you blame them." </em>They used their behavioural science background to come up with infrastructural solutions that solve the limitations from the outset. </p>
<h3>The solutions</h3>
<p align="justify">They started prototyping with <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language_processing">natural language processing</a></strong> for their text2animation & text2game projects. NLP is a branch of computer science concerned with the interactions between computers and human languages. Teachers articulated their ideas in simple English and the program used NLP to take what they said, try to understand what they were trying to visualize and convert into programming language to build an animated movie out of it (like what we used to open this article -but with hopefully better results). Amruth was very confident about the potential of this prototype and shared with us that UNICEF might take it up and implement it as an open source animated video and game creation tool in Africa.</p>
They also developed an <strong>adaptive navigation engine</strong> for one of their game based learning platforms; a tool that adapts to what you are trying to do: <em>"There is no fixed way to navigate from one task to another. It tries to learn the closest action that each teacher is trying to do and it executes that. It tries to learn how the teacher wants to use it."' </em>This was a success. They incorporated touch screens to make the product more intuitive and the teachers picked it up quickly.<em> </em>
<p>Amruth claims they are the first in the world to develop a gamification platform specifically for teachers and the reason was their solution to the navigation issue. This experience also indirectly helped in designing Guru-G.</p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bf_rwl6JTMc" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">"Amruth Bagali Ravindranath talks about text2animation & text2game prototypes"<br />Amruth B R, at TedxMcGill. Courtesy of YouTube</p>
<p align="justify">These design solutions and the learnings from each project inspired the team to come up with products which have been adopted commercially across 10 states in India, reached 4000+ schools & over 3 million kids internationally through partners in India & North America. They have helped education companies build their primary and secondary school education products, (including one of India's top classroom technologies), have been covered by the media and won several entrepreneurship awards. More information <a href="http://unreasonableatsea.com/vita-beans/">here</a> and on <a href="http://www.guru-g.com/">their website.</a> Our question is: what is it about behavioral science that helped Amruth's team arrive to this epiphany in tech design? </p>
<h2 align="justify">Behavioral Science and Social Marketing<br /></h2>
<p align="justify">Comparing marketing to advocacy is bound to be met by resistance and perhaps controversy. I raised this question when we interviewed Maya Ganesh for the <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-design-activism-1">Information Design post</a>, and stated the following in our conclusion: "<em>Our consumption habits in the market are shaping how we process and interact with information in the public space. The possibility of
'consumer behavior' permeating modalities of activism, reinforces the need
to explore more interesting strategies for information
dissemination</em>." Now that we are starting to look closely at the infrastructure supporting information, I will stubbornly return to the same question: to what extent should we borrow tactics for advocacy from marketing? and add: how much of it should permeate the design of digital technologies?</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Amruth made a casual reference during our interview that triggered this thought. We were discussing the importance of understanding behavior patterns, when he brought up <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays">Edward Bernays</a>. </strong>This man used psychoanalysis, psychology and social science to design public
persuasion campaigns and could get masses to choose what he wanted them to without them realizing it. While this sounds awfully dangerous and manipulative, I would like to rescue the idea of understanding human behavior well enough to design technology around it and I will entertain this thought in the context of
social change -please, don't judge.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Pillip Kotler, S. C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, wrote a paper bringing marketing and social change together: <em>“Can social
causes be advanced more successfully through applying principles,
concepts and techniques of marketing?”. </em>He defines marketing as:</p>
<blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">"a sophisticated technology, that draws heavily on behavioral science for clues to solve communication and persuasion related to influencing accessibility. [...] Most of the effort is spent on discovering the wants of a target audience and creating goods and services to satisfy them" (Kotler, 1971)</h3>
</blockquote>
<div> </div>
<p align="justify">This definition is a useful bridge to link marketing with accessibility of digital technologies. G.D. Wiebe wrote an influential paper on social marketing, that coined the question: "<em>Why can't you sell brotherhood and rational thinking like you can sell soap?</em>", that later influenced public information campaigns by USAID, the WHO, and the World Bank <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance-2#fn1" name="fr1">[2]</a> . While he recognized how these models can to an extent <em>commodify </em>human behavior and social principles, he stressed that knowledge of behavioral science is a useful framework for product planning, that must be given a socially useful implementation. He developed the following criteria of considerations:</p>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th align="center">Criteria<br /></th>
<th align="center">Description<br /></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td> <strong>Force</strong></td>
<td>The intensity of the person's motivation toward the goal -a combination of his predisposition prior to the message and the stimulation of the message<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Direction</strong></td>
<td>Knowledge of how or where the person might go to consummate his motivation.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Mechanism</strong></td>
<td>The existence of an agency that enables the person to translate his motivation into action.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Adequacy</strong></td>
<td>The ability and effectiveness of the agency in performing its task.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Distance</strong></td>
<td>Estimate of the energy and cost required (by the user) to consummate the motivation in relation to the reward<br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="justify">Considering this framework is part of recognizing how knowledge circulating market networks affects our behavior. Nishant Shah addressed two ideas along these lines in the thought piece. First, he suggests us to recognize the negotiations that take place in the state-citizen-market ecosystem, and how they affect our rights, demands and responsibilities in society. Second, how this leads to a different understanding of the citizen as an "embodiment of these state-market negotiations". Keeping consumer behavior, and the forces shaping, enabling and constraining it in mind, is an interesting framework when we think of ourselves as information consumers -and as Yochai Benkler posits in The Wealth of Networks- in an ongoing transition to information producers. This also depends on how we think of information. We usually define content as information, but the structure and infrastructure are also pieces of 'information' we continuously shape through our interaction with technology. Hence, when we talk about making information accessible, we are also talking about producing legible and intelligible infrastructures. </p>
<h3>Linking it back to digital technology</h3>
<p align="justify">I am aware that the relationship we are trying to draw seems little far-fetched, but Amruth and the Vita Bean's team experience shows this behavioral-science approach, not only has a lot of potential, but is seldom explored in the education technology market. He told us about his success story with a <strong>behavior simulation engine.</strong> They used neuroscience as a base to build computer based activities and games to predict the behavior of its users on specific situations. They had an accuracy of 86%, which according to Amruth, is larger than every known psychological framework, and according to their <a href="http://www.vitabeans.com/case-studies.php">testimonial</a>, above most behavioral tests in the market (which only yield 20-40% of accuracy). Amruth said: <em>"That
was the first behavior research connection that brought us into the
start-up space. Exploring games, exploring human behavior."</em></p>
<blockquote style="float: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Design challenges in<br /></strong><strong><strong>mobile applications**</strong></strong></div>
<li>Make it noticeable </li><li>Make it useless if not shared </li><li>Manufacture peer pressure</li><li>Easy to personalize </li><li>Must evolve constantly </li>(static stories die)</blockquote>
<p align="justify">We can also link these ideas back to storytelling. Amruth and I discussed what is the best way to use technology to engage users with digital stories. He made a good point at pairing up both processes:<em> "What makes a storytelling session effective is how you contextualize a story for the person you are sitting with. As kids we are used to a one way process. As adults, stories are more interactive, so you may bring a new dimension, and the story might go in a very different direction. The technology must enable and reflect that." </em>Compelling narratives must motivate the audience to interact with the stories, and digital devices must perform the same function. The infrastructure and interface of technologies must be intuitive, familiar and persuasive enough to sway users into interacting with it. </p>
<p align="justify">A way to do this is by pairing up technologies with the criterion above. In terms of functionality: provide them with a <strong>mechanism</strong> that translates the users ideas into action, that is <strong>efficient</strong> at enabling them, and that reduces the '<strong>distance </strong>(the<strong> </strong>cost or amount of energy needed) to perform a task -as has been accomplished with Guru G in India. As for the <strong>force </strong>and<strong> direction</strong> of motivation, Amruth brought up some design challenges when discussing adoption of mobile applications [**"<em>by analysing what increases the probability of a solution / campaign
growing organically by word of mouth, going viral, and specifically what make something fashionable</em>". See box on the left]. These challenges may vary from one application to the other but, at the end of day, the analysis and conceptualization of the product must be persuasive and empathetic with its users.</p>
<h3>Making Change</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">To close our interview, Amruth and I talked about what it means to 'make change' through digital design. He believes 'making change' is composed of three elements:</p>
<ul><li><strong>Empathy: </strong>Your attempt to make change will depend on the amount of empathy you feel towards the people you are trying to create change for.<em> "We spend time interacting with teachers, classrooms, just to get an idea of how the teacher thinks, empathize with prospective users".</em></li><li><strong>Imagination:</strong> How you translate this empathy into solutions. <em>"Imagination helps you think of as many solutions as you can to solve the design and adoption challenges"</em></li><li><strong>Action: </strong>The most challenging stage according to Amruth: <em>"If your technology is too hard to use, you will lose audience. If it's not impactful enough, it is trivialized. How do you reach a balance in making it effortless and yet, impactful?"</em></li></ul>
<p align="justify"><br />This post took a step back in our analysis of citizen action, to uncover a less visible space where change is also taking place: the intersection of the user with the machine. We seldom look at the relationship: producer-machine-consumer (and its multiple combinations) and how our behavior is being reconfigured by new digital technologies (in this project). The pace at which we need to upgrade our own operation systems, requires a degree of digital literacy that is not being facilitated by the state, the market or even civil society. Vita Beans, is one of the few examples of market actors working towards cutting the middle-man between users and digital technologies. If widely adopted, this model has the potential of re-organizing the state-citizen-market dynamic: from how citizens interact with the technology market to how new ways of producing and using technology might shape citizens' negotiation with the state.</p>
<div>This was also a set of explorations. It is a fairly new area in our research that will lead to more conversations with people who understand technology as an infrastructure and as material, as opposed to us- who often understand it as a practice, a space or an actor. Our goal is to bring content and infrastructure closer together, and make a stronger emphasis on inter-disciplinarity and multi-stakeholderism as a strategy to leverage change.
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<div> </div>
<h2><strong>Footnotes:</strong></h2>
<p><span style="text-align: justify;">[</span><a style="text-align: justify;" href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance-2#fr1" name="fn1">1</a><span style="text-align: justify;">] Refer to Marc Prensky's Digital Native, Digital Immigrant, for more on the limitations of digital immigrants in the education space; "</span>It‟s very serious, because the single biggest problem facing <span style="text-align: justify;">education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated </span><span style="text-align: justify;">language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks </span><span style="text-align: justify;">an entirely new language". Access it here: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/IMBu0j">http://bit.ly/IMBu0j</a> <br /><br />The CIS book : Digital Alternatives with a Cause, is also an interesting and comprehensive read of what comprises a digital native or digital immigrant today: <a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/dnbook">http://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/dnbook</a><br /><br /><span style="text-align: justify;">[</span><a style="text-align: justify;" href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance-2#fr1" name="fn1">2</a><span style="text-align: justify;">] </span>The World Bank makes reference to G.D. Wiebe's thinking on their blog: <a href="http://bit.ly/1jNZVZA">http://bit.ly/1jNZVZA</a>. Also refer to: Baker, Michael (2012). The Marketing Book. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 696 and <span class="mw-cite-backlink"><span class="reference-text"><span class="citation book">Lefebvre, R. Craig. Social Marketing and Social Change: Strategies and Tools to Improve Health, Well-Being and the Environment\year=2013. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p. 4. for examples of these interventions. Finally, the Wikipedia page on Social Marketing explains the role of G.D. Wiebe in the field: <a href="http://bit.ly/1lw4jPV">http://bit.ly/1lw4jPV</a></span></span></span></p>
<h2><strong>Sources:</strong></h2>
<div id="gs_cit1" class="gs_citr">Kotler, P., & Zaltman, G. (1971). Social marketing: an approach to planned social change. Journal of marketing, 35(3).</div>
<p><span class="reference-text"><span class="citation journal"><br />Shah, Nishant “Whose Change is it Anyways? Hivos Knowledge Program. April 30, 2013.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="reference-text"><span class="citation journal">Wiebe, G.D. (1951-1952). "Merchandising Commodities and Citizenship on Television". Public Opinion Quarterly <strong>15</strong> (Winter): 679.</span></span></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/digital-storytelling-human-behavior-vs-technology'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/digital-storytelling-human-behavior-vs-technology</a>
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No publisherdenisseMaking ChangeNet CulturesResearchFeaturedResearchers at Work2015-10-24T14:29:23ZBlog EntryOpen Call for Comments: The Privacy Protection Bill 2013 drafted by the Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-2013-open-call-for-comments
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society is announcing an Open Call for Comments to the CIS Privacy Protection Bill 2013. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In early 2013 the Centre for Internet and Society drafted the Privacy (Protection) Bill 2013 as a citizen’s version of privacy legislation for India. The Privacy (Protection) Bill, 2013 seeks to protect privacy by regulating (i) the manner in which personal data is collected, processed, stored, transferred and destroyed — both by private persons for commercial gain and by the state for the purpose of governance; (ii) the conditions upon which, and procedure for, interceptions of communications — both voice and data communications, including both data-in-motion and data-at-rest — may be conducted and the authorities permitted to exercise those powers; and, (iii) the manner in which forms of surveillance not amounting to interceptions of communications — including the collection of intelligence from humans, signals, geospatial sources, measurements and signatures, and financial sources — may be conducted.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society has been collecting comments to the Privacy Protection Bill since April 2013 with the intention of submitting the Bill to the Department of Personnel and Training as a citizen’s version of a privacy legislation for India. If you would like to submit comments on the Privacy Protection Bill to be included as part of the Centre for Internet and Society’s submission to the Department of Personnel and Training, please email comments to <a href="mailto:bhairav@cis-india.org">bhairav@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-february-2014.pdf" class="internal-link">Download the latest version of the Privacy Protection Bill</a></b> (February 2014)</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-2013-open-call-for-comments'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-2013-open-call-for-comments</a>
</p>
No publisherbhairavFeaturedInternet GovernancePrivacy2014-02-25T05:38:27ZBlog EntryAn Introduction to Spectrum Sharing
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/an-introduction-to-spectrum-sharing
<b>We will look at how current technology – mainly GSM, but also CDMA and touching upon LTE - shares spectrum, how they might share spectrum, the trade-off between spectral (in this case, 'trunking') and 'economic' efficiency in the traditional, purely intra-operator shared scenario, and how it might be overcome by inter-operator sharing.</b>
<h3>The Current Scenario – Wi-Fi, GSM and CDMA: A Primer from the Perspective of Spectrum Coordination</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Sharing spectrum is not a radically new idea: it's probably being shared in many places in your living room. Your family's phones could be communicating with your laptops using Bluetooth; your Wi-Fi router is sharing Wi-Fi spectrum with your next door neighbor's. There is no central brain that tells each device how to share spectrum, but each device pair (phone+laptop, for example) has some unique identifier (a code) that enables them to hear each other over the “noise” created by the other devices, as though they were speaking different languages. Each device can access the same frequencies at the same time and place, but does not know in advance which other devices are going to use them, and as long as there aren't too many such devices close to each other, the scheme works well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">From a technological standpoint, this is one of two kinds of spectrum coordination that's currently in wide use: the second is where each device is given a narrow sliver of frequency to itself for a specified period of time.<a name="fr1" href="#fn1">[1]</a> This is what happens with GSM cellphone technology: the service provider's tower allocates frequency — from the pool of frequencies available — to users on a per-call basis: this is called Frequency Division Multiple Access, or FDMA. GSM further divides access between different users in the same frequency channel in the time domain with bursts of data of the order of milliseconds, something called Time Division Multiple Access or TDMA; you'd be sharing your frequency channel with up to seven other people<a name="fr2" href="#fn2">[2] </a>and your content would be sent in sub-millisecond bursts approximately every five milliseconds.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Code Division Multiplexing, or CDMA, Is concept that assigns a user a 'code' for the duration of her call that effectively makes interference from other users, with other codes, appear as noise. The following picture illustrates FDMA, TDMA and CDMA:<a name="fr3" href="#fn3">[3] </a></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">The preceding discussion would suffice for a single cell tower, alone in a desert. In the real world, there's more than one tower, so we'll have to create a system so that no two adjacent towers end up allocating the same frequency at the same time. The simplest way to do that, and the only one currently used, is splitting the available spectrum such that the range of frequencies available to a tower does not intersect with that available to any of its neighbors, ever – that way, a tower can only allocate from its own set of frequencies, but it need not concern itself with what its neighbors are doing. If adjacent towers were to share spectrum, then the preceding condition only needs to apply at that exact moment in time – at that precise instant a tower should be aware of the frequencies being used by all towers that are close enough to interfere with it, and pick a frequency outside that set, which it can use for the duration of a call.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Frequency Reuse</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When there weren't so many cellphones crowding up the spectrum, it did not make economic sense to invest in the extra infrastructure required to make neighboring towers 'talk' to each other with low latency, so the solution we have now, even within the towers of a single service provider, is that any tower's neighbors do not intrude upon the spectrum assigned to that particular tower — what a neighbour is in this statement is qualified below. To start with, let's look at how towers could ideally be placed. We want to place towers on the ground in some regular pattern that makes them end up equidistant from each other: there are as many ways of doing that as there are of tiling a plane, which you can think of as tiling a bathroom with regular shapes (called 'regular polygons' by the pedantic).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Starting from the simplest, we can do it with tiles shaped like triangles, squares or hexagons, and a little thought will convince you that these are the only choices. Since a tower's signal would be 'strong enough' only up to some maximum radius, we'd ideally like to tile our plane with circles, but if we settle for the next best thing, the closest shape to a circle with which to tile the plane is a hexagon, in a honeycomb pattern; if you're looking at it from above, the towers would be placed as in the diagram below.<a name="fr4" href="#fn4">[4] </a></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">This is just a part of a much larger honeycomb on the ground; the towers go in the center of the hexagons, where the numbers are; why the numbers are as they are will become clear in a couple of lines. Let's focus at tower 1 in the center of the diagram for our example. If the signals decay slow enough — so that the signals radiated from the nearest neighbors (towers surrounding 1, i.e. 2 through 7) and the next-nearest neighbors (towers two steps away from 1, with numbers from 2 through 7), interfere significantly with tower 1 in the center, but the next-to-next-nearest neighbors (three steps away from 1) do not, then the frequency reuse pattern can be like what we see in the diagram above, with towers denoted by the same number (and only the same number) using same exclusive set of frequencies. In this example, the closest towers with the same frequency as the central tower are the 1's in the hexagons at the edge – the frequency reuse factor is 3 (see footnote). In this diagram, the ordering of the numbers makes no difference – the situation would be the same if we exchanged the position of every, say, 1 and 3.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In reality the grid of towers of a particular operator covering a city is rarely hexagonal, due to local constraints, so what needs to be taken care of is not to use the frequencies that the nearest neighbors, next-nearest neighbors and so on are using depending upon the frequency reuse factor.<a name="fr5" href="#fn5">[5] </a>It's clear that without the towers being able to communicate in near-real time, with and FDMA/TDMA system like GSM, this is the optimal — and, in fact, the only — way to go.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Neighbouring towers sharing spectrum</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">Everything changes, though, if the towers can communicate and coordinate fast enough — in theory, at least, all the service provider's towers could pick spectrum from a common pool.<a name="fr6" href="#fn6">[6]</a> In fact, every service providers could put their spectrum into a common pool from which frequencies can be allocated to users as before. This would increase <em>trunking efficiency</em> and thereby the maximum number of users per tower dictated by <em>quality of service</em> limits <em> </em>(both terms are defined in the next section), making more efficient use of the spectrum.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" class="western">The Current Trade-off between Trunking and 'Economic' Efficiency: The Principal Argument for (Inter-operator) Shared Spectrum</h3>
<p>Imagine the following scenario:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">We have 5 MHz of spectrum split it into five channels of one MHz each;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Five thousand people own cell phones and each is assigned a channel so that there are a thousand cellphone users per channel;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">People call infrequently: calls are randomly distributed but on average, in each channel, five people attempt to make a call every minute and each call is ten seconds long.</li></ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">In this way, a lot of people can use a few channels with a reasonable hope that their calls will be connected, a phenomenon called 'trunking'. Chances are high, however, that at least one person's going to make a call before the previous caller on her channel is done, and end up being blocked. The probability that a call will go through is factored into the <a class="western" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_QoS">Quality of Service</a> (QoS) through the <a class="western" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blocking_probability#Erlang_B_formula">Erlang B Formula</a>; roughly speaking, the less chance there is of a caller being blocked, the higher your QoS. It's essentially a question of queuing: the same logic can be applied to beds at a hospital. The number of hospital beds in a town would be much fewer than the number of people, but it works because everyone's not sick all the time; if people are sick more often, or for longer durations, the chances that someone won't get a bed would be higher:<a name="fr7" href="#fn7">[7]</a></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">Suppose someone own an Airtel phone and Airtel's channels are all in use, but Vodaphone has a channel free at the time. Let's look at two alternatives:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">a) she's not allowed to switch, and cannot make her call;<br />b) she's allowed to switch to the empty channel, and her call goes through.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">Clearly, the second choice is better <strong>— </strong>and it has greater trunking efficiency.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">In the current scenario, service providers get exclusive rights to chunks of spectrum. Naively, the more competitors (in this case, service providers like Airtel and Vodaphone) you have in a market, the better the competition. This, unfortunately, leads to a decrease in trunking efficiency <strong>— </strong>it's inversely proportional to the number of players in the market because every chunk of frequencies split between two service providers (every successive split) increases the chances for an event such as the one described above happening. The question that logically follows is: what is the optimal number of service providers for the Indian market? This is hard to find, and differs depending on who you ask <strong>— </strong>incumbents, for instance, may quote a smaller number, whereas prospective new entrants may quote a larger one. The number is controversial within policy-making circles as well, and is being debated as this article is being written. We note in passing that the number of competitors <strong>— </strong>and thus fragmentation of spectrum <strong>— </strong>is higher in the Indian market than most others.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">If spectrum were shared, however, all this would be moot. This, therefore, is the primary argument towards spectrum sharing: better trunking efficiency as well as more competition <strong>— </strong>you can , in this instance, have it both ways.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" class="western">CDMA and Spectrum Sharing</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">GSM is a simple example, where both the difficulty and the benefits of intra-operator spectrum sharing are readily apparent. Things get more difficult conceptually if we talk about newer technologies, so we'll have to get a little deeper into the technicalities. Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, allows phones to communicate using the same frequencies at the same time and place, but differentiated by codes <strong>—</strong> similar to WiFi but using different encoding schemes and technology. CDMA might look (from the analogy with Wifi) to require no central planning, but quality of service guarantees require that various phones in a 'cell' coordinate, and the coordinating agent happens to be that cell's tower. Two things need to happen: one, the code allocated to each phone needs to be sufficiently different,<a name="fr8" href="#fn8">[8]</a> at least with respect to other nearby phones, which means the tower has to allocate codes. Additionally, the distance involved between cellphone and tower (as against laptop and router) causes the <a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-far_problem">near-far problem</a>.<a name="fr9" href="#fn9">[9]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">For synchronous CDMA, the concept analogous to frequency reuse is code reuse <strong>—</strong> a tower needs to take into account the codes being used by its nearest neighbors, next-nearest neighbors and so on, which might be easier than coordinating timing in a TDMA system. For asynchronous CDMA (the most commonly used variant), even that is not required <strong>—</strong> the <a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_(CDMA)">low cross-correlation pseudorandom codes</a> that are used have so many possibilities that the likelihood of a collision would be small, though other users would appear as <a class="external-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_division_multiple_access#Asynchronous_CDMA">gaussian noise</a>, so just like GSM, the number of users is limited by QoS limits. This makes intro-operator sharing of spectrum between adjacent towers easier and asynchronous CDMA ends up with a frequency reuse factor of 1, meaning that a tower can access the same set of frequencies as its (intra-operator) neighbor, hypothetically making it easier to use in a shared-spectrum system.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">LTE</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">LTE uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, or OFDM, which can be – very roughly <strong>—</strong> thought of as combining ideas used in FDMA as well as CDMA, in that information is redundantly split between several frequencies ('subcarriers' in the literature) and each frequency can have more than one channel, using an orthogonal coding schemes like (synchronous) CDMA, where, as mentioned earlier, a mobile phone can distinguish its channel by its code. As it's an FDMA system, the benefits of frequency sharing for LTE can be inferred as above for GSM.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">The Regulatory Perspective</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The European Commission has this to say about shared spectrum:<a name="fr10" href="#fn10">[10] </a>“From a regulatory point of view, band sharing can be achieved in two ways: either by the Collective Use of Spectrum (CUS), allowing spectrum to be used by more than one user simultaneously without a license; or using Licensed Shared Access (LSA), under which users have individual rights to access a shared spectrum band”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">CUS is how unlicensed spectrum like Wi-Fi is currently used, which does not require a central 'brain' allocating spectrum to users. It requires no setup or organization before or during use. LSA is what shared spectrum would have to be like when used by service providers: it requires setup and organization but could offer better efficiency and quality of service because the central 'brain' <strong>—</strong> in this case the CPU at the cellphone tower <strong>—</strong> can figure out the most efficient way to allocate spectrum to users, just like a city's traffic lights coordinate the flow of traffic to prevent jams, and for that multiple towers <strong>—</strong> or multiple transmitters on a single tower <strong>—</strong> would have to coordinate somehow. In other words, you don't require approval before setting up your Wi-Fi router in your living room, but (depending upon the router, how many neighbors have routers, how close they are, and how far you are from your router) your connection might get dropped; this kind of thing is okay because there usually aren't that many people with routers living that close to each other, though that's fast changing. The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band is further crowded in by other microwave radio technologies, like Bluetooth and microwave ovens. Cellphones are a different thing altogether, because you wouldn't want your cellphone to stop working in the middle of a crowded bus if you're late en route to meeting someone at a coffee shop, or if you're being mugged and need to call the police. Therefore it is the service providers' and regulatory agencies' responsibility to provide a high (minimum) quality of service. This classification is symbolized by the following diagram:<a name="fr11" href="#fn11">[11]</a></p>
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<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Multiple.png" alt="null" class="image-inline" title="Multiple Access Techniques" /></th>
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<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">CUS falls on the left, being contention-based – that is, different user devices (eg, laptops) could contend with each other for the attention of the base station (eg, Wi-Fi router <strong>—</strong> random access, CSMA), whereas LSA is conflict-free (which would be the case if the router decides, period). The potential for conflict exists in CUS, there being multiple devices asking for spectrum, whereas for LSA, a central authority decides which device to allocate spectrum to at any particular point in space and time. CUS isn't total chaos, however: it would now be appropriate <strong>—</strong> taking a leaf from ex-FCC chief technology officer Jon M. Peha – to introduce the concepts of <em>coexistence</em> and <em>etiquette</em>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">In our Wi-Fi example, the Wi-Fi routers merely coexist, and the technological standard allows them to try and use the codes/spectral bands that are in their best interests, to best communicate with their client devices (though actual Wi-Fi routers also follow some sort of etiquette with other routers). One could additionally introduce some sort of etiquette into the equation by requiring that one router should, for example, “wait in the cue” for another <strong>—</strong> and vice versa <strong>—</strong> as and when required, as well as other requirements for cooperation depending upon the technology used. This minimal cooperation would be enough for them to, in Mr Peha's <a class="western" href="http://morse.colorado.edu/~timxb/5520/ho/PehaSpectrum.pdf">words</a>, “greatly improve efficiency <em>if and only if</em> designed appropriately for the applications in the band” - depending upon the technology used, being too 'polite' could cause longer wait times that decrease efficiency. The situation is complicated by the existence of multiple technologies at the same spot – for example, your Bluetooth receiver, two-way radio and Wifi router working in the same room. If there is potential for interference, common communication protocols could be implemented to enable all those devices to 'talk' to each other and effectively follow some form of wireless etiquette so that they can cooperate and not get in each others way. This is all the more important as Wi-Fi will become an essential part of the cellphone communication network for 4G.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="western">To conclude, there are many ways shared spectrum technology could hypothetically work, and in practice the core technologies that are used would dictate the details of the spectrum sharing solution. Spectrum sharing would reduce the regulatory conundrum that is spectrum allocation, and make more efficient use of spectrum <strong>—</strong> most obviously through trunking efficiency, though there may be other technological benefits depending upon the core technology used. For maximum efficiency and robustness, there would have to be some kind of rules followed, so that devices apply for spectrum like people in a cafeteria queue as opposed to the scrum you might find trying to get into an Indian bus; the etiquette we were talking about earlier should be baked into the design of the communication infrastructure. Some services (like voice calling) by their nature, need a guaranteed high QoS <strong>—</strong> need to be conflict-free <strong>—</strong> and therefore need Licensed Shared Access. Others need a minimum of regulation <strong>—</strong> but with the movement of what used to be CUS-appropriate devices (In many plans for 4G LTE-Advanced, specifically Wi-Fi) towards LSA-appropriate applications, a careful optimization needs to be done in deciding where to draw the line.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" class="western">The Big Question: Infrastructure Sharing</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">We've gone through a thought experiment on intra- and inter-operator sharing of spectrum for the particular case of mobile towers in adjacent cells, and come to the general conclusion that the solution is in principle a question of fast and efficient coordination between the geographically separated towers, toward which there are two driving forces at present: the demand for more efficient use of spectrum by a growing body of users with growing data needs, and the supply of low latency, cheaper and higher bandwidth communication options using fiber-optic cables.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">There are essentially two parts to the big question we're going to ask: one, what happens when there are multiple operators serving the same geographical area, and two, is it necessary to have multiple towers standing right next to each other for multiple operators?</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">To answer the first question, one could have a 'roaming' agreement between multiple operators at the same spot: if all the channels of one operator are busy, the user just has to switch to a channel of an operator which isn't.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">For the second, a single tower (the physical tower structure as well as the transmitting equipment on it) could serve any operator, who could rent it's usage on a per-call basis. That, in fact, already seems to be the case: Airtel and Vodaphone, for instance, each own a 42% share in India's largest tower corporation Indus Towers, the remaining 16% belonging to Idea Cellular.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">Infrastructure sharing will be explored further in a forthcoming post.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Coarse-grained Spectrum Sharing</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">For completeness, we should point out that there are more course-grained (simpler but less efficient) means of sharing in time as well as geography: the appropriate thought experiment is to imagine a radio station at the base of a hill that only has two shows, one for breakfast and one for dinner. Using its radio spectrum on the other side of that hill, or beyond the area it serves, would be fine at anytime; using it's spectrum in between the morning and evening shows would be fine anywhere.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Caveats</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It must be emphasized at this point that the above is a purely hypothetical scenario, and not a prescription. Getting this to work would involve technical hurdles that a brief overview such as the one above could not bring up, that could only be discovered in the process of bringing the technology to market. Each technological solution – GSM, CDMA and LTE – would present its own difficulties, which may become apparent only when the product is shipped, so to speak. Fine technical judgments would need to be made: an example of the difficulty involved could be gauged from the early debates comparing the first CDMA standard (IS-95) with GSM at the time.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The economic model to use for shared spectrum and shared infrastructure is also something under intense discussion right now, and a number of scholarly papers have already been written up.</p>
<hr />
<p>[<a name="fn1" href="#fr1">1</a>]. This is what you'd get in your first few Google search results when you look for “shared spectrum”, because the former has become so widely accepted that it's now part of the linguistic background.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn2" href="#fr2">2</a>]. Explained on http://www.radioraiders.com/gsm-frequency.html, referring to 3GPP spec <a class="external-link" href="http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/latest/Rel-7/45_series/45005-7d0.zip">http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/latest/Rel-7/45_series/45005-7d0.zip</a></p>
<p>[<a name="fn3" href="#fr3">3</a>]. From <a class="external-link" href="http://www.umtsworld.com/technology/cdmabasics.htm">http://www.umtsworld.com/technology/cdmabasics.htm</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn4" href="#fr4">4</a>]. From Mike Buehrer, William Tranter-Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-Morgan & Claypool Publishers (2006).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn5" href="#fr5">5</a>]. There are multiple definitions; the simplest one is “how many steps (in cells) that you have to walk from the tower before you can reuse the frequency”, which will suffice for us.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn6" href="#fr6">6</a>]. Of course, it's going to be messier in practices.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn7" href="#fr7">7</a>]. From <a class="external-link" href="http://www.vumc.com/branch/PICA/Software/">http://www.vumc.com/branch/PICA/Software/</a></p>
<p class="sdfootnote-western">[<a name="fn8" href="#fr8">8</a>]. Orthogonal for synchronous CDMA, or 'sufficiently' orthogonal for asynchronous CDMA</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="sdfootnote-western">[<a name="fn9" href="#fr9">9</a>]. Remember that the receiver on the tower has to demux (split) the signals received from many cellphones, and while a Wifi router would perhaps service multiple laptops in the same building, a CDMA tower has to work for a couple of hundred phones at varying distances – some a building-length away and some, many kilometers away. Every receiver has its own maximum signal to noise ratio, where the strength of the signal received has to be more that a certain fraction (which can be quite small, for a good receiver) of the strength of the electromagnetic (radio) noise it receives from other sources; cellphone towers have to deal with much larger signal to noise ratios than Wifi routers. For an FDMA or TDMA system, different users' data arrives at different frequency or time-slots, so as long as those slots are properly differentiated, one user's signal won't be another user's noise. For the commonly used asynchronous CDMA system, however, this is not the case, so at a receiver on a tower, the signal transmitted by a distant cellphone could be swamped by that from a much closer phone. The way this is dealt with is to have phones closer to the tower decrease their transmission power. So even in CDMA, the tower is still telling the phone what to change, only in this case it's the transmission power as opposed to the exact frequency and time.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn10" href="#fr10">10</a>]. http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/promoting-shared-use-europes-radio-spectrum</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn11" href="#fr11">11</a>]. From Mike Buehrer, William Tranter-Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-Morgan & Claypool Publishers (2006)</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/an-introduction-to-spectrum-sharing'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/an-introduction-to-spectrum-sharing</a>
</p>
No publisherbeliTelecomFeaturedShared Spectrum2014-03-20T09:34:06ZBlog EntryCan Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 3)
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/john-doe-orders-isp-blocking-websites-copyright-3
<b>In a three-part study, Ananth Padmanabhan examines the "John Doe" orders that courts have passed against ISPs, which entertainment companies have used to block dozens, if not hundreds, of websites. In this, the third and concluding part, he looks at the Indian law in the Copyright Act and the Information Technology Act, and concludes that both those laws restrain courts and private companies from ordering an ISP to block a website for copyright infringement.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the third part of his study, Ananth Padmanabhan looks into the fair use provisions recently introduced in respect of mere conduit intermediaries by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, and concludes that there is no scope for any general, or specific, access blocking orders at the behest of the plaintiff in a civil suit, in India. He also argues that the <a class="external-link" href="http://eprocure.gov.in/cppp/sites/default/files/eproc/itact2000.pdf">Information Technology Act, 2000</a> read with the<a class="external-link" href="http://deity.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/GSR314E_10511%281%29.pdf"> Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011</a> do not in any manner permit the Government to override the provisions of the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.ircc.iitb.ac.in/webnew/Indian%20Copyright%20Act%201957.html">Copyright Act, 1957</a> (as amended) while facilitating the denial of access to websites on grounds of copyright infringement, because the Copyright Act, 1957, is a complete code by itself.</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Fair Use Provisions Introduced by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In 2010, the <a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/copyright-bill-analysis" class="external-link">controversial Copyright (Amendment) Bill</a> came up for deliberation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development headed by Mr. <a class="external-link" href="http://archive.india.gov.in/govt/rajyasabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=173">Oscar Fernandes</a>. While a major part of the discussion on this amendment revolved around the altered royalty structure and rights allocation between music composers and lyricists on the one hand and film producers on the other, it can be safely stated that this is the most significant amendment to the Copyright Act, 1957 for more than this one reason. The amendment seeks to reform the Copyright Board, bring in a scheme of statutory licenses, expand the scope of performers’ rights and introduce anti-circumvention measures to check copyright piracy. As part of its ambitious objective, the amendment also attempts a new fair use model to protect intermediaries and file-sharing websites.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, which gives expression to this fair use model through Sections 52(1)(b) and (c), reads thus:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><b><i>52. Certain acts not to be infringement of copyright</i></b><i>. - (1) The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright, namely:</i></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><i>(a) to (ad) - *****</i></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><i>(b) the transient or incidental storage of a work or performance purely in the technical process of electronic transmission or communication to the public;</i></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><i> </i></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><i>(c) transient or incidental storage of a work or performance for the purpose of providing electronic links, access or integration, where such links, access or integration has not been expressly prohibited by the right holder, unless the person responsible is aware or has reasonable grounds for believing that such storage is of an infringing copy:</i></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><i> </i></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><i>Provided that if the person responsible for the storage of the copy has received a written complaint from the owner of copyright in the work, complaining that such transient or incidental storage is an infringement, such person responsible for the storage shall refrain from facilitating such access for a period of twenty-one days or till he receives an order from the competent court refraining from facilitating access and in case no such order is received before the expiry of such period of twenty-one days, he may continue to provide the facility of such access;</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">From a plain reading, it is clear that two important exceptions are carved out: one, in respect of the technical process of electronic transmission and the other, in respect of providing electronic links, access or integration. The material distinction between these exceptions is the presence of a take-down <i>proviso </i>in respect of the latter kind of activity, ie. when providing electronic links, access or integration. This window of opportunity is not provided to the copyright owner when the third party is an ISP involved in the pure technical process of electronic transmission of data.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In <i>R.K. Productions</i>, the court was not informed of the introduction of these provisions <i>vide</i> the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, despite the hearing happening on a date subsequent to the amendment coming into force. This probably influenced the outcome as well, since the court held that ISPs were liable to block access to infringing content, once the specific webpage was brought to the notice of the concerned ISP. Newly introduced Section 52(1)(b) however makes it abundantly clear that ISPs cannot, in any manner, be held liable when they are acting as mere conduit pipes for the transmission of information. This legal position is also materially different from jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom where, the ISPs though not liable for copyright infringement, are statutorily mandated to lend all possible assistance such as take-down or blocking of access upon notice of infringement being furnished to them. This dichotomy between liability for infringement on the one hand and a general duty to assist in the prevention of infringement on the other is explained clearly by the Chancery Division in <i>Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation v. British Telecommunications Plc.</i><a href="#fn1" name="fr1">[1] </a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In <i>Newzbin2</i>, the Chancery Division took note of the safe harbour provisions created by the E-Commerce Directive,<a href="#fn2" name="fr2">[2] </a>particularly Articles 12 to 14 that dealt with acting as a “mere conduit”, caching and hosting respectively. The interesting feature with the “mere conduit” exception, which in all other respects is akin to the exception contained in Section 52(1)(b) of the Copyright Act, 1957, is the additional presence of Article 12(3). This provision clarifies that the “mere conduit” exception shall not stand in the way of a court or administrative authority requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement. Article 18 of this Directive also casts an obligation upon Member States to ensure that court actions available under national law permit the rapid adoption of measures, including interim measures, designed to terminate any alleged infringement and to prevent any further impairment of the interests involved. Similarly, the court looked into the Information Society Directive,<a href="#fn3" name="fr3">[3] </a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Article 8(3) of which provides that “Member States shall ensure that rightholders are in a position to apply for an injunction against intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe a copyright or related right.” This Directive was transposed into the domestic law in UK by the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2498, resulting in the insertion of Section 97A in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This provision empowers the court to grant an injunction against a service provider who has actual knowledge of another person using their service to infringe copyright, such as where the service provider is given sufficient notice of the infringement. Finally, the Chancery Division also took note of the Enforcement Directive,<a href="#fn4" name="fr4">[4] </a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Article 11 of which provided that Member States shall ensure that copyright owners are in a position to apply for an injunction against intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe an intellectual property right. This entire legislative scheme compelled the court in <i>Newzbin2</i> to conclude that an order of injunction could be granted against ISPs who are “mere conduits”, restraining them from providing access to websites that indulged in mass copyright infringement. The court reasoned that the language used in Section 97A did not require knowledge of any particular infringement but only a more general kind of knowledge about certain persons using the ISPs’ services to infringe copyright. Thus, it is seen that in the United Kingdom, though a “mere conduit” activity is not infringement at all, the concerned ISP can be directed by the court to block access to a website that hosts infringing content on the basis of the above legislative scheme. The enquiry should therefore be directed towards whether India has a similar scheme for copyright enforcement.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">The Information Technology Act – An Inapplicable Scheme for Website Blocking</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Information Technology Act, 2000<a href="#fn5" name="fr5">[5]</a>read with certain recently framed guidelines provides for a duty that could be thrust upon even “mere conduit” ISPs to disable access to copyrighted works. This is due to the presence of Section 79(2)(c) of this Act, which makes it clear that an intermediary shall be exempt from liability only where the intermediary observes due diligence as well as complies with the other guidelines framed by the Central Government in this behalf. Moreover, Section 79(3) provides that the intermediary shall not be entitled to the benefit of the exemption in Section 79(1) in a situation where the intermediary, upon receiving actual knowledge that any information, data, or communication link residing in or connected to a computer resource controlled by the intermediary is being used to commit an unlawful act, fails to expeditiously remove or disable access to that material on that resource without vitiating the evidence in any manner. In pursuance of Section 79(2)(c), the Central Government has also framed the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, which came into effect on 11.04.2011. Rule 4 of these Rules, when read along with Rule 2(d), casts obligation on an intermediary on whose computer system, copyright infringing content has been <i>stored, hosted or published</i>, to <i>disable</i> such information within thirty six hours from when it is brought to actual knowledge of the existence of such content by any affected person.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One way of understanding and interpreting in harmonious fashion, the provisions of the IT Act and the Rules therein and the recent amendments to the Copyright Act, is to contend that the issue of infringement of copyright by “mere conduit” ISPs is governed by Section 52(1)(b), which completely absolves them of any liability, while that of enforcement of copyright through the medium of such ISPs is governed by the IT Act. This bifurcation suffers from the difficulty that Section 79 of the IT Act is not an enforcement provision. It is a provision meant to exempt intermediaries from certain kinds of liability, in the same way as Section 52 of the Copyright Act. This provision, read with Section 81, makes it clear that the IT Act does not speak to liability for copyright infringement. From this, it has to necessarily follow that all issues pertaining to liability for such infringement have to be decided by the provisions of the Copyright Act. Therefore, the scheme in the IT Act read with the Intermediaries Guidelines Rules cannot confer additional liability for copyright infringement on ISPs where the Copyright Act exempts them from liability. More to the point, the intermediary cannot be liable for copyright infringement in the event of non-compliance with Section 79(3) or Rule 4 of the Intermediaries Guidelines Rules read with Section 79(1)(c) of the IT Act. Rule 4 of the Intermediaries Guidelines Rules, 2011, to the extent that it renders intermediaries outside the protective ambit of Section 79(1) upon failure to disable access to copyrighted content, is of no relevance as “mere conduits” have already been exempted from liability under Section 52(1)(b). Moreover, since these provisions in the IT Act do not deal with enforcement measures such as injunction orders from the court to disable access to infringing content in particular or infringing websites in general, it would be wrong to contend that the scheme in India is similar to the one in the United Kingdom where the issue of infringement has been divorced from that of enforcement.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To conclude, Section 52(1)(b) is a blanket “mere conduit” exemption from liability for copyright infringement that stands uninfluenced by the presence of Section 79 of the IT Act or the Intermediaries Guidelines Rules. In the absence of a legislative scheme for enforcement in India akin to Section 97A of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Indian Courts cannot grant an injunction directing such “mere conduit” ISPs to block access to websites in general or infringing content in particular and any such action is not even maintainable in law post the insertion of Section 52(1)(b). The decision to the contrary in the <i>R.K.Productions </i>case is incorrect.</p>
<hr />
<p>[<a href="#fr1" name="fn1">1</a>]. [2011] EWHC 1981 (Ch.). Hereinafter referred to as <i>Newzbin2.</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr2" name="fn2">2</a>]. European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/31/EC on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (8 June 2000). This Directive was transposed into the domestic law in UK by the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, SI 2002/2013.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr3" name="fn3">3</a>]. European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society (22 May 2001).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr4" name="fn4">4</a>]. European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/48/EC on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (29 April 2004). This Directive was transposed into the UK domestic law primarily by the Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/1028.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr5" name="fn5">5</a>]. Hereinafter referred to as the IT Act.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/john-doe-orders-isp-blocking-websites-copyright-3'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/john-doe-orders-isp-blocking-websites-copyright-3</a>
</p>
No publisherananthFeaturedHomepageCopyrightAccess to Knowledge2014-02-14T05:13:36ZBlog EntryCan Judges Order ISPs to Block Websites for Copyright Infringement? (Part 2)
https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/john-doe-orders-isp-blocking-websites-copyright-2
<b>In a three-part study, Ananth Padmanabhan examines the "John Doe" orders that courts have passed against ISPs, which entertainment companies have used to block dozens, if not hundreds, of websites. In this, the second part, he looks at the law laid down by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court on secondary and contributory copyright infringement, and finds that those wouldn't allow Indian courts to grant "John Doe" orders against ISPs.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the second part of his study, Ananth Padmanabhan proceeds to examine applying a general theory of secondary or contributory copyright infringement against ISPs. He traces the basis for holding a third party liable as a contributory by closely examining the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court in Sony Corp. v Universal City Studios<a href="#fn1" name="fr1">[1] </a>and MGM Studios, Inc. v Grokster, Ltd.<a href="#fn2" name="fr2">[2] </a>and concludes that this basis does not hold good in the case of a mere conduit intermediary such as an ISP.</p>
<p>[<a href="#fr1" name="fn1">1</a>]. 464 U.S. 417 (1984). Hereinafter referred to as <i>Betamax</i>.</p>
<p>[<a href="#fr2" name="fn2">2</a>]. 545 U.S. 913 (2005). Hereinafter referred to as <i>Grokster.</i></p>
<hr />
<h2>Primary and Secondary Infringement</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Liability for copyright infringement can either be primary or secondary in character. In the case of ISPs, liability as primary infringers does not arise at all, and it is in their capacity as conduit pipes facilitating the transmission of information that they could be held secondarily liable. Even in such cases, the contention of copyright owners is that once the ISP is notified of infringing content, it has the primary responsibility of preventing access to such content. This contention is essentially rooted in a theory of secondary infringement based on knowledge and awareness, and the means to prevent further infringement.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The controversy around a suitable model of secondary infringement is reflected in two judicial pronouncements – separated by a gap of more than two decades – delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court. In <i>Sony Corp. v Universal City Studios</i>,[<a href="#fr3" name="fn3">3</a>] the US Supreme Court held that the manufacturers of home video recording devices known in the market as Betamax would not be liable to copyright owners for secondary infringement since the technology was capable of substantially non-infringing and legitimate purposes. The U.S. Supreme Court even observed that these time-shifting devices would actually enhance television viewership and hence find favour with majority of the copyright holders too. The majority did concede that in an appropriate situation, liability for secondary infringement of copyright could well arise. In the words of the Court, “<i>vicarious liability is imposed in virtually all areas of the law, and the concept of contributory infringement is merely a species of the broader problem of identifying the circumstances in which it is just to hold one individual accountable for the actions of another</i>”. However, if vicarious liability had to be imposed on the manufactures of the time-shifting devices, it had to rest on the fact that they sold equipment with constructive knowledge of the fact that their customers <i>may</i> use that equipment to make unauthorized copies of copyrighted material. In the view of the Court, there was no precedent in the law of copyright for the imposition of vicarious liability merely on the showing of such fact.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Notes of dissent were struck by Justice Blackmun, who wrote an opinion on behalf of himself and three other judges. The learned Judge noted that there was no private use exemption in favour of making of copies of a copyrighted work and hence, unauthorised time-shifting would amount to copyright infringement. He also concluded that there was no fair use in such activity that would exempt it from the purview of infringement. The dissent held the manufacturer liable as a contributory infringer and reasoned that the test for contributory infringement would only be whether the contributory infringer had <i>reason to know or believe </i>that infringement would take place and <i>not whether he actually knew of the same</i>. Off-the-air recording was not only a foreseeable use for the Betamax, but also its intended use, for which Sony would be liable for copyright infringement.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This dissent has considerably influenced the seemingly contrarian position taken by the majority in the subsequent decision, <i>MGM Studios, Inc. v Grokster, Ltd.</i><a href="#fn4" name="fr4">[4]</a> This case called into question the liability of websites that facilitated peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing. Re-formulating the test for copyright infringement, the US Supreme Court held that ‘<i>one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties</i>’. In re-drawing the boundaries of contributory infringement, the Court observed that contributory infringement is committed by any person who intentionally induces or encourages direct infringement, and vicarious infringement is committed by those who profit from direct infringement while declining to exercise their right to limit or stop it. When an article of commerce was good for nothing else but infringement, there was no legitimate public interest in its unlicensed availability and there would be no injustice in presuming or imputing intent to infringe in such cases. This doctrine would at the same time absolve the equivocal conduct of selling an item with substantial lawful as well as unlawful uses and would limit the liability to instances of more acute fault than the mere understanding that some of the products shall be misused, thus ensuring that innovation and commerce are not unreasonably hindered.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Court distinguished the case at hand from <i>Betamax</i>, and noted that there was evidence here of active steps taken by the respondents to encourage direct copyright infringement, such as advertising an infringing use or instructing how to engage in an infringing use. This evidence revealed an affirmative intent that the product be used to infringe, and an <i>active </i>encouragement of infringement. Without reversing the decision in <i>Betamax</i>, but holding that it was misinterpreted by the lower court, the Court observed that <i>Betamax</i> was not an authority for the proposition that whenever a product was capable of substantial lawful use, the producer could never be held liable as a contributory for the use of such product for infringing activity by third parties.<i> </i>In the view of the Court, <i>Betamax </i>did not displace other theories of secondary liability.<i> </i>This other theory of secondary liability applicable to the case at hand was held to be the inducement rule, as per which any person who distributed a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as evidenced by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, would be liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties. However, the Court clarified that <i>mere knowledge of infringing potential or of actual infringing uses would not be enough</i> under this rule to subject a distributor to liability. Similarly, ordinary acts incident to product distribution, such as offering customers technical support or product updates, support liability etc. would not by themselves attract the operation of this rule. The inducement rule, instead, premised liability on <i>purposeful, culpable expression and conduct</i>, and thus did nothing to compromise <i>legitimate</i> commerce or discourage innovation having a <i>lawful</i> promise.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">These seemingly divergent views on secondary infringement expressed by the U.S. Supreme Court are of significant relevance for India, due to the peculiar language used in the Indian Copyright Act, 1957.<a href="#fn4" name="fr4">[4]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Section 51 of the Act, which defines infringement, bifurcates the two types of infringement – ie. primary and secondary infringement – without indicating so in as many words. While Section 51(a)(i) speaks to primary infringers, 51(a)(ii) and 51(b) renders certain conduct to be secondary infringement. Even here, there is an important distinction between 51(a)(ii) and 51(b). The former exempts the alleged infringer from liability if he could establish that <i>he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that </i>the communication to the public, facilitated through the use of his “place”, would amount to copyright infringement. The latter on the other hand permits no such exception. Thus, any person, who makes for sale or hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or distributes for the purpose of trade, or publicly exhibits by way of trade, or imports into India, any infringing copies of a work, shall be liable for infringement, without any specific <i>mens rea</i> required to attract such liability. It is in the context of the former provision, ie. 51(a)(ii) that the liability of certain file-sharing websites for copyright infringement has arisen.<a href="#fn5" name="fr5">[5]</a></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Mere Conduit ISPs – Secondary Infringement Absent</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In <i>MySpace</i>, the Delhi High Court examined the liability for secondary infringement on the part of a website that provides a platform for file-sharing. While holding the website liable, the Single Judge considered material certain facts such as the revenue model of the defendant, which depended largely on advertisements displayed on the webpages, and automatically generated advertisements that would come up for a few seconds before the infringing video clips started playing. Shockingly, the Court even considered relevant the fact that the defendant did provide for safeguards such as hash block filters, take down stay down functionality, and rights management tools operational through fingerprinting technology, to prevent or curb infringing activities being carried on in their website. This, in the view of the Court, made it evident that the defendant had a <i>reasonable apprehension or belief </i>that the acts which were being carried on in the website <i>could</i> infringe someone else’s copyright including that of the plaintiff. The logic employed by the Court to attribute liability for secondary infringement on file-sharing websites is befuddling and reveals complete disregard for the degree of regulatory authority available on the internet even where the space, i.e., the website, is supposedly “under the control” of a person. However, a critical examination of this decision is not relevant in understanding the liability of mere conduit ISPs. This is for the reason that none of the factual considerations relied on by the Single Judge to justify imposition of liability on a file-sharing website under Section 51(a)(ii) arise when the defendant is an ISP that only provides the path for content-neutral transmission of data.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This was completely ignored by the Madras High Court in <i>R.K.Productions v. B.S.N.L.</i>,<a href="#fn6" name="fr6">[6] </a>where the producers of the Tamil film “3”, which enjoyed considerable pre-release buzz due to its song “Kolaveri Di”, sought an omnibus order of injunction against all websites that host torrents or links facilitating access to, or download of, this film. Though this was worded as a John Doe plaint by branding the infringers as unknown administrators of different torrent sites and so on, the real idea was to look to the resources and wherewithal of the known defendants, ie. the ISPs, to block access to the content hosted by the unknown defendants.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This prompted the ISPs to file applications under Or. VII, Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code, seeking rejection of the plaint on the ground that the suit against them was barred by law. The Single Judge of the Madras High Court dismissed these applications for rejection of the plaint, after accepting the contention that the ISPs are necessary parties to the suit as the act of piracy occurs through the channel or network provided by them. The High Court heavily, and incorrectly, relied on MySpace without appreciating the distinction between a mere conduit ISP and a file-sharing website such as MySpace or YouTube, as regards their respective roles and responsibilities, the differing degrees of regulatory control over content enjoyed by them, and most importantly, the recognition and formalisation of these distinctions in the Copyright Act, 1957, vide the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012.</p>
<hr />
<p>[<a href="#fr3" name="fn3">3</a>]. 464 U.S. 417 (1984). Hereinafter referred to as Betamax.</p>
<p>[<a href="#fr4" name="fn4">4</a>]. 545 U.S. 913 (2005). Hereinafter referred to as Grokster.</p>
<p>[<a href="#fr5" name="fn5">5</a>]. Hereinafter the Act.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">[<a href="#fr6" name="fn6">6</a>]. <i>Super Cassette Industries Ltd. v MySpace Inc.</i>, MIPR 2011 (2) 303 (hereinafter referred to as <i>MySpace</i>). This decision of the Delhi High Court has been rightly criticised. <i>See </i><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/super-cassettes-v-my-space">http://cis-india.org/a2k/blog/super-cassettes-v-my-space</a> (last accessed on 24.03.2013).</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/john-doe-orders-isp-blocking-websites-copyright-2'>https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/john-doe-orders-isp-blocking-websites-copyright-2</a>
</p>
No publisherananthAccess to KnowledgeCopyrightPiracyFeaturedHomepage2014-03-06T16:48:18ZBlog EntryThe Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2013 and the Lack of Access to Accessibility Rights
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-bill-2013-and-lack-of-access-to-accessibility-rights
<b>The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 (The RPD Bill) went through three avatars since its commissioning in 2009 under the Sudha Kaul Committee. This blog post brings you a summary of the three stages since it was initially commissioned.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The first was the one the Committee proposed in 2011, after consultations with persons with disabilities and Disabled People's Organizations across the country; the second was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/draftpwd12.pdf">notified by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2012</a>, which was in parts opposed to by several stakeholders; and the third, the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cabinet-okays-disabilities-bill/article5456834.ece">RPD BIll of 2013</a>, has actually brought the entire disability lobby, as it were, together, in being entirely appalled at the turn of events. The Bill, which is being furiously evaluated in the short time available between its being made available to the public and its impending introduction (and possible passing in the House), is full of flaws. Not only does it not adhere to the standards of the UNCRPD, but it also violates the spirit of the Indian Constitution, as well as contradicting existing case law, and most importantly it betrays the consensus and recommendations of persons with disabilities who were initially part of these recommendations. <br /><br />Doubtlessly, while access to government establishments and entities like courts, collectorates, municipal offices, is important for persons with disabilities, there are other establishments which are equally important for persons with disabilities, for purposes of recreation, access to culture, and private services. I've made the point elsewhere that the law proposed is less of an empowering statute and more on the lines of the charity model – and in line with that, the indication is that persons with disabilities will only ever have to come in contact with the government and other entities, so they can enforce rights, take grants, petition government servants, etc. But if the statute itself is rights based, why so much focus on access to forums for rights enforcement, and not on others beyond this?<br /><br />While they did have their flaws, the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.socialjustice.nic.in/pwd2011.php">2011 and 2012 versions of the Bill</a>, which had rather comprehensive provisions with regard to ensuring accessibility. To start with, the right of persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others to the physical environment, transportation, information and communications, including appropriate technologies and systems, and other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas, was recognized. The RPD Bill recognizes the obligation of the government to provide accessibility measures, but by now wording it in terms of a right, it does not do complete justice. The 2011 and 2012 drafts were replete with separate sections on the right to transport, personal mobility, communications, services, the built environment, etc. On the other hand, the RPD Bill clumsily lops all of these into a few sections, with repeated emphasis on infrastructure and services run by "establishments", which is, in effect, the government. There is no mention of website accessibility, though a cursory mention is made to the appropriate government ensuring that all contents available in audio, print and electronic media are in accessible format; and that persons with disabilities have access to electronic media by providing audio description, sign language interpretation and close captioning. Again, the ambiguity as to whether this extends to websites which are not run by the government, is not clear. <br /><br />There is another aspect to accessibility which is lost under the Act by its failure to recognize it as a right. A senior person in the sector, who is blind, told me of an instance where he was barred from entering a bar with some friends. "You won't be able to tell what the bill is or how many drinks you've had", said the manager. He was therefore, being discriminated against entering a place, solely on the grounds of his disability. Persons who have been cured of leprosy are denied access to transport and other public facilities on the basis of outdated statutes. Persons who use crutches and calllipers are denied entry to religious places. The understanding of the Bill on accessibility is extremely limited, and limited to the built environment of government establishments, and this does nothing to extend the rights of persons with disabilities. Groups which are forwarding non negotiables for amendments to the Bill do not consider, at present, the right to accessibility to be a non negotiable. I do wonder, however, whether any of the other rights make sense when express and implied bars to access exist and are effectively encouraged, under this proposed law.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-bill-2013-and-lack-of-access-to-accessibility-rights'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-bill-2013-and-lack-of-access-to-accessibility-rights</a>
</p>
No publishersalelkarFeaturedAccessibility2014-02-03T02:21:45ZBlog EntryCIS-A2K: Work Accomplished on Konkani Wikipedia
https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/work-accomplished-konkani-wikipedia
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society’s Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K team) is pleased to share with you the key accomplishments about the work it accomplished on Konkani Wikipedia from September to December 2013 in this report. In accordance with the Centre for Internet and Society’s Access to Knowledge Program’s (CIS-A2K) Konkani Work Plan 2013-14 the program has invested time and effort to build Konkani Wikimedia community and projects.</b>
<h2>Highlights</h2>
<h3>Increased editing activity on Konkani Wikipedia</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K has been organising different programs and workshops. The idea is to bring in as many volunteers as possible who can contribute to Konkani Wikipedia for years to come. We have organised these outreach sessions mainly in Devanagari, Romi and Kannada scripts. As a result of these programs we have been able to significantly increase no. of editors, consistently have minimum of 5-6 active editors per month and build a community of volunteers. You can also view level of editing activity on Konkani Wikipedia for the past few months in the chart below:</p>
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<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/EditsonKonkaniWikipedia.png" alt="Edits on Konkani Wikipedia" class="image-inline" title="Edits on Konkani Wikipedia" /></th>
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<td><i>Above: Edits Per Month on Konkani Wikipedia (Mar-13 to Dec-13) (by Nitika Tandon, CC-BY-SA 3.0) </i><br /></td>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Increased number of articles on Konkani Wikipedia</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Total number of articles increased from 150 in Sep 2013 to 315 in Nov 2013. The number of articles have doubled over a period of 3 months. We should keep in mind that out of those who edited in Devanagari; 95% of them were completely new to the input method and had to spend considerable time learning and practicing it.</p>
<table class="invisible">
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<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/ArticlesonKonkaniWikipedia.png" alt="Articles on Konkani Wikipedia" class="image-inline" title="Articles on Konkani Wikipedia" /></th>
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<td><i>Above: No. of articles on Konkani Wikipedia (by Nitika Tandon, CC-BY-SA 3.0)</i></td>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Translated Media Wiki messages</h3>
<p>CIS-A2K organised translation sprint to help translate Media Wiki interface messages. We achieved translating <a class="text external" href="http://translatewiki.net/w/i.php?title=Special:Translate&language=gom-deva&group=core-0-mostused&filter=&action=translate" rel="nofollow">79% of these messages in Konkani Devanagari</a> while all <a class="text external" href="http://translatewiki.net/w/i.php?title=Special:Translate&language=gom-latn&group=core-0-mostused&filter=&action=translate" rel="nofollow">100% messages have already been translated in Romi script</a></p>
<h3>Re-release of Konkani Vishwaksh under Creative Commons License</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Upon CIS-A2K‘s explicit request, Goa University has approved the re-release of Vishwakosh under Creative Commons License (CC-BY-SA 3.0) to make it freely available to public, giving them the right to share, use and even build upon the work that has already been done. This is a huge step to help preserve Konkani language and culture in the digital era. Konkani Vishwakosh is a four-volume hard copy encyclopedia (3632 pages) published by Goa University; a work that took over 14 years to develop. It encompasses the world’s information in a nutshell with special emphasis and detailed information on Goa, Konkani, Goan culture, folklore, history, geography etc. To know more about click <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Events/Konkani_Vishwakosh_CC" title="India Access To Knowledge/Events/Konkani Vishwakosh CC">here</a> and <a class="text external" href="http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/11/26/konkani-vishkawosh-free-license/">here</a></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Initiated & Completed 30% of Konkani Vishwakosh Digitization Project</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Goa University in collaboration with the CIS-A2K is digitizing Konkani Vishwakosh. 37 participants are enrolled in this project who are working to digitize the encyclopedia in a time bound manner. All 3632 pages of Konkani Vishwakosh will be digitized. The program started on 19th October and in just about 2 months 30% of the encyclopedia had already been digitized. You can monitor the progress of this project on Wikisource. Here are the links for <a class="text external" href="https://wikisource.org/wiki/Index:Konkani_Viswakosh_Vol1.pdf">Volume 1</a>, <a class="text external" href="https://wikisource.org/wiki/Index:Konkani_Viswakosh_Vol2.pdf">Volume 2</a>, <a class="text external" href="https://wikisource.org/wiki/Index:Konkani_Viswakosh_Vol3.pdf">Volume 3</a> and <a class="text external" href="https://wikisource.org/wiki/Index:Konkani_Vishwakosh_-_Volume_4_Released.pdf">Volume 4</a>. Please note that some of the participants firstly digitize the encylopedia either in their Sandbox or offline and then move it to Wikisource. To know more about the project click <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Events/Konkani_Vishwakosh_Digitization" title="India Access To Knowledge/Events/Konkani Vishwakosh Digitization">here</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Signed an MoU with Goa University</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Goa University entered into a three year MoU with CIS for building Konkani Wikipedia. As part of this partnership, Goa University and CIS-A2K will work together to help build Konkani Wikipedia and community.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">White paper by a Linguist</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a class="text external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratap_Naik">Fr. Pratap Naik</a>, S.J. B.Sc., B.Ed. M.A. (Linguistics), M.Phil. (Linguistics), Ph.D. (Linguistics) has written a white paper discussing issues faced by Konkani language and his views on how it should be dealt on Wikimedia projects. We'll soon upload the white paper on Wikimedia Commons and make the link available.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">14 Outreach session, over 450 participants, in 3 months</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K organised about 14 outreach sessions and reached out to over 450 people to create awareness about Konkani Wikipedia and the community between Sep-Dec 2013. Details of these sessions can be found <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge/Konkani_Wikipedia_@Goa_University/Events" title="India Access To Knowledge/Konkani Wikipedia @Goa University/Events">here</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Got consensus from field experts</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Over the past few months CIS-A2K has spoken with Konkani Wikipedians (such as <a class="text external" href="https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fredericknoronha">Frederick Noronha</a>, <a class="text external" href="https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Deepak_D%27Souza">Deepak D'Souza</a>, Seby Fernandes) Konkani linguists (such as Fr. Pratap), professors from Konkani Department at Goa University (<a class="text external" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhavi_Sardesai">Dr. Madhavi Sardesai</a> and <a class="text external" href="http://www.unigoa.ac.in/academic_staff.php?staffid=40&adepid=7&mdepid=1" rel="nofollow">Dr. Priyadarshini Tadkodkar</a>), cultural experts (such as Prof. Alito Siqueira and <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Outofindia" title="User:Outofindia">Harriet Vidyasagar</a>) and other experts to propose a solution for Konkani Wikipedia that faces a problem of usage of multiple scripts. To a great extent we have got consensus from different field experts that we should strive to create separate Wikis for each script, at least those which prove to be active.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Wikipedians Speak</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One of the ongoing projects of CIS-A2K is 'Wikipedians Speak' which are small videos of Wikipedians that captures their expereinces, learnings and challenges. As a part of this project CIS-A2K published several videos of Konkani Wikipedians.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nitika.t/Draft2">Link to the post published on Wikipedia</a></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/work-accomplished-konkani-wikipedia'>https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/work-accomplished-konkani-wikipedia</a>
</p>
No publishernitikaAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaFeaturedKonkani WikipediaOpennessHomepage2013-12-31T11:48:02ZBlog Entry