The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
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Arduino Introductory Workshop at CIS
https://cis-india.org/openness/arduino-workshop-report
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society organised a hands-on-free Arduino workshop in its office on March 3, 2012. Video is now online!</b>
<p> The month of March in 2012 has been an eventful month for hardware
enthusiasts in Bangalore. With open source hardware catching up in a big
way, a free workshop on "An introduction to Arduino" seemed to be the
perfect choice. Its announcement drew a considerable response. The
audience was filtered from various backgrounds. Pramode CE<a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/arduino-workshop-report#fn1" name="fr1">[1] </a>of Recursive Labs<a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/arduino-workshop-report#fn2" name="fr2">[2]</a>
covered most of the basics, beginning with the basics of arduino to how
the code interacts with the sensors. Starting with flashing LEDs to the
use of serial port to basic sensors like LDRs he took around the whole
basic system with ease. <a class="external-link" href="http://recursive-labs.com/blog/2012/03/05/arduino-cis-workshop/">Click</a> for more details.</p>
<p>About 20 people participated in this workshop. These included interaction designers, artists and those enthusiastic to get started with creative projects but with no
prior experience with electronics, interfacing and all that hack talk.
The workshop provided a general understanding of instructional
programming languages, and served as a platform for creative people who didn't have a technical background but wanted to
translate their wildest techno-ideas to reality in a snap.</p>
<p>The event also marked the beginning of the CIS hack-lab.</p>
<p><a name="fr2" href="#fn2"></a></p>
<hr />
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/2DM2j"><strong>VIDEOS</strong><br /></a></p>
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLwqQUA.html?p=1" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed style="display:none" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLwqQUA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLxohcA.html?p=1" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed style="display:none" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLxohcA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>
<hr />
<p>[<a name="fn1" href="#fr1">1</a>].<a class="external-link" href="https://twitter.com/#!/pramode_ce">https://twitter.com/#!/pramode_ce</a><br />[<a name="fn2" href="#fr2">2</a>]. <a class="external-link" href="http://recursive-labs.com/">http://recursive-labs.com/</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/arduino-workshop-report'>https://cis-india.org/openness/arduino-workshop-report</a>
</p>
No publisherPriya KuberOpenness2012-05-01T07:50:08ZBlog EntryBangalore Meet-up for the Open Government Partnership Brasilia
https://cis-india.org/openness/open-government-partnership-brasilia-bangalore-meetup
<b>The international Open Government Partnership (OGP) is holding its first annual meeting on April 17 and 18, 2012. Representatives from over 50 member countries will gather in Brasilia to celebrate the progress that has been made to date, to exchange best practices, and to grow and strengthen the global collaborative network of open government leaders. Bangalore meet-up at CIS on April 17, 2012 from 5.30 p.m to 7.30 p.m.</b>
<p>Those who work on open government initiatives but unable to attend in person, can still participate remotely. OGP has tied-up with a number of external partners to make arrangements for people to participate in the event online. There will be live webcasts, interviews and chats. Viewers will be able to pose questions to those being interviewed and will be polled in real-time to see who is watching, where they are, what their interests are and what are their thoughts on the programme.</p>
<p>The two day meeting offers an opportunity for open government advocates throughout the world to connect with local civic activists and public officials as well as those working on similar problems in other countries.</p>
<p>The Centre for Internet & Society is hosting the Bangalore meet-up on April 17 and 18, 2012. Get together to watch the live video stream, engage in conversations via live chat, or on Twitter and Facebook for discussing plans to move open government forward in your region.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.opengovpartnership.org/civil-society-participation-april-2012-ogp-annual-meeting">Click</a> for the full list of countries participating in the event.</p>
<hr />
<p class="p7"><span class="s1"><strong>8:30-9:30 am</strong></span><span class="s2"><strong> </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Registration</strong></span><span class="s2"><strong> & Coffee</strong></span></p>
<p class="p8"><span class="s5"><strong>9:15-9:30 am</strong></span><span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><strong>Official photo </strong>of </span><span class="s1"><strong>OGP Member Government Heads of Delegation </strong></span><span class="s2">and </span><span class="s1"><strong>Steering Committee Members </strong></span></p>
<p class="p10"><span class="s5"><strong>9:30-10:15 am</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Opening Remarks and </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Welcome</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1"><strong>The Honorable Dilma Rousseff, </strong></span><span class="s1">President of the Federative Republic of </span><span class="s4">Brazil</span></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, </strong></span><span class="s1">Secretary of State of the </span><span class="s4">United States of America</span></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>The Honorable</strong> <strong>Jakaya Kikwete, </strong></span><span class="s1">President of the United Republic of </span><span class="s4">Tanzania</span></li><li><strong>The Honorable</strong> <strong>Nika Gilauri, </strong><span class="s1">Prime Minister of </span><span class="s4">Georgia</span></li></ul>
<p class="p11"><span class="s5"><strong>10:15-10:45 am</strong></span><span class="s4"><strong> </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>Setting the Stage for the Age of Open:</strong></span><span class="s4"><strong> OGP 2012</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Minister <strong>Jorge Hage</strong>, </span><span class="s4">Brazil</span></li><li><span class="s1">Under Secretary of State <strong>María Otero</strong>, </span><span class="s4">United States</span></li><li><span class="s2"><strong>Warren Krafchik</strong>, </span><span class="s1">International Budget Partnership</span></li></ul>
<p class="p10"><span class="s5"><strong>10:45-11:15 am</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Coffee</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> and Networking </strong></span></p>
<p class="p16"><span class="s5"><strong>11:15-12:30pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Plenary: Using </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Transparency</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> to Transform </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Lives</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> Online and Offline</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><strong>Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar</strong>, United States</li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Gautam John</strong>, Akshara Foundation and TED Fellow,</span><span class="s6"> </span><span class="s1"> </span><span class="s4">India</span></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Elisabeth Ungar Bleier</strong>, Transparency International, </span>Colombia</li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Juliana Rotich</strong>, Co-Founder of Ushahidi, </span><span class="s4">Kenya</span></li></ul>
<p class="p10"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Samantha Power, The White House, </span><span class="s4">United States</span></em></p>
<p class="p20"><span class="s7"><strong>12:30-1:30 pm</strong></span><span class="s8"><strong> </strong></span><span class="s9"><strong>Innovation</strong></span><span class="s8"><strong> Village </strong></span><span class="s1">of Regional Government, Private Sector, and Civil Society organizations advancing Open Government </span></p>
<p class="p16"><span class="s5"><strong>1:30-2:45 pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></strong></span><span class="s2"><strong>Lunch and </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Networking.</strong></span></p>
<p class="p16">Lunch will be provided onsite at the conference center. </p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s5"><strong>2:45-5:30 pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Open Government </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>on the Move</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>: The OGP Country </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Action</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> Plans in Two Parts</strong></span></p>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">In Part I and Part II of regional
breakout sessions, government ministers and leading civil society
activists will discuss country action plans and how to promote a race to
the top on open government in each region. Highlights from each panel
will be transcribed. Moderators will encourage discussion with the
audience following comments from panelists. </span></em><strong><em>Governments
not presenting in Part I will present in Part II of the regional
sessions, from 4:30 to 5:45pm. Participants presenting in Part II are
encouraged to attend the session of their choice during Part I and vice
versa.</em></strong></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s5"><strong>2:45-4:00pm</strong></span><span class="s2"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>Country Action Plans </strong></span><span class="s2"><strong>PART I </strong></span></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>South America, I</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Chile</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Colombia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Uruguay</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Brazil</strong></span></li><li>Maria Ferrari Fontecilla, Participa, Chile</li><li>Edison Lanza, CAInfo, Uruguay</li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Juan Pardinas, IMCO, Mexico</span></em></p>
<p class="p26">C<strong>entral America and Caribbean</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Honduras</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Guatemala</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>El Salvador</strong></span></li><li><span class="s2">Government of </span><span class="s1"><strong>Dominican Republic</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Jose Ricardo Barrientos Quezada, ICEFI, Guatemala</span></li><li><span class="s1">Carlos Hernandez, Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa, Honduras</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Vonda Brown, Open Society Foundation, United States</span></em></p>
<p class="p22"><strong>Africa, I</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Liberia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Ghana</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>South Africa</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Alison Tilley, Open Democracy Advice Center, South Africa</span></li><li><span class="s1">Vitus Azeem, Ghana Integrity Initiative, Ghana</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><span class="s1">Moderated by Rakesh Rajani, Twaweza, Tanzania</span></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Asia </strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Mongolia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of the </span><span class="s4"><strong>Republic of Korea</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Indonesia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Philippines</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Dorjdari Namkhaijantsan, Open Society Foundation, Mongolia</span></li><li><span class="s1">Vincent Lazatin, Transparency and Accountability Network, Philippines</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Suneeta Kaimal, Revenue Watch Institute</span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>Central Europe</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Romania</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Bulgaria</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of the</span><span class="s4"><strong> Slovak Republic</strong></span></li><li>Government of <strong>Czech Republic</strong></li><li><span class="s1">Gergana Jouleva, Access to Information Program Foundation, Bulgaria</span></li><li><span class="s1">Andra Teodora, Fundatia Soros Romania</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><span class="s1">Moderated by Martin Tisne, Omidyar Network, United Kingdom</span></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>Western Europe, I</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Norway</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Sweden</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Denmark</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">CSO Representative TBD</span></li><li><span class="s1">CSO Representative TBD</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Tim Kelsey, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom</span></em></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Southern Europe, I</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Albania</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Montenegro</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Croatia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Macedonia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Katarina Ott, Institute of Public Finance, Croatia</span></li><li><span class="s1">Vuk Maras, MANS, Montenegro</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Warren Krafchik, International Budget Partnership</span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>Baltics</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Latvia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Lithuania</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Estonia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Rura Mrazauskaite, Transparency International, Lithuania</span></li><li><span class="s1">Linda Austere, Center for Public Policy, Latvia</span></li></ul>
<p class="p23"><em>Moderated by Liia Hanni, E-Governance Academy, Estonia</em></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s5"><strong>4:00-4:30 pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Coffee </strong>and<strong> </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Networking</strong></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s5"><strong>4:30-5:45 pm</strong></span><span class="s2"><strong> </strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>Country action plans </strong></span><span class="s2"><strong>PART II </strong></span></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>South America, II </strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Peru</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Paraguay</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Mexico</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Miguel Pulido, Fundar, Mexico</span></li><li><span class="s1">Samuel Rotta, Proetica, Peru</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderator TBD</span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>North America</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Canada</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of the </span><span class="s4"><strong>United States</strong></span><span class="s1"> </span></li><li><span class="s1">Patrice McDermott, Openthegovernment.org Coalition, United States<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></li><li><span class="s1">Toby Mendel, Center on Law and Democracy, Canada</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Tara Hidayat, Government of Indonesia</span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>Africa, II</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Tanzania</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Kenya</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">John Ulanga, The Foundation for Civil Society, Tanzania<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></li><li><span class="s1">George Kegoro, International Commission of Jurists, Kenya</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Zohra Dawood, Open Society Foundation South Africa</span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>Middle East</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Israel</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Jordan</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Professor Tamar Hermann, Israeli Democracy Institute, Israel</span></li><li><span class="s1">CSO representative TBD</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Anthony Richter, Transparency and Accountability Initiative</span></em></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Northeastern Europe</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Ukraine</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Moldova</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Serghei Ostaf, National NGO Council, Moldova</span></li><li><span class="s1">Khmara Oleksii, Civic Partnership for Supporting OGP in Ukraine</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Tom Blanton, National Security Archive, United States</span></em></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Western Europe, II</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of the </span><span class="s4"><strong>United Kingdom</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of the </span><span class="s4"><strong>Netherlands</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Spain</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Italy</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Rufus Pollock, Open Knowledge Foundation, United Kingdom</span></li><li><span class="s1">Marjan Besuijen, Hivos, Netherlands</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Alan Hudson, ONE Campaign</span></em></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Southern Europe, II </strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of</span><span class="s4"><strong> Greece</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Malta</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Turkey</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">CSO representative TBD</span></li><li><span class="s1">CSO representative TBD</span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen, Government of Norway </span></em></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>South Caucasus </strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Armenia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Georgia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of </span><span class="s4"><strong>Azerbaijan</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Eka Gigauri, Transparency International Georgia<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></li><li><span class="s1">Galib Abbaszade, National Budget Group, Azerbaijan<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></li><li><span class="s1">Liana Doydoyan, FOI Centre, Armenia </span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Jonas Moberg, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Norway</span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s5"><strong>5:45-6:30 pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>First Day </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Closing</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> Remarks</strong></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s5"><strong>7:00-9:30 pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Celebrating</strong> Open Government: A Reception hosted by the </span><span class="s4"><strong>Government of Brazil</strong></span><span class="s1"> and </span><span class="s4"><strong>Omidyar Network.</strong></span></p>
<p class="p5">The reception is onsite at the Convention Center.</p>
<hr /><strong>Wednesday, April 18, 2012</strong>
<p class="p16"><span class="s5"><strong>9:00-10:00 am</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>OPENING Plenary: </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Responsibility</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> and </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Challenges</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> that Come with </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Openness</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1"><strong>Walid al-Saqaf</strong>, YemenPortal.net & Alkasir, </span><span class="s4">Yemen</span></li><li><span class="s1">Minister <strong>Francis Maude</strong>, </span><span class="s4">United Kingdom</span></li><li><span class="s1">Secretary of State <strong>Ben Abbes</strong>, </span><span class="s4">Tunisia</span></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Fernando Rodrigues</strong>, Folha de São Paulo, </span><span class="s4">Brazil</span></li></ul>
<p class="p11"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Alex Howard, O’Reilly Media, </span><span class="s4">United States</span></em></p>
<p class="p7"><span class="s1"><strong>10:00-10:30 am</strong></span><span class="s2"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Coffee and </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Networking</strong></span></p>
<p class="p5"><span class="s5"><strong>10:30-12:30 pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Thematic Breakout Sessions: </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Paths to Openness</strong></span></p>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Participants choose one of five breakout sessions to attend in the morning block of thematic discussions. </span>Follow
Sessions 1 or 2 in the morning and afternoon blocks for in-depth
discussions on one topic, explored from three perspectives: government,
civil society, and the private sector.</em></p>
<p class="p22"><strong>Access to Information: Government Perspectives</strong></p>
<ul><li>Vania Vieira, CGU, Government of <strong>Brazil</strong></li><li>Dr. Ali M. Abbasov, Minister of Communications and Information Technologies, Government of <strong>Azerbaijan</strong></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Government of Liberia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Pierre Boucher, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Government of <strong>Canada</strong></span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Laura Neuman, The Carter Center, <strong>United States</strong></span></em></p>
<p class="p22"><strong>Lessons Learned in Service Delivery: Government Perspectives</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Minister Mathias Chikawe, Government of <strong>Tanzania</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Ms. Marie Munk, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economy and the Interior, Government of <strong>Denmark</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Government of <strong>Estonia</strong> (invited)</span></li><li><span class="s1">Permanent Secretary Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Government of <strong>Kenya</strong> </span></li></ul>
<p class="p23"><em>Moderated by Mark Robinson, DFID/Transparency and Accountability Initiative, UK</em></p>
<p class="p23"><strong>Networking Mechanism Affinity Group: Open Data Portals</strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Steve Davenport, AidDATA, <strong>United States</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Tim Kelsey, Director of Transparency & Open Data, Cabinet Office, <strong>United Kingdom</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Marko Rakar, Windmill, <strong>Croatia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Eric Gunderson, Development Seed, <strong>United States</strong></span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Abhinav Bahl, Global Integrity/OGP Networking Mechanism</span></em></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Networking Mechanism Affinity Group: Public Finance Management and Fiscal Transparency </strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Iara Pietricovsky, INESC, <strong>Brazil</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Secretary Butch Abad, Government of <strong>Philippines</strong> </span></li><li><span class="s1">Dr. Brian Wrampler, Boise State University, <strong>United States</strong></span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Nicole Anand, Global Integrity/OGPNetworking Mechanism</span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>Advancing Open Government through Knowledge Exchange</strong></p>
<ul><li>Roberto Perez, IACC, <strong>Latin America</strong>, invited</li><li><span class="s1">Ms. Stela Mocan, Director e- Government Center, Government of <strong>Moldova</strong> </span></li><li><span class="s1">Miguel Pulido, Fundar, <strong>Mexico</strong></span></li><li>Prayoga Wiradisuria, President's Delivery Unit, <strong>Government of Indonesia</strong></li><li>Eric Braverman, McKinsey, <strong>United States</strong></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Han Fraeters, World Bank Institute</span></em></p>
<p class="p33"><span class="s1"><strong>12:30-2:00 pm</strong></span><span class="s2"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Lunch and </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Networking.</strong></span></p>
<p class="p33">Lunch will be provided onsite at the conference center. </p>
<p class="p10"><span class="s5"><strong>2:00-4:00 pm</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Thematic Breakout Sessions: </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>More</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Paths to Openness</strong></span></p>
<p class="p22"><span class="s1">Participants choose one of five breakout sessions to attend in the afternoon block of thematic discussions. </span></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Access to Information: Civil Society and Private Sector Perspectives </strong></span></p>
<p class="p22"><span class="s1"><strong>Panel I: Civil Society Perspectives</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Karin Lissakers, Revenue Watch Institute</span></li><li><span class="s1">Alison Tilley, Open Democracy Advice Center, <strong>South Africa</strong> </span></li><li><span class="s1">Ivan Pavlov, Freedom of Information Foundation, <strong>Russia</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Karina Banfi, Alianza Regional Por La Libre Expresion e Informacion, <strong>Latin America</strong></span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Helen Darbishire, AccessInfo Europe, <strong>Spain</strong></span></em></p>
<p class="p22"><span class="s1"><strong>Panel II: Private Sector Perspectives</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Alexandre Gomes, SEA Technologia, <strong>Brazil</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Chris Taggart, Open Corporates, <strong>United Kingdom</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Jose Francisco Compagno, Ernst and Young </span></li><li><span class="s1">Ginny Hunt, Google, <strong>United States</strong></span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Rufus Pollock, Open Knowledge Foundation, United Kingdom </span></em></p>
<p class="p5"><strong>Lessons Learned in Service Delivery: Civil Society and Private Sector Perspectives</strong></p>
<p class="p22"><span class="s1"><strong>Part I: Civil Society Perspectives</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Jose Ricardo Barrientos Quezada, ICEFI, <strong>Guatemala</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Felipe Heusser, Ciudadano Inteligente, <strong>Chile</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Nikhil Dey, MKSS, <strong>India</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Harvey Lowe, Canadian Council on Social Development, <strong>Canada</strong></span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Rakesh Rajani, Twaweza, <strong>Tanzania</strong></span></em></p>
<p class="p22"><span class="s1"><strong>Part II: Private Sector Perspectives</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Philip Ashlock, OpenPlans/Open311, <strong>United States</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Jorge Soto, Citivox, <strong>Mexico</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Tom Steinberg, MySociety, <strong>United Kingdom, </strong>invited</span></li><li><span class="s1">Michael Gurstein, Center for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training, <strong>Canada</strong></span></li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Rakesh Rajani, Twaweza, <strong>Tanzania</strong></span></em></p>
<p class="p26"><strong>Open Government and Legislatures</strong></p>
<p><strong><em>Part I: Legislative Perspectives</em></strong></p>
<ul><li>Representative Paulo Pimenta, <strong>Brazil</strong></li><li>Denis Russo,Votenaweb, <strong>Brazil</strong></li><li>Laura Alonso, Legislature of City of Buenos Aires, <strong>Argentina</strong></li><li>Cristiano Ferri Soares de Faria, e-Democracy Program Director, Brazilian House of Representatives, <strong>Brazil</strong></li></ul>
<p><em>Moderated by Gherardo Casini, Head of Global Center for ICT in Parliaments, <strong>United Nations</strong></em></p>
<p><strong><em>Part II: Civil Society Perspectives</em></strong></p>
<ul><li>Andrew Mandelbaum, National Democratic Institute, <strong>United States</strong></li><li>John Wonderlich, Sunlight Foundation, <strong>United States</strong></li><li>Danardono Siradjudin, Indonesian Parliamentary Center, <strong>Indonesia</strong></li><li>Melissa Ortiz Masso, Latin American Network on Legislative Transparency, <strong>Latin America</strong></li></ul>
<p><em>Moderated by Tiago Peixoto, World Bank Open Government Specialist</em></p>
<p class="p22"><strong>Measuring for Impact: How to build the case for Open Government </strong></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Rolf Alter, OECD, <strong>France</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Nikos Passas, Northeastern University, <strong>United States/Greece</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Jorge Garcia-Gonzalez, Director of Technical Secretariat of MESICIC, Organization of American States, <strong>Latin America</strong> </span></li><li>Harlan Yu, Princeton University, <strong>United States</strong></li></ul>
<p class="p23"><em>Moderated by Martin Tisne, Omidyar Network, <strong>United Kingdom</strong></em></p>
<p class="p26"><span class="s1"><strong>Learning from Country Consultations to Date: New Strategies for Public Engagement</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Samuel Rotta, Proetica, <strong>Peru</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Chris Vein, The White House, <strong>United States</strong></span></li><li><span class="s1">Khmara Oleksii, Civic Partnership for Supporting OGP in <strong>Ukraine</strong> </span></li><li>Government of <strong>Philippines</strong>, invited</li></ul>
<p class="p22"><em><span class="s1">Moderated by Warren Krafchik, International Budget Partnership, <strong>United States</strong></span></em></p>
<p class="p10"><span class="s1"><strong>4:00-4:30 pm<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Coffee</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> and Networking </strong></span></p>
<p class="p10"><span class="s1"><strong>4:30-5:00 pm<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Report from Working Group on </strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>Meeting Outcomes</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong> </strong></span></p>
<p class="p10"><span class="s1"><strong>5:00-6:00 pm<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></strong></span><span class="s4"><strong>OGP at Home</strong></span><span class="s1"><strong>: Closing Remarks with OGP Leadership</strong></span></p>
<ul><li><span class="s1">Vice-Minister <strong>Luiz Navarro</strong>, </span><span class="s4">Brazil</span></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Samantha Power</strong>, White House, United States</span></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Warren Krafchik</strong>, International Budget Partnership</span></li><li><span class="s1"><strong>Tim Kelsey</strong>, Director of Transparency and Open Data, Cabinet Office </span><span class="s4">United Kingdom</span></li></ul>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Note: Brazil's local time is approximately eight and half hours behind us. The welcome address on April 17th starts at 9:30 A.M (B.R.T) which is approximately 5:00 P.M (I.S.T).</strong></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/open-government-partnership-brasilia-bangalore-meetup'>https://cis-india.org/openness/open-government-partnership-brasilia-bangalore-meetup</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessEvent TypeOpen Content2012-04-12T13:18:28ZEventDesign!PubliC — Event in Delhi
https://cis-india.org/openness/design-public-delhi
<b>Centre for Knowledge Societies in partnership with IBM, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, HeadStart, India@75, LiveMint, and the Centre for Internet & Society is organizing the third edition of Design!PubliC event in Delhi on April 19 and 20, 2012. </b>
<p>Design Public is a high-level conversation among a select group of thinkers, decision-makers and opinion-leaders who seek to transform India into an innovation society. It brings together influential actors from all sectors of society to deliberate the best ways in which innovation can serve the public interest. The larger goal of the Conclave is to serve as an enabling platform for building the necessary partnerships and consortia that will bring this agenda to practical realization.</p>
<p>This third edition of the Design Public Conclave is focused on issues of trust and participation and how they relate to innovation. We will be addressing key questions like:</p>
<ul><li>How can we overcome deficiencies in trust and participation to better facilitate innovation?</li><li>How can we better imagine India as an innovation society?</li><li>How can we build smarter cities and ensure sustainable urban development?</li><li>What does rural innovation really mean and how do we do it?</li><li>What are the necessary consortia and cross-sectoral alignments for driving innovation?</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<h2>
The Panelists</h2>
<table class="plain">
<thead></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Aditya.jpg/image_preview" alt="Aditya Dev Sood" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Aditya Dev Sood" /></td>
<td><strong>Aditya Dev Sood</strong><br />Aditya Dev Sood is Founder and CEO of the Center for Knowledge Societies (CKS), an innovation consulting firm that provides design services of a kind that Indian industry never thought it would even need — User Research, User Experience Design, Design Strategy and Innovation Management. Through his consulting work, and also through his writings and his public presentations, Aditya offers a compelling vision of the central role of design and innovation for emerging economies such as India. The focus on his firm has remained on lower income and rural groups, and through contractual consulting engagements it has sought always to bring about market successes as well as the greater societal good.<br /><br />Dr. Sood is a Fulbright scholar with two doctorates from the University of Chicago and a wide range of disciplinary competencies, gained through a long and diverse education, including Architecture, Art History, Critical Theory, Comparative Literature, Sanskrit Philology, Philosophy of Language, Cultural Anthropology, Social Theory and Political Economy.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Arun.jpg/image_preview" title="Arun Maira" height="132" width="177" alt="Arun Maira" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Arun Maira</strong><br />Arun Maira is a Member of the National Innovation Council, a part of the National Planning Commission of the Government of India. In addition to being a prolific author on leadership and organization transformation, as well as the future of India, he has worked as an experienced consultant for companies all over the world and for a diversity of industries, from automobiles and pharmaceuticals to international agencies for economic development. Prior to joining the National Planning Commission, Arun Maira worked with the TATA Group in India, the Boston Consulting Group, Save the Children in India, the Axis Bank Foundation, and CII’s National Councils, among many others. He received his M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Physics from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/AdityaM.jpg/image_preview" title="Aditya Mishra" height="146" width="194" alt="Aditya Mishra" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Aditya Mishra</strong><br />In addition to leading a sales team for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd., Aditya Mishra began his own not-for-profit company to promote entrepreneurship in India called Headstart. Headstart is run by volunteers dedicated to creating space for and promoting innovation in India by fostering individual entrenpreneurs, research, and the adoption of new technology. Aditya advises early stage start-ups and incubators through Startup Saturdays events to aid in the development of products and service, busines planning, and sales and marketing. Headstart is headquarted in Bangalore, but through the Headstart Network of entrepreneurs, academics, and industry professionals, activities are carried out in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Kolkata. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Sukumar.jpg/image_preview" alt="Sukumar Ranganathan" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Sukumar Ranganathan" /></td>
<td><strong>Sukumar Ranganathan</strong><br />Sukumar Ranganthan was a founding member of Mint, a business paper of the Hindustan Times in association with the Wall Street Journal. Launched in 2007, Mint brings “Clarity in Business News” to readers across the country. He has worked in several capacities in business news, from Marketing Editor at The Hindu Business Line to Managing Editor of India’s leading business magazine, Business Today. In addition to a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Sukumar holds a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and another Master’s in Mathematics. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Bhairavi.jpg/image_preview" title="Bhairavi Jani" height="170" width="228" alt="Bhairavi Jani" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Bhairavi Jani</strong><br />After graduating from Miami University, Ohio, USA, and working with KPMG Consulting in Washington D.C., Bhairavi Jani returned to India in 2001 and began her career in business. After setting up and scaling up a fourth party logistics company, Bhairavi accepted the role of Director for all companies under the SCA Group in 2005, which manages shipping, customs, warehousing, logistics, and IT. As Group Director, she works with different teams from the respective companies withing the Group, providing them strategic advice. In addition to being a successful businesswoman, Bhairavi has worked closely with the late C. K. Prahalad on India@75 of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a grassroots initiative for realizing an inclusive, sustainable, and developed India by 2022. It works to accelerate India’s transformative into an economically vital, technologically innovative, and socially and ethically vibrant global leader. Having served as a National Chairman of Young Indians, CII, Bhairavi has since 2011 taken a five year hiatus from her own businesses to serve as Executive Director for India@75. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Ashwin.jpg/image_preview" title="Ashwin Mahesh" height="200" width="200" alt="Ashwin Mahesh" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Ashwin Mahesh</strong><br />Ashwin Mahesh is a professor of Public Policy at IIM Bangalore, but his innovative ideas and dedication to service has brought him outside academia. In 1998, he co-founded India Together, an online magazine of public affairs, policy, and development in India. He has also started Mapunity, an independent R&D company designed around reversing the trend of government lagging behind technology. Ashwin Mahesh has a PhD in atmospheric remote sensing from the University of Washington, and he does research in exploring the expanding role of technology & IT in urban traffic management. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Yamini.jpg/image_preview" title="Yamini Aiyar" height="157" width="211" alt="Yamini Aiyar" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Yamini Aiyar </strong><br />Yamini Aiyar is the founder and director of the Accountability Initiative, an organization working to strengthen accountability and engagement in Indian governance, which has received praise from Indian government officials and even President Obama. She is also presently a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, focusing on understanding accountability tools in order to institutionalize accountability methods and strengthen public service delivery systems. Prior to the Accountability Initiative, Aiyar worked at the World Bank and the Ford Foundations in New Delhi. She holds a MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics, and M.A. in Social and Political Sciences from St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, and a B.A. in Philosophy from St. Stephens College, Delhi University. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Scott.jpg/image_preview" alt="Scott Burnham" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Scott Burnham" /></td>
<td><strong>Scott Burnham</strong><br />Scott Burnham is a creative director, writer, and designer who has worked on strategies for cities to use design to reprogram relationships. He has created several projects for European cities including Urban Play for Amsterdam with Droog Design and Bairro Criativo for Porto, Portugal. Currently, Burnham directs the Trust Design project for Premsela, the Netherlands Institute for Design, exploring the relationship between trust and design from products and shared urban spaces. He is the editor of a special 4-issue publication series with Volume Magazine, and a guest lecturer at Design Academy Eindhoven. In addition to writing and speaking, Burnham worked as the Creative Director for the UK’s Urbis Center for Urban Culture from 2003-2006. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Samanth.jpg/image_preview" title="Samanth Subramanian" height="160" width="215" alt="Samanth Subramanian" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Samanth Subramanian</strong><br />Samanth Subramanian is a journalist who has written pieces for The New York Times, Mint, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, the Hindu, and many others. Though he prefers long-form narrative articles, he also has written several shorter pieces, as well as a non-fiction book Following Fish: Travels around the Indian Coast, which won the 2010 Shaki Bhatt First Book Prize. He currently writes for the New York Times’ India Ink blog. Subramanian completed his undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University in journalism and received his Master’s degree in International Relations from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_Sunil.jpg/image_preview" title="Sunil Abraham" height="167" width="208" alt="Sunil Abraham" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Sunil Abraham</strong><br />Sunil Abraham is the Executive Director of The Centre for Internet and Society, which aims to criticaly engage with the interaction between the internet and the public, including concerns of digital pluralism, public accountability, adn pedagogic practices. While serving on the board of directors for CIS, Sunil has worked on many projects exploring the internet and information. He has been elected an Ashoka fellow, where he explored the democratic potential of the internet, and was granted a Sarai FLOSS fellowship as well. For the United Nations, Sunil managed the International Open Source Network for the Asia-Pacific Development Information Program between 2004 and 2007. The next year, he managed ENRAP, Knowledge Networking for Rural Development in the Asia-Pacific region, which worked to share knowledge amongst the projects and stakeholders of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Shankar.jpg/image_preview" alt="Shanker Annaswamy" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Shanker Annaswamy" /></td>
<td><strong>Shanker Annaswamy</strong><br />Shanker Annaswamy is the Managing Director for IBM India Private Limited, and Regional General Manager of IBM in India and South Asia. He is responsible for all sales, marketing, services, and delivery in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In addition to holding a senior position in IBM, Annaswamy has been President and Chief Executive Officer for GE Medical Systems in South Asia, Managing Director of Wipro-GE Medical Systems, and Adviser with the Ministry of Health for the Sultanate of Oman. He currently serves as Chair of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Committee on Intellectual Property Owners, having previously co-chaired CII’s advisory committee on its National Innovation Mission. In 2009, BusinessWeek listed Annaswamy among India’s 50 Most Powerful People. He received his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Madras University and a Diploma in Business Management Education from the All India Management Association, New Delhi. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Ashok.jpg/image_preview" title="Ashok Alexander" height="170" width="215" alt="Ashok Alexander" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Ashok Alexander</strong><br />Ashok Alexander is Director of Avahan, the Global Health Program’s HIV prevention initiative in India, which was founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2003. As Director, he works with India’s federal and state governments, NGOs, and corporate partners. Before joining Avahan, Alexander worked in Hong Kong, the United States, and India for 24 years. After joining McKinsey & Company in New York, he moved to India to become the head of its New Delhi office. In addition, he has extensive experience working with NGOs, being a leader in the creation of the American India Foundation (AIF) and serving on the Board of Advisors. Alexander holds graduate degrees in economics and management from Delhi University and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Jeby.jpg/image_preview" alt="Jeby Cherian" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Jeby Cherian" /></td>
<td><strong>Jeby Cherian</strong><br />Jeby Cherian is the Strategy Leader of IBM in India and South Asia, and also serves on the India Leadership Team. He provides guidance to IBM’s Corporate Development team in India, leads and positions IBM’s Security solutions portfolio to the Government of India, and provides executive sponsorship for growing the High End Server business in India. Before this, Cherian worked in Bangalore with IBM’s Global Solutions Delivery Center and with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Finance Transformation services. Cherian is a CPA with a Master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Pankaj.jpg/image_preview" title="Pankaj Jhunja" height="158" width="211" alt="Pankaj Jhunja" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Pankaj Jhunja</strong><br />Pankaj Jhunja, now General Manager of Design for Tata Motors, has had the opportunity to work in a diversity of businesses each with different responsibilities and complexities of products. Before Tata Motors, Jhunja worked for Dilip Chhabria Design (DC) specializing in Custom Built Cars, Homeflow Inc. in Pune as Product Manager, and with Renault Nissan India in Mumbai as General Manager Design. Jhunja holds a Bachelor’s degree from the National Institute of Technology, Silchar, and a Master’s degree in Design from IIT Mumbai.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Chakshu.jpg/image_preview" title="Chakshu Roy" height="164" width="215" alt="Chakshu Roy" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Chakshu Roy</strong><br />Chakshu Roy is a lawyer who heads technology initiatives at PRS Legislative Research (PRS), New Delhi. PRS is a unique initiative that provides non-partisan analysis to all Members of Parliament in India. Chakshu is developing a comprehensive technology strategy to engage large sections of the population in the policy process. He has conceptualised and developed India’s only online database of all state laws. Chakshu has conducted capacity-building workshops for over 1000 journalists on tracking the work of legislators.<br /><br />He specialised in real estate law and commercial agreements before joining PRS. He has earlier worked in corporate law with the Chamber of Law, New Delhi. He holds bachelors degrees in Commerce and Law from Delhi University. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Ekta.jpg/image_preview" title="Ekta Ohri" height="170" width="227" alt="Ekta Ohri" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Ekta Ohri</strong><br />Ekta Ohri is the Head of Project Operations at the Center for Knowledge Societies (CKS). She holds experience of applying ethnographic and user experience research methods as well as principles of design thinking for addressing a variety of innovation challenges in emerging economies – ranging from improving rural public health delivery systems, providing financial services to the poor and bridging their information and communication gaps through telecommunications to enhancing urban mobility and luxury experiences. As the head of innovation at CKS, she works with different teams providing them strategic advice around innovation approaches, developing context (urban or rural) specific research methodologies and analyzing research insights in ways that leads to concepts that create maximum value for the users, as well as disseminating some of these ideas in the public domain through publications. Ekta has multi-disciplinary background in Architecture (Sushant School of Art and Architecture), Visual and Critical Studies (California College of the Arts), and Anthropology (Northwestern University) and is particularly interested in exploring linkages between design, culture and lived experiences.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/James.jpg/image_preview" title="James" height="171" width="128" alt="James" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>James Crabtree</strong><br />James Crabtree is the Mumbai Correspondent for the Financial Times since November 2011. He covers Indian corporate news and social and political trends in the country’s financial capital. James joined the FT in 2010 and was previously the Comment Editor based in London.He was previously an editor and essayist at Prospect.<br /><br />Before returning to journalism, James worked as policy advisor in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, and also for various think tanks. He has also spent a number of years living in the US, first as a Fulbright Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and then living in Washington, working as a senior policy advisor at the New Democrat Network, another think tank. James is a trustee of the charity mySociety.org, one of the UK’s most innovative technology organisations.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Theo.jpg/image_preview" alt="Theo" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Theo" /></td>
<td><strong>Theo JJ Groothuizen</strong><br />Theo JJ Groothuizen is currently the Counsellor for Science and Technology at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New Delhi India. He is member of the steering committee of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2008.<br /><br />Born in 1949 in the Netherlands, he graduated in industrial Design Engineering at the Delft University of Technology, and is since 1986 principle of Landmark Design Holding (Netherlands and Switzerland). Groothuizen served as executive board member of International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) and the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO) and as advisor for the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA).<br /><br />He was active in several international advisory boards and was tutor in international design workshops, initiated international exhibitions and has been invited as speaker, guest lecturer and jury member all over the world. He is fellow of the Foundation Design for the World, advisor for the European Institute for Design and Disability (EIDD) and honorary member of the BNO. He taught at the Delft University of Technology and served as member of its External Research Advisory Board. He also taught at the Design Academy and functioned as international curator of the Gwangju Design Biennale 2005.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Sam.jpg/image_preview" alt="Sam Pitroda" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Sam Pitroda" /></td>
<td><strong>Sam Pitroda</strong><br />Sam Pitroda is an international figure known for his strong support in India’s communications revolution and redefining the role that technology can play in India by linking it to better delivery of services to the underprivileged. He has long worked in government, business, and innovation in India. He served as Technology Advisor to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, is founder and CEO of C-SAM, Inc., with offices worldwide, and chaired the National Knowledge Commission from 2005-2008. Now, in addition to Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information, Infrastructure & Innovations, chairman of India’s National Innovation Council, charting the roadmap for India’s ‘Decade of Innovation.’ Pitrota completed his Master’s in Physics and Electronics from Maharaja Sayajirao University and subsequently received another Master’s in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. In 2010, he also received and Honorary degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Darshana.jpg/image_preview" title="Darshana" height="177" width="237" alt="Darshana" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td><strong>Darshana Gothi Chauhan</strong><br />Darshana is an architect and urban designer. She has varied experience in designing new towns, regeneration of town centres, transport action plans and urban extension projects. She is passionate about participatory planning and the approach of empowering local people to create better cities.<br /><br />Darshana is currently working at Urban Initiatives in London as a Managing Consultant. Her recent works at UI include Southall Big Conversation, a public consultation process in a culturally diverse area in London .<br />Darshana is also the Chapter Development Manager of INTBAU India, a charitable organisation promoting traditional architecture and urbanism in India . As part of INTBAU India, she has been instrumental in organising public consultation events backed with intensive baseline and capacity building work for the regeneration of the inner city of Pune in India.<br /><br />Darshana has simultaneously worked on projects for other consultancies such as The Max Lock Centre, London . Her works at Max Lock include a Spatial Planning Framework for Kaduna , a city of 3 million people for the Central Government of Nigeria. She has previously worked with the Ministry of Works and Human Settlements in Bhutan to develop the master plan for a new administrative capital in East Bhutan as part of Christopher Charles Benninger Architects. <br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Agenda</h2>
<h3>Day 1: Certificate in Innovation Management <br /></h3>
<p>Venue: CKS House, New Delhi: 19th April, 2012</p>
<p>09.30 a.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/icebreaker-dialogue/"><strong>Icebreaker Dialogue</strong></a><br />Participants will introduce themselves briefly and talk about their perceptions of innovation and its application in their work. A CKS member will aggregate the thoughts that emerge from the audience in order to articulate the multiple definitions of innovation that emerge. This will be followed by a quick call out on the value of innovation. </p>
<p>10.30 a.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/analysis-of-innovation-case-studies/"><strong>Analysis of Innovation Case Studies</strong></a><br />CKS Innovation Experts will present various case studies of innovation in order to present the different tools, approaches and stages of innovation.</p>
<p>12.40 p.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/ude-approach-to-innovation/"><strong>UDE Approach to Innovation</strong></a><br />CKS Innovation Experts to present the U-D-E approach to innovation and demonstrate different uses of the Innovation Cycle.</p>
<p>01.15 p.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/wrap-up-and-invitation-to-consulations/"><strong>Wrap Up and Invitation to Innovation Consultations</strong></a><br />CKS Innovation Trainers conclude the morning's session and invite participants to sign up for Innovation Consultations post lunch at the Chaia Innovation Campus.</p>
<p>02.15 p.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/innovation-consultations/"><strong>Innovation Consultations</strong></a><br />Participants meet mentors on a one to one basis to receive consultation on how they can apply this approach in the specific context of their work or a particular challenge? Where are the opportunities to apply the approach and what value can that have?</p>
<h3><a class="external-link" href="http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/">Day 2: Design Public Conclave</a></h3>
<p>Venue: National Museum, New Delhi: 20th April, 2012</p>
<p>09.45 a.m.<a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/word-of-welcome/"><strong> Word of Welcome</strong></a><br />Aditya Dev Sood, Center for Knowledge Societies, gives a word of welcome and short introduction to the logic of the conclave.</p>
<p>10.00 a.m.<strong> <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/crises-of-trust-are-crises-of-innovation-2/">Crises of Trust are Crises of Creativity, Design, and ultimately of Innovation</a></strong><br />by Samanth Subramanian, Scott Burnham and Yamini Aiyar<br />This opening panel will address questions of trust and participation in the wake of the global spring. How can institutions respond creatively to include the networked public? What are the inter-relationships between trust, creativity, design and innovation and why are these important for our future? </p>
<p>11.00 a.m. <strong><a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/participation-collaboration-innovation-2/">Participation, Collaboration, Innovation</a></strong><br />by James Crabtree Ekta Ohri, Sunil Abraham, Ashwin Mahesh and Aditya Mishra<br />Crises of trust are often linked to failures of participation and inclusion. How can activists and critics of institutions be more creative in their approaches so as to restore and repair the public trust? What channels for feedback and more substantive modes of participation must be created so as to promote innovation through dialogue and collaboration? </p>
<p>12.00 p.m. <strong><a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/imagining-india-as-an-innovation-society-2/">Imagining India as an Innovation Society</a></strong><br />by Aditya Dev Sood, Ashok Alexander, Shanker Annaswamy, Sukumar Ranganthan and Arun Maira<br />This panel brings together industry and government experts to imagine the values, behaviors, ways of working, societal institutions and diverse other dimensions of society that would have to change in India to transform it into an innovation society. But first, what is an innovation society? Do we understand this correctly? </p>
<p>02.00 p.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/breakout-one-smarter-cities/"><strong>Breakout One: Smarter Cities</strong></a><br />by Darshana Gothi Chauhan, Ekta Ohri and Jeby Cherian<br />Jeby Cherian of IBM will lead this breakout session on smarter Urban Management and Civic Administration. </p>
<p>02.00 p.m. <strong><a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/breakout-two-how-can-we-grow-knowledge-of-design-and-innovation-in-india/">Breakout Two: How can we do Rural Innovation better?</a></strong><br />What should or could we mean by Rural Innovation? Is this the same old thing as jugaad, indovation and tinkering? This panel brings together designers and innovation experts to talk with management thinkers to describe the specific steps and stages involved in innovation processes and how they could apply in rural areas. What do steps individuals and organizations need to take to reeducate or empower decision makers at all levels in different sectors in India to bring about an awareness, understanding and orientation towards innovation?</p>
<p>02.00 p.m. <strong><a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/breakout-three-50-steps-to-an-innovation-society/">Breakout Three: 50 Steps to an Innovation Society</a></strong><br />by Theo JJ Groothuizen Bhairavi Jani<br />Bhairavi Jani will lead this thematic breakout session on specific steps governments, corporations, social agencies, academics and individual citizens can take to better imagine and then build an Innovation Society. </p>
<p>03.30 p.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/reports-from-breakout-sessions/"><strong>Mutual Presentations</strong></a><br />Breakout sessions will cross-report to one another. </p>
<p>04.00 p.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/concluding-plenary-what-do-we-need-to-do-to-build-an-innovation-society/"><strong>Concluding Plenary: What Do We Need to Do To Build an Innovation Society?</strong></a><br />by Chakshu Roy Aditya Dev Sood Bhairavi Jani<br />This plenary session will include leading thinkers from government and media along with sectoral experts to discuss specific steps we must now undertake in order to work towards innovation in different domain and activity areas. In some ways this is the most challenging and important session of the day, for it will lay out the next steps and future path of the Design Public process. </p>
<p>06.00 p.m. <strong><a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/wrap-up-and-word-of-thanks/">Wrap-Up and Word of Thanks</a></strong><br />Aditya Dev Sood gives a few concluding remarks and concludes the day with a vote of thanks to all advisors, sponsors, partners, speakers and participants at the Design Public Conclave.</p>
<p>07.00 p.m. <a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/schedule/dinner/"><strong>Dinner</strong></a><br />All participants are invited to a dinner and celebration of 10 years of CKS at the Chaia Innovation Campus in Chattarpur Enclave, New Delhi. Transportation will be provided.</p>
<p>For registration,<a class="external-link" href="http://www.designpublic.in/register/"> click here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/design-public-delhi'>https://cis-india.org/openness/design-public-delhi</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessEvent Type2012-04-11T11:45:04ZEventInternational Space Apps Challenge
https://cis-india.org/openness/international-space-apps-challenge
<b>The International Space Apps Challenge is an international codeathon-style event that will take place over a 48 hour period in cities on all seven continents – and in space – on the weekend of April 21-22, 2012. The event embraces collaborative problem solving with a goal of producing solutions to global challenges. The Centre for Internet & Society is organising the event in Bangalore.</b>
<h3>Background</h3>
<p>On September 20, 2011, President Obama, together with other heads of state, endorsed the principles of the Open Government Partnership – a new multilateral initiative to promote transparency, participation and collaboration between governments and citizens. Since then, 52 countries have joined the global partnership.</p>
<p>NASA is working with organizations around the world on the International Space Apps Challenge as part of the United States’ domestic commitment to the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.opengovpartnership.org">Open Government Partnership</a>. </p>
<h3>How it Works?</h3>
<p>Participants such as concerned citizens, discipline experts, engineers, scientists, and software code developers attend events hosted in cities around the world. At these events, individuals collaborate with others by forming teams focused on solving a particular challenge. The teams compete with other teams around the world to utilize publicly available data to design innovative “solutions” to a pre-determined series of global “challenges.” The challenges are collected prior to the event from supporting organizations.</p>
<h3>Challenges <br /></h3>
<p>Challenges are grouped into four broad categories:</p>
<ol><li>Software Development</li><li>Open Hardware</li><li>Citizen Science Platforms! </li><li>Data Visualization!</li></ol>
<p>It’s <em>not</em> just about smart phone applications! The International Space Apps. </p>
<p>Challenge will provide solutions that:</p>
<ol><li>Address strategic exploration needs! </li><li>Address strategic social needs (life on Earth) <br /></li></ol>
<p>To date, 50+ challenges have been submitted. These challenges are being vetted with development communities such as the Yahoo! Developer Network to refine them prior to the event.</p>
<h3>Benefits</h3>
<p>Some benefits of the International Space Apps Challenge include: </p>
<ul><li>Visible demonstration of a government’s interest in using publicly available data, in partnership with others, to address global needs.</li><li>Opportunity for citizens in countries with little or no investment in space exploration to contribute to space exploration through open source, open data, and code development.</li><li>Promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education by encouraging students from around the world to utilize publicly available data for solutions to global challenges.</li><li>Encouragement of international partnership and mutual understanding.</li><li>Demonstration of commitment to the principles of the Open Government Partnership.<br /></li></ul>
<hr />
<h2>Sample Event Agenda</h2>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td>
<h3>Saturday, April 21</h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 09:00</td>
<td> Registration</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10:00</td>
<td>Schedule and logistics announcements</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10:30</td>
<td>Subject Matter Expert briefing</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11:00</td>
<td>Begin developing</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12:30</td>
<td>Lunch break
13:30 Developing continued</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16:30</td>
<td>Optional progress briefing, more developing</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>18:30</td>
<td>Dinner break</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>20:00</td>
<td>More developing</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
<td>
<h3>Sunday, April 22</h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 10:00</td>
<td> Logistics briefing & updates</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 10:15</td>
<td> Begin developing</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 12:00</td>
<td> Submission Deadline</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 12:00</td>
<td> Lunch break</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 13:30</td>
<td> Presentations</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 15:00</td>
<td> Judges Voting</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 15:30</td>
<td> Awards</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 16:00</td>
<td> Post event social</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr />
<h2>
Frequently Asked Questions</h2>
<ul><li> <strong>What is the International Space Apps Challenge?</strong><br />The International Space Apps Challenge is a 2 day technology development event during which citizens from around the world will work together to solve current challenges relevant to both space exploration and social need.<br /></li><li><strong>When will it take place?</strong><br />The International Space Apps Challenge will take place on all seven continents – and in space - on 21-22 April 2012.<br /></li><li><strong>Who is leading the Challenge?</strong><br />On September 20, 2011, President Obama, together with other heads of state, endorsed the principles of the Open Government Partnership – a new multilateral initiative to promote transparency, participation and collaboration between governments and citizens. Since then, 52 countries have joined the global partnership. NASA is working with other organizations around the world on the International Space Apps Challenge as part of the United States’ domestic commitments to the Open Government Partnership.<br /></li><li><strong>Who can participate in the Challenge?</strong><br />Anyone can participate in the International Space Apps Challenge. It requires individuals with a broad range of skills. We are looking for engineers, technologists, scientists, designers, artists, educators, students, entrepreneurs – anyone who has a passion for changing the world and is willing to contribute.<br /></li><li><strong>Why should I participate in the Challenge?</strong><br />You should participate in the Challenge because the toughest challenges of the world are not one nation’s alone, and this is a unique opportunity to develop technology to reach the human race and make the world a better place. Additionally, the Challenge is an opportunity to: <br />
<ol><li>Demonstrate a commitment to the principles of the Open Government Partnership.</li><li>Exercise a government’s interest in using open data and technology, in partnership with others, to address global needs.</li><li>Engage citizens in countries with little or no investments in space exploration to contribute to space exploration through open source, open data, and code development.</li><li>Promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education by encouraging students from around the world to utilize open technology for solutions to global challenges.</li><li>Encourage international partnership and mutual understanding.<br /></li></ol>
</li><li><strong>What challenges will be addressed at the event?</strong><br />Challenges are in development from a wide variety of sources inside and outside of NASA. An initial set has been posted on the site and the community is invited to help develop them collaboratively there. New challenges will continue to be added on a weekly basis in anticipation of the event. To discuss contributing additional challenges or datasets, contact <a class="external-link" href="mailto:alicia.llewellyn-1@nasa.gov">alicia.llewellyn-1@nasa.gov</a>.<br /></li><li><strong>Where will the Challenge take place?</strong><br />Locations in which events are currently planned to be held include San Francisco, US; Tokyo, Japan; Melbourne and Canberra, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Exeter and Oxford, UK; Nairobi, Kenya; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. There will be additional events throughout the world and participation by astronauts on the International Space Station.<br /></li><li><strong>What is a codeathon?</strong><br />A codeathon is a unique event that brings together citizens interested in collaborating on the development solutions that address critical challenges. A codeathon celebrates software development in its most positive context—using minimal resources and maximum brainpower to create outside- the-box solutions in response to interesting problems. Codathons are technology development marathons, drawing on the talents and initiative of the best and the brightest software developers, engineers, designers and technologists from around the world, who volunteer their time to respond to real- world problems with solutions than can have immediate impact. The International Space Apps Challenge is a “codeathon-style” event.<br /></li><li><strong>Is the event limited to just software development?</strong><br />No! Participants in the event will collaborate to build software, open hardware, data visualization, and citizen science platform solutions that contribute to space exploration and solve global challenges that focus on improving life on earth.<br /></li><li><strong>What happens at the event?</strong><br />At the events, individuals collaborate with others by forming teams focused on solving a particular challenge. The teams compete with other teams around the world to utilize publicly available space and data to design innovative “solutions” to a pre- determined series of global “challenges.”<br /></li><li><strong>What about licensing and IP rights?</strong><br />All solutions built at the event must be submitted under a license that permits the free and open dissemination of the work. NASA and the other supporting organizations do not own the rights to nor are committed to utilize any solution developed during the event.<br /></li><li><strong>Who organizes the events in each city?</strong><br />Each event is led as a collaboration between organizations who work together to host an event, mobilize the developer community and contribute to the overall success of the International Space Apps Challenge.<br /></li><li>How can organizations get involved?<br />There is still an opportunity to participate in the International Space Apps Challenge and contribute to an event in your country. We are looking for organizations who are interested in supporting events in cities around the world, as well as for subject matter experts who can share their expertise at the event, either in person or remotely. To express interest in supporting an event in your country, contact <a class="external-link" href="mailto:elizabeth.sabet@secondmuse.com">elizabeth.sabet@secondmuse.com</a> or <a class="external-link" href="mailto:kristen.m.painting@nasa.gov">kristen.m.painting@nasa.gov<br /><br /></a></li></ul>
<ol><li><a class="external-link" href="http://spaceappschallenge.org/press/">Register for the event here</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://spaceappschallenge.org/press/">Click here</a> for the press kit</li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://spaceappschallenge.org/locations/">See all the event locations here</a><br /></li></ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/international-space-apps-challenge'>https://cis-india.org/openness/international-space-apps-challenge</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessEvent Type2012-04-10T05:18:14ZEventOpen DataCamp — 2012
https://cis-india.org/openness/open-data-camp
<b>A one-day unconference for people working with data from various sectors to come together and share their projects and ideas was organised in Bangalore on March 24, 2012. It was organised by the DataMeet group. Pranesh Prakash participated in the event.</b>
<h2>Sessions</h2>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>9:00am - 10:00am</td>
<td>Registration</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10:00am - 10:10am</td>
<td>Introduction to OpenDataCamp<br />Team DataMeet <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10:15am - 10.55am</td>
<td><strong>Panel Discussion: State of Open Data in India</strong><br />Data in India in general is in a state for much improvement. What does that mean for open data? How can open data help improve the data situation? What are the drawbacks of opening up data?<br />Anand S (Gramener), Zainab Bawa (HasGeek), Nithya Raman (Transparent Chennai), Moderator Nisha Thompson</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11:00am - 11.25am <br /></td>
<td><strong>Pictures through numbers</strong><br />Anand, Chief Data Scientist, Gramener</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11.25am - 11.40pm <br /></td>
<td>Tea <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11:45pm - 12.10pm</td>
<td><strong>Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens</strong><br />Sridhar Pabbisetty, COO, Centre for Public Policy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12:15pm - 12.40pm <br /></td>
<td><strong>Open Data & Free Maps</strong><br />Shekhar Krishnan <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12.45am - 1.10pm <br /></td>
<td><strong>Introduction Aadhaar(UID) Data</strong><br />Pramod Varma & Sanjay Jain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1.10am - 2.15pm</td>
<td>Lunch</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td> </td>
<td>Main Hall</td>
<td>Meeting Room (small) <br /></td>
<td>Food Court <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2:15pm - 2:40pm <br /></td>
<td><strong>Drawing By Numbers by Tactical Technology Collective</strong><br />Kaustubh Srikanth</td>
<td><strong>Why Big data and why should you bother?</strong><br />Mohan S,CEO, TrendWise Analytics</td>
<td><strong>Karnataka Learning Partnership</strong>
<br /> Data Practices and a Call for collaboration.<br /> Megha Vishwanath</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2:45pm - 3:10pm <br /></td>
<td><strong>ISB's visualisation of migration in India.</strong><br />ISB & Gramener</td>
<td><strong>The State of Climate Data in India - Open and Closed.</strong><br />Pavan Srinath</td>
<td><strong>Anatomy of NSSO Data</strong><br />sumandro <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3.15pm - 3:40pm <br /></td>
<td><strong>Water Data</strong><br />Nisha Thompson, India Water Portal <br /></td>
<td><strong>Mobile as a Data Collection Device</strong><br />Thejesh GN <br /></td>
<td><strong>Open data API and the challenges</strong><br />Karthik B. R</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>3.40pm - 4.15pm</td>
<td>Tea <br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>4.15pm - 4.40pm <br /></td>
<td><strong>Modelling car insurance pricing</strong><br />Gaurav Vohra, Jigsaw Academy</td>
<td>Free slot <br /></td>
<td><strong>What is Data?</strong><br />Mrinal Wadhwa</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>4.45pm - 6.00pm <br /></td>
<td>Feedback, etc</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The sponsors included Google, India Water Portal, Gramener, Microsoft Research, Akshara Foundation, DataMeet, HasGeek and the Centre for Internet & Society.</p>
<p><strong>Venue</strong>:Google, 3rd, 4th and 5th floors,RMZ infinity, Tower ENo.3, Old Madras Road, Bennigana Halli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560 016</p>
<p>For more info, <a class="external-link" href="http://odc.datameet.org/#about">click here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/open-data-camp'>https://cis-india.org/openness/open-data-camp</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpen DataOpenness2012-03-30T14:49:14ZBlog EntryOpen access to government data on the cards
https://cis-india.org/news/open-access-to-govt-data
<b>The way has been cleared for public access to the data collected by Union government ministries and departments, with official approval being accorded to the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP). T Ramachandran's article was published in the Hindu on March 25, 2012. Pranesh Prakash is quoted in it.</b>
<p>Following its recent approval by the Union Cabinet, the policy has been notified and is in the process of being gazetted, said R. Siva Kumar, CEO of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, and head of the Natural Resources Data Management System, Department of Science and Technology.<br /><br />The use of open data as a tool for promoting governmental transparency and efficiency has been gaining ground in some parts of the world. An Open Government Partnership was launched last year by the United States and seven other governments. Forty-three other governments have joined the partnership, which has endorsed an Open Government Declaration, expressing a commitment to better “efforts to systematically collect and publish data on government spending and performance for essential public services and activities.” It acknowledges the ‘right' of citizens to seek information on governmental activities.</p>
<p>India has not joined the partnership, but is collaborating with the U.S. in developing an open source version of software for a data portal.<br /><br />The NDSAP states that at least five ‘high value' data sets should be uploaded to a newly created portal, data.gov.in, in three months of the notification of the policy. Uploading of the remaining data sets should be completed within a year.<br /><br />The Department of Science and Technology will co-ordinate the effort and create the portal through the National Informatics Centre. The Department of Information Technology will work out the implementation guidelines, including those related to technology and data standards.<br /><br />Welcoming the approval for the NDSAP, Pranesh Prakash, programme manager at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bangalore-based NGO, said the removal of “a few good aspects” in an earlier draft of the policy — such as linkage with Sections 8 and 9 of the Right to Information Act that specify the kinds of information exempt from disclosure by the authorities — had weakened it “even further.” “None of the criticisms the CIS had sent in as part of the feedback requested on the draft have been addressed,” he said.<br /><br />The NDSAP seeks “to provide an enabling provision and platform for providing proactive and open access to the data generated through public funds available with various departments/organisations of the government of India.”<br /><br />However, the Ministries and Departments can draw up, within six months of the notification of the policy, a negative list of data-sets that will not be shared, subject to periodic review by an ‘oversight committee.'<br /><br />The policy envisages three types of access to data: open, registered and restricted. Access to data in the open category will be “easy, timely, user-friendly and web-based without any process of registration/authorisation.” But data in the registered access category will be accessible “only through a prescribed process of registration/authorisation by respective departments/organisations” and available to “recognised institutions/organisations/public users, through defined procedures.” Data categorised as restricted will be made available only “through and under authorisation.”<br /><br />The policy also provides for pricing, with the Ministries and Departments being asked to formulate their norms for data in the registered and restricted access categories within three months of the notification of the policy.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/article3223645.ece">Read the original published in the Hindu </a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/open-access-to-govt-data'>https://cis-india.org/news/open-access-to-govt-data</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpen DataOpen ContentOpen AccessOpenness2012-03-26T07:31:48ZNews ItemFrancis Bags EPT Award for Open Access in Developing World
https://cis-india.org/openness/francis-wins-ept-award
<b>The Electronic Publishing Trust recently announced a new annual award to be made to individuals working in developed countries who have made significant contribution for the cause of open access and free exchange of research findings. There were 30 nominations from 17 countries around the world and Dr. Francis Jayakanth from the National Centre of Science Information, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore was selected for the inaugural EPT Award for Open Access in the Developing World by a committee that went through all the nominations. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The award function organised by the Electronic Publishing Trust for Development and the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore was held at the Sambasivan Auditorium, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Chennai on 14 February 2012. Leading luminaries such as Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, Prof. G Baskaran and Prof. K Mangala Sunder participated in the award felicitation ceremony.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Giving the welcome speech, Prof. Arunachalam, distinguished fellow at CIS said that Dr. Jayakanth works for the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, has trained many students and helped a number of institutes to set up open access repositories. Prof. Arunachalam added that the event is being celebrated in India as the winner is from India and specified that it is being held at the MS Swaminathan Foundation as this was the institution that hosted the first workshop to promote open access. Prof. Swaminathan had a vital role in arranging funds for the workshop. About 50 people had learnt what open access was, how to set up open access repositories, how to use the EPrints software, etc. For this very reason it was decided to hold the event in Chennai and not Bangalore where Dr. Jayakanth is based.</p>
<p align="center"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Francis7.jpg/image_preview" alt="Participants in the Award Function" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Participants in the Award Function" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Felicitating Dr. Jayakanth, Prof. Swaminathan who presented the award added that it is important to highlight the contributions of those who really convert the concept of social inclusion to reality. He said that today every politician talks about inclusive growth. What is this inclusive growth, how do you convert exclusion to inclusion? Exclusion creates large problems, social problems, economic problems, etc. On a concluding note, Prof. Swaminathan said that the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has declared 2012-13 as the year of science and he hopes that there will be a new science policy and technology policy and that he hopes that a very important component of that should be methods of ensuring open access including open access to knowledge and open access to literature.</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Francis3.jpg/image_preview" title="Francis Jayakanth" height="166" width="174" alt="Francis Jayakanth" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td style="text-align: justify; ">In his award acceptance speech, Dr. Jayakanth said that the atmosphere was very overwhelming and never in his two-and-a-half decade old career he had the opportunity to speak amidst such luminaries and added that it was a privilege and prestige to have received the award from Prof. Swaminathan, the father of the Green Revolution in India. He also added that no event in India or elsewhere is complete without the active participation and mentioning of the name of Prof. Arunachalam, the greatest advocate of open access that India has seen so far, and that he wouldn’t have been here at the award ceremony but for the timely intervention of Prof. Arunachalam. <br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Dr. Jayakanth concluded by saying that he would like to thank Prof. NV Joshi, Prof. Derek Law, Prof. Alma Swan, Prof. Balaram, Prof. N Balakrishnan, Prof. Giridhar, and Prof. TB Rajashekar, and particularly the students of the information and knowledge management programme at the National Centre of Science Information, Indian Institute of Science, who were responsible for the growth of a repository granting more visibility to the 32,000 publications that are part of the repository.</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Mangala.jpg/image_preview" title="Mangala Sunder" height="130" width="177" alt="Mangala Sunder" class="image-inline image-inline" /><br /></td>
<td style="text-align: justify; ">Prof. Mangala Sunder of IIT Madras and Prof. G Baskaran of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, also participated in the event. Prof. Sunder said that it is for the kind of information that we talk about, which we want to make public for which champions like Dr. Jayakanth have been working on the sidelines but working so efficiently to get institution after institution to convert what is known as a rigid framework into a flexible more open policy of bringing their scientific content to their intellectual information content. He said that he works in the area of content development from the point of view of education and he understands the difficulty of bringing material to the public. <br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There are many issues, such as issues about copyright, issues about people owning the information, issues about people feeling very rigid on what they want to say in the public, etc. Dr. Jayakanth has gone through all these exercises for the last 30 years in slowly creating the “little after little” what are called the waterways to finally see that everyone benefits. The linking of science, knowledge and sustainable development to open access to information, open access to research and open access to content completes the whole cycle of knowledge.</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Baskaran.jpg/image_preview" title="Prof. Basakaran" height="177" width="117" alt="Prof. Basakaran" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td style="text-align: justify; ">Prof. Baskaran said that it is a very well deserved award and Dr. Jayakanth has definitely raised the bar for future awardees. Prof. Baskaran stressed upon the aspects of open access. He said that as a theoretical physicist he understands the need for open access very well. Physicists, when they have new research results place them in arXiv, the open access repository for preprints in physics. Some people wonder what if some physicists deposit all kinds of articles in the arXiv. Experience has shown that 99 per cent of the articles appear in good journals later. He added that once it is put in the arXiv, the whole world gets access and a bad paper will be noticed and commented upon by many. No one likes to be the author of such a paper! He urged that other sciences, especially the life sciences should have a repository similar to arXiv and requested Prof. Swaminathan to take the intiative at MSSRF. <br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr />
<h2>Dr. Francis Jayakanth</h2>
<p align="left"><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Francis1.jpg/image_preview" alt="Francis with the Award" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Francis with the Award" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Dr. Francis Jayakanth is a library-trained scientific assistant based at the National Centre for Science Information (NCSI), the information centre of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. He has played a significant role in the establishment of India’s first institutional repository (IR) (<a class="external-link" href="http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in">http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in</a>). He now manages the IR and has provided technical support for establishing IRs in many other universities and institutes in India. He has been the key resource person at many events to train people in setting up IRs and open access journals. He has delivered presentations on IRs, open access journals, the OAI protocol, OAI compliance, and the benefits of open access to authors and institutions and the role of libraries. He has developed a free and open source software tool (CDSOAI), which is widely used. Dr. Jayakanth can indeed be considered an open access ‘renaissance man’, an advocate and technical expert in all aspect of open access development and an inspiration to all, both at the research and policy level.</p>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/openness/francis-jayakanth-presentation" class="internal-link" title="Francis Jayakanth's Presentation">See Francis's presentation on Who Benefits from Open Access to Scholarly Literature?</a> [Powerpoint, 1523 KB]</p>
<p><b>See the video of the award function below:</b><b> </b></p>
<hr />
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="250" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLtr00A.html?p=1" width="250"></iframe>
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</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/francis-wins-ept-award'>https://cis-india.org/openness/francis-wins-ept-award</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAwardOpen ContentVideoOpen AccessOpenness2013-08-03T05:36:54ZBlog EntryComments on Technical Standards for Interoperability Framework for E-Governance in India (Phase II)
https://cis-india.org/openness/interoperability-framework-for-e-governance
<b>The e-Governance Standards Division has called for public comments on the draft of the Technical Standards IFEG Phase II. We from the Centre for Internet and Society have given our comments. </b>
<p>The present document is — as the draft IFEG Phase I document was — an excellent step in the right direction, following very ably the policy guidelines laid down in the National Policy on Open Standards for e-Governance.</p>
<p>The Expert Committee and other contributors have made excellent choices as to the 29 standards that have been laid down in this phase of the IFEG. It is praiseworthy that the majority of these (20) are designated as mandatory, and only nine are designated as interim standards. Furthermore, the system has been quite transparent with the selection of standards, providing concise descriptions for each.</p>
<p>That said, the document could be improved by providing greater detail for those standards which are said to violate the National Open Standards Policy. In the current document, every interim standard is said to violate “clause 2”, rather than providing the more specific details (sub-clause, one-line explanation) about the violation.</p>
<p>It is unfortunate that yet again accessibility-related standards have been passed over in the presentation and archival domain.</p>
<p>As we have mentioned in earlier feedback, many other governmental interoperability frameworks are going beyond merely listing technical standards. Some governments, such as Germany and the EU, go beyond technical interoperability, and also have documents dealing with organizational, informational, and legal interoperability. These are equally important components of an interoperability framework. Other governments also also lay down best practice guides, and other aids to implementation, sometimes even including application recommendations. Further, there are many which lay out standards for the the semantic layer, business services layer, etc.</p>
<p>We at the Centre for Internet and Society are currently advising the government of Iraq on development of their e-Governance Interoperability Framework, and would be glad to extend any support that the Department of IT may require of us, including comments on all further phases.</p>
<h2>Section-specific Comments</h2>
<h3>Section 5.2.8</h3>
<p>It is unclear whether by IEEE 802.11-2007, the base version is being referred to or the amended version, since IEEE 802.11-2007 has been amended by IEEE 802.11n-2009 to include the IEEE 802.11n standard. As IEEE 802.11n has also become an established standard, it is suggested that section 5.2.28 make it clear that the amended standard is being referred to.</p>
<h3>Section 5.2.13</h3>
<p>It is recommended that IMAP v4rev1 (IETF RFC 3501, updated by RFCs 4466, 4469, 4551, 5032, 5182, 5738, 6186, supplemented by RFCs 2177, 4550) be used instead of POP3 (IETF RFC 1939). It is critical that governmental messages be preserved on government servers, and should not simply be downloaded and then deleted as is the default with POP3 implementations. IMAP allows for downloading and offline access to mails as well. Any deletion on the server from the client would be recorded in the server logs, hence allowing for transparency. Given this, and the more advanced features available in IMAP, it should be preferred to POP3. In other government interoperability frameworks where an e-mail access protocol is specified, including those of Germany, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, IMAP is provided as a standard and never is POP3 provided as the sole standard.</p>
<h3>Section 5.2.15</h3>
<p>SAML 2.0 is a standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data between security domains, and is not a ‘Wireless LAN Authentication’ standard. Indeed, section 5.2.8 (IEEE 802.11-2007) talks about ‘Wireless LAN Security’.</p>
<h3>Section 5.2.23<br /></h3>
<p>WML v1.3, as noted, is a declining standard that is deprecated due to the recommendation by W3C of XHTML Basic v1.1. If it is at all included, it should be included not as “Mandatory – Watchlist”, but as “Additional Standard”, as it is a direct competitor to XHTML Basic v1.1.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/interoperability-framework-for-e-governance'>https://cis-india.org/openness/interoperability-framework-for-e-governance</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshOpenness2012-02-29T09:44:07ZBlog EntryWill open access replace costly commercial publishing models?
https://cis-india.org/news/will-open-access-replace-costly-commercial-publishing-models
<b>Cost of research journals going up while funds available are coming down, writes Vasudha Venugopal in an article published in the Hindu on February 19, 2012.</b>
<p>Technology has inherently changed the way science education is propagated. Digital libraries, wikis, webinars, videoconferences, open access and repositories — all seem to be excellent tools for sharing scientific knowledge.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/00929/Open_Access_929199a.pdf">Download the PDF</a></p>
<p>But with the escalating cost of research journals and the economic and logistical challenges that often accompany attending a conference, the open access model is increasingly being recognised as an alternative to expensive commercial publishing models.</p>
<p>Consider the situation at, say, a biological sciences research firm in Chennai. At least 16 per cent of its total budget is spent on the subscription of journals; more than 50 per cent of that going to the two largest publishing companies. Experts say the cost of journals is increasing at an average of eight per cent a year. Further, many academics do not consider work to have been adequately shared if it has been merely published in over-priced journals. </p>
<h3>Boycott <br /></h3>
<p>Incidentally, last week, more than 5,700 researchers started boycotting Elsevier, a leading publisher of science journals, amid growing concerns at cost and accessibility. More than 3,000 academics have signed a petition that claims the publisher charges “exorbitantly high” prices for its journals and criticises its practice of selling journals in ‘bundles,' forcing libraries to buy a large set with many unwanted journals, or none at all. <br /><br />"Since 1950, the volume of research results started getting too large for the scientific societies, leading to the entry of commercial publishers into the field. The cost per journal and the number of such journals are proliferating, while the funds available are coming down,” says Francis Jayakanth, who has been instrumental in creating an institutional repository, ePrints@IISc, which has more than 32,000 publications by researchers. <br /><br />India has nearly 53 registered open access repositories that allow users to download and use documents free. <br /><br />Open access advocates say Indian papers appear in both Indian and foreign journals, roughly in equal proportions, but most Indian journals have a very poor circulation, many of them below 1,500; and most Indian papers appear in low-impact foreign journals. “Most scientists in India are forced to work in a situation of information poverty. Others are unable to access what Indian researchers are doing, leading to low visibility and low use of their work. Thus, Indian work is hardly cited. Both these handicaps can be overcome to a considerable extent if open access is adopted widely, both within and outside the country,” says Subbiah Arunachalam, an open access advocate. <br /><br />Experts say many U.S. universities, including Princeton, MIT and Harvard, have their own repositories. Institutions in India, too, need to set up open-access repositories to ensure their work is available to the public even if it ends up being published in an expensive journal. Even if these are made available in different repositories, one can still access them all if all the repositories are interoperable. </p>
<h3>Trustworthy</h3>
<p>The established method for an academic to circulate his work is to publish in a peer-reviewed journal of repute, and the reader, too, places some degree of trust in the quality of the work being presented. So will open access, with the huge volume of papers, change that? “Not at all, open access is not vanity publishing or self-publishing or about publications that scientists expect to be paid for. Since every paper is peer-reviewed, the quality is never compromised,” says Dr. Jayakanth.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/article2910344.ece">Read the article in Hindu</a>. Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam has been quoted in it.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/will-open-access-replace-costly-commercial-publishing-models'>https://cis-india.org/news/will-open-access-replace-costly-commercial-publishing-models</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessOpen Access2012-02-23T09:12:10ZNews ItemAn Interview with Dr. Francis Jayakanth
https://cis-india.org/openness/interview-with-francis-jayakanth
<b>India has been losing out its best talents to the West, however, this trend could be reversed if we create adequate number of world-class institutions and research facilities, and our scientific productivity and quality of research will improve significantly, says Dr. Francis Jayakanth in an email interview with the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore. </b>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>First of all congratulations for winning the inaugural EPT Award for Open Access</b>.<br />Thank you very much.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>When did you first take an interest in Open Access and what are your research interests?</b><br />I have always been impressed with the electronic pre-print servers like the <a class="external-link" href="http://arxiv.org/">arXiv</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://cogprints.org/">Cogprints</a>, etc. I wanted to do something similar for IISc research publications.<br /><br />One of the important activities of the National Centre for Science (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/">NCSI</a>), Indian Institute of Science (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.iisc.ernet.in/">IISc</a>) has been the training programme. Till recently, NCSI was conducting an 18-month training course called Information and Knowledge Management. This was targeted primarily at students graduating from Indian library schools, with a view to providing them with classroom and practical training in the application of ICT. Essentially, the aim was to train the students in how to provide state-of-the-art, computer-based information services. I have been closely associated with this training programme by offering courses and overseeing projects.<br /><br />As part of the training programme the students are expected do a project. Around the year 2001, one of our students, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/madhureshsinghal">Mr. Madhuresh Singhal</a> carried out a project work in implementing GNU Eprints.org software developed by the University of Southampton. Incidentally, ePrints is the first professional <i>software</i> platform for building high quality OAI-compliant repositories. The student project successfully demonstrated the self-archiving concept through institutional repositories. The project work was later implemented to set up the country’s first institutional repository, <a class="external-link" href="http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in/41239/1/Modeling.pdf">eprints@IISc</a> . Ever since, I have been an OA practitioner and an OA advocate.<br /><br />I’m not a hard-core researcher. My work interests lies in using free and open source software for providing web-based information services.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Why Open Access is important to science and particularly India?</b><br />When researchers publish their works in journals and conference proceedings, they would want their works to be read, cited, and built upon by as wide an audience as possible. Much of the scientific publications are being published by commercial publishers. Subscription costs of such publications are very high, constantly increasing, and beyond the means of most of the libraries. The high subscription costs create an access barrier to the scientific literature because of which the publications do not get the kind of visibility that the researchers would like to. The lack of adequate visibility will reduce the potential impact of the publications. This in turn could affect the advancement of knowledge. It is therefore imperative that the access barrier to scientific literature created because of high subscription costs should be overcome and this could be achieved through OA publishing.<br /><br />The problems with respect to research literature that India and other developing countries have always faced are two-fold:<br />
<ul>
<li>Not being able to access high quality scientific literature because of the high subscriptions costs, and</li>
<li>Research reported in the national journals does not reach the global audience because most of the journals published from the country are not indexed by Web of Science (<a class="external-link" href="http://isiknowledge.com/">WoS</a>) and/or <a class="external-link" href="http://www.scopus.com/">Scopus</a> databases, which are leading <a class="external-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_indexing">citation indexing</a> databases.<br /><br /></li>
</ul>
If all the journals that are being published in the country could migrate to open access platform then the visibility of research works reported in the journals published from the country will automatically improve with time. This has been the experience of several of the OA journals published by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.medknow.com/">MedKnow</a> and others.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>In terms of the number of papers published in refereed journals, the number of citations to these papers, citations per paper, and the number of international awards and recognitions won, India’s record is poor. What needs to be done to improve this?</b><br />For a long time now, our country has been losing out the best of the talents to mostly western and other countries. If this trend could be countered by the creation of adequate number of world-class institutions and research facilities, our country's scientific productivity and also quality of research done in the country will improve significantly. This may also trigger reverse brain-drain.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Indian scientists lack access and visibility. They find it tough to access what other scientists have done, due to the high costs of access and libraries in India can’t afford to subscribe to key journals needed by users. Also other researchers are not able to access what Indian researchers are doing leading to low visibility. How can we overcome these deficits? Will adoption of Open Access within and outside India overcome the aforesaid handicaps?</b><br />Access to scientific literature in the country has improved significantly during the last decade or so. This is largely because of the several library consortia that have emerged in the country during that period. However, the existing consortia and the ones that are likely to emerge in the coming years, is not the solution for the access barrier to scientific literature that exists today. There has to be a world-wide adaptation of OA to overcome the access barrier.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Do you support the movement towards making scientific publications as freely accessible as possible and create an institutional repository? What steps are being taken by the Indian Institute of Science to maintain an open access archive?</b><br />Yes. Open Access Journals and Open Access Archives or Institutional Repositories (IRs) are the two ways to facilitate OA to scholarly literature. As per the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.doaj.org/">DOAJ</a> statistics, today, there are close to 7500 peer reviewed OA journals and as per the Directory of Open Access Repositories (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.opendoar.org/">DOAR</a>) there are more than 2770 institutional repositories across the world.<br /><br />In a recent <a class="external-link" href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0011273">study</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hanken.fi/staff/bjork/">Bo-Christer Bjork</a> estimated that the overall percentage of scientific literature currently available OA is about 20 per cent. This includes both papers published in OA journals and those deposited in institutional repositories and directly on the Web. So, still a long way to go in achieving 100 per cent OA to scholarly literature! If all the research institutions set up their IRs and ensure that copies of post-prints are placed in the IRs then 100 per cent OA to scholarly literature could be achieved, at least, from now onwards.<a class="external-link" href="http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in/"><br /><br />ePrints@IISc</a>, the OA institutional repository of IISc was established by NCSI in 2002. The repository holds more than 32,400 publications of IISc making the century-old institute’s research far more globally visible than before. NCSI has also provided technical help and support to several other institutes and universities in setting up their repositories and OA journals.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>What are the key challenges of the scholarly publications in India?</b><br />Poor visibility and readership of many of the journals published from the country affects the citations of the articles published in such journals. This in turn affects the impact factors (<a class="external-link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor">IF</a>) of the journals. No author would like to publish in very low IF journals. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>What message would you give to funding agencies, the government and policy makers particularly for implementing a nation-wide mandate for Open Access?</b><br />Most of the research projects in the country are being funded by the government agencies. It is therefore imperative that we should have a nation-wide OA mandate for research publications that emerge from research projects funded from tax payers’ money. Such a mandate will not only help in enhancing the visibility of research done in the country; it may also help in avoiding duplication of research projects carried out in the country. </li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/interview-with-francis-jayakanth'>https://cis-india.org/openness/interview-with-francis-jayakanth</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInterviewOpennessOpen Access2012-11-24T06:09:54ZBlog EntryResearch papers will be available in public domain
https://cis-india.org/news/research-papers-in-public-domain
<b>IIT-Madras intends to make circle of knowledge complete, writes Vasudha Venugopal in this article published in the Hindu on 15 February 2012. Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam is quoted in the article.</b>
<p>2012-13 was declared the year of science by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year, and there is a lot of effort being made all over the country to not only intensify the quantity and quality of research but also ensure greater access for all. For instance, IIT-Madras plans to make available its research papers in all disciplines online, in the public domain. The institute already provides e-learning through online web and video courses in engineering, science and humanities streams through NPTEL.</p>
<p>The attempt now is to convince faculty members to upload their research papers into the institution's repository, says Mangala Sunder Krishnan, Web Coordinator (NPTEL). The move will not only benefit students and faculty members but will also help the circle of knowledge to be complete, he says.</p>
<p>What IIT- Madras plans to do is follow an Open Access policy that would make the access of journals and scientific research public and many other educational organisations plan to follow suite. “Most research publications stay locked up in commercial journals and are inaccessible to many. Open Access is the best way to ensure that research produced in the developing world gets wider visibility,” says Francis Jayakanth, a library-trained scientific assistant based at the National Centre for Science Information, the information centre of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Mr. Jayakanth has been instrumental in creating an institutional repository ePrints@IISc that has over 32,000 publications by researchers.</p>
<p>Subbiah Arunachalam, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society explains: “A research produced by the Tuberculosis Research Centre in Chennai which would be of great relevance to researchers, say in a university in Maharashtra, may not be even noticed by the scientists there. Both groups receive funds from the same source - Government of India - and yet what one does is not easily accessible to the other. “Open Access would bridge that gap and make information available to everyone,” he says.</p>
<p>Open Access repositories would help authors place their papers in an interoperable institutional open access archive and anyone with an Internet connection can access it. Researchers say that in most reputed journals, it takes almost six months to get a paper published, and most insist that the paper is removed from the internal repository of the author's institution once it is published. “But 70 per cent of the publishers are now fine with the authors taking the pre-print of their paper uploaded in the repository. And since in open access, every thing is peer reviewed, the quality is never compromised,” says Mr. Jayakanth.</p>
<p>While institutions such as IIT- Madras subscribe to over 2,000 journals, many colleges under Anna University and University of Madras have access to just about 1,500 journals. “There is almost Rs.10 -12 lakh that the institution spends on journal subscriptions so unless there is funding, many self-financed colleges prefer not to subscribe to journals and go for a few mandatory ones prescribed by AICTE. Students and researchers have no way to acquaint themselves with recent updates,” says D. Krishnan, professor, Anna University.</p>
<p>Even if you go through consortiums, you have to spend Rs.20 lakh which many smaller R&D organisations cannot afford to, adds P. Ramamoorthy, librarian at Sameer- Centre for Electromagnetics, a government-funded research agency. “The restrictions imposed by many commercial publishers do not allow one to legally share the published output of his result with his colleague. Open access will relive authors of such hassles,” he says. </p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article2893901.ece">The original article was published in the Hindu</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/research-papers-in-public-domain'>https://cis-india.org/news/research-papers-in-public-domain</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessOpen Access2012-02-17T05:38:36ZNews ItemFree Arduino Workshop (For Beginners)
https://cis-india.org/openness/free-arduino-workshop
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore invites you to a hands-on-free Arduino workshop in its office on 3 March 2012. The workshop will be held from 11.00 a.m. to 3 p.m.</b>
<h2>What is Arduino?</h2>
<p>Arduino, an Italian name meaning "strong friend", is a popular "open-source electronics prototyping platform based around a microcontroller. It accepts inputs, such as signals from sensors (light, temperature, moisture, etc.) or data from the Internet or wireless devices, and sends output signals to devices, such as LEDS, motors, speakers, MIDI sequencers, computers, and so on."</p>
<p>In simpler terms: It is a ready-to-use creative platform, designed to provide interactivity between humans, smartphones, PCs, sensors and the physical world. It is especially a boon for creative people who don't have a technical background and want to translate their wildest techno-ideas to reality in a snap.</p>
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<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/YrflS">A comic by Jody Culkin, introducing Arduino</a></p>
<h2>What can Arduino Do?</h2>
<p>Applications of Arduino could include anything under the sun, from making your LED lights glow in reaction to the weather to interactive punching bags: your imagination is the limit (besides the sensors).</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/lF1s8">Check what some folk did with a bunch of cameras for an amazing music video all in one day</a></p>
<p>For other examples, <a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/tkvJz">check out the Boing Boing listing</a></p>
<h2>Who can Attend?</h2>
<p>The workshop is especially meant for interaction designers, artists or anyone else enthusiastic to get started with creative projects and don't have prior experience with electronics, interfacing and all that hack talk. It would help to have a general understanding of instructional programming languages, but this shouldn't be a problem for starts as you will pick it up as we go along. Besides, we are super-friendly and patient folk who will assist participants to demystify geek code.</p>
<h2>Apply Now</h2>
<p>We have only 20 seats for this free workshop. Participants will work in groups of two. The workshop will last 4 hours, over a lunch break. All materials will be provided, and it would be great if you could get your laptop. </p>
<p>To apply please send a brief intro about yourself and why you think you will benefit from this to yelena@cis-india.org. Selected participants will be notified shortly.</p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/2DM2j">A map, showing the location of CIS</a></p>
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<p><a class="external-link" href="http://goo.gl/2DM2j"><strong>VIDEOS</strong><br /></a></p>
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<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLwqQUA.html?p=1" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed style="display:none" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLwqQUA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLxohcA.html?p=1" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed style="display:none" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLxohcA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/free-arduino-workshop'>https://cis-india.org/openness/free-arduino-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessEvent TypeWorkshopVideo2012-04-28T04:07:50ZEventInaugural EPT Award for Dr. Francis Jayakanth
https://cis-india.org/openness/inaugural-ept-award-for-dr.-francis-jayakanth
<b></b>
<h2>Programme</h2>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>16.00</td>
<td>Welcome and introduction to the award<br /><strong>Subbiah Arunachalam</strong><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16.05</td>
<td>Presenting the award and felicitation<br /> <strong>Prof. M S Swaminathan</strong><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16.15</td>
<td>Acceptance speech<br /> <strong>Dr Francis Jayakanth</strong> <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16.25</td>
<td>Felicitation by eminent scientists<br /><strong>Prof. G Baskaran</strong><br /><strong>Prof. K Mangala Sunder</strong><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16.35</td>
<td>Vote of thanks</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16.40</td>
<td>Tea</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Video
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLtr00A.html?p=1" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed style="display:none" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLtr00A" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/inaugural-ept-award-for-dr.-francis-jayakanth'>https://cis-india.org/openness/inaugural-ept-award-for-dr.-francis-jayakanth</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpennessOpen Access2012-02-27T12:24:25ZEventSummary of the Minutes of the Workshop on Biodiversity Informatics
https://cis-india.org/openness/summary-of-the-minutes-of-the-workshop-on-biodiversity-informatics
<b>The Western Ghats Portal team had organized a one-day workshop to explore the contemporary state of biodiversity informatics as expressed in three spheres: technology behind biodiversity informatics, scientific commons and policy and biodiversity portals in India. It hoped to provide an opportunity to interact and learn from similar endeavors in this emerging discipline. The workshop was held at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Bangalore on 25 November 2011.</b>
<p>There were 5 speakers and 10 panelists representing as many portal
initiatives, participating at the venue or via WebEx, addressing an
audience of 75 comprising of students, researchers, representatives from
governmental bodies and technological platforms.The entire day’s
sessions were peppered with questions and discussions, directed to the
presenters as also within the members of the audience.</p>
<p>The technology session presented an Indian initiative, Bhuvan, a
geospatial data alternative to GoogleEarth that was pertinent to the
India centric audience. The second presentation was the Atlas of Living
Australia, an international endeavor that was able to give a broad
overview of how government funding for the sharing of government data on
a public platform was able to source large information and present it
for open access on a portal. The project aims to serve a variety of
users from scientists, citizen scientists to policy makers and activists
in biodiversity and conservation. The WGP was presented by a discussion
of architecture and design of participation interface for recording and
accumulating biodiversity observation data. The scientific commons and
policy session covered a wide range of topics: the interpretation of the
Indian laws for portal developments across disciplines, the
governmental policies that may hinder the development of Open source
platforms, the creative commons licenses and how they work for
scientific data, and whether developing a biodiversity commons would
help the community at large.</p>
<p>Global initiatives in the area of scientific commons were presented.
Views from the participants on various aspects and the practicality of a
legal framework were discussed. There are plans to discuss and evolve a
draft of a charter for scientific commons that would be relevant for
biodiversity and conservation. A clearly articulated and agreed data
policy is also one of the deliverables of the project.</p>
<p>The third session centred on the experience of India-centric
biodiversity portals. Two of the panelists presented their portals and
attended the session over WebEx from the United States. A spectrum of
portals was presented. Some of them were focused on single taxa, or a
theme focus from medicinal plants to thematic citizen science
initiatives. The IBP and WGP were presented as broad based with large
collections of spatial data and species data. Perspective plans of large
biodiversity portal initiatives, like the GBIF node for India, INBIF,
were outlines to showing the things that may come in the next few years.</p>
<p>The discussions revolved around scientific rigor versus citizen
participation, large-scale projects v/s small-scale focused portals, and
maintaining quality with crowd sourced data. Ideas about how peer
recognition and scientific status could be achieved were discussed.
Focused portals closely managed by experts to provide valuate
biodiversity and species data were discussed, with methods of
maintaining quality and curating data. The event concluded by
discussions of how each portal can maintain its identity and focus but
at the same time evolve mechanisms for interoperability and exchange of
information. There were open discussions on whether we can network and
provide easy toolkits for building focused participation sites.</p>
<h2>Minutes of the Workshop on Biodiversity Informatics</h2>
<h3>Objectives of the Workshop</h3>
<p>Over the last few years, Biodiversity Informatics has emerged as a
field to aggregate and consolidate biodiversity information across the
world. With the increased penetration of the Internet into developing
economies, and the widespread adoption of web technologies, biodiversity
informatics has spawned an impressive variety of initiatives. These
initiatives range from global knowledge bases and networks, national
initiatives, eco-region based initiatives, as well as sharply focused
initiatives which address a single species or event. There have been
tangible advantages for stakeholders from these initiatives which has
inspired many other endeavors. Success stories exist at both global and
local level, and learning from these experiences can help one understand
the multi-faceted nature of this discipline.</p>
<p>The Western Ghats Portal team organized a one-day workshop to explore
the contemporary state of biodiversity informatics as expressed in
three spheres: i) technology behind biodiversity informatics, ii)
scientific commons and policy and iii) biodiversity portals in India.
The workshop was intended to bring together technologists, open data
policy experts, leaders of portal initiatives and user groups and
stakeholders to meet and discuss experiences and approaches to
Biodiversity Informatics.</p>
<p>Seventy five participants attended the workshop covering governmental
agencies, NGO’s, academic institutes, student groups, CEPF grantees and
other relevant stakeholders. There were 5 speakers and 10 panelists
representing as many portal initiatives, participating at the venue or
via WebEx from the continents of Australia and North America.</p>
<h3>Plenary I: Technology behind biodiversity informatics - 0930 - 1115 hrs</h3>
<p>This session was introduced by Dr.B.Ramesh of the French Institute of
Pondicherry, who welcomed the participants of the workshop. He
highlighted the growth of Biodiversity Informatics leveraging the
Internet. In this emerging discipline, stressed the need to take stock
of the latest developments in the area.</p>
<p><strong>Development of Information System, Open Data standards, Archive and Geospatial solutions, Visualization in Bhuvan - M. Arulraj</strong>, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).</p>
<p>Arulraj gave an overview of the Bhuvan project, ISRO’s geo-portal
serving as a rich geteway to Indian earth observations. The project was
launched in August 2009 and has made rapid strides since then to expose
earth observation images and thematic maps on the Indian sub-continent.
The Bhuvan project has multiple modules, which include 3-D and 2-D
visualizations; a data archive and data download; thematic land use and
land cover maps; a mobile application; and a discussion forum. The
project is in active development and in beta, but is adding many
features and data to the portal. In addition to data dissemination it
provides a webGIS platform with the ability to do analyses and create
geographical layers by users. The Bhuvan portal conforms to the national
map policy while exposing spatial information and imagery through its
evolving portal.</p>
<p>Arulraj explained the architecture of the portal and surveyed the
webGIS and open source technologies that were available. A demo terminal
of Bhuvan was exposed during the lunch session. During the discussions
on map policy, Arulraj quoted that as per Remote Sensing Data Policy
(RSDP)-2011, all satellite data of resolutions up to 1 m shall be
distributed on a nondiscriminatory basis and on “as requested basis” by
NRSC/ISRO.</p>
<p><strong>Architecture and design of participation interfaces - Anand Janakiraman</strong>, Western Ghats Portal</p>
<p>Anand Janakiram spoke about the design of participation interfaces
for the Western Ghats portal. The intent was to engage with user groups
on the user interfaces and usability of an observation interface, where
users will be able to upload a multi-media object; provide a location
for the observation; make a species call with a certain level of
confidence; and provide notes and comments on the observation. The
observation will be rated by the crowd. Species calls could be changed
if necessary and agreed or disagreed upon.</p>
<p>Various rating systems were discussed. These included a 5 or ten star
rating system, like movie rating systems; a multi-dimensional rating
system like in Wikipedia; a “like” rating system that is used in many
sites; and an expert based rating system. There was a lot of discussion
on rating systems among the participants concerning the necessity of an
expert based system; the wisdom of the public in identifications; a
simple and easy to use rating system on the portal.</p>
<p><strong>Challenges on the emerging discipline of Biodiversity Informatics - Donald Hobern</strong>, Atlas of Living Australia - Web participation.</p>
<p>Donald Hobern participated in the session from Australia over the
Internet. His talk and presentation was viewed by the participants via
two-way WebEx where he answered questions and interacted with the
audience.</p>
<p>Donald presented the Australian Government supported
multi-institutional project called the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA).
The ALA is a multi-institutional project with large funding to build a
comprehensive biodiversity site focused on Australia. The conceptual
model for the portal is to build a platform that will aggregate
biodiversity information resources from specimen records, field
observations, literature, images, experts and amateurs. The information
will be integrated as species pages, distributions, regional atlases,
and nomenclature. Through this, the portal aims to serve a whole range
of users ranging from researchers, taxonomists, land-use planners, and
conservation and park managers.</p>
<p>Donald explained the typical specimen, field occurrence and
occurrence data and how it is the data is presented via collections. He
also explained the services to manage sensitive data and name services
available to the public through APIs. The ALA also has rich mapping
tools that help relate biodiversity to spatial parameters like rainfall,
temperature and other abiotic and biotic factors.</p>
<p>ALA also develops user communities among various stakeholders that
include resource management groups, conservation groups, ecological
researchers, environmental agencies, field naturalists and taxonomy
researchers. They also develop specific use cases and applications for
each of these groups.</p>
<p>The questions and interaction session was animated, even though it
was on the Internet. One of the issues raised was that the ALA seems to
be building an all encompassing and comprehensive portal, without any
particular focus theme or focus group. How was the planning of features
and functions being done? Donald’s response was the portal team would
build functions that they thought would be useful and then engage with
user groups to better and fine-tune the application. They engage with
user groups about functions on the portal.</p>
<p>The Western Ghats Portal team would like to thank Donald Hobern for
his active participation in the workshop with a valued presentation on
the state-of-the-art of a comprehensive biodiversity portal.</p>
<h3>Plenary II: Scientific commons and policy - 1130 - 1300 hrs</h3>
<p>The session was chaired by Dr. Ravi Chellam of the Madras Crocodile
Bank Trust. Ravi introduced the session and the speakers. The idea was
to generate discussions on data sharing policy among the participants in
the context of the Indian legal framework of map policy, biodiversity
act, intellectual property, scientific creative commons, and the culture
and attitude of Indian scientists. Ravi suggested that the session
should lead to further discussions to evolve a policy for data sharing
among biodiversity and conservation researchers and to evolve a charter
for the best practices among the community.</p>
<p><strong>Commons in the context of Biodiversity Information - Danish Sheikh</strong>, Alternative Law Forum</p>
<p>Danish Sheikh from the Alternate Law Forum (ALF) discussed the
creative commons and stressed that it maintains the copyright of the
contributor. Creative Commons only specifies the terms of sharing the
information and in today’s Internet driven world open access to
information was essential. With a complex legal framework of creative
commons, map policy, biodiversity act, and research interests of
individuals, for sharing biodiversity data we must consider property
versus propriety. The sharing of information on the portal must be seen
from the non-commercial and academic nature of the information as well
as the use of data for social good of conservation. Government data in
the form of maps and reports should be sharable on an artistic license
and they could be deployed on the portal. In the sharing of biodiversity
information, there are no concrete cases of violations of laws and thus
there are no examples to learn from.</p>
<p>Danish Sheikh had prepared a draft of declaration to be discussed and
agreed upon by the community. This was to be circulated to the
participants, comments solicited and a broad consensus evolved on the
best practices for sharing biodiversity information. The discussions
centered on the map policy and the need to carefully study the map
policy and the biodiversity act from a legal perspective and arrive at a
policy for the portal that will conform to the laws and acts in India.</p>
<p><strong>Open data in the scientific realm - Sunil Abraham</strong>, Centre for Internet and Society</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham from the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) spoke on
various national and international initiatives on open data in the
scientific realm. National consultations and discussions have been going
on towards evolving a National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy
(NDSAP) among scientists and researchers in the country. The principle
of the policy is based on openness, flexibility, transparency, legal
conformity, protection of intellectual property, formal responsibility,
and professionalism. Based on these principles, various definitions have
evolved. He stressed upon a clear articulation of non-sharable data in
the negative list based upon the legal framework and Right to
Information Act; restricted access data and open access data.</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham also discussed various international initiatives on
scientific data sharing especially in the ecology and biodiversity
realm. He spoke of the Eye on Earth initiative for evolving a sharing
policy, the framework of the Shared European Environment Information
System (SEIS) and various standards for data sharing.</p>
<p>Discussions were around the issues of motivations for data sharing
and building social networks and peer encouragement for data sharing. He
opined that there was no recipe for engaging the crowd towards building
and participating on social networks and sharing information.</p>
<p>Sunil also suggested that the community should evolve a best
practices policy document by discussions and debates among themselves.
CIS should be seen as a service provider and advocate for evolving a
shared policy and lobbying with government if necessary. But the
biodiversity community should provide the lead in this effort and the
CIS would only be advisory.</p>
<h3>Plenary III - Biodiversity portals in India - 1400 - 1700 hrs</h3>
<p>The session was moderated by MD Madhusudan of the Nature Conservation
Foundation, Mysore. Over the last few years there has been a multitude
of portals focused on aggregating and publishing biodiversity
information of the Indian sub-continent. Some of these portals are
focused upon a region or taxa or subject of interest and some portals
address a wider canvas of issues on biodiversity and conservation. The
session was focused on presentations by each of the portals, presenting
the key features and focus of their portals; the experience of building
and running the portals; key lessons learnt and future plans for the
portal.</p>
<p>The response for the sessions on biodiversity was enthusiastic. Over
12 portal initiatives were presented. Some of the presentations were by
participants in the United States, who run portals on India. The
presentations and participation was done over WebEx sessions overcoming
the challenge of different time zones.</p>
<p>Madhusudhan moderated the session, keeping focus, and allowing time for discussions and debates.</p>
<p><strong>V.B Mathur</strong>, Indian Biodiversity Information Facility (InBIF)</p>
<p>VB Mathur presented plans for a GBIF node to be set up in India at
the Wildlife Institute of India called Indian Biodiversity Facility
(InBIF). The project is just being initiated and is conceived as a broad
and participative initiative to address the challenges to conservation
in the 21st century India. With a growing economy, the objective is to
provide biodiversity information to build sustainable development for
larger and inclusive populations of India. The InBIF has developed a
vision and mission statement and will produce a concept paper by a
consultative process by next year 2012. InBIF recognizes that such an
inclusive biodiversity portal will require significant funding and the
involvement of already present biodiversity portals. InBIF proposes to
seek substantial funding based on the concept paper via the 12th
Five-Year-Plan period starting 2012-2013.</p>
<p><strong>Suhel Quader</strong>, Season Watch (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.seasonwatch.in/">http://www.seasonwatch.in</a>), Migrant Watch (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.migrantwatch.in/">http://www.migrantwatch.in</a>)</p>
<p>Suhel Quader presented two portals Seasons Watch and Migrant Watch
focused on citizen science initiatives. The Seasons Watch portal is
focused on the observation and recording of seasons as revealed by
trees, by their fruiting, flowering and leaf fall patterns. About 100
species are observed all over the country. Migrant Watch observes the
arrival and departure of migrant bird species across the sub-continent.
Both these large citizen science efforts are focused on the recording
and understanding of seasons to create a base-line of data on seasons
and their variations. These sites are driven by questions and
hypotheses. The sites have an active citizen participation. The portals
are planning to expand significantly into school networks. The data
generated by citizens are freely available on the portals and it
encourages others to download, explore, analyze and publish analysis on
the data accumulated on the portal.</p>
<p>Sanjay Molur, Pterocount (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.pterocount.org/">http://www.pterocount.org/</a>)</p>
<p>Sanjay Molur presented Pterocount a South Asian bat monitoring
program. The project is aimed at creating awareness about bat
conservation issues and developing data on the status of South Asian bat
populations. There are about 3500 species of bats and data on the bat
roosts and their populations is collected through online portals as well
as offline forms. The information from all these sites will be compiled
and analyzed for trends in the population of bats, to identify key
threats to roosts and to provide recommendations for their conservation.
The data collected is contributed to the IUCN and is shared with other
researchers under creative commons licenses. The study is currently
focused on a single bat species Pteropus giganteus, but plans to expand
to other bat species as well.</p>
<p><strong>Suma Tagadur</strong>, Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (<a class="external-link" href="http://envis.frlht.org/">http://envis.frlht.org</a>)</p>
<p>Sathya Sangeetha presented the medicinal plants’ envis site
maintained by the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health
Traditions. The site is focused on the development of a database for
medicinal plants with details of taxonomy, local names, status,
distribution and trade. The site undertakes a systematic update for 12
medicinal plants per year. They also study the conservation status of
medicinal plants and help in the identification of a plant red list.
They have plans to develop a children’s portal for increasing awareness
of medicinal plants among children. With a focused agenda, the site has a
specific and valuable role in biodiversity and conservation of India.</p>
<p><strong>Ramesh BR</strong> - Western Ghats Portal (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.thewesternghats.in/">http://www.thewesternghats.in/</a>)</p>
<p>BR Ramesh presented the Western Ghats Portal. This is a relatively
young initiative launched about six months ago building on the India
Biodiversity Portal. The focus of the portal is to collect biodiversity
and conservation information on the Western Ghats, a biodiversity
hotspot. The portal has a map module, a species pages module, a
collaborative module and integrative theme pages. The portal has
aggregated significant available data on the Western Ghats and deployed
it on the portal. The portal plans to add an observation recording
interface and campaign for large scale participation on the portal, and
species identification keys.</p>
<p><strong>Shwetank Verma</strong>, Biodiversity of India, formerly Project Brahma (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.biodiversityofindia.org/">http://www.biodiversityofindia.org</a>)</p>
<p>Shwetank Verma presented the Biodiversity of India Portal. The portal
is developed and managed completely by voluntary effort, and is aimed
at being a wiki resource on the biodiversity of India. The site
aggregates data on Indian biodiversity from various public sites and
presents it attractively on the portal. It has an effective search
engine LigerCat that helps index all information on the portal. It aims
to add and enrich information on the human and cultural aspects of
species and their uses. The portal is keen on networking and sharing
information with other biodiversity sites by building necessary APIs for
interactions between various biodiversity sites.</p>
<p><strong>Krushnamegh Kunte</strong>, ifoundbutterflies (<a class="external-link" href="http://ifoundbutterflies.org/">http://ifoundbutterflies.org/</a>) web participation</p>
<p>Krushnamegh Kunte presented the ifoundbutterfiles portal over a WebEx
session from the United States. ifoundbutterflies is a community site
on the butterflies of India. It contains information on species pages,
life cycle pages, photographs, and identification keys of over 600
species of butterflies in India. All information is carefully peer
review and curated a team of biologists studying and researching
butterflies. The data is assuredly authenticated and verified and will
form a reliable source of butterfly information on India. </p>
<p><strong>Vijay Barve</strong>, DiversityIndia (<a class="external-link" href="http://diversityindia.org/">http://diversityindia.org/</a>) web participation</p>
<p>Vijay Barve presented the DiversityIndia, a social network group over
a WebEx session from the United States. The effort started off as a
yahoo group and then moved to facebook as a more convenient platform to
share information on the biodiversity of India. It plans to aggregate
the information posted in these groups into a site that will maintain
and develop biodiversity databases. The group is open to sharing
information and resources with other portals working on the biodiversity
of India.</p>
<p><strong>Deepak Menon</strong>, India Water Portal (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.indiawaterportal.org/">http://www.indiawaterportal.org/</a>)</p>
<p>Samuel Rajkumar presented the India Water Portal. Their portal is
supported by campaigning for participation and awareness among various
fora on water resources. The features include a question bank and an
interaction with experts on water; a data repository on water; and a
children’s section. The portal is currently working on a data project
aimed at accumulating a large repository of water related data on the
portal for open access. The portal intends on expanding with a map
component and a data visualization module.</p>
<p><strong>Chitra Ravi</strong>, India Biodiversity Portal (<a class="external-link" href="http://indiabiodiversity.org/">http://indiabiodiversity.org/</a>)</p>
<p>Chitra Ravi presented the India Biodiversity Portal. The portal was
started in 2008 after the first phase of portal development. Over the
past year, the portal has been enriched with checklists and species
pages. The portal is closely integrated with the Western Ghats Portal
sharing the platform, its features and the data. A comparison of the
availability of data in EOL showed that for the lesser known flora and
fauna, there is very little information publicly available. The portal
expects to fill this gap, by generating rich species and distribution
content for Indian species.</p>
<p><strong>M.D. Madhusudhan</strong>, Status of Golden Jackals in India</p>
<p>MD Madhusudhan presented a focused and time-based project on the
Golden Jackals on India. The site campaigned and crowd sourced on the
current and historical occurrence of the golden jackal in India. The
enthusiasm for participation was evident with large data collection. The
data was analyzed and made available publicly and freely to whoever
wanted to use the data. There was a need felt for a generic portal to
support such focused time-based crowd sourcing and citizen science
efforts.</p>
<p><strong>K.Sankara Rao</strong>, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc</p>
<p>K Sankara Rao, presented the Center for Ecological Sciences’ creation
of a virtual herbarium database from the rich herbarium available at
the Institute. The herbarium is Father Saldhana’s collection on the
flora of Karnataka and has the best representation of plant specimens of
Karnataka. The effort to digitize the herbarium is a passionate project
that will make the herbarium resources to be more widely available.
Sankara Rao requested volunteers to come forward and work on the
project.</p>
<p><strong>Discussions and summary of the day:</strong></p>
<p>The discussions centered on a range of topics and concerns for
Biodiversity Informatics in India. They focused on the following themes:</p>
<p>Large and comprehensive portals versus narrow and focused portals.
While focused portals seem efficient in achieving their objectives,
large portals are trying to explore different mechanisms of harnessing
and disseminating information. While such large and comprehensive
portals are necessary, they will require larger efforts, longer periods
and significant funding to deliver useful content in biodiversity.</p>
<p>Participation and Quality. There were different views on crowd
sourcing information and validation mechanisms. The importance of
expert-driven efforts on ensuring quality was appreciated, while there
was recognition that amateur naturalists and hobbyists could be very
knowledgeable and reliable.</p>
<p>The scientific status of a portal can be enhanced with careful expert
driven peer review mechanism. Portals could also serve as repositories
for data papers publications and citations that would be valued by the
scientific community. Target users for the portal. Discussions on target
users for the portal covered the whole spectrum from specialists and
scientists to activists and concerned citizens. A biodiversity portal
was expected to provide information to a variety of users and
stakeholders, including managers and policy makers.</p>
<p>Data exchange between portals: There was a general consensus on the
interaction and exchange of data among portals. This was heartening to
note, but since all the portals are new and evolving, mechanisms of
exchange and building APIs for exchange was lower in priority for most
portals. However, all portals were open to sharing information. Many of
the citizen science portals have made their data public and
downloadable.</p>
<p>There were discussions on larger projects like the WGP to engage in
technology facilitation for various citizen science projects. This was
discussed and opportunities for such technology facilitation need to be
explored.</p>
<p>Various mechanisms, such as quiz competitions, interaction with
experts, bio-blitzes, campaigns and road shows; to involve and engage
citizens on the portal were discussed. There were open-ended discussions
on how each portal can maintain its identity and focus, but at the same
time evolve mechanisms for interoperability and exchange of
information, and on whether we can network and provide easy tool kits
for building focused participation sites.</p>
<p>Dr. Prabhakar, concluded the event with a thank you note and by
expressing hope that the biodiversity conservation community can build
together on the momentum the workshop has created.</p>
<h2>List of participants present at the Workshop on Biodiversity Informatics, 25th November, 2011, ATREE, Bangalore</h2>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Sr.No</th>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Affiliation</th>
<th>Role</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1<br /></td>
<td>Abhisheka</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 2</td>
<td>Ajith Ashokan</td>
<td>Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla<br />(MACFAST), Kerala</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 3</td>
<td>Amruta</td>
<td>Research and Action in Natural Wealth<br />Administration (RANWA)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 4</td>
<td>Anand Janakiraman</td>
<td>Western Ghats Portal</td>
<td>Speaker</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 5</td>
<td>Aneesh A</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research<br />in Ecology and the<br />Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 6</td>
<td>Anup Prasad K S</td>
<td>TCS, Bangalore</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 7</td>
<td>Anuradha S</td>
<td>University of Maryland,<br />College Park</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 8</td>
<td>Aravind N A</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the<br />Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 9</td>
<td>Asha.A</td>
<td>Centre for Ecological<br />Sciences - Indian Institute of<br />Science (IISc)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 10</td>
<td>Ashwini H S</td>
<td>Kuvempu University</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 11</td>
<td>Avinash K S</td>
<td>Kuvempu University</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 12</td>
<td>Baiju Raj</td>
<td>Agra bear rescue facility</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 13</td>
<td>Balasubramanian D</td>
<td>French Institute of Pondicherry</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 14</td>
<td>Baranidharan.K</td>
<td>Forest College and<br />Research Institute</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 15</td>
<td>Chitra Ravi</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the<br />Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Panelist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 16</td>
<td>Danish Sheikh</td>
<td>Alternate Law Forum</td>
<td>Speaker</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 17</td>
<td>Deepak Menon<br /></td>
<td>ARGHYAM<br /></td>
<td>Panelist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 18</td>
<td>Devayani Khare</td>
<td>French Institute of Pondicherry</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 19</td>
<td>Dharnidharan</td>
<td>French Institute of Pondicherry</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 20</td>
<td>Dinesh T B</td>
<td>Servelots Infotech Pvt. ltd</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 21</td>
<td>Dr. B R Ramesh</td>
<td>French Institute of Pondicherry</td>
<td>Panelist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 22</td>
<td>Dr. Bhaskar Acharya</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 23</td>
<td>Dr. Chikkaswamy</td>
<td>Om Bioscience Research</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 24</td>
<td>Dr. Easa</td>
<td>Asia Biodiversity Conservation Trust (ABCT)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 25</td>
<td>Dr. Gautam Talukdar</td>
<td>Wildlife Institute of India</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 26</td>
<td>Dr. Gladwin Joseph</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 27</td>
<td>Dr. Jagdish Krishnaswamy</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 28</td>
<td>Dr. K N Ganeshaiah</td>
<td>University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore</td>
<td>Panelist<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 29</td>
<td>Dr. Karthikeyan Vasudevan</td>
<td>Wildlife Institute of India</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 30</td>
<td>Dr. L Shashikumar</td>
<td>Jnana Bharathi, Bangalore University</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 31</td>
<td>Dr. M H Swaminath</td>
<td>Addl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildife)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 32</td>
<td>Dr. M Sanjappa</td>
<td>Botanical Survey of India(BSI)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 33</td>
<td>Dr. N S Hallikhed</td>
<td>BISB</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 34</td>
<td>Dr. R Sukumar</td>
<td>Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), IISc</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 35</td>
<td>Dr. Ravi Chellam</td>
<td>Madras Crocodile Bank Trust</td>
<td>Speaker</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 36</td>
<td>Dr. V B Mathur</td>
<td>Wildlife Institute of India</td>
<td>Panelist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 37</td>
<td>G Areendran</td>
<td>Wildlife Institute of India</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 38</td>
<td>G Muthu Sankar</td>
<td>French Institute of Pondicherry</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 39</td>
<td>Harinandanan P V</td>
<td>Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla (MACFAST), Kerala</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 40</td>
<td>Jagadish</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 41</td>
<td> Jyotish M S</td>
<td>Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla (MACFAST), Kerala</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 42</td>
<td> Kavitha A</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 43</td>
<td> Kiran M C</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 44</td>
<td> Krushnamegh Kunte</td>
<td> Harvard University</td>
<td>Panelist <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 45</td>
<td> M Arulraj</td>
<td>National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad</td>
<td> Speaker</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 46</td>
<td> M D Madhusudan</td>
<td> Nature Conservation Foundation</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 47</td>
<td> M Sathya Sangeetha</td>
<td>Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 48</td>
<td> Madhura Niphadkar</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 49</td>
<td> Meganath V</td>
<td>Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla (MACFAST), Kerala</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 50</td>
<td> Naveena N L</td>
<td>University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 51</td>
<td> Nishadh</td>
<td>Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 52</td>
<td> Prashanth M B</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 53</td>
<td> Priti Gururaj</td>
<td> Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 54</td>
<td> Prof. K Sankara Rao</td>
<td>Centre for Ecological Sciences - Indian Institute of Science (IISc)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 55</td>
<td> R C Prasad</td>
<td> Spatial Informatics Lab, IIITHyderabad</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 56</td>
<td> Radhika Santhanam</td>
<td> Śramani</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 57</td>
<td> Rahul Yadava</td>
<td>Strand Life Sciences<br /></td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 58</td>
<td> Rajan Pilakandy</td>
<td> Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>59</td>
<td> Rakesh K N</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 60</td>
<td> Ramesh Kannan</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 61</td>
<td> Ravikanth</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 62</td>
<td> Sabah Rubina</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 63</td>
<td> Samuel Rajkumar</td>
<td> Independent web-developer</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 64</td>
<td> Sangeetha Sathya</td>
<td> FRLTH-IAIM</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 65</td>
<td> Santosh S Gaikwad</td>
<td>Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 66</td>
<td> Seena Narayanan K</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 67</td>
<td>Senthilkumar Umapathy</td>
<td> Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 68</td>
<td> Shashank P R</td>
<td> University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 69</td>
<td> Shrinivas K R</td>
<td> Kuvempu University</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 70</td>
<td> Shwetank Verma</td>
<td> Indian Institute of Science (IISc)</td>
<td> Panelist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 71</td>
<td> Sivarajan</td>
<td> French Institute of Pondicherry</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 72</td>
<td> Sreerupa Sen</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 73</td>
<td> Suhel Quader</td>
<td> National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS)</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 74</td>
<td> Suma Tagadur</td>
<td> Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions</td>
<td> Panelist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 75</td>
<td> Sunil Abraham</td>
<td> Centre for Internet and Society</td>
<td> Speaker</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 76</td>
<td> Supriya K S</td>
<td>National Center for Biological Sciences</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 77</td>
<td> T Bala</td>
<td> Keystone Foundation - Flora of Nilgiri</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 78</td>
<td> Veeranagappa P</td>
<td>University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore</td>
<td> Audience</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 79</td>
<td> Vidyadhar Atkore</td>
<td>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)</td>
<td>Audience <br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 80</td>
<td> Vijay Barve</td>
<td> Diversity India</td>
<td> Panelist</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Also see <a href="https://cis-india.org/news/bio-diversity-informatics-workshop" class="external-link">Western Ghats Portal: Workshop on Biodiversity Informatics </a>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/summary-of-the-minutes-of-the-workshop-on-biodiversity-informatics'>https://cis-india.org/openness/summary-of-the-minutes-of-the-workshop-on-biodiversity-informatics</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpen DataOpenness2012-01-30T16:24:40ZBlog EntryGeekup on Open Data in Bangalore
https://cis-india.org/openness/geekup-bangalore
<b>HasGeek in partnership with the Centre for Internet and Society invite you to a talk by Hapee de Groot on 25 January 2012 at CIS office in Bangalore.</b>
<h2>Hapee de Groot</h2>
<p>Hapee de Groot has worked on a wide range of issues around Open Source Data, ICT and Media Development, Access, Security, ICT for Development (ICT4D) and Localisation of Content, for a global stage towards greater transparency and accountability with the Dutch NGO Hivos since 2001. Before that, in the nineties, he was an advocate for free public internet access, working with xs4all and the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0101/msg00085.html">digital city Amsterdam</a> (DDS). He has also served as an editor for OneWorld International and ran the Digital Divide Campaign which turned into a still ongoing digital channel at <a class="external-link" href="http://www.digitalopportunity.org/">DigitalOpportunity.org</a>.</p>
<p>Hapee is one of the earliest generations of hackers and is highly influential on the subjects of ICT and Technology, Open Source, Social Media, and Technology in Africa, according to the influence measures on Klout. This is his 5th visit to India where he has worked previously on Mission 2009 and setting up access for remote areas in India, in collaboration with Toxic Links and Sarai, Delhi. He was a participant at the InfoActivism Camp in Bangalore, 2008.</p>
<p>His current interest is in the field of Open Government Data and he partners with six international donor agencies to run the Transparency and Accountability Initiative. He brings together his technical skills, policy experience and development research to train people in understanding the politics, responsibilities and risks associated with open data platforms and helps NGOs and governments in producing secure and citizen friendly platforms of data collection, distribution and dissemination.</p>
<h2>Open Data</h2>
<p>From his background working for a development organisation (HIVOS) Hapee will talk about Open Data and its use for citizen engagement. This is a twofold process. On the one side there is the history of the traditional NGO and their limited impact on the system. On the other side there are the Open Government Data initiatives pushed from within administrations, including by the Obama administration. The question is of how both can benefit from each other.</p>
<p>Hapee has some examples of citizen driven projects in Africa that HIVOS supports. He will present on these projects, including on data visualization and technical platforms. He would like to hear from the audience (that's you!) on similar projects in India.</p>
<p>The other side of the coin is privacy which is a bigger issue in India than in Africa. How can we be open while still protecting privacy? Hapee will lead a discussion on this.</p>
<p><strong>Registrations are closed<br /></strong></p>
<p>Wednesday, 25 January 2012, Bangalore</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Welcome with tea, coffee and snacks</td>
<td>6.00 p.m. - 6.15 p.m.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Lightning Talks</td>
<td>6.15 p.m - 7.00 p.m.<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Open Data<br /></td>
<td>7.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.<br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/geekup-bangalore'>https://cis-india.org/openness/geekup-bangalore</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaOpen DataOpenness2012-01-31T03:38:25ZEvent