Centre for Internet & Society

The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore is pleased to announce the Institute for Internet and Society to be held in Bangalore from June 8 to June 14, 2013 at the Golden Palms Resort, Bangalore.



With financial support and visionary guidance from the Ford Foundation, this initiative represents an important opportunity to bring together various stakeholders in a neutral forum and share ideas. The week-long residential institute will cover topics surrounding the internet and society.

Course Content

  • History of the Internet (This session will cover brief history of the Internet, its early stages and growth. It will also cover origins of internet in India and its impact on the Indian GDP. It will also focus on hot topics/debates surrounding the Internet).
  • Internet Technologies and Infrastructure (The session infrastructure, purpose and function of an ISP, advantages and disadvantages of different modes of Internet access).
  • E-Governance (This session will cover the various e-governance initiatives).
  • Principles and Values of the Internet (This session will cover various principles that underpinned the creation of the Internet, the threats they face and the need for a truly “open internet”).
  • Ownership and Management (This session will cover ownership and market distribution).
  • Internet Activism (This session will deal with various initiatives which have successfully used the Internet to build movements and campaigns).

Institute Highlights

  • Guest Lectures by Experts & CIS Staff
  • Interactive Panel Discussions
  • Case Studies
  • Surveys
  • Breakout Sessions
  • Demonstrations
  • Product Walkthroughs
  • Networking Opportunities and much more…

At the end of the week long residential course, attendees will have:

  • Acquisition of knowledge on Internet in the Indian society.
  • Appreciation of the role of community and other stakeholders in issues surrounding the Internet.
  • Creation of a starting point for improved communication of research findings, innovations, information and new technologies in Internet to evolve a community comprising academicians and policy makers.
  • Appreciation of the need to bridge the gap between policy and implementation.

Agenda

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Timings Topics for Discussion
09:30   11:00 INTRODUCTION
Dr. Ravina Aggarwal & Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan
11:00
11:30
Tea / Coffee Break
11:30
13:00
HISTORY AND GROWTH OF INTERNET IN INDIA
Madan Mohan Rao
(This session will deal with the advent of the internet and its growth in India).
13:00
14:00
Lunch Break
14:00
15:30
DOMESTIC BODIES AND MECHANISMS
Pranesh Prakash
(This session will give an overview of the roles, which different government bodies play in regulating the Internet).
15:30
16:00
Tea / Coffee Break
16:00
17:30

EMERGING TRENDS IN INTERNET USAGE IN INDIA
Nandini C and Vir Kamal Chopra
(This session will cover key trends and issues with regard to internet usage in India).

20:00  22:00 Dinner

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Timings
Topics for Discussion
09:30   11:00 WIRED TECHNOLOGIES
Dr. Nadeem Akhtar
(This session will deal with the various technologies involved in establishing a wired connection to the internet).

11:00
11:30
Tea / Coffee Break
11:30
13:00
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
Michael Ginguld
(This session will deal with the various technologies involved in establishing a wireless connection to the internet).

13:00
14:00
Lunch Break
14:00
15:30
BUILDING KNOWLEDGE BASES AND PLATFORMS VIA MASS COLLABORATION ON THE INTERNET
Vishnu Vardhan T
(This session will deal with the various online knowledge bases and platforms with special emphasis on Wikipedia).
15:30
16:00
Tea / Coffee Break
16:00
17:30

AFFORDABLE DEVICES AND INTERNET ACCESS IN INDIA
Ravikiran Annaswamy
(This session will deal with affordable devices and their role in increasing internet access in India).

20:00  22:00 Dinner

Monday, June 10, 2013

Timings
Topics for Discussion
09:30   11:00 HOW INTERNET WORKS?
Dr. Nadeem Akhtar
(This session will deal with various technologies related to the backbone of the internet). 

11:00
11:30
Tea/Coffee Break
11:30
13:00
ASSIGNMENT


13.00
14.00

Lunch Break
14:00
18:00
OFFSITE / FIELD VISIT

20:00
22:00
Dinner

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Timings
Topics for Discussion
09:30   11:00 UNIVERSAL ACCESS
Archana Gulati
(This session will cover an overview of universal access and universal service).
11:00
11:30
Tea/Coffee Break
11:30
13:00
FREE AND OPEN INTERNET
Pranesh Prakash
(This session will cover fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression, reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech in context of internet access in India).

13.00
14.00

Lunch Break
14:00
15:30
OPENNESS
Pranesh Prakash and Sunil Abraham
(This session will cover issues related to openness and access to the internet).
15:30
16:00
Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:30 OPEN CONTENT
Professor Subbiah Arunahalam
(This session will discuss open access to content and its implications on internet access).
17:30 18:30 QUICK TALK: COPYRIGHT LAW AND ACCESS
Pranesh Prakash
(This short session will deal with implications of copyright law on internet access).
20.00
22.00
Dinner

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Timings
Topics for Discussion
09:30   11:00 PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET IN INDIA
Elonnai Hickok and Sunil Abraham
(This session will discuss online privacy, data protection, use of encryption, value of anonymity online, UID, etc).
11:00
11:30
Tea/Coffee Break
11:30
13:00
E-ACCESSIBILITY BASICS
Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan
(This session will deal with key requirements for making internet accessible for persons with disabilities).

13.00
14.00

Lunch Break
14:00
15:30
INTERNATIONAL BODIES AND MECHANISM
Tulika Pandey and Gaurab Raj Upadhyay
(This session will deal with various international bodies and multi-stakeholder processes involved in formulation of internet related policies).

15:30
16:00

Tea / Coffee Break

16:00
17:00

E-GOVERNANCE
Sunil Abraham
(This session will deal with e-Governance strategies and relevant initiatives).
20.00
22.00
Dinner

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Timings
Topics for Discussion
09:30   11:00 GLOBAL HISTORY OF THE INTERNET
Dr. Nishant Shah
(Inception of internet and the main events which led to the growth of the internet).
11:00
11:30
Tea/Coffee Break
11:30
13:00
STRATEGIES FOR POLICY INTERVENTION
Chakshu Roy
(This session will look at various ways in which policy intervention can be made and the various factors necessary to successfully engage in policy forums).

13.00
14.00

Lunch Break
14:00
15:30
PROFILE OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
Satyen Gupta
(This session will discuss profiles of various ISPs and their share in the market).
15:30
16:00
Tea / Coffee Break
16:00 17:30
COMPETITION IN THE MARKET
Helani Galpaya
(This session will discuss structure and competition in the broadband market, wireless market, etc).
20.00
22.00
Dinner

Friday, June 14, 2013

Timings
Topics for Discussion
09:30   11:00 LEVERAGING INTERNET FOR ACTIVISM
Ananth Guruswamy
(This session will look at various initiatives which have used the internet to build successful movements and campaigns).
11:00
11:30
Tea/Coffee Break
11:30
13:00
“INTERNET ACCESS” ACTIVISM
Parminder Jeet Singh
(This session will discuss how people can contribute to initiatives for improving internet access).

13.00
14.00

Lunch Break
14:00
15:30
ENSURING ACCESS TO THE INTERNET
A K Bharghava
(This session will discuss strategies to enhance access to the internet in India with special focus on National Optical Fibre Network).
15:30
16:00
Tea / Coffee Break
16:00
17:30
Winding Up

Speakers

  1. A.K Bhargava
    A. K. Bhargava is a Telecom Engineer with more than 35 yrs of experience in various fields of Telecommunication, Installation, Operation, Maintenance, Software and Management. Prior to joining BBNL as Director (Operations), he was working as Executive Director (Wireless Services) with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) Delhi.
  2. Ananth Guruswamy
    Ananth Guruswamy is the director of Amnesty International India. Previouly, he was the Programme Director at Green Peace. Ananth joined Greenpeace India in 2001 at its very beginning and played a key role in moulding Greenpeace India into one of the leading stakeholders in the NGO sector in India.
  3. Archana Gulati
    An Indian Civil Service Officer, she has worked as a Universal Service Policy Expert with respect to Access to ICTs for Persons with Disabilities for the International Telecommunications Union. She also successfully pioneered the e-government system in her previous posting as Joint Controller Communication Accounts, Department of Telecommunications (DoT). At present she is posted as the Financial Advisor with the National Disaster Management Authority of India.
  4. Chakshu Roy
    Chakshu Roy 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.
  5. Elonnai Hickok
    Elonnai Hickok works as a Programme Manager at the Centre for Internet and Society. Her main areas of work are Privacy and Data Security.
  6. Gaurab Raj Upadhaya
    Gaurab has a long record of volunteerism and commitment to the Asia Pacific Internet Community. Gaurab is one of the 14 global Trusted Community Representatives who cryptographically sign the root of the domain name system in ICANN Root DNSSEC Key ceremonies. In 2001, he was the founder of the Nepal Internet Exchange (NPIX), the first IX in the South-Asian region.
  7. Helani Galpaya
    Helani Galpaya is the Chief Executive Officer at LIRNEasia. She holds a Masters in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Mount Holyoke College, USA.
  8. Dr. Madan Mohan Rao
    Dr. Madan Mohan Rao is the research director at the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre. He is the editor of a three book series: “The Asia Pacific Internet Handbook”, “The Knowledge Management Chronicles” and “AfroDotEdu”.
  9. Michael Ginguld
    Michael Ginguld is the Chief Executive Officer at AirJaldi. He has more than 15 years of experience working with ICT, community and rural development projects in India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, and Israel.
  10. Dr. Nadeem Akhtar
    Dr. Nadeem Akhtar is currently working as Principal Research Engineer at the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT). He leads the network layer research team at CEWiT and also represents CEWiT at 3GPP Radio Access Networks Working Group meetings. His research interests lie in the field of mobile and broadband wireless access technologies. Dr. Akhtar is a member of IEEE Standards Association and ITU-APT Foundation of India.
  11. Nandini. C
    Nandini. C is a Research Associate with IT for Change (www.itforchange.net), and is part of a team that is engaged in research studies in the area of gender and ICTs, democratic governance and ICTs, and the political economy of the information society. She holds a Masters in Urban and Rural Community Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
  12. Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan
    Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan is a Policy Director at Centre for Internet and Society and works on policy research and advocacy related to IP reform and technology access for persons with disabilities.
  13. Dr. Nishant Shah
    Dr. Nishant Shah is the Director-Research at CIS. He is a recipient of the Asia Scholarship Foundation's fellowship for comparative research at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China. Nishant is a regular columnist with the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, GQ India and DML Central. He has authored/co-authored many peer-reviewed articles in several journals.
  14. Parminder Jeet Singh
    Parminder Jeet Singh is Executive Director of IT for Change.  He was recently appointed as a member of Task Force set up by the Indian government on implementation of proactive disclosures provisions of the Right to Information Act. He was also associated with Department of IT's Sub-group on e-governance for the 12th Five Year Plan. He recently authored a report on 'Community Knowledge Centers' for the Karnataka Knowledge Commission.
  15. Pranesh Prakash
    Pranesh Prakash is a Policy Director at CIS and works on policy research and advocacy around intersections of technology and law focusing on access to knowledge (primarily copyright reforms), promoting 'openness' (including open government data, open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software), freedom of expression, privacy, and internet governance.
  16. Ravikiran Annaswamy
    Ravikiran Annaswamy is an entrepreneur learning to create the next big business. He is very excited about the opportunities at the cusp of social media, mobile Internet and Big Data. Currently, He is nurturing a unique concept called Teritree, which brings social shopping into mainstream business.He has vast experience of making successful telecom solutions for global markets, mainly in the area of Online Billing and Charging, OSS, Innovative 3G/4G applications, Media and Security Solutions.
  17. Dr. Ravina Aggarwal
    Dr. Ravina Aggarwal works on media issues in India from the Ford Foundation's New Delhi office. Her grant making advances issues of democratic expression and media access among marginalized communities. She holds the position of Programme Officer in Ford Foundation, India
  18. Satyen Gupta
    Satyen Gupta is a veteran in the field of telecommunications, drawing from his vast experience in telecom regulation as well as industry. Among other accomplishments, he was a member of the NGN Regulation review group of ITU and also worked as advisor with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India at the level of Additional Secretary and is heading the Converged Network Division dealing with regulatory, technical and economic aspects of Data Networks and Services.
  19. Dr. Subbiah Arunachalam
    Dr. Subbiah Arunachalam is a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society. Improving information access both for scientists and for the rural poor; scientometrics, ICT-enabled development and open access are among his current research interests.
  20. Sunil Abraham
    Sunil Abraham is the Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society. He is also a social entrepreneur and Free Software advocate.
  21. Tulika Pandey
    Tulika Pandey is an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer. She has been with the Government of India since 1992 and is currently Director with the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India. She is involved in implementation strategy and action plan formulations for wider reach of ICT facilitated benefits; Integration of appropriate technology interfaces between human and cyber world; Steering of Research and Development projects for development of contextual ICT technology, tool, applications and content.
  22. Vir Kamal Chopra
    Vir Kamal Chopra is currently the Sr. General Manager (QA) with BSNL at New Delhi. He started his career in teaching. He has played a vital role in providing telecommunication facilities and shaping BSNL and is also responsible for finalization of high value products which are purchased at the central level of BSNL. He is credited with introducing e-tendering for the first time at BSNL.
  23. Vishnu Vardhan
    Vishnu Vardhan is the Programme Director of the CIS-A2K Team which works with Wikipedians and also conducts workshops and meetups in order to build Wikipedia community for Indic languages.

More information about this event…