<nettime> Bytes For All... March 2007

["Frederick Noronha" <fred@bytesforall.org>]

http://www.i4donline.net/articles/current-article.asp?articleid=1110&typ=Columns
Bytes For All...

March-2007

ICT4D

Getting a voice in cyberspace

Audio for social movements in campaign mode, everyone understands the
importance of getting a voice in the media. The problem is, the
mainstream media often trivializes or misunderstands your cause. So?
You needn't just sit back and groan. Technology is today increasingly
placing the tools in the hands of those who want to wield them. And
it's getting simpler, more affordable and freer all the time.

Concepts like 'social software' and 'participatory media' keep getting
mentioned. Can these really help to make the campaigner more effective
in computer-mediated communication? Can it enable people to
collaborate more effectively?
Social software, on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Social_software

Bangladeshi school students discuss climate change in online forum

School students throughout Bangladesh recently participated in an
online discussion on climate change. The online forum is hosted by
Relief International- Bangladesh and is a part of Global Connections
and Exchange Project which has set up Internet enabled telecenters in
Bangladeshi schools. Each month the project conducts an online
collaborative project involving students from Bangladesh and abroad.
Students did online research and discovered the concepts of climate
change and global warming and their importance. Through Internet
searches and the use of online libraries, students attempted to define
and explain climate change and global warming. In groups, students
researched their community's contribution to climate change. With this
knowledge in hand, students brainstormed a local organization or
business that they felt either a) contributes to climate change and
the greenhouse effect or b) helps to prevent climate change and the
greenhouse effect.
www.connect-bangladesh.org, www.ri.org

Defining e-Government: a citizen-centric criteria-based approach

E-governance Compendium 2007, brought out by the Department of
Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) on the occasion
of 10th National Conference on e-Governance, February 2-3, 2006,
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, under the theme: avant-garde issues in
e-governance. The paper is available for download in the Files section
of the group:http://tech. groups.yahoo. com/group/ cyber_quiz/ .
projects. May be of interest to the members of the group.

India a 'promising' destination for community radio

One-step forward, two steps back...is this the fate of non-commercial,
non-state radio broadcasting in Asia? It would seem so, going by the
perceptions of a campaigner trying to promote community radio even as
he says India holds out hope. Community radio - also called rural
radio, cooperative radio, participatory radio, free radio,
alternative, popular or educational radio - operates out of rural or
urban areas, is broadcast to small areas and offers alternate,
non-commercial, non-state voices to a diverse set of people via the
radio. India has just opened up its 'community radio' possibilities
with a new official policy announced in mid-November 2006. Earlier,
for a couple of years, it was mostly 'campus radio' stations that were
being allowed.
http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ news/181_ 1924420,0008.htm

Launch of Brazilian Portal to Promote National ICT Development

Telemática e Desenvolvimento Ltda announced today the launch of the
e-Brazil portal, a bilingual portal that is part of the international
network of country gateways supported by the Development Gateway
Foundation.

The e-Brazil portal brings together information and discussions
related to the use of Information and Communications Technologies
(ICTs) to build a more equitable and more competitive Brazil.
http://www.dgfounda tion.org/ news-events/ news-releases/ view-news/
archive/2007/ february/ article/27. html

FOSS

How the net turns code into politics

The launch of Windows Vista last week was accompanied by widespread
criticism from advocates of open systems, open networks and the free
flow of information. Particular attention was lavished on the digital
rights management (DRM) features of the new operating system, the
tools that determine whether you can play or copy video or audio on
your computer. The Internet that we know today is changing, turning
from an open, enabling and profoundly public space into a
communications system which can be regulated, controlled, monitored
and - where necessary -curtailed. A regulated Internet does not have
to be a closed Internet, but the trend is clearly towards increased
control and the loss of the freedoms which the net has provided thus
far. We must understand how this is happening before we can find ways
to resist it.
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/technology/ 6325353.stm

New media briefing questions whether open source software can covert
the software world?

For many people in developing countries, commercial software packages
are not an option because they are expensive, do not come in local
languages and cannot be shared or adapted. Advocates of the Free and
Open Source Software (FOSS) movement argue that the tools of
information and communication should be in the public domain. But
commercial software companies say they spend huge sums of money on
research and development, and need to recoup their investments.

This latest media briefing on the information society explores how
these opposing views can be reconciled in the interests of millions of
potential software users in the developing world.
http://www.panos. org.uk/PDF/ reports/wsistool kit5.pdf

Communication and Computing

Vancouver ready to go wireless

The City of Vancouver took the first step toward establishing a
high-speed citywide wireless network Thursday, when council approved a
motion to begin looking for a private partner to provide the service.
Details at CBC website:
www.cbc. ca/canada/ british-columbia /story/2007/ 02/01/bc- wireless. html

Project 6Core (Pakistan) is now listed on www.ipv6-to-standard.org

6Core stands for 'IPv6 National Core of Pakistan' which is the First
IPv6 based project initiated by ISPs of Pakistan under the common
platform. The 6Core is a test-bed network which was formulated in 2006
by CYBERNET, SUPERNET, and DANCOM to take one step further towards
penetration of IPv6 in the economy. Another goal of the 6Core was to
test the IPv6 implementations and network services to provide feedback
to developers and protocol designers at IETF Forum.
For more information on 'IPv6 Taskforce at Pakistan' please visit
http://www.ipv6tf.org.pk, http://www.ipv6forum.pk

Cit-J sites are here to stay and for good, says study

Local news websites offering user-generated content are securing a
valuable place in the media landscape and are likely to continue as
important sources of community news, says a new report by US-based
J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism.

"Citizen sites are developing as new forms of bridge media, linking
traditional news with forms of civic participation, " said J-Lab
director, Jan Schaffer, author of the report, Citizen Media: Fad or
the Future of News: The rise and prospects of hyperlocal journalism.
Full story: http://www.newswatc h.in/?p=6521

Events

INDO ICT EXPO AND FORUM 11-13 September 2007

The Indonesian Department of Communication and Information will once
again host INDO ICT 2007, Indonesian No.1 Information Technology and
Communication Event which will be held on 11-13 September 2007 at the
Jakarta Convention Centre, Indonesia. This exposition will present
INDO WIRELESS 2007 & INDO BANKING 2007 at the same venue.

INDO ICT would like to invite your company to participate in the
exposition INDO ICT 2007 EXPO & FORUM, and convinced you will expand
the most effective market opportunity to gain access to ICT
professionals and regional top operators, regulators, vendors and
consultants. INDO ICT 2007 will also host a conference which will
feature an international panel of speakers and experts.
www.indoict.com

Call for Papers: KM4Dev Journal

The 'Knowledge Management for Development Journal' (KM4D Journal) is
an open access, peer-reviewed, community-based journal on knowledge
management in development -- for and by development practitioners and
researchers. The journal is closely related to the KM4dev community of
practice, and can be read and downloaded at: www.km4dev.org/ journal

Vol. 3, Issue 1, to be published in June 2007, will focus on
innovative practices and uses of 'technologies for knowledge sharing'.
This focus comes on the wave of new web based tools and processes
supporting knowledge sharing, knowledge management and organisational
learning that have emerged. Sometimes called 'Web 2.0' technologies,
these tools allow people to collaborate over time and distance in both
new ways and in new networked forms. It builds on previous issues on
the importance of networks, working across boundaries and even
sustainability.

News and Announcements

MobileActive Guide

MobileActive is announcing the second MobileActive Guide, profiling
strategies and civil society organisations using mobile phones in
their work to make the world a better place. The MobileActive Guide
focuses on using mobile phones in issue advocacy. It features case
studies from around the world, strategies for using mobile phones in
advocacy work, and a how-to section for advocacy organizations
considering using mobile phones to advance their causes. Call for
Papers -- Mobile Web in the Developing World MobEA V - Mobile Web in
the Developing World in Banff, Canada on May 8th 2007, co-located with
WWW2007 conference is accepting papers.
http://mobileactive.org/

Creative Commons Version 3.0 is Born

After few months of delay, Creative Commons has finally released the
Version 3.0 licenses. The key differences from Version 2.5 are:

? Generic and the US licenses are now separated
? International harmonisation of moral rights and collecting society
? No more endorsement language
? BY-SA compatibility structure is included
? Clarifications negotiated with Debian and MIT
Details of the changes are described at
http://wiki. creativecommons. org/Version_ 3.

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Compiled by Farah Mahmood, Bytes for All, Pakistan
farah.mahmood@gmail.com
-- 
FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST)
Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha
http://fn.goa-india.org  http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com
Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India


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