The Centre for Internet and Society
http://editors.cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 1 to 15.
User Experiences of Digital Financial Risks and Harms
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/user-experiences-of-digital-financial-risks-and-harms
<b>The reach and use of digital financial services has risen in recent years without a commensurate increase in digital literacy and access. Through this project, supported by a grant from Google(.)org, we will examine the landscape of potential risks and harms posed by digital financial services, and the disproportionate risk that information asymmetry and barriers to access pose for users, especially certain marginalised communities. </b>
<h3>Project Background</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>There is a big evidence gap in the understanding of the financial risks and harms experienced by users of digital financial services. Consequently, adequate consumer protection frameworks and processes to address these harms have been lagging. A survey of 32,000 Indian consumers found <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/42-indians-experienced-financial-fraud-in-last-3-years-report/articleshow/93341725.cms">only 17%</a> who lost money through banking frauds were able to recoup their funds. Filling this gap is crucial to inform responsive policy making, platform design and data governance.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">While a lot more attention is paid to financial frauds and scams, through this study, we aim to situate these alongside experiences of harms that are understudied and sometimes overlooked. Users may also experience financial harm, when negatively impacted by:</p>
<ol>
<li>Financial misinformation</li>
<li>Loss of control over their assets</li>
<li>Loss of potential income</li>
<li>Difficulty accessing social protection</li>
<li>Financial abuse perpetrated alongside other forms of domestic and family abuse </li>
<li>Unsustainable levels of debt, i.e. over-indebtedness, and </li>
<li>Exclusion from financial services</li></ol>
<ol dir="ltr"></ol>
<p dir="ltr">The Centre for Internet and Society is undertaking a mixed methods study to better understand user awareness, perceptions and experiences of digital financial risks and harms.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">For this study, we will survey nearly 4000 users, with differing levels of access to digital devices, digital services and the internet, and undertake semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with specific target groups and stakeholders. We aim to highlight the experiences of persons with disabilities, gender and sexual minorities, the elderly, women, and regional language first users; to better understand how discrimination and exclusion may increase their burden of risk when using digital financial services.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><strong>Key research questions guiding our project are:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">How are digital financial risks understood and experienced by users of digital financial services? Which socioeconomic factors amplify risks for different user groups?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">What concerns have emerged relating to data privacy, misinformation, identity theft and other forms of social engineering and mobile app based fraud?</li>
<li>How accessible are providers’ and government’s platform based reporting and grievance redressal systems?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">What role can fintech platforms, social media platforms, banking institutions, and regulatory bodies play in reducing digital financial risks across the ecosystem?</li></ol>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Project Aims</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Through this study, we aim to:</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Assess the financial risks and harms users are exposed to when using social media, digital banking, and fintech platforms. While looking at general users, we will also specifically explore this experience for the elderly, gender and sexual minorities, regional language users and persons with visual disabilities.</li>
<li>Develop a framework to categorise the nature of vulnerabilities, risks and harms faced by the concerned user groups</li>
<li>Create a credible evidence base for key stakeholders with regards to experiences of digital financial risks and harm.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Provide recommendations for better policy and platform design to address harms, specifically those arising from lack of accessibility and information asymmetry.</li>
<li>Identify best practices to respond to digital risks and foster safety and equity in digital financial services</li></ol>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Come Talk to Us:</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">If you have experiences or insights to share, or if you're interested in learning more about our study, please reach out.<br /><br />We also invite researchers, financial service providers, developers and designers of fintech platforms, and civil society organisations working on digital safety, to speak to us and help inform the study. You may contact <a class="mail-link" href="mailto:garima@cis-india.org">garima@cis-india.org</a></p>
<hr />
<p><strong>Research Team</strong>: Amrita Sengupta, Chiara Furtado, Garima Agrawal, Nishkala Sekhar, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Yesha Tshering Paul</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/user-experiences-of-digital-financial-risks-and-harms'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/user-experiences-of-digital-financial-risks-and-harms</a>
</p>
No publisherAmrita Sengupta, Chiara Furtado, Garima Agrawal, Nishkala Sekhar, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Yesha Tshering PaulFinancial TechnologyFinancial PlatformsDigital Financial HarmsResearchers at WorkFeaturedRAW BlogAccessibilityDigital LendingRAW ResearchResearchHomepage2023-12-22T16:05:26ZBlog EntryMaking Voices Heard
http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/making-voices-heard
<b>We are happy to announce the launch of our final report on the study ‘Making Voices Heard: Privacy, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of Voice Interfaces in India. The study was undertaken with support from the Mozilla Corporation.</b>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/WebsiteHeader.jpg/@@images/8d8ed2a0-f0e4-44d7-8938-493b186402c5.jpeg" alt="Making Voices Heard" class="image-inline" title="Making Voices Heard" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We believe that voice interfaces have the potential to democratise the use of the internet by addressing limitations related to reading and writing on digital text-only platforms and devices. This report examines the current landscape of voice interfaces in India, with a focus on concerns related to privacy and data protection, linguistic barriers, and accessibility for persons with disabilities (PwDs).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The report features a visual mapping of 23 voice interfaces and technologies publicly available in India, along with a literature survey, a policy brief towards development and use of voice interfaces and a design brief documenting best practices and users’ needs, both with a focus on privacy, languages, and accessibility considerations, and a set of case studies on three voice technology platforms. <span>Read and download the full report <a class="external-link" href="http://voice.cis-india.org/">here</a></span></p>
<hr />
<h3>Credits</h3>
<p><strong>Research</strong>: Shweta Mohandas, Saumyaa Naidu, Deepika Nandagudi Srinivasa, Divya Pinheiro, and Sweta Bisht.</p>
<p><strong>Conceptualisation, Planning, and Research Inputs</strong>: Sumandro Chattapadhyay, and Puthiya Purayil Sneha.</p>
<p><strong>Illustration</strong>: Kruthika NS (Instagram @theworkplacedoodler). Website Design Saumyaa Naidu. Website Development Sumandro Chattapadhyay, and Pranav M Bidare.</p>
<p><strong>Review and Editing</strong>: Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Divyank Katira, Pranav M Bidare, Torsha Sarkar, Pallavi Bedi, and Divya Pinheiro.</p>
<p><strong>Copy Editing</strong>: The Clean Copy</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/making-voices-heard'>http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/making-voices-heard</a>
</p>
No publishershwetaVoice User InterfacePrivacyAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchFeaturedHomepage2022-06-27T16:18:36ZBlog EntryMaking Voices Heard: Privacy, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of Voice Interfaces in India
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/making-voices-heard-project-announcement
<b>We believe that voice interfaces have the potential to democratise the use of internet by addressing barriers such as accessibility concerns, lack of abilities of reading and writing on digital text interfaces, and lack of options for people to interact with digital devices in their own languages. Through the Making Voice Heard Project supported by Mozilla Corporation, we will examine the current landscape of voice interfaces in India.</b>
<p> </p>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_01.jpg" alt="null" width="30%" /> <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_02.jpg" alt="null" width="30%" /> <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_03.jpg" alt="null" width="30%" />
<p> </p>
<h4>Download the project announcement cards (shown above): <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_01.jpg" target="_blank">Card 01</a>, <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_02.jpg" target="_blank">Card 02</a>, and <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cis-india/website/master/img/CIS_Mozilla_MakingVoicesHeard_ProjectAnnouncement_03.jpg" target="_blank">Card 03</a></h4>
<hr />
<h3>Making Voices Heard: Project Announcement</h3>
<p>Although voice enabled interfaces are being deployed there is a need to understand how they are beneficial, and what have been important knowledge gaps and challenges in their development, adoption, use, and regulation. Through the Making Voice Heard Project <a href="https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/07/05/mozillas-latest-research-grants-prioritizing-research-for-the-internet/" target="_blank">supported by Mozilla Corporation</a>, we will be examining the current landscape of voice interfaces in India, and seek to address the following questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>What is the broad (sectoral and functional) typology of available voice interfaces in Indian languages? How widely are these voice interfaces (in Indian languages) used, and what barriers prevent their further adoption and use?<br /><br /></li>
<li>What are concerns related to privacy and data protection that emerge with the growth of voice interfaces? What kind of protocols for data processing may need to be built into the design of these interfaces?<br /><br /></li>
<li>How accessible are these interfaces for persons with disabilities (PWDs)? What kinds of accessibility features, especially for Indian languages, may need to be developed to ensure effective use of voice technologies by PWDs?<br /><br /></li>
<li>Where do challenges in these three areas intersect? For instance, is compromising on users’ privacy, including weak or missing data protection regulations, required to create comprehensive speech datasets that may help develop better accessibility features, and address linguistic barriers?</li></ul>
<p>In order to approach these questions we have begun mapping the various developers and users of voice interfaces in India. In the next stage of the process we will be looking at these interfaces through the lens of privacy, language, accessibility, and design. In order to add to the mapping and questions, we will be conducting interviews and workshops with users, developers, designers and researchers of voice interfaces in India, including the <a href="https://voice.mozilla.org/en" target="_blank">Common Voice</a> team at Mozilla.</p>
<p>We hereby invite researchers, developers and designers of voice interfaces to speak to us and help inform the study. You may contact Shweta Mohandas at shweta@cis-india.org.</p>
<p><em>- Shweta Mohandas, Saumyaa Naidu, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Sumandro Chattapadhyay (project team)</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/making-voices-heard-project-announcement'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/making-voices-heard-project-announcement</a>
</p>
No publishershwetaVoice User InterfaceLanguagePrivacyAccessibilityResearchVoice Assisted InterfaceFeaturedResearchers at WorkMaking Voices Heard2019-12-18T12:10:05ZBlog EntryGroundbreaking disability rights activist Javed Abidi dies at 53
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/groundbreaking-disability-rights-activist-javed-abidi-dies-at-53
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) expresses profound regret at the demise of Mr. Javed Abidi, a groundbreaking disability rights activist.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As Director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), he was instrumental in bringing issues pertaining to various disabilities under an umbrella organisation, and ensuring greater visibility in mainstream media. He labored to make educational resources, employment opportunities and public spaces more accessible for PwDs across barriers of class and gender.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A noted voice in the field of disability rights, Abidi contributed immensely to shifting the conversation around disability from a welfarist and paternalistic approach to one that was grounded in rights and freedoms over the past two decades. He worked at the intersection of civil society and government, and under his aegis, the NCPEDP played a key role in the passing and implementation of the landmark Rights for Persons with Disabilities Act, 2018.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan, Senior Fellow and formerly Policy Director at the CIS, says, “I met Mr. Javed Abidi when we started CIS way back in 2008. At that time I was completely overwhelmed by his personality and totally in awe of him and his work. This feeling only grew over the last decade. We first worked on pushing the National Policy on Universal Electronics Accessibility. He also supported our right to read campaign and spread the word about our copyright work. Over the years, he supported and promoted our work on multiple issues, and included us in key discussions amongst the disability leadership in India.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of his work with CIS, he advocated for greater legislative rights and institutional support through measures such as universally accessible government data and services in the digital space, and affordable aid technology. Dr. Narsimhan continued, “He looked to CIS as an ally and expert in ICT accessibility and always ensured that we were included in discussions on this topic in government committees and outside. At a personal level, I feel privileged that he took a keen interest in my work.” A central concern within this work was to highlight the intersection of disability with poverty, gender disparity, lack of education, and social stigma.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The fire and passion in his work, his fearlessness in advocating for what he believed was right, the sheer strength of his personality and mind, his systematic and meticulous approach towards any issue all served as important learning points for me. He made me feel proud to be an Indian and working for the rights of persons with disabilities in India. He has truly touched the lives of millions of people in a way which very few people have done in their lifetime. I hope that we continue and expand our work in digital accessibility and contribute to making his vision of an inclusive India a reality,” concluded Dr. Narsimhan.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/groundbreaking-disability-rights-activist-javed-abidi-dies-at-53'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/groundbreaking-disability-rights-activist-javed-abidi-dies-at-53</a>
</p>
No publisherAmbika TandonAccessibility2018-03-06T14:42:47ZBlog EntryJanuary 2018 Newsletter
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/Qjanuary-2018-newsletter
<b>January 2018 Newsletter</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Highlights</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The paper titled <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/patent-working-requirements-and-complex-products">"Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" </a>has been published in the latest issue of the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. It is one of the outputs of the Pervasive Technology project and has been authored by Prof. Jorge L. Contreras, Paxton M. Lewis, and Rohini Lakshané.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on mobile patents</a>. CIS offered its assistance on matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare in India is increasing with new startups and large ICT companies offering AI solutions for healthcare challenges in the country. <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-and-the-healthcare-industry-in-india" style="text-align: left; ">The report</a><span style="text-align: left; "> by </span><span>by Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari <span>seeks to map the present state of AI in the healthcare sector in India.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>About 27% of India's population is still illiterate or barely literate. Most privacy policies and terms of services for web and mobile applications are in English and therefore it is only 10% of us who can actually read them before we provide our consent. The article by Sunil Abraham was <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/deccan-herald-january-20-2018-sunil-abraham-data-protection-we-can-innovate-leapfrog">published in Deccan Herald</a> on January 20, 2018.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018">made a submission to TRAI Consultation</a> on inputs to the National Telecom Policy. CIS in its submission also recommended what all should be the main objectives of TRAI while drafting the next edition of National Telecom Policy.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>Under a <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple-nrc-assam-citizen-identification-infrastructure">research grant from the Azim Premji University CIS</a> has initiated a study of the ongoing updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the resultant reform of citizen identification infrastructure in India.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><span><span>The <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-january-3-2018-2g-judgment-of-december-2017">2G judgment of December 2017</a> provides a critique of how no proper evidence was presented on existence of an FCFS policy and its improper implementation, wrote Shyam Ponappa in his article in the Business Standard which was published on January 3, 2018. </span></span></li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The following articles were written by CIS members:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-3-2017-digital-native-memory-card-is-full">Digital native: Memory card is full</a><span> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; January 3, 2018).</span></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-january-3-2018-2g-judgment-of-december-2017">The 2G Judgment of December 2017: What Was It About?</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; January 3, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/business-standard-sunil-abraham-january-10-fixing-aadhaar">Fixing Aadhaar: Security developers' task is to trim chances of data breach</a> (Sunil Abraham; Business Standard; January 10, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/governance-now-elonnai-hickok-another-step-towards-privacy-law-data-protection">Another Step towards Privacy Law</a> (Elonnai Hickok; Governance Now; January 15, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/deccan-herald-january-20-2018-sunil-abraham-data-protection-we-can-innovate-leapfrog">Data Protection: We can innovate, leapfrog</a> (Sunil Abraham; Deccan Herald; January 20, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p><span><br />CIS in the News:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-surabhi-agarwal-and-samanwaya-rautray-from-net-neutrality-to-ibc-and-aadhaar-how-vidhi-is-framing-key-government-legislation">From net neutrality to IBC & Aadhaar, how Vidhi is framing key government legislation</a> (Surabhi Agarwal and Samanwaya Rautray; Economic Times; January 4, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-komal-gupta-january-7-2018-uidai-denies-any-breach-of-aadhaar-database">UIDAI denies any breach of Aadhaar database</a> (Komal Gupta; Livemint; January 7, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-january-9-2018-manasa-venkataraman-ajay-patri-token-security-or-tokenized-security">Token security or tokenized security?</a> (Manasa Venkataraman and Ajay Patri; Livemint; January 9, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-january-11-2018-uidai-introduces-new-two-layer-security-system-to-improve-aadhaar-privacy">UIDAI introduces new two-layer security system to improve Aadhaar privacy</a> (Economic Times; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/indian-express-january-11-2018-">Hammered government offers Virtual ID firewall to protect your Aadhaar </a>(New Indian Express; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindu-yuthika-bhargava-january-11-2018-virtual-aadhaar-id-too-little-too-late">Virtual Aadhaar ID: too little, too late?</a> (Yuthika Bhargava; Hindu; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/bloomberg-quint-january-11-2018-india-to-introduce-virtual-id-for-aadhaar-to-strengthen-privacy">India To Introduce Virtual ID For Aadhaar To Strengthen Privacy</a> (Bloomberg Quint; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/uidais-virtual-id-limited-kyc-does-little-to-protect-aadhaar-data-already-collected-say-critics">UIDAI's Virtual ID, limited KYC does little to protect Aadhaar data already collected, say critics</a> (Business Today; January 12, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ndtv-sukriti-dwivedi-january-13-2018-aadhaar-body-talked-about-virtual-id-7-years-ago-put-it-off-uidai-chief">Aadhaar Body Talked About Virtual ID 7 Years Ago, Put It Off: UIDAI Chief</a> (Sukriti Dwivedi; NDTV; January 13, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/deccan-herald-january-14-2018-pranshu-rathee-bengaluru-gives-data-safety-tips-to-panel">Bengaluru gives data safety tips to panel </a>(Deccan Herald; January 14, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindu-businessline-january-16-2018-sravanthi-challapalli-is-your-personal-information-under-lock-and-key">Is your personal information under lock and key?</a> (Sravanthi Challapalli; Hindu Businessline; January 16, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/first-post-january-18-2018-aadhaar-privacy-debate-how-the-12-digit-number-went-from-personal-identifier-to-all-pervasive-transaction-tool">Aadhaar-privacy debate: How the 12-digit number went from personal identifier to all pervasive transaction tool</a> (First Post; January 18, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-komal-gupta-remya-nair-january-24-2018-paytm-payments-bank-woos-corporates-with-digital-incentives">Paytm Payments Bank woos corporates with digital incentives</a> (Komal Gupta and Remya Nair; Livemint; January 24, 2018).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/business-standard-january-25-2018-alnoor-peermohamed-aadhaars-new-security-measures-are-good-it-is-still-work-in-progress">Aadhaar's new security measures are good, it is still work in progress</a> (Alnoor Peermohamed; Business Standard; January 25, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br />Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Wikipedia</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/government-of-odisha-adopting-creative-commons-license-to-promote-transparency-and-access-to-knowledge">Government of Odisha adopting Creative Commons License to Promote Transparency and Access to Knowledge</a> (Sailesh Patnaik; January 17, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/experience-and-learning-outcome-from-wikipedia-education-program">Experience and Learning outcome from Wikipedia Education Program</a> (Lakshmi Karlekar; January 30, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Events Organized</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Dept._of_Mass_Communication,_Solapur_University">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dept. of Mass Communication, Solapur University</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dept of Mass Communication, Solapur University; Solapur; January 2, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Dayanand_College,_Solapur">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dayanand College, Solapur</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dayanand College, Solapur; Solapur; January 3, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Willingdon_College,_Sangli">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Willingdon College, Sangli</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Willingdon College; Sangli; January 5, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Govt.Science_%26_Arts_College,_Aurangabad">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Govt.Science & Arts College, Aurangabad</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Govt.Science & Arts College; Aurangabad; January 9, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Dr.Babasaheb_Ambedkar_Marathwada_Vidyapeeth">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Vidyapeeth</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University; Aurangabad; January 10, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Shivaji_University,_Kolhapur">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Shivaji University, Kolhapur </a>(Organized by CIS-A2K and Shivaji University; Kolhapur; January 15, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%A1%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%BE:%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%9C%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%9F%E0%B1%81/%E0%B0%86%E0%B0%82%E0%B0%A7%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B0_%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%8A%E0%B0%AF%E0%B1%8B%E0%B0%B2_%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%B3%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B6%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2/2018/%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%A1%E0%B1%87%E0%B0%9F%E0%B0%BE_%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%B6%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2_-_%E0%B0%9C%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%BF">Wikidata Workshop</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K and Andhra Loyola College; Vijaywada; January 20 - 21, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/events/train-the-trainer-2018">Train the Trainer 2018</a> (Organized by CIS-A2K; Mysore; January 26 - 28, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="text-align: justify; ">►</span><span style="text-align: justify; ">Pervasive Technologies</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Research Paper</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/patent-working-requirements-and-complex-products">Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products</a> (Jorge L. Contreras, Rohini Lakshané and Paxton M. Lewis; JIPEL NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law, Vol. 7 - No.1 on January 16, 2018). </li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Submission</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">Submission to DIPP at Meeting with IP Stakeholders</a> (Anubha Sinha; January 1, 2018). <i>The submission was made in December 2017 but it was published on the website in January 2018</i>.</li>
</ul>
<p>►Openness</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a> <br /><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Privacy</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-and-the-healthcare-industry-in-india">Artificial Intelligence and the Healthcare Industry in India</a> (Yesha Paul, Elonnai Hickok, Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari (Ecosystem mapping by Shweta Mohandas, Sidharth Ray and Elonnai Hickok. Designed by Saumyaa Naidu under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License; January 26, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<div><strong>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Events Organized</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-ai-and-manufacturing-and-services">Roundtable on A.I. and Manufacturing and Service</a>s (TERI, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/null-bangalore-meet-january-19">null Bangalore Meet: Special Session on Digital Identity and Privacy</a> (CIS, Bengaluru; January 19, 2018). Sunil Abraham gave a talk.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Free Speech and Expression</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Blog Entries</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-governance-forum-report-2017">Internet Governance Forum Report 2017</a> (Shweta Mohandas; January 11, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/mobile-net-ban-during-peaceful-protest-leaves-farmers-confused">Mobile net ban during peaceful protest leaves farmers confused</a> (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/2018hurt-sentiments2019-cost-udaipur-internet-access-for-four-days">‘Hurt sentiments’ cost Udaipur internet access for four days</a> (Shruti Jain; January 19, 2018).</li>
</ul>
</strong></div>
<div><span style="text-align: justify; "><strong><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong><a href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /></strong><span>CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Article </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/submission-to-trai-consultation-on-inputs-for-formulation-of-national-telecom-policy-2018">Submission to TRAI Consultation on "Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy - 2018"</a> (Pranesh Prakash; January 25, 2018).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw">Researchers at Work</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /><span>The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple-nrc-assam-citizen-identification-infrastructure">Life of a Tuple: National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Reform of Citizen Identification Infrastructure in Assam</a> (Sumandro Chattapadhyay; January 22, 2018). All posts related to the study can be <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple/">found here</a>.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong><strong><br /><span>-----------------------------------<br /></span></strong></strong><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS<br /></a><span>----------------------------------- </span></p>
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<p>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
<p>► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Twitter:<a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india"> http://twitter.com/cis_india</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Access to Knowledge: <a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Information Policy: <a href="https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy">https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy</a></li>
<li>Facebook - Access to Knowledge:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k"> https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: <a>a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Researchers at Work: <a>raw@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>List - Researchers at Work: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>► Support Us</p>
<div>Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.</div>
<p>► Request for Collaboration</p>
<div>
<p>We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<div><em>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects</em>.</div>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/Qjanuary-2018-newsletter'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/Qjanuary-2018-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchers at Work2018-03-01T01:35:56ZPageDecember 2017 Newsletter
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2017-newsletter
<b></b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
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<tbody>
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<th>Highlights</th>
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<tr>
<td>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Shruthi Anand <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-literature-review">wrote a report</a> that seeks to map the development of Artificial Intelligence both generally and in specific sectors culminating in a stakeholder analysis and contributions to policy making.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS made a submission to the Department of Industrial Planning and Promotion on December 7, 2017. CIS also <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">offered its assistance on other matters aimed at developing a suitable policy framework for SEPs and FRAND in India</a>, and, working towards sustained innovation, manufacture and availability of mobile technologies in India.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks held a meeting with IP stakeholders on December 7, 2017, chaired by the Secretary, DIPP, to take suggestions on improving procedures and functioning of the Office. <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-submissions-to-dipp-and-cgptdm-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">Anubha Sinha attended the meeting and requested the DIPP to improve compliance of uploading Form 27s by patentees and ensure proper enforcement of related provisions within the Indian Patent Act, 1970</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">A Kannada Wikipedia orientation workshop was held at the Entrepreneurship Centre, SID, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru on 26 November, 2017. The <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/kannada-wikipedia-orientation-workshop-at-iisc-bengaluru">day long event was aimed at adding content to Kannada Wikimedia projects</a> on topics such as ecology, environment, wildlife and sciences of Karnataka.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-december-6-2017-shyam-ponappa-the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons">wrote an article on the tragedy of commons</a> in the Business Standard on December 6, 2017.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Just like porn is not real life, all news is not real news. It’s time, therefore, to come of age in the 18th year of this century, wrote Nishant Shah in an article in the <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-31-2017-digitial-native-the-age-of-consent">Indian Express</a> on December 31, 2017.</li>
</ul>
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<p>CIS wrote the following articles:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-wire-amber-sinha-">New Recommendations to Regulate Online Hate Speech Could Pose More Problems Than Solutions</a> (Amber Sinha; Wire; October 14, 2017). <i>This was published in the month of December on the CIS website</i>.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/asian-age-amber-sinha-december-3-2017-">Breeding misinformation in virtual space</a> (Amber Sinha; Asian Age; December 3, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-wire-amber-sinha-december-1-2017-inclusive-co-regulatory-approach-possible-building-indias-data-protection-regime">India’s Data Protection Regime Must Be Built Through an Inclusive and Truly Co-Regulatory Approach</a><span> (Amber Sinha; Wire; December 1, 2017).</span></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-3-2017-digital-native-memory-card-is-full">Digital native: Memory card is full</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; December 3, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/should-aadhaar-be-mandatory">Should Aadhaar be mandatory?</a> (Amber Sinha; Deccan Herald; December 9, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-december-31-2017-digitial-native-the-age-of-consent">Digital native: The age of consent</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; December 31, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p><span>CIS in the News:</span></p>
<ul>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/aadhaar-linking-deadline-approaches-here-are-all-the-myths-and-facts">Aadhaar linking deadline approaches: Here are all the myths and facts</a> (Business Today; December 7, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-hindu-peerzada-abrar-december-9-2017-checks-and-balances-needed-to-mass-surveillance-of-citizens-say-experts">Checks and balances needed for mass surveillance of citizens, say experts</a> (Hindu; December 9, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/masking-personal-data-to-protect-privacy-crucial-for-india-say-experts">Masking personal data to protect privacy crucial for India, say experts</a> (Deepti Govind; Livemint; December 11, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/factor-daily-sriram-sharma-december-12-2017-paranoid-about-state-surveillance-here-s-the-fd-guide-to-living-in-the-age-of-snoops">Paranoid about state surveillance? Here’s the FD Guide to living in the age of snoops</a> (Sriram Sharma; Factor Daily; December 12, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/deadline-for-linking-bank-accounts-with-aadhaar-to-be-extended-to-31-march">Deadline For Linking Bank Accounts With Aadhaar To Be Extended To 31 March</a> (Komal Gupta and Ramya Nair; Livemint; December 14, 2017).</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br />Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Copyright & Patent</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Submission</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/submission-to-dipp-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">Submission to DIPP at Meeting with IP Stakeholders</a> (Anubha Sinha; December 12, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-submissions-to-dipp-and-cgptdm-at-meeting-with-ip-stakeholders">CIS' Submission to DIPP and CGPDTM at meeting with IP Stakeholders</a> (Anubha Sinha; December 13, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p>►Openness</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><span>►</span>Wikipedia</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/christ-university-wikipedia-education-program-internship-1">Christ University Wikipedia Education Program Internship</a> (Manasa Rao; December 11, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-orientation-program-at-rotary-club-of-salem">Wikipedia Orientation Program at Rotary Club of Salem</a> (Manasa Rao; December 11, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/nichole-saad-from-the-wikimedia-foundation-visits-christ-university">Nichole Saad from the Wikimedia Foundation visits Christ University</a> (Manasa Rao; December 17, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/kannada-wikipedia-orientation-workshop-at-iisc-bengaluru">Kannada Wikipedia Orientation Workshop at IISc, Bengaluru</a> (A. Gopalakrishna; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikimedia-technical-workshop-at-savitribai-phule-pune-university">Wikimedia Technical Workshop at Savitribai Phule Pune University</a> (Manasa Rao; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-for-sandarbh-science-magazine-writers">Marathi Wikipedia workshop for Sandarbh Science magazine writers</a> (Manasa Rao; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-vishwakosh-workshop-for-science-writers-in-iucaa-pune">Marathi Wikipedia - Vishwakosh Workshop for Science writers in IUCAA, Pune</a> (Manasa Rao; December 20, 2017).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a> <br /><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>►</span>Free Speech & Expression</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/it-hurts-them-too">It Hurts Them Too</a> (Mir Farhat; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-shutdowns-a-modern-day-siege">Internet Shutdowns: A Modern-day Siege</a> (Ayswarya Murthy; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/days-to-derail-work-of-two-generations">Days to Derail Work of Two Generations?</a> (Mahesh Kumar Shiva; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/sorry-business-closed-until-internet-is-back-on">Sorry, Business Closed until Internet is Back On</a> (Nalanda Tambe; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/stock-brokers-dont-love-an-internet-shutdown">Stock Brokers Don't Love an Internet Shutdown</a> (Binita Parikh; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/was-there-an-unofficial-internet-shutdown-in-bhu-ntpc">Was there an Unofficial Internet Shutdown in BHU & NTPC?</a> (Saurabh Sharma; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/how-media-beat-the-shutdown-in-darjeeling">How Media beat the Shutdown in Darjeeling</a> (Manish Adhikary; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-and-the-police-tool-to-some-trash-to-others">Internet and the Police: Tool to Some, Trash to Others</a> (Manoj Kumar; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/business-woes-from-saharanpurs-internet-ban">Business Woes from Saharanpur's Internet Ban</a> (Mahesh Kumar Shiva; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/amid-unrest-in-the-valley-students-see-a-dark-wall">Amid Unrest in the Valley, Students See a Dark Wall</a> (Aakash Hassan; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-rising-stars-in-music-loath-losing-their-only-platform">The Rising Stars in Music Loath Losing their Only Platform</a> (Umar Shah and Mir Farhat; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-and-banking-a-trust-broken">Internet and Banking: A Trust Broken</a> (Roshan Gupta; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/online-or-offline-protest-goes-on">Online or Offline, Protest Goes On</a> (Junaid Nabi Bazaz; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/digital-banking-dreams-interrupted">Digital Banking Dreams: Interrupted</a> (Safeena Wani; December 19, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/will-darjeeling-regain-the-trust-of-tourists">Will Darjeeling Regain the Trust of Tourists?</a> (Roshan Gupta; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/silence-on-the-dera-front">Silence on the Dera Front</a> (Sat Singh; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/isps-in-kashmir-grappling-with-mounting-losses-amid-recurrent-shutdowns">ISPs in Kashmir Grappling with Mounting Losses Amid Recurrent Shutdowns</a> (Safina Wani; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/taxes-in-the-time-of-internet-shutdown">Taxes in the Time of Internet Shutdown</a> (Avijit Sarkar; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/every-town-had-its-jio-dara">Every Town had its Jio Dara</a> (Ayswarya Murthy; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/education-and-employment-opportunities-tossed-out-of-the-window">Education and Employment Opportunities Tossed out of the Window</a> (Roshan Gupta; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/darjeeling2019s-e-commerce-crumbles-after-100-days-sans-internet">Darjeeling’s e-commerce Crumbles after 100 days sans Internet</a> (Avijit Sarkar; December 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/e-administration-efforts-are-lame-ducks-without-internet">E-administration Efforts are Lame Ducks without Internet</a> (Amit Kumar and Sat Singh; December 20, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br />►Privacy</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-literature-review">Artificial Intelligence - Literature Review</a><span> (Shruthi Anand; edited by Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari with research assistance by Sidharth Ray; December 16, 2017).</span></li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/ai-and-healthcare-in-india-looking-forward">AI and Healthcare in India: Looking Forward</a> (Shweta Mohandas; edited by Roshni Ranganathan; December 16, 2017).</li>
</ul>
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<div><strong>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Participation in Event</span></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/figi-symposium-2017">FIGI Symposium 2017</a> (Organized by Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), jointly with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI) and support of the Government of India; November 29 - December 1, 2017; Bangalore). Elonnai Hickok participated in the symposium and spoke in the "Security, Infrastructure, and Trust" working group on big data and privacy in DFS.</li>
</ul>
</strong></div>
<div><span style="text-align: justify; "><strong><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong><a href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /></strong><span>CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Article </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-december-6-2017-shyam-ponappa-the-tragedy-of-the-unused-commons">The tragedy of the unused commons</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; December 6, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>-----------------------------------<br /></span><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS<br /></a><span>----------------------------------- </span></p>
<div class="keyResearch">
<div id="parent-fieldname-text-8a5942eb6f4249c5b6113fdd372e636c">
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
<p>► Follow us elsewhere</p>
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<li>Twitter:<a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india"> http://twitter.com/cis_india</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Access to Knowledge: <a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Information Policy: <a href="https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy">https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy</a></li>
<li>Facebook - Access to Knowledge:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k"> https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: <a>a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Researchers at Work: <a>raw@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>List - Researchers at Work: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a></li>
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<p>► Support Us</p>
<div>Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.</div>
<p>► Request for Collaboration</p>
<div>
<p>We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<div><em>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects</em>.</div>
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<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2017-newsletter'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/december-2017-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchers at Work2018-03-17T11:12:26ZPageBengalureans to receive Helen Keller award
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/deccan-herald-november-30-2017-bengalureans-to-receive-helen-keller-award
<b>Three Bengalureans and two organisations from the city have been selected this year for the Helen Keller awards, given by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and Mindtree.
</b>
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify; ">The article was published by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/645485/bengalureans-receive-helen-keller-award.html">Deccan Herald</a> on November 30, 2017</p>
<hr />
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify; ">The awards, instated in 1999 to encourage the creation of employment for persons with disabilities (PwD), will be presented on December 2, in Delhi, on the eve of World Disability Day. A total of 10 awards are given - six to individuals and four to role-model organisations.</p>
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify; ">In the Role Model-Disabled Person category, Pradip Sinha, an executive in Dell-EMC in Bengaluru is one of the individuals awarded. In spite of being hearing and visually impaired, Pradip works independently without an interpreter. He also teaches deaf-blind children at Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf Blind (HKIDB).</p>
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify; ">Dr Nirmita Narasimhan, the founding member of Centre for Internet and Society in Bengaluru, has also been awarded in this category. Nirmita is partially visually disabled and has worked with disability organisations, governments and UN bodies advocating for digital accessibility, promoting universal design and open source assistive technology.</p>
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify; ">In the role model, non-disabled person category, Swaminathan Subramanian, a manager at ANZ Bengaluru Service Centre has won. He has been working for inclusion of PwD and his efforts have resulted in the hiring of 220 persons with disabilities in the company.</p>
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify; ">City-based coffee chain Hatti Kaapi has been awarded as a role model organisation for providing employment to PwD, senior citizens, and people from rural areas. It has partnered with various NGOs to look for people with disabilities such as autism, physical disability, and visual disability. Inspired by the award, the company has decided to dedicate one of their outlets to be run and managed exclusively by disabled employees from December 2.</p>
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify; ">Vindhya E-Infomedia Private Limited, BPO in the city which has a large proportion of PwD in their staff has also been awarded. In their Bengaluru centre, about 58% of employees are disabled while the Hyderabad centre has only PwD as staff.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/deccan-herald-november-30-2017-bengalureans-to-receive-helen-keller-award'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/deccan-herald-november-30-2017-bengalureans-to-receive-helen-keller-award</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminAccessibility2018-01-01T16:24:49ZNews ItemNovember 2017 Newsletter
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2017-newsletter
<b>November 2017 Newsletter</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
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<th>Highlights</th>
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<td>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Anubha Sinha took part in the 35th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (“SCCR”) at Geneva from 13 November, 2017 to 18 November, 2017. <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-question-to-dr-rostama-on-her-study-on-the-impact-of-the-digital-environment-on-copyright-legislation">She posed a question on the agenda</a> 'Other Matters' on behalf of CIS on Day 5, 17 November, 2017. CIS also gave statements on <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-statement-on-limitations-and-exceptions-for-libraries-and-archives">Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives</a> and <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-statement-on-grulac-proposal-for-analysis-of-copyright-in-the-digital-environment">GRULAC Proposal for Analysis of Copyright in the Digital Environment</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-a2k-signs-mou-with-telangana-government">CIS-A2K signed a Memorandum of Understanding</a> with the Telangana Government’s IT, Electronics & Communications Department with to catalyse the development of the Wikimedia movement in Telangana and improve the state of free-licensed digital content in Telugu and Urdu.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India has published the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW). Nirmita Narasimhan on behalf of the Centre for Internet & Society <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/comments-on-guidelines-for-indian-government-websites">gave comments on GIGW</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The government has already set up a Nudge unit; now, it should apply the Nobel laureate's insights on auctions relating to essential infrastructure wrote Shyam Ponappa in <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-november-1-2017-nobel-laureate-richard-thaler-views-on-auctions">an article in the Business Standard</a> on November 1, 2017.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">DataMeet and CIS have <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/openness/steps-towards-integrated-open-water-data">collaborated on identifying and addressing the challenges to open up and integrate data and information</a> in the water sector.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/counter-comments-on-trais-consultation-paper-on-privacy-security-and-ownership-of-data-in-telecom-sector">commented on the Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector</a> published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on August 9, 2017.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/a-comparison-of-legal-and-regulatory-approaches-to-cyber-security-in-india-and-the-united-kingdom">published a report that compares laws and regulations in the United Kingdom and India</a> to see the similarities and disjunctions in cyber security policy between them.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/cis-comments-on-promoting-local-telecom-equipment-manufacturing">sent comments on TRAI consultation paper on promoting local telecom equipment manufacturing</a>. The submission drew on research primarily done in the Pervasive Technologies project.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>CIS in the News:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/telangana-today-november-8-2017-alekhya-hanumanthu-big-data-for-governance">Big Data for governance</a> (Alekhya Hanumanthu; Telangana Today; November 4, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/the-times-of-india-shalini-umachandrani-november-7-2017-how-tech-is-making-life-easier-for-differently-abled">How tech is making life easier for differently-abled</a> (Shalini Umachandrani; November 7, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/india-today-priya-pathak-november-8-2017-india-today-conclave-next-2017-aadhaar-was-rushed-says-mp-rajeev-chandrashekhar">India Today Conclave Next 2017: Aadhaar was rushed, says MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar</a> (Priya Pathak; India Today; November 8, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/youth-ki-awaaz-roopa-sudarshan-what-you-need-to-worry-about-before-linking-your-mobile-number-with-aadhaar">What You Need To Worry About Before Linking Your Mobile Number With Aadhaar </a>(Roopa Raju and Shekhar Rai; Youth Ki Awaaz; November 8, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/news-18-lt-general-retd-ds-hooda-data-is-new-oil-and-human-mind-the-new-battlefield-india-must-wake-up-now">OPINION | Data is New Oil and Human Mind the New Battlefield. India Must Wake Up Now</a> (Lt. General (Retd.) D. S. Hooda; News18.com; November 11, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/shaikh-zoaib-saleem-livemint-november-14-2017-aadhaar-seeding-benefits-and-concerns">Aadhaar seeding: benefits and concerns</a> (Shaikh Zoaib Saleem; Livemint; November 14, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-november-23-2017-ronald-abraham-privacy-issues-exist-even-without-aadhaar">Privacy issues exist even without Aadhaar</a> (Ronald Abraham; November 15, 2017).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/cima-sarah-oh-november-15-2017-openness-nine-ways-civil-society-groups-have-mobilized-to-defend-internet-freedom">Advocating for Openness: Nine Ways Civil Society Groups Have Mobilized to Defend Internet Freedom</a> (Centre for International Media Assistance; November 15, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-november-16-2017-komal-gupta-govt-working-to-set-up-financial-cert-to-tackle-cyber-threats">Govt working to set up financial CERT to tackle cyber threats</a> (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 16, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ciso-mag-financial-cert-to-combat-cyber-threats-says-mos-home-affairs">Financial CERT to combat cyber threats, says MoS home affairs</a> (CISO MAG; November 17, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/financial-express-november-20-2017-government-websites-made-aadhaar-details-public">UIDAI admits 210 government websites made Aadhaar details public</a> (Financial Express; November 20, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/sunny-sen-livemint-november-23-2017-indias-internet-missionaries">India’s internet missionaries: The women Google is relying on to spread its Next Billion message</a> (Sunny Sen; Livemint; November 21, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-surabhi-agarwal-november-23-2017-fcc-plan-to-repeal-net-neutrality-may-not-impact-india">FCC’s plan to repeal net neutrality may not impact India</a> (Surabhi Agarwal; Economic Times; November 23, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindustan-times-kul-bhushan-november-23-2017-indian-activists-slam-fcc-decision-to-ditch-net-neutrality">Indian activists slam FCC decision to ditch net neutrality</a> (Kul Bhushan; Hindustan Times; November 23, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/economic-times-surabhi-agarwal-november-23-2017-fcc-plan-to-repeal-net-neutrality-may-not-impact-india">FCC’s plan to repeal net neutrality may not impact India</a> (Surabhi Agarwal; Economic Times; November 23, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/digit-subhrojit-mallick-november-24-2017-why-should-you-keep-a-close-eye-on-net-neutrality-debate-in-us">Why should you keep a close eye on the net neutrality debate in the US</a> (Subhrojit Mallick; Digit; November 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-november-24-2017-komal-gupta-cyberattacks-a-significant-threat-to-democracy-modi">Cyberattacks a significant threat to democracy: Modi</a> (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindustan-times-aman-sethi-november-27-2017-aadhaar-verification-at-airports-raises-need-for-stricter-data-privacy-regulations">Aadhaar verification at airports raises need for stricter data privacy regulations</a> (Aman Sethi; Hindustan Times, November 27, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/idap-interview-series-interview-x-with-nirmita-narasimhan">IDAP Interview Series: Interview with Nirmita Narasimhan</a> (IDIA Law; November 27, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/livemint-november-28-2017-komal-gupta-govt-releases-white-paper-on-data-protection-framework">Govt releases white paper on data protection framework</a> (Komal Gupta; Livemint; November 28, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/deccan-herald-november-30-2017-bengalureans-to-receive-helen-keller-award">Bengalureans to receive Helen Keller award</a> (Deccan Herald; November 30, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">-------------------------------------<br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility">Accessibility & Inclusion</a> <br />------------------------------------- <br />India has an estimated 70 million persons with disabilities who don't have access to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. As part of our endeavour to make available accessible content for persons with disabilities, we are developing a text-to-speech software in 15 languages with support from the Hans Foundation. The progress made so far in the project can be accessed <a href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/nvda-text-to-speech-synthesizer">here</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Submission</strong></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/comments-on-guidelines-for-indian-government-websites">Comments on Guidelines for Indian Government Websites</a> (Nirmita Narasimhan; November 26, 2017).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br />Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; ">►</span>Copyright & Patent</p>
<ul>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-statement-on-limitations-and-exceptions-for-libraries-and-archives">35th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives</a> (Anubha Sinha; November 15, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-statement-on-grulac-proposal-for-analysis-of-copyright-in-the-digital-environment">35th SCCR: CIS Statement on Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives</a> (Anubha Sinha; November 17, 2017).</div>
</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/35th-sccr-cis-question-to-dr-rostama-on-her-study-on-the-impact-of-the-digital-environment-on-copyright-legislation">35th SCCR: CIS' Question to Dr. Rostama on her Study on the Impact of the Digital Environment on Copyright Legislation</a> (Anubha Sinha; November 19, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Wikipedia</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Blog Entry</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-a2k-signs-mou-with-telangana-government">CIS-A2K signs MoU with Telangana Government </a>(Manasa Rao; November 8, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>►Openness</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a> <br /><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>►Privacy</span></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/a-comparison-of-legal-and-regulatory-approaches-to-cyber-security-in-india-and-the-united-kingdom">A Comparison of Legal and Regulatory Approaches to Cyber Security in India and the United Kingdom</a> (Divij Joshi; edited by Elonnai Hickok; November 12, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/counter-comments-on-trais-consultation-paper-on-privacy-security-and-ownership-of-data-in-telecom-sector">Counter Comments on TRAI's Consultation Paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in Telecom Sector</a> (Amber Sinha; November 23, 2017).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<ul>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Participation in Event</strong></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/bis-international-seminar-on-internet-of-things">BIS International Seminar on Internet of Things</a> (Organized by BIS; November 15, 2017; India Habitat Centre, New Delhi). Amber Sinha attended the event.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/internet-universality-indicators-for-a-safe-secure-and-inclusive-cyberspace-for-sustainable-development">Internet Universality Indicators for a Safe, Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development</a> (Organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India; UNESCO Conference Room, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi; November 17, 2017). Amber Sinha attended the event.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/roundtable-on-data-integrity-and-privacy">Roundtable on Data Integrity and Privacy</a> (Organized by Observer Research Foundation; November 18, 2017). The round table discussion was chaired by Shri Baijayant Panda, Hon'ble Member of Parliament.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong><span style="text-align: justify; ">►</span>Cyber Security</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/breach-notifications-a-step-towards-cyber-security-for-consumers-and-citizens">Breach Notifications: A Step towards Cyber Security for Consumers and Citizens</a> (Amelia Andersdotter; November 14, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Event Organized</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-enhancing-indian-cyber-security-through-multi-stakeholder-cooperation">Roundtable on Enhancing Indian Cyber Security through Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation</a> (Indian Islamic Centre; Lodhi Road; New Delhi; November 4, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/open-house-on-security-practices-in-fintech">Open House on Security Practices in FinTech</a> (Organized by CIS and Has Geek; November 17, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Participation in Event</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/multinational-cyber-security-forum-at-university-of-haifa">Multinational Cyber Security Forum at University of Haifa</a> (Organized by Center for Cyber, Law and Policy and University of Haifa in collaboration with the Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative; November 5 - 7, 2017). Sunil Abraham participated in the meeting held in Israel.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/global-commission-on-the-stability-of-cyberspace-gcsc">Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace</a> (GCSC) (Organized by GCSC; November 21, 2017; New Delhi). Pranesh Prakash participated in the event.</li>
</ul>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>-----------------------------------<br /></span><a href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom<br /></a><span>----------------------------------- </span></p>
</strong></div>
<div><span style="text-align: justify; ">
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Article </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-november-1-2017-nobel-laureate-richard-thaler-views-on-auctions">Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler's Views On Auctions</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; November 1, 2017).</li>
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<p>Submission</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/cis-comments-on-promoting-local-telecom-equipment-manufacturing">Comments on TRAI Consultation Paper on Promoting Local Telecom Equipment Manufacturing</a> (Anubha Sinha; November 26, 2017).</li>
</ul>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw">Researchers at Work</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /><span>The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Articles</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-november-5-2017-digital-native-rebellion-by-google-doc">Digital native: Rebellion by Google Doc </a>(Nishant Shah; Indian Express; November 4, 2017)</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-november-19-2017-nishant-shah-digital-native-let-there-be-life">Digital native: Let there be life</a> (Nishant Shah; Indian Express; November 19, 2017).</li>
</ul>
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<p><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br />The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
<p>► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Twitter:<a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india"> http://twitter.com/cis_india</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Access to Knowledge: <a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Information Policy: <a href="https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy">https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy</a></li>
<li>Facebook - Access to Knowledge:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k"> https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: <a>a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Researchers at Work: <a>raw@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>List - Researchers at Work: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>► Support Us</p>
<div>Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.</div>
<p>► Request for Collaboration</p>
<div>
<p>We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<div><em>CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects</em>.</div>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2017-newsletter'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/november-2017-newsletter</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchers at Work2018-01-10T01:57:29ZPageFive from Bengaluru get Helen Keller awards
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/hindu-october-27-2017-five-from-bengaluru-get-helen-keller-awards
<b>Those from the city continue to dominate the 18th Helen Keller Awards 2017 with five Bengaluru-based individuals and organisations being honoured for their work towards empowerment of the differently-abled. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article was published in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/five-from-bengaluru-get-helen-keller-awards/article19934519.ece">Hindu</a> on October 27, 2017</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A total of 10 people, NGO or companies will be awarded at the NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Awards 2017 to be held on December 2 in New Delhi.<br /><br />In the category of ‘Role model disabled person’, Nirmita Narasimhan, policy director, Centre For Internet and Society, and Pradip Sinha, executive at Dell-EMC, will be awarded. Swaminathan Subramanian, manager at ANZ Bengaluru Service Centre, will be awarded for being a ‘Role model supporter of increased employment opportunities for disabled persons’. Bengaluru-based Hatti Food and Beverages Pvt. Ltd., and Vindhya e Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. were chosen as ‘role model companies’ for promoting equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.<br /><br />The Helen Keller awards were started in 1999 by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) with the aim of encouraging and increasing the participation of the disabled in the formal workforce.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/hindu-october-27-2017-five-from-bengaluru-get-helen-keller-awards'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/hindu-october-27-2017-five-from-bengaluru-get-helen-keller-awards</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminAccessibility2017-11-27T15:21:29ZNews ItemIDAP Interview Series: Interview with Nirmita Narasimhan
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/idap-interview-series-interview-x-with-nirmita-narasimhan
<b>IDIA Disability Access Programme did an interview with Nirmita Narasimhan. This interview was conducted by Madhavi Singh and Anusha Reddy. The interview was transcribed by Veda Singh, IDIA intern and student at Jindal Global Law School. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read the original published by IDIA Law <a class="external-link" href="http://idialaw.com/blog/idap-interview-series-interview-x-with-nirmita-narasimhan/">here</a></p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Our interview in this series features Nirmita Narasimhan, a Policy Director with the Centre for Internet and Society. Nirmita did her LL.B. from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 2002. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in German and a Ph.D. in Music. As a part of CIS she has done extensive work on web accessibility and was involved in drafting the Indian National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility. She has worked closely with different departments of the Government of India to bring accessibility into their policies and programmes.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In recognition of her path-breaking work in the field of digital accessibility, she has received numerous awards such as the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (2010), the NIVH (National Institute for the Visually Handicapped) Excellence Award (2011) and the NCPEDP-Emphasis Universal Design award in 2016. She played a key role in amending the Indian Copyright Act to incorporate exceptions for people with print disabilities and launched the widely acclaimed nationwide Right to Read campaigns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Nirmita’s experience is not just limited to policy work – she is a widely published author and has assisted national and international bodies in the creation of several reports on promoting accessibility rights of people with disabilities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This interview was conducted by Madhavi Singh and Anusha Reddy. The interview was transcribed by Veda Singh, IDIA intern and student at Jindal Global Law School. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://idialaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Nirmita-pic-2-July-2016-1.jpg"><img alt="Picture of Nirmita Narasimhan" class="alignleft wp-image-4335 size-medium" height="300" src="http://idialaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Nirmita-pic-2-July-2016-1-233x300.jpg" width="233" /></a></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> Could you please describe to us the exact nature of your disability?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I have something called Stargardt disease. For me it came when I was 9 or so. When I started, I could read with the help of a magnifying glass and I would enlarge things to read and now I completely rely on screen reading software.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Could you please describe to us the reasonable accommodation provided by your school and college, if any?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In school nothing! I used to read and write using a magnifying glass –reading was a bit of a struggle. My handwriting was really bad and people didn’t understand it. I never asked for anything. Only for my Board exams I had asked for a writer because that’s something you really can’t risk.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Most schools use boards to teach. How did you manage? </b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">No, it just depended on the individual teacher and maybe I was also very inhibited at that time in my life. I wouldn’t go up to the teacher and simply say “please read it out.” Consequently, I always regretted that I was not good at math, because it was always on the board. I managed back then with the help of my parents and sister.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>You have a large number of educational qualifications to your name. You initially studied German and Carnatic music and only pursued law later. What factors influenced you in deciding to study law?</b></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">It may not be anything glamourous as really being passionate about it. But going back to German – I really liked the language, and more so due to the teaching methods because this was the first time I was out of a classroom setting into a setting where there were 10-12 students and the teachers were really good and used unconventional methods. They were accommodative about exams. The teacher could write exams for me or tell me what to do – it was not like a fixed system. Whenever a system came into play, inaccessibility also came into play. Whenever it was an individual, and usually somebody who was not heartless, it was pretty okay.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One time in an exam, they gave a printout, and I couldn’t read it. At that time, I wrote the one answer I could, left the rest of the question, gave the paper and walked out. When the results were declared, I got an A or A+! I was shocked. I went to the teacher and said “How can you do this to me?” He said “I know that had you been able to read it, you would’ve written because I see you every day in class. That was probably wrong of us and we should have ensured that you could’ve read the paper.” I think that was a unique experience. It happens to very few people and it certainly never happens very often in one’s lifetime, unless you’re extraordinarily lucky. But these kinds of experiences during my graduation really helped get a better sense of the world.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">After that I started my M.A. When you’re trying to do translation you keep referring to a dictionary. Until my M.A., I used to keep enlarging a basic dictionary into such thick volumes that I couldn’t even carry them. I realised that this couldn’t go on all my life and beyond a point I could not expect my father or mother to read out, because they did not know German and would not always be with me. So, I thought that this is not going to work out and at that time I gave the law entrance exam.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As for music, I did my diploma while I was doing my B.A. I didn’t consciously take up music immediately after my B.A. because people thought that was the obvious career for me since I had a visual disability and that really irritated me. After having finished my law, somewhere along the way I thought that so what if music is the expected career for someone who is visually impaired, it’s just something I wanted to do.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">My main motive was actually not to fall into things which people expect are easy. When I was joining law many people said “You shouldn’t join law, you won’t be able to refer to anything.” I got so annoyed and would say – “Listen it’s my life, if I’m going to live for 85 years and if I waste one year in between, I have no problems. So why does it bother you? I don’t mind failure, but at least let me try. If I can’t, I’ll leave it and go back to sociology or some other subjects.” So, that’s why I got into law, and I have no regrets. It was tough for multiple reasons.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Out of all your diverse educational courses (law, Carnatic music and German) with their varied teaching methodology and course work which field do you think was the most exclusionary of people with disabilities and which one was the most accommodative?</b></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">I think it depends on the institution. It’s not fair to compare Delhi University with JNU. JNU was more open and the teachers were creative in the ways they taught, recognising individual abilities. It was completely different from DU which had approximately 80 people in a class and typically the lecturer came, gave a lecture and left. I had a good experience in JNU, because it was not bound by systems and is generally a good place to study.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Faculty for Music and Fine Arts at DU was also very accommodative, especially so because my Guru ensured that I got what I needed. However I found studying law to be really difficult – at that time I didn’t have any books. If I would go to the library, each and every book you pick up would be underlined with a pen. If you try to scan it – at that time the technology was very slow but even if I was ready to do that, if something is underlined the scan is obsolete. How much can one human being read out to you – a constitutional law book is of 300-1000 pages? You have to refer to so many books!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">So, I couldn’t read any book, I didn’t know where to start. Then I was actually forced to rely on these dukkhis. I think the main reason they were useful is that they weren’t underlined, I could purchase them, tear them and scan them. By that time I had also been introduced to computers, and had bought an OCR having paid $1000 for it at that time. Even after that since the paper quality was not good I couldn’t read much.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I know this is probably an awful thing to say, and though I would’ve loved to have a more nuanced understanding of the law but it required me to read a lot which I was unable to do – not because I didn’t want to but because I just couldn’t.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>You were an exceptional student – topper of your batch and a gold medalist. To what extent was your hunger for success fueled by your desire to demonstrate your capabilities and to not let your vision impairment become your defining characteristic?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Is my success driven by my desire to show the world? No. Even when I did law– forget showing other people, I just needed to do something “normal” or something that other people were doing – something that is a profession, that’s it. Everything else I did was not to prove anything. After a point, I didn’t really think much about having a disability it’s just a part of who you are. I just wanted to study well.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>You have worked in the field of policy research, as a lawyer in a corporate law firm as well as in advocacy, how do you think these professions are different in terms of the obstacles they pose to lawyers with disabilities? Have there been any reasonable accommodation?</b></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Policy research is my current work. The fact that I am currently using technology and my office is pro-accessibility shows that reasonable accommodation is provided here. I tried both courts and corporate law, they were never areas I wanted to be in permanently but I thought having studied law I should have some kind of exposure. At that point of time there were a number of documents, annexures, etc. and to file them you could always hire somebody, but it wasn’t something you could have done for yourself– this was around 2002. And in the corporate field, what I found difficult was working with track changes and deadlines. I was not very excited by the work to stick it out and really prove a point. I know some people that did. I think you need to be motivated enough to tackle the issue, I was not motivated enough by the people to conquer these issues and it didn’t excite me.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>You started your career in law with Mr. Rungta. </b><b>Could you kindly let us know your reasons for choosing to work for a blind lawyer?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I wanted to know how he worked. If you mean whether it was difficult getting into other law firms, yes it was. I did try to ask people in firms but they were completely not open to having me. One or two said that we could have a trial – without pay however, to which I asked if they were paying other juniors, and if so then I didn’t want to join. I worked with Mr. Rungta for a few months and then moved on.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>This is a problem most students face wherein employers are apprehensive of hiring people with disabilities, so what advice would you give especially to the corporate field?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I think it is a really negative attitude – people see what you cannot do and not what you can do. And at some point everyone has certain skills, and you as an employer need to be discerning– it shows how smart you are whether you can identify how to tap into that person’s skill or not.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It’s not the time for people to be telling them what they cannot do. The students already know that tasks are difficult for them – they don’t need to hear it from their employers too. So, I think there is a huge issue there. It’s for them to figure out and work with the person to see how to make it happen. It can happen! It might not be exactly the same thing that you envisaged but something can be worked out.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I never came across an employer who was willing to do this. Believe me, I’ve gone from door to door after I finished my law degree and it was a very demotivating time. I feel that it is sad especially now with the kind of technology we have. Maybe at that time I could agree and understand their concerns that I wouldn’t be able to look up case law, but things are different now. Another problem is that the student does not know the range of the work there is, hence it becomes difficult to articulate what he/she wants/can do. I think it is important, even for institutions to ensure that they help place their students, in some of these big law firms, starting from internships.<b></b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>If you had to tell employers why they should hire people with disability, what would it be? </b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Do not judge a person merely by virtue of whether he/ she has a disability. Be fair and give them a chance as well. There are many people who became great, just because they got a break. There is great value in making your work place more inclusive and diverse. One can evolve work arounds for most issues and technology has made many things possible.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>As a Policy Director with the Centre for Internet and Society, you have done extensive work on web accessibility for persons with disabilities. Given that technology has been an enabler for persons with disabilities, do you believe that the government and society (technologists/businesses/start-ups) have a responsibility to design keeping accessibility in mind from the very beginning?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Definitely, there are no two ways about it. They should, but they aren’t doing it. The first policy on accessibility was in 2009 by the NIC and it continued to remain inaccessible. The second one in 2013 was the national electronic accessibility policy. However, even today many websites are not accessible. After that policy, so many government initiatives, some 700 mobile applications, etc. came up, of which most are inaccessible.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Now everything is on mobile apps, whether private or government, so we did a lot of studies on that and wrote about it. We put together a set of guidelines and submitted them to the government to look at– otherwise there’s really no point in Digital India or Inclusive India. Of course the situation is now vastly changed, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was passed in December 2016 and now makes compliance with accessibility standards in different domains mandatory, hopefully this will now be a game changer. It is binding not only on the government, but on the private sector as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is not just a question of ‘responsibility’ –the government’s responsibility to its citizens is also not just regarding disability but about inclusiveness and the kind of society you want to be. It is about being nice and fair not just because you are responsible. It’s how you want your society to evolve.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Very often I think the most accessible products benefit everyone in society. It’s not just a person with disability that is getting benefit out of it. Do you agree?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">So a lot of accessibility features came up as just a market feature, for example – in the U.S., so many people read audiobooks, they just listen while they’re driving to their place of work. Another example – those squeaky shoes children wear could help a mother who is blind know where her child is moving. You can say subtitles are for deaf persons, but for a Telugu movie, people who cannot understand Telugu also can go watch it now. I think every accessibility feature has a use. So, for society and the government accessibility should be a universal goal.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>For private players a lot of times when you speak to them about accessibility they’re clueless or they think it is an expensive process which requires special knowledge. Do you have anything to say to such private entities like Flipkart, or Ola?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I think they’re not recognising the situation. If there are 1.3 billion people that are disabled in the world, there are 150 million people in India that are disabled – they need to realise that it is a huge market out there. Blind people are using Uber and not Ola. If they made their application accessible their market would grow. For Ola, for example it’ll ask me to rate my previous drive, and it only gives the option of 3 star with a screen reader – I can’t increase or decrease it. Now if I keep giving 3 stars only, I won’t get a driver the next time (laughs)! Uber and Amazon, both are entirely accessible and they’re international brands. You should ensure that your service is accessible in the starting itself when it is not expensive. Later it becomes more expensive and difficult to do. Private entities really need to look more into their diversity and it shouldn’t just be something they do for CSR, it is good business. It’s a good contribution to society.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Recently, in a move to digitise the courts in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the integrated case management system of the Supreme Court. Given that this move could be a game changer for lawyers and litigants with disabilities, do you believe that accessibility of such platforms will be given foremost importance by the government? If not, what steps can we take to ensure that it is given importance? </b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The RPWD Act 2016 requires all legal services, documents etc. uploaded to be accessible. If this is not done, it would be a tragedy. Just like the case of the Digital Library of India which has over 5 lakh books, most of which are image files and inaccessible. The government should ensure that this mistake is never again replicated. The website and the documents should be accessible as per notified standards. When you’re uploading documents, sometimes you might need scanned versions in which case you must have an unofficial version or some alternative that is accessible. Even if it is for tracking new cases, or filing things through apps, it should all be accessible as per guidelines – that’s the bottom line. So, involve the experts right from the beginning.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>You have worked on digitization of books and general accessibility of educational resources for persons with disabilities. What in your opinion is the most resource efficient solution to the book famine currently plaguing students with print disabilities?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Every time a publisher publishes a book, they should give an accessible PDF to the public library or they should give it to the Sugamya Pustakalaya, which is an accessible online library. They’re anyway creating a PDF, they can make it accessible. As we get more organisations to connect to the library and network, you can reach out to all the students who go to these organisations. Publishers should also consider creating and commercially selling accessible format books such as e-text and audio books.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Could you tell us about your experience so far, in interacting and working with different government departments as part of various projects? As a policy researcher and advocate with a focus on the rights of persons with disabilities, what are the biggest obstacles you face in effectively lobbying for a change?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I think the obstacles are similar to the issues that you face typically while working with the Government on any issue, not just accessibility. It’s about meeting the right person. If you’re interacting only with one person, then that person gets transferred or the other people don’t know about it. I think that they need to see accessibility as something which cuts across every issue, not just something for the disabled, and that’s not happening. One also comes across people who do not consider accessibility a priority issue.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>A lot of students with disabilities in India, even after the completion of their education, are not in a position to compete with their able-bodied counterparts. They don’t possess soft skills like knowing how to spell correctly, socializing and corresponding with others and speaking correct English. How can this be addressed at a micro as well as macro level?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I think there is a need for more organisations who are trying to prepare candidates after their education to deal with a corporate situation. Otherwise you’re just suddenly taken and put in a place you don’t fully understand. People might be conscious about their English or other things. If not on the individual level, if corporates are hiring they may also consider seeking help from and supporting such organisations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">You should also have policies for accommodation of persons with disabilities. It is useful to have mentors, networks or groups where they can share experiences and exchange ideas on how they tackle different situations.</p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>What can law colleges do to make the educational experience better for law students with disabilities?</b></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; "> </ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">I think starting with the college level or institutions –I feel what we learn there shapes our confidence and grasp of the subject – where it is important to ensure that at least the reading list is available as accessible digital copy. I wouldn’t even accept if they say “2 out of the 10 on the reading list are available and that’s enough for you”, if you’re giving the 10 options to other students to pick from, even these students should get such an opportunity. They must also ensure that the admission process/ entrance exam is accessible.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Just getting admission is not enough if institutions can’t provide the required resources. Once that first step is done, they should consciously have a committee of students and teachers who can help in the process of studying, getting internships, or talking on their behalf to firms or other organisations. They may also consider accessible exam practices suited to the needs of different students. There are several things that can be done, institutions should evolve processes and practices based on discussions with their students with disabilities.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/idap-interview-series-interview-x-with-nirmita-narasimhan'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/idap-interview-series-interview-x-with-nirmita-narasimhan</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaAccessibility2017-11-26T09:56:06ZNews ItemComments on Guidelines for Indian Government Websites
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/comments-on-guidelines-for-indian-government-websites
<b>The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India has published the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW). Nirmita Narasimhan on behalf of the Centre for Internet & Society gave comments on GIGW.</b>
<ul>
<li>See the response to suggestions and comments sent on GIGW by committee members <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility/files/response-to-suggestions-and-comments-sent-on-gigw-by-committee-members">here</a></li>
<li>See the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility/files/gigw-2017">here</a></li>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/comments-on-guidelines-for-indian-government-websites'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/comments-on-guidelines-for-indian-government-websites</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaAccessibility2017-11-26T07:08:25ZBlog EntryAdvocating for Openness: Nine Ways Civil Society Groups Have Mobilized to Defend Internet Freedom
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/cima-sarah-oh-november-15-2017-openness-nine-ways-civil-society-groups-have-mobilized-to-defend-internet-freedom
<b>The debate over whether the Internet is a better tool for democratic empowerment or authoritarian control misconstrues the nature of the democratic challenges of the digital age. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The blog post by Sarah Oh was published by the <a class="external-link" href="https://www.cima.ned.org/publication/advocating-openness-nine-ways-civil-society-groups-mobilized-defend-internet-freedom/">Center for International Media Assistance</a> on November 15, 2017</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Key Findings</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Civil society groups from the Global South are leading the charge to advocate for an Internet that remains open, pluralistic, and democratic. The nine case studies highlighted in this report demonstrate various ways groups in different countries have successfully fought for policies and norms that strengthen Internet freedom and digital rights. These strategies include awareness-raising, nonviolent direct action, regional and international coalition-building, and strategic litigation.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Media freedom advocates have been at the forefront of many Internet freedom efforts.</li>
<li>Threats to independent media online and freedom of expression continue to mount as authoritarian regimes become more technologically savvy.</li>
<li>Building broad civil society coalitions around Internet rights increases the chances of long-term success.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Introduction</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The debate over whether the Internet is a better tool for democratic empowerment or authoritarian control misconstrues the nature of the democratic challenges of the digital age. The Internet is not a tool, but a complex domain of “competing forces and constraints.”1 These forces are comprised of powerful businesses, states, politicians, criminal enterprises, advocacy groups: in short, all of the elements present in any democracy. But in this cyber-democracy, forces compete in part on the shifting ground of the technological and physical infrastructure of the Internet, where some players wield more power than others with an ability to mold the terrain in their favor. Authoritarian states aware of what is at stake in the evolution of the Internet are beginning to engage in long-term and well-resourced efforts to undermine the democratic rights of citizens in this more fundamental way.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In a reference to the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that take down a specific website, these broader efforts represent what some have called a <a href="https://www.demworks.org/distributed-denial-democracy">“distributed denial-of-democracy” (DDoD)</a> attack aimed at reducing the utility of the Internet for genuine democratic discourse. These efforts, which are coordinated and well resourced, are often more insidious, harder to detect, and have the overall effect of undermining civic engagement and overall trust in the media ecosystem.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">And while the diffuse and fast-changing nature of Internet can at times make it difficult for authoritarian regimes to exert their control, the complex interplay between technology, laws, infrastructure, and socio-political factors shaping the Internet make it equally difficult for democratic actors to counteract these DDoD strategies. As an additional obstacle, the values that underpin Internet freedom can be sidelined in the forums and governing bodies that set Internet standards by the dominance in those spaces of private tech companies concerned primarily with generating profits.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Formidable though they may be, these challenges are not insurmountable. Civil society groups from the Global South are leading the charge to advocate for an Internet that remains open, pluralistic, and democratic. The nine case studies highlighted in this report demonstrate various ways groups in different countries have successfully fought for policies and norms that strengthen Internet freedom and digital rights. These strategies include awareness-raising, nonviolent direct action, regional and international coalition-building, and strategic litigation.</p>
<p class="BodyA" style="text-align: justify; ">Each of the following case studies corresponds to one of the nine guiding principles of a <a href="https://openinternet.global/comment-draft-principles">Democratic Framework to Interpret Open Internet Principles</a>. This framework was collaboratively developed by a network of civil society groups worldwide to illuminate the ways that an open Internet is essential for the functioning of democratic societies. It was inspired by the norms and standards developed by the <a href="http://internetrightsandprinciples.org/site/">Internet Rights and Principles Dynamic Coalition (IRPC)</a> of the United Nations <a href="https://www.intgovforum.org/">Internet Governance Forum</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The framework is an important starting point for more effective, coordinated effort to ensure that the Internet remains a welcoming place for democratic life. Its aim is to create a consensus around the values that should shape the future development of the Internet. But moreover, it also provides an avenue for understanding and sharing knowledge on the concrete strategies that can be put into practice in different contexts to make sure that the Internet remains a level playing field. The following nine examples demonstrate how citizen groups can mobilize to enshrine such democratic principles in cyberspace.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">“The debate over whether the Internet is a better tool for democratic empowerment or authoritarian control misconstrues the nature of the democratic challenges of the digital age.”</h3>
<div class="tsd-simple_content tsd-cima-module" style="text-align: justify; ">
<h2>1. Freedom of Expression</h2>
<br />
<p>In the <i>Philippines</i>, a cybercrime law introduced in 2012 proposed increasing penalties for libel and giving authorities unchecked power to track information online. Internet freedom activists worried several provisions of the law would infringe on freedom of expression by preventing Filipinos from freely posting content on websites, and participating in online forums and discussions without fear of being blocked or facing serious penalties. In response, pro-democracy organizations from across the political spectrum joined together to challenge the constitutionality of the law. Through protests, roundtables, and capacity building activities, they raised awareness and encouraged advocacy efforts around the dangers the law posted to freedom of expression and privacy. <a href="http://fma.ph/">The </a><a href="http://fma.ph/">Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA</a><a href="http://fma.ph/">)</a>, a digital rights organization founded after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/PIFA.ph/about/?ref=page_internal">Philippine Internet Freedom Alliance (PIFA)</a>, a broad nationwide coalition of pro-democracy and Internet freedom advocates, were among the organizations in the front lines on the struggle. PIFA was even one of the 20 organizations to file 15 petitions to the Supreme Court about the constitutionality of the law.</p>
<p>Public efforts in the courts and actions in the streets contributed to the takedown of three contested provisions of the law, including provision that would allow government to block or restrict access to computer data. The Supreme Court declared these provisions unconstitutional and delayed implementation of the law. Despite public concerns about the surviving provisions, the national campaign against the cybercrime law led to a turning point for Filipino activists; it showed the power of people coming together and fighting for the importance of digital rights in the Philippines. Initially fragmented, the campaign led to a larger movement unified under the goal of protecting human rights and freedom of expression online. Thus, it took the introduction of a flawed law and active public campaigns to initiate a broader dialogue about privacy, surveillance, and digital security. Digital rights <a href="http://www.rstreet.org/2015/09/10/the-business-case-for-cambodian-Internet-freedom/">communities across Southeast Asia</a> have been inspired by Filipino advocacy efforts, which they have understood to be an example of how to communicate the balance required between anti-cybercrime measures with fundamental rights to a public audience.</p>
</div>
<div class="tsd-simple_content tsd-cima-module" style="text-align: justify; ">
<h2>2. Freedom of Assembly and Association</h2>
<br />
<p>Social media is an important organizing tool for journalists and advocacy groups in <i>Uganda</i>. Facebook, WhatsApp, and other messaging applications <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2dmeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA367&lpg=PA367&dq=using+facebook+for+organizing+uganda+-facebook.com&source=bl&ots=Agd54hNXbj&sig=KRs9Ndl7BJfVfBnW9LXHJgpyEv4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjv6fKsdLWAhUK7mMKHVkmB5kQ6AEISzAI#v=onepage&q=using%2520facebook%2520for%2520organizing%2520uganda%2520-facebook.com&f=false">have been used to share</a> political knowledge, connect leaders with supporters, and organize events — even share information about government abuses. During national ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_to_work_protest">Walk to Work</a>’ protests in 2011, organized to protest living costs after presidential elections, Facebook and Twitter provided a steady stream of updates from protestors, bystanders, and journalists.</p>
<p>Using social media, however, can have dangerous consequences for marginalized groups such as the LGBT community. The government of Uganda has been known to collect user information and prosecute individuals based on information shared on social media. Uganda is one of 76 countries where homosexuality is currently criminalized, and LGBT activists fear that their online conversations will be monitored and used against them. By posting information taken from photos and content posted on Facebook, a local tabloid exposed the identity of numerous members of the LGBT community in 2011 and again in 2014. The tabloid stories in 2011 are believed to have contributed to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/26/uganda-lgbt-groups-david-kato-murder-5-years-on">killing of David Kato</a>, a prominent gay rights activist.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Illustration_p11_Network-graphic.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-8162 size-medium" height="300" src="https://www.cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Illustration_p11_Network-graphic-300x300.jpg" width="300" /></a>Furthermore, the government has repeatedly restricted access for advocacy groups to use the Internet to share political information. In 2016, the country’s media regulator <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35601220">restricted the use</a> of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter to prevent the organizing of protests before presidential elections in February as the government had done before in 2011. In both cases, the electoral commission <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2016/uganda">enforced</a> the social media shut-down.</p>
<p>Civil society groups have responded in two ways. First, they have sought to deepen their digital security capacity. To protect against threats to journalists, LGBT organizations, and other groups have learned how to use Facebook and social media applications more securely and to implement other practices that increase their privacy. In the lead up to the 2016 election this included the use of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network">virtual private networks</a> (VPNs) to share information. Civil society groups spread information about how to use them through radio broadcasts. The fact that the hashtag #UgandaDecides trended on Twitter shows how they were able to spread their knowledge through local networks and connect with international media. Secondly, civil society groups built coalitions with international organizations to draw attention to abuses taking place in Uganda. In 2016, <a href="https://www.accessnow.org/">Access Now</a> supported a coalition of groups to <a href="https://www.accessnow.org/uganda-blocks-social-media-harms-human-rights/">demand</a> that the government stop the Internet shutdown as part of the #KeepitOn campaign.</p>
</div>
<div class="tsd-simple_content tsd-cima-module" style="text-align: justify; ">
<h2>3. Accessibility</h2>
<br />
<p>In <i>Nigeria</i>, national broadband plans have overlooked rural communities, leaving them with low bandwidth and high-cost options for Internet access. This means that broadband and mobile data fees are unaffordable to many in Nigeria, especially the poor. Fixed-line broadband subscriptions cost an average of 39 percent of average income, and mobile broadband packages cost 13 percent. Given that approximately 80 percent of Nigerians earn below the poverty line ($2 a day or less), access to the Internet is out of reach and unaffordable for a majority of citizens in Nigeria.</p>
<p><a href="http://a4ai.org/">The </a><a href="http://a4ai.org/">Alliance for Affordable Internet</a>, a global coalition working on Internet affordability, works with Nigerian civil society leaders to raise awareness around this issue through thematic working groups. The consumer advocacy and pricing transparency working group, for instance, works closely with <a href="http://a4ai.org/a4ai-nigeria-multi-stakeholder-coalition/a4ai-nigeria-coalition-members/">a coalition of Nigerian NGOs</a> that have been leading campaigns to raise awareness about pricing and taxation policies that have been proposed in Nigeria. One proposed policy includes imposing a nine percent tax on voice, data, and SMS services to consumers. This policy would make the Internet dramatically more expensive for Nigerian consumers. Groups say they worry about the consequences of the proposed policy in an environment where farmers are forced to climb trees just to get a stable Internet connection.</p>
<p>Civil society leaders who are part of the coalition have worked to build a healthy dialogue between regulators, civil society, and the government. A key strategy, according to activists, has been encouraging groups to find constructive ways to work with government and leveraging the interests of each of these groups to protect and drive down costs for Nigerian consumers. They seek to build relationships with the regulator and to inform them about ways to better communicate with and engage consumer groups, such as sharing their content through social media rather than press releases. Another important learning has been identifying champions within government to work on these issues.</p>
</div>
<div class="tsd-simple_content tsd-cima-module" style="text-align: justify; ">
<h2>4. Privacy and Data Protection</h2>
<br />
<p><a href="https://www.cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Cell_phone_android_transparent.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-8896" height="358" src="https://www.cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Cell_phone_android_transparent-212x300.jpg" width="253" /></a>In <i>Burma,</i> gaps in the law have left citizens vulnerable when it comes to privacy and data protection. Restrictions on privacy have eased since the country’s transition from military rule, but a lack of data protection laws and general lack of awareness around privacy and data protection present significant challenges for protecting an open Internet.</p>
<p>Messaging applications such as Viber and Facebook Messenger, for example, are the de-facto tool for communication for activists and are used to organize political events and activities. Cheaper than voice calls, far more accessible than landlines, and easier to use than email, these tools are the primary way people in Burma communicate. <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40438242/jailed-for-a-facebook-poem-the-fight-against-myanmars-draconian-defamation-laws">Activists have received harsh penalties for sharing content that may be viewed as threatening state security</a>. These applications are often not secure, making it possible for Burma state authorities or agents of the state to intercept their conversations. <a href="https://pen.org/sites/default/files/unfinished_freedom_lowres.pdf">During a crackdown on student protests in March 2015, mobile phones were taken by police</a>. Activists worried at the time that information on these phones would eventually be used against them.</p>
<p>Observing the need to protect activists and educate them about data protection, activists in 2016 formed a coalition, Digital Rights MM. The coalition, led by <a href="http://phandeeyar.org/">Phandeeyar</a>, <a href="http://www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/index.php">Myanmar Center for Responsible Business</a>, <a href="http://www.myanmarido.org/">Myanmar ICT for Development</a>, and Free Expression Myanmar, has led a national conversation on the issue. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chynes/2016/12/21/digital-rights-must-become-a-top-priority-in-myanmars-connectivity-revolution/#4fde153b2267">Drawing on expertise from the region and international organizations</a>, 22 local Burma-based organizations have been successful in pointing out gaps when it comes to privacy and freedom of expression in the <a href="https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/38665/en/myanmar:-telecommunications-law">national telecommunications law</a>, a comprehensive law that oversees the development of the telecommunications sector in Burma. They also participated in meetings with the government and launched a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MMTelecomLaw/photos/a.821155664669495.1073741830.821091201342608/1347827635335626/?type=3&theater">public facing campaign #ourvoiceourhluttaw</a> pushing to amend 23 articles, including one on lawful interception of data.</p>
</div>
<div class="light_blue with-bg dropquote-blue tsd-dropquote tsd-cima-module" style="text-align: justify; ">
<div class="expand-on-mobile quote"></div>
<div class="expand-on-mobile content">
<h3>“Messaging applications such as Viber and Facebook Messenger, for example, are the de-facto tool for communication for activists and are used to organize political events and activities.”</h3>
</div>
</div>
<div class="tsd-simple_content tsd-cima-module" style="text-align: justify; ">
<h2>5. Personal Safety and Security</h2>
<br />
<p>In <i>Pakistan</i>, women face threats of physical, sexual, and psychological harassment online. Leaking explicit photos and threats of blackmail are growing increasingly more common. <a href="https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/drfpcwstraining/">From 2014 to 2015, more than 3,000 cybercrimes were reported to the Federal Investigation Agency and of those cases, nearly half were targeted to women on social media</a>. Observers estimate far more cases go unreported. In fact, in workshops conducted by the <a href="https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/">The Digital Rights Foundation</a>, many female college students reported that they did not know cyber harassment was a crime.</p>
<p>Online platforms are an important space for political engagement, expression, and mobilization in Pakistan. Thus, online harassment directly impacts the political participation of women, including female journalists and women politicians. In 2016 the <a href="https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/">Digital Rights Foundation</a> established a <a href="https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/cyber-harassment-helpline-completes-its-four-months-of-operations/">Cyber Harassment Helpline</a> that women can reach out to for help when they are harassed on the Internet. One of the main objective of the helpline is to help bridge the trust deficit between survivors and law enforcement agencies. <a href="http://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/4-Month-Report.Final_.pdf">An analysis of more than 400 cases </a>showed that the most common barriers to equal participation are non-consensual use of information, impersonation, account hacking, black mailing, and receiving unsolicited messages; the most targeted groups include women, children, human rights defenders, and minority communities. The Digital Rights Foundation has also been leading efforts to strengthen legal protections for women and responding to survivors by recommendations to law enforcement agencies and the government. Pakistan has a National Response Centre for Cybercrime, but it has faced challenges serving women outside of major cities.</p>
</div>
<div class="tsd-simple_content tsd-cima-module" style="text-align: justify; ">
<h2>6. Inclusion</h2>
<br />
<p>In <i>India</i>, the population of people with disabilities is estimated to be as high as 150 million people, and the recorded rates of those who are vision-impaired are among the highest in the world. Indian digital rights advocacy groups, like the <a href="https://cis-india.org/">Centre for Internet and Society (CIS)</a> have worked to ensure that these individuals are able to participate fully online by promoting policies that prioritize accessibility. These include the National Policy on Universal Electronics Accessibility, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, and <a href="http://guidelines.gov.in/">Guidelines for Indian Government Web (GIGW)</a>, which all require government information be shared in formats that are accessible. Advocacy groups, however, have successfully shown that policies alone are not enough and have taken action to ensure persons with disabilities have access to critical resources and information online.</p>
<p>Mobile phones in particular are a vital portal to access government services, but mobile applications remain largely inaccessible to many people with disabilities, especially those with vision disabilities. For example, CIS observed in 2015 that the <a href="https://www.mygov.in/">MyGov</a>, the Indian Government’s mobile citizen engagement platform and the Prime Minister’s application was highly inaccessible: screens cannot be navigated by visually impaired users and can also not be read using a screen reader. Based on this, CIS with other advocacy organizations worked on framing accessibility guidelines for mobile applications recommended to the Government of India as a standard. Advocacy groups, such as the <a href="http://www.ncpedp.org/">National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP)</a>, have also been appealing to the private sector to ensure products designed to serve these needs are affordable and readily available to people with disabilities. They appeal to Indian companies and policymakers by advocating for the universal appeal of assistive technology to ensure disabled communities are not left behind.</p>
<p>Sustained advocacy, new legal mandates applied to public and private sectors, and increased research in this domain have helped advance the issue of accessibility of mobile applications. The country’s National Informatics Centre has set up a committee to revise the GIGW to bring them up to speed with international standards.</p>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/cima-sarah-oh-november-15-2017-openness-nine-ways-civil-society-groups-have-mobilized-to-defend-internet-freedom'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/cima-sarah-oh-november-15-2017-openness-nine-ways-civil-society-groups-have-mobilized-to-defend-internet-freedom</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminOpennessAccessibility2017-11-26T03:58:47ZNews ItemHow tech is making life easier for differently-abled
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/the-times-of-india-shalini-umachandrani-november-7-2017-how-tech-is-making-life-easier-for-differently-abled
<b>Scattered on technology specialist Amit Bagwe's desk beside his laptop are a Sam sung tablet and an iPhone7.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Shalini Umachandrani was published by <a class="external-link" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/how-tech-is-making-life-easier-for-differently-abled/articleshow/61538902.cms">Times of India</a> on November 7, 2017. Nirmita Narasimhan was quoted.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It's like any other tech worker's desk, except for the portable electronic magnifier he uses to read what's on his screen. Bagwe, who was born with low vision and lost sight in his right eye in 2005 following an accident in the chemistry lab, works with BarrierBreak in Mumbai, helping companies modify their software to include the needs of people with disabilities as well as train the <a class="key_underline" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/disabled">disabled</a> to use software. "Saying technology is a boon may seem like a cliche but just ask a person with a disability," he says.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Forced to drop out of college after the accident, the turning point came in 2012 when he signed up for a threemonth internship at BarrierBreak."That's when I started using screen readers," he says. He returned to college for a BSc in information technology. "I could study on my own, navigate the city, go to a restaurant for a meal. I never thought I'd own a smartphone let alone use one," he says. <br /> <br /> Assistive technology designed to help people with disabilities with their daily tasks is a huge and untapped market in India largely because developers and companies are unaware of their needs. There's been progress in recent years -for instance, buried in the settings of any smartphone are accessibility controls for the disabled -but not all products, apps and devices are easy to use since the needs of the disabled aren't considered at the design and conceptualisation stage. <br /> <br /> Dr <a class="key_underline" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Nirmita-Narasimhan">Nirmita Narasimhan</a>, senior fellow and programme director, Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT, is confident that technology will reduce inequality and inability, and negate frustration. But there are hurdles. "We have screen readers but the technology is not enabled to support a third-party device, or someone hires a consultant to make a website accessible once, then more content is uploaded later and that's not accessible," she says. <br /> <br /></p>
<div class="image" style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/img/61539460/Master.jpg" /></div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br /> <br /> Gaurav Mittal, co-founder of EyeD, an app that uses the smartphone's camera to guide people, says the main challenge is empathy. "Observing the world as a person who cannot see is hard. And they are slow to share deeply with us. What makes them laugh, what makes them cry, we need to know this to truly design a product that will help." <br /> <br /> With the app and its text reading function, a visually impaired user can navigate streets, find landmarks, and identify objects of interest. His team has also developed a customisable Eye-D keypad that makes smartphones easier to use for the blind. Mittal started Eye-D as "a hobby project" in 2012 after spending a day at <a class="key_underline" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/National-Association-for-the-Blind">National Association for the Blind</a> in Bengaluru during a CSR event for his former employer."I was amazed that visually impaired people could code and use computers easily but struggled to use a smartphone and do things such as navigate the city independently," he says. In 2015, he quit his job and went fulltime; the app is now used by people in 160 countries. EyeD launched a Hindi reading OCR (optical character recognition) version last month, costing Rs 800.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ajit Narayanan points out that software developed for the disabled community can serve a wider population. His Avaz app and its complementary FreeSpeech app -developed to help children with cerebral palsy, autism and speech impairment use pictures to communicate and learn grammar and language -is now also used by students in China to learn English. "Conversely, the iPad, invented for people without disabilities, had so many features that made it easy for the disabled to use," says Narayanan, 36. He started his company, Invention Labs, in 2007 but struggled initially to create a device."Once the iPad was released in 2010, things took off as we could just focus on the software," he says. Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa are based on speech recognition software devel oped for the blind but are now used widely just to make life easier for everyone. Microsoft recently released a free iPhone app that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tell the blind what is around them. If the phone is pointed at a park, the camera app, named Seeing AI, can describe what the scene looks like. Similarly, it can tell the amount of your restaurant bill.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The problem is that most people with disabilities are introduced to technology only at college level."They lose so much time," says Siddhant Chothe, co-founder, Tekvision, a Pune-based startup that helps companies comply with accessibility standards. Chothe, who has had low vision since birth, says he's getting more enquiries for training and compliance since the government passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which makes it mandatory for government and private service providers to make all services inclusive and accessible.Legislation means more developers will learn to create inclusive products and clients will demand them."Inclusivity doesn't have to be an expensive afterthought," he says."It's really quite simple to design keeping our needs in mind."</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In India, however, only a few can afford this technology. "This is because we are still retrofitting. All the solutions are coming from the West.We need more indigenous development," says Shilpi Kapoor, founder and CEO, BarrierBreak, an accessibility consulting and assistive technology firm. She's also started Newz Hook, an inclusive news website.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/the-times-of-india-shalini-umachandrani-november-7-2017-how-tech-is-making-life-easier-for-differently-abled'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/the-times-of-india-shalini-umachandrani-november-7-2017-how-tech-is-making-life-easier-for-differently-abled</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminAccessibility2017-11-08T01:49:38ZNews ItemOctober 2017 Newsletter
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2017-newsletter
<b>October 2017 Newsletter</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Dear readers,</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previous issues of the newsletters can be <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">accessed here</a>.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Highlights</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<ul>
<li>CIS <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/cis-comments-on-mobile-accessibility-guidelines">submitted its comments </a>on mobile accessibility guidelines to the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India. </li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify; ">Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online. Manasa Rao <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/discussion-on-creation-of-social-media-guidelines-strategy-for-telugu-wikimedia">captured the developments in a blog post</a>.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify; ">Padma Venkataraman in a blog entry <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cis2019-efforts-towards-greater-financial-disclosure-by-icann">chronologically mapped</a> CIS’ efforts at enhancing financial transparency and accountability at ICANN, while providing an outline of what remains to be done.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa's article on NPAs and structural issues was published in the <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-october-5-2017-npas-and-structural-issues">Business Standard</a> on October 5, 2017.</div>
</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>CIS in the News:</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/daily-o-october-4-2017-attempted-data-breach-of-uidai-rbi-isro-and-flipkart">Attempted data breach of UIDAI, RBI, ISRO and Flipkart is worrisome</a> (DailyO, October 4, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-hindu-saurya-sengupta-sex-drugs-and-the-dark-web">Sex, drugs and the dark web</a> (Hindu; October 7, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/first-post-october-12-2017-ahead-of-data-protection-law-roll-out-experts-caution-that-it-shouldnt-limit-collection-and-use-of-data">Ahead of data protection law roll out, experts caution that it shouldn't limit collection and use of data</a> (First Post; October 12, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/medianama-october-18-2017-namaprivacy-economics-and-business-models-of-iot">#NAMAprivacy: The economics and business models of IoT and other issues</a> (Medianama; October 18, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/medianama-october-18-2017-namaprivacy-data-standards-for-iot">#NAMAprivacy: Data standards for IoT and home automation systems</a> (Medianama; October 18, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/deccan-herald-furquan-moharkan-october-24-2017-majority-of-top-politicians-twitter-followers-fake">Majority of top politicians' Twitter followers fake: audit </a>(Furquan Moharkan; Deccan Herald; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/eastern-mirror-october-23-2017-awards-for-those-working-on-employment-opportunities-for-disabled">Awards for those working on employment opportunities for disabled</a> (Eastern Mirror; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/new-indian-express-october-25-2017-nibbling-away-into-your-bank-account-salami-attackers-cart-away-a-fortune">Nibbling away into your bank account, salami attackers cart away a fortune</a> (New Indian Express; October 25, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/nirmita-narasimhan-wins-the-18th-ncpedp-mindtree-helen-keller-award-2017">Nirmita Narasimhan wins the 18th NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Award 2017!</a> (National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People; October 31, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br />Our Access to Knowledge programme currently consists of two projects. The Pervasive Technologies project, conducted under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), aims to conduct research on the complex interplay between low-cost pervasive technologies and intellectual property, in order to encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The Wikipedia project, which is under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation, is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>►</span>Wikipedia</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entries</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/odia-wikisource-turns-3">Odia Wikisource Turns 3</a> (Manasa Rao; October 22, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikimedia-workshop-at-ismailsaheb-mulla-law-college-satara">Wikimedia Workshop at Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College, Satara</a> (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-dalit-mahila-vikas-mandal-satara">Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal, Satara</a> (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-mgm-trusts-college-of-journalism-and-mass-communication-aurangabad">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aurangabad</a> (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/orientation-program-at-kannada-university-hampi">Orientation Program at Kannada University, Hampi</a> (A. Gopalakrishna; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-solapur-university">Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Solapur University</a> (Subodh Kulkarni; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/discussion-on-creation-of-social-media-guidelines-strategy-for-telugu-wikimedia">Discussion on Creation of Social Media Guidelines & Strategy for Telugu Wikimedia</a> (Manasa Rao; October 24, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>►Openness</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">Our work in the Openness programme focuses on open data, especially open government data, open access, open education resources, open knowledge in Indic languages, open media, and open technologies and standards - hardware and software. We approach openness as a cross-cutting principle for knowledge production and distribution, and not as a thing-in-itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a> <br /><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of its research on privacy and free speech, CIS is engaged with two different projects. The first one (under a grant from Privacy International and IDRC) is on surveillance and freedom of expression (SAFEGUARDS). The second one (under a grant from MacArthur Foundation) is on restrictions that the Indian government has placed on freedom of expression online.</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>►</span>Freedom of Expression</p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/icann2019s-problems-with-accountability-and-the-web-controversy">ICANN’s Problems with Accountability and the .WEB Controversy</a> (Padma Venkataraman; October 24, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/why-presumption-of-renewal-is-unsuitable-for-the-current-registry-market-structure">Why Presumption of Renewal is Unsuitable for the Current Registry Market Structure</a> (Padma Venkataraman; October 29, 2017).</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cis2019-efforts-towards-greater-financial-disclosure-by-icann">CIS’ Efforts Towards Greater Financial Disclosure by ICANN</a> (Padma Venkataraman; October 29, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>►</strong>Cyber Security</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Participation in Event</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/cy-fy-2017">CyFy 2017</a> (Organized by Observer Research Foundation; New Delhi; October 2 - 4, 2017). Sunil Abraham was a speaker.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">►Privacy</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/gdpr-and-india-a-comparative-analysis">GDPR and India: A Comparative Analysis</a> (Aditi Chaturvedi; October 17, 2017).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Participation in Event</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/securing-the-digital-payments-ecosystem">Securing The Digital Payments Ecosystem</a> (Organized by NITI Aayog; October 9, 2017).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><br />
<div><strong>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>►</strong>Big Data</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Blog Entry</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/revisiting-per-se-vs-rule-of-reason-in-light-of-the-intel-conditional-rebate-case">Revisiting Per Se vs Rule of Reason in Light of the Intel Conditional Rebate Case</a> (Shruthi Anand; October 4, 2017).</li>
</ul>
</strong></div>
<div><br /><strong>Event Organized</strong></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/emerging-issues-in-the-internet-of-things">Emerging Issues in the Internet of Things</a> (CIS, Bengaluru; October 23, 2017). Andrew Rens gave a talk.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div><span style="text-align: justify; "><strong><strong>-----------------------------------</strong></strong><span style="text-align: justify; "> </span>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong><a href="http://cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /></strong><span>CIS is involved in promoting access and accessibility to telecommunications services and resources, and has provided inputs to ongoing policy discussions and consultation papers published by TRAI. It has prepared reports on unlicensed spectrum and accessibility of mobile phones for persons with disabilities and also works with the USOF to include funding projects for persons with disabilities in its mandate:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Article </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-shyam-ponappa-october-5-2017-npas-and-structural-issues">NPAs & Structural Issues</a> (Shyam Ponappa; Business Standard; October 4, 2017).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>-----------------------------------</strong><br /><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw">Researchers at Work</a> <br /><strong>----------------------------------- </strong><br /><span>The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme is an interdisciplinary research initiative driven by an emerging need to understand the reconfigurations of social practices and structures through the Internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. It aims to produce local and contextual accounts of interactions, negotiations, and resolutions between the Internet, and socio-material and geo-political processes:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Articles</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-october-9-digital-native-there-is-no-spoon-there-is-no-privacy">Digital Native: There is no spoon, There is no privacy</a> (Nishant Shah; October 9, 2017).</strong></li>
<li><strong><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/raw/indian-express-nishant-shah-october-22-2017-digital-native-finger-on-the-buzzer">Digital Native: Finger on the buzzer</a> (Nishant Shah; October 22, 2017).</strong></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>-----------------------------------<br /></span><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS<br /></a><span>----------------------------------- </span></p>
<div class="keyResearch">
<div id="parent-fieldname-text-8a5942eb6f4249c5b6113fdd372e636c">
<div style="text-align: justify; ">
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfigurations of social and cultural processes and structures as mediated through the internet and digital media technologies.</p>
<p>► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Twitter:<a href="http://twitter.com/cis_india"> http://twitter.com/cis_india</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Access to Knowledge: <a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a></li>
<li>Twitter - Information Policy: <a href="https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy">https://twitter.com/CIS_InfoPolicy</a></li>
<li>Facebook - Access to Knowledge:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k"> https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Access to Knowledge: <a>a2k@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>E-Mail - Researchers at Work: <a>raw@cis-india.org</a></li>
<li>List - Researchers at Work: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>► Support Us</p>
<div>Please help us defend consumer and citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.</div>
<p>► Request for Collaboration</p>
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<p>We invite researchers, practitioners, artists, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to engage with us on topics related internet and society, and improve our collective understanding of this field. To discuss such possibilities, please write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org (for policy research), or Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, at sumandro@cis-india.org (for academic research), with an indication of the form and the content of the collaboration you might be interested in. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia projects, write to Tanveer Hasan, Programme Officer, at <a>tanveer@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2017-newsletter'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2017-newsletter</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceResearchers at Work2018-01-10T00:53:03ZPageNirmita Narasimhan wins the 18th NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Award 2017!
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/nirmita-narasimhan-wins-the-18th-ncpedp-mindtree-helen-keller-award-2017
<b>Nirmita Narasimhan been selected for the 18th NCPEDP - Mindtree Helen Keller Awards 2017. The Award will be given away on Saturday, 2 December 2017 at the India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi.</b>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Award</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The story of the Helen Keller Awards started way back in 1999 as a result of the findings of a survey conducted of the Top 100 Companies of India by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). The results showed that the average percentage of employment of people with disabilities was as follows: in the public sector: 0.54 percent; in the private sector: 0.28 percent; and in the multinationals: 0.05 percent. While the situation has improved to some extent in the past decade and a half, we are still not even close to covering half the percentage of persons with disabilities living in the country.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The objective of the NCPEDP Helen Keller Awards was to start a discourse on equal opportunities for persons with disabilities in the area of employment at a time when no one was even thinking about it. Organisations and employees with disabilities would become brand ambassadors for the cause of employment of persons with disabilities and take the momentum forward and role models would be identified and celebrated in an attempt to motivate and encourage others. Over the years, these Awards have come to be recognised as the most prestigious Indian benchmark for honouring people and organisations which have been working towards promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Awards are given under 3 categories:</p>
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<li><b>Category A: Role Model Disabled Person</b></li>
<p>Disabled persons from within the disability sector and outside who have been active as ambassadors of the cause of employment for disabled people and are a positive role model for others.</p>
<li><b>Category B: Role Model Supporter of Increased Employment Opportunities for Disabled People</b></li>
<p>Individuals from within the disability sector or outside who have contributed substantially to the cause of promoting employment opportunities for disabled people over an extended period of time.</p>
<li><b>Category C: Role Model Companies/NGOs/Institutions</b></li>
<p>Organisations from the disability sector or outside who have shown their commitment towards promoting equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.</p>
<p>For more see <a class="external-link" href="http://www.ncpedp.org/The_NCPEDP_Helen_Keller_Awards">National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People website</a></p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/nirmita-narasimhan-wins-the-18th-ncpedp-mindtree-helen-keller-award-2017'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/nirmita-narasimhan-wins-the-18th-ncpedp-mindtree-helen-keller-award-2017</a>
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No publisherAdminAccessibility2017-10-31T02:02:59ZNews Item