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Cluster in collaboration with the Architects Association of Turin (FOAT) participates at the Democracy Biennial
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial-1
<b>Sunil Abraham to speak at the conference 'Housing the Democratic City' in Turin, Italy</b>
<div id="parent-fieldname-text" class="kssattr-atfieldname-text kssattr-templateId-widgets/rich kssattr-macro-rich-field-view inlineEditable">
<p>The first edition of the <a href="http://www.biennaledemocrazia.it/" target="_blank">Biennale Democrazia</a>,
will take place in Turin the 22 – 26 April 2009, it is an international
cultural event entirely dedicated to the ethical and political project
of democracy a political system which, by definition, is in constant
evolution and development, continually facing new challenges to be
overcome. The Democracy Biennial is organized by the City of Turin, the
Italia Committee and the Piedmont Regional government. It forms part of
a series of programmes and public events called <a href="http://www.italia150.it/" target="_blank">Esperienza Italia</a>
organized to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Unification of
Italy in 1861. The Democracy Biennial takes its inspiration from the
profound studies on democracy carried out by Norberto Bobbio and it is
intended to function as a tool for spreading a culture of Democracy
that can also be put into practice in everyday life. It aims to create
a permanent, ongoing workshop, open to the public, that explores and
debates, from both a local and international point of view, the
fundamental values of democracy, the forms it has adopted and the
challenges it faces today. The event will consist of different
preparatory activities (workshops, debates, readings, international
forums, in-depth seminars and events actively involving citizens (as
well as films, theatre and music events).</p>
<p>In partnership with the Biennale Democrazia the Architects Association of Turin (<a href="http://www.to.archiworld.it/" target="_blank">FOAT</a>),
has curated a section, within the event program, entitled “Housing the
Democratic City”. The section offers a series of sessions: a workshop,
conferences and a call for paper that aim to stimulate reflections on
issues related to housing the city, for a future of urban democracy.</p>
<p>In occasion of this important event Cluster, in collaboration with
the Architects Association (FOAT), has invited a collaborator from
Bangalore, India, <a href="http://www.cluster.eu/v2/profiles/sunil-abraham/" target="_blank">Sunil Abraham</a>
to speak at the conference “Housing the Democratic City” at Teatro
Gobetti on Sunday 26th April. Other participating speakers are <a href="http://www.zedfactory.com/" target="_blank">Bill Dunster</a> (UK), <a href="http://www.zucchiarchitetti.com/" target="_blank">Cino Zucchi</a> (Italy).</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham is an industrial and production engineer from Bangalore in India. In 1998 he founded <a href="http://www.mahiti.org/" target="_blank">Mahiti</a>,
an association dedicated to reducing the cost and complexity of
information and communication technology for the voluntary sector. In
August 2008 he co-founded <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/../" target="_blank">The Centre for Internet and Society</a>,
that brings together a team of practitioners, theoreticians,
researchers and artists to work on the emerging field of Internet and
Society to critically engage with concerns of digital pluralism, public
accountability and pedagogic practices, with particular emphasis on
South-South dialogues and exchange. Sunil contributed to the last issue
of Cluster, Transmitting Architecture in a dual interview and
discussion entitled “Design in Urban democracy:a question of survival?”
PDF downloadable <a href="http://www.cluster.eu/v2/editions/thackara/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham will also be speaking in two other sections of the
Biennial on April 25 ‘Democracy and India’ with Prof. Federico
Squarcini, professor of History of Indian Religions, University of
Florence and ‘Democracy and Technology’ with the Politecnico of Turin.
More details on the programme coming soon.</p>
<p>For info. please visit: <a href="http://biennaledemocrazia.it/" target="_blank">Biennale Democrazia</a> Order of the Architects of Turin (<a href="http://www.to.archiworld.it/" target="_blank">FOAT</a>)</p>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial-1'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial-1</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaOpenness2011-04-02T16:09:12ZNews ItemJournals, Open Access, Copyright, Repositories
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/journals-open-access-copyright-repositories
<b>Prof N. Mukunda, Editor of Publications, The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, discusses open access in his keynote address at the 26 March 2009 one-day conference on 'Scholarly Communications in the Age of the Commons'. </b>
<p>On 26 March 2009, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautical Laboratories, in collaboration with the Centre for Internet and Society, organised a day-long conference on 'Scholarly Communications in the Age of the Commons', as a way to highlight the need for Open Access in Indian academia and research. The speakers and panellists included Prof N. Mukunda of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Prof John Willinsky of Stanford University, Dr D.K. Sahu, MD and CEO of Medknow Publications, Prof Leslie Chan of the University of Toronto, Prof Subbiah Arunachalam, Distinguished Fellow with CIS, Dr A.R. Upadhya, Director of NAL, Mr N.V. Sathyanarayana, CMD. of Informatics, and Mr Sunil Abraham, Director of Policy at CIS.</p>
<p>Prof N. Mukunda gave the keynote address, which is reproduced below.</p>
<p> </p>
<div align="center"><strong>“Journals, Open Access, Copyright, Repositories – Some Viewpoints from an Academy”</strong></div>
<p><br /><em>Invited key note address at the Conference on ‘Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons (Open Access)’ on 26 March 2009, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore</em></p>
<p><em><strong>N. Mukunda, Editor of Publications, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore</strong></em></p>
<p>1) Dr. Upadhya, Dr. Goudar, Prof. Arunachalam, Dr. Poornima Narayana, Prof. Chan, Prof. Willinsky, Prakash, Chandramohan from the Academy, distinguished invitees, ladies and gentlemen, may I on behalf of the Indian Academy of Sciences express a warm welcome to all of you to this one day Conference on ‘Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons’. This is the Academy’s Platinum Jubilee Year, and for NAL it is the Golden Jubilee; and it is a pleasure for the Academy to join NAL and the ‘Centre for Internet & Society’ in hosting this meeting. Thanks also to Dr. Goudar and Prof. Arunachalam for their initiatives in organizing this event. I am here substituting for Prof. D. Balasubramanian, President of the Academy, as he has to be at a meeting at Chennai today. If only the fanciful Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics were correct, the world could have split into two copies, and Prof. Balasubramanian also into two copies, one in Chennai and one here; and he could have spoken in both places simultaneously! In the tea break, I can tell you more about this interpretation of quantum mechanics, if any of you are interested.</p>
<p>I am used to giving seminars and colloquiua, on subjects of my research, but never have I given a key note address or an Executive Summary. These are new to me. Also, as you all know, President Obama always needs a teleprompter while giving his fine speeches. Similarly, I cannot speak without a written text in front of me, so please permit me this luxury. Let me also add that I believe in the well-known saying — levity is the soul of wit.</p>
<p>2) The Academy’s efforts in the Open Access direction go back to 1998. It was then that the journal Pramana was made available on the Academy website completely free for all to read. Thereafter all the other Academy journals have also been made freely available online, so now all ten Academy journals are available. Quite recently the speed of access has been considerably improved. In 2006 the Academy entered into an agreement with Springer to co-publish the international online and print editions of the ten journals, but with the proviso that world-wide open access on the Academy website would continue. So now there is the version on the Academy site, which is accessible world-wide and free, and also the value-added SpringerLink version available to paid subscribers. This arrangement is working quite well. The download figures from both sites are quite encouraging, and in any case the visibility of the journals world-wide is much better than it used to be. INSA by the way has signed the Berlin Open Access Declaration and its journals are also freely accessible.</p>
<p>3) Two important things happened in April 2008, just about a year ago. INSA arranged a meeting on Open Access and Copyright issues on 26th April, 2008, again thanks to Prof. Arunachalam’s initiative; and Prof. Balaram wrote an editorial in Current Science on 10th April 2008 on the subject ‘Science Journals: Issues of Access’. I must confess I am completely ignorant and totally naive in all these matters, so whenever necessary I turn to one of Prof. Balaram’s numerous beautiful editorials – and get educated about the finer points of English literature at the same time – I also read some of the steady stream of emails from Prof. Arunachalam which arrive each day. He is constantly exhorting us to do various things – like Mr. This or Mr. That we should give him the honorary title “Mr. Open Access”, it is a onepoint agenda with him. So I learn a lot from both these sources which are at least openly accessible to me. Incidentally a collection of Prof. Balaram’s editorials is likely to be published soon, and several of us have been asked to write editorials to introduce his editorials on various subjects. Science journals are proliferating in number and spiraling in costs. So these raise difficult problems of affordability for libraries and institutions. There are also issues of judging quality, and looking at the economics of the entire process, the whole information chain – overall costs of dissemination of research results, journal publishing and production, refereeing, circulation… who pays for what, who profits, is it reasonable or exorbitant? There is the impact of technologies on all this – these are times of extremely rapid changes, with new undreamt of opportunities appearing all the time. These are true of other arenas of life as well – in education, governance, entertainment, in news communication and so on. As a physicist I cannot help remembering that all this began in 1948 with Claude Shannon’s Classical Theory of Information – a major conceptual revolution which showed that information could be measured, and so could its transmission and fidelity and so on. Such a beautiful set of ideas – a fascinating mathematical structure embedded within the classical theory of probability. And this was accompanied and later followed by technical advances, transistors (1947), semiconductors and so on. Balaram’s view is that Institutional Repositories are more easily achievable than Open Access. This may greatly change the structure and traditional roles of libraries as we know them, at least as far as the sciences are concerned. He mentioned the recent much-heralded Harvard University faculty decision which ‘authorizes Harvard to place a faculty member’s work in a repository that will be available to all at no cost’. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has taken a similar even wider step very recently, on the 18th of this month.</p>
<p>There is also discussion of who pays – or should pay – for the costs of publishing research results – a shift from the traditional ‘researcher pays’ era through ever increasing subscription costs to a new ‘author pays’ arrangement. The idea is that agencies that fund research – whether private or public – should include costs of publication in their support. Balaram mentions that for some high impact journals, the cost to the author for one paper can be as much as Rs. 2.5 lakhs! When I saw this, I could not help wondering – what would someone like Albert Einstein do in such a situation? He was working in a Patent Office in Berne as an assistant third class about a hundred years ago, and of course he had no research funding of any kind; but in his spare time he wrote papers that revolutionized physics! His papers were all published, he even received free reprints – but how would he fare today? One gets the impression that subscription costs for well-known journals in those days were quite reasonable; and in historical accounts one reads that people like Julius Springer were in frequent contact with figures like Arnold Sommerfeld and others in a mutually beneficial and enlightened atmosphere.<br />It seems we have to accept and acknowledge that the methods of doing science, the costs, the sociology of the scientific enterprise, have all changed enormously. It has become intensely competitive, one can even say that cut-throat methods are common, it seems the scientific enterprise is no longer the domain of scholars alone. Claims for priority are severe. In a piece that appeared on 9th February 2009 in the New York Times, celebrating the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin, the writer said:</p>
<p><em>“One of Darwin’s advantages was that he did not have to write grant proposals or publish 15 articles a year. He thought deeply about every detail of his theory for more than 20 years before publishing ‘The Origin of Species’ in 1859; and for 12 years more before its sequel, ‘The Descent of Man’, which explored how his theory applied to people.”</em></p>
<p>The old times are gone forever, the times of Darwin and Einstein. The game has become a game, with new rules of play. The new patterns and methods however seem more natural for the younger generation to adjust to, but some of us of an older generation cannot forget the past so easily.</p>
<p>4) The INSA meeting discussed many aspects including the need to educate working scientists about their rights with respect to copyright. There is a recent email from Arunachalam on this from Amsterdam. Again I think younger scientists are aware of their rights more than old fogeys like me, we are the ones needing education. There is a need for change in Copyright patterns, especially for books out of print, to decide when something should move into the Public Domain, and so on. Some of the major INSA recommendations are to granting agencies to mandate Open Access for results of publicly funded research, and to scientists to publish in Open Access journals by choice.</p>
<p>Some tasks are set for the Academies too, such as setting up Institutional Repositories, and to work toward Open Access in all possible ways. In this context, it is possible that the three national Science Academies of India – IASc, INSA and NASI – may try to cooperate in these matters, as they have been doing in the case of science education recently.</p>
<p>5) From its inception, publication of journals has been a major effort of the Indian Academy of Sciences. There has always been a striving to maintain standards. Today we can say about our ten journals, they are reasonably good, about the best from India. The main concerns – in these times of very rapid change and impact of new technologies – are: how do we maintain refereeing and review standards, how to tackle increasing cases of plagiarism, and while coping with all these how do we move in the Open Access direction? Quality of journals is most precious for the Academy, this is hard to achieve and to maintain, the whole enterprise seems to be under pressure.</p>
<p>6) Let me end by returning to Balaram and INSA and mention a recent initiative of the Academy. With generous help from the Indian Institute of Science, we are trying and hoping to set up an Institutional Repository covering all publications of all Fellows past and present. Starting since 1934 – the total number of Fellows is about 1500, 900 present and 600 past. And the total number of research publications may be around 60,000 or 75,000. The hope is that in this Platinum Jubilee year this effort should get started and make some progress. We should try to get a substantial number of entries into the Repository within this year, catch up as soon as possible, then make it an ongoing automatic process. Otherwise many of us here today will also become past Fellows before the job is done. Getting titles and abstracts seems easy, with full text there may be problems, but here Arunachalam tells us authors have more rights than they realize. Let us see what we can do. It seems about 50 institutions in India already have set up such repositories, but we have miles to go before we sleep!</p>
<p>I am happy to have given the first key note address of my life today – I am sure the day’s discussions will be full of ideas and fruitful. It has been a pleasure to have been here, my thanks to Dr. Goudar and Prof. Arunachalam for inviting me, and most of all to Prof. Balasubramanian for asking me to be here in his place.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/journals-open-access-copyright-repositories'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/journals-open-access-copyright-repositories</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaOpen Access2011-08-18T05:01:28ZBlog EntryExperimental Economy Camp
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/experimental-economy-camp
<b>Open Discussion</b>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>n.e.w.s. is a platform for participatory development of artistic and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>curatorial projects in contemporary art and new media framed by <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>curatorial contributions from around the globe, bringing together <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>voices and images from North, East, West and South. n.e.w.s. reflects <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>geographic diversity and facilitates a framework for collaboration, <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>content and visions of change outside the normal parameters of the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>established art world networks. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span></p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Recently, n.e.w.s. won the ‘Competition of Ideas’ for authoring a <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>book proposal entitled “Arbitrating Attention”, which would explore <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>new economic and social contexts for art. This 100-page text will be <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>published at the beginning of next year. One of things they hope to do <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>in the book is tap the undercurrent of new economic experiments in the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>way artistic activities can be de-framed yet incorporate survival <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>tactics for sustainability.</p>
<p><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>At the Experimental Economy Camp at CIS, n.e.w.s. contributors <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Renée Ridgway, Stephen Wright and Prayas Abhinav will present certain <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>ideas, seeking counter-points, information and queries, which lend <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>different perspectives to the questions at hand, in order to outline <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>possible strategies and targets. The discussions thereafter will <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>attempt to draw learnings from the dynamic media, academic and <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>scientific community with which CIS interacts, imagining 'new social <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and economic contexts for art.' At this camp, n.e.w.s hopes to meet <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and interact with people and researchers with an interest in the <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>creative industries, entrepreneurial and economic experiments.</p>
<p>Further <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>interested individuals and institutions can take part in a symposium <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>and brainstorming event that n.e.w.s will organize in July 2009 in <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>Bangalore. <span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span><span class="moz-txt-citetags"> </span>n.e.w.s. will also run an online forum during the symposium in July (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://northeastwestsouth.net/">http://northeastwestsouth.net</a><span class="moz-txt-citetags"></span>)<span class="moz-txt-citetags">. <br /></span></p>
<h3><span class="moz-txt-citetags">Speakers</span></h3>
<p> </p>
<div class="content clear-block">
<p><strong>Renée Ridgway </strong>is an artist,
free-lance curator and writer, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Since completing her studies in fine art at the Rhode Island School of
Design, (BFA) and Piet Zwart Institute (MA), she has exhibited widely
in the Netherlands and abroad (P.S.1 MoMA Hotel New York, Centraal
Museum Utrecht, Gouda Museum) She has made numerous public
presentations at various conferences and forums and taught at several
universities in the Netherlands and abroad. From 2005-6 she served on
the board of the former Gate Foundation, whose artists archive and
library were given as a gift to the Van Abbemuseum, and where in 2007
she organised a panel as part of the Be(com)ing Dutch caucus, entitled
'Gate Foundation- Past, Present and Future'. For 2009 Ridgway is
organising ‘Negotiating Equity’, a collaborative project at <a href="http://www.dutchartinstitute.nl/"> DAI, (Dutch Art Institute)</a> involving the n.e.w.s. platform and her contributors that examines the artist and 'the curatorial'.</p>
<p>As an artist Ridgway is presently preparing the latest installment
of her 10-year 'Manhattan Project': 'Beaver, Wampum, Hoes'- a series of
installations and public interventions at various locations in and
around NYC and the Netherlands in 2009. This focuses on the value of
the contemporary ‘cultural currency’ of Dutchness, in relation to the
Dutch colonial past (US, Indonesia, South Africa, Suriname); the
next presentation will be at De Lakenhal in Leiden, May 16th-August
31st 2009.</p>
<p>Ridgway is a co-initiator of n.e.w.s. Her website is <a class="external-link" href="http://reneeridgway.net/">http://reneeridgway.net/</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Stephen Wright</strong> is a Paris-based art theorist, writer, and Editorial Director of the Biennale de Paris. In 2004, he curated <em>The Future of the Reciprocal Readymade</em> (Apexart, New York), in 2005 <em>In Absentia</em> (Passerelle, Brest), in 2006 <em>Rumour as Media</em> (Aksanat, Istanbul) and <em>Dataesthetics</em> (WHW, Zagreb), and is currently preparing, amongst other projects, <em>Withdrawal: The Performative Document</em>
(New York) as part of a series of exhibitions examining art practices
with low coefficients of artistic visibility, which raise the prospect
of art without artworks, authorship or spectatorship. He has also
written extensively on the theoretical dimensions of such practices,
and, following a writing residency at Artexte (Montréal, 2006) a
book-length essay on the subject, dealing with the challenges of
performatively archiving and documenting disappearance, is forthcoming.
Wright’s writing has also focused on the use-value of art, particularly
in contexts of collaborative practices outside the performative
framework of the artworld. A former programme director at the Collège
international de philosophie (2000-2007), and corresponding editor of <em>Parachute</em> magazine (1999-2005), he is currently on the editorial advisory committee of the journal <em>Third Text</em>.</p>
<p>Born in 1963 in Vancouver, Canada, he lives and works in Paris.</p>
<div class="content clear-block">
<p><strong>Prayas Abhinav</strong> is a writer and artist
working and living in Bangalore, India. He has an interest in
re-vitalizing and re-imagining urban spaces. Through his work he
explores how public and semi-public spaces can be utilized for cultural
and civic uses. He explores the potential of low-fi technologies to
connect communities and resources.</p>
<p>He has been part of efforts to seed open content movements in India
and in 2007 helped with launching the Creative Commons India licenses in
India. In 2007, he also initiated a long-term engagement with urban
food systems by using public-spaces to grow vegetables and make them
openly accessible through recipe-based maps. In 2008, he spent a month
at Khoj Workshops to work on modular toolkits for anarchic protests in
cities. In 2006 he made a short film with the Public Service
Broadcasting Trust in which he narratively mapped the spaces which the
homeless in Mumbai use to sleep at night. In 2005, as a fellow at
Sarai-CSDS, he responded to the way urban spaces were used for
advertising through poetry and photographs. He edited the <em>Crimson Feet</em> magazine from 2003-2005 (after which it died).</p>
<p>Prayas' projects are documented at <a title="http://prayas.in" href="http://prayas.in/">http://prayas.in</a> and <a title="http://cityspinning.org" href="http://cityspinning.org/">http://cityspinning.org.</a></p>
</div>
<p> </p>
</div>
<h3>Time and Date</h3>
<p>Friday, 17 April 2009; 5.30-7.30 pm</p>
<h3>Venue<br /></h3>
<p>Centre for Internet and Society, No. D2, 3rd Floor, Sheriff Chambers,
14, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560052</p>
<h3>Map <br /></h3>
<p>For a map, please click <a class="external-link" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=centre+for+internet+and+society+bangalore&jsv=128e&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=61.070016,113.203125&ie=UTF8&cd=1&latlng=12988395,77594450,9857706471034889432&ei=5QXRSKLrNYvAugPX4YSAAg">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/experimental-economy-camp'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/experimental-economy-camp</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaResearch2011-04-05T04:36:50ZEventಚರ್ಚೆ: ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ (Discussion: Writing Science and Technology in Kannada)
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/writing-science-and-technology-in-kannada
<b>ಭಾನುವಾರ, ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೨೯ ರಂದು ಸಂಪದ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞರ ತಂಡ ಹಾಗು ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಎಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿ ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿ "ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಬರಹ" ಕುರಿತ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಈ ಬರಹ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ವರದಿ. ಕನ್ನಡ, ಭಾರತದ ಹಲವು ಭಾಷೆಗಳಂತೆ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ, ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಶೇಖರಿಸಿಡಲು ತುಂಬ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಬಳಕೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸಂಗ್ರಹಿಸಿಡಲು,
ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಳಸುವಾಗ ಏನೇನು ತೊಂದರೆ ಅಡಚಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ ಎಂಬುದರ ಸುತ್ತ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದಿತ್ತು. ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಸವಿವರ ವರದಿ ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿದೆ. </b>
<p>ನಮ್ಮದೇ ಸಮುದಾಯದವರನ್ನು ತಲುಪುವುದು ತುಂಬ ಕಷ್ಟ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನಿಜವಾದ ಸಂಗತಿ. ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ಬೆಳೆದು ಬಂದ ಜಗತ್ತು ಈಗ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಹತ್ತಿರ ತಂದಿರುವ ಅದೇ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಪೋಣಿಸಿದ್ದು. ಹೀಗಾಗಿಯೇ ನಾವುಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇವೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಕೆಲಸಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಸುವ ಭಾಷೆ ಬೇರೆಯದ್ದಾದರೇನು, ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷೆಯ ನಂಟು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲ! ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ ರೇಖೆಯಂತಿರುವ ಈ "ಭಾಷೆ" ಎಂಬ ಬಂಧ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ, ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಗಳ ಬುತ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ ತರುವ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಅದು ಹೇಗೆ ಹಿಡಿದಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. <br />ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ದಿನದಂದು ಕಂಡುಬಂದ ಮುಖಗಳು ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯ ಲೆಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗೆ ಕೊಂಚ ಬೇಸರ ಮೂಡಿಸಿದರೂ, ಆ ದಿನ "ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ"ಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಒಂದು ಉತ್ತಮ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ಖುಷಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿತು. ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಇದ್ದದ್ದು ಹೀಗೆ ಬರೆಯಲು ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಬಳಸುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ? ಮತ್ತು ತದನಂತರ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ಟಿನಿಂದ ಹೊರಗೆ, ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ವ್ಯಾಪ್ತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆಡೆಗೆ ಅದನ್ನು ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದರ ಸುತ್ತ. ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ಭಾನುವಾರ ೨೯, ೨೦೦೯, ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಎಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿ, ಕನ್ನಿಂಗ್ಹಾಮ್ ರೋಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ. <br /><br />ಅಂದು ನಾವು ಕನ್ನಿಂಗ್ಹಾಮ್ ರೋಡಿಗೆ ಹೊರಟು ನಿಂತಾಗ ನಮಗದು 'ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಭಾನುವಾರ'. ಆದರೂ ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಬರುತ್ತಾರೋ, ಯಾರು ಯಾರು ಬರುವರು ಎಂಬ ಕುತೂಹಲ ನಮಗೆ! ನಾವುಗಳು ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಆಮಂತ್ರಣ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದ್ದೇ ಕೊಂಚ ತಡವಾಗಿ! ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸಲು ಒಂದು ವಾರ ಕೂಡ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ ಮೂರು ದಿನ ರಜೆ ಬೇರೆ - ಯುಗಾದಿ, ಶನಿವಾರ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾನುವಾರ!<br /><br />ಆದರೆ ಆ ಭಾನುವಾರ ವಿಶೇಷ ದಿನವೆನಿಸಿದ್ದು ಹೌದು. ನಮ್ಮ ನೆಚ್ಚಿನ ವಿಷಯಗಳು - ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ, ಕನ್ನಡ ಇವುಗಳೊಡನೆ - ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲ ಕೂಡ ಬೆರೆತದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ ಅವುಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಉತ್ತಮ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಉಳಿಯುವ ನಿಮಿಷಗಳು. <br /><br />ಮೊದಲ ಅವಧಿ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳು ಹಾಗು ಅದರ ಸುತ್ತ ಇರುವ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆಯುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತುಕತೆ ಎಂಬುದಾಗಿತ್ತು ನಮ್ಮ ಉದ್ದೇಶ. ನಾನು ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಒಂದು ಪುಟ್ಟ ಪೀಠಿಕೆಯ ನಂತರ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತ ಗೆಳೆಯರಾದ ಇಸ್ಮಾಯಿಲ್ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿದರು, ಚರ್ಚೆ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಹೇಗೆ ಬರೆಯುವುದು ಎಂಬುದರ ಸುತ್ತ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಹಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳು ಚರ್ಚೆಗೆ ಬಂದವು. ತೀರ ಗ್ರಾಂಥಿಕವಾದ ಅನುವಾದ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ಇಸ್ಮಾಯಿಲ್ ಕೂಡಲೆ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪಿಸಿದರು. ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಬಳಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕೆಲವು ಪದಗಳು ಅವು ಇದ್ದಂತೆಯೇ ಬಳಸಬಹುದು ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ಮುಂದಿಟ್ಟರು. ಅತಿಯಾದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ಬಳಸಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಪದಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುವಾದ ಮಾಡುವ, ಹೊಸ ಹೊಸ ಪದಗಳನ್ನು ರಚಿಸುವ ಮನೋಭಾವ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿದರು. ಅದೇ ಸಮಯ ಹಳೆಗನ್ನಡ ಬಳಸಿಯೂ ಹೀಗೆಯೇ ಮಾಡಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು extreme ಕುರಿತು ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆಯುವ ಎಂದಿದ್ದೆ - ಅಷ್ಟರೊಳಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ದನಿ, ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಗಳು ಬೆರೆತು ಮಾತುಕತೆ ಮುನ್ನಡೆದು ಹೋಗಿತ್ತು. ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆ, ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಪದಗಳಿಲ್ಲದ ಸಮಯ, ಗೊಂದಲ ಮೂಡಿಸುವಂತಹ ಪದಗಳಿರುವ ಸಮಯ, ಆಗಲೇ ಬಳಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷ್ ಪದಗಳನ್ನೇ ಬಳಸುವುದು ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಂಬಲ ಸಿಕ್ತು. ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಸಮಯ ಕಳೆದ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ "Feel Good Factor" ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುವಾದಗೊಳ್ಳುವಾಗ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಏನೆಲ್ಲ ಅನಾಹುತಕ್ಕೀಡುಮಾಡಿತ್ತು, ಏನೆಲ್ಲ ಗೊಂದಲ ಹುಟ್ಟುಹಾಕಿತ್ತು ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪವಾಯಿತು. ಓದುಗರಿಗೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗದೇ ಇದ್ದದ್ದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಆಗ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರು ಬರೆದ ವಿಷಯ ಓದುಗರಿಗೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ತಲುಪದೇ ಹೋಗಿತ್ತು ಕೂಡ. ಈ ವಿಷಯ ಈಗ ನಗಣ್ಯವೆನಿಸಬಹುದು, ಆದರೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ತಲುಪಿಸುವಾಗ ಈ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಯೂ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಬಹುದು. <br /><br />ನಂತರ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆಯುವಾಗ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಎದುರಾಗುವ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳು, ಬರೆಯುವ ಉತ್ಸಾಹವನ್ನೇ ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸುವಂತಹ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳು - ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ಮುಂದುವರೆಯಿತು. <br /><br />ಇಸ್ಮಾಯಿಲ್ ಹಾಕಿದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ: "ಪ್ರೊಜೆಕ್ಟರನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನಂತ ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೀರಿ?" ಬರವಣಿಗೆಯ ಮೂಲ ಉದ್ದೇಶದ ಕುರಿತು ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ, ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು 'ಶುದ್ಧ'ವಾಗಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದದ್ದು ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿತ್ತು.</p>
<p> <img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads/discussionc.preview.JPG/image_preview" alt="sampada1" class="image-inline image-inline" title="sampada1" /><br /><br />ನಡುವೆ ಕೆಲವು ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳ ಕುರಿತು, ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವ, ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. <br /><br />ನಾಗೇಶ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರು ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಅವಧಿಗೆ ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿದರು, ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡರು. ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಬರಹಗಳನ್ನು ಚರ್ಚಿಸುವಾಗ ನಾಗೇಶ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರ ಹೆಸರಿಲ್ಲದೆ ನಡೆಯದು. ಸ್ವತಃ ಅವರೇ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿದ್ದು ಒಂದು ಅಪೂರ್ವ ಕ್ಷಣ. <br /><br />ಕನ್ನಡ ಪ್ರಭದ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಾಹಕ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಾದ ರವಿ ಹೆಗಡೆ ಕೂಡ ಎರಡನೇ ಅವಧಿಯ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡರು. ಎರಡನೆಯ ಅವಧಿ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಿಸರದ ಸುತ್ತ ಬರೆಯುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತುಕತೆಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾದದ್ದು. ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಡೇಟ ಸೆಂಟರುಗಳು ಗ್ಲೋಬಲ್ ವಾರ್ಮಿಂಗಿಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಕಾಣಿಕೆ ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎನ್ನುವಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಗೂಗಲ್ ವರೆಗೂ ಮುಟ್ಟಿತು. ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲ ಬಳಸುವವರ ಪ್ರೈವೆಸಿಗಿರುವ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಆ ನಂತರ ಆರ್ ಟಿ ಐ (ರೈಟ್ ಟು ಇನ್ಫರ್ಮೇಶನ್ ಆಕ್ಟ್) ಕುರಿತ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರ್ ಟಿ ಐ ಕುರಿತ ಮಾಹಿತಿ, ಸಹಾಯ ಪುಟಗಳ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿರುವ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ತದನಂತರ ಸ್ವತ್ರಂತ್ರ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳಾಗಿ ಲಭ್ಯವಿರುವ ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಆಯ್ಕೆಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಮಾತುಕತೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಗ್ನು/ಲಿನಕ್ಸ್ ಹಾಗು ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಸುತ್ತ ಲಭ್ಯವಿರುವ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳು, ಪದ್ಮ (ಕನ್ವರ್ಶನ್ ಮಾಡಲು ಬಳಸಬಹುದಾದ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ) ಹಾಗು ಉದಯೋನ್ಮುಖ ಬರಹಗಾರರಿಗೆ, ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತರಿಗೆ ಉಪಯೋಗವಾಗಬಹುದಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಪ್ಲಗಿನ್ನುಗಳು - ಇವುಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಕಂಪ್ಯೂಟರನ್ನು ಪ್ಲಾನೆಟೋರಿಯಂನಂತೆಯೇ ಮಾಡಿಬಿಡುವ ಸ್ಟೆಲೇರಿಯಂ ಎಂಬ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು - ಒಂದು ದೃಶ್ಯಾವಳಿ ಕೂಡ ಇತ್ತು (ಸ್ಟೆಲೇರಿಯಂ ಒಂದು 'ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ' ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ). </p>
<p><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads/discussionb.preview.JPG/image_preview" alt="sampada2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="sampada2" /><br /><br />ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಗೇಶ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರು ಹಲವು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಂದಿಟ್ಟರು. ಬರವಣಿಗೆ ಹೊಸ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುತ್ತಿರಬೇಕು, ಹೊಸ ನೆಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡುಕೊಂಡು ಮುಂದುವರೆಯುತ್ತಿರಬೇಕು, ಹಳತನ್ನು ಅಥವ ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ ಶೈಲಿಯನ್ನು ನಕಲು ಮಾಡುವಂತಿರಬಾರದು ಎಂಬುದರ ಕುರಿತು ಅವರು ಹೇಳಿದ ಮಾತುಗಳು ನನ್ನ ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಚ್ಚುಳಿದದ್ದು. ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯುವುದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಅದರ ಬಳಕೆ (ಹೇಗೆ, ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ), ಅದರಿಂದಾಗುವ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗಳು, ತೊಡರುಗಳು - ಈ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆಯುವುದು ಕೂಡ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಎಂದರು. ರವಿ ಹೆಗಡೆಯವರು ಬ್ಲಾಗುಗಳು ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ ಮುಟ್ಟುವ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಓದುಗರನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬುದರ ಕುರಿತು ತಿಳಿಸುತ್ತ ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆಯುವವರು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಟಿವಿ, ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಹಾಗು ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆದು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು ಎಂದರು. ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಬಳಸಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಹೊಸ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗಳನ್ನಿಟ್ಟು ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ತರಬಹುದು, ಇಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ ಹೊರನಡೆದು ಹೇಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಭಾಗಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟಬಹುದು ಎಂಬುದರ ಕುರಿತು ಸಹ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಈ ರೀತಿಯ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ದೂರ ಅನಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ ನಮಗೆ - ಅಂದು ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿದ್ದ ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವರಿಗೆ ಇತರರ ಪರಿಚಯವಾದದ್ದು ಕೂಡ ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದ ಮೂಲಕವೇ... 'ನಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷೆ' ಎಂಬ ಒಂದು ಆಸಕ್ತಿಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಹೆಣೆದು. <br />ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಹಲವು ಸಮುದಾಯ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳು ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಗೊಂಡು ಹೊರಗಿನ ಜನರಿಗೂ ತಲುಪುತ್ತಿರುವುದು. <br /><br />ಚರ್ಚೆ ಅನೌಪಚಾರಿಕವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾದದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಮುಗಿದದ್ದು ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲ ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ, ಖುಷಿ ತಂದಿತು. ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು, ಮಾತುಕತೆ ಎಂದರೆ ಎಂದಿನಂತೆ ಕೆಲವರ ಮಾತು - ಇನ್ನುಳಿದವರು ಕುಳಿತು ಕೇಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಎಂಬಂತೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ದಿನದ ಮಾತುಕತೆ ವಿಭಿನ್ನವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ತಮ್ಮ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಮಂಡಿಸುವ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ ನೀಡಿತು. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಮುಂದೆ ಹಾದೂ ಹೋಗಿರದಂತಹ ಕೆಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳು ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಮಾತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಳಿಬಂದಾಗ ಉಪಯೋಗವಾಗುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿದ್ದವು. ಇದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಿಸಿದ ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಫಾರ್ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಎಂಡ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿಯವರಿಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಥ್ಯಾಂಕ್ಸ್ ಹೇಳಿದರೂ ಸಾಲದು. ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ನಡೆಸಲು ಜಾಗ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಲ್ಲದೆ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಊಟ, ಬೆಳಗಿನ ಕಾಫಿ ಮುಂತಾದವುಗಳನ್ನೂ ಅವರೇ ವಹಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು! ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲ ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹ ನೀಡುವುದಲ್ಲದೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಮುಕ್ತ, ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ಹಾಗು ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕವಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ನಡೆಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಇವರ ಸಹಕಾರ ಮರೆಯಲಾಗದ್ದು. ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾದದ್ದು ಇವರಿಂದಲೇ. <br /><br />ಅಂದು ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ವಂದನೆಗಳು, ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು. ಮುಂದೊಮ್ಮೆ, ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಅದರ ಕುರಿತು ಬರೆದು ನಿಮಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಕಾರಣಾಂತರಗಳಿಂದ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಲಾಗದವರು ಆಗ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು. ನವ ಚಿಗುರಾಗಿ ಹಳೆ (ಬೀರ್ ಅಲ್ಲ) ಬೇರಿನ ನಂಟು ಬಿಡದೆ ಹೊಸತನ್ನು ಕಾಣುತ್ತ ಹೊಸ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಇಡೋಣ, ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿ!</p>
<p>-- Hari Prasad Nadig</p>
<p><em></em><br />
<img src="http://hpnadig.net/sites/hpnadig.net/files/images/hpn.jpg" alt="Hari Prasad Nadig" align="right" /><br />
Hari Prasad Nadig is an independent software developer and consultant specialising in GNU/Linux and web based development. He is a sysop and bureaucrat at <a href="http://kn.wikipedia.org/">Kannada Wikipedia</a>, and was also an active editor starting from its initial version in September 2004. In 2005, he started <a href="http://sampada.net/">Sampada</a>, a
community of Kannada speaking people; he is also the founding member of <a href="http://sampadafoundation.org/">Sampada Foundation</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/writing-science-and-technology-in-kannada'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/writing-science-and-technology-in-kannada</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2011-08-20T22:28:28ZBlog EntryUploads
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads
<b></b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2011-08-20T22:28:21ZFolderRTI Response VTU
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/RTIresponse-VTU
<b></b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/RTIresponse-VTU'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/RTIresponse-VTU</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2009-04-03T10:05:35ZImageRTI Response from VTU
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/rti-response-from-vtu
<b></b>
<p>Ref: VTU/Aca/OS-RIA-05/2008-09/11707<br />Date: 6 Feb 2009<br /><br />Reply to Form A<br /><br />To<br />The Centre for Internet & Society<br />No. D2, 3rd Floor, Shariff Chambers,<br />14, Cunningham Road,<br />Bangalore - 560 052<br /><br />Sir,<br />Sub: Your application under RTI Act dated 7-01-2009<br />With
reference to the above, this is to inform that the matter MoU between
Microsoft Corporation and Visvesvaraya Technological University is in
discussion level. No document is signed till date.<br /><br />Thanking you,<br />Yours faithfully,<br />[signature]<br />Registrar</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/rti-response-from-vtu'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/rti-response-from-vtu</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2009-04-03T06:37:26ZPageRTI Application to VTU
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/rti-application-to-vtu
<b></b>
<p>To,<br />Registrar,<br />Visvesvaraya Technological University,<br />“Jnana Sangma”, Machhe,<br />Belgaum - 590 014<br /><br />Wednesday, January 7, 2009<br /><br />Dear Sir,<br />Subject: Application for Information under Section 6 of the Right to Information Act, 2005<br /><br />1. Full Name of the Applicant: <br />Pranesh Prakash<br /><br />2. Address:<br />Centre for Internet and Society<br />D-2, 3rd Floor<br />Shariff Chambers<br />14 Cunningham Road<br />Bengaluru, Karnataka.<br /><br />Phone number: <br />+91 80 40926283<br /><br />E-mail address: <br />pranesh@cis-india.org<br /><br />3. Details of the document/Inspection/Samples required: <br />As
per newspaper reports, Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) and
Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) have entered into an
agreement pursuant to which Microsoft will aid in VTU's curriculum
development programmes, students' projects, continuing education, and
research and<br />development.<br /><br />I request you to provide me:<br /><br />A.
A copy of the memorandum of understanding or other agreement between
VTU, or any authorized representative of VTU, and Microsoft, or an
authorized representative of Microsoft, establishing this tie-up.<br /><br />B. A copy of any contracts entered into between VTU and Microsoft pursuant to this tie-up.<br /><br />C. A copy of the software licences granted by Microsoft to VTU in pursuance of this tie-up.<br /><br />D. A copy of any other legal and/or commercial documents related to this tie-up.<br /><br />E.
A copy of the memorandum of understanding or other agreement between
VTU, or any authorized representative of VTU, and Microsoft, or an
authorized representative of Microsoft, establishing the "Microsoft
Dream Spark programme" at VTU in 2008.<br /><br />F. A copy of the
memorandum of understanding or other agreement between VTU, or any
authorized representative of VTU, and Microsoft, or any authorized
representative of Microsoft, establishing the"Academic Development
Programme" introduced in 2002.<br /><br />G. A copy of the memorandum of
understanding or other agreement between VTU, or any authorized
representative of VTU, and Microsoft, or any authorized representative
of Microsoft, establishing the "Microsoft Technology Centre" at VTU's
Bengaluru campus in 2005.<br /><br />H. A copy of any internal memoranda or
communications related to the adoption of Microsoft software and
resources, and Microsoft curriculum, and any other communications
between Microsoft and VTU.<br /><br />I. A copy of the memorandum of
understanding or other agreement between VTU, or any authorized
representative of VTU, and Microsoft, or any authorized representative
of Microsoft, establishing the "Microsoft IT Academy" at VTU.<br /><br />J. Any policy that VTU has regarding tie-ups with software companies or other software groups when it comes to curricula.<br /><br />4. Years to which the above requests pertain:<br />2002, 2005, and 2008.<br /><br />5. Designation and Address of the Public Information Officer from whom the information is required:<br />Registrar,<br />Visvesvaraya Technological University,<br />"Jnana Sangma", Machhe,<br />Belgaum - 590 014<br /><br />To
the best of my belief, the details sought for fall within your
authority. Further, as provided under section 6(3) of the Right to
Information Act, in case this application does not fall within your
authority, I request you to transfer the same in the designated time (5
days) to the concerned authority and inform me of the same immediately.<br /><br />To
the best of my knowledge the information sought does not fall within
the restrictions contained in section 8 and 9 of the Act.<br /><br />This to certify that I, Pranesh Prakash, son of M.S. Prakash, am a citizen of India.<br /><br />A
fee of Rs. 10/- (Rupees Ten Only) has been made out in the form of a
demand draft drawn in favour of Finance Officer, VTU, Belgaum. Please
indicate any further amount needed, if any, for provision of the above
information in your response to this petition.<br /><br /><br />Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2009<br />Place: Bengaluru, Karnataka</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/rti-application-to-vtu'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/uploads/rti-application-to-vtu</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2009-04-03T06:36:41ZPageCluster in collaboration with the Architects Association of Turin (FOAT) participates at the Democracy Biennial
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial
<b>Sunil Abraham to speak at the conference 'Housing the Democratic City' in Turin, Italy</b>
<p>The first edition of the <a href="http://www.biennaledemocrazia.it/" target="_blank">Biennale Democrazia</a>,
will take place in Turin the 22 – 26 April 2009, it is an international
cultural event entirely dedicated to the ethical and political project
of democracy a political system which, by definition, is in constant
evolution and development, continually facing new challenges to be
overcome. The Democracy Biennial is organized by the City of Turin, the
Italia Committee and the Piedmont Regional government. It forms part of
a series of programmes and public events called <a href="http://www.italia150.it/" target="_blank">Esperienza Italia</a>
organized to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Unification of
Italy in 1861. The Democracy Biennial takes its inspiration from the
profound studies on democracy carried out by Norberto Bobbio and it is
intended to function as a tool for spreading a culture of Democracy
that can also be put into practice in everyday life. It aims to create
a permanent, ongoing workshop, open to the public, that explores and
debates, from both a local and international point of view, the
fundamental values of democracy, the forms it has adopted and the
challenges it faces today. The event will consist of different
preparatory activities (workshops, debates, readings, international
forums, in-depth seminars and events actively involving citizens (as
well as films, theatre and music events).</p>
<p>In partnership with the Biennale Democrazia the Architects Association of Turin (<a href="http://www.to.archiworld.it/" target="_blank">FOAT</a>),
has curated a section, within the event program, entitled “Housing the
Democratic City”. The section offers a series of sessions: a workshop,
conferences and a call for paper that aim to stimulate reflections on
issues related to housing the city, for a future of urban democracy.</p>
<p>In occasion of this important event Cluster, in collaboration with
the Architects Association (FOAT), has invited a collaborator from
Bangalore, India, <a href="http://www.cluster.eu/v2/profiles/sunil-abraham/" target="_blank">Sunil Abraham</a>
to speak at the conference “Housing the Democratic City” at Teatro
Gobetti on Sunday 26th April. Other participating speakers are <a href="http://www.zedfactory.com/" target="_blank">Bill Dunster</a> (UK), <a href="http://www.zucchiarchitetti.com/" target="_blank">Cino Zucchi</a> (Italy).</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham is an industrial and production engineer from Bangalore in India. In 1998 he founded <a href="http://www.mahiti.org/" target="_blank">Mahiti</a>,
an association dedicated to reducing the cost and complexity of
information and communication technology for the voluntary sector. In
August 2008 he co-founded <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/../" target="_blank">The Centre for Internet and Society</a>,
that brings together a team of practitioners, theoreticians,
researchers and artists to work on the emerging field of Internet and
Society to critically engage with concerns of digital pluralism, public
accountability and pedagogic practices, with particular emphasis on
South-South dialogues and exchange. Sunil contributed to the last issue
of Cluster, Transmitting Architecture in a dual interview and
discussion entitled “Design in Urban democracy:a question of survival?”
PDF downloadable <a href="http://www.cluster.eu/v2/editions/thackara/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham will also be speaking in two other sections of the
Biennial on April 25 ‘Democracy and India’ with Prof. Federico
Squarcini, professor of History of Indian Religions, University of
Florence and ‘Democracy and Technology’ with the Politecnico of Turin.
More details on the programme coming soon.</p>
<p>For info. please visit: <a href="http://biennaledemocrazia.it/" target="_blank">Biennale Democrazia</a> Order of the Architects of Turin (<a href="http://www.to.archiworld.it/" target="_blank">FOAT</a>)</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cluster-in-collaboration-with-the-architects-association-of-turin-foat-participates-at-the-democracy-biennial</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2009-03-27T11:09:02ZPageInternational School at the Digital Media program of the University of Texas at Austin - Portugal Collaboratory (CoLab)
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/international-school-at-the-digital-media-program-of-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-portugal-collaboratory-colab
<b>Applications are now open for the first International School on Digital Transformation, to be held July 19-24, 2009, at the University of Porto in Porto, Portugal. The School is accepting applications from advanced students and recent graduates from around the world with an interest in how digital technologies are changing societies and the world as a whole.</b>
<p><a href="http://colab.ic2.utexas.edu/dm/international-school/isdt-student-registration-page/">Applications are now open for the first International School on Digital Transformation</a>,
to be held July 19-24, 2009, at the University of Porto in Porto,
Portugal. The School is accepting applications from advanced students
and recent graduates from around the world with an interest in how
digital technologies are changing societies and the world as a whole.</p>
<p><a href="http://colab.ic2.utexas.edu/dm/international-school/isdt-student-registration-page/"><img title="Application" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-248" src="http://colab.ic2.utexas.edu/dm/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/app_button.jpg" alt="Application" height="35" width="150" /></a></p>
<p>The International School on Digital Transformation will be an
intensive six-day residential program, conducted in English and
bringing together emerging and established scholars and professionals
from around the world. During the week-long session, innovators in
digital communications will serve as teachers and mentors, presenting
their current projects and research and participating in discussions
with advanced students and professionals beginning careers in the
field. Presenters and students will be regarded as peers during the
School.</p>
<p>The School will focus on these themes:</p>
<p>• Democratic transformations of society through digital media<br />
• Innovations in transparency and political participation using new online tools<br />
• Grassroots civic activities using digital technologies<br />
• Building effective communities with the Internet<br />
• Reaching out to new users with mobile and online technologies<br />
• Prospects for digital communication in developing regions<br />
• Digital arts and culture in a globalized, online world</p>
<p>The goals of the International School include:</p>
<ul><li>Combining lectures on current research and innovation with practical experience, using accessible, low-cost digital technologies</li><li>Providing an informal venue for sharing expertise, perspectives, and best practices and for mentoring advanced students</li><li>Fostering a sustainable network of scholars and activists in the field of digital technology, communication and social change</li></ul>
<p><strong>Program</strong></p>
<p>The basic daily schedule will consist of one 90-minute session of
lecture and discussion in the morning: free time for teachers and
students to interact, converse and explore the city in the afternoon;
and two more 90-minute lecture and discussion sessions in the evening,
folowed by a communal meal.</p>
<p>The confirmed speakers for the International School on Digital Transformation include:</p>
<ul><li>Sunil Abraham<br />
Director of Policy at the Center for Internet and Society, Bangalore, India; and current board member of Mahiti Infotech</li><li>Patricia Aufderheide<br />
Professor, School of Communication, American University; director,<br />
Center for Social Media at American University</li><li>Warigia Bowman<br />
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy Leadership,<br />
University of Mississippi</li><li>Fiorella De Cindio<br />
Associate Professor, Computer and Information Science Department,<br />
University of Milan</li><li>Martha Fuentes-Bautista<br />
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of<br />
Massachusetts at Amherst</li><li>Stephanie Hankey/Marek Tuszynski (tentative)<br />
Co-founders and directors, Tactical Technology Collective</li><li>Lisa Nakamura (associate faculty)<br />
Professor, Institute of Communication Research; Director, Asian<br />
American Studies Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</li><li>Tapan Parikh<br />
Assistant Professor, School of Information, University of California<br />
at Berkeley</li><li>Tiago Peixoto<br />
Researcher, European University Institute, Florence, Italy</li><li>Alison Powell<br />
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University</li><li>Andrew Rasiej<br />
Founder of Personal Democracy Forum and techPresident</li><li>Nicholas Reville<br />
Executive director, Participatory Culture Foundation</li><li>Scott Robinson<br />
Professor, Department of Anthropology, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana</li><li>Jorge Martins Rosa<br />
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences; Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, New University of Lisbon</li><li>Christian Sandvig<br />
Associate Professor, Department of Communication; faculty member,<br />
Project on Public Policy and Advanced Communication Technology,<br />
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</li><li>Doug Schuler<br />
Program Director, Public Sphere Project, an initiative of Computer<br />
Professionals for Social Responsibility</li><li>Leslie Regan Shade<br />
Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University</li><li>Maripaz Silva (associate faculty)</li><li>Laura Stein<br />
Assistant Professor, Radio-Television-Film Department, University of<br />
Texas at Austin</li><li>Siva Vaidhyanathan<br />
Associate Professor, University of Virginia, Media Studies and Law;<br />
Fellow, Institute for the Future of the Book</li><li>Katrin Verclas<br />
Co-founder and editor of Mobileactive.org</li></ul>
<p>The International School on Digital Transformation is a program of
the University of Texas Austin-Portugal Colaboratory, or CoLab. The
co-directors of the School are Drs. Sharon Strover and Karen Gustafson,
and Gary Chapman, of the University of Texas at Austin.</p>
<p>The School will be held at the Rectory, a building of the University
of Porto in the center of the city. Student housing will consist of
nearby hotels, and the cost of the School will include a shared hotel
room, two meals per day (breakfast and dinner) and the program itself.
The week will also include a cultural activity offered to all School
participants.</p>
<p>The estimated cost of the International School on Digital
Transformation will be between €300 and €400. Travel to Porto,
Portugal, is not supported; students must find and pay for their own
travel to Porto.</p>
<p>The student application, and more specific information for students, are available at this link.</p>
<p><strong>Porto, Portugal</strong></p>
<p>Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996, Porto is known
for its spectacular architecture and medieval alleyways, and it is also
compact, allowing visitors to easily explore the central city on foot.
Porto is on the Douro River and also near the Atlantic Ocean. It is
famous for its port wine from the inland Portuguese wine region along
the Douro River valley.</p>
<p>During the free afternoons, students and teachers may explore the
sidewalk café culture on Santa Catarina Street, a nearby pedestrian
shopping area, or walk across the Dom Luís I Bridge spanning the Douro
River to the promenade, restaurants, and port houses in Vila Nova de
Gaia, directly opposite central Porto. Short river cruises may be taken
in barcos rabelos, flat-bottomed boats traditionally used to ferry
shipments of port wine.</p>
<p>While Porto is famous for its ancient Roman ramparts and Gothic
churches, it is also home to the Casa da Música concert hall, a superb
example of modern architecture, finished in 2005, that has become an
icon of the city. The Serralves Museum is a major cultural institution
which hosts rotating exhibitions of contemporary art and which features
a world-class garden.</p>
<p>In the late evenings, Porto hosts a thriving clubbing culture, and the city’s nightspots attract DJs from around the world.</p>
<p>Porto has an international airport and is also served by trains from
Lisbon and from Spain. By train, Porto is approximately three and a
half hours north of Lisbon.</p>
<p>Please direct questions regarding the program to Karen Gustafson, at <a href="mailto:kegustafson@mail.utexas.edu.">kegustafson@mail.utexas.edu</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/international-school-at-the-digital-media-program-of-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-portugal-collaboratory-colab'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/international-school-at-the-digital-media-program-of-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-portugal-collaboratory-colab</a>
</p>
No publishersachia2009-03-27T09:55:53ZPageOpen access conference seeks to free research
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/open-access-conference-seeks-to-free-research
<b>Article by Amulya Gopalakrishnan in the Indian Express (New Delhi), 26 March 2009</b>
<p>When Newton famously remarked that if he had seen further than others, it was by “standing on the shoulders of giants”, he wasn’t just being modest. He was stating the simple fact that knowledge builds on previous knowledge, that the back and forth of ideas is vital for scientific achievement. Though the current proprietory publishing model is stacked against scholars, an emerging open access movement across the world aims to free scientific content - and India has big stakes in it.</p>
<p>A conference in New Delhi brought together open access evangelists including Prof. John Willinsky of Stanford University, Prof Leslie Chan of the University of Toronto, Prof Surendra Prasad of IIT Delhi, Dr D K Sahu of MedKnow Publications, and Narendra Kumar of CSIR.</p>
<p>Now, all research papers published from CSIR labs will be made open access, either by putting the full text on freely available institutional repositories or publishing directly in open access journals. Meanwhile, across the world, MIT has become the first university to throw open all its research papers through the online repository software DSpace.</p>
<p>Globally, academic tenure and promotion is traditionally linked to research published in reputed, peer-reviewed journals. These journals are owned by commercial behemoths like Springer and Reed Elsevier, who own stables of journals in various disciplines, and dictate terms to university libraries. But in recent years, journal prices have shot through the roof. </p>
<p>Now, after years of weary negotiation, and empowered by new digital infrastructure, universities are teaming up via free institutional repository systems, to pool and circulate their collective research. In India, institutes like NIT Rourkela have adopted super-archives like DSpace for another reason — to showcase their scientific output to global peers. “NIT doesn’t have the research legacy of IIT or IISC — they needed the visibility,” says NIT director Sunil Kumar Sarangi.</p>
<p>Such a knowledge commons is especially valuable to developing countries — for instance, in agricultural research or public health, it is inexcusable that countries which could benefit most from the scientific debate are left out of the loop, simply because of prohibitive pricing (some journals cost up to 20,000 dollars, annually). This only widens the gulf between the state of research here and the US or Europe.</p>
<p>Even research produced in India with our taxpayer money is sent to big-name commercial journals and all copyright signed away, putting it out of reach for the Indian scholarly community. But all that could change if open access journals become the norm. S K Sahu, who runs MedKnow publications (over 80 open access journals), also busted claims that content on such journals tends to vanish into the ether after a few years online.</p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>To read the article at the Indian Express website, click <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/open-access-conference-seeks-to-free-research/439228/">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/open-access-conference-seeks-to-free-research'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/open-access-conference-seeks-to-free-research</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaOpenness2011-04-02T16:10:58ZNews ItemCan you read me?
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/can-you-read-me
<b>Article by Sahana Charan in the Bangalore Mirror, 11 March 2009</b>
<p>Over 90% of govt websites can’t be accessed by people with disabilities; A Bangalore-based social research organisation has now initiated a nation wide campaign to make the web more accessible to them.</p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>Would it come as a shock to you that more than 90 per cent of government websites, including those dealing with social welfare issues, can be of no use to visually or hearing impaired persons or even some senior citizens? At least, that is what the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) found out when it did a random check on 23 websites of important government organisations. Of the 23 websites that were checked, 21 failed to meet basic standards which could make them accessible to persons with disabilities including those with visual and hearing impairment and motor disabilities.</p>
<p>The study revealed that The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) websites were the only ones that were designed to meet the needs of all persons including those with disabilities.</p>
<p>When Nirmitha Narasimhan, Programme Manager at CIS, who is visually-impaired herself, ran an automated tool over these websites, she found that most of them failed to meet basic standards. “We carried out accessibility testing on the homepages of 23 sites using an automated tool and of these 21 failed automated verification and only the RBI and IIM-B websites passed verification on the basis of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Priority 1 checkpoints. But even these websites had some problems. Overall the sites that failed the fewest tests were RBI, IIM-B, RTI and CMC Vellore,” she said.</p>
<h3>Access for All</h3>
<p>Considering that some of the websites that failed the accessibility test were important for all citizens, including the Railways, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, RTI and National Informatics Centre (NIC) websites, the research organisation decided to take this exercise forward by launching a national campaign for electronic accessibility. Their campaign has been so successful that they are now in talks with the central government to formulate a draft policy on electronic accessibility.</p>
<p>“Persons who have disabilities such as blindness or low vision, deafness, cognitive impairment and so on are unable to browse through websites like other persons, since they are unable to see graphics, flash presentations, hear audio clips etc. They use technologies such as screen readers (like Jaws and NVDA which read out whatever appears on the screen for a blind user) or other kinds of devices to perform the functionalities associated with using the computers. For deaf persons, it is necessary to have captioning for an audio clip to tell them what is being played,” says Nirmitha. But she adds that even for assistive technologies to be used, the websites need to have built-in features that will make them accessible to everyone.</p>
<h3>Guidelines</h3>
<p>“Most websites have features such as graphics which cannot be interpreted by technologies such as screen readers. In such a case, the website creator has to take care to give alternative texts which describe what the graphic is about. For instance, under a picture of a dog on a website, there should also be a line describing the picture,” adds Nirmitha, who is now working with web developers across the country to create awareness about guidelines for creating a website.</p>
<p>The World Wide Web Consortium (www) has come out with guidelines on how to build websites which are accessible to persons using assistive technologies. These guidelines are called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and address the needs of all disabilities and inabilities. “In the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and many other countries, it is mandatory to implement these guidelines for all websites. Since ours is an internet-savvy nation, it is high time these rules were made mandatory here,” says Nirmitha.</p>
<p>CIS has conducted a series of workshops for web developers from organisations including NIC, JNU and many voluntary agencies so that they could incorporate WCAG. In Karnataka, all government websites are designed by NIC, so it goes without saying that none of them are disabled-friendly.</p>
<h3>Their Own Site Too</h3>
<p>Karnataka has over 9.4 lakh persons with disabilities of whom at least 10-15 per cent are able to use assistive technology and can access the net. In Bangalore city alone, close to one lakh persons are disabled and quite a few of them have knowledge of computers.</p>
<p>But it is a pity that the website of the Directorate for the Welfare of the Disabled and Senior Citizens cannot be accessed by people who need to use it the most.</p>
<p>Forget being disabled-friendly, the website has not been updated since 2007 and the gallery section still shows pictures of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.</p>
<h3>What the guidelines say</h3>
<p>For sites which have graphics, alternative text should be given at the bottom describing the graphic for the benefit of visually impaired persons.</p>
<ol><li>For the hearing impaired, video clips should be accompanied by text running at the bottom of the clip so that they will know what is being said.</li><li>Flickering text that cannot be deciphered by a screen reader (a technology used by the visually impaired that reads out test on the computer screen aloud) should be avoided.</li><li>For those with motor impairment, options can be given to avoid the use of mouse and where only one single key could be used. <br /></li></ol>
<p>
-----</p>
<p> To read the article at the Bangalore Mirror website, click <a class="external-link" href="http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=10&contentid=20090311200903110104094299c3f999f&sectxslt=&pageno=1">here</a>. </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/can-you-read-me'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/can-you-read-me</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaAccessibility2011-04-02T16:11:00ZNews ItemGetting the net out of its web
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/getting-the-net-out-of-its-web
<b>Article by Malvika Tegta in Daily News and Analysis (DNA), 8 March 2009</b>
<p>Artists, academicians, tech heads and lawyers have come together to give the country a voice in technology, study, polity and discourse, says Malvika Tegta</p>
<p>-----<br />The Internet has changed lives in ways we haven't stopped to grasp — the real feeding into the virtual and the other way round. Also, how the Internet interacts with individuals varies across cultures and societies. Narratives on the medium originating in the West cannot size up the complexities of the developing world. In the absence of a voice from the "global south" in affecting the direction of the Internet, technologies continue to be designed for a certain kind of end user, with underlying assumptions. "That apart, as the Internet grows, it doesn't necessarily always grow for the better, with things like cyber terrorism, cyber bullying, pornography, identity theft, gambling, internet addiction, being the by-products of the information revolution," says Nishant Shah, director-research and one of the brains behind the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), initiated in August 2008, set up to take note of what we passively allow to direct our lives.</p>
<p>These are the issues that led Gibraltar-based Anurag Dikshit, co-founder of PartyGaming, parent company of online poker site PartyPoker.com, to think that "the time had come for India to have a voice in technology study, polity and discourse, as we quickly find ourselves becoming an Information Society". He, along with Alternative Law Forum's legal theorist Lawrence Liang, Shah and Sunil Abraham, brought CIS into being, pooling in the finest minds from the field of arts, academia, law and technology. CIS, since, has set out to produce local and contextual histories of the Internet to make voices "emerging out of Asia more visible in international dialogues around technology".</p>
<p>Their approach: research, awareness and advocacy. Their goal: to make sense of how the Internet is changing the world around us, with India at the heart.</p>
<p>CIS looks at, among other things, the way copyrights, closed standards and an absence of public policy in certain areas have affected access, innovation and kept the Internet from being less democratic and vibrant. "Copyright law is kind of a monolithic thing, like a 'one size fits all' kind of solution for encouraging creativity. It doesn't really work especially when you look at an equitable system of access," says programme manager Pranesh Prakash. He adds: "Copyright proves to be a huge barrier to promotion of accessibility, and in the Indian context needs some kind of relaxation." Programme manager at CIS, Nirmita puts this in perspective, in the particular case of internet access for the visually impaired and those with cognitive disabilities. "A blind person cannot read the written word, so you record an audio cassette or you have an e-version of it and a screen reader reads it for you. That inverts the conversion of a format, which is not permitted legally under the copyright law in India. Every time you want to convert it, you need to take permission of the copyright holder. So what that is essentially doing is depriving you of your right to read," she says. "Our country should have a law that is universal. We have signed United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that says that everything on the Internet should be in accessible formats, but it's not binding and we don't have a law on it."</p>
<p>In the area of science and academics, copyrights pose another challenge, that of impeding innovation by keeping from the taxpayer, results of at least the research that is funded by tax a notion CIS has been pushing for. "Scientific literature is propounded on the principles like everyone is allowed to review it and that knowledge spreads to a number of people," says Prakash. Both the scientist and the reader want that. But what we see today is that a few publishers control most of all scientific literary output, so most of it is not accessible because a month's subscription sometimes amounts to the entire library budget of an institution. That is especially a big problem for developing countries.</p>
<p>By the end of this year, CIS hopes that individual institutions take up open access policy. "It may not always have to be a top down approach," he says.</p>
<p>In the realm of governance, CIS identifies use of closed standards software as not only unwise strategy, but also socially and ethically a bad decision, and is looking at policy change in the area. Explains Sunil Abraham, director-policy, in his paper: "If I were to store data, information or knowledge in .doc, .xls or .ppt format, my ability to read my own files expires the moment the licence for my copy of Microsoft Office expires." He adds that governments have a responsibility to use open standards, especially for interactions with the public and where the data handled has a direct impact on democratic values. "In developing countries, governments have greater responsibility because most often they account for over 50% of the revenues of proprietary software vendors," he writes.</p>
<p>They are also exploring bridging digital divides without ignoring the "complex interplay, in the case of India for instance, of caste, language, affordability, education, literacy, and in some cases, even religion" and how the Internet is changing the landscape of higher education in India.<br />As Shah puts it: "Internet technologies are now becoming tools that we think with. We cannot write without the cursor blinking on an empty screen, we cannot talk in public without the aid of a digital presentation..."</p>
<p>It's about time, then, that we thought about the one thing that's becoming one of the bigger movers in our lives and build a discourse around it. </p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>To read the article in DNA's e-paper, click <a class="external-link" href="http://epaper.dnaindia.com/dnabangalore/newsview.aspx?eddate=3/8/2009&pageno=14&edition=20&prntid=2819&bxid=27996052&pgno=14">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/getting-the-net-out-of-its-web'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/getting-the-net-out-of-its-web</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaResearch2011-04-02T16:11:22ZNews ItemAccessible websites could become a reality
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/accessible-websites-could-become-a-reality
<b>Article by L. Subramani in the Deccan Herald, 11 February 2009</b>
<p>Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bangalore-based NGO that researches on Internet's influence on families and individuals, had reported that about 99 per cent of government websites have failed in meeting with the accessibility guidelines issued by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).</p>
<p>As Kanchan Pamnani speaks about web accessibility, she relates to us an old story learnt at school. A crane called his long-time friend, a wolf, for dinner and showed a tall, narrow jar that had delicious fishes in it. Unable to put its head inside and eat, the bewildered wolf returned home hungry, as the crane enjoyed putting its long beak inside the jar and tasted its content.</p>
<p>“What’s the point in information being available on the Internet? The visually challenged can’t access the content all the same, since the design and presentation of websites are not friendly to the screen reader software they use to access them through PC and laptops. And they need this the most, since it saves their time and energy when they get things done online,” Ms Pamnani said.</p>
<p>Despite being home to the world’s largest visually impaired population, the problem of inaccessible websites has been common in India. What hurts Ms Pamnani, a visually challenged lawyer and folks like her is the irony that several website developers in India comply with accessibility norms while creating websites for their foreign clients for fear of their product getting rejected and ignore the same while making sites for home-based organisations.</p>
<p>Some months ago, Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bangalore-based NGO that researches on Internet's influence on families and individuals, had reported that about 99 per cent of government websites have failed in meeting with the accessibility guidelines issued by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). It had highlighted CMC Velore, RBI and IIMB as some of the institutions whose websites are either too difficult or impossible for persons with visual impairment to access with their special screen reading software.</p>
<p>“Someone has to take responsibility for this situation,” Pamnani mentioned. “Given that people from the IT community have created these websites, they will have to take the blame.”</p>
<p>Screen readers, which the blind use to get content of a computer in voice, comprises of text to speech engine (a sort of virtual larynx) and the software that allows users to interface with the system. However, graphically rich webpages or features that are primarily visual in nature become a potential minefield to the screen reader since it doesn’t know how that information can be rendered “readable” to the TTS engine.</p>
<p>Mindful of this bottleneck, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which play the role of rule-makers in the way the web functions, designed a set of guidelines web developers must use while creating websites. For instance, it calls for giving heading levels which makes screen reader users to press “Shift and the number key depending on which heading level (one to five) they want to reach” and straight away go to the heading instead of going line by line.</p>
<p>For webpages to be fully accessible, the guidelines ask developers to use HTML tags and create alternative, verbally described pages (to the graphically rich ones) that can be read by screen readers. Probably fearing the labour it takes, developers of websites are alleged to be overlooking the guidelines and disability activists say that the negligence is proving to be too costly for them.</p>
<p>“These days, most of the government documents are available on the Internet,” said Javed Abidi, Chairman, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled Persons (NCPEDP). “The technology is available and there is also the necessary awareness, but web developers seem to be taking this issue too lightly.”</p>
<p>Abidi and Pamnani have been talking about the situation with NASSCOM and were close to hosting a Dharna in front of the venue where the industry body was hosting its leadership summit on Wednesady. However, the protest was called off since NASSCOM agreed to focus on the issue.</p>
<p>“As a first step, the body has agreed to make their own website accessible,” Abidi, the New Delhi-based, wheelchair-bound disability activist, said. “Then they have agreed to urge their members to follow suit. Also, despite their attempts to take up accessibility as a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) issue, we want them to consider this as a rights issue, since the United Nations Convention for Rights of Persons With Disability (UNCRPD), which India has signed and ratified, states (in article 9) that access to information is a right.”</p>
<p>So Pamnani and several other visually challenged users of the Internet feel the day when they can log on to the website of an online store and purchase anything of their choice isn’t far away. </p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>To read the article at the Deccan Herald website, click <a class="external-link" href="http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Feb112009/cyberspace20090210117713.asp">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/accessible-websites-could-become-a-reality'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/accessible-websites-could-become-a-reality</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaAccessibility2011-04-02T16:17:26ZNews ItemGovernment websites: Access denied to special users
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/government-websites-access-denied-to-special-users
<b>Article by L. Subramani in the Deccan Herald, 8 December 2008</b>
<p>The homepages of 23 government agencies have been identified as inaccessible to special users, the city-based Centre for Internet and Society has found.</p>
<p>The organisation carried out an automated test using software tools, on websites of agencies like the National Informatics Centre, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of HRD etc, the majority of which have failed to meet even the basic access criteria laid down in the guidelines of Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C).</p>
<p>“Except for the Reserve Bank of India and CMC Vellore, all the sites don't even meet priority 1 of WCAG (W3C Access Guidelines), which would ensure availability of text for non-text elements (images) and other graphical contents that can't be read out by screen reader software,” said Nirmita Narasimhan, who carried out the tests at CIS. She mentioned that all of the websites failed in priority 2 and 3 of the guidelines.</p>
<p>“Despite being one of the most important sites for persons with disability, the homepage of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment - which contains documents and important government schemes for persons with disability - has completely failed to meet the accessibility criteria.</p>
<p>This is not only against the spirit of laws that guarantee freedom of information, but also contradicts the government's own policy of making websites accessible to persons with disability,” she added.</p>
<h3>Handbook <br /></h3>
<p>Nirmita pointed out that the Right To Information handbook - an important reference for persons with disability, demanding information from government and private organisations - has been provided in an inaccessible document format.</p>
<p>She echoed the common contention that persons with disability are deprived of one of the most important aspects of modern technology, despite being empowered by technologies like screen readers and speech recognition software.</p>
<p>The information, coming soon after the International Day for Persons with Disabilities was observed, raises question marks over the government's commitment to break barriers, and its genuineness in creating an accessible society as per the Persons with Disability act (1995) and the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disability, to which it has been one of the early signatories.</p>
<p>Ganesh Prasad, Director (Systems and Process) at Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled described the test results as ‘not surprising, but certainly disappointing.’</p>
<p>“Given the urban conditions, visiting a place in person has become one of the most difficult things for persons with disability,” Prasad said.</p>
<p>Priority 1 of the guidelines calls for text descriptions of images or alternative pages with text contents, while priority 2 asks for the turning off of auto refresh and other deprecated features of W3C technologies, and recommends semantic information of the page for persons with disability to instantly know the contents.</p>
<p>-----</p>
Read the article on the Deccan Herald website <a class="external-link" href="http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Dec82008/state20081208105396.asp">here. </a>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/government-websites-access-denied-to-special-users'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/government-websites-access-denied-to-special-users</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaAccessibility2011-04-02T16:17:22ZNews Item