The Centre for Internet and Society
http://editors.cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 31 to 45.
Wikipedia Orientation Program at Rotary Club of Salem
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-orientation-program-at-rotary-club-of-salem
<b>CIS-A2K in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Salem, Tamil Nadu conducted a two-day Wikipedia orientation workshop for student members of the club.</b>
<p>Over the December 9- 10 weekend, CIS-A2K, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Salem, Tamil Nadu conducted a two-day Wikipedia orientation workshop. This workshop focussed on teaching the basics of Wikipedia to all the student members of the club. The overwhelming participation of women volunteers was the highlight of the event. The workshop was organised by the Rotary Club while Salem Tamil Sangam also lent its support to the program. The President of the Rotary Club of Salem implored the students to contribute to the Tamil language by involving themselves more deeply with the Wikimedia projects. </p>
<p>With 13 female participants and 10 male participants, the participants were upbeat throughout both days. Veteran Tamil Wikipedian, Tamil Parithi acted as resource person along with CIS-A2K. Mr. Parithi explained the philosophy and history of the free knowledge movement which he felt was essential to the understanding of the wider Wikimedia movement. Usha Sanghamitra, a participant, reflects, "I previously thought some company was doing this but I am glad to note that it is people like you and me that are editing this information and creating such knowledge resources. I will surely take this up and continue to engage with Wikipedia."</p>
<p>A follow-up workshop is on the cards in December 2017.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-orientation-program-at-rotary-club-of-salem'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikipedia-orientation-program-at-rotary-club-of-salem</a>
</p>
No publishermanasaraoCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaOpenness2017-12-11T15:52:12ZBlog EntryWikimedia Technical Workshop at Savitribai Phule Pune University
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikimedia-technical-workshop-at-savitribai-phule-pune-university
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<p>A Wikimedia Technical Workshop was conducted between 27- 28 November, 2017 at the Department of Mathematics, Savitribai Phule Pune University. The objective of the workshops was us to understand how Wikipedia works and what career opportunities there are related to Wikipedia and how one can contribute to and enrich the open source knowledge for the benefit of all.</p>
<p>On the first day, the students were given an introduction to Wikimedia projects as well as Marathi Wikipedia. They were also taught account creation and given a general introduction to Wikipedia , MediaWiki, and wikis in addition to Wikipedia structure, article structure, name spaces, common.css and common.js pages, and gagdets. In the post-lunch session the participants were given an introduction to gadgets, scripts, tool and bots.</p>
<p>On the second day, the participants continued where they left off by learning about advanced tools and bots like Archive Bot, Sign bot, Anti-vandalism bots as well as Phabricator. Finally, the session ended with talks about future projects and activities. </p>
<p>22 participants attended the event.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikimedia-technical-workshop-at-savitribai-phule-pune-university'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikimedia-technical-workshop-at-savitribai-phule-pune-university</a>
</p>
No publishermanasaraoCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaMediawiki training (MWT)WikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-12-19T16:03:48ZBlog EntryKannada Wikipedia Orientation Workshop at IISc, Bengaluru
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/kannada-wikipedia-orientation-workshop-at-iisc-bengaluru
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<p>A Kannada Wikipedia orientation workshop was held at the Entrepreneurship Centre, SID, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru on 26 November, 2017. The day long event was aimed at adding content to Kannada Wikimedia projects on topics such as ecology, environment, wildlife and sciences of Karnataka. The event was organised by Gubbi Labs in conjunction with CIS-A2K. Gubbi Labs is a research collective and social collective run by environmental scientists. The event was attended was attended by 8 participants of which one member was female.</p>
<p>The participants created six articles and expanded one article. The impact of this workshop was the fact that participants were made aware of the importance of open access data. It helped initiate another similar workshop in Mysuru. Upon sharing the idea for projects like Wiki Loves Butterfly Idea, a participant was interested in starting a project titled 'Wiki Loves Spiders'. We are hoping to take this project forward on Kannada Wikipedia.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/kannada-wikipedia-orientation-workshop-at-iisc-bengaluru'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/kannada-wikipedia-orientation-workshop-at-iisc-bengaluru</a>
</p>
No publisherGopalakrishna ACIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaOpennessKannada Wikipedia2017-12-19T16:16:29ZBlog 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>
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<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>
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<h2>1. Freedom of Expression</h2>
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<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>
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<h2>2. Freedom of Assembly and Association</h2>
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<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>
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<h2>3. Accessibility</h2>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<h2>5. Personal Safety and Security</h2>
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<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>
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<h2>6. Inclusion</h2>
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<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>
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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>
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No publisherAdminOpennessAccessibility2017-11-26T03:58:47ZNews ItemHelping Institutions Embrace Open Access
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/manupriya-wire-november-17-2017-helping-institutions-embrace-open-access
<b>World over, a large number of universities and institutions are making way for open access repositories. Why have Indian researchers shied away from it?</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Manupriya was <a class="external-link" href="https://thewire.in/197872/helping-institutions-embrace-open-access/">published in the Wire</a> on November 17, 2017</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On October 28, 2017, a group of panelists in the faculty hall at <a href="https://indiabioscience.org/orgs/iisc" target="_blank" title="Indian Institute of Science (IISc),">Indian Institute of Science (IISc),</a> discussed the framework of policies that can help academic institutions embrace open access in letter, spirit and action. The discussion was a part of week-long activities organised by <span class="caps">DST </span>Centre for Policy Research (<span class="caps">DST</span>–<span class="caps">CPR</span>) at IISc to increase awareness and acceptability for open access publishing in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/OA.png/@@images/3939a474-dc8c-4f7b-b3ee-20b19b8f0e18.png" alt="OA" class="image-inline" title="OA" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The panel included Jayant Modak, deputy director, IISc, Satyajit Mayor, director of <a href="https://indiabioscience.org/orgs/ncbs" target="_blank" title="National Centre for Biological Sciences">National Centre for Biological Sciences</a> and <a href="https://indiabioscience.org/orgs/instem" target="_blank" title="inStem">inStem</a>, Padmini Ray Murray, vice-chair, <a href="http://www.globaloutlookdh.org/" target="_blank" title="Global Outlook: Digital Humanities">Global Outlook: Digital Humanities</a>, <span class="caps">N.V.</span> Sathyanarayana, chairman and managing director, <a href="http://www.informaticsglobal.com/" target="_blank" title="Informatics India Ltd">Informatics India Ltd</a> and Madan Muthu, visiting faculty at <a href="https://iiscdstcpr.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" title="DST-CPR at IISc."><span class="caps">DST</span>–<span class="caps">CPR</span> at IISc.</a> The discussion was anchored and moderated by Sunil Abraham, executive director, <a href="https://cis-india.org/" target="_blank" title="Centre for Internet and Society.">Centre for Internet and Society.</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Open access is a form of publishing that makes the fruits of research, such as journal papers and other forms of data accessible to anyone interested in it, without a cost. World over, a large number of universities and institutions are beginning to give up the library subscription model of publishing to make way for open access, owing to the latter’s lower cost and higher visibility.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In India too, funding agencies like <span class="caps">DBT</span> and <span class="caps">DST</span> have laid out guidelines that require researchers to submit their research output in open access repositories. Ironically though, most researchers have shied away from submitting their work in the repositories. Which raises the question, why?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In fact, this was one of the first questions that the panelists debated upon. Abraham initiated the discussion by asking the panelists – What are the weaknesses of <span class="caps">DBT</span>–<span class="caps">DST</span> policy on open access? Why have a large number of scientists not followed the guidelines laid by the policy? Is it because the policy document does not talk about any punitive measures for scientists in the event of not depositing their work in the institutional repositories (IRs)? And, how can the policy be improved?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Modak opened the argument by saying that we as a nation are good at making provisions but bad with implementation. He agreed that scientists are yet to warm up to the idea of open access but was disinclined on using punitive measures to force scientists into submitting their work in IRs. Mayor, in agreement with Modak, said that the policy document is advisory in nature and sort of lacks ‘teeth’. However, he too was against the use of punitive measures.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Murray, the third academician on the panel said that though the policy talks about staying away from publisher-based metrics like impact factor to assess a scientist’s work, it does not provide any information about what alternative metrics can be used to measure it. She suggested that the accessibility of a scientist’s work and how much effort she has put in to make it easily available to non-scientists could be used as a metrics for measurement. She also drew attention to the fact that the policy completely bypasses the requirements of independent scholars and those working in languages other than English. “Which institutional repository should they deposit their work in?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sathyanarayana, the fourth panelist and a strong advocate of open access said, the policy document “lacks an aggressive strategy” to drive a disruptive and “fundamentally voluntary model” of adopting open access. He asked the other panelists and the audience, “why have repositories like ResearchGate become so successful and attractive for researchers? Why can’t open access IRs be modelled along the lines of such repositories? His argument was that the IRs can be fashioned in a way to make them a ‘convenient step in the process of research’”. One suggestion that he offered was that IRs can be structured as a paper submission platform. So that anybody who is interested in publishing their work first puts it up in the <span class="caps">IR</span> and only after that the process of going to a journal begins.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Muthu, the fourth panelist and a long-time crusader for open access in India said that scientists in India have stayed away from the open access publishing because they don’t fully realise that in traditional models of publishing, you surrender all copyrights of your work to the publisher. He added that more scientists can be encouraged to adopt the open access model of publishing by making IRs institute-managed, easier to use and as a mandatory step in the process of publishing.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Mayor added to this argument by saying that the idea of submitting (unpublished) work in an <span class="caps">IR</span> is quite similar to the concept of pre-print archives which are fast becoming a powerful way of sharing work. Almost all top journals accept work that has been published in a pre-print archive. In fact, in the physical sciences, people have been using pre-print archives for a long time and now slowly, even the biology community is warming up to it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Murray emphasised on the need to talk to students about open access and making them aware of the ways to design their metadata so that it is amenable to open access repositories.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As the discussion inched closer to its final moments, it veered off towards the costs of open access publishing. Modak said that in the last year alone, the amount of money IISc has spent for publishing papers has doubled. If all researchers start opting for open access (<span class="caps">OA</span>) journals/hybrid-<span class="caps">OA</span> journals that charge the authors nearly double of what traditional journals do, then publishing papers will become unsustainable.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To this, Sathyanarayana said, it may appear that the cost of publishing in <span class="caps">OA</span> journals is high, but on a macro-level, when you consider the cost of publishing and accessing all the papers published in a year, then the <span class="caps">OA</span> model costs much lesser. He added that scientific publishing is the only business in the world where authors (creators of proprietary material) give away all their rights to publishers.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Backing up the points made by Sathyanarayana, Murray said that in traditional models of publishing the publishers make close to 400% profits. We need to think about, “how much labour we as academics put in for publishers’ profits?”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">It is authors’ inertia that is stopping open access from becoming the obvious model of publishing, said, Muthu.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In conclusion, Abraham summed up the arguments and acknowledged that there are many dimensions to open access and an institutional policy on <span class="caps">OA</span> cannot be framed in a vacuum. Common people need to participate in the debate to shape the direction the policy takes.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Apart from the panel discussion a poster competition and a quiz competition were organised as part of the <span class="caps">OA</span>-week activities. <span class="caps">DST</span>–<span class="caps">CPR</span> was joined by the student’s council at IISc, Centre for Contemporary Studies, <span class="caps">JRD</span> Tata Library and IndiaBioscience in organising the activities.</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>This article was originally published on </i><a href="https://indiabioscience.org/" target="_blank" title="IndiaBioscience">IndiaBioscience</a><i>. Read the original <a href="https://indiabioscience.org/news/2017/helping-institutions-embrace-open-access" target="_blank" title="here">here</a>. <br /></i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/manupriya-wire-november-17-2017-helping-institutions-embrace-open-access'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/manupriya-wire-november-17-2017-helping-institutions-embrace-open-access</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminOpennessOpen AccessAccess to Knowledge2017-11-27T15:11:34ZNews ItemMarathi Wikipedia workshop for Sandarbh Science magazine writers
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-for-sandarbh-science-magazine-writers
<b>A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently conducted for the writers at Sandarbh Science magazine.
</b>
<p>On 18 November, a introductory Wikimedia workshop was conducted for the writers at Sandarbh Science magazine.</p>
<p>Sandarbh Society is a registered society and public trust established with the main objective of publication on science and education. They also conduct lectures, demonstrations, workshops and other such activities in addition to networking of school teachers interested in bringing in innovative approaches in education.</p>
<p>The workshop was aimed at introducing Wikimedia projects and creating/editing Wikipedia articles to the writers. Participants were completely unaware about Marathi Wikipedia and editing. They were trained in basic editing skills and search for the concerned articles, categorisation and translation from other language wikipedias. Participants worked on articles and made edits. Images were also added to Commons and into articles. 59 articles were edited. 11 participants took part in the event.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-for-sandarbh-science-magazine-writers'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-for-sandarbh-science-magazine-writers</a>
</p>
No publishermanasaraoCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-12-19T15:53:30ZBlog EntryCIS-A2K signs MoU with Telangana Government
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-a2k-signs-mou-with-telangana-government
<b></b>
<p dir="ltr">The Centre for Internet and Society recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Telangana Government’s IT, Electronics & Communications Department with an aim to catalyse the development of the Wikimedia movement in Telangana and improve the state of free-licensed digital content in Telugu and Urdu. The Principal Secretary for IT Department Mr. Jayesh Ranjan and renowned Telugu Wikimedian and Theatre Scholar Pranay Raj were present for the occasion. Mr. Konatham Dileep, Director (Digital Media), IT Department and CIS-A2K Telugu Community Advocate Pavan Santhosh were signatories to the memorandum.</p>
<p><strong id="docs-internal-guid-801e8a60-9b00-aac7-b438-5d1cba7d92ef"><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">This MoU is the result of successive meetings between the Digital Media wing and Telugu Wikipedians, CIS-A2K members and the Wikimedia Foundation. These discussions enabled all stakeholders to come up with a comprehensive plan to develop the free knowledge movement in Telugu and Urdu.</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Katta Srinivas, a historian, teach and long time Telugu Wikipedian, says, “As one of the participants in earlier discussions with the government, I am happy to see progress in this respect. Especially, [the planned] photo archives of museums, photos of historical places and other events can be free-licensed as part of these initiatives. This decision can lead other government organizations to take up similar initiatives in India."</p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Apart from these, some of the planned activities include releasing encyclopedic photos and media content from government archives, increasing awareness about free licenses and Wikipedia among government officials, etc.</p>
<p><br /><br /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-a2k-signs-mou-with-telangana-government'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/cis-a2k-signs-mou-with-telangana-government</a>
</p>
No publishermanasaraoTelugu WikisourceCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaTelugu WikipediaOpenness2017-11-08T10:08:20ZBlog EntrySteps towards Integrated Open Water Data
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/steps-towards-integrated-open-water-data
<b>Multiplicity of data collection agencies, formats, and disclosure practices and conditionalities make it very difficult to access interoperable and open data about water resources and systems in India. Barriers to accessing water data impede not only academic and applied research on related topics but also public consumption of information and critical decision making. DataMeet and CIS are proud to collaborate on identifying and addressing the challenges to open up and integrate data and information in the water sector. Supported by a generous grant from Arghyam, we are undertaking an initial study of open water data resources in India and taking first steps towards developing a Free and Open Source data portal for water resources information in India. Here is an initial note about the project. The key leaders and contributors of this project are Craig Dsouza, Namita Bhatawdekar, Riddhi Munde, and Jinda Sandbhor, all of whom are members of the Pune Chapter of DataMeet.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Project website: <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/" target="_blank">https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/</a></h4>
<h4>Contact: <a href="mailto:pune@datameet.org">pune@datameet.org</a></h4>
<hr />
<h2>The problem statement</h2>
<p>Following devastating precipitation of more than 300mm in 24 hours in early December 2015 the city of Chennai was flooded unlike anything it had seen in recent history. A combination of bad urban planning along with heavy precipitation events had made such eventualities all the more likely. But in the case of such storms what parts of the city are likely to flood? What parts will remain unaffected by the deluge. Specific answers to these questions would help city planners plan better for such emergencies.</p>
<p>Only two months after Chennai was waist deep in water, the city of Latur in 2016 ran dry. The Manjara reservoir, on the river of the same name, the city's source of municipal water supply had not a drop left. With more than 4 months left until the rains would replenish the waters of the dam, the city was now reliant on water being transported in bulk via train tankers from more than 300 kms away, news that made daily headlines. The scale of sugarcane cultivation in the region was being called into question.. Was it possible that lowering the allocation of water to irrigation could have preserved enough water for the city's domestic water needs?</p>
<p>Each of these questions call for answers relating to the exact stock of water resources, and how fast the water flows from one part of the water cycle to another. For example, knowing current soil moisture levels and daily precipitation can we estimate groundwater recharge with a high degree of accuracy? If seasonal groundwater fluctuations and river flows in a watershed or sub-basin is known can we estimate actual quantum groundwater footprint of the crop irrigated with groundwater in that river basin? If new industries are being set up in close proximity to each other what might be the effect of these industries on groundwater stocks in the vicinity.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Towards an (integrated and open) data solution</h2>
<p>Deriving cause-effect links between the scale of use of water in a particular region and its possible effect on the status of water resources in the vicinity is an extremely difficult exercise because water stocks and flows are affected by so many causal links which need to be studied and quantified in an integrated manner. An integral part of any water resource study is developing a water balance model to estimate water availability and water demand.</p>
<p><strong>Water availability</strong></p>
<ul><li>Precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall,</li>
<li>Live storage capacity in reservoirs,</li>
<li>Soil moisture,</li>
<li>Groundwater levels (and fluctuation), and</li>
<li>Surface water flows in rivers.</li></ul>
<p><strong>Water use/demand</strong></p>
<ul><li><strong>Domestic water use:</strong> Human Population x estimated per capita consumption (or prescribed norm for domestic water consumption),</li>
<li><strong>Livestock water use:</strong> Livestock population x estimated per capita requirement,</li>
<li><strong>Agriculture and Forests:</strong> Evapotranspiration data (derived from temperatures (daily/monthly), wind speeds, humidity (daily/monthly), soil moisture & type, type of Agricultural land use, stage of plant growth, and</li>
<li><strong>Industry:</strong> Nature of industry and annual production x water required per unit of production.</li></ul>
<p><strong>Overcoming the data challenge</strong></p>
<p>Unknown to many, reasonably high resolution data does exist of these variables both across space and time, as described in detail below. Much of this data though hasn't been made inter-operable. We need tools to model water data, putting together real-time data for water availability and demand onto one platform that can facilitate discussions around it. However what we have are either proprietary river basin modeling software (expensive) OR free open source tools (programming/skill intensive).</p>
<p>They demand:</p>
<ul><li>knowledge of programming or know-how of technical tools and unavoidably</li>
<li>knowledge of the various data sources (to piece together the puzzle)</li></ul>
<p>What if instead, we had access to a tool, open, free, accessible to everyone through a browser (hence no need to download software) and most importantly intuitive to use and understand to someone with little technical or programming knowledge.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>What we propose and who is it for?</h2>
<p>To understand and take the first steps towards developing a completely free and open source data portal for water resources information in India.</p>
<p>Different groups would have different kinds of needs for water data. Researchers for instance tend to think of larger scales (river basins, sub-basins) whereas Gram Panchayat members may not think beyond the village or watershed scale. Hence this proposal aims at macro and micro scales, trying to determine needs at each level and enhancing our platform to meet these different needs.</p>
<p>The project will generate:</p>
<ul><li>A <strong>web app prototype</strong> that will collate secondary data,</li>
<li>A <strong>paper</strong> that outlines sources of data, type of data, level to which available (GP, village, etc.) and nature of the source (Paid/ unpaid/ format available etc.), and</li>
<li>A <strong>model WSP format</strong>, along with indications for what data already exists in secondary sources.</li></ul>
<p>The users of this work will be:</p>
<ul><li>Researchers/Journalists in the water sector, and</li>
<li>Gram Panchayat Members (to effectively develop water security plans, monitor and govern their local water resources).</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h2>Project Team</h2>
<p>The project team is supported by Nisha Thompson (Director, DataMeet) and Sumandro Chattapadhyay.</p>
<h4>Craig Dsouza</h4>
<p>Craig is an independent researcher in the development sector with a keen interest in water resources and agriculture. He has a Master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Policy (2013) and has worked as a researcher with the Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Mgmt, undertaking river basin studies in central and eastern India. Craig believes that the democratization of data and tools to derive insights from it holds tremendous potential for addressing issues of inequity and environmental sustainability in India. He contributes to these efforts as co-ordinator of Datameet-Pune, a city chapter of datameet.org.</p>
<p><strong>GitHub:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/craigdsouza">https://github.com/craigdsouza</a><br />
<strong>Twitter:</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/dsouza_craig">https://twitter.com/dsouza_craig</a><br />
<strong>Website:</strong> <a href="http://unravellingindia.in/">http://unravellingindia.in/</a></p>
<h4>Namita Bhatawdekar</h4>
<p>Namita is a web developer with 10 years of experience developing web applications and web-based data visualizations. She has worked on developing data Visuaizations for corporate businesses as well as in the research sector. She worked with Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Development (MIT's research lab in Singapore) as a Data Visualization expert where she visualized simulation outputs of autonomous vehicles to evaluate urban transport policies. Her work was showcased in many national and international conferences. She has a keen interest in solving social problems using data and is part of Datameet Pune, city chapter of datameet.org.</p>
<p><strong>GitHub:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/bnamita">https://github.com/bnamita</a><br />
LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/namitabhatawdekar/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/namitabhatawdekar/</a><br />
<strong>Website:</strong> <a href="https://bnamita.github.io/Portfolio/">https://bnamita.github.io/Portfolio/</a></p>
<h4>Riddhi Munde</h4>
<p>Riddhi is a GIS and Remote Sensing professional with 2.5 yrs of experience. She has a Master's degree in Geoinformatics and Earth Observation from ITC, University of Twente, The Netherlands. Her project experience includes implementing GIS and remote sensing solutions across a number of industries. She is interested in location and remote sensing analytics, ML, Image processing, web based visualizations and is proficient in ArcGIS, QGIS, PostGIS, Web mapping, algorithm development in Python and R and cloud computing. At Datameet she contributes with her know how of remote sensing to further improve data access in water and agriculture.</p>
<p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/riddhimunde/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/riddhimunde/</a></p>
<h4>Jinda Sandbhor</h4>
<p>Jinda Sandbhor is an action researcher associated with Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Pune, where he works to document and analyze issues related to the water and energy sectors in India. He actively supports socio-political movements in Maharashtra, Odisha and North Karnataka. In the past he has conducted research studies on water conflicts around rivers and major dams, socio-economic impacts of droughts, impacts of coal based thermal power on water and the local environment. He has been associated with the Datameet-Pune chapter since its beginning in 2015 and here seeks to improve access to data on social and environmental subjects.</p>
<p><strong>Website:</strong> <a href="http://jinda.manthan-india.org/author/jinda/">http://jinda.manthan-india.org/author/jinda/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/steps-towards-integrated-open-water-data'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/steps-towards-integrated-open-water-data</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpen Water DataOpen DataOpen Government DataEnvironmentOpenness2017-11-02T09:58:13ZBlog EntryDiscussion on Creation of Social Media Guidelines & Strategy for Telugu Wikimedia
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/discussion-on-creation-of-social-media-guidelines-strategy-for-telugu-wikimedia
<b>Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>An online discussion of guidelines and policies for the various Telugu Wikimedia social media handles was conducted. User:Pavan santhosh.s suggested a set of strategies and guidelines that can be taken into consideration for an official Social Media Policy of Telugu Wikimedia Projects. These suggestions included defining objectives, guidelines (with do's and don'ts) and strategies for the Social Media Policy. User:Ravichandra supported the idea and suggested another objective(showcasing best quality works of Wikipedia). User:Viswanadh added some strategies (such as writing a series of posts about technical aspects that help Wikipedians). User:Pranayraj1985 suggested some don'ts in handling Wikipedia pages as well as handles while User:Rajasekhar1961 expanded the strategy to other sister projects(Telugu Wikisource and Wiktionary). Finally, User:Chaduvari suggested not to name any page as official to avoid possible conflicts. User:Swaralasika announced consensus and User:Pavan santhosh.s created a page based on the discussion in order for the community to reflect.</p>
<p>User:Pranayraj1985 said, "there are pages & groups for Telugu Wikipedia in Facebook for years. We are using them as major social media promotion channels. I(Pranay) am publishing content related to Telugu Wikipedia in those channels. Some of the community members also been admins of page and group. But once or twice, in Facebook page and group, unrelated posts were published and I informed this to Wikimedians active on Facebook and removed those posts. I am glad that this discussion happened and community came up with guidelines and strategy now. This is very much needed. </p>
<p>The guideline page can be found <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%A4%E0%B1%86%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81%E0%B0%97%E0%B1%81_%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%B8%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%AE%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%9C%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95_%E0%B0%B5%E0%B1%87%E0%B0%A6%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%B2_%E0%B0%AE%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%97%E0%B0%A6%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B6%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81">here</a>.</p>
<p>Although the event was successful in creating guidelines, none of the input included women's voices as there were no female participants. Here's hoping there is a diversity of voices in future discussions.</p>
<p><em>With input from Pavan Santhosh S., Telugu Community Advocate, CIS-A2K.</em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/discussion-on-creation-of-social-media-guidelines-strategy-for-telugu-wikimedia'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/discussion-on-creation-of-social-media-guidelines-strategy-for-telugu-wikimedia</a>
</p>
No publishermanasaraoCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaTelugu WikipediaOpenness2017-10-24T14:42:24ZBlog EntryMarathi Wikipedia Workshop at Solapur University
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-solapur-university
<b>15 September</b>
<p> </p>
<p>A Marathi Wikipedia Workshop was held at the Department of Mass Communications at Solapur University. The workshop aimed to introduce Wikimedia and its sister projects to the students. The workshop comprised 25 participants with 10 female attendees.</p>
<p>Sharing their thoughts after the event, the participants were enthuse. Says Priyanka Lagshetti, "I never imagined that I can contribute to Wikipedia. I worked on various media related articles." Another participant, Ambadas Bhasake added, "This workshop showed us a innovative way to use internet productively and constructively" </p>
<p>While 19 new editors joined Wikipedia, participants worked on 60 articles and made around 90 edits. 15 images were added to Commons and into articles.</p>
<p>The meta page of the event can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_Department_of_Mass_Communication,Solapur_University,Solapur,Maharashtra,India">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-solapur-university'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-solapur-university</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-10-24T14:09:24ZBlog EntryOrientation Program at Kannada University, Hampi
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/orientation-program-at-kannada-university-hampi
<b>A Kannada Wikipedia Orientation Program was conducted at Kannada University Hampi on 31 August and 1 September 2017.</b>
<p>A Kannada Wikipedia orientation program was conducted at the Kannada University in Hampi recently wherein the participants where introduced to the various Wikimedia projects in Kannada. The participants were doctoral research students of the Dravida Samskruti Adhyayana Kendra of which 5 were male and 1 female.</p>
<p>Working on Wiktionary, the students added 3300 words to their sandboxes, which will be moved to the main space on Wiktionary.</p>
<p>The meta page of the event can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Kannada_University_Hampi_Orientation_Program">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/orientation-program-at-kannada-university-hampi'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/orientation-program-at-kannada-university-hampi</a>
</p>
No publisherGopalakrishna A.CIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaOpennessKannada Wikipedia2017-10-24T13:01:25ZBlog EntryMarathi Wikipedia Workshop at MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aurangabad
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-mgm-trusts-college-of-journalism-and-mass-communication-aurangabad
<b>A Marathi Wikipedia Workshop was recently held at the MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication on 11 August 2017.</b>
<p>A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently conducted at the MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication at Aurangabad. The workshop aimed to introduced Marathi Wikipedia to the students of the college and equip them with the process of editing the same. The workshop was attended by 10 female participants and 15 male participants. </p>
<p>"It was happiest moment for me, when I created new article on Pashmi, [a] species of dog. I added [an] image also." says Shivani Joshi a participant at the workshop. While 21 new editors were introduced to Wikipedia, 60 articles were improved and 15 images added. Another participant, Randhir Patil who added content on water-related articles says, "This content can be used as training material by field workers.</p>
<p>The meta page of the event can be found <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_Workshop_at_MGM_Trust%27s_College_of_Journalism_and_Mass_Communication,_Aurangabad,_Maharashtra,_India">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-mgm-trusts-college-of-journalism-and-mass-communication-aurangabad'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-mgm-trusts-college-of-journalism-and-mass-communication-aurangabad</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-10-24T13:18:41ZBlog EntryMarathi Wikipedia - Vishwakosh Workshop for Science writers in IUCAA, Pune
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-vishwakosh-workshop-for-science-writers-in-iucaa-pune
<b></b>
<p>A day-long workshop was organised for science writers at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-University_Centre_for_Astronomy_and_Astrophysics Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics], Pune on 7 October, 2017. Eminent astrophysicist-mathematician couple
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en:Jayant Narlikar|Jayant<sup>[+]</sup></a>
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and
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en:Mangala Narlikar|Mangala Narlikar<sup>[+]</sup></a>
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, and renowned ecologist
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en:Madhav Gadgil|Madhav Gadgil<sup>[+]</sup></a>
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were among the dignitaries present at the event.</p>
<p>The workshop was planned in three sessions. Presentations and discussions were conducted in first session, while second session was focused on actual editing demonstrations on Wikipedia. In the same session the new websites based on different subjects developed by Marathi Vishwakosh were presented. The process of content contribution in text, images, audio and video forms was explained in this session. The third session was to explore networking with Dyanmandals formed by
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:en:Marathi Vishwakosh|Marathi Vishwakosh Nirmiti Mandal<sup>[+]</sup></a>
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. Insisting the expertise of invited authors to contribute the articles in their own chosen fields in a well-structured format, this session will not only train the authors in content generation but also make them understand the expectations of laymen and common readers.</p>
<p>The mete page of the event is <a class="external-link" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Wikipedia_-_Vishwakosh_Workshop_for_Science_writers_in_IUCAA,_Pune">here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-vishwakosh-workshop-for-science-writers-in-iucaa-pune'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-vishwakosh-workshop-for-science-writers-in-iucaa-pune</a>
</p>
No publishermanasaraoCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-12-20T02:42:39ZBlog EntryPraja - Enhancing Democracy Through Access to Open Data: What Are the Roles of Government and Civil Society? (Delhi, Sep 08)
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/praja-enhancing-democracy-through-access-to-open-data-what-are-the-roles-of-government-and-civil-society-delhi-sep-08
<b> Open Government Data (OGD) is widely seen to be a key hallmark of contemporary democratic practice and is often linked to the passing of freedom of information legislation. OGD is a philosophy—and increasingly a set of policies—that promotes transparency, accountability and value creation by making government data available to all. Public bodies produce and commission huge quantities of data and information. By making their datasets available, public institutions become more transparent and accountable to citizens. By encouraging the use, reuse and free distribution of datasets, governments promote business creation and innovative, citizen-centric services. Praja is organising a symposium on "open data and civil society" on Friday, Sep 8, which is supported by European Union and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung fur die Freiheit. Sumandro Chattapadhyay (Research Director) will take part in this event as a speaker in the session on "data centric approach and role of stakeholders in the urban governance ecosystem."</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Details</h4>
<p><strong>Date:</strong> Friday, September 08 2017, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm</p>
<p><strong>Venue:</strong> Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre (Entry from Gate 1)</p>
<p><strong>Invitees:</strong> Government representatives, elected representatives, civil society organisation and media representatives.</p>
<p><strong>Event Page:</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/126667714642843/?ref=br_rs">Facebook</a></p>
<h4>Objectives</h4>
<ul><li>To study the intersectionality between transparency, accountability and consumption of data by stakeholders.</li>
<li>To explore opportunities for the civil society to simplify governance through access to data, privacy of stakeholders and to address challenges faced in data collection and analysis.</li></ul>
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
<p>The takeaway from the seminar should be to develop the idea of achieving data literacy. The presenters after a detailed interaction should take away the following from the event:</p>
<ul><li>Reflections on the use of Internet and technology as tools for better governance</li>
<li>Balance the development of open data and the strategies to use this data in terms of ownership and replication of data</li>
<li>Identify data sets which should be prioritised for release in order to maximise public value</li>
<li>Data Accessibility: Capitalize on the demand for democracy and transparency by making open data more accessible to the larger public</li></ul>
<h4>Sessions</h4>
<p>Through sessions, the aim is to specifically investigate the role of civil society and media in this effort. The participants will deliberate on the above-mentioned objectives of the seminar.</p>
<p><strong>Session I:</strong> Praja Foundation Website Launch</p>
<p><strong>Session II:</strong> Data centric approach and role of stakeholders in the urban governance ecosystem</p>
<p><strong>Session III:</strong> Open data-experiences; trends, challenges and opportunities, relationship between governance and data</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/praja-enhancing-democracy-through-access-to-open-data-what-are-the-roles-of-government-and-civil-society-delhi-sep-08'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/praja-enhancing-democracy-through-access-to-open-data-what-are-the-roles-of-government-and-civil-society-delhi-sep-08</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpen DataOpen Government DataData RevolutionData GovernanceOpenness2017-09-05T10:57:38ZBlog EntryMarathi Wikipedia Workshop in Sangli, Maharashtra
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-in-sangli-maharashtra
<b>A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently held in Sangli, Maharashtra</b>
<p>An introductory Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently held at CSIBER Trust's V.P. Institute of Management Studies and Research, Sangli, Maharashtra. The workshop aimed to introduce Wikipedia and its sister projects to the participants. </p>
<p>In an effort to implement innovative projects for the students, in March 2017, the institution decided to integrate Wikimedia Projects and academic assignments for capacity building of students and faculty. The implementation started with the <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-on-environment-management">Wikipedia edit-a-thon on Environment Management</a> at CSIBER Institute in Kolhapur on 30th March. The Institute in Sangli has also adopted the concept for this academic year. This workshop was organised for faculty and selected students who were taught basic editing skills on Wikipedia, searching for the concerned articles, categorisation and translation from other language wikis. Another focus of the workshop was to integrate academic assignments with Wikimedia projects.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-in-sangli-maharashtra'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-in-sangli-maharashtra</a>
</p>
No publisherSubodh KulkarniCIS-A2KAccess to KnowledgeWikimediaWikipediaMarathi WikipediaOpenness2017-08-16T08:40:58ZBlog Entry