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IRC16 - Proposed Session - #DisruptingRhetorics
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-disruptingrhetorics
<b>This is a session proposed for the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC) 2016 by Marialaura Ghidini.</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Session</h2>
<p>In "The Braindead Megaphone" (2007) writer George Saunders discusses the power of 21st century voices of high-tech mass media; the voices with whom one converse mentally all the time and often unaware. Saunders uses the metaphor of "The Megaphone Guy at a party" to describe the effects that such voices have on other people's thoughts, even when they are just passive listeners of what is said. The Megaphone Guy "crowds other voices out" because of "the volume and omnipresence of his narrating voice", and his power does not reside in his intelligence or acuity, but in his "dominance". This guy's rhetoric — read also, the mass media’s rhetoric — becomes central because of its unavoidability", and the web, with its now easy-to-use tools and shiny platforms, along with the seeming global interconnectedness of the Internet have made his dominance more portable and accessible, less unavoidable.</p>
<p>Simultaneously, such easiness and interconnectedness have allowed the reversal to happen, that is the development of strategies aimed at obstructing or diverting the dominant rhetoric. Artistic practices from all over the world have shown us different modes of intervention that disrupt the hegemonic discourses facilitated by the adoption of 'global' platforms of communication, entertainment and commerce. From the duo ubermonger to artists Paolo Cirio and IOCOSE and the labs like F.A.T. Lab, artists have developed strategies to weaken the power and dominance of The Megaphone Guys; they have developed methods of research, analysis and action which effects go beyond the art circuit and being on the internet.</p>
<p>All that said, however, the question of accessibility remains pressing and open to discussion: the bandwidth of common internet access and the way in which the web is entangled with everyday life still differs according to geographical areas. And this factor has often been overlooked in the researches into artistic practices online and their potentials to generate discourses that offer an alternative to the dominant ones. This difference in infrastructure and cultural uses has determined a diversity in artistic interventions aimed at disrupting dominating narratives: India shows a different history and approaches that this session would like to bring to light with the help of the participants.</p>
<p>Both through looking within the art field and outside it, such as in the work of social and community enterprises like the collective BlankNoise, this session aims to look artistic practices as methods of research and intervention that can be used to understand the effects of the Internet and web tools on society and, in turn, to put forward new ways in which web technology can be critically used by many, and non-artists, in their everyday life.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Plan</h2>
<p>Led by a curator/researcher, in collaboration with an artist and another curator/researcher, this discussion session will start with a general overview of artistic interventions, i.e. methods, aimed at disrupting the world's views created by mass media. This general overview will include examples of both national and international artists and community-based projects, from artists ubermonger, IOCOSE, Paolo Cirio and labs like F.A.T. Lab outside India, to the work of collectives such as Cybermohalla and BlankNoise, and artist like Archana Hande in India. It will be then followed by a discursive moment during which the participants will be divided in groups, according to specific key words collectively agreed upon, to discuss artists works and non-artistic activities pertaining the subject of the session. What will emerge from the group discussions will be presented to all participants in a short session, and will be followed by an attempt to create a mapping of current methods of intervening and acting
online. Prior to the workshop participants will be given suggested readings and a series of questions that will help them for the breakout groups.</p>
<p>With this structure the session will not be based on one-way communication but it will allow to generate collective research into online behaviours—of platforms, corporations, people and communities of interest—through expanding on the views proposed by the proponents of #DisruptingRhetorics.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Readings</h2>
<p>Tatiana Bazzichelli, <em>Networked Disruption. Rethinking Oppositions in Art, Hacktivism and the Business of Social Networking</em>. DARC PRESS (Aarhus University), Denmark, 2013 (Excerpts)</p>
<p>George Saunders, <em>The Braindead Megaphone.</em> Riverhead Books, US, 2007</p>
<p>F.A.T. Lab, We Lost, <a href="http://fffff.at/rip/" target="_blank">http://fffff.at/rip/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-disruptingrhetorics'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-disruptingrhetorics</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroIRC16Proposed SessionsInternet Researcher's Conference2016-01-03T07:09:30ZBlog EntryIRC16 - Proposed Session - #InternetMovements
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-internetmovements
<b>This is a session proposed for the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC) 2016 by Becca Savory, Sarah McKeever, and Shaunak Sen.</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Session</h2>
<p>Since its early days the Internet has been conceived in terms of both movement and landscape - from “cyberspace” to the “Information Superhighway” - and in popular perception is often viewed as a boundless space imagined in terms of limitless possibilities. Indeed, across our research fields, from digital media to performance and social activism, we find that the Internet is frequently perceived as a space of mobilisation: where moving bodies are
remediated within online content; where the movement of images, ideas and bodies can occur freely, with the rapid transmission of the “viral”; and where movement(s) frequently spill over into physical geographies.</p>
<p>Yet increasingly the Internet is also a space of fractured and fragmented movement(s): of blockages and blockades, discontinuities and disappearances. Landscapes become territorialized and movement(s) confined or obstructed. On this basis, we propose an interdisciplinary discussion session around the theme of
"#InternetMovement(s)". We ask how we can conceive of movement(s) in relation to the Internet in India, in terms of both mobility and immobility, fissure and flow.</p>
<p>To encourage fluidity, we propose to structure the session around three "nodes" rather than three separate research papers. Our nodes are as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>How can we conceive of movement(s) in relation to Internet research in India?</li>
<li>What are the forms that movement(s) take in our respective fields?</li>
<li>What "stop" or blocks" movement in these cases?</li></ol>
<p>The three co-conveners will each prepare a 5-minute response to each of these nodes, based on our specific areas of research. At each nodal point we will then allow time for wider discussion, enabling inter-disciplinary discussion and flow to underpin the session.</p>
<p>We perceive the session to speak to the first of the conference’s core questions: “How do we conceptualise, as an intellectual and political task, the mediation and transformation of social, cultural, political, and economic processes, forces, and sites through internet and digital media technologies in contemporary India?”</p>
<p>Each of the three co-convenors is approaching this question in their own research, asking how online media and communications mediate, remediate and transform the fields of film-media, social activism, and performance. We also ask the corollary: what are the limits and impediments to those transformations or mediations? The following section outlines the co-convenors’ approaches in more detail.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Plan</h2>
<p><strong>Statement of Intent I</strong></p>
<p>The internet increasingly impresses traces on nearly all media technologies everyday. The once stable film body, gets disaggregated into various new forms of loop videos, GIFS, photo-memes, as clips and stills from disparate films get extracted, re-edited, patched and re-moulded into new user-generated media material. Solitary moments and gestures from films (a menacing wink by Jack Nicholson from The Shining, a clap from Charles Kane, a tear from the Tin-Man in The Wizard of Oz) get completely unchained from the original narrative context and used as discrete independent communicative units (Kane’s a popular Birthday wish gesture, while Nicholson’s Is a common linguistic unit signifying playful flirtation.) One of the primary ontological pegs of cinema - movement, today becomes the center of urgent debate around the status of photographs, movement-image forms like GIFs, and traditional moving images as the basic configuring elements of contemporary cinema. Using the film-GIF form as its primary vector this paper opens up the category of ‘movement’ philosophically as well as a constituent form to understand cinema today within the context of India.</p>
<p>As the cinematic object disperses into thousands of fragments hurtling through innumerable new online contexts, questions related to stardom also get radically transformed. I will be investigating a particular site of cinematic re-instansiation - the recent Alok Nath meme phenomenon. Long relegated to the margins of films as the venerable Hindu middle class father, the ‘’Alok Nath is so sanskaari..’’ set off a viral maelstrom that suddenly recast his cinematic body and the memory of a whole host of films (the Suraj Barjatya Hindu joint-family films). The paper focus on questions around movement as a philosophical arena as well as radical new form re-inscribing the cinematic in hitherto unprecedented shapes today.</p>
<p><strong>Statement of Intent II</strong></p>
<p>An examination of social movements with digital components in India begs several questions: What forms do social movements take in the digital world? How do we conceptualise social movements using digital and physical evidence? How does the context of India – as a functioning democracy - allow or restrict digital and physical social movements and define what is an “acceptable” protest movement? Engaging with these questions demands an interdisciplinary perspective, and exploring the interplays between the physical and the digital in regard to social issue protest movements.</p>
<p>Movement in my particular research area is understood in two aspects: the physical mobilisation of individuals to protest against perceived grievances and the movement of information around specific issue areas. The physical movement of bodies in public places is intimately connected to flow of information throughout digital networks, generating entangled and complex interfaces between the digital and the physical and creating new imagined
possibilities of the efficacy of social protest (Castells 2012; Gerbaudo 2012). Examining recent social movements in New Delhi allows us to explore the linkages and disjuncture between the physical and digital, using theoretical developments in social movement theory to anchor the study (Earl, Hunt, and Garrett 2014; Krinsky and Crossley 2014).</p>
<p>Examining the repercussions and strategies of physical/digital mobilisation can lead to a confrontation between the “imagined” possibilities of digital mobilisation and the realities of technological and physical blockages. These blockages can exist at the level of the network – both in digital and physical limitations – but also at the level of digital informational flow and who is allowed to view data? Confronting the “imagined” capabilities with the reality of entrenched power networks contests the notion of the digital as a free superhighway of information into a series of blocks and stoppages, restricting what is possible and feasible. By exploring question of movement(s) in New Delhi, I will explore the disjuncture between the imagined possibilities and the restriction of information – by nature of the algorithms that govern our capabilities and our own social networks – and complicate the triumphal narrative of the affordances of digital mediums on protest movements.</p>
<p><em>References</em></p>
<p>Castells, M. (2012) Networks of Outrage and Networks of Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age, Cambridge, MA: Polity Press</p>
<p>Earl, J., Hunt, J., and Kelly Garrett, R. (2014) ‘Social Movements and the ICT Revolution’ in van der Heijden (Ed.) <em>Handbook of Political Citizenship and Social Movements</em>, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Pgs. 359-383</p>
<p>Gerbaudo, P. (2012) <em>Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism</em>, London: Pluto Press</p>
<p>Krinsky, J. and Crossley, N. (2014) ‘Social Movements and Social Networks: An Introduction’, <em>Journal of Social, Cultural and Political Protest</em>, Vol. 13, No. 1. Pgs. 1-21</p>
<p><strong>Statement of Intent III</strong></p>
<p>My research centres on the recent history of flash mob performance in India and analyses the transformations that have taken place within the genre: firstly, as an initially American, then “global,” performance form becomes re-situated and adapted within an Indian context; and secondly, as the form has evolved over time in relation to the transitioning of the Internet from a predominantly text-based medium to a predominantly image- and video-based one (see Strangelove 2010).</p>
<p>In the field of flash mob performance, we see moving bodies becoming re-mediated as moving images, and mobilised into the flow of global circuits of online reception. My underlying concern when approaching this research is: who is mobile in these contexts? Who becomes visible through movement, and by extension, who may disappear in these
same moments?</p>
<p>I intend to approach this session by examining what is enacted through the movements of flash mob performance, focusing on the more recent phase of the genre in which flash mobs become mobilised through online video-sharing practices. I argue that they perform mediated representations of “New India” for an online national and international audience, valorising the new “non-places” (Augé 1992) of Indian supermodernity, through the acts of a
mobilised “digerati” (Keniston 2004). If we consider that performance can play a role in the construction of cultural memory (Roach 1996; Taylor 2003), and that the Internet as an archive can become a repository of performances and thus memories(Gehl 2009), I ask if online performance in these contexts may be seen as an aspect of the processes that structure a “politics of forgetting” (Fernandes 2006) in globalising India. Which narratives are rendered visible and which invisible through these performances? Who appears and who disappears? Movement on the Internet thus becomes a political question concerned with comparative mobilities, visibilities, and participation in the narratives of “India” that are constructed for global circulation.</p>
<p><em>References</em></p>
<p>Augé, M., 1992. <em>Non-places : introduction to an anthropology of supermodernity</em>. Translated by J. Howe. 1995. London & New York: Verso.</p>
<p>Fernandes, L., 2006. The politics of forgetting: class politics, state power and the restructuring of urban space in India. In Y. Lee and B.S.A. Yeoh eds., <em>Globalisation and the Politics of Forgetting</em>, London; New York: Routledge.</p>
<p>Gehl, R., 2009. YouTube as archive: Who will curate this digital Wunderkammer? <em>International Journal of Cultural Studies</em>, 12(1), pp.43-60.</p>
<p>Keniston, K., 2004. Introduction: The four digital divides. In K. Keniston & D. Kumar eds., <em>IT experience in India: bridging the digital divide</em>, New Delhi; Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.</p>
<p>Roach, J.R., 1996. <em>Cities of the Dead: Circum-atlantic performance</em>. Chichester and New York: Columbia University Press.</p>
<p>Strangelove, M., 2010. <em>Watching YouTube: Extraordinary videos by ordinary people</em>. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.</p>
<p>Taylor, D., 2003. <em>The archive and the repertoire: Performing cultural memory in the Americas</em>. USA: Duke University Press.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Readings</h2>
<p>Noys, B. (2004) Gestural Cinema?: Giorgio Agamben on Film. In <em>Film Philosophy</em> Vol. 8 no. 22. Available at: <a href="http://www.film-philosophy.com/vol8-2004/n22noys" target="_blank">http://www.film-philosophy.com/vol8-2004/n22noys</a>.</p>
<p>Couldry, N. (2015) ‘The Myth of ‘Us’: Digital Networks, Political Change and the Production of Collectivity’, <em>Information Communication and Society</em>, Vol. 18, No. 6. Pgs. 608-626 .</p>
<p>Appadurai, A., (2010) How histories make geographies: circulation and context in a global perspective. <em>Transcultural Studies</em>, 1. Availabile at: <a href="http://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/index.php/transcultural/article/view/6129" target="_blank">http://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/index.php/transcultural/article/view/6129</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-internetmovements'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-internetmovements</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroIRC16Proposed SessionsInternet Researcher's Conference2016-01-03T07:04:11ZBlog EntryIRC16 - Proposed Session - #DigitalDesires
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-digitaldesires
<b>This is a session proposed for the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC) 2016 by Silpa Mukherjee, Ankita Deb, and Rahul Kumar.</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Session</h2>
<p>We propose to design the panel as a workshop with three paper presentations followed by an open discussion with the house exploring the key question of media objects‟ (in the form of film/film music/memes/gifs/trolls) changing relations with law; copyright and piracy having attained newer connotations in the age of media convergence. While we deal with the materiality of cinema in the new media moment, the session will open out debates on the mutability of media objects in a networked digital terrain ushered in by fast growing and cost-effective internet culture in urban India.</p>
<p>In terms of methodology the panel deploys media archaeology to trace the mutations that film culture has undergone in the digital age. The coexistence of the obsolete media copyright with its meme and its digitally re-mastered copy on torrent informs the research that the three papers involve. A certain engagement with the logic of informed/fan-cinephilic digital labour that unwittingly maintains and updates the algorithmic database of Web 2.0 services will run through the presentations. Along with archival research and interviews with professionals
involved with online media companies and “users” who are now the "pirate/prosumer-cinephiles" of media objects, we will carry out extensive digital ethnography to map the chimera of digital territory that user traffic based internet culture in India helped produce.</p>
<p>The digital is a space of intervention: a space for the users to intervene and play with the material online. It is a constant form of participation underscoring a potential for democratic authorship. The definitive notion of authorship voices the overarching body of the state through its legal status. Thus copyright as a legal entity produces a discourse of power through this form of authorship. The contemporary medium or rather the multi-media
constellation driven by internet culture in India produces an alternative discourse on authorship, complicating the notion of copyright and piracy at the same time. This charged terrain of (il)legality is also due to the nature of piracy in the digital domain, which does not exist in isolation but have now created bodies or spheres where it has been appropriated as a sub-cultural practice. The figure of the “pirate”/ the “troll”/ the “fan” and the “cinephile” now merges with the technologically enabled body of the user of new media who negotiates with the medium in multiple ways (and morphs it) and thereby touches all kinds of spaces within and outside the webspace. It has changed the physical scope of cinephilia as addressed in the paper "A Laptop and a Pen-drive: Cinephiles of Mukherjee Nagar," where the culture of networked sharing evolves from and further complicates physical stations. It has permeated into the body of film music in the paper "Licensed, Remixed and Pirated: Item numbers and the web", which interrogates the layers of user-based morphs that the text of a dance number in Bollywood undergoes in the culture of web based remixing and hacking. It changes the way protected materials like films circulate in the space designated as YouTube, marked by its ability to reproduce copyright materials without violating the law as the third paper titled "Online Streaming in the Era of Digital Cinephilia" points out; the logic of the obsolete
license of old Hindi films which gains a new viral life on YouTube with its official upload vying with the multiple hacker-user uploads.</p>
<p>Thus the panel intends to explore the dizzying overlaps that produce this internet induced distinct zone of ambiguity that neither the law nor the state or the author can claim ownership over. The very embodiment of the material in the digital is in transition i.e. in a state of being morphedby the blurring of the identities of the multiple bodies at work at each moment. Through the three papers we intend to chart this transitional aesthetic sometimes contained and sometimes flowing out of the body of the media text onto the physical, technological and
extra textual objects as well. The panel seeks to position this new world of media objects that overlap and form an uncontainable entity, seeking newer forms of negotiations with the older existing order. We seek to explore then what happens to the very essence of author(ity)ship when digital enters its domain.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Plan</h2>
<p><strong>A Laptop and a Pen-drive: Cinephiles of Mukherjee Nagar</strong></p>
<p>With the changes technology has brought to contemporary life, cinephiles – for whom movies are a way of life, films and how they are experienced have undergone major changes. The classic cinephile, as the term was adopted in the 1960s has undergone a major change in the era of internet piracy. I will look at the way pirated films via torrent downloads are consumed by students in certain pockets in New Delhi especially around Mukherjee Nagar area. These students who come from the upwardly mobile Indian middle class families are engaged inpreparations of competitive exams to land a lucrative government job. Circumstances dictate that these students own a laptop to watch films but not a high speed internet connection. To fuel their cinephilic urge, they are dependent upon soft copy vendors of pirated films. These vendors are like a video library, the repository here being a laptop and a storage drive. These professional film pirates depend upon the p2p file sharing commonly referred as "torrent."
DVD and Blu Rays released by official sources are ripped at a bigger size by certain uploaderswhich are downloaded by another one who rips it to an even smaller size, fit enough to be downloaded by pirates with a slower broadband till it reaches places like Mukherjee Nagar. Using this particular case study, where the world of online film piracy merges with a third world piracy domain, I plan to interrogate the logistics of a new kind of cinephilia and
try and frame this particular form of informal circuit of media production and consumption into a coherent perspective.</p>
<p>Relevant websites: <a href="https://kat.cr">https://kat.cr</a>, <a href="https://yts.la/">https://yts.la/</a>, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com">https://torrentfreak.com</a>.</p>
<p>Relevant software: Handbrake, uTorrent / Deluge / Vuze.</p>
<p>Relevant reading: Treske, Andreas. <em>The Inner Life of Video Spheres: Theory for the YouTube Generation</em>. Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, 2013</p>
<p><strong>Licensed, Remixed and Pirated: Item Numbers and the Web</strong></p>
<p>The coming of new digital technologies has rendered the relationship of media objects’ with law extremely malleable and volatile. It urges us to rethink certain categories we have been working with, viz. piracy and copyright. The specific focus of the paper will be on item numbers’ relationship with changing technology and the law. The proprioceptive body being the central node of enquiry here: the law that affects the body that moves on screen and the body that is moved by the screen is made flexible in the digital age with Web 2.0’s unique design that spawns hackability and remixability. Through the registers of music licensing to YouTube, circulation of content offline as MP3 downloads in cheap mass storage devices, user generated morphed content related to item numbers (in the form of memes, GIFs, trolls, posters, tumblr blogs and listicles) spawned by amateur digital culture and remixing videos of film content the paper traces the gray zone between web based music piracy and its copyright rules. It will interrogate the moment when the entertainment industry has recognized the clear
shift of its spectatorship from the older media to the more digital platforms and appropriates the contingency brought in by the algorithmic anxiety of Web 2.0 and its unique relationship with law and hence censorship regulations to innovate newer means of mass circulation and bypassing censorship.</p>
<p>Relevant content: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2O2dBonBok">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2O2dBonBok</a>.</p>
<p>Relevant user-traffic-oriented platforms: <a href="http://www.memegenerator.com">http://www.memegenerator.com</a>, <a href="http://www.trolldekho.com">http://www.trolldekho.com</a>, <a href="http://www.imgur.com">http://www.imgur.com</a>, <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/">https://www.tumblr.com/</a>.</p>
<p>Relevant curated online media platforms: <a href="http://scoopwhoop.com/">ScoopWhoop</a>, <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/tag/india">Buzzfeed India</a>, <a href="http://blog.erosnow.com/">blog.erosnow.com</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Online Streaming in the era of Digital Cinephilia</strong></p>
<p>Digital piracy has allowed for certain democratization of film distribution and consumption through a parallel economy of piracy. The lack of control over these channels of distribution produces a blatant threat to the copyright and intellectual property rights that are quintessential to the mainstream culture of commercial film distribution. This paper will focus on the intersection of these two dichotomous cultures through the experience of
watching old films via online streaming. The resurfacing of old films hosted by big corporations like Shemaroo, Venus and Ultra who began as film rights and video rights owners at one point host their old video content in a user generated space called youtube. The video content is a very specific form here. It is an obsolete entity, defined by its ambiguity with copyright that is able to make a legal transgression in order to circulate.</p>
<p>The circulation of the feature films in a web space that is primarily known for its clip culture also provides an interesting paradigm for the copyright material. The big corporate copyright floats in a culture of pirated experiences where the legal domain becomes a dizzying site of contradictions. Through this paper I will draw parallels between the history of these companies and their work in the field of film circulation and to the creation of a new form of cinephilia and its complicated relationship to the law. I will use a variety of archival sources, legal documents and discourses on online streaming to contextualize my argument.</p>
<p>Relevant websites: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ShemarooEnt">https://www.youtube.com/user/ShemarooEnt</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/VenusMovies">https://www.youtube.com/user/VenusMovies</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/UltraMovieParlour">https://www.youtube.com/user/UltraMovieParlour</a></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Readings</h2>
<p>None.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-digitaldesires'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-digitaldesires</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroIRC16Proposed SessionsInternet Researcher's Conference2016-01-03T07:03:52ZBlog EntryLaunch of Silicon Plateau Vol-1
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/launch-of-silicon-plateau-vol-1
<b>Please join us on Friday, November 27, 2015 at 6.30 pm for the book launch of Silicon Plateau Vol-1.</b>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/SiliconPlateauVolume1_Cover.png/image_preview" alt="Silicon Plateau Vol-1 - Cover" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Silicon Plateau Vol. 1 - Cover" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Born from a collaboration with or-bits.com and the Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society, Silicon Plateau is the first volume of a publishing series aimed at observing how the arts, technology and society intersect in the city of Bangalore. Guided by our belief in the importance of understanding technologies in their specificity rather than their universality, Silicon Plateau presents observations emerging from the personal experiences and perspectives of a variety of contemporary artists, writers and researchers, national and international, who either live in or have spent a period of time in the city, or have just crossed paths with its communities.</h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>Silicon Plateau Vol–1 features works by Abhishek Hazra, IOCOSE, Tara Kelton, Anil Menon, Achal Prabhala, Sunita Prasad, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Renuka Rajiv, Anja Gollor & Mirko Merkel, and Christoph Schäfer.</h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>VENUE: T.A.J. Residency, No. 21 (New No. 53), 2nd Cross, Wheeler Road Extension, Cooke Town, Bangalore, 560084.</h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>PLEASE NOTE: Coming from Pottery road up to Wheeler Road Extension there are three roads called 2nd Cross. Take the third one on the right-hand side, just after D'Costa Café. The road is also marked with a blue sign for CCBI. Also note that our building does not have parking.</h3>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/launch-of-silicon-plateau-vol-1'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/launch-of-silicon-plateau-vol-1</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroSilicon PlateauPracticeResearchers at WorkEvent2015-11-26T04:32:41ZEventSilicon Plateau Vol. 1 - Cover
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<b>Silicon Plateau Vol. 1 - Cover</b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/SiliconPlateauVolume1_Cover.png'>http://editors.cis-india.org/SiliconPlateauVolume1_Cover.png</a>
</p>
No publishersumandro2015-11-26T04:21:49ZImageResearch
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/research
<b></b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/research'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/research</a>
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No publishersumandro2019-12-30T17:39:31ZCollectionDetails for Contributing Posts to RAW Blog
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/details-for-contributing-posts-to-raw-blog
<b>The RAW Blog hosts writings contributed by researchers, professionals, artists, workers, and others. </b>
<p> </p>
<h2 id="themes">Themes</h2>
<p>The posts may speak to the various interests of the the RAW programme and the Centre for Internet and Society: data systems, digital knowledge, internet histories, network economies, web cultures, indic computing, openness and accessibility, privacy and freedom of expression, methodologies of studying internet, etc.</p>
<h2 id="formats">Formats</h2>
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<h2 id="style">Style Guide</h2>
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<ul>
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<h2 id="submission">Submission and Selection</h2>
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<h2 id="copyright">Copyright and License</h2>
<p>The posts are published under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0</a> license, and the author retains the copyright.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/details-for-contributing-posts-to-raw-blog'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/details-for-contributing-posts-to-raw-blog</a>
</p>
No publishersumandro2016-07-29T09:19:27ZBlog Entry International Open Data Charter: First Public Draft
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/international-open-data-charter-first-public-draft
<b>The first public draft of the International Open Data Charter was released at the International Open Data Conference in Ottawa, Canada, May 28-29, 2015. It is being developed by a range of organisations led by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Open Data Working Group (co-chaired by Government of Canada and the Web Foundation), the Government of Mexico, the Open Data for Development (OD4D) Network, and Omidyar Network. CIS has contributed comments to a previous version of the draft, and also took part in the pre-release meeting of potential stewards of the Charter on May 26 in Ottawa. Here is the text of the draft Charter. Please visit opendatacharter.net/charter/ to submit your comments.</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Consultation Draft, May 2015</h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Preamble</h3>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>1)</strong> The world is witnessing the growth of a global movement facilitated by technology and digital media and fuelled by information – one that contains enormous potential to create more accountable, efficient, responsive, and effective governments and businesses, and to spur economic growth.</p>
<p>Open data sit at the heart of this global movement.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>2)</strong> Building a more democratic, just, and prosperous society requires transparent, accountable governments that engage regularly and meaningfully with citizens. Accordingly, there is an ongoing effort to enable collaboration around key social challenges, to provide effective oversight of government activities, to support economic development through innovation, and to develop effective, efficient public policies and programmes.</p>
<p>Open data is essential to meeting these challenges.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>3)</strong> Effective access to data allows individuals and organisations to develop new insights and innovations that can generate social and economic benefits to improve the lives of people around the world, and help to improve the flow of information within and between countries. While governments collect a wide range of data, they do not always share these data in ways that are easily discoverable, useable, or understandable by the public.</p>
<p>This is a missed opportunity.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>4)</strong> Today, many people expect to be able to access high quality information and services, including government data, when and how they want. Others see the opportunity presented by government data as one which can provide innovative policy solutions and support economic and social benefits for all members of society. We have arrived at a point at which people can use open data to generate value, insights, ideas, and services to create a better world for all.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>5)</strong> Open data can increase transparency around what government is doing. Open data can also increase awareness about how countries’ natural resources are used, how extractives revenues are spent, and how land is transacted and managed – all of which promotes accountability and good governance, enhances public debate, and helps to combat corruption.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>6)</strong> Providing access to government data can drive sustainable and inclusive growth by empowering citizens, the media, civil society, and the private sector to identify gaps, and work toward better outcomes for public services in areas such as health, education, public safety, environmental protection, and governance. Open data can do this by:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">showing how and where public money is spent, which provides strong incentives for governments to demonstrate that they are using public money effectively;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">supporting citizens, civil society organisations, governments and the private sector to collaborate on the design of policies and the delivery of better public services;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">supporting assessments of the impact of public programs, which in turn allows governments, civil society organisations, and the private sector to respond more effectively to the particular needs of local communities; and</li>
<li>enabling citizens to make better informed choices about the services they receive and the service standards they should expect.</li></ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>7)</strong> Open government data can be used in innovative ways to create useful tools and products that help to navigate modern life more easily. Used in this way, open data are a catalyst for innovation in the private sector, supporting the creation of new markets, businesses, and jobs. These benefits can multiply as more private sector and civil society organisations adopt open data practices modelled by government and share their own data with the public.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>8)</strong> We, the adherents to the International Open Data Charter, agree that open data are an under-used resource with huge potential to encourage the building of stronger, more interconnected societies that better meet the needs of our citizens and allow innovation and prosperity to flourish.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>9)</strong> We therefore agree to follow a set of principles that will be the foundation for access to, and the release and use of, open government data. These principles are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Open Data by Default;</li>
<li>Quality and Quantity;</li>
<li>Accessible and Useable by All;</li>
<li>Engagement and Empowerment of Citizens;</li>
<li>Collaboration for Development and Innovation;</li></ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>10)</strong> We will develop an action plan in support of the implementation of the Charter and its Technical Annexes, and will update and renew the action plan at a minimum of every two years. We agree to commit the necessary resources to work within our political and legal frameworks to implement these principles in accordance with the technical best practices and timeframes set out in our action plan.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Principle 1: Open Data by Default</h3>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>11)</strong> We recognise that free access to, and the subsequent use of, government data are of significant value to society and the economy, and that government data should, therefore, be open by default.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>12)</strong> We acknowledge the need to promote the global development and adoption of tools and policies for the creation, use, and exchange of open data and information.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>13)</strong> We recognise that the term ‘government data’ is meant in the widest sense possible. This could apply to data held by national, federal, and local governments, international government bodies, and other types of institutions in the wider public sector. This could also apply to data created for governments by external organisations, and data of significant benefit to the public which is held by external organisations and related to government programmes and services (e.g. data on extractives entities, data on transportation infrastructure, etc).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>14)</strong> We recognise that there is domestic and international legislation, in particular pertaining to security, privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property, and personally-identifiable and other sensitive information, which must be observed and/or updated where necessary.</p>
<p><strong>15)</strong> We will:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">develop and adopt policies and practices to ensure that all government data is made open by default, as outlined in this Charter, while recognising that there are legitimate reasons why some data cannot be released;</li>
<li>provide clear justifications as to why certain data cannot be released;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">establish a culture of openness, not only through legislative or policy measures, but also with the help of training and awareness programs, tools, and guidelines designed to make government, civil society, and private sector representatives aware of the benefits of open data; and</li>
<li>develop the leadership, management, oversight, and internal communication policies necessary to enable this transition to a culture of openness.</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h3>Principle 2: Quality and Quantity</h3>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>16)</strong> We recognise that governments and other public sector organisations hold vast amounts of information that may be of interest to citizens, and that it may take time to identify data for release or publication.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>17)</strong> We also recognise the importance of consulting with citizens, other governments, non-governmental organisations, and other open data users, to identify which data to prioritise for release and/or improvement.</p>
<p><strong>18)</strong> We agree, however, that governments’ primary responsibility should be to release data in a timely manner, without undue delay.</p>
<p><strong>19)</strong> We will:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">create, maintain, and share public, comprehensive lists of data holdings to set the stage for meaningful public discussions around data prioritisation and release;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">release high-quality open data that are timely, comprehensive, and accurate in accordance with prioritisation that is informed by public requests. To the extent possible, data will be released in their original, unmodified form and at the finest level of granularity available, and will also be linked to any visualisations or analyses created based on the data, as well as any relevant guidance or documentation;</li>
<li>ensure that accompanying documentation is written in clear, plain language, so that it can be easily understood by all;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">make sure that data are fully described, and that data users have sufficient information to understand their source, strengths, weaknesses, and any analytical limitations;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">ensure that open datasets include consistent core metadata, and are made available in human- and machine-readable formats under an open and unrestrictive licence;</li>
<li>allow users to provide feedback, and continue to make revisions to ensure the quality of the data is improved as needed; and</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">apply consistent information lifecycle management practices, and ensure historical copies of datasets are preserved, archived, and kept accessible as long as they retain value.</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h3>Principle 3: Accessible and Usable by All</h3>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>20)</strong> We recognise that opening up data enables citizens, governments, civil society organisations, and the private sector to make better informed decisions.</p>
<p><strong>21)</strong> We recognise that open data should be made available free of charge in order to encourage their widest possible use.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>22)</strong> We recognise that when open data are released, they should be made available without bureaucratic or administrative barriers, such as mandatory user registration, which can deter people from accessing the data.</p>
<p><strong>23)</strong> We will:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">release data in open formats and free of charge to ensure that the data are available to the widest range of users to find, access, and use them. In many cases, this will include providing data in multiple formats, so that they can be processed by computers and used by people; and</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">ensure data can be accessed and used effectively by the widest range of users. This may require the creation of initiatives to raise awareness of open data, promote data literacy, and build capacity for effective use of open data.</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h3>Principle 4: Engagement and Empowerment of Citizens</h3>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>24)</strong> We recognise that the release of open data strengthens our public and democratic institutions, encourages better development, implementation, and assessment of policies to meet the needs of our citizens, and enables more meaningful, better informed engagement between governments and citizens.</p>
<p><strong>25)</strong> We will:</p>
<ul>
<li>implement oversight and review processes to report regularly on the progress and impact of our open data initiatives;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">engage with community and civil society representatives working in the domain of transparency and accountability to determine what data they need to effectively hold governments to account;encourage the use of open data to develop innovative, evidence-based policy solutions that benefit all members of society, as well as empower marginalised groups; and</li>
<li>be transparent about our own data collection, standards, and publishing processes, by documenting all of these related processes online.</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h3>Principle 5: Collaboration for Development and Innovation</h3>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>26)</strong> We recognise the importance of diversity in stimulating creativity and innovation. The more citizens, governments, civil society, and the private sector use open data, the greater the social and economic benefits that will be generated. This is true for government, commercial, and non-commercial uses.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>27)</strong> We recognise that the potential value of our open data is greatly increased when it can be used in combination with open data from other governments, the private sector, academic, media, civil society, and other non-governmental organisations.</p>
<p><strong>28)</strong> We will:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">create or explore potential partnerships to support the release of open data and maximise their impact through effective use. This may include local, regional, and global partnerships between governments, civil society, and the private sector;</li>
<li>engage with civil society, the private sector, and academic representatives to determine what data they need to generate social and economic value;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">provide training programs, tools, and guidelines designed to ensure government employees are capable of using open data effectively in policy development processes;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">encourage non-governmental organisations to open up data created and collected by them in order to move toward a richer open data ecosystem with multiple sources of open data;</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">share technical expertise and experience with other governments and international organisations around the world, so that everyone can reap the benefits of open data; and</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">empower a future generation of data innovators inside and outside of government by supporting an environment optimised for increasing open data literacy and encouraging developers, civil society organisations, academics, media representatives, government employees, and other open data users, to unlock the value of open data.</li></ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>Crossposted from <a href="http://opendatacharter.net/charter/" target="_blank">http://opendatacharter.net/charter/</a>.</em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/international-open-data-charter-first-public-draft'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/international-open-data-charter-first-public-draft</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpen DataHomepageOpenness2015-06-02T15:51:12ZBlog EntryWorkshop on Open Data for Human Development
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/workshop-on-open-data-for-human-development-2015-06
<b>Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Sunil Abraham will take part in the workshop being organised for government officials from Bhutan, Maldives, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Tripura, by the International Centre for Human Development (IC4HD) of UNDP India, during June 3-6, 2015. The workshop will be held at the National Institute of Advanced Studies Campus in Bengaluru. Sunil will be one of the panelists in the opening discussion on 'data and transparency in governance,' and Sumandro will provide input for and lead the sessions on developing the draft implementation plan for the Sikkim Open Data Acquisition and Accessibility Policy. Sumandro worked with the IC4HD team to design the objectives and the agenda of the workshop.</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Sikkim Open Data Acquisition and Accessibility Policy</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>Government of Sikkim passed the <a href="http://www.sikkim.gov.in/stateportal/Link/SODAAP%20Policy%20Document.pdf" target="_blank">SODAA Policy</a> in 2014 so as to streamline and open up the availability of “authentic data to buttress the achievements of the Government of Sikkim and to gather data on key metrics to be able to spur growth in all the areas of human development.” The Policy mandates setting up an open data portal, hosted by the State Data Centre of Sikkim, where data contributed by all the state government agencies will reside, and from which the same data will be made openly accessible to government agencies, non-government organisations, and private individuals alike. Only data that is shareable – data that is not part of negative list prepared by any government agency – and that is non-sensitive – data that does not contain information that can be used to identify any private individual – will be made available through this Sikkim open data portal. The Department of Information Technology of the Government of Sikkim has been assigned the role of being the nodal agency for coordinating and monitoring the implementation “of policy through close collaboration with all State Government Departments and agencies.”</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Objectives of the Workshop</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>The Government of Sikkim understands that data collection, management, and reporting processes at the different departments must go through a structural reconfiguration before systematic and sustainable publication of data through this open data portal can be possible. This work will of course involve a long duration of change, and participation of a wide range of actors. The <a href="http://www.in.undp.org/content/india/en/home/operations/projects/human-development/the-international-centre-for-human-development.html" target="_blank">International Centre for Human Development</a>, at UNDP India, is organising this workshop for Sikkim government officials to conceptualise and develop the outlines of an action strategy towards this goal of streamlining data acquisition and publication processes across government departments.</p>
<p>Discussions in this workshop will focus on the activities of four departments of the Government of Sikkim – Department of Health, Rural Management and Development Department (RMDD), Human Resource Development Department (HRDD), and Department of Agriculture. At least two officials from each of these departments would take part in the workshop. Apart from these departments, officials from Department of Information Technology (DIT), Department of Economic Statistics, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DESME), and others, will also participate.</p>
<p>Apart from government officials from Sikkim, those from Bhutan, Maldives, Meghalaya, and Tripura will also attend the workshop, so as to think ahead towards their respective open data initiatives.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Agenda of the Workshop</h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Day 1: June 3, 2015</h3>
<p> </p>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Time</th>
<th>Session</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>0930-1000</td>
<td><strong>Welcome and Introductions</strong><br />
A.K. Shiva Kumar, Director, IC4HD<br />
P.D. Rai, Honourable Member of Parliament (LS) from Sikkim</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1000-1100<br />
<strong>Session 1</strong></td>
<td><strong>Panel Discussion</strong><br />
<strong>Data and Transparency in Governance</strong><br />
Moderator: P. D. Rai<br />
Panellists:
<ul><li>Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka</li>
<li>B. Gangaiah, Additional Director General, Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad</li>
<li>Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, The Centre for Internet and Society</li></ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1100-1130<br />
<strong>Session 2</strong></td>
<td><strong>Sikkim Open Data Acquisition and Accessibility Policy</strong><br />
Moderator: P. D. Rai<br />
Presentation by: T. Samdup, Joint Director, Department of Information Technology, Sikkim</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1130-1200</td>
<td><strong>Tea Break</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1200-1300<br />
<strong>Session 3</strong></td>
<td><strong>Implementing an Open Data Policy - Key Components</strong><br />
Moderator: A. K. Shiva Kumar<br />
Presentation by: Sumandro Chattapadhyay, The Centre for Internet and Society</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1300-1400</td>
<td><strong>Lunch</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1400-1430<br />
<strong>Session 4</strong></td>
<td><strong>Group Exercise 1</strong><br />
<strong>Challenges of Opening up Government Data in Sikkim</strong><br />
Facilitated by: Sumandro Chattapadhyay</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1430-1530<br />
<strong>Session 5</strong></td>
<td><strong>Mobile Phone-based Data Collection</strong><br />
<strong>Introduction to Akvo FLOW</strong><br />
Moderator: Meenaz Munshi, IC4HD<br />
Presentation by: Joy Ghosh and Amitangshu Acharya, AKVO</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1530-1600</td>
<td>Tea Break</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16:00-1730<br />
<strong>Session 6</strong></td>
<td><strong>Group Exercise 2</strong><br />
<strong>Collecting Data Using Akvo FLOW</strong><br />
Facilitated by: Joy Ghosh and Amitangshu Acharya, AKVO</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<h3>Day 2: June 4, 2015</h3>
<p> </p>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Time</th>
<th>Session</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>0930-1000<br />
<strong>Session 7</strong></td>
<td><strong>Analysing, Visualising, and Publishing Data</strong><br />
Moderator: Amitangshu Acharya<br />
Presentation by: Thejesh GN, DataMeet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1000-1045<br />
<strong>Session 8</strong></td>
<td><strong>Collecting, Visualising, and Publishing Geographic Data</strong><br />
Moderator: Amitangshu Acharya<br />
Presentation by: Shiv Ramachandran, MapBox</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1045-1145<br />
<strong>Session 9</strong></td>
<td><strong>Group Exercise 3</strong><br />
<strong>Organising, Analysing, Visualising, and Publishing Data</strong><br />
Facilitated by: Thejesh GN and Shiv Ramachandran</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1145-1200</td>
<td><strong>Tea Break</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1200-1300</td>
<td><strong>Group Exercise 3</strong><br />
<strong>Organising, Analysing, Visualising, and Publishing Data</strong><br />
(Continued)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1300-1400</td>
<td><strong>Lunch</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1400-1500<br />
<strong>Session 10</strong></td>
<td><strong>Open Data and Health Management</strong><br />
Presentation by: Dr. Shiban Ganju, Consultant, Ingalls Health, Harvey, Illinois, Chicago; Chair, Atrimed Health Consulting, Bangalore</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1500-1600<br />
<strong>Session 11</strong></td>
<td><strong>Open Data and Primary Education</strong><br />
Presentation by: Gautam John, Karnataka Learning Partnership</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<h3>Day 3: June 5, 2015</h3>
<p> </p>
<table class="plain">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Time</th>
<th>Session</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>0930-1030<br />
<strong>Session 12</strong></td>
<td><strong>Panel Discussion</strong><br />
<strong>Regional Experiences and Reflections on Open Data</strong><br />
Panellists: representative from Bhutan, and from Meghalaya</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1030-1115<br />
<strong>Session 13</strong></td>
<td><strong>Implementing National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy</strong><br />
Presentation by: D. P. Misra, National Informatics Centre</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1115-1130<br />
<strong>Session 14</strong></td>
<td><strong>Group Exercise 4</strong><br />
<strong>Drafting the SODAAP Implementation Plan</strong><br />
Facilitated by: Sumandro Chattapadhyay</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1130-1200</td>
<td><strong>Tea Break</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1200-1300</td>
<td><strong>Group Exercise 4</strong><br />
<strong>Drafting the SODAAP Implementation Plan</strong><br />
(Continued)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1300-1400</td>
<td><strong>Lunch</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1400-1500<br />
<strong>Session 15</strong></td>
<td><strong>Group Presentations</strong><br />
<strong>Draft SODAAP Implementation Plan</strong><br />
Moderator: P. D. Rai<br />
Facilitated by: Sumandro Chattapadhyay</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1500-1530</td>
<td><strong>Wrap-Up and Vote of Thanks</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/workshop-on-open-data-for-human-development-2015-06'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/workshop-on-open-data-for-human-development-2015-06</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpen DataFeaturedWorkshopPolicies2015-06-02T15:34:06ZBlog EntryOpen Data Intermediaries in Developing Countries - A Synthesis Report
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-data-intermediaries-in-developing-countries
<b>The roles of intermediaries in open data is insufficiently explored; open data intermediaries are often presented as
single and simple linkages between open data supply and use. This synthesis research paper offers a more
socially nuanced approach to open data intermediaries using the theoretical framework of Bourdieu’s social model, in particular, his concept of species of capital as informing social interaction... Because no single
intermediary necessarily has all the capital available to link effectively to all sources of power in a field, multiple
intermediaries with complementary configurations of capital are more likely to connect between power
nexuses. This study concludes that consideration needs to be given to the presence of multiple intermediaries in an open data ecosystem, each of whom may possess different forms of capital to enable the use and unlock the
potential impact of open data.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>This synthesis report is prepared by François van Schalkwyk, Michael Caňares, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, and Alexander Andrason, based on the analysis of a sample of cases from the <a href="http://opendataresearch.org/" target="_blank">Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries</a> (ODDC) research network managed by the World Wide Web Foundation and supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada. Data on intermediaries were extracted from the ODDC reports according to a working definition of an open data intermediary presented in this paper, and with a focus on how intermediaries link actors in an open data supply chain.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Below is an excerpt from the report. The full report can be accessed from <a href="http://figshare.com/articles/Open_Data_Intermediaries_in_Developing_Countries/1449222" target="_blank">Figshare</a> or from <a href="https://github.com/ajantriks/docs/raw/master/ODDC_2_Open_Data_Intermediaries_15_June_2015_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">Github</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Implications for Policy</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>The practical implications of the findings presented here are not insignificant. Given that most of the open data intermediaries in this study were found to rely on donor in order to execute their open data-related social benefit activities, it is perhaps funders who should take heed of the findings presented here when making grants. For example, where a single agency is awarded a funding grant to improve the lives of citizens using open data, questions need to be asked whether the grantee possesses all the types of capital required not only to re-use open data but to connect open data to specific user groups in order to
ensure the use and impact of open data. Questions to be asked of grantees could include: “Who are the specific user groups or communities that you expect to use the data, information or product you are making available?”; “Does your organisation have existing links to these user groups or communities?”; and “What types of channels are in place for you to communicate with these user groups or communities?”. Alternatively donor funders may rethink awarding funding to single agencies in favour of funding partnerships or collaborations in which there is a greater spread of types of capital across multiple actors thereby
increasing the likelihood of effectively linking the supply and use of open data. Such an approach would be more in line with an ecosystems approach to multiple actors being participants in the data supply and (re)use of open data, and the importance of keystone species and positive feedback loops to ensure a healthy system.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In addition to highlighting the importance of social capital in developing-country innovations systems, Intarakummerd and Chaoroenporn (2013) point to the importance of government initiating and coordinating the activities of both public and private intermediaries. Our findings indicate that should governments adopt such a co-ordinating role in the case of open data intermediaries, they would do well to engage with a broad spectrum of intermediaries, and not simply focus on intermediaries who possess only the technical capital required to interpret and repackage open government data. To be sure, this will be a challenging role for government to assume as conflicting vested interests are likely to surface. Although speculative, it is possible that such a coordinating role is likely to work best when there is a strong pact between all actors involved. And this, in turn, will require a common vision of the value and benefits of open data – something that cannot be taken for granted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Should there be agreement on the value and benefits of open data, our findings show that most of the
intermediaries in our study are NGOs that rely on donor funding. This should raise serious questions about the sustainability of open data initiatives that are civic-minded in conjunction with questions about what incentives other than that of donor funding could ensure the supply and use of open data beyond project funding. Funders and supporters of open data initiatives may have to think not only about the value and benefits or funding projects, but of the sustainability and the impacts of the products produced by the projects they fund.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-data-intermediaries-in-developing-countries'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/open-data-intermediaries-in-developing-countries</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroData SystemsOpen DataFeaturedOpen Data CommunityOpenness2015-06-16T09:40:58ZBlog EntryOpen Street Map "Mapping Workshop"
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/phandeeyar-event-open-street-map-mapping-workshop
<b>I conducted a workshop titled "OpenStreetMap Mapping Workshop" on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at Phandeeyar. The workshop was attended by 20 enthusiasts. This involved organisations that work on resource issues, mostly on land grabbing, a start-up company that is planning to offer location-based local news feeds, a representative of MIDO, and an organisation that sells children’s books.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The participants had basic background knowledge of maps, which allowed us to directly get into the discussion of the OpenStreetMap project, Java OpenStreetMap Editor, and Field Papers. After the initial discussion, the participants got into three groups — one of which stayed indoors and used the online editor to contribute to OSM, one group went out to map the area using their phones (locations were saved on their phone and uploaded to OSM when they came back), and the last group went out to map the area using Field Papers. Connectivity problems made it challenging some of the groups to upload their data, but overall everyone took part in collecting geo-data and contributing it to OSM. The workshop simultaneously involved training trainers at Phandeeyar for future OSM workshops.</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Phandeeyar_Sumandro_OSM_Workshop_13.05.2015.jpg3.png" alt="Mapping Workshop" class="image-inline" title="Mapping Workshop" /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/phandeeyar-event-open-street-map-mapping-workshop'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/phandeeyar-event-open-street-map-mapping-workshop</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpenness2015-06-17T16:47:47ZBlog EntryWhat is the Open Data Movement & Why Does it Matter?
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/phandeeyar-event-what-is-open-data-movement-and-why-does-it-matter
<b>I gave a talk at this event organized by Phandeeyar on May 13, 2015 in Yangon. About 25 delegates attended the event. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">My presentation focused on talking about the key qualities of open data, the process of opening up data, and its benefits. I mentioned various examples from across the world regarding usages of open data to describe and find patterns in how the various governmental processes function (elections, parliament, judiciary, and media outreach), and different topics related to flows of finance and resources (government budget and expenditure, international aids, financial information about corporates, allotment of oil concessions, and global investments in land). The discussion following the presentation focused on questions of how privacy concerns can be protected while opening up data, how protecting the (human) sources of published data is also important in sensitive situations (especially in the context of reporting incidents of hate speech and religious violence), how the capacity of grassroot organisations to collect, use, and share open data can be increased, and if open data can become a public resource during the upcoming national election later this year. At the end of the event, I was interviewed by a journalist of Myanmar Times on these topics.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Phandeeyar_Sumandro_OpenData_13.05.20151.png" alt="Open Data Workshop" class="image-inline" title="Open Data Workshop" /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/phandeeyar-event-what-is-open-data-movement-and-why-does-it-matter'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/phandeeyar-event-what-is-open-data-movement-and-why-does-it-matter</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpenness2015-06-18T01:12:49ZBlog EntryAnnouncing Selected Researchers: Welfare, Gender, and Surveillance
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/announcing-selected-researchers-welfare-gender-and-surveillance
<b>We published a Call for Researchers on January 10, 2020, to invite applications from researchers interested in writing a narrative essay that interrogates the modes of surveillance that people of LGBTHIAQ+ and gender non-conforming identities and sexual orientations are put under as they seek sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in India. We received 29 applications from over 10 locations in India in response to the call, and are truly overwhelmed by and grateful for this interest and support. We eventually selected applications by 3 researchers that we felt aligned best with the specific objectives of the project. Please find below brief profile notes of the selected researchers.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Call for Researchers: <a href="https://cis-india.org/jobs/researchers-welfare-gender-surveillance-call" target="_blank">URL</a></h4>
<hr />
<h2>Kaushal Bodwal</h2>
<p>Kaushal is persuing his MPhil in Sociology at Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He completed his Master's in Sociology at Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University after getting a BSc honors degree in Biomedical Sciences from Delhi University. He is one of the founding members of Hasratein: a queer collective, New Delhi. He has been an active spokesperson for Queer and Trans Rights in India and have been on a number of panel discussion on Trans Act 2019 in various campuses. He has also delivered a lecture series on Colonialism and Medicine in Ambedkar University, Kashmiri Gate, Delhi. His areas of interest are Sociology of medicine, gender and medicine, sexuality, religion and biomedical science, intersex studies.</p>
<p><a href="https://kafila.online/2019/08/27/queerness-as-disease-a-continuing-narrative-in-21st-century-india-kaushal-bodwal/" target="_blank">Queerness as disease – a continuing narrative in 21st century India</a>, Kafila, 27 August 2019</p>
<p><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/india/what-it-means-to-be-a-queer-and-live-under-regime-bent-on-remaking-india-on-terms-of-their-tradition-writes-queer-scholar-trolled-by-right-wing-7915391.html" target="_blank">What it means to be queer under a regime bent on remaking India on its own ideological terms</a>, Firstpost, 17 January 2020</p>
<h2>Rosamma Thomas</h2>
<p>Rosamma has worked both as a reporter and as an editor of news reports with newspapers. She currently writes reports for NGOs while also undertaking freelance reporting assignments. She is based in Pune.</p>
<p><a href="http://iced.cag.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2016-17/NTP%2007/article.pdf " target="_blank">India's mining state steps up fight to rein in killer silicosis</a>, The Times of India, 29 June 2016</p>
<p><a href="https://www.newsclick.in/doctor-may-have-found-early-marker-silicosis-who-will-fund-him" target="_blank">Doctor may have found early marker for silicosis, but who will fund him?</a>, Newsclick, 18 July 2019</p>
<p><a href="https://www.newsclick.in/Asbestos-Poisoning-Raghunath-Manwar-Fight-Safer-Work-Conditions" target="_blank">Asbestos poisoning: Raghunath Manwar’s fight for safer work conditions</a>, Newsclick, 9 January 2020</p>
<h2>Shreya Ila Anasuya</h2>
<p>Shreya is a writer, editor, journalist and performance artist currently based in Calcutta. Her fiction explores the places where myth, memory, history and the performing arts meet. As a journalist, her work explores gender, sexuality, politics, culture and history. She has been published in <em>The Wire</em>, <em>Caravan</em>, <em>Scroll</em>, <em>Mint Lounge</em>, <em>Deep Dives</em>, <em>GenderIT</em>, <em>Helter Skelter</em>, and many more. She is the editor of the digital publication <a href="https://medium.com/skin-stories" target="_blank"><em>Skin Stories</em></a>, housed at the non-profit Point of View. She is the writer and narrator of ‘Gul - a story in text, song and dance’ which has been performed in several cities in India. She was a Felix Scholar at SOAS, University of London, from where she has an MA in Anthropology. For a full portfolio, please click <a href="http://porterfolio.net/dervishdancing" target="_blank">here</a> or visit her <a href="https://www.shreyailaanasuya.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p>This project is led by Ambika Tandon, Aayush Rathi, and Sumandro Chattapadhyay at the Centre for Internet and Society, and is supported by a grant from Privacy International.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/announcing-selected-researchers-welfare-gender-and-surveillance'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/announcing-selected-researchers-welfare-gender-and-surveillance</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroWelfare GovernancePrivacyGenderResearchGender, Welfare, and PrivacyResearchers at Work2020-02-13T15:04:24ZBlog EntryLife of a Tuple: National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Reform of Citizen Identification Infrastructure in Assam
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple-nrc-assam-citizen-identification-infrastructure
<b>We are proud to announce that a research grant from the Azim Premji University has enabled us to initiate a study of the updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, and the resultant reform of citizen identification infrastructure in India. The study is being led by Khetrimayum Monish and Ranjit Singh, along with Sumandro Chattapadhyay. </b>
<p>The research focuses on two specific aspects of the NRC update:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Challenges of legal citizenship: In this context, we will investigate the constitutional acts and provisions for making citizenship claims in India, the historical narratives of identity politics in Assam and its culmination in the exercise of updating the NRC.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Challenges of procedurally implementing the NRC update: Here, we plan to explore the subsequent design process of updating the register.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Starting with the first aspect of legally defining Indian citizenship, the project will document and discuss the various legal processes of defining the bureaucratic process of updating NRC that emerge along two sets of concerns at different levels of Indian government. First, at the state level, we will explore the socio-political tensions around illegal immigration from Bangladesh and the history of identity-based politics in Assam. Second, at the level of the central government, we plan to investigate the constitutional and legal rules and provisions that are used to define citizenship in India.</li>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple-nrc-assam-citizen-identification-infrastructure'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple-nrc-assam-citizen-identification-infrastructure</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroPolitical Economy of DataNational Population RegisterCitizenshipNRC in AssamResearchResearchers at WorkE-Governance2023-04-27T16:54:24ZBlog EntryLife of a Tuple - NRC in Assam
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple
<b></b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/life-of-a-tuple</a>
</p>
No publishersumandro2018-01-22T10:50:54ZCollection