The Centre for Internet and Society
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Report on use of eSpeak Bengali with NVDA
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-use-of-espeak-bengali-with-nvda
<b>NVDA team conducted a training programme at Turnstone Matruchaya, Siligudi, West Bengal from September 7 to 9, 2015. Fourteen delegates attended. Nirmal Verma was the language trainer.</b>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 1</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Turnstone Matruchaya is an NGO working for the upliftment of Blind and other under privileged sections of the society. Located in midst of tea gardens, Turnstone Matruchaya had a perfect location for conducting a traning session.<br /><br />The workshop was attended by 14 computer teachers and special educators for the blind. The participants came from Sikkim, Darjeling, various districts of West Bengal etc. The participants had some idea about NVDA, though support for indian languages was a new concept for them. There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm for learning to read and write in Bengali and Hindi.<br /><br />The workshop started with a round of introductions, where in each participant also spelt out his or her needs and expectations from the workshop. Most of them expressed the need for learning about an alternative screen reader, which would help them read and write in their vernacular language.<br /><br />This was followed by understanding the benefits of NVDA in comparision to other screen readers. The participants were taken for a brief tour of the NVDA home page and explained the process of downloading the installer for NVDA.<br /><br />A hands on demonstration was given about installation of NVDA, followed by the participants installing NVDA on their systems.<br /><br />This was followed by introduction to the menus of NVDA, and their utility. Each participant was instructed to configure NVDA, as per their requirements. They were instructed to select a suitable voice variant and rate, and also make certain changes in the keyboard and mouce settings.<br /><br />They were than given Bengali text to read. This text was taken from a Bengali daily newspaper. All the participants were very comfortable with the Espeak TTS, and were able to comprehend the text.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 2</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day 2 started with introduction to the Bengali keyboard, followed by practice of typing words and sentences. The afternoon session was dedicated to writing practice, which was followed by a session on Bookshare as a source of accessible reading material.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 3</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day 3 began with a revision session for Bengali keystrokes. This was followed by a session on using Espeak on Android. Various other features of the Android platform were also demonstrated during the session.<br /><br />The afternoon session was dedicated to giving information about different schemes for the benefit of the Blind. The participants were informed about the ADIP scheme, Loan scheme of Saksham, E-card scheme of Railways etc.<br /><br />The workshop ended with a feed back session. All the participants expressed their deep gratitude for the workshop and have promised to send their feedback on a regular basis.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-use-of-espeak-bengali-with-nvda'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-use-of-espeak-bengali-with-nvda</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDAAccessibilityE-Speak2015-11-09T15:57:18ZBlog EntryeSpeak Training in Hindi Language
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/espeak-training-in-hindi-language-1
<b>National Association for the Blind, Kullu hosted a 2 day training in the use of eSpeak in Hindi language with NVDA for its special educators, in-service blind, and blind students. The programme was attended by 20 participants who came from all parts of Himachal Pradesh.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The event started with a round of introductions and expectations. Most of the participants expressed their desire to learn Hindi typing in order to either use it in their workplace or use it during their studies.<br /><br />This was followed by an introduction to NVDA. NVDA was new to most of the participants, and they were amazed to know the benefits of NVDA compared to other commercial screen readers.<br /><br />The next session was dedicated to installation of NVDA, introducing different menus and configurations options.<br /><br />This was followed by a comprehension of Hindi text. Barring just 2 candidates, all others were able to understand the text immediately.<br /><br />The day 2 started with Hindi keyboard. Participants were taught the use of Inscript keyboard. They were also taught configuring hindi keyboard in Windows.<br /><br />Writing words and short sentences was the next item in the training, in which most of the participants excelled beyond expectations. Most of them started writing sentences with ease.<br /><br />The post noon session was reserved for spreading awareness about different sources for obtaining accessible reading material, including Bookshare; android and its advantages, different sources for obtaining easy finance for purchase of computers and laptops, information about ADIP schemes.<br /><br />The workshop was covered by E-TV HP and they filmed the participants typing in Hindi.<br /><br />The event ended with a vote of thanks from the President NAB Kullu- Mrs. Shalini Vats.<br /><br /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/espeak-training-in-hindi-language-1'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/espeak-training-in-hindi-language-1</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDAAccessibilityE-Speak2015-10-04T08:43:22ZBlog EntryTraining in eSpeak Marathi
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-espeak-marathi
<b>NVDA team conducted a training programme in Marathi language on August 22 and 23, 2015 at Atmadepam Society in Nagpur. Twenty-two participants attended. Harshad Jadhav was the trainer.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Atmadepam Society, Nagpur conducted a 1st of its kind workshop for the use of Espeak with Marathi at its campus from the 22nd to 23rd August 2015. This workshop was mostly attended by students pursuing higher studies in Marathi and Inn-Service Blind.<br /><br />The workshop began with understanding the needs of the participants. Most of them expressed the need to learn Marathi typing to enhance their job prospects in the government sector.<br /><br />This was followed by a session introducing different advantages of NVDA over other screen readers. Installation of NVDA was than demonstrated, followed by a hands-on session of the same for all the participants.<br /><br />Post lunch the participants were guided for installing eSpeak for Indian Languages, which was followed by a detailed understanding of the Marathi keyboard layout.<br /><br />Day 2 started with a revision of learnings from day 1, followed by extensive practice of the keyboard.<br /><br />Post lunch, participants were given information about different sources of obtaining Accessible Reading materials. Bookshare and its benefits were introduced as a part of the reading solutions. This was followed by dissemination of information about the ADIP scheme of the Government of India.<br /><br />The workshop ended with a session on feedback, where in students expressed their deep satisfaction after achieving their goal of Reading and writing in Marathi.<br /><br /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-espeak-marathi'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-espeak-marathi</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaAccessibilityNVDA2015-10-04T07:33:30ZBlog EntryTraining in eSpeak Hindi
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-e-speak-hindi
<b>NVDA team conducted a workshop at Jeevan Jyoti School for the Blind, Varanasi from August 26 to 28, 2015. Eighty five students and 13 teachers took part in the training programme.</b>
<table class="invisible">
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<th><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Training1.png" alt="Training 1" class="image-inline" title="Training 1" /></th>
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<th>Pictured above: Trainer is explaining the concepts of NVDA to the students</th>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">This workshop had special focus on training the teachers who teach the Blind students of Jeevan Jyoti School, Varanasi and Special Educators, who are being trained in the School for Special Educators at Jeevan Jyoti Institute, Varanasi. The workshop was also attended by senior students of the Jeevan Jyoti Blind school. It was observed that there was a lot of enthusiasm for learning amongst the students and staff. The students wanted to learn Hindi Reading and Writing for reading a lot of Hindi material, which is being produced at the School. The staff wanted to learn Hindi writing for creating documents for their blind students. The Jeevan Jyoti school has an integrated format, where in it caters to about 200 students, of whom about 80 are girls with visual impairment.<br /><br />The event started with a welcome song by the senior girls, followed by an understanding of the needs of the participants. This was followed by detailed understanding of NVDA and its comparision to other screen readers. The participants were guided towards the steps for downloading the latest build of NVDA from its website. They were than given detailed instructions for installing NVDA. All the participants than installed NVDA onn their respective systems. This was followed by explanation of the different menus of NVDA. The participants were than encouraged to read hindi text. The initial reactions of the students was as expected. Some could understand the text spoken out by Espeak, and some found it difficult to comprehend.<br /><br />On the 2nd day the participants were given detailed understanding of the Inscript keyboard. They were made to practice all the keys, followed by typing small words followed by short sentences. The participants were than updated about the different sources of reading, including Bookshare. They were guided as to how to become a member of Bookshare. Details were also given about DFI and the Common Catlogue on the DFI website. The participants were than given information about the different reading solutions, including the Android platform. They were also given information about the ADIP scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice. The ADIP forms were also given to the management, for them to fill up for all the blind students studying in Jeevan Jyoti.</p>
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<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_Training1.png" alt="Training 2" class="image-inline" title="Training 2" /></p>
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<th>Pictured above: Students operating their computers under guidance from the trainer</th>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 3rd day was dedicated to the teachers and students of the Special Educators school, where in they were updated about Modern Techniques for Teaching the Blind.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-e-speak-hindi'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-e-speak-hindi</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaAccessibilityNVDA2015-09-03T14:41:13ZBlog EntryKonkani voice to guide the blind
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/the-times-of-india-garuee-malkarnekar-august-9-2015-konkani-voice-to-guide-the-blind
<b>Those visually-impaired and well-versed only with the language of Konkani, now need not worry. Neither their blindness nor the language barrier will come between them and the use of mobile phones, computers and other technology.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Gauree Malkarnekar was <a class="external-link" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Konkani-voice-to-guide-the-blind/articleshow/48407716.cms">published in the Times of India</a> on August 9, 2015.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Konkani will soon join 50-odd languages from across the globe, whose text will be recognized by the online engines for the visually impaired that converts text on mobile phone and computer screens into speech, enabling the blind to use the devices. The bank of sounds of Konkani alphabets for this purpose has been developed by Delhi-based NGO Saksham with the help of staffers of Goa's state central library at Patto, Panaji.<br /> <br /> Users will be able to take the benefit of the initiative and have Konkani texts read out to them by making use of the open source or free for use text to speech engine eSpeak.<br /> <br /> "Saksham, under Centre for Internet Society in Bangalore, is on the quest to enable text in all Indian languages to be converted into speech for the visually-impaired. We approached them to begin work on Konkani as we realized that while Romi Konkani can be read out because of its Roman alphabets, there was no correct pronunciation of the Devanagri Konkani sounds. The Marathi and Hindi alphabets have a different sound," said Taha Haaziq, incharge of the resource room for the disabled at Goa's central library.<br /> <br /> A staffer of the library spoke out the entire range of sounds of Devanagri Konkani alphabets, which was recorded and sent by the library to the NGO in Delhi in January, based on which the sounds for use on eSpeak were developed.<br /> <br /> "Work is nearly complete and Konkani speaking visually-impaired the world over will be able to benefit from this initiative. Regular Konkani speakers who prefer to use the text to speech option on their mobile phones instead of reading can also make use of Konkani version of eSpeak," said Haaziq.<br /> <br /> The text to speech will also help the blind in the use of refreshable Braille display, which enables the visually-impaired to use computers as the display text on their screens are read out to them, in this case, now in Konkani said Central library curator Carlos Fernandes.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/the-times-of-india-garuee-malkarnekar-august-9-2015-konkani-voice-to-guide-the-blind'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/news/the-times-of-india-garuee-malkarnekar-august-9-2015-konkani-voice-to-guide-the-blind</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccessibilityNVDA2015-10-04T06:53:52ZNews ItemReport on eSpeak Tamil Computing with NVDA Training Workshop in Tirunelveli
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-using-espeak-tamil-with-nvda-training-tirunelveli
<b>The training workshop by the NVDA team was held at Anne Jane Askwith Higher Secondary School for the Visually Impaired, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli from June 3 - 7, 2015. Sixteen delegates attended the workshop.</b>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Inauguration</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The eSpeak Tamil Computing with NVDA Training workshop planned for 5 days (3<sup>rd</sup> June 2015 to 7<sup>th</sup> June 2015) extensively for visually challenged college students and teachers was <b>inaugurated</b> on 3<sup>rd</sup> June 2015 morning by Mr. V. Jayakumar. District Project Officer for Rural Women Development, Tirunelveli. Mr. J Kingston James Paul, Principal of the School gave the Welcome Address. Mr. S. Shankar Subbiah, Assistive Technology Consultant and representative of National Association for Blind, New Delhi and The Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore, the sponsors of the workshop explained the purpose of the Workshop with the need for Tamil computing becoming necessity among the visually challenged in the present educational and employment context. Mr. Periadurai, the Co-ordinator of the Workshop gave the Vote of Thanks and emphasized on using NVDA in Government given Cost Free Laptops as it is preloaded and supports Tamil language too. He thanked the sponsors as this is first of its kind organized in this region for the visually challenged students as hands on training.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Training Hall in the School served as the venue for training. In order to facilitate the participants with more concentrated and time efforts, High Tea with Snacks and Lunch were also served for the Training days at the Venue. The Girl students numbering 10 who came from neighboring Districts were given free accommodation in the School. Morning breakfast and Evening Dinner was provided by the Organizers. There were volunteers from Smile Charitable Trust, Tirunelveli who gave Laptops to those students did not have and also assisted the Trainees, who were new to computer. The participant trainees numbering to 16 were from Tirunelveli district and nearby districts like Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram of Tamilnadu state.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Workshop Schedule</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The workshop began with Resource persons, Mr. Pandiyaraj, Mr. G. Kumaresan and Mr. S Shankar Subbiah continuing with the training activities on their expertise areas. The below were the activities conducted during the training period.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 1: June 3, 2015</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Forenoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The whole group of Trainees had few who were new to computers, few with knowledge on operating until the level of Notepad and few in an advanced level working on MS Word and Internet.</li>
<li>A general overview on Operating System, Applications available in Windows, Screen readers and other Assistive Technology like OCR, Scan and Read applications available for Visually Challenged were dealt with.</li>
<li>NVDA was loaded in Laptops who did not have them installed previously and Tamil language keyboard settings was added.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Afternoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The group was divided in to three groups. First without prior knowledge on computers were given training on Keyboard mapping and basic computer operation commands through NVDA.</li>
<li>The second group was given practices on NVDA shortcuts, Windows operations and an introduction to Word.</li>
<li>The third group was given exercises to work efficiently on using MS Word through Shortcuts and Tamil computing introduction through passages to read.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 2: June 4, 2015</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Forenoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Tamil keyboard layout mapping of Microsoft Windows for default Unicode Tamil Font typing were introduced to all the trainees by the Resource person and it was decided to use Notepad for uniform training.</li>
<li>The whole group of Trainees were trained to identify the keys for vowels and consonants of Tamil language, type and practice by themselves with the volunteers supporting them, when they had difficulties.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Afternoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Trainees were trained to identify the keys for combinations of vowels for typing and practicing by themselves as few of them wanted more time. Combinations with two letter, three letter, four letter word units given as dictation to those who were bit advanced in their typing skills.</li>
<li>A play and learn session was organized to say the keystrokes for vowels and consonants at the end for memorizing. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 3: June 5, 2015</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Forenoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Trainees were trained by giving large sets of four, five and bigger letter units of words to type and practice as a revision. </li>
<li>It was followed up by smaller phrases and then sentences to be typed by the Trainees.</li>
<li>The trainees at this point of time, were introduced with short cuts for navigation within the text, spell check, cut, copy, paste commands. Almost everyone were in the same page at this point of time, regarding Tamil typing skills. And, now they were allowed to use Notepad or MS Word, whichever is comfortable for them.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Afternoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The trainees were made to listen to the Tamil text paragraphs with the help of NVDA screen-reader supported by eSpeak voice.</li>
<li>The trainees were suggested to type out the phrases listened on a separate document.</li>
<li>The settings of NVDA to change Voice, rate and other settings were given for practice to do themselves as a revision. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 4: June 6, 2015</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Forenoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The trainees were introduced to toggle language between English and Tamil for bilingual content typing and practice.</li>
<li>Next training on file operations like simple formatting, folder creation, saving the file in Unicode format to required folder and retrieval of the particular file. Similarly, for navigating, opening the file saved and continuing editing. </li>
<li>The Trainees were given a home work to listen a Tamil content, type and save it as a separate file.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Afternoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Introduction to HTML, various tags and formatting that can be done, Forms and fields, Email Clients and Browsers were given to the Trainees. Usage of Tamil in Internet, and the browsers supporting the Unicode formatted content and the NVDA development efforts to support Internet browsing was discussed.</li>
<li>Introduction on DAISY books and knowledge sharing on the available resources to read a DAISY book was done.</li>
<li>Demonstration on using Android based tablets and mobile phones to access the Tamil DAISY books given to the Trainees using Bookshare.org. The Trainees were also given information to subscribe for Bookshare membership and Book search and retrieval.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Day 5: June 7, 2015</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Forenoon</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> The trainees were given information on Higher Education options available as well as career opportunities ahead in Government and Private Sector. The trainees were explained of various scholarship and assistive devices schemes as they had a request have a session on this.</li>
<li>This was followed up with a game based assessment for their Computer skills and Tamil computing knowledge imparted through training. It was a two hour session, with initial 45 minutes being spent as a chain to say the right keystrokes for letters, keystrokes for different words and make a sentence using the keystrokes for Tamil alone. The next 45 minutes concentrated on their bilingual word processing skills, shortcuts, file operations, formatting through interactive questions, and group quiz. These the students felt like a revision and practiced them on their Laptops too.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">The Valedictory Function</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">After the Lunch, The eSpeak Tamil Computing with NVDA Training workshop conducted for 5 days (3<sup>rd</sup> June 2015 to 7<sup>th</sup> June 2015) had a great Valedictory function presided by Mr. T. Manoharan, District Officer for Welfare of Differently Abled, Tirunelveli. The District Officer, also felicitated the gathering and distributed the Certificates to the participants. Few students demonstrated their Tamil computing skills to the District Officer by operating on Laptop. He was happy to note that and informed the Trainees he would discuss with the higher authorities to organize more such Workshops during the holidays or after Laptop being distributed. He thanked the organizers for choosing Tirunelveli and invited the local TV media reporter immediately to make a record of it. This would be shared in his sensitization programme for Government officials to create awareness on potential capabilities of the Visually Impaired if training opportunities were given particularly in computers. The certificates were distributed to the Trainees thereafter. The Principal of the School, Mr. Kingston also gave a felicitation talk on how the training have to be further continued through practice. He thanked the sponsors and organizers for a timely measure to use the Summer holidays much useful for the Trainees by learning Tamil computing. Vote of thanks to CIS, NAB and the organizers was given by Mr. Periadurai, the Co-ordinator. The training that one such programme to be conducted in Tirunelveli as per the District Officer felt much useful and requested to extend in coming Holidays ended up with the National Anthem.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Previously, the Tamil equivalent ‘Dinamani’ of The New Indian Express covered with a one fourth page content of the Training programme interacting with the students and the coordinator. A scanned copy of this news is attached herewith.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Feedback</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ms. Gnanam, a Tamil Teacher felt it would be now easy to type her lesson plans in Tamil and she could read more e-text novels available in Tamil. Also, do emails in Tamil. She thanked the Organizers for a good stay in their old school and a useful training with her friends coming together.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ms. Keerthika, a graduate who exhibited her typing talent to the Officer was happy and felt that this day was a markable in Life for her. The five days training introduced her to many shortcuts not known to her and also gave her more confidence now for using computers in her higher studies and career.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The mother of Ms. Anna Sundari, felt that it was a great opportunity for all the trainees as they were able to spend their time much useful. And, as mother is happy to see her Girl typing in Tamil all their names. She thanked the organizers for the workshop in a nearby district and wanted one such run regularly in the school. This would help the students in their education, reduce dependency on scribes, readers and work independently.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-using-espeak-tamil-with-nvda-training-tirunelveli'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-using-espeak-tamil-with-nvda-training-tirunelveli</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDAAccessibilityE-Speak2015-07-12T07:50:27ZBlog EntryReport on Training in eSpeak Marathi
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-in-e-speak-marathi
<b>The NVDA team conducted a training at SIES College, Sion, Mumbai on June 28, 2015. Thirty-four delegates attended the training programme. Harshad Jadhav was the trainer.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Voice Vision conducted workshops on June 27 and 28, 2015 for persons with visual impairment in Mumbai. These workshops were in partnership of National Association for the Blind (NAB) Delhi which has been a pioneer in the spread of Assistive Technology for the blind and Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) Bengaluru which has been conducting the project for development of Indian Language support for eSpeak TTS (Text-to-Speech) which is bundled as the default TTS with NVDA (Non Visual Desktop Access). The workshops were held at SIES college of Arts, Science & Commerce, Sion, Mumbai.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The inauguration of the event was done by the Chief Guest from the social justice & special assistance ministry, Yashwant More, Regional Deputy Commissioner, Department of Social Welfare, Konkan Bhavan.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This was followed by the training session on NVDA which was conducted by the CEO of NAB Delhi himself, Dr. Homiyar Mobedji. It was a practical training session for the participants on how technology can be used for the non-visual access of computers. Dr. Homiyar and his team along with the zeal of the participants to learn about NVDA made it a wonderful session as recorded from the feedback received.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The NVDA training was followed by a lunch break. Post the lunch break there was a session on eSpeak TTS in Marathi language and was conducted by Harshad Jadhav, Marathi Tester for the eSpeak project.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A total of 34 people attended the workshop held on the June 27, 2015 at SIES college of Arts, Science & Commerce, Sion, Mumbai.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The workshop saw participation from people from every walk of life, students, job seekers, special educators and the like. More than 45% of the attendants were students and 12% of them were trainers in professional life. <br /><br />Forty-nine per cent of the attendants said their overall experience with the workshop was excellent, 43 per cent said it was very good while 8 per cent of the attendants felt their overall experience to be good.<br /><br /> Sixty-three per cent believed that the workshop was highly helpful for them personally and professionally, while 37 per cent believed that the workshop was surely helpful somewhat suggesting that they were very much satisfied with the workshops. <br /><br />A whopping 74 per cent of the respondents were highly impressed by the trainer and termed him ‘excellent’, 23 per cent said he was very good and 3% said he was good.<br /><br />Ninety-one per cent of the respondents were overwhelmed by the quality of work put in by our volunteers and termed them ‘excellent’. Nine per cent said the volunteers were very good.<br /><br />Fifty-one per cent people regarded the content material provided as excellent, 34 per cent said the material was very good whereas 15 per cent said it was good.</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Workshop.png" alt="Workshop" class="image-inline" title="Workshop" /></p>
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<td colspan="25">Pictured above: Participants undergoing training in eSpeak Marathi at the workshop in Mumbai</td>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Learnings from the Workshop</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Forty-two per cent of the respondents felt that the Marathi typing session which was conducted would immensely help them in their career and the overall response was that all the activities which happened in the workshops would help them in their profession.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Thirty-seven per cent of the respondents were satisfied with the workshop content and thought nothing more is required. Some other responses were directed towards need for more of such workshops as well as workshops in various other regional languages.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-in-e-speak-marathi'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-in-e-speak-marathi</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDAAccessibilityE-Speak2015-07-16T01:48:09ZBlog EntryReport on Training in Basic Computing with use of eSpeak and NVDA in Oriya
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-basic-computing-with-use-of-espeak-nvda-odia
<b>This training was held at Orissa Association for the Blind at Bhubaneswar from February 8 to 10, 2015. Thirty six delegates attended the programme. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The highlight of the training was that we received an overwhelming response from the participants. The training had to be conducted in the main auditorium of the Orissa Association for the Blind, instead of the computer lab, which had only a capacity of seating 10 trainees. The participants acknowledged the importance of Oriya support for their career growth. There was a lot of excitement amongst the participants to know how to read and type in Oriya.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The eSpeak training was preceded by a Career Counseling Workshop, which highlighted the importance of Reading and Writing in the local vernacular language for a career growth. The main challenge faced during the training was that there was virtually no material available in Orriya on the internet in Unicode font, for the participants to practice reading. Hence the participants had to first learn typing and than create their own little lines to read.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The training was conducted by Ganshyam Mohante, who had also contributed as the tester for Oriya. The Inauguration was attended by the whole managing committee of Orissa Association for the Blind, who had specially assembled for the event.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Orissa Association for the Blind is also very keen on organizing the 15 day follow up programme, where in more persons will be trained in reading and writing in Oriya, along with the knowledge for using basic computers.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-basic-computing-with-use-of-espeak-nvda-odia'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-basic-computing-with-use-of-espeak-nvda-odia</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDAAccessibilityE-Speak2015-06-03T01:24:53ZBlog EntryReport on the Progress in Bengali Language Testing
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-the-progress-in-bengali-language-testing
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is doing a project on developing a text-to-speech software in 15 Indian languages. This blog post captures the key updates of the work done by CIS team for Bengali language. </b>
<p>Indian Bengali was added to eSpeak by the Indian team. The language was added and improved based on user testing and review.</p>
<ol>
<li>Conjunct consonant pronunciation when (ba) is conjunct was corrected.</li>
<li>INHERENT vowel PRONUNCIEATION SOME TIMES NEED TO BE SUPPRESSED. It was made possible programmatically.</li>
<li>Changed phoneme rules for য dZV modified to ্) যা :&</li>
<li>sissue with য়/ Oj eg; desired pronunciation /Poi'sa but was being pronounced as 'payosa'</li>
<li>Modified the [phoneme to jV and phone,me rules C)য় (C j</li>
<li>Issue with 'ja'fala, that should double the pronunciation of the preceeding consonant, was rectified. Eg; Onnay was pronounced as 'onyai' as against the desired pronunciation</li>
<li>The Bengali files sent by the developer on 20th December and Third January had been updated in the version.</li>
<li>71 Bengali Exception words had been included with their pronunciation rules - where inherent vowel even being between two consonant is not pronounced.</li>
<li>Changed phoneme rules for য dZV modified to ্) যা :&</li>
<li>issue with য়/ Oj was corrected. eg; desired pronunciation /Poi'sa but was being pronounced as 'payosa'</li>
<li>Issue with 'ja'fala, that should double the pronunciation of the preceeding consonant was rectified. Eg; Onnay was pronounced as 'onyai' as against the desired pronunciation, The Bengali files sent by the developer on, 20th December and Third January had been updated in the version.</li>
<li>4/Auguest/2014Few exception words had been added দশটা , তিরিশটা, চল্লিশটা, পঞ্চাশটা, ষাটটা, সত্তরটা, করবে, বলবে, চলবে, শুনবে, শুনব, মানকচু, ওলকপি, ফটকিরি, চরণপদ্ম.</li>
<li>In eSpeak Indian test build 1.11, the following exception words were added:</li>
</ol><ol>
<li>অমরসঙ্গী O:mor'SongI</li>
<li>চুপচাপ cup'c,ap</li>
<li>পাগলা pa',g'la</li>
<li>পাগলামো pa',g'la'mo</li>
<li>মর্যাদা mO:rJ,ada</li>
<li>আমপাতা 'ampa,ta</li>
<li>আকাশবানী akaS'banI</li>
<li>বিদঘুটে bi,dg#Ut.e</li>
<li>দেবদেবী deb'debI</li>
<li>অথচ O:t#oco</li>
<li>আমরাই am,rai</li>
<li>খেলা k#&'la</li>
<li>খেলবো k#el'bo</li>
<li>চারটি car,t.i</li>
<li>একটি ekt.i</li>
<li>একটা &kt.a:</li>
<li>দরকার dO:r'kar'</li>
<li>দেখছি dek#'c#i</li>
<li>বলছি bo,lc#i</li>
<li>করছি ko'rc#i</li>
<li>শুনছি Sun'c#i</li>
<li>ভাবছি b#a'bc#i</li>
<li>ঘুরছি g#U,rc#i</li>
<li>দিনরাত din'rat.</li>
<li>সবরকম SO:b,rO:kom</li>
<li>কাজকর্ম kaJ,kO:'rmo</li>
<li>দুঃখ duk#'k#o</li>
<li>তিনটে tin't.e</li>
<li>চারটে car't.e</li>
<li>পাঁচটা p~ac't.a</li>
<li>সাতটা Sat't.a</li>
<li>আটটা a:t.'t.a</li>
<li>দশটা dOS't.:a</li>
<li>একুশটা ekuS't.:a</li>
<li>বাইশটা ba:iS't.:a</li>
<li>তেইশটা tei'St.:a</li>
<li>চব্বিশটা co'b'biS't.:a</li>
<li>পঁচিশটা p~o'ciS't.:a</li>
<li>ছাব্বিশটা ch:a'b'biS't.:a</li>
<li>সাতাশটা Sat.aS't.:a</li>
<li>আঠাশটা a:t.#a:S't.:a</li>
<li>উনত্রিশটা un'triS't.:a</li>
<li>তিরিশটা tiriS't.:a</li>
<li>একত্রিশটা ek'triS't.:a</li>
<li>বত্রিশটা bot:riS't.:a</li>
<li>তেত্রিশটা tetriS't.:a</li>
<li>চৌঁত্রিশটা c~ou:triS't.:a</li>
<li>পঁয়ত্রিশটা p~oj'triS't.:a</li>
<li>ছত্রিশটা chot:riS't.:a</li>
<li>সাঁইত্রিশটা S~ai'triS't.:a</li>
<li>আটত্রিশটা a:t.triS't.:a</li>
<li>উনচল্লিশটা uno'col'l:iS't.:a</li>
<li>চল্লিশটা col'l:iS't.:a</li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-the-progress-in-bengali-language-testing'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-the-progress-in-bengali-language-testing</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDAAccessibilityE-Speak2015-04-05T16:23:35ZBlog EntryReport on the Progress in Assamese Language Testing
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-progress-in-assamese-language-testing
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is doing a project on developing a text-to-speech software in 15 Indian languages. This blog post captures the key updates of the work done by CIS team for Assamese language.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Assamese was added to eSpeak by the Indian team. Rules for the language were introduced and after testing and review, modifications were carried out to ensure basic support. The present document lists issues which were addressed under this project.</p>
<ol>
<li>Pronunciation rule changes for - 40 - 49. 52 - 56 57 - 59 61 - 64 66 - 69 72 - 75 78 - 80 82 - 86 88 - 89 92 – 99 were corrected.</li>
<li>Pronunciation rule for Hundreds _0C rule were also added and improved.</li>
<li>Conjunctives in asamese were added.</li>
<li>Simple Assamese words following general rules of pronunciation were reviewed.</li>
<li>Finalized pronunciation of joint words.</li>
<li>Modification of rules for (sO) becoming (hO) when in the beginning of the word was done.</li>
<li>Modification of rules for /Ja falaa was done.</li>
<li>Revised the rules for /khio.</li>
<li>Fixed the pronunciation of individual alphabets.</li>
<li>Fixed the pronunciations of "ব" when a vowel is suffixed.</li>
<li>Fixed the pronunciation of "ূ" suffixed to a consonant.</li>
<li>Fixed the pronunciations of "ৱ" in words.</li>
<li>Fixed the pronunciation of a few words with combination of three consonants.</li>
<li>Fixed the pronunciation of "চ" and "ছ" in a word.</li>
<li>Fixed the pronunciations of "ষ" in a word.</li>
<li>Words end with "ত" has an additional sound of "ো" were removed.</li>
<li>The pronunciations of "স", "শ" and "ষ" when it is contracted with another consonant (juktakhor) in a word was made similar to Bengali pronunciation (utcharon).</li>
<li>Pronunciations of "প্ৰ", "ক্ৰ", "শ্ৰ", "ত্ৰ", "গ্ৰ", etc in a word without any suffix of vowel was made clear.</li>
<li>Pronunciation of words ending with "jophola (য)" were rectified.</li>
<li>Pronunciations of Words with "jophola" in the middle were corrected.</li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-progress-in-assamese-language-testing'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-progress-in-assamese-language-testing</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDAAccessibilityE-Speak2015-04-05T16:16:05ZBlog EntryJoint Report on Training of the Use of eSpeak in Hindi with NVDA
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-on-use-of-espeak-hindi-nvda
<b>The training programmes were conducted at the National Association for the Blind, New Delhi on February 5 and 6, 2015 and Blind Relief Association, Delhi on February 13 and 14, 2015. Fifteen participants attended the first training programme at National Association for the Blind. Seventeen participants attended the second training programme held at Blind Relief Association.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The training at National Association for the Blind, Delhi had representations from organizations serving the blind and visually impaired from all across Delhi. Those who took part were either heads of IT Department or computer instructors. The aim of inviting the IT heads and computer instructors was to promote the use of NVDA in their training programmes and also facilitate reading and writing in Hindi.<br /><br />The training programme at Blind Relief Association was mainly attended by special educators for the blind. The aim of promoting use of NVDA and knowledge of reading and writing in Hindi using eSpeak amongst these special educators was that these special educators would be working closely with the blind community. If the special educators are sensetized, the use of regional languages can be maximized.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">List of Participants at National Association for the Blind</h3>
<table class="listing grid">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">1</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Bharti Kalra</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:bhartikalra56@gmail.com">bhartikalra56@gmail.com</a> <span> </span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Computer Instructor, National Association for the Blind</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">2</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Jaikaran</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:dhaiajaikaran@gmail.com">dhaiajaikaran@gmail.com</a> <span> </span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Gail India Pvt. Ltd.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">3</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Shivani</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:shivaniharit@redifmail.com">shivaniharit@redifmail.com</a> <span> </span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Student, National Association for the Blind</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">4</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Shabnam</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:shabnamdumh@gmail.com">shabnamdumh@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Research Assistant, National Association for the Blind</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">5</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Neetu</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:ng.neetugoyal@gmail.com">ng.neetugoyal@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Computer Instructor, National Association for the Blind</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">6</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Dr. R.S. Chauhan</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:chauhan.ddn@gmail.com">chauhan.ddn@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Freelancer</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">7</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Varsha singh</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:varshactet@gmail.com">varshactet@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Volunteer, National Association for the Blind</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">8</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Neelu Suneja</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:sunejaneelu@gmail.com">sunejaneelu@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Head, IT Department, Blind Relief Association</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">9</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Rajpal</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:rajpal007@gmail.com">rajpal007@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Senior Computer Instructor, Blind Relief Association</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">10</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Ganesh Bhatt</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:bhattg526@gmail.com">bhattg526@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Student, National Association for the Blind</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">11</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Maneesh sharma</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:sharma.manish445@gmail.com">sharma.manish445@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Student, National Association for the Blind</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">12</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Mohammad Sajid</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:mdsajidsdp11@gmail.com">mdsajidsdp11@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Student</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">13</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Sanjeev Luthra</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:sanjeevluthra737@gmail.com">sanjeevluthra737@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Student</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">14</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Nilesh varma</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:nileshvarma940@gmail.com">nileshvarma940@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Student</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Irfan Mir</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:meererfan@gmail.com">meererfan@gmail.com</a> <span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Student</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">List of Participants at Blind Relief Association</h3>
<table class="listing grid">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">1</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Rajpal</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>E-1/11B, Om Vihar Extn, Uttam Nagar</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:rajpal007@gmail.com">rajpal007@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">2</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Arun Tiwari</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Village Poterganj, Post Pathwali, Dist Gaunda</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:Mrtiwari1982@gmail.com">Mrtiwari1982@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">3</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Rishoo Singh</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>House No.44, Meethapur, Badarpur</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:mr.rsingh2908@gmail.com">mr.rsingh2908@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">4</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Vijay Tiwari</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>House No.62, Gokhle Nagar, Konch, Dist Jalaun</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:tiwarivijay322@gmail.com">tiwarivijay322@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">5</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Shiv Kumar</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Village Post Padri, Distt Rewa</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:shivkumarrawat144@gmail.com">shivkumarrawat144@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">6</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Sonia Setia</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>742/3, Ward No-14, GuruNanak Pura, Rohtak</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:soniasetia1986@gmail.com">soniasetia1986@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">7</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Sandeep Kumar</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Satyara ganj, Behind Bus stand, Dist. Rewa</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:sandeepkumarj61@gmail.com">sandeepkumarj61@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">8</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Rini Singh</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>village post Jhanjhara, Pasraha, Dist. Khagriya</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:rinisingh2792@gmail.com">rinisingh2792@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">9</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Rajbhan Saket</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Gram Atarala Kala, Tehsil Hanmana, Dist. Rewa</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:rajbhan591@gmail.com">rajbhan591@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">10</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Rajbala Bhagel</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Dubey Gas Agency, Dayalbagh, Agra</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:rajbalabhagel@gmail.com">rajbalabhagel@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">11</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Priyanka Devi</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Town jhinjhana, Dist. Shamli</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:kashyappriyanka250@gmail.com">kashyappriyanka250@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">12</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Pramod Kumar</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Gram Atroley,Post Lakhua, Dist. Ghaziabad</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:pkpramodpk9@gmail.com">pkpramodpk9@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">13</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Mritunjay Kumar</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Hingua, Miyatala, Dist. Chappra</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:mritunjay1942@gmail.com">mritunjay1942@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">14</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Mary Mini</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>AICB, Braille Bhawan, sector-5, Rohini</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:minimary1994@gmail.com">minimary1994@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Avnish Kumar</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>N166/122, J.J. Camp, Badli</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:avnishk910@gmail.com">avnishk910@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">16</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Hidayat Husen</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>House No.311, Zakir Hussain Ward, Gohalpur, Jabalpur</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:Hidayatansari420@gmail.com">Hidayatansari420@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="right">17</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Biranchi Sahoo</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Japharapur, G.P Khairabad, Dist. Jajpur</p>
</td>
<td>
<p><a href="mailto:Biranchi.caviodisha@gmail.com">Biranchi.caviodisha@gmail.com</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-on-use-of-espeak-hindi-nvda'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-on-use-of-espeak-hindi-nvda</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaAccessibilityNVDA2015-03-19T01:24:34ZBlog EntryReport on Training in the use of eSpeak Oriya with NVDA
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-in-use-of-e-speak-oriya-with-nvda
<b>NVDA team from the Centre for Internet and Society conducted this workshop at Orrisa Association for the Blind, Bhubaneswar from February 8 to 10, 2015. Thirty six individuals attended the training.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The workshop received an overwhelming response from participants. The participants acknowledged the importance of Oriya support for their career growth. This was evident from the excitement and curiosity of the participants to read and type in Oriya language.<br /><br />The eSpeak training was preceded by a Career Counselling Workshop, which highlighted the importance of reading and writing in the local vernacular language for a career growth.<br /><br />The main challenge faced during the training was that there was virtually no material available in Oriya on the internet in Unicode font, for the participants to practice reading. Hence, the participants had to first learn typing and then create their own sentences to read.<br /><br />The training was conducted by Ganshyam Mohante, who also was the tester for Oriya language.<br /><br />The inauguration was attended by the whole managing committee of Orrisa Association for the Blind.<br /><br />Orrisa Association for the Blind is also very keen on organizing a 15 day follow up programme, where more delegates could be trained in reading and writing in Oriya, along with the knowledge of using computers.<br /><br /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-in-use-of-e-speak-oriya-with-nvda'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-in-use-of-e-speak-oriya-with-nvda</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaAccessibilityNVDA2015-03-18T17:05:46ZBlog EntryTraining of Malayalam eSpeak with NVDA
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-e-speak-malayalam-with-nvda
<b>NVDA team conducted a two days training on January 24 and 25, 2015 in Tiruvananthapuram. The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Veeramanikandan, Pro Vice Chancellor of the Kerala University and the eSpeak new version was launched by Suresh S, PSC member, who is an advocate for the blind in getting jobs in Kerala government. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Felicitation speeches were delivered by Prof. L. Unnikrishnan, Head of Department, Economics Department, SB College and Dr. Sindhu Nair, Professor at St. Michales College. Both colleges were running a DAISY resource centre for their students. The programme was chaired Er. N.T.Nair, vice chairman of Chakshumathi.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Chakshumathi’s main trainer Akhil M. took espeak Malayalam classes and Dr. Homiyar took classes on NVDA and accessible equipment. The participants were first given a round of training on reading with espeak and then given a through training on Malayalam keyboard layout and combinations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Naufal T N, trainer of Chakshumathi gave an orientation to all participants on using mobile phones to read Malayalam newspapers and reading contents.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Closing ceremony on 25th was attended by Chakshumathi’s Chairman Prof. V.K. Damodaran, along with representatives IEEE SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technologies) who are the partners of Chakshumathi’s accessible eyes free science projects. IEEE was represented by their Humanitarian technologies former global chair Dr. Amarnath Raja and Ms. Holly Schneider Brown, SIGHT staff lead from New York headquarters. She was on a journey to Tiruvananthapuram and provided an update on the SIGHT program, as well as SIGHT group activities from around the world. Ms. Holy Brown distributed the certificates to participants.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Chakshumathi is now planning to conduct regional workshops on espeak and NVDA at their resource centres at Calicut University and Kochi office for local participants.</p>
<hr />
<h3>List of Participants</h3>
<ol>
<li>Ali Mon</li>
<li>Sudheer S</li>
<li>Sreehari Narayanan</li>
<li>Ajith Kumar</li>
<li>Subhin H</li>
<li>Abin H</li>
<li>Rajith Kumar</li>
<li>Nandhu C S</li>
<li>Kannan C S</li>
<li>Reshma S</li>
<li>Divya S</li>
<li>Marina Damiyan</li>
<li>Mariyumma C P</li>
<li>Nabeela M</li>
<li>Meharuniza S</li>
<li>Sreeja V.K.</li>
<li>Vineesh Kumar</li>
<li>Chandra Babu</li>
<li>Raghavan</li>
<li>Albert </li>
<li>Safi Saif</li>
<li>Santhosh</li>
<li>Robinraj</li>
<li>Mubina M</li>
<li>Sabeena M</li>
<li>Anil Kumar</li>
<li>Lijin A</li>
<li>Ashok Kumar </li>
<li>Prof. L. Unnikrishnan</li>
<li>Akhil M (Chief Trainer) </li>
<li>Noufal T N (Asst. Trainer) </li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-e-speak-malayalam-with-nvda'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-e-speak-malayalam-with-nvda</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaNVDATrainingAccessibilityE-Speak2015-07-20T15:19:35ZBlog EntryJanuary 2015 Bulletin
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2015-bulletin
<b>Our newsletter for the month of January can be accessed below.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) welcomes you to the first issue of the newsletter (January 2015). Archives of our newsletters can be accessed at: <a href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters">http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Highlights </b></p>
<ul>
<li>Forbes India in an article titled “<a href="http://forbesindia.com/article/special/minds-that-%28should%29-matter/39289/2">Minds that (should) matter</a>” names Sunil Abraham as one of the Thinkers who best explain a rapidly-changing India to the world (and the world to India).</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Subhashish Panigrahi <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/opensource-2015-award-winners">won the 2015 Opensource.com Community Awards</a> under the category 'People's Choice Awards'. </li>
<li> Sumandro Chattapadhyay <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog/sumandro-chattapadhyay.pdf">has joined CIS team</a> as Research Director. Sumandro has replaces Nishant Shah who stepped down from the position. </li>
<li> Rishika on behalf of CIS <a href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/disability-exceptions-in-copyright-legislations"> prepared an analysis of the disability exceptions in Copyright Legislations </a> . The blog post provides in detail the country-wise exceptions in copyright legislations. </li>
<li> NVDA team <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-e-speak-malayalam-with-nvda">conducted a training programme</a> on Malayalam eSpeak with NVDA in Thiruvananthapuram on January 24 and 25, 2015. Chakshumathi's main trainer Akhil M. took eSpeak Malayalam classes and Dr. Homiyar took classes on NVDA and accessible equipment.</li>
<li>The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India invited comments on the First Draft of India's National IPR Policy. CIS made its <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/national-ipr-policy-series-cis-comments-to-the-first-draft-of-the-national-ip-policy">submission</a>.</li>
<li>As part of the Pervasive Technologies project, Nehaa Chaudhari has produced a research methodology document <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/pervasive-technologies-project-working-document-series-document-2-literature-review-on-competition-law-ipr-access-to-100-mobile-devices-1"> which maps the existing literature around questions of competition law intersecting with intellectual property law on the specific issue of enabling access to sub hundred dollar mobile devices </a> .</li>
<li>Maggie Huang, an intern at CIS as part of the Pervasive Technologies project has written <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/beyond-alcohol-and-angel-investors">a blog entry</a> which documents, synthesizes, and analyses learnings from attending various music industry trade conferences.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>CIS-A2K team on December 28, 2014 <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikimedia-hackathon-2014">organized a MediaWiki hackathon event</a> for Telugu Wikimedia community members to enhance their skills and understanding of technical matters related to MediaWiki usage. The theme of the workshop was “Mediawiki, its extensions and tools to work around” and it aimed at allowing Wikipedians to use MediaWiki tools more effectively.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Subhashish Panigrahi authored an op-ed that highlights the need for taking Odia language to the international fora instead of keeping it confined in the books. The op-ed was <a href="http://cis-india.org/openness/blog/op-ed-samaja-jan-2015">published in the Samaja</a> on January 30, 2015. </li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> A <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog/indian-national-academy-journals-december-2014-subbiah-arunachalam-perumal-ramamoorthi-subbiah-gunasekaran-heads-i-win-tails-you-lose"> journal article </a> by Subbiah Arunachalam, Perumal Ramamoorthi and Subbiah Gunasekaran the steps taken by scientists and librarians in the West to reclaim ease of access to research findings with what is happening in India along with a few suggestions was published by the Indian National Science Academy Journals. </li>
<li> The Supreme Court, in <i>Sabu George v. Union of India and Ors</i>. (WP (C) 341/2008), is looking into the presence of material regarding pre-natal sex determination on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo that has been falling foul of section 22 of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 as amended in 2002. Geeta Hariharan and Balaji Subramanian <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/search-engine-and-prenatal-sex-determination">analyse this in their blog post</a>.</li>
<li>As part of its Making Methods for Digital Humanities project, CIS-RAW organized two consultations on new figures of learning in the digital context. For a proposed journal issue on the theme of 'bodies of knowledge' which draws upon these conversations, participants were invited to write short sketches on these figures of learning. Tejas Pande <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/figures-of-learning-the-visual-designer2">wrote an abstract which examines</a> the figure of the visual designer, and emerging practices of mapmaking. </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility">Accessibility and Inclusion</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Under a grant from the Hans Foundation we are doing two projects. The first project is on creating a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India. CIS in partnership with CLPR (Centre for Law and Policy Research) compiled the National Compendium of Policies, Programmes and Schemes for Persons with Disabilities (29 states and 6 union territories). The publication has been finalised and is being printed. The draft chapters and the quarterly reports can be accessed on the <a href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/national-resource-kit-project">project page</a>. The second project is on developing text-to-speech software for 15 Indian languages. The progress made so far in the project can be accessed <a href="http://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/nvda-text-to-speech-synthesizer">here</a>.</p>
<h3>NVDA and eSpeak</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Monthly Update</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/january-2015-nvda-report.pdf">January 2015 Report</a> (Suman Dogra; January 31, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Event Organized</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-training-e-speak-malayalam-with-nvda">Training of Malayalam eSpeak with NVDA</a> (Co-organized by CIS, DAISY Forum of India and Chakshumathi Assistive Technology Centre; Thiruvananthapuram; January 24-25, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Other</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Blog Entries</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/disability-exceptions-in-copyright-legislations"> Disability Exceptions in Copyright Legislations </a> (Rishika; January 12, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/response-to-rti-applications-from-different-states-on-accessibility"> Response to RTI Applications from Different States on Accessibility </a> (Anandhi Viswanathan; January 31, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of the Access to Knowledge programme we are doing two projects. The first one (Pervasive Technologies) under a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is for research on the complex interplay between pervasive technologies and intellectual property to support intellectual property norms that encourage the proliferation and development of such technologies as a social good. The second one (Wikipedia) under a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation is for the growth of Indic language communities and projects by designing community collaborations and partnerships that recruit and cultivate new editors and explore innovative approaches to building projects.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Pervasive Technologies</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of the Pervasive Technologies project, Maggie Huang conducted interviews with fabless semiconductor industry professionals in Taiwan. The findings from the samples are highlighted in four part series. The third and fourth parts have been published:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/pervasive-technologies-project-working-document-series-document-2-literature-review-on-competition-law-ipr-access-to-100-mobile-devices-1"> Pervasive Technologies Project Working Document Series: Document 2 Literature Review on Competition Law + IPR + Access to < $100 Mobile Devices </a> (Nehaa Chaudhari; January 1, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/relationship-between-app-developers-and-app-platforms-an-intellectual-property-perspective"> Relationship between App Developers and App Platforms: An Intellectual Property Perspective </a> (Anubha Sinha; January 7, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/beyond-alcohol-and-angel-investors"> Beyond Alcohol and Angel Investors: Building Business Models in an Age of Mobile Music Streaming (Conference Learnings) </a> (Maggie Huang; January 20, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/the-development-of-the-national-ipr-policy"> National IPR Policy Series: The Development of the National IPR Policy </a> (Nehaa Chaudhari; January 22, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/rti-responses-mhrd-ip-chairs-details-of-funding-and-expenditure"> RTI Responses - MHRD IP Chairs: Details of Funding & Expenditure </a> (Nehaa Chaudhari; January 31, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/national-ipr-policy-series-cis-comments-to-the-first-draft-of-the-national-ip-policy"> National IPR Policy Series: CIS Comments to the First Draft of the National IP Policy </a> (Nehaa Chaudhari; January 31, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Participation in Events</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/seventh-global-ip-convention">Global Intellectual Property Convention</a> (Organized by ITAG Solutions; Mumbai; January 15 - 17, 2015). Rohini Lakshané attended the event. </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/library-and-information-professionals-summit-2015"> Library and Information Professionals Summit (LIPS) 2015 </a> (Organized by Society for Library Professionals, National Law University Delhi with UN Information Centre for India & Bhutan and Special Library Association (USA), Asian Chapter; January 23 - 24, 2015; New Delhi). Nehaa Chaudhari was on a panel discussing Internet Technology and Challenges for Libraries in IPR Regime. She made a presentation on <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/news/library-and-information-professionals-summit-2015">Technology (Internet?), Libraries and the Law (?)</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Upcoming Event</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/announcing-the-institutional-partner-for-the-global-congress-on-intellectual-property-and-the-public-interest-2015"> Announcing the Institutional Partner for the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest 2015 </a> (Organized by the National Law School of India University; New Delhi; December 2015). </li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Wikipedia</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As part of the <a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/access-to-knowledge-program-plan">project grant from the Wikimedia Foundation</a> we have reached out to more than 3500 people across India by organizing more than 100 outreach events and catalysed the release of encyclopaedic and other content under the Creative Commons (CC-BY-3.0) license in four Indian languages (21 books in Telugu, 13 in Odia, 4 volumes of encyclopaedia in Konkani and 6 volumes in Kannada, and 1 book on Odia language history in English).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Op-ed</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/openness/blog/op-ed-samaja-jan-2015"> ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷା ପାଇଁ ଅନ୍ତର୍ଜାତୀୟ ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ </a> (Subhashish Panigrahi; The Samaja, January 31, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikimedia-hackathon-2014">Telugu Wikimedia Hackathon 2014</a> (Rahmanuddin Shaik; January 31, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/telugu-wikimedia-hackathon-2014">Telugu Wikimedia Hackathon 2014</a> (Rahmanuddin Shaik; January 31, 2015). <i>The event was conducted on December 28, 2014. However, the blog post was published in January 2015</i>.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>News and Media Coverage</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS-A2K team gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-hans-india-december-31-2014-works-of-veerasalingam-pantulu-on-web"> Works of Veerasalingam Pantulu on web </a> (Hans India; January 1, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/openness/news/zee-news-january-9-2015-centre-should-partner-local-communities-in-digital-india"> Centre should partner local communities in 'Digital India': Expert </a> (IANS and mirrored in Zee News; January 9, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/openness/news/the-times-of-india-january-20-2015-sandhya-soman-musician-donates-gwalior-gharana-songs-to-free-e-library"> Musician donates Gwalior Gharana songs to free e-library </a> (Times of India; January 20, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Announcement</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/opensource-2015-award-winners">2015 Opensource.com Community Awards</a> : Every year, Opensource.com awards people from our community who have excelled in contributing and sharing stories about open source. Subhashish Panigrahi from the CIS-A2K team won the award under the category 'People's Choice Awards'. </li>
<li>CIS-A2K team also <a href="http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesWikipediaTE.htm">published the Telugu Wikipedia Stats tables</a>. Most metrics have been collected from a partial dump (aka stub dump), which contains all revisions of every article, meta data, but no page content.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Participation in Event</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/news/citizen-media-summit-2015">Citizen Media Summit 2015</a> (Organized by Global Voices; January 24 - 25, 2015). Subhashish Panigrahi was a speaker. </li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Openness</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Journal Article</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog/indian-national-academy-journals-december-2014-subbiah-arunachalam-perumal-ramamoorthi-subbiah-gunasekaran-heads-i-win-tails-you-lose"> Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: The Intransigenc of STM Publishers </a> (Subbiah Arunachalam, Perumal Ramamoorthi and Subbiah Gunasekaran; Indian National Science Academy Journals, <i>Proc Indian Natn SciAcad</i> 80 No. 5 December 2014 pp. 919-929). </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Articles and Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog/global-voices-december-30-2014-indians-plead-for-net-neutrality-as-aitel-raises-data-charges"> Indians Plead for #NetNeutrality as Airtel Raises Data Charges </a> (Subhashish Panigrahi; Global Voices; December 30, 2014). <i>The article was published in the month of December but mirrored on CIS website in January</i>. </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/global-voices-january-6-2015-subhashish-panigrahi-indian-netizens-criticize-online-censorship-of-jihadi-content"> Indian Netizens Criticize Online Censorship of 'Jihadi' Content </a> (Subhashish Panigrahi; Global Voices; January 6, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/security-and-surveillance-optimizing-security-while-safeguarding-human-rights"> Security and Surveillance - Optimizing Security while Safeguarding Human Rights </a> (Elonnai Hickok; January 19, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/search-engine-and-prenatal-sex-determination"> Search Engine and Prenatal Sex Determination: Walking the Tight Rope of the Law </a> (Geetha Hariharan and Balaji Subramanian; January 29, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Event Co-organized</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/security-governments-data-technology-policy"> Security, Governments, and Data: Technology and Policy </a> (Organized by CIS and Observer Research Foundation; January 8, 2015, New Delhi). Sunil Abraham, Pranesh Prakash, Elonnai Hickok, Bhairav Acharya and Nehaa Chaudhari participated in this event. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Participation in Events</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/symposium-on-human-rights-and-internet-in-india"> Symposium on Human Rights and the Internet in India </a> (Organized by the Center for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Communication and Information at the University of Hamburg; New Delhi; January 17, 2015). Bhairav Acharya was a panelist. </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/winter-school-on-privacy-surveillance-data-protection"> Winter School on Privacy, Surveillance and Data Protection </a> (Organized by the Centre for Communication Governance (CCG) in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Communication and Information at the University of Hamburg and the Hans Bredow; Delhi; January 19 - 23, 2015). Bhairav Acharya was a facilitator.</li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/assocham-national-council-on-it-ites">ASSOCHAM National Council on IT / ITes</a> (Organized by ASSOCHAM; New Delhi; January 30, 2015). Geetha Hariharan participated in the event. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/overview-constitutional-challenges-on-itact"> Overview of the Constitutional Challenges to the IT Act </a> (Pranesh Prakash; December 15, 2014). </li>
<li> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/reply-to-rti-filed-with-bsnl-regarding-network-neutrality-and-throttling"> Reply to RTI filed with BSNL regarding Network Neutrality and Throttling </a> (Tarun Krishnakumar; December 22, 2014). </li>
</ul>
<h3><a href="http://cis-india.org/news">News & Media Coverage</a></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS gave its inputs to the following media coverage:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-times-of-india-jan-1-2015-kim-arora-government-blocks-32-websites-to-check-isis-propaganda"> Government blocks 32 websites to check ISIS propaganda </a> (Kim Arora; The Times of India; January 1, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/mumbai-mirror-jaison-lewis-jan-1-2015-internet-users-fume-as-govt-blocks-32-sites"> Internet users fume as govt blocks 32 sites </a> (Jaison Lewis; Mumbai Mirror; January 1, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/bbc-january-2-2015-india-jihadi-web-blocking-causes-anger"> India 'jihadi' web blocking causes anger </a> (BBC; January 2, 2015). This was also mirrored in <a href="http://thepuffington.com/anger-at-india-website-blocking/">Puffington Post</a>. </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/india-today-january-1-2015-govt-cracks-down-on-cyber-jehad-network-blocks-access-to-32-websites"> Govt cracks down on cyber jehad network, blocks access to 32 websites </a> (India Today, January 1, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/times-of-assam-january-2-2015-indian-govt-still-blocks-websites-india-censorship-on-internet"> Indian Government still blocks 20+ websites - Indian Censorship on Internet </a> (Times of Assam; January 2, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindustan-times-january-20-2015-devanik-saha-indiaspend-350-per-cent-surge-in-cyber-crimes-in-last-3-years"> 350% surge in Cyber crimes in last 3 years </a> (Devanik Saha & Indiaspend.org; Hindustan Times; January 20, 2015). </li>
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/times-of-india-january-31-2015-toi-literary-kicks-off-today"> TOI literary festival kicks off today </a> (The Times of India; January 31, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities">Digital Humanities</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS is building research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Digital will be used as a way of unpacking the debates in humanities and social sciences and look at the new frameworks, concepts and ideas that emerge in our engagement with the digital. The clusters aim to produce and document new conversations and debates that shape the contours of Digital Humanities in Asia:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Staff Movement</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Sumandro Chattapadhyay has joined CIS as Research Director. His academic interests span over topics of history and politics of informatics in India, new media and technology studies, and data infrastructures and economies. He is also keenly interested in questions and techniques of digital humanities. Recently, Sumandro has completed a study on <a href="http://ajantriks.github.io/oddc/">policy and practices of open data in India</a> as part of the Open Data Research Network managed by the World Wide Web Foundation. He is an involved member of DataMeet, a leading community of open data and data science enthusiasts from India. Sumandro studied economics in Visva-Bharati, Shantiniketan, and in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has variously worked on topics of urban development, information technology in governance, data visualisation, and early electronic governance in India with <a href="http://www.mod.org.in/">MOD Institute</a>, <a href="http://www.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/index.aspx">Azim Premji University</a> and the <a href="http://sarai.net/">Sarai Programme</a> at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Blog Entry</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/figures-of-learning-the-visual-designer2">Figures of Learning: The Visual Designer</a> (Tejas Pande; January 30, 2015). </li>
</ul>
<h2><a href="http://cis-india.org/">About CIS</a></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Centre for Internet and Society is a non-profit research organization that works on policy issues relating to freedom of expression, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge and IPR reform, and openness (including open government, FOSS, open standards, etc.), and engages in academic research on digital natives and digital humanities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Follow us elsewhere</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li> Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K"> </a><a href="https://twitter.com/CISA2K">https://twitter.com/CISA2K</a> </li>
<li> Facebook group: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k">https://www.facebook.com/cisa2k</a> </li>
<li> Visit us at:<a href="https://cis-india.org/"> </a> <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Access_To_Knowledge</a> </li>
<li> E-mail: <a href="mailto:a2k@cis-india.org">a2k@cis-india.org</a> </li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Support Us</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Please help us defend consumer / citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour of 'The Centre for Internet and Society' and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru - 5600 71.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">► Request for Collaboration:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We invite researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil@cis-india.org. To discuss collaborations on Indic language Wikipedia, write to T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director, A2K, at <a href="mailto:vishnu@cis-india.org">vishnu@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i> CIS is grateful to its primary donor the Kusuma Trust founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin for its core funding and support for most of its projects. CIS is also grateful to its other donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and IDRC for funding its various projects. </i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2015-bulletin'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/january-2015-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeWikipediaAccessibilityInternet GovernanceDigital HumanitiesNVDAOpennessResearchers at Work2015-02-26T17:02:23ZPageBangla eSpeak training with NVDA
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/bangla-e-speak-training-with-nvda-december-2014
<b>The NVDA team conducted an eSpeak training in Bangla on December 19 and 20, 2014 at Blind Empowerment Foundation (BEA) in Kolkata.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The host BEA, had invited 15 teachers and Computer trainers from all across Kolkata and 1 participant was from NAB Jamshedpur. The event was ably supported by two volunteers who helped in the Bengali typing.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The event began with the round of introductions of the participants. The participants also expressed various reasons for participating in the workshop during the introduction. This was than followed by introduction to NVDA and the importance of an Open Source software compared to piracy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Out of the 15 participants, only two of the participants were using NVDA in their daily use. Hence the session began with the installation of NVDA and its basic configurations and settings. This was followed by the installation of eSpeak and a demonstration was given as to how to use eSpeak for different language options.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Participants were also shown the different advantages of NVDA, in comparison to other screen readers. This demonstration was received very well by most of the participants, as they had never expected NVDA to perform as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The post lunch session was dedicated to reading in Bengali. Each participant was given a word file containing current news items in Bengali. The participants started understanding the eSpeak TTS, but showed some reservations regarding its voice. It was explained in detail the reason for the same and why it was important to introduce NVDA with eSpeak to their students at the initial stage of their training in computers.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The host were very generous in their arrangements for lunch and other refreshments. All the participants enjoyed the hospitality, which included a generous serving of the Bengali fish.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Day 2 started with solving querries from day 1 and than typing was introduced using the Bengali Varnmala typing method. Participants were very receptive to this method and were able to type small sentences withing a few minutes. The volunteers who were helping with the typing also emphasized on special words which included special characters.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The post lunch session was dedicated to problem solving and introduction to various Aids and Appliances. The participants were also informed about the ADIP scheme and the appliances available under it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The workshop was concluded with a round of photos and thanks from the trainers and the hosts.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/bangla-e-speak-training-with-nvda-december-2014'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/bangla-e-speak-training-with-nvda-december-2014</a>
</p>
No publishernirmitaAccessibilityNVDA2015-07-20T15:02:25ZBlog Entry