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http://editors.cis-india.org
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The Digital Tipping Point
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-digital-tipping-point
<b>Is Web 2.0 really the only reason why youth digital activism is so successful in mobilizing public engagement? A look into the transformation of Blank Noise’s blog from a one-way communication medium into a site of public dialogue and collaboration reveals the crucial factors behind the success. </b>
<p></p>
<p>What images popped in your head when you hear the term ‘digital
activism’? Those that popped in mine are of campaigns that originated in the
Internet, perhaps with a blog, a Youtube video, or a Facebook group, mobilizing
people to take part in a certain action to advocate for a cause or to respond
to a specific event. Whether the request is to sign a petition for a new
legislation or to wear a specific colour on a specific day, the campaigns also
ask people to spread the message, usually responded by re-tweets, status
updates, and link-shares that appear on my timeline. These campaigns, like the
famous Wear Red for Burma or the Pink Chaddi, are usually responses to certain
events and dwindle after the events have passed.</p>
<p>With its four blogs,
two Facebook groups, a YouTube channel, and a Twitter account, at first glance Blank
Noise certainly resembles the images in my head. However, they popped one by
one as I got to know Blank Noise better. For one, as I have shared before,
Blank Noise was not a response to a specific event but rather the long term,
ongoing, structural problem of street sexual harassment. For another, street
interventions started as the main core of Blank Noise and have remained a
crucial element despite its prolific online presence. Blank Noise did not start
in the Internet nor did it immediately turn to Web 2.0 for its
mobilization.</p>
<p>The main blog was created soon after Blank Noise
started in 2003 to serve as an archive, information center, and space to
announce future street events. The diverse online campaigns, lively discussions
in the comment section of blog posts, and abundant blog post contributions by
people who have experienced, witnessed, or committed street sexual harassment
started after two unexpected events that I call ‘the digital tipping point’.</p>
<p>The first was when
Jasmeen Patheja, the founder of Blank Noise, started uploading pictures of her
harasser, taken with her mobile phone, to the blog in March 2005. The first
picture was of a man who had stalked and pestered her for coffee despite her
rejection to his unwelcomed advances. While some readers applauded her action,
many challenged the post. How is the action different from “Can I buy you a
drink?” Can it trigger the change wanted, especially since the guy might not
even have access to the Internet? Is the action of publicly labeling the man as
a perpetrator of street sexual harassment ethical, especially since the man has
not been proven guilty?</p>
<p></p>
<p>These challenges then spiraled into a long
discussion (72 comments!) about the grey areas of street sexual harassment and
the ethics around confronting perpetrators. Although Blank Noise still continue
to upload snapshots of harassers (this intervention is called ‘Unwanted’),
their pictures have since then been blurred until the face is unrecognizable,
including the one in the original post. This event was when Jasmeen realized
that the blog also has the potential of being a space for discussions,
opinions, and debates – the public conversation that Blank Noise aims for.</p>
<p>The second tipping point was when one of Blank
Noise volunteers proposed an idea of a blogathon to commemorate the
International Women’s Day in 2006. Blogging had become a major trend in India
around 2004 and the blogathon basically asked bloggers around India to write
about their experience with street sexual harassment in their private blogs and
link the post to the Blank Noise blog. The bloggers invited were both women and
men, people who have either experienced, witnessed, or committed street sexual
harassment. The blogathon was an immense success, perhaps due to the
frustration on the silence and downplay of street sexual harassment into eve
teasing. Suddenly, eve teasing became a booming topic on the web and Blank
Noise received media and (mostly the cyber) public attention.</p>
<p>This is when the idea of online interventions
started. In the following year, Blank Noise created the first of its blogs that
consist entirely of contributions from the public: the <em>Action Heroes </em>blog, a growing compilation of women’s experiences in
dealing with street sexual harassment. It is then followed by <em>Blank Noise Guys </em>and <em>Blank Noise Spectators</em>, which
respectively concentrates on the experiences of men and people who have
witnessed street sexual harassment. Other than the community blogs, the main
blog also introduced collaborative online campaigns in 2008, such as the
‘Museum of Street Weapons’ (a poster project that explores how women uses
everyday objects to defend themselves against street sexual harassment) and
‘Blank Noise This Place’ (a photo collection of places where street sexual
harassment occurs). These interventions were not only online; they were also
collaborative and invited the public to participate.</p>
<p>These tipping points are intriguing not only for
being the triggers to Blank Noise’s transformation to one of the most important
digital activism in India (Mishra, 2010), but also for the reason why they are
successful in doing so: they are able to attract public participation.</p>
<p>The first tipping point was able to attract people
to participate by commenting on a post. The said post was very simple; it
consists of a picture and a one-paragraph text that depicts a conversation
between the harasser and the woman:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>“stalker no.
1: " Excuse me, have we met before?" machlee: no Stalker no. 1: Yes
we have! On commercial street! I work in a call centre. I am a science
graduate." machlee: why are you telling me all this? stalker no. 1: can I
have coffee with you? machlee: can i photograph you? stalker no. 1: yes! sure
you can! stalker no.1: blah blah blah</em>” (Patheja, 2005)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Having been used to NGO pamphlets and blog posts, I
have come to equate discussion on sexual harassment as a very serious
discussion with long text and formal language. This post is so different from
what I was used to, but it was clear to me that even though the language was
casual, the issue and intention were serious. The casual presentation
spoke to me “we would like
to share our thoughts and activities with you” rather than “we are an
established organization and this is what we do”. It is not the space of
professionals, but passionate people. As a blogger myself, I recognize the
space as being one of my peer’s and immediately felt more attracted and comfortable to jump into the conversation.</p>
<p>The second tipping
point attracted the more active, substantial participation than commenting;
many people actually created texts, photos, or posters for Blank Noise. It was
possible because Blank Noise opened itself. Jasmeen opened up to an idea of a
volunteer, who opened up to the possibilities offered by the cybersphere.
Instead of depending on a core team to conduct an intervention, Blank Noise
opened up to a project that <strong>entirely</strong>
depended on the public’s response to be successful. Moreover, Blank Noise
opened up to diverse points of views and many types of experiences with street
sexual harassment.</p>
<p>It is widely
acknowledged that the success of a digital activism lies on its ability to
attract public collaboration; however, the digital tipping points of Blank
Noise underline several important factors behind the ability. Attracting public
engagement is not always a result of a meticulous pre-planned intervention. On
the contrary, it might spawn from unintentional events that welcome diverse
points of view, adopt a peer-to-peer attitude, invite contributions, and most
importantly, touched an issue that is very important for many different people.
Web 2.0 is an enabling tool and site for dialogue, but it is certainly not the
only reason behind the success of digital activism in galvanizing youth’s
engagement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>This is the fifth post in the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-beyond-the-digital-directory" class="external-link"><strong>Beyond the Digital </strong>series,</a> a research
project that aims to explore new insights to understand youth digital activism
conducted by Maesy Angelina with Blank Noise under the Hivos-CIS Digital
Natives Knowledge Programme. </em></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p><em><u>Reference:</u></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mishra, G.
(2010) ‘The State of Citizen Media in India in Three Short Ideas’. Accessed</p>
<p>19 May 2010
< <a href="http://www.gauravonomics.com/blog/the-state-of-citizen-media-in-india-">http://www.gauravonomics.com/blog/the-state-of-citizen-media-in-india-</a>in-three-short-ideas/></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Patheja, J. (2005) ‘Unwanted. Section 354 IPC.’ Accessed 25 October
2010. < <a href="http://blog.blanknoise.org/2005/03/stalker-no.html">http://blog.blanknoise.org/2005/03/stalker-no.html</a>></p>
<p> </p>
<p></p>
<p> </p>
<p>SOURCE OF PICTURE</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.blanknoise.org/2005/07/he-placed-his-hand-on-my-breast-and.html">http://blog.blanknoise.org/2005/07/he-placed-his-hand-on-my-breast-and.html</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-digital-tipping-point'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-digital-tipping-point</a>
</p>
No publishermaesyCyberspaceDigital ActivismDigital NativesStreet sexual harassmentBlank Noise ProjectBeyond the DigitalYouthSocial Networkingmovements2011-08-04T10:36:56ZBlog EntryThe Digital Other
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/the-digital-other
<b>Based on my research on young people in the Global South, I want to explore new ways of thinking about the Digital Native. One of the binaries posited as the Digital ‘Other’ -- ie, a non-Digital Native -- is that of a Digital Immigrant or Settler.</b>
<p>I am not comfortable with these terms and they probably need heavy unpacking if not complete abandonment. Standard caricatures of Digital Others show them as awkward in their new digital ecologies, unable to navigate through this brave new world on their own. They may actually have helped produce digital technology and tools but they are not ‘born digital’ and hence are presumed to always have an outsider’s perspective on the digital world order.</p>
<p>As I’ve interacted with young people in the Global South, one thing suddenly started emerging in dramatic fashion -- that many of the youth working extensively with digital technologies in emerging ICT contexts often shared characteristics of the Digital Other. In countries like India, where the digital realm became accessible and affordable to certain sections of the society as late as 2003, there is a learning curve among youth that does not necessarily match the global thinking on Digital Natives. Even though these young people might be considered Digital Natives, because they are at the center of the digital revolution in their own countries, there is no doubt they are also Digital Others relative to Global North and West conceptions of young people in digital networks.<br /><br />There is a very popular tweet that was making the rounds recently, which suggested that Digital Natives don’t have an account of the digital just like fish don’t have a theory of water -- they take to the digital as fish take to water. In this analogy lies a very important distinction between Digital Others and Digital Natives. Out of necessity, Digital Others have a relationship of production, control and design with the technologies they work with. They have a critical engagement with technology, as they code, hack, design, and create protocols and digital environments to suit their needs and resources. Digital Natives, on the other hand, have a purely consumption based interaction with the technology they use.<br /><br />I want to repeat that. The Digital Natives I’ve observed have a purely consumption based interaction with the technologies they use. I know this sounds weird in the face of widespread perceptions that Digital Natives have participatory, engaged, intuitive relationships with technology. We are supposed to be living in prosumer times, where the user on the Infobahn is a consumer and producer of information. But Web 2.0 entities like Facebook have created a business where the user is not just consuming but indeed the user is the consumed. While Facebook and Twitter revolutions are interesting in how users have been able to ‘abuse’ information censorship and create new communities of political protest, we still have to remember that the technologies that supported these revolutions were closed, proprietary, and coercive -- often even putting users in danger.<br /><br />From my perspective and my research, we have conflated access to information with access to technology, and we have misread this increased access as a sign of intimate relationship with digital technology and the Internet. However, for many youth, media production and information sharing are actually merely forms of consumption.<br /><br />What is most alarming to me is that the individual’s relationship with original production and design of technology is on the decline. More and more, technology platforms and apps that Digital Natives interact with are closed hardware and software systems. Private corporations produce and shape the tools of interaction, producing seductive interfaces and information engagement choices that make opaque the actual working of the technologies we use. I am concerned that, increasingly, Digital Natives are acting as pure consumers of technology and gadgets, and seem willing to do so.</p>
<p>Banner image credit: World Bank Photo Collection <a class="external-link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/3492673512/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/3492673512/</a></p>
<p>Nishant wrote the original blog post in DML Central. Read it <a class="external-link" href="http://dmlcentral.net/blog/nishant-shah/digital-other">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/the-digital-other'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/the-digital-other</a>
</p>
No publishernishantDigital subjectivitiesResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-05-14T12:07:42ZBlog EntryThe Digital Classroom: Social Justice and Pedagogy
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/pathways/facultyworkshop
<b>What happens when we look at the classroom as a space of social justice? What are the ways in which students can be engaged in learning beyond rote memorisation? What innovative methods can be evolved to make students stakeholders in their learning process? These were some of the questions that were thrown up and discussed at the 2 day Faculty Training workshop for participant from colleges included in the Pathways to Higher Education programme, supported by Ford Foundation and collaboratively executed by the Higher Education Innovation and Research Application and the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore.</b>
<p></p>
<p>The workshop focused on 3 chief challenges in contemporary
pedagogy and teaching in higher education in India as identified by <a class="external-link" href="http://heira.in/">HEIRA</a>: The need for innovative
curricula, challenges to social justice in education, and possibilities offered
by the intersection of digital and internet technologies with classroom
teaching and evaluation. In the open discussions, the participating faculty
members used their multidisciplinary skills and teaching experience to look at possibilities that we might implement in our classrooms to create a more
inclusive and participatory environment. The conversations were varied, and
through 3 blog entries I want to capture the focus points of the workshop. In
this first post, I focus specifically on the changing nature of student
engagement with education and innovative ways by which we can learn from the
digital platforms of learning and knowledge production and implement certain
innovations in pedagogy that might better help create inclusive and just learning
environments in the undergraduate classroom in India.</p>
<p><strong>Peer 2 Peer:</strong> One of the observations that was made
unanimously by all the faculty members was that students respond better, learn
faster, engage more deeply with their syllabus when the instructor has a
personal rapport with them. Traditionally, the teachers who have established
human contact which goes beyond the call of duty are also the teachers that
have become catalysts and inspirations for the students. Especially with the
digital aesthetics of non-hierarchical information interaction, this has become
the call of the day.</p>
<p>Establishing the teacher as a peer within the classroom,
rather than the fountainhead of information flow, is an experiment worth
conducting. Like on other digital platforms, can we think of the classroom as a
space where the interlocutors each bring their life experience and learning to
start an information exchange and dialogue that would make them stakeholders in
the process of learning? This would mean that the teacher would be a <em>facilitator</em> who builds conditions of
knowledge production and dissemination, thus also changing his/her relationship
with the idea of curriculum and teaching.</p>
<p><strong>Reciprocal evaluation</strong>: It was pointed out that the grade
oriented academic system often leads to students disengaging with innovative
and meaningful learning practices. With the pressure of completing the
curriculum, the students’ instrumental relationship with their classroom
learning and the highly conservative structures of higher education that do not
offer enough space to experiment with the teaching methods, it often becomes
difficult to initiate innovative pedagogic practices. Learning from the
differently hierarchised digital spaces, it was suggested that one of the ways
by which this could be countered is by introducing reciprocal evaluation
patterns which might not directly be associated with the grades but would
recognise and appreciate the skills that students bring to their learning.</p>
<p>Inspired by the Badges contest at <a class="external-link" href="http://hastac.org/tag/badges">HASTAC</a>,
it was suggested that evaluation has to take into account, more than grades.
Different students bring different skills, experiences, personalities and
behaviours to bear upon the syllabus. They work individually and in clusters to
understand and analyse the curriculum. Recognising these skills and the roles
that they play in their learning environments is essential. Getting students to
offer different badges to each other as well as to the teachers involved, helps
them understand their own learning process and engages them in new ways of
learning.</p>
<p><strong>Role based learning: </strong>Within the Web 2.0 there is a peculiar
condition where individuals are recognised simultaneously as experts and
novices. They bring certain knowledges and experiences to the table which make
them credible sources of information and analysis in those areas. At the same
time, they are often beginner learners in certain other areas and they harness
the power of the web to learn. Such a distributed imagination of a student as
not equally proficient in all areas, but diversely equipped to deal with
different disciplines is missing from our understanding of the higher education
classroom.</p>
<p>We discussed the possibility of making the student responsible not
only for his/her own learning but also the learning of the peers in the
classroom. Making the student aware of what s/he is good at and where s/he is
lacking allows them to gain confidence and also realise that everybody has
differential strengths and aptitudes. Such a classroom might look different
because the students don’t have to be pitched in stressful competition with
each other but instead work collaboratively to learn, research and produce
knowledge in a nurturing and supportive learning environment.</p>
<p>These initial discussions look at the possibility of
innovative classroom teaching that can accommodate for the skills and
differences of the students in higher education in India. The conversations
opened up the idea that the classroom can be reshaped so that it becomes a more
inclusive space where the quality of students’ access to education can be
improved. It also ties in with the larger imagination of classrooms as spaces
where principles of social justice can be invoked so that students who are
disadvantaged in language, learning skills, socio-economic backgrounds, are not
just looked at as either ‘beyond help’ or ‘victims of a system’. Instead, it
encourages to look at the students as differential learners who need to be made
stakeholders in their own processes of learning and education.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/pathways/facultyworkshop'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/pathways/facultyworkshop</a>
</p>
No publishernishantHigher EducationAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesFeaturedNew PedagogiesResearchers at WorkDigital Pluralism2015-05-08T12:36:29ZBlog EntryThe Class Question
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-class-question
<b>Blank Noise aims to be as inclusive as possible and therefore does not identify any specific target groups. Yet, the spaces and the methods they occupy do attract certain kinds of volunteers and public. This raises the class question: what are the dilemmas around class on digital interventions? Are they any different from the dilemmas on street interventions? </b>
<p class="Normalfirstparagraph">My first click to Blank Noise’s main blog was a
surprise. Having read so many media coverage about them, I expected to see a
professional, minimalist looking website like other women’s organizations<a name="_ftnref1" href="#_ftn1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> where
the menu is immediately visible. Instead, I have arrived at the most common and
basic form of blogging: the personal blog.</p>
<p>I
was greeted by entries on their latest thoughts and activities with photos and
text with red font against a black background. I scrolled down a long list of
permanent links on the right side of the site and arrived only at its
Frequently Asked Questions link on the 28<sup>th</sup> item while it would be
one of the easiest to spot in other websites. For me, this discovery said, “we
would like to share our thoughts and activities with you” rather than “we are
an established organization and this is what we do”. It is not the space of
professionals, but passionate people. As a blogger myself, I recognize the
space as being one of my peer’s and immediately felt more attracted to it.</p>
<p>Reflecting
on my own position, my familiarity with the space is due to my background as a
young, urban, educated, English-speaking woman for whom the Internet is a key
part of life. My ‘peers’ who are also attracted to this place apparently share
the same background with me. The main demography of Blank Noise’s volunteers,
almost equally men and women, are those between 16-35 years, urban, and English
speaking (Patheja, 2010). My interviewees were all at least university
educated, some in the U.S. Ivy league, and are proficient users of social
media, most of them being bloggers or Twitter and Facebook users.</p>
<p>This dominant
base reflects the discourse on the ‘youth of India’, which represents only a
fragment of India’s vast population of young people. The two narratives on the
youth of India are described by Sinha-Kerkhoff (2005) as ‘the haves’ and
‘have-nots’, a reflection on the broader discourse on the deep social economic
inequities in India. ‘The have-nots’ are the majority of Indian youth who are
struggling with the basic issues of livelihood, health, and education, while
‘the haves’ are painted as the children of liberalization: the mostly urban,
middle class, technologically savvy, and highly educated students and young professionals
up who maintain a youthful lifestyle up to their 30s.</p>
<p>Although
‘the haves’ only consist 10% of the total youth population, they are the ones
identified as <em>the </em>youth of India by
popular discourses. Lukose (2008) explained this by stating that youth as a
social category in India is linked to the larger sense of India’s
transformation into an emerging global economic powerhouse together with
Brazil, Russia, and China (popular as BRIC) after its liberal economic reform
in the 1990s. India’s information and technology industry is spearheading this
transformation, thus it feeds into the discourse of youth as Digital Natives.</p>
<p>Although
there are exceptions to this dominant demography, they are far fewer. Does this
then mean that Blank Noise is ‘contextually empowering’ (Gajjala, 2004), given
that it reaches only ‘the haves’ due to the digital divide and their sites of
participation? </p>
<p>The classed
nature of the virtual public space is something Blank Noise fully acknowledges.
Some interviewees stated that this is why street interventions are so
important; they reach people who may not be Internet users. However, people who
have been involved in Blank Noise for more than two years acknowledged that
class issues are also present in the physical public space.</p>
<p>Dev
Sukumar, one of Blank Noise’s male volunteers, explained to me that the British
colonial legacy still shape the way public spaces in Bangalore are organized.
The commercial areas in the city centre where Blank Noise interventions were
initially organized, such as M.G. Road and Brigade Road, are dominantly inhabited
by English speaking people, but in other parts of the city there are many who
can only speak the local language, Kannada. After recognizing this, Blank Noise
organized street interventions in such places, like the Majestic bus stand, and
making flyers and stencils in Kannada. In order to do this, Blank Noise
specifically called for volunteers who knew the local language.</p>
<p>The
interventions might be in a non-elite space, but the main actors remain those
from the middle class. Hemangini articulated the class issue in Blank Noise,
saying “Like it or not, a lot of the people in Blank Noise are from the middle
class and a lot of the people we have been talking to on the streets are of a
certain class. What is the ethics in a middle class woman asking ‘why are you
looking at me?’ to lower class men? It is if we already assumed that most
perpetrators are lower class men while it is definitely not true.”</p>
<p>The
reflexivity Hemangini shows led me to rethink the assumptions around digital
activism. It is often dismissed as catering only to the middle class,
privileging only one side of the digital divide. But then again, the class
issue is also present in the physical sphere. If middle class youth mostly
attracts their peers in their digital activism, is it problematic by default or
is it only problematic when there is no accompanying reflection on the
political implications of such engagement? How is it more problematic than the
ethical dilemma of middle class people addressing their ‘Others’ in street
interventions? Is the problem related to the sphere of activism (virtual versus
physical), or is it more about the methods of engagement and the reflexivity
required for it?</p>
<p>Hemangini
told me that her dilemma is being shared and discussed with other members in
Blank Noise’s core group, consisting of those who dedicate some time to reflect
on the growth and development of the collective. They have no answer just yet,
but they intend to continue reflecting on it. I have no idea what their future
reflection looks like, but I do know that the class implications of the cyber
sphere will be resolved with more than simply taking interventions to the
streets. Considering that the actors of youth digital activism are, like it or
not, urban, middle class, educated digital natives, Blank Noise’s reflection
will indeed be relevant for all who is interested in this issue. And if you
have your own thoughts on the strategies to resolve this dilemma, why don’t you
drop a comment and reflect together with us? </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>This is the seventh post in the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-beyond-the-digital-directory" class="external-link"><strong>Beyond the Digital </strong>series</a>, a research
project that aims to explore new insights to understand youth digital activism
conducted by Maesy Angelina with Blank Noise under the Hivos-CIS Digital
Natives Knowledge Programme. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>References:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gajjala, R.
(2004) <em>Cyber selves: Feminist
Ethnographies of South Asian Women. </em>Walnut Creek: Almitra Press.</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Lukose, R. (2008) ‘The Children of Liberalization: Youth
Agency and Globalization</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">in India’, in Dolby, N. and Rizvi, F. (eds.) <em>Youth Moves: Identities and Education in a
Global Perspective, </em>pp. 133-150.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Patheja, J.
(2010) <em>Case Study: Blank Noise. </em>Accessed
7 November 2010 <http://www.indiasocial.in/case-study-blank-noise/></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sinha-Kerkhoff,
K. (2006) ‘Youth Activism in India’, in Sherrod, L.R., Flanagan, C.A.</p>
<p>and Kassimir,
R. (eds.) <em>Youth Activism: An
International Encyclopedia, </em>pp. 340-348. London: Greenwood Press.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Source for
picture: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/photo.php?fbid=73473166363&set=o.2703755288&pid=2095143&id=687356363"><em>http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/photo.php?fbid=73473166363&set=o.2703755288&pid=2095143&id=687356363</em></a></p>
<div><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<p><a name="_ftn1" href="#_ftnref1"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span></a> For
example: <a href="http://www.jagori.org/">http://www.jagori.org/</a> , one of
the most established women organizations in India.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-class-question'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-class-question</a>
</p>
No publishermaesyYouthDigital ActivismDigital NativesBlank Noise ProjectBeyond the Digital2011-09-22T12:45:35ZBlog EntryThe Bots That Got Some Votes Home
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/bots-got-some-votes-home
<b>Nilofar Ansher gives us some startling updates on the "Digital Natives Video Contest" voting results declared in May 2012, in this blog post.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It was a hint of suspicion raised by one of our colleagues at the Centre for Internet & Society that spurred our Web Analytics team to check into the voting activity of the contest that was all about the ‘<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/vote-for-digital-natives" class="external-link">Everyday Digital Native</a>’. And while we acknowledged and celebrated the ‘digital’ in the native (users of technology), we forgot the human part that the digital has to engage with. Following weeks of deliberations, we now have conclusive evidence that points to irregularities in voting numbers of the Top 10 contestants. We are now staring at the elephant in the room: those innocuous little automated scripts we sweetly nicknamed, ‘bots’.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Internet bots, also known as web robots or simply bots, are software applications that run automated tasks over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone. The largest use of bots is in web spidering, in which an automated script fetches, analyzes and files information from web servers at many times the speed of a human. Each server can have a file called robots.txt, containing rules for the spidering of that server that the bot is supposed to obey. In addition to their uses outlined above, bots may also be implemented where a response speed faster than that of humans is required (e.g., gaming bots and auction-site robots) or less commonly in situations where the emulation of human activity is required, for example chat bots (Source: Wikipedia).</p>
<h3>What irregularities?</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">You would see how a script or bot would have played a role in ‘automating’ the votes for a video. The Top 10 videos received a combined voting number of 20,000+. The discrepancy occurs at the juncture where the votes polled on the front end (the webpage where the contestant video was visible to the public) did not match with the number of hits the page received on the backend (this is the analytics part). For instance, the top polled video has some few thousand votes more than the number of people who actually visited our CIS website in the same duration. This prompted a review of the logs and the possible “hand” of a nonhuman agent acting on its human creator’s command to drive up the votes.</p>
<h3>How was this done? The Technicalities</h3>
<p>The following graph shows the extremely high level of voting requests just before the closing date (March 31, 2012). This would not be extraordinary except for the fact that two or three entries had an exceptionally higher vote count relative to their page views as per the analytics statistics.</p>
<p><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/scripted-voting-report/quickhist_march_april.png" alt="null" class="image-inline" title="Voting requests by date" /></p>
<h3>Analysis of the voting against the http requests for the voting link against page views</h3>
<div>
<table class="vertical listing">
<tbody>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<th>
<p>Entry</p>
</th>
<th>Actual Votes Recorded (1)<br /></th>
<th>Direct http requests to votes (2)<br /></th>
<th>http requests for normal page view access (3)<br /></th>
<th>Recommended adjusted vote count (4)<br /></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/digital-media-dance" class="internal-link">Digital Dance</a></p>
</td>
<td>268</td>
<td>448</td>
<td>198</td>
<td><span class="visualHighlight">198</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/big-stories-small-towns" class="internal-link">Big Stories, Small Town</a></p>
</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>112</td>
<td>3</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/digital-natives-contest/entries/connecting-souls-bridging-dreams" class="internal-link">Connecting Souls, Bridging Dreams</a></p>
</td>
<td>1113</td>
<td>2018</td>
<td>1685</td>
<td>1113</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/finalist-summary/deployed" class="internal-link">Deployed</a></p>
</td>
<td>191</td>
<td>479</td>
<td>195</td>
<td>191</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p class="internal-link"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/from-the-wild-into-the-digital-world" class="internal-link">From The Wild Into The Digital World</a></p>
</td>
<td>10317</td>
<td>11880</td>
<td>810</td>
<td><span class="visualHighlight">810</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/i-am-a-ghetto-digital-native" class="internal-link">I Am A Ghetto Digital Native</a></p>
</td>
<td>321</td>
<td>365</td>
<td>844</td>
<td>321</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/life-in-the-city-slums" class="internal-link">Life in the City Slums</a></p>
</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>94</td>
<td>13</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/who-is-a-digital-native" class="internal-link">Digital Natives</a></p>
</td>
<td>111</td>
<td>328</td>
<td>102</td>
<td><span class="visualHighlight">102</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/with-no-distinction" class="internal-link">With No Distinction</a></p>
</td>
<td>369</td>
<td>557</td>
<td>1232</td>
<td>369</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: right;">
<td>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/entries/digital-coverage-in-a-digital-world" class="internal-link">Digital Coverage in a Digital World</a></p>
</td>
<td>9622</td>
<td>13650</td>
<td>181</td>
<td><span class="visualHighlight">181</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3></h3>
<span class="internal-link"> </span>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">These are the public votes displayed on the contestant’s page through the thumbs up icon</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">These are http requests to the voting link against each video when the user clicked on the thumbs up icon.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">These are http requests which are collectively related to the video page (page view). A normal human user would browse through a page first, which downloads some other urls, such as the HTML for the page, JavaScript, images, and so on. A normal vote request would be included collectively. A direct http request to the voting link on the other hand does not do this, and only makes a specific request to vote without downloading the other parts that make up the page.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">A normal human vote count should be the same or less than the number of page views. Only three videos highlighted show abnormal behaviour and it is recommended these be adjusted to the page view counts.</li></ol>
<h3>Are you saying contestants cheated?</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While the use of programming scripts to accrue votes is no new tactic and we should, in fact, have a more robust mechanism to monitor such activity during a contest, we cannot prove the culpability of the human agents. The contestants might be innocent actors with overzealous friends or colleagues who ran the voting scripts. As of now, since there is no way to ascertain their part in this irregularity, it’s best we give them the benefit of the doubt. What comes through loud and clear is that once you do away with the scripted votes, four contestants still manage to have enough votes to maintain their positions in the final five. In the fifth position, we now have a contestant from the top ten finalists, who has secured the requisite votes (after vote adjustment) to propel him into the final five.</p>
<h3>Recommendation</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">‘Digital Dance’ (Cijo Abraham), ‘From the Wild into the Digital World’ (John Musila) and ‘Digital Coverage in a Digital World’ (T.J. Burks) had additional vote url counts than page views. It is recommended that the total votes for these videos be adjusted to the page view counts, and not the actual vote counts as displayed on their individual web pages (thumbs up icon) during the voting period.</p>
<p>The rankings of the adjusted voting would now read as:</p>
<ol>
<li>Connecting Souls, Bridging Dreams – Marie Jude Bendiola (1113)</li>
<li>From The Wild Into The Digital World - John Musila (810)</li>
<li>With No Distinction - T.J. K. M. (369)</li>
<li>I Am A Ghetto Digital Native – MJ (321)</li>
<li>Digital Dance – Cijo Abraham (198)</li></ol>
<h3>Transparency at CIS</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">‘The Digital Natives with a Cause?’ research inquiry is shaped around concerns of transparency, equity and community accountability. In our research methods as well as in outputs of the different activities, we have always maintained a complete transparency of decision making processes as well as in depending upon the incredible people we work with to help us learn, grow and reflect openly on the concerns that we have been engaged with. We strive to follow this method and in publishing these statistics, we want to ensure that there is complete transparency about the votes that were accrued and how the final winners were selected. We also take this opportunity as a learning experience to re-think the question of the non-human actors in our networks and further about the nature of participation and reputation online. We hope that the publishing of these results will help answer any inquiries on how the process unfolded.</p>
<h3>View Logs and Source Code</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/scripted-voting-report/logs-during-voting-period" class="external-link">All logs from the web server for this period</a> (24.7MB) Identical IPs are from caching server.</li>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest/scripted-voting-report/main.R">R script to evaluate data for table</a></li></ul>
<h3>What next?</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Since we spotted the error in time, we haven’t disbursed the prize money of EUR 500 to each of the Top 5 contestants. They will now receive the prize along with a chance to participate in the Digital Native workshop-cum-Webinar, slated to be held in July 2012. The top 10 videos will be showcased in this event.</p>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/bots-got-some-votes-home'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/bots-got-some-votes-home</a>
</p>
No publisherNilofar AnsherFeaturedResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-04-24T11:56:10ZBlog EntryThe 'Beyond the Digital' Directory
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-beyond-the-digital-directory
<b>For the past few months, Maesy Angelina has been sharing the insights gained from her research with Blank Noise on the activism of digital natives. The ‘Beyond the Digital’ directory offers a list of the posts on the research based on the order of its publication.</b>
<p></p>
<p>Have you ever
wondered what is really “new” about the activism of digital natives? In May
2010, the Hivos-CIS ‘Digital Natives with a Cause?’ Knowledge Programme started
a collaboration The Blank Noise Project in India and Maesy Angelina, a
student-researcher from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam – International
Institute of Social Studies in The Hague who is taking up the research agenda
for her final project to qualify for her Masters degree in International
Development with a specialization in Children and Youth Studies.</p>
<p>Maesy
has been blogging about the insights she gained from her field work in
Bangalore in the CIS website under the ‘Beyond the Digital’ series, which
consists of the following posts:</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"> </p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><strong>1. <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/beyond-the-digital-understanding-digital-natives-with-a-cause/weblogentry_view" class="external-link">Beyond the Digital: Understanding
Digital Natives with a Cause</a></strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Digital
natives with a cause: the future of activism or slacktivism? Maesy Angelina
argues that the debate is premature given the obscured understanding on youth
digital activism and contends that an effort to understand this from the
contextualized perspectives of the digital natives themselves is a crucial
first step to make. This is the first out of a series of posts on her journey
to explore new insights to understand youth digital activism through a research
with Blank Noise under the Hivos-CIS Digital Natives Knowledge
Programme.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><strong>2. <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/first-thing-first/weblogentry_view" class="external-link">First Thing First</a></strong></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Studies
often focus on how digital natives do their activism in identifying the
characteristics of youth digital activism and dedicate little attention to what
the activism is about. The second blog post in the Beyond the Digital series
reverses this trend and explores how Blank Noise articulates the
issue it addresses: street sexual harassment.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"> </p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talking-back-without-talking-back" class="external-link"><strong>3. Talking Back without “Talking Back”</strong></a></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span class="description">The activism of digital natives is often
considered different from previous generations because of the methods and tools
they use. However, reflecting on my conversations with Blank Noise
and my experience in the ‘Digital Natives Talking Back’ workshop in Taipei, the
difference goes beyond the method and can be spotted at the analytical level –
how young people today are <em>thinking</em>
about their activism. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"> </p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/taking-it-to-the-streets/" class="external-link">4. Taking It to the Streets</a></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">The previous posts in the Beyond the Digital series have discussed the distinct ways in which young people today are thinking about their activism. The fourth post elaborates further on how this is translated into practice by sharing the experience of a Blank Noise street intervention: Y ARE U LOOKING AT ME?</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"> </p>
<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-digital-tipping-point" class="external-link">5. The Digital Tipping Point</a>
<p> </p>
<span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable">Is
Web 2.0 really the only reason why youth digital activism is so
successful in mobilizing public engagement? A look into the
transformation of Blank Noise’s blog from a one-way communication medium
into a site of public dialogue and collaboration reveals the crucial
factors behind the success.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/diving-into-the-digita" class="external-link">6. Diving Into the Digital</a><br /></span>
<p> </p>
<p>Previous posts in the ‘Beyond the Digital’ series have discussed the non-virtual aspects and presence of Blank Noise. However, to understand the activism of digital natives also require a look into their online presence and activities. This post explores how Blank Noise’s engagement with the public in their digital realm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-class-question" class="external-link">7. The Class Question</a></p>
<p><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable">Blank
Noise aims to be as inclusive as possible and therefore does not
identify any specific target groups. Yet, the spaces and the methods
they occupy do attract certain kinds of volunteers and public. This
raises the class question: what are the dilemmas around class on digital
interventions? Are they any different from the dilemmas on street
interventions? <br /></span></p>
<p><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable"><br /></span></p>
<p><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-many-faces-within" class="external-link">8. The Many Faces Within</a></span></p>
<p><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable">Blank
Noise, as many other digital native collectives, may seem to be
complete horizontal at first glance. But, a closer look reveals the many
different possibilities for involvement and a unique way the collective
organize itself. <br /></span></p>
<p><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/activism-unraveling-the-term" class="external-link">9. Activism: Unraveling the Term</a></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable">After
discussing Blank Noise’s politics and ways of organizing, the current
post explores whether activism is still a relevant concept to capture
the involvement of people within the collective. I explore the questions
from the vantage point of the youth actors, through conversations about
how they relate with the very term of activism. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"> </p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/reflecting-from-the-beyond" class="external-link">10. Reflecting from the Beyond</a></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable">After
going ‘beyond the digital’ with Blank Noise through the last nine
posts, the final post in the series reflects on the understanding gained
so far about youth digital activism and questions one needs to carry in
moving forward on researching, working with, and understanding digital
natives. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><br /><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable"></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span id="parent-fieldname-description" class="kssattr-atfieldname-description kssattr-templateId-widgets/textarea kssattr-macro-textarea-field-view inlineEditable"></span>While the posts present bits and pieces of field research notes and reflections from data analysis, the full research products are:</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">- Angelina, M. (2010) '<a class="external-link" href="http://thesis.eur.nl/theses/law_culture_society/iss/cys/index/863849405/">Beyond the Digital: Understanding Contemporary Forms of Youth Activism - The Case of Blank Noise in Urban India</a>'. Unpublished thesis, graded with Distinction. The Hague: International Institute of Social Studies - Erasmus University of Rotterdam.</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">- Angelina, M. (2010) '<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/position-paper/view?searchterm=position%20paper%20digital%20natives" class="external-link">Towards a New Relationship of Exchange</a>'. Position paper for the Digital Natives with a Cause Thinkathon. </p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-beyond-the-digital-directory'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-beyond-the-digital-directory</a>
</p>
No publishermaesyYouthDigital ActivismDigital NativesWeb PoliticsStreet sexual harassmentBlank Noise ProjectBeyond the DigitalCommunitiesart and interventionResearchers at Work2015-05-15T11:33:39ZBlog EntryTalking Back without "Talking Back"
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talking-back-without-talking-back
<b>The activism of digital natives is often considered different from previous generations because of the methods and tools they use. However, reflecting on my conversations with The Blank Noise Project and my experience in the ‘Digital Natives Talking Back’ workshop in Taipei, the difference goes beyond the method and can be spotted at the analytical level – how young people today are thinking about their activism. </b>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="description">Last August, I had the opportunity to participate in the three-day grueling yet highly rewarding ‘<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talking-back" class="external-link">Digital Natives Talking Back</a>’ workshop<b> </b>in Taipei. On the very first day, Seema Nair, one of the facilitators and a good friend, asked us to reflect about what ‘talking back’ means in the context of activism. At first glance, activism is almost always interpreted as a confrontational resistance towards an identifiable opponent over a certain issue - a group of activists protesting against a discriminatory legislation passed by a government, for example. Although this is definitely the most popular form, is this the only way activism could be done? </span></p>
<p><span class="description">While reflecting on Seema’s question, I thought of my conversations with people in the Blank Noise Project and how they seem to defy this popular imagination through their efforts to address street sexual harassment. From the way it articulates its issue (I have shared it before in <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/first-thing-first" class="external-link">here</a>), Blank Noise challenges the idea of an opponent in activism by refusing to identify an entity as the “enemy” or the one responsible for the issue, given the grey areas of street sexual harassment. The opponent is intangible instead: the mindset shared by all members of society that enables the violation to continue. </span></p>
<p><span class="description">Consequently, Blank Noise ‘talks back’ differently. While it is common for many movements to set an intangible vision as its goal (for instance: a society where women is treated as equals with men), they also have a tangible intermediary targets to move towards the broader vision (e.g. a new legislation or service provision for women affected by domestic violence). Blank Noise sticks with the intangible. The goal is to form a collective where eve teasing is everybody’s shared concern, spreading awareness that street sexual harassment is happening every day and it is unacceptable because it is a form of violence against women. Pooja Gupta, a 19 year old art student who is one of the initiators of the ‘I Never Ask for It’ Facebook campaign, underlined this intangible goal by saying that “The goal really is to spread awareness. It is not about pushing any specific agenda or telling people what to do.”</span></p>
<p><span class="description">Because of this goal, I initially thought that there is a clear demarcation between people within the Blank Noise and the ‘public’ whose awareness they would like to raise – that there is a clear “us” (the Blank Noise activists) and “them” (the target group). However, I was corrected by Jasmeen Patheja, the founder of Blank Noise, when we chatted one day. “I haven’t ever put it that way. Since the beginning, the collective is meant to be inclusive and there is no specific target group. The public is invited to participate and there is no audience, everyone is a participant and co-creator.” </span></p>
<p><span class="description">The strategy for this is to open up a public dialogue. When Blank Noise first started in 2003, it started with the street as the public space and uses art as its method of intervention. It takes many forms: performative art, clothes exhibition, street polls, and many others. Although today Blank Noise is much more known for its engagement with the virtual public through its prolific Internet presence (4 blogs, a Twitter account, 2 Facebook groups, many Facebook events, and a YouTube channel), the street interventions remain a significant part of its activities. Regardless of the methods, which I will elaborate more in future blog posts, the principles of creativity, play, and non-confrontation are always maintained. </span></p>
<p><span class="description">At this point, some critical questions could be raised. What is Blank Noise actually trying to achieve through the dialogue? Can public dialogue really address the issue? How does Blank Noise know if it is interventions have an impact?</span></p>
<p><span class="description">When I asked the last question, many people in the Blank Noise admitted that impact measurement is something that they are still grappling with. Some said that the public recognition of Blank Noise by bloggers and mainstream media is an indicator; others said that the growth of volunteers is also an impact. However, I found that this is not an issue many people were concerned with and was a bit puzzled. After all, if one were to dedicate their time and energy to a cause, wouldn’t s/he want to know what kind of difference made?</span></p>
<p><span class="description">The light bulb for this puzzle switched on when Apurva Mathad, one of Blank Noise male volunteers, said, “Eve teasing is an issue that nobody talks about. It seems like a monumental thing to try and change it, so the very act of doing something to address it and reaching as many people as possible right now seems to be enough.” </span></p>
<p><span class="description">Apurva basically told me that it is the action of doing something about the issue is what counts – and that it is the personal level change among people who are active within the Blank Noise is the real impact. I recalled that everyone else I talked with mentioned individual transformation after being a part of Blank Noise intervention – something I would elaborate upon in future posts. </span></p>
<p><span class="description">This observation was confirmed in a later conversation with Jasmeen, where I discovered that Blank Noise also has another goal that was not as easy to identify as the first: to allow people involved with the collective to undergo a personal transformation into “Action Heroes” - people who actively takes action to challenge the silence and disregard towards street sexual harassment. In this sense, Blank Noise is similar to many women collectives that became organized to empower themselves and hence could be said to also adopt a feminist ideology. </span></p>
<p><span class="description">The difference with most women collectives, however, lies on Blank Noise’s aim to allow a personalization of people’s experience with the collective. “The nature of this project is that people are in it for a reason close to them and they give meaning to their involvement as they see fit,” Jasmeen said. </span></p>
<p><span class="description">Blank Noise does face challenges in doing this. Some people found it difficult to understand that an issue could be addressed without shouting slogans or advocating for a specific solution and others joined with anger due to their personal experiences. Hence, the non-confrontational dialogue approach becomes even more important. The discussion and debates it raises help the Blank Noise volunteers to also learn more about the issue, reflect on their experiences and opinions, as well as to give meaning to their involvement. This is when I finally understood the point of “no target group”: the Blank Noise people also learn and become affected by the interventions they performed. Influencing ‘others’ is not the main goal although it is a desired effect, the main one is to allow personal empowerment. </span></p>
<p><span class="description">Going back to the ‘talking back’ discussion in Taipei, Seema then shared her experiences working with women groups in India and showed how ‘talking back’ could also be ‘talking with’, engaging people in a dialogue. It need not always address the state; it could also be aiming to make a change at the personal level in everyday life. It could also be ‘talking within’, keeping the discussion and debates alive within a movement to avoid a homogenized, simplification of the activism and provide a reflective element to the action. ‘Talking back’ could also take form other than “talking”, which usually is done through slogans and placards in a street protest, petition, or statements. It could be done through art, theatre performance, and many, many other possibilities. </span></p>
<p><span class="description">Blank Noise is definitely an example of these different forms and its experience shows that the difference is not arbitrary. It is based on a well-thought analysis of the issue that extends to how it formulates its objectives which is then translated into its strategies. Blank Noise is not only an example of how activism is done differently, but also on how the thought behind it is different.</span></p>
<p><span class="description">As I looked around the workshop room I was reminded that Blank Noise was not the only one. A few seats away from me sat two people who combined technology and poetry to create everyday resistance towards consumerism in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.slideshare.net/zonatsou/huang-po-chih-tsou-yiping-presentation-20100816-reupload">Taiwan</a></span><span class="description"><b> </b></span><span class="description"> and a young woman who held urban camps in India to mobilize young people to <a class="external-link" href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/MIE-My-India-Empowered/125105444189224">volunteer</a> Regardless of the issue and the technology used, many digital natives with a cause across the world remind us that ‘talking back’ could be done in many other ways than “talking back”. </span></p>
<p><span class="description"> </span></p>
<p><span class="description"> </span></p>
<p><i>This is the third post in the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-beyond-the-digital-directory" class="external-link"><b>Beyond the Digital </b>series</a>, a research project that aims to explore new insights to understand youth digital activism conducted by Maesy Angelina with The Blank Noise Project under the Hivos-CIS Digital Natives Knowledge Programme. </i><span class="description"> <br /></span></p>
<p><br /><span class="description"> </span></p>
<p><span class="description">*The photo is from one of Blank Noise's interventions in Cubbon Park, Bangalore. You can learn more about this intervention <a class="external-link" href="http://blog.blanknoise.org/2009/06/learning-to-belong-here.html">here</a>.<br /></span></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talking-back-without-talking-back'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talking-back-without-talking-back</a>
</p>
No publishermaesyCyberspaceDigital ActivismEve teasingDigital NativesYouthResearchBlank Noise Projectart and interventionBeyond the DigitalCommunitiescyberspacesStreet sexual harassment2011-09-22T11:37:54ZBlog EntryTaking It to the Streets
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/taking-it-to-the-streets
<b>The previous posts in the Beyond the Digital series have discussed the distinct ways in which young people today are thinking about their activism. The fourth post elaborates further on how this is translated into practice by sharing the experience of a Blank Noise street intervention: Y ARE U LOOKING AT ME? </b>
<p></p>
<p>In a previous
<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/first-thing-first/" class="external-link">post</a>, I
have shared how Blank Noise is unique in articulating its issue: it does not
offer a strict definition of eve teasing nor does it propose a specific
solution. In <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talking-back-without-talking-back" class="external-link">another</a><strong></strong>, I shared that Blank Noise’s main goal may seem to be to raise
public’s awareness on eve teasing, but it is actually secondary to its less
obvious objective to provide a space where people can become empowered through
its personal experiences in the collective. The main strategy employed to
achieve these goals is to create a public dialogue through artistic and playful
means, both at the physical and virtual spheres. The interventions attracted
media attention and volunteers, but the main impacts are internal: people are
able to personalize the meaning of their involvement in Blank Noise and undergo
individual transformations.</p>
<p> This post will flesh out how these
elements are actually translated in Blank Noise’s interventions. It is
difficult to pick one example Blank Noise a wide variety of interventions as it
evolves through the seven years of its existence. It started in 2003 as Jasmeen
Patheja’s final project when she was a student in the Sristhi School of Art and
Design in Bangalore. At this first phase, Blank Noise consisted of nine people
and dealt with victimhood through a series of workshops that became the basis
for small art interventions. As s many other activist groups before them, Blank
Noise took the initiatives to the physical public sphere: the streets, bus
stands, public transportations, parks – anywhere outside the home. Blank Noise
decided to move forward and try to engage the wider public in 2005 and engage
more volunteers than the initial group of nine. Despite being more well-known
lately for its virtual presence, the collective only started its first online
intervention in 2006 and street events remainan integral part of its being. Given
this history, and also because this is the one most often brought up in my
conversations with the Blank Noise people, I choose to share the ‘Y ARE U
LOOKING AT ME’ street intervention experience.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The experience starts with a post in the
Blank Noise <a class="external-link" href="http://blog.blanknoise.org">main blog</a> and e-group, announcing a date and time for the next
street intervention. The announcement is accompanied by an invitation for anyone
who reads it to participate and come to a designated place (such as the popular
café Coffee Day or the famous Cubbon Park in Bangalore) for a preparation
meeting and also the actual intervention (sometimes immediately afterwards). When
the time comes to for the meeting, the faces that appeared are varied. Some are
regular faces in Blank Noise meetings and interventions: perhaps Jasmeen,
others who have been coordinating interventions, or regular volunteers. Some
faces are new: people who read the announcements online, heard it through word
of mouth, or those who were around and curious about the gathering. The number
could range from three to more than 100. Most who came were women although
there were also men.</p>
<p>After
a brief introduction of everyone present, the meeting proceeded with a brief
discussion on eve teasing and the intervention that will take place. ‘Y ARE U
LOOKING AT ME’ is an intervention where a group of women wears a giant letter
made of red reflective tape on their shirts. They then stand idly on the
streets or zebra cross, staring at the vehicles and passers-by without a word.
Together, the letters on their shirts form the sentence ‘Y ARE U LOOKING AT
ME’, demanding attention by asking a silent question. When the traffic light
flashed to green, these women will disappear to the sidewalks. A group of male
volunteers are already there, distributing pamphlets and engaging passers-by
about in a conversation about what they just saw and relate it to eve teasing. The
idea behind this intervention is an act a female gaze to reverse the male gaze
that often times could be considered as a form of eve teasing. Because it is so
unusual, onlookers often look away or feel embarrassed after an encounter with
the female gaze. Despite being done without a word, the twist of gender
dynamics in this intervention provoked the interest of people in the sidewalk
and opened up the space for public dialogue – the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talking-back-without-talking-back" class="external-link">aim</a> Blank Noise strives to
achieve.</p>
<p>Jasmeen
told me that after this point some people started asking “But how will the
public get what we’re talking about?” The idea of addressing an issue with such
an ambiguous approach was indeed difficult to digest for some people –
including me. The intervention did not explicitly mention eve teasing nor did
it convey any clear message; there was no such thing as a placard that says
“Stop Eve Teasing” or something similar. There was no specific proposal. The
playful performance definitely is provocative enough to generate public
dialogue, but what change will it create?</p>
<p>Blank
Noise coordinators then encouraged people to experience the intervention first
before making conclusions. The various roles are introduced and the volunteers
were free to choose what they want to do. There are people who opted for the
backstage work of preparing the red tapes and printing the pamphlets, some
wanted to perform, while others are more contented to talk with the public
afterwards. After the intervention took place, Jasmeen found that the feedback
from the volunteers showed that the initial doubts disappeared.</p>
<p>Although
there were people who did not want to talk to the volunteers, in general they
were surprised by how open the public was to the conversations. “Maybe people
are tired of the old ways of just meeting on the streets and trying to convince
others through protests or petitions,” said Aarthi Ajit, a 25 year old research
assistant who helped organize a Blank
Noise Bangalore street intervention in
2008. “Maybe we need to look for different ways to get people’s attention and
the creative, playful, and non-confrontative approach will work better than
aggravation in making people think of the issue and become part of the movement.” She further explained
that widening definitions of street
sexual harassment and proposing tangible
solutions are helpful to create
the open attitude, while some people, especially men, could feel alienated by a poster that depicts men being
violent to women as all men were
labeled as perpetrators. This may be able to explain the public interaction as
well as the numerous media coverage Blank Noise received for these street
interventions. In this sense, people who doubted that the public would respond
no longer questioned whether Blank Noise’s message would get through.</p>
<p>However,
the question of whether the intervention made any change is still valid,
considering that there is no means for Blank Noise to follow-up with the many
people on the streets about whether they change their perception or behavior on
street sexual harassment. Instead, the change could be detected within the
volunteers.</p>
<p>Hemangini
Gupta, one of Blank Noise coordinators, recalled her first experience of performing
the intervention. “It felt strange, but fun and empowering in a way. I never
realized how disconnected I was from the streets before the intervention - I
would never look at people before. It felt very safe knowing that I could just
stand and look at people without any repercussions.”</p>
<p>Annie
Zaidi, another Blank Noise coordinator, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.anniezaidi.com/2006/10/empower-unpower-empower">blogged</a> about how her experience with Blank Noise interventions changed the way she
deals with street sexual harassment. “Something has changed. This time, my
reaction is different from what it would have been two years ago… I was
surprised, felt contempt and anger – but I did not feel fear. This, I realize
now, is because of Blank Noise, partly. .. It is as much about dealing with
women’s fear of public spaces and strangers as it is about dealing with
sexually abusive / intimidating strangers.”</p>
<p>Hemangini
and Annie’s stories were echoed by many other volunteers. Jasmeen said that it
was when Blank Noise started articulating that the change occurs internally
first and blurring the line between the audience and the “Action Heroes”. The
volunteers are as affected by the process as the viewers; they are mutually
dependent on each other for the intervention experience to be meaningful. That
is why Blank Noise does not think of “an audience”, everyone is a participant
and co-creator in the experience.</p>
<p>Instead
of shouting “Stop street sexual harassment!” or performing a street theatre
with spoken words, Blank Noise chose to quietly ask “Why are you looking at
me?” on the streets. They welcome many people, but the strength of its
interventions does not lie in numbers. Blank Noise thinks about their issues
differently and consequently, they also do things differently. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="description"> </span></p>
<p><em>This is the fourth post in the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/the-beyond-the-digital-director" class="external-link"><strong>Beyond the Digital </strong>series</a>, a research
project that aims to explore new insights to understand youth digital activism
conducted by Maesy Angelina with Blank Noise under the Hivos-CIS Digital
Natives Knowledge Programme. </em><span class="description"> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*Photo courtesy of Jasmeen Patheja</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/taking-it-to-the-streets'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/taking-it-to-the-streets</a>
</p>
No publishermaesyYouthDigital ActivismDigital NativesStreet sexual harassmentBlank Noise ProjectBeyond the Digital2011-08-04T10:33:19ZBlog EntrySurvey : Digital Natives with a cause?
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/survey-digital-natives-with-a-cause
<b>This survey seeks to consolidate information about how young people who have grown up with networked technologies use and experience online platforms and tools. It is also one of the first steps we have taken to interact with Digital Natives from around the world — especially in emerging information societies — to learn, understand and explore the possibilities of change via technology that lie before the Digital Natives. The findings from the survey will be presented at a multi-stakeholder conference later this year in The Netherlands.
</b>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society, in collaboration with Hivos' Knowledge Programme, launched the "Digital Natives with a Cause?" Programme in 2008. After the initial study (<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/publications/cis/nishant/dnrep.pdf/view" class="external-link">click here for a free download</a>), we are now gathering responses from young users of technology to help us understand, document and support different practices aimed at social transformation and political participation more efficiently.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We believe that the world is changing very fast and that the rise of Internet technologies has a lot to do with it. As young users of technology (as opposed to young users who use technology) adopt, adapt and use these new technologised tools to interact with their environment, new ways of effecting change emerge. This survey is an attempt to capture some of the information which gives us an insight into who the people are, using these technologies, the ways in which they use them and what their perceptions and experiences are.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The survey will not take more than 7 minutes of your time but it will help us get a better sense of the way things are.</p>
<p> </p>
<strong>Please click here so start the
<a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dG9reUVvQ0w4d1ZER3lKOUtFanZMUnc6MA" target="_blank"> survey</a>.</strong>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/survey-digital-natives-with-a-cause'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/survey-digital-natives-with-a-cause</a>
</p>
No publisherpushpaSocial mediaDigital NativesYouthFeaturedDigital subjectivitiesSocial Networking2011-08-04T10:35:43ZBlog EntryStorytelling and Technology - Sartaj Anand
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-sartaj-anand
<b>This post outlines the general characteristics of storytelling. The second section is an interview with Sartaj Anand, the founder of EgoMonk and BIllion Strong, who talks about storytelling as a strategy to build trust at the intersections of business and technology. This is the first of a series of installments exploring the potential of storytelling for social change.</b>
<pre><strong>CHANGE-MAKER:</strong> Sartaj Anand<strong>
ORGANIZATION: </strong>EgoMonk & Billion Strong<strong>
STRATEGY OF CHANGE: </strong>Leverage technology by focusing on the relationship between people and technology, and build trust by localizing and personalizing communication
<strong>
METHOD OF CHANGE:</strong> Storytelling<strong>
</strong></pre>
<h3 align="right"><em>“We all have something to say. Question is: will anyone listen?”</em></h3>
<div align="right">Understanding Comics<br />Scott McCloud, 1994</div>
<p align="justify"> </p>
<p align="justify">Today, everybody seems to be talking about ‘storytelling’. From activists to corporates; they are all jumping on this nostalgic bandwagon and embracing once again an enthralling habit of yesteryear: the ability to tell good stories. The practice has taken an identity of its own. It's distancing itself from its roots in oral tradition, and morphing into a state-of-the-art communication strategy. This is no selfless trend, though. Behind the hype, lies their thirst for (your) attention, and the belief that they do not only have a story to tell, but that it is a story that matters. In the context of “making change” particularly, when political and social crises emerge, the public space is flooded by a series of narratives and discourses as told by different actors. This explosion of stories culminates in an overload of information that could end up saturating its intended audience. This is not only undesirable, but dangerous when underneath the noise lies a message important for human dignity and survival. So, what is it about a story that will make it worthy of your attention? And how can this seemingly simple, yet complex tactic culminate in further engagement?</p>
<p align="justify">To explain storytelling as a method to create change, I will focus on how this practice can be utilized to enhance visibility and effectiveness of advocacy practices, as outlined in the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-to-conceive-condense-social-change">research overview</a>. I will start by unpacking ‘storytelling’: focusing on its purpose and functions. I will also look at the the relationship between the storyteller and the audience, and also at how storytelling redefines ‘the public space’. Although I will be putting my best effort to explain the workings behind his method, I will rely on the storytellers themselves to learn about the power of well-crafted and well-delivered stories to make change. This opportunity’s change-actors: Sartaj Anand, The Ugly Indian, Blank Noise, come from different fields and will show very different perspectives of how the narratives of change utilized in their stories, re-articulates how users/citizens/customers interact and experience content.</p>
<h2><strong>Telling Stories</strong></h2>
<p>So, what is storytelling? And what makes it so different from other forms of narration? I consulted the work of German philosophers Walter Benjamin and Hannah Arendt to unpack the nature of this practice and its ability to transmit knowledge.</p>
<div align="justify" class="pullquote">“the storyteller takes what he tells from the
experience and <span class="st">he in turn makes it the experience of those who are listening</span>” <em><br /></em>
<div align="right">W. Benjamin, 1977</div>
</div>
<p align="justify">In Benjamin’s essay “The Storyteller” (1955) he laments the demise of storytelling: “<em>less and less frequently do we encounter people with the ability to tell a tale properly [as if] the ability to exchange experiences [had been taken away from us]”.</em> Having its origins in oral tradition, storytelling for the most part consists of taking experiences worth sharing and disseminating them in the community with a specific, and according to Benjamin, a useful purpose in mind. It could be a moral, a maxim or a practical advice (1977), but at the end of the day, the audience takes away a new piece of information it did not have at the beginning of the story. This lesson may be related to the past of the storyteller or one of his characters, but its value lies in how it can now be extrapolated to the audience’s future. </p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Benjamin1.jpg/image_preview" title="Benjamin 1" height="246" width="419" alt="Benjamin 1" class="image-inline image-inline" /></p>
<p align="center" class="discreet">Ann Rippin's rendition to The Storyteller by Walter Benjamin. Visit her wordpress <a href="http://annjrippin.wordpress.com/thirteen-notebooks-for-walter-benjamin/">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Hannah Arendt, German-American philosopher from the early 20th century also had a lot to say about storytelling and ‘narratives’. She understood it as a framework, backed up by a strong tradition of its own, and a structure that embodies how our mind works: <em>“the mind doesn’t simply re-create sequences of events as they occur, but it creates new sequences and integrates events into appropriate existing sequences; the mind is constantly forming narratives” </em>(Kieslich, 2013.). This understanding of the practice goes beyond Benjamin’s proposition that we become part of the narration as it occurs. Arendt posits that our mind is already manufactured to construct sequences and connections in the same way in which we build stories -as opposed to the way we structure our essays, novels or tweets- before we tell them. Being such an embedded cognitive process, it feels familiar, comfortable and natural, which derives into a “critical appreciation” for the events of the story, and leads you to make deeper connections on how they relate to your life (Oni, 2012).</p>
<p> (Read more on Arendt and storytelling here: <a href="http://www.hannaharendtcenter.org/?p=5229">The Story of Reconciliation – Hannah Arendt Center)</a></p>
<p align="justify">However, both Benjamin and Arendt’s analysis is still very focused on the oral vs. prose question. Entering the 21st century we face the question of the role of digital technology and our highly visual culture in facilitating, amplifying or limiting the process of storytelling. On this point, I jumped to the end of the 20th century and looked at one of the many forms of storytelling: the comic. Scott McCloud’s “Understanding the Comic” (1994) takes you through the whole process of creating a coherent interplay of words and pictures that “convey information” and/or produce an “aesthetic response in the viewer”. Why are aesthetics important? , Because, according to McCloud, the inclusion of art is both the rejection and affirmation of our human condition. On one hand, art (or how we respond to it) is a rejection to our basic instincts, allowing us to express needs beyond survival and reproduction. On the other hand, it is a vehicle through which we assert our identities as individuals and pursue a “higher purpose and truth” (1994). Digital storytelling is imbued with visual stimuli: pictures, videos, graphics, that enhance the sensory experience, and as we explored in the Information Design posts (Find Part 1:<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-information-is-power">Information Activism</a>, and Part 2: <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/tactical-technology-design-activism-1">Information Design</a>) create new (and deeper) channels to approach and understand the message delivered by these stories.</p>
<table class="plain" align="center">
<thead align="center"></thead>
<tbody align="center">
<tr>
<td align="center"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/UnderstandingomicsMcCloud.jpeg/image_preview" style="float: left;" title="SMC" height="341" width="228" alt="SMC" class="image-inline image-inline" /></td>
<td>
<p align="center"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/FotoFlexer_Photo.jpg/image_preview" style="float: right;" title="SMC 2" height="346" width="400" alt="SMC 2" class="image-inline image-inline" /></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="center"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Comic3.jpg/image_preview" alt="SMC 3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="SMC 3" /></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="right" class="discreet">Excerpts of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud</p>
From these three perspectives we understand the following about storytelling. It is:
<blockquote>
<ul><li>A practice rooted in the tradition of sharing experiences</li></ul>
<ul><li>Participatory and interactive: the experience of the storyteller becomes the experience of the audience.</li></ul>
<ul><li>The purpose of storytelling is to pass on a message, moral guidance or practical advice to the audience, through its content.</li></ul>
<ul><li>The form or structure of narratives is determined by sequences of facts and events, which is the same way we build stories in our minds.</li></ul>
<ul><li>The experiential and familiar nature of storytelling makes it easier to engage with and relate to. </li></ul>
<ul><li>The inclusion of images, art and media produces an aesthetic response in the viewer, providing the audience an opportunity for self-expression and freedom.</li></ul>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify">Translating these characteristics to the theme of the Methods for Social Change project (how to build a sense of citizenship and civicness through technology-mediated practices. More <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-to-conceive-condense-social-changehere">here</a>): storytelling (re)emerges as a promising vehicle for political change, especially when in par with the “technological possibilities” of our times (Benjamin, 1977). If we choose to entertain this thought, we find how its roots in community traditions make stories an excellent meeting point to form solidarity networks and stronger offline communities to sustain activism. The logical and sequential format of stories are interesting mediums, not only to transmit new ideas on citizenship and engagement; but make them relevant and appealing. Finally, 'the moral of the stories' are seeds for introspection and reflection, that may shape how we understand our role in society as a whole. At the end of the day though, it is storytellers who will lead this journey and meeting them is the first step to gauge how the theory of storytelling unfolds in the practice.</p>
<p align="justify">In the next section, we will meet some of the actors utilizing this method in different fields - and there are plenty of storytellers out there, gifted in skill and
practice conveying an array of messages to an equally diverse public- but before moving on I will close with an excerpt from Lisa Disch’s essay that brings all these points together:</p>
<blockquote>
<h3 align="center">“[Storytelling] is more adequate than arguments to depict ambiguities of a multidimensional social reality” <br /></h3>
</blockquote>
<p><br />In other words, it is a practice that strips narratives from all ornaments, displaying the complexities of humanity in its most intuitive and experiential form.</p>
<h2 align="JUSTIFY"><strong>(Story)Tellers</strong></h2>
<h3 align="right"><em>Great storytellers: creators who devote their resources in controlling</em></h3>
<h3 align="right"><em> this medium to convey their messages effectively”</em></h3>
<p align="right">Understanding Comics<br />Scott McCloud (1993)</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Sartaj.jpg/image_preview" style="float: right;" title="Sartaj" height="185" width="255" alt="Sartaj" class="image-inline image-inline" /></p>
<p align="justify">Our first storyteller is Sartaj Anand; an India-based entrepreneur, founder of the innovation and strategy consulting firm: EgoMonk and active member of TED, Ashoka, Sandbox, Kairos Society and the Pearson Foundation networks (More about his work in his <a href="http://www.plussocialgood.org/Profile/19625">Social Good profile</a>). His self-described “unreasonable dream” is to impact one billion people with his work and create “life-changing experiences”. He strives to do this by a) leveraging the relationship between people and technology and b) through his recently launched non-profit Billion Strong. Also, as opposed to other change-makers we’ve interviewed in the project, he comes from an engineering and business background; bringing a for-profit perspective into our melange of multi-stakeholder approaches to change.</p>
<p align="justify">The following interview touches on digital storytelling as one of the ways Anand is using to leverage technology. His vision highlights how you cannot disconnect people from the processes you are utilizing to impact their lives. Incorporating a more humane focus in the way we use technology, and in how we construct stories, is according to his experience, the best way to have practices resonate to and be appropriate for the public.</p>
<p align="right" class="discreet">Sartaj Anand,</p>
<p align="right" class="discreet">Founder of EgoMonk and Billion Strong<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="left" class="callout"><strong>Tell us about your background and the intersections of your work with technology.</strong></p>
<p align="justify">I started with an engineering background and my thesis was on language processing; figuring out how people talk and how that needs construction data. Fundamentally at some point, I figured out that technology is not the problem, people are; so that’s how I moved into my current focus in business: which is innovation strategic consulting. I frequently rely on technology to enable or actualize change but I don’t necessarily create it. The challenge is how we leverage the technology we have [...] and that’s where I can add the most value.</p>
<p align="left" class="callout"><strong>How do you leverage technology in the context of making change then?</strong></p>
<p align="justify">I leverage technology in terms of using it but focusing on the ‘people’ side of it”: the relationship between people and technology. That’s the main intersection point. [...] This is what I mean when I talk about technology, innovation, social structures and change.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/26146622" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" align="middle" height="356" width="427"> </iframe></p>
<div align="center"> <strong> <a title="Ideas for Change" href="https://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand/ideas-for-change" target="_blank">Ideas for Change</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand" target="_blank">Sartaj Anand<br /></a></strong>
<div align="left"> </div>
</div>
<p align="justify">Economically, business models have to replicate and service society. If businesses serve their people, they capture maximum value and gain efficiency over ten, twenty years (and this is appealing to all the capitalists in industrial businesses). However, towards the course of these years a lot of things can change and you progressively become more and more outdated. When you have this premonition, that's the point when you need to step in and cannibalize your own business model.</p>
<p>
For example, for seven years, music labels sold cds only. Then Apple came in with iPods and digital music downloads. After milking this for 10 years, what it should have done is fortify it and start streaming music to capture maximum value, like Spotify did. [...] This is a model EgoMonk works with and we try to communicate these things to our clients. They have the power to execute it, but they have to internally feel confident with all their stakeholders, whether it is for-profits with their board; or non-profits with donors and program partners. This is a choice we need to commit to. A lot of the problem in the change process (technology enabled or otherwise) is trust building. At the end of the day you are working with people, and this is a challenge.</p>
<p class="callout"><strong>In order to build this trust you must be aiming for a deeper and personal communication with your clients. How are you including this in your business model?</strong></p>
<p align="justify">We focus a lot on communication and that’s something we rely on increasingly; and I found it has to have a Why-What-How model -borrowing from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Tw0PGcyN0">Simon Sinek's gold circles</a>. In that order.</p>
<div align="center"><iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/20996308" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" height="356" width="427"> </iframe></div>
<div align="center"> <strong> <a title="Storytelling 101" href="https://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand/storytelling-101-20996308" target="_blank">Storytelling 101</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/sartajanand" target="_blank">Sartaj Anand</a></strong></div>
<p> </p>
<p>People don’t buy the 'what' of it, without the 'why' you do it. For example, Apple is great because it works to improve your life, to inspire you, amuse you: make your life better. What they do comes second: Apple is an electronics company, an application company. Last is the how: It makes the iPhone. We apply a similar model and this is something I apply in my storytelling also. I’m a believer that every story has to have an end or a moral: something that is more hopeful and optimistic. Rely on that but decide that also, I’m not the only one around: stories are increasingly personal and local.</p>
<p class="callout">
<strong>Given the personal and experiential nature of storytelling, I assume it is a challenge to mainstream it in your services. Tell us more about the practices you are using to implement it and how they break from more traditional communication practices in the past.</strong></p>
<h3>EgoMonk<br /></h3>
<p>EgoMonk is an Innovation and Strategic Management Consultancy (More about EgoMonk <a href="http://egomonk.com/">here</a>). Particularly this means that:</p>
<p align="justify">a) We start with the hypothesis that<strong> we don't know everything</strong>. With that in mind, we borrow amazing frameworks from amazing institutions. For example, <a href="http://holacracy.org/how-it-works">Holacracy</a>;
(a “purposeful organization” technology that changes how the
organization is structured, how decisions are made and how power is
distributed); '<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2013/02/04/playing-to-win-how-strategy-really-works/">How will you win</a>'
philosophy from traditional large companies,, where they equate every
decision to a couple of questions like what's your winning aspiration?,
where will you plan?, how will you win?, what capability
systems/processes need to exist to make this a sustainable practice that
outlives you? This approach gets us halfway there, [especially] working
with people who haven't had access to this before.</p>
<div align="center">
<div align="center"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/EGomonk3.jpg/image_preview" title="egomonk 3" height="246" width="419" alt="egomonk 3" class="image-inline image-inline" /></div>
</div>
<p align="center" class="discreet"> <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/egomonk.com">EgoMonk</a>'s services</p>
<p align="justify">b) <strong>We localize it.</strong> We work with high impact entrepreneurs and turn their life goals into a four week plan. We frame it: What happens if after four weeks, you die. If these are four weeks you have to live: what really matters to you? What do you want to accomplish professionally and personally? Once you go through that exercise we say: What can continue sustainable during your life? What can you take away? We focus on timing and what you have to do. Once you put that concept of mortality into every day's existence, you start behaving differently.</p>
<p align="justify">c) We work with <strong>gamification</strong>. For example, we worked in a factory and completely changed the incentivization for their workers into something that is more fun. The challenge was: how do you improve the process of well-being in an industrial environment. How do we make working enjoyable for them? This model consists of short-term rewards: if you work really hard over this much time, you get 10 points and this gets you a (reward) with your family. This has never happened before.</p>
<h3><strong>Billion Strong</strong></h3>
<p>
Billion Strong is a platform. We want to impact a billion people and mobilize a billion dollars every year. The concept behind it is that the future is completely decoupled from our reality. It is highly utopian and right now we are not there and my hypothesis is that we'll never get there because our perspectives and assumptions keep evolving. This non-profit aims to accelerate the future in our lifetime so we can at least enjoy some of its benefits. It focuses on six things: culture, mobility, technology, art, nutrition and divinity. Each of these will be used as levers to impact a billion people.
In the case of Billion Strong, user adoption is the most frequent challenge you face in the non-profit space. I will explain this using our first two projects:</p>
<p align="justify"><strong>a) Project 1 - Divinity:</strong><br />We want to take religion, God and spirituality as a lever to impact people. A manifestation of this is the release of an open source tool kit to convert religious institutions into co-working spaces.</p>
<blockquote style="float: left;">
<p align="center"><strong>Centers of religion are:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Everywhere and permanent</li>
<li>Well known by the community</li>
<li>Community centers</li>
<li>Safe</li>
<li>Non-profit and non-taxable</li>
<li>Underutilized 99% of the time</li>
<li>Disconnected from youth</li></ul>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify"> Centers of religion have always been centers of education and community oriented, but within the last generation they've become prayer halls, and I think this is the wrong way of using this infrastructure. There are a couple of narratives being negotiated here (See box to the left).</p>
<p align="justify">In this case [the open source tool-kit] has a framework, and it is dynamic to the point where your choices in real time will influence the policies of this place and their physical manifestation. So you ask questions in a flow chart: Do you want men and women to work together or not?; Do you have the ability to buy new furniture or you want to use the existing furniture?; when you ask these questions you navigate a flow chart, depending on your choices. They will lead to a different output and when they see that, it is immediately empowering. This is storytelling, and this what will help us navigate the adoption issues. It's essentially us saying you own it; you know exactly what is good for your own community. In terms of the narrative, each copy will be different and adapted to its language. It has to be made for this community and everything has to be localized for that story you are telling. The religious and cultural narrative needs to be blended into it.</p>
<p align="justify"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>b) Project 2 - Nutrition:<br /></strong>Meat consumption is a huge challenge and highly unsustainable. We will use kick-start mechanics in a mobile app to trigger and enable change in food habits. We are obviously very digitally inclined right now. It's easy to capitalize on that, but instead of giving them money, we will ask them to skip a meal, go vegetarian for today or for the week and we are going to support that.</p>
<p align="justify">Adoption is a huge challenge, so we'll ask them: Where do you stay? They'll say: Amsterdam [for example], and it will provide them with a template. If you are vegetarian for today, for the week, or the month, this is your meal plan and all you need. Users will find meals close to them and won't have to worry about it anymore. And we will map their impact in real time through info-graphics and data visualization. They will be constructing and visualizing their own story in real time and we’ll present it through different narratives.</p>
<p align="justify" class="callout">
<strong>We are also looking at multi-stakeholderism in this project. Both EgoMonk and Billion Strong seem to be a combination of business, technology and communication strategies. Why multi-stakeholderism? </strong></p>
<p align="justify">Three reasons:</p>
<p align="justify">a) The future is<strong> multi-domain. </strong>You will never understand the whole picture if you say: I’m only going to solve water, but what about the pipes, the roads, the environment, infrastructure, cultural issue. One domain is no longer good enough. You will never be a complete expert of the complete ecosystem.</p>
<p align="justify">b) <strong>Adoption models</strong> will always be a challenge and right now it’s a compromised formula. Now it's a zero-sum game. We literally need to escape that and make it future-oriented; make it 1+1 through partnerships.</p>
<p align="justify">c)<strong> Storytelling </strong>is also getting more mainstreamed into change management and multi-stakeholderism. At the end of it, if you tell a good enough story, you can sell and get people to believe in your projects. This inherently builds partnership models. There is something that is permission marketing: all sales in the future are relationship based and indirect sales.(E.g. Red Bull is all about the experience) That’s how we have to be when we talk about multi-stakeholderism. Everything needs to be built in.</p>
<p align="justify">_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p>
<p align="justify"><em>** Next installment will look at how storytelling enhances visibility and accessibility, and how it is being used by Urban Governance groups in Bangalore.**</em></p>
<h3><strong>Sources:</strong></h3>
<ul><li>Arendt, Hannah (1994) Essays in Understanding Edited with an
Introduction by Jerome Kohn. The literary Trust of Hannah Arendt
Bluecher.p.308
</li><li>
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Benjamin, Walter. (1977): "The storyteller."89.</div>
</li><li>Disch,Lisa Jane (1994) Hannah Arendt and the limits of Philosophy. Cornell University Press. p.172-173
</li><li>
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Kieslich, Ingo. (2013) "Walter
Benjamin, Hannah Arendt: Storytelling in and as theoretical writing."
PhD diss., Vanderbilt University,</div>
</li><li>McCloud, Scott. (1994)."Understanding comics: The invisible art." <em>Northampton, Mass</em> <br /></li><li>
<div id="gs_cit2" class="gs_citr">Oni, Peter (2012). "The Cognitive Power of Storytelling: Re-reading Hannah Arendt in a Postmodernist/Africanist Context."</div>
</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-sartaj-anand'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-sartaj-anand</a>
</p>
No publisherdenisseMaking ChangeDigital Natives2014-03-12T11:43:19ZBlog EntrySeptember 2012 Bulletin
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2012-bulletin
<b>Welcome to the newsletter of September 2012 from the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS). The present issue features a second analysis by Snehashish Ghosh on the latest list of sites blocked by the Indian government from August 18, 2012 to August 21, 2012, a research on the issues of internet governance by Smarika Kumar, publication of a report on Accessibility of Government websites in India by Nirmita Narasimhan, Mukesh Sharma and Dinesh Kaushal, the Access to Knowledge programme plan and updates from the Wikipedia community in India on Indic languages, updates from the Habits of Living workshop organised in Bengaluru, the events connected to the visits of international DNA experts, Helen Wallace and Jeremy Gruber in India, and introduce you to our Access to Knowledge team members. </b>
<hr />
<h3>Announcements</h3>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span class="visualHighlight"><b>Office in Delhi</b></span><br />CIS now has an office with a five-member team for the Access to Knowledge programme in Delhi at G 15, top floor, behind Hauz Khas G Block Market, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, Ph: + 91 11 26536425.</p>
<hr />
<p><span class="visualHighlight"><b>New Team Members</b></span></p>
<hr />
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/about/people/staff/cis-staff">Nitika Tandon</a>: Nitika Tandon is a Program Officer with CIS. She has an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands and is a recipient of Dean's Fund Scholarship Program, Erasmus University.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/about/people/staff/cis-staff">Shiju Alex</a>: Shiju Alex is a Consultant. His background is technical writing and he is interested in Indic language computing and community building for Indic language Wiki projects. Presently he works out of CIS office in Bengaluru.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/about/people/staff/cis-staff">Subhashish Panigrahi</a>: Subhashish Panigrahi is a Programme Officer to CIS's Access to Knowledge programme and works out of CIS's Delhi office. His background is Business Development in Corporate Communications. He works on designing and implementing programs to provide on-wiki and off-wiki support for new editors.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/about/people/staff/cis-staff">Noopur Raval</a>: Noopur Raval is working as Consultant - Communications for the Access to Knowledge team at CIS. Having previously worked in the media, she is currently pursuing her M.Phil in Cinema Studies from JNU, New Delhi.</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Jobs</b><br />CIS is seeking applications from interested candidates for the posts of <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/jobs/research-manager">Research Manager</a>, <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/jobs/vacancy-for-researcher-accessibility">Researcher/Editor</a>, and <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/jobs/programme-officer-internet-governance">Programme Officer – Internet Governance</a>. To apply for these posts send your resume to Sunil Abraham (<a href="mailto:sunil@cis-india.org">sunil@cis-india.org</a>) with three references. Archives of our bulletins can be <a href="http://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/">found here</a>. Click to read the newsletter on our website.</p>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility">Accessibility</a></h2>
<hr />
<p>India has an estimated 70 million disabled persons who are unable to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. The disabled need accessible content, devices and interfaces facilitated via copyright law and electronic accessibility policies:<br /><b>Featured Research</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/accessibility-of-government-websites-in-india">Accessibility of Government Websites in India: A Report</a> (by Nirmita Narasimhan, Mukesh Sharma and Dinesh Kaushal, September 26, 2012): This is a report on the accessibility of government websites in India. It was published in cooperation with the Hans Foundation. The report consists of an executive summary, introduction, methodology, findings and recommendations and interpretation and recommendations. Examples of errors are given as appendices. </li>
</ul>
<p><b>Project</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/creating-a-national-resource-kit-for-persons-with-disabilities">Creating a National Resource Kit for Persons with Disabilities: An Introduction</a> (by Anandhi Viswanathan, September 28, 2012): CIS is engaged in a two-and-a-half year project starting from August 2012 to create a national resource kit of state-wise laws, policies and programmes on issues relating to persons with disabilities in India. This project is supported by the Hans Foundation. The Resource Kit will be brought out in both English and Hindi and disseminated to policy makers from panchayat to ministry levels throughout India. Anandhi gives an introduction to the project in this blog entry.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/wipo-treaty-for-the-visually-impaired">WIPO Treaty for the Visually Impaired — Moving from a Treaty on Paper to a Treaty that is Workable on the Ground</a> (by Rahul Cherian, September 28, 2012): After many years of hard lobbying by the World Blind Union, it appears that the WIPO Treaty on limitations and exceptions for visually impaired persons/persons with print disabilities (TVI) could become a reality next year. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/breaking-news-on-electronic-accessibility">Breaking News on Electronic Accessibility</a> (by Rahul Cherian, September 28, 2012): The Parliamentary Standing Committee constituted to study the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill has in its report explicitly recognized the concept of electronic accessibility and reasonable accommodation. This is the first time in the country that these two concepts have been reflected at the level of a Parliamentary Standing Committee in relation to a non-disability specific law.</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k">Access to Knowledge</a></h2>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Access to Knowledge programme addresses the harms caused to consumers, developing countries, human rights, and creativity/innovation from excessive regimes of copyright, patents, and other such monopolistic rights over knowledge:</p>
<p><b>Submission</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/feedback-to-draft-copyright-rules-2012">Feedback to Draft Copyright Rules, 2012</a> (by Pranesh Prakash, September 29, 2012): submitted its written comments on the Draft Copyright Rules, 2012 to Mr. G.R. Raghavender, Registrar of Copyrights & Director (BP&CR), Ministry of Human Resource Development. Pranesh does a detailed analysis and provides recommendations on Rules 8,9,10, 29(6), 34(2), 37, 71(3), 72, 74(1), 74(6), 75, and 79 (3) and (4).</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Projects</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/access-to-knowledge-program-plan">Access To Knowledge/Programme Plan</a>: Pursuant to the announcement made on July 30, 2012 of a 22 months ‘grant’ (beginning from September 1, 2012 to July 31, 2014) of upto INR 26,000,000 and as reflected in the FAQ accompanying the announcement, the Wikimedia Foundation’s India Program will become a project of the Access to Knowledge (A2K) program of CIS. The prime objective is to support 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 and supporting India-focused efforts to improve the quality of India-relevant content on Indic languages and English Wikimedia projects.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/pervasive-technologies-access-to-knowledge-in-the-market-place">Pervasive Technologies: Access to Knowledge in the Marketplace</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 25, 2012): Jadine Lannon gives an introduction to the new A2K research initiative. Pervasive technologies have flooded the Indian market and are changing the ways in which the average Indian accesses knowledge but very little is understood about these technologies, particularly when it comes to their legality. CIS hopes to do a research that aims to understand how pervasive technologies interact with Intellectual Property laws and what can be done to protect these technologies from being labelled “illegal” and eradicated from the Asian market.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Event Participated</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/info-justice-public-events-flexibility-network">Meeting of the Global Network on Flexible Limitations and Exceptions</a> (organised by American University Washington College of Law, Washington D.C., September 12 to 15, 2012).</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance">Internet Governance</a></h2>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Internet Governance programme conducts research around the various social, technical, and political underpinnings of global and national Internet governance, and includes online privacy, freedom of speech, and Internet governance mechanisms and processes:</p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b>Featured Research</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/issues-in-internet-governance">An Introduction to the Issues in Internet Governance</a> (by Smarika Kumar, September 23, 2012): Smarika provides a detailed analysis to the issues that we face in Internet Governance today. She tries to canvass the controversies in the areas of internet governance that broadly focus around the institutional structures to govern the internet, discusses the evolution of these models against the historical background of internet governance and then proceeds to present the criticisms of each of these models with an emphasis on the interests of the regular internet user.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/analyzing-the-latest-list-of-blocked-sites-communalism-and-rioting-edition-part-ii">Analyzing the Latest List of Blocked Sites (Communalism and Rioting Edition) Part II</a> (by Snehashish Ghosh, September 25, 2012): Snehashish Ghosh does a further analysis of the leaked list of the websites blocked by the Indian Government from August 18, 2012 till August 21, 2012 (“leaked list”). This analysis was <a href="http://www.medianama.com/2012/09/223-analyzing-the-latest-list-of-blocked-sites-communalism-rioting-edition-part-ii/">re-posted</a> by Medianama on September 26, 2012.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Columns</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/www-deccan-chronicle-sep-16-2012-sunil-abraham-the-five-monkeys-and-ice-cold-water">The Five Monkeys & Ice-cold Water</a> (by Sunil Abraham, Deccan Chronicle, September 16, 2012): “The Indian government provides leadership, both domestically and internationally, when it comes to access to knowledge.”</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/www-the-hindubusinessline-op-ed-sep-1-2012-chinmayi-arun-sms-block-as-threat-to-free-speech">SMS Block as Threat to Free Speech</a> (by Chinmayi Arun, Hindu Business Line, September 1, 2012): If you could text just one or two people in a day, who would you choose? Many of us have had to make this choice thanks to the order limiting us to five texts a day. Short Message Service (SMS) is not used primarily to send staccato messages like the telegraph was.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Media Coverage</b></p>
<ul>
<p class="callout"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/dna-india-sep-27-2012-dilnaz-boga-censorship-makes-india-fall-two-places-on-global-internet-freedom-chart">Censorship makes India fall two places on global internet freedom chart</a> (by Dilnaz Boga, Daily News & Analysis, September 27, 2012). Pranesh Prakash’s analysis on blocked websites is quoted.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-livemint-september-25-2012-surabhi-agarwal-pitroda-seeks-to-put-govt-information-in-public-domain">Pitroda seeks to put govt information in public domain</a> (by Surabhi Agarwal, LiveMint, September 25, 2012): “One government bureaucrat available on Twitter for a fixed period doesn’t make up for the non-existence of the government on social media…they (government) should be available all the time.” — Sunil Abraham.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-livemint-com-sep-19-2012-surabhi-agarwal-govt-plans-inter-ministerial-panel-on-internet-policy">Govt plans inter-ministerial panel on Internet policy</a> (by Surabhi Agarwal, LiveMint, September 19, 2012): ““The thumb rule with governance, be it international or national, is that coordination policy formulation bodies is a good idea, but we can’t damn or praise them over the process...We have to see what coordination results out of the body.” — Sunil Abraham.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-times-of-india-sept-16-2012-atul-sethi-mind-of-the-millennium-teen">Mind of the millennium teen</a> (by Atul Sethi, The Times of India, September 16, 2012): “We live in accelerated times...The breathlessness of our times is evident in everything — from the kind of movies we make to the ways in which our news and information travel. At the end of the day, our younger generations are also products of our times.”— Nishant Shah.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-firstpost-com-sep-6-2012-china-outranks-india-in-worlds-first-ever-web-index">China outranks India in world’s first ever web index</a> (First Post, September 6, 2012): ““The Internet today doesn’t work according to the idealistic principles of openness, and democracy of information that Berners-Lee envisioned for it, and in India in particular, although the Internet has helped us rethink what the government can do, the attitude is that that Internet can only be used in ways that the government sees fit.” — Nishant Shah.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-livemint-com-surabhi-agarwal-sep-4-2012-need-a-strategy-to-deal-with-web-issues">Need a standard strategy to deal with Web issues: Chandrasekhar</a> (by Surabhi Agarwal, LiveMint, September 4, 2012). Pranesh Prakash’s analysis on blocked websites is quoted.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/cis-india.org/news/www-tehelka-com-kunal-majumder-tehelka-magazine-vol-9-issue-36-sep-8-2012-political-war-on-the-web">Political war on the web</a> (by Kunal Majumder, Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 36, September 8, 2012): “The fact remains none of the blockings were politically motivated.” — Pranesh Prakash.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-the-hindu-com-shalini-singh-sep-4-2012-govt-to-hold-talks-with-stakeholders-on-internet-censorship">Government to hold talks with stakeholders on Internet censorship</a> (by Shalini Singh, The Hindu, September 4, 2012). Pranesh Prakash’s analysis on blocked websites is quoted.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-tehelka-com-vol-9-issue-36-sep-8-2012-shougat-dasgupta-the-state-and-the-rage-of-the-cyber-demon">The state. And the rage of the cyber demon</a> (by Shougat Dasgupta, Tehelka, Vol 9, Issue 36, September 8, 2012): “While some people may see Twitter as akin to friends talking in the pub, others use the service as a bulletin board.” — Pranesh Prakash.</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/www-business-standard-rohit-pradhan-sep-1-2012-watch-out-for-fettered-speech">Watch out for fettered speech</a> (by Rohit Pradhan, Business Standard, September 1, 2012). Pranesh Prakash is quoted.</p>
</ul>
<p><b>Events Organised</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span class="visualHighlight">DNA Profiling Bill</span><br />International DNA experts Helen Wallace from GeneWatch UK, and Jeremy Gruber from the Council for Responsible Genetics from the United States visited Bengaluru and Delhi and shared their experience in DNA sampling and gave feedback to the DNA Profiling Bill. Meetings were conducted with lawyers and the plaintiff in the Pascal Mazurier's rape case and with VR Sudarshan and Hormis Tharakan. There was a coverage of the event in <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cadcbecb0ca4caf-ca1cbfc8eca8ccdc8e-caaccdcb0cabcb2cbfc82c97ccd-caecb8cc2ca6cc6caf-cb8cb3cc1ca8c9f">Kannada media</a>. Public lectures were organised in Bengaluru and Delhi:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/uk-dna-database-and-european-court-of-human-rights-lessons-that-india-can-learn-from-mistakes">UK DNA Database and the European Court of Human Rights: Lessons that India can Learn from Its Mistakes</a> (organised by CIS and Alternative Law Forum, September 24, 2012): Helen Wallace from GeneWatch, UK and Jeremy Gruber from the Council for Responsible Genetics in the United States gave a public lecture.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/the-dna-profiling-bill-developing-best-practices">The DNA Profiling Bill: Developing Best Practices</a> (India International Centre, New Delhi, September 27, 2012): International experts Helen Wallace from GeneWatch UK, and Jeremy Gruber from the Council for Responsible Genetics from the United States gave a public lecture. Elonnai Hickok participated in the event.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entry</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/public-meeting-on-dna-profiling-bill">A Public Meeting on DNA Profiling Bill in Delhi</a> (by Elonnai Hickok, September 29, 2012): Elonnai has blogged about the public lecture delivered by Dr. Helen Wallace, Jeremy Gruber and Dr. Anupuma Raina.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Upcoming IGF Events</b><br />At the seventh annual IGF meeting to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2012, CIS is organising one workshop:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/national-ig-mechanisms">National IG Mechanisms – Looking at Some Key Design Issues</a> (co-organising with Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, Institute for System Analysis, Russian Academy of Sciences, et.al., November 8, 2012 from 2.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.</li>
</ul>
<p>Sunil Abraham will be a panelist in the following workshop:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/new-trends-in-industry-self-governance">New Trends in Industry Self-Governance</a> (organised by Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK and Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland and Nominet, UK, November 7, 2012 from 4.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m).</li>
</ul>
<p>CIS fellow Malavika Jayaram is a panelist for these workshops:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/intgovforum-cms-w2012-proposals">Civil rights in the digital age, about the impact the Internet has on civil rights</a> (organised by ECP on behalf of the IGF-NL, November 7, 2012, 4.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/intgovforum-cms-w2012-proposals-governing-identity-on-the-internet">Governing Identity on the Internet</a> (organised by Brenden Kuerbis, Citizen Lab and Christine Runnegar, Internet Society, November 8, 2012, 11.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.).</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Events Participated</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/second-freedom-online-conference-in-nairobi">Second Freedom Online Conference</a> (organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications, Republic of Kenya in partnership with the government of Netherlands at UN complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, September 6 and 7, 2012). Pranesh Prakash was a panelist in the session on Access to Internet: Challenges and Opportunities. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/multi-stakeholder-discussion-on-indias-position-in-the-un-for-un-cirp">Multi-stakeholder Discussion on India’s Position in UN for Internet Governance UN Committee for Internet Related Policies</a> (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, September 19, 2012): Sunil Abraham was a panelist.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/seventh-meeting-of-group-of-experts-sept-18-2012-under-chairmanship-of-justice-shah">Seventh Meeting of the Group of Experts on Privacy Issues under the Chairmanship of Justice AP Shah</a> (Committee Room No. 228, Yojana Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi): Sunil Abraham participated in this meeting. This was the final meeting of the series.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Talk</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Talk at Yale University (New Haven, September 19, 2012): Pranesh Prakash gave a talk on censorship, intermediary liability, and the way forward. </li>
</ul>
<p><b>Video</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/conference-apnic-net-aug-28-2012-internet-governance-plenary">Internet Governance Plenary</a> (August 28, Tokyo, Japan): Sunil Abraham was a panelist along with Ang Peng Hwa, Paul Wilson, Duangthip Chomprang and Raul Echeberria at this event organised by APNIC on August 28, 2012. Kuo Wei Wu, CEO, National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association (NIIEPA) was the moderator. </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/about/openness">Openness</a></h2>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 'Openness' programme critically examines alternatives to existing regimes of intellectual property rights, and transparency and accountability. Under this programme, we study Open Government Data, Open Access to Scholarly Literature, Open Access to Law, Open Content, Open Standards, and Free/Libre/Open Source Software:<b><br />Featured Research</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/indic-language-wikipedias-statistical-report-jan-june-2012">Indic Language Wikipedias – Statistical Report</a> (January – June 2012) (by Shiju Alex, September 25, 2012): Shiju Alex provides a compilation of the statistical update of the Indic language Wikipedias from January to June 2012. He provides perspectives on the health of various Indic language communities as well as the state of various Indic language Wikipedias during the period.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Workshop Reports</b><br />Although most of the following workshops were conducted prior to the grant period, the report for all of these was written in the month of September, and hence, we are featuring these.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/first-punjabi-wikipedia-workshop">The First Punjabi Wikipedia Workshop</a> (by Shiju Alex and Subhashish Panigrahi, September 27, 2012): This post is about the first Punjabi Wikipedia workshop held in Ludhiana, Punjab on July 28, 2012. Surinder Wadhawan, a Mumbai based Wikipedian played an important role in designing this workshop and introducing Punjabi Wikipedia to the Punjabi speakers. Long-term Punjabi wikipedian G.S.Guglani also joined this workshop. The event was covered in the <a href="http://bit.ly/UMrDvs">Tribune</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/UMrNTn">Hindustan Times</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/UZhoT8">Punjab Infoline</a>, and <a href="http://bit.ly/OcMANc">YesPunjab.com</a>. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog/punjabi-wikipedia-workshop-at-punjabi-university-patiala">Punjabi Wikipedia Workshop at Punjabi University, Patiala</a> (by Shiju Alex and Subhashish Panigrahi, September 28, 2012): A Wikipedia workshop was organized at the Punjabi University's Punjabi Department on August 16, 2012. Veteran Punjabi wikipedian G.S. Guglani came forward to spread the message of Punjabi Wikipedia among Punjabi speakers.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog/punjabi-wikipedia-workshop-at-amritsar">Punjabi Wikipedia Workshop at Amritsar</a> (by Shiju Alex and Subhashish Panigrahi, September 30, 2012): The workshop was held at the Spring Dale Senior School, Amritsar on August 17, 2012. Nearly 50 participants including students and teachers from eight different schools apart from the students and teachers of Spring Dale School attended the workshop. One of the active and long-time Punjabi Wikipedian Guglani Gurdip Singh led the workshop with the active support from Shiju and Subhasish.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/report-of-the-wikipedia-workshop-in-british-library">Wikipedia Workshop in British Library, Chandigarh</a> (by Subhashish Panigrahi, September 27, 2012): A Wikipedia workshop was organized in Chandigarh by the British Library over two days on August 24 and 25, 2012. Bipin Kumar, Head of British Library and Christina, Deputy Manager had pivotal roles in designing this workshop with support from Piyush, a wikipedian. The session on Day 1 was conducted by Subhashish Panigrahi and the session on Day 2 was conducted by Subhashish and Piyush.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/kannada-wiki-workshop-tumkur-university">Kannada Wiki Workshop at Tumkur University</a> (Tumkur, Karnataka, September 15, 2012): This was the first Kannada Wikipedia workshop at Tumkur. Prof. Ashwin Kumar from the Department of English, Tumkur University and Kannada wikipedians, Om Shiva Prakash, Hareesh, Tejus and Pavithra played vital roles in organising this workshop. Shiju Alex participated in this workshop. About 30 participants including students and teachers participated in this workshop.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Blog Entries</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/editor-growth-and-contribution-on-telegu-wikipedia">Editor Growth & Contribution Program on Telugu Wikipedia</a> (by Nitika Tandon, September 29, 2012): Nitika Tandon tells us about the Editor Growth & Contribution Program on Telegu Wikipedia, how it will run, its necessity and the future steps.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog/wikipedia-hyderabad-report">Wikipedia comes to Hyderabad!</a> (by Noopur Raval, September 30, 2012): A series of Wikipedia meetings were organized in Hyderabad on September 29 and 30, 2012. These workshops were a part of the larger effort to help Wikipedia contributors in the same city to meet each other and strengthen the local community. There was coverage about this event in the <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/drumming-session/article3943855.ece">Hindu</a> on September 28, 2012.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Event Organised</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/thinking-with-data">Thinking with Data@CIS</a> (CIS, Bengaluru, September 16 – 18, 2012): The course offered at the National Institute of Advanced Studies was screened in CIS office.</li>
</ul>
<table class="vertical listing">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>HasGeek</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">HasGeek creates discussion spaces for geeks and has organised conferences like the <a href="http://fifthelephant.in/2012/">Fifth Elephant</a>, <a href="http://droidcon.in/2011">Droidcon India 2011</a>, <a href="http://androidcamp.hasgeek.com/">Android Camp</a>, etc. HasGeek is supported by CIS and works out from CIS office in Bengaluru. The following event was organised by HasGeek in the month of September:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/cartonama-conference">Cartonama Conference</a> (TERI Complex, Bengaluru, September 22, 2012). The event was organised by HasGeek with support from CIS.</li>
</ul>
</th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives">Digital Natives</a></h2>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? examines the changing landscape of social change and political participation in light of the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who critically engage with discourse on youth, technology and social change, and look at alternative practices and ideas in the Global South:</p>
<p><b>Newspaper Column</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/www-indianexpress-com-one-zero">One. Zero.</a> (Nishant Shah, Indian Express, September 16, 2012): “The digital world is the world of twos. All our complex interactions, emotional negotiations, business transactions, social communication and political subscriptions online can be reduced to a string of 1s and 0s, as machines create the networks for the human beings to speak.”</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h3><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/pathways">Pathways to Higher Education</a></h3>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Pathways Project to Higher Education is a collaboration between the Higher Education Innovation and Research Applications at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society and CIS. The project is supported by the Ford Foundation and works with disadvantaged students in nine undergraduate colleges in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, to explore relationships between Technologies, Higher Education and the new forms of social justice in India. Training workshops were organised in the month of September at Xaviers in Mumbai on September 6, 2012 and in Newman College, Thodupuzha from September 17 to 20, 2012. Each workshop had 25-30 undergraduate students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. They were trained to use digital technologies in order to think through problems of social justice.</p>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw">Researchers at Work</a></h2>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">From 2012 to 2015, the RAW series will build research clusters in the field of Digital Humanities. The Habits of Living: Global Networks, Local Affects is a global collaborative project to renew the conceptual power of networks. It concentrates on changing the habits of living. The Department of Modern Culture and Media at Brown University is an important locus.</p>
<p>CIS organised the Habits of Living Workshop in Bangalore from September 26 to 29, 2012. Jadine Lannon and Alok Vaid-Menon live blogged about the event:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-live-blog-introduction" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 1 Live Blog: Introduction</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 26, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-1-pecha-kucha" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 1 Live Blog: PechaKucha</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 27, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-globalising-lady-gaga" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 1 Live Blog: Globalising Lady GaGa</a> (by Alok Vaid-Menon, September 27, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-water-in-india" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 2 Live Blog: Deepak Menon on Water in India</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 27, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-2-technology-and-feminism" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 2 Live Blog: On Technology and Affective Indian Feminism(s)</a> (by Alok Vaid-Menon, September 27, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-radhika-gajjala-lectures-on-e-philanthropy" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 2 Live Blog: Radhika Gajjala Lectures on e-Philanthropy</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 27, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/habits-of-living-thinkathon-day-3-live-blog-joshua-neeves-on-media-archipelagos">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 3 Live Blog: Joshua Neves on Media Archipelagos</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 26, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-4-finding-and-funding-the-masses" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 4 Live Blog: Finding and Funding the Masses</a> (by Alok Vaid-Menon, September 26, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-3-exhibition-space" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 3 Live Blog: Akansha Rastogi's Performance on Exhibition Space</a> <br />(by Jadine Lannon, September 30, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-4-wendy-chun-on-friends" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 4 Live Blog: Wendy Chun on Friends</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 30, 2012).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/digital-humanities/blogs/habits-of-living/habits-of-living-day-4-amateur-photography" class="external-link">Habits of Living Thinkathon - Day 4 Live Blog: Namita Malhotra on Amateur Pornography</a> (by Jadine Lannon, September 30, 2012).</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom">Telecom</a></h2>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While the potential for growth and returns exist for telecommunications in India, a range of issues need to be addressed. One aspect is more extensive rural coverage and the other is a countrywide access to broadband which is low. Both require effective and efficient use of networks and resources, including spectrum:</p>
<h3><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/knowledge-and-capacity-around-telecom-policy">Building Knowledge and Capacity around Telecommunication Policy in India</a></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ford Foundation has given a grant of USD 2,00,000 to CIS to build expertise in the area of telecommunications in India. The knowledge repository deals with these modules: Introduction to Telecommunications, Telecommunications Infrastructure and Technologies, Government of India Regulatory Framework for Telecom, Telecommunication and the Market, Universal Access and Accessibility, The International Telecommunications Union and other international bodies, Broadcasting, Emerging Topics and Way Forward. Dr. Surendra Pal, Satya N Gupta, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Payal Malik, Dr. Rakesh Mehrotra and Dr. Nadeem Akhtar are the expert reviewers.</p>
<p><span class="visualHighlight">The following are the new outputs:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/associations-regulating-broadcasting-in-india">Associations Regulating Broadcasting in India</a> (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, September 11, 2012): Broadcast regulation in India is currently an intricate web, with multiple agencies involved in formulating and implementing policy, drafting and enforcing legislation.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-1/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/optical-fibre">Optical Fibre</a> (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, September 11, 2012): This unit tells us what is optical fibre, the types of optical fibres, how does an optical fibre work, fibre-optic relay system, and why are optical fibres uses in telecommunication systems.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-1/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/direct-to-home">Direct to Home</a> (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, September 18, 2012): This unit tells us about Direct to home television, its history, how it works, the programming, its advantages and disadvantages are discussed in this module.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-1/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/cable-tv">Cable Television</a> (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, September 18, 2012): This unit brings you the history and evolution of cable television in India, talks about other cable based services, cable television digitization rule and the end consumer in India.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-1/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/private-fm">Private FMs</a> (Commercial, Campus and Community Radios) (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, September 24, 2012): This unit introduces us to AM and FM, tells us the role of private FMs including what is a community radio and what is a campus radio.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/types-of-radio-broadcasting-in-india">Types of Radio Broadcasting in India</a> (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, September 28, 2012): This unit tells us what is radio broadcasting, takes us through the history of radio broadcasting in India, explains what is AM and FM in the Indian context.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-1/telecom/telecom-knowledge-repository/air-and-its-operations">A History of All India Radio and Its Operations</a> (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, September 29, 2012): This module gives us a picture of the history of All India Radio and its operations. </li>
</ul>
<p><b>Newspaper Column</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/organizing-india-blogspot-in-shyam-ponappa-sep-5-2012-changing-our-game">Changing Our Game</a> (by Shyam Ponappa, Business Standard, September 5, 2012): “Adopting 'co-ordination models' like the Stag Hunt could reduce contention and improve outcomes.” This was re-posted in <a href="http://organizing-india.blogspot.in/2012/09/changing-our-game.html">Organizing India blogspot</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Event Participated</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://www.mach.com/en/News-Events/Events/Insights/Insights-India-2012">Insights India 2012</a> (organised by MACH, Bangalore, September 26 – 28, 2012): Snehashish Ghosh and Srividya Vaidyanathan participated in this event.</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/about/">About CIS</a></h2>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">CIS was registered as a society in Bangalore in 2008. As an independent, non-profit research organisation, it runs different policy research programmes such as Accessibility, Access to Knowledge, Openness, Internet Governance, and Telecom. Over the last four years our policy research programmes have resulted in outputs such as the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/advocacy/accessibility/blog/e-accessibility-handbook">e-Accessibility Policy Handbook for Persons with Disabilities</a> with ITU and G3ict, and <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/front-page/blog/dnbook">Digital Alternatives with a Cause?</a>, <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/front-page/blog/position-papers">Thinkathon Position Papers</a> and the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/front-page/blog/digital-natives-with-a-cause-a-report">Digital Natives with a Cause? Report</a> with Hivos. With the Government of India we have done policy research for Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, etc., on <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blog/cis-analysis-july2011-treaty-print-disabilities">WIPO Treaties</a>, <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blog/analysis-copyright-amendment-bill-2012">Copyright Bill</a>, <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/front-page/blog/cis-feedback-to-nia-bill">NIA Bill</a>, etc.</p>
<p>CIS is an accredited NGO at WIPO and has given policy briefs to delegations from various countries, our Programme Manager, Nirmita Narasimhan won the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-award">National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities</a> from the Government of India and also received the <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/nirmita-nivh-award">NIVH Excellence Award</a>.</p>
<hr />
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<ul>
<li>Get short, timely messages from us on Twitter</li>
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<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<hr />
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2012-bulletin'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2012-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceCISRAWOpenness2012-10-09T06:48:33ZPageSeptember 2011 Bulletin
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2011-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage that happened in the month of September 2011.</b>
<h2><b>Researchers@Work</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. CIS believes that in order to understand the contemporary concerns in the field of Internet and society, it is necessary to produce local and contextual accounts of the interaction between the Internet and socio-cultural and geo-political structures. To build original research base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organizations and individuals in order to focus on its two year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India. Five monographs were recently launched at a workshop, <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/workshop">Locating Internets: Histories of the Internet(s) in India — Research Training and Curriculum</a> held in Ahmedabad from 19 to 22 August 2011.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/rewiring-bodies">Re:Wiring Bodies</a> by Asha Achuthan</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/last-cultural-mile">The Last Cultural Mile</a> by Ashish Rajadhyaksha</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/porn-law-video-technology">Porn: Law, Video, Technology</a> by Namita A Malhotra </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/archives-and-access">Archives and Access</a> by Aparna Balachandran and Rochelle Pinto </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/histories-of-the-internet/internet-society-space">Internet, Society and Space in Indian Cities</a> by Pratyush Shankar</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>Digital Natives with a Cause?</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS, India and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.</p>
<h3>Featured Publication</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/dnbook">Digital AlterNatives with a Cause?</a> - This collaboratively produced collective, edited by Nishant Shah and Fieke Jansen, asks critical and pertinent questions about theory and practice around ‘digital revolutions’ in a post MENA (Middle East - North Africa) world. It works with multiple vocabularies and frameworks and produces dialogues and conversations between digital natives, academic and research scholars, practitioners, development agencies and corporate structures to examine the nature and practice of digital natives in emerging contexts from the Global South.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Book Review</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/digital-alternatives-book-review">Digital (Alter)Natives with a Cause? — Book Review by Maarten van den Berg</a> - The books come in a beautifully designed cassette and are accompanied by a funky yellow package in the shape of a floppy disk containing the booklet ‘D:coding Digital Natives’, a corresponding DVD, and a pack of postcards portraying the evolution of writing - in the sentence ‘I love you’, written with a goose feather in 1734, to the character set ‘i<3u’ entered on a mobile device in 2011, writes Maarten van den Berg. The review was published in "<a href="http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Articles/Digital-Alter-Natives">The Broker</a>" on 19 September 2011.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Event Organised</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/book-launch">Digital AlterNatives book launch</a> – CIS and Hivos launched this book at the Museum for Communication, Hague on 16 September 2011.</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.</p>
<h3>Event Participated</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/usof-meeting">Stakeholders Meeting of the USOF on Facilitating ICT Access to Persons with Disabilities in Rural Areas</a>, on 7 September 2011. Nirmita Narasimhan made a presentation.</li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Access to Knowledge</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Access to Knowledge is a campaign to promote the fundamental principles of justice, freedom, and economic development. It deals with issues like copyrights, patents, and trademarks, which are an important part of the digital landscape. CIS believes that access to knowledge and culture is essential, and such access promotes creativity and innovation, and helps bridge the differences between the developing and developed worlds in a positive manner. Towards this end, CIS is campaigning for an international treaty on copyright exceptions for print-challenged people, advocating against laws (such as the PUPFIP Bill) that privatize public-funded knowledge, call for the WIPO Broadcast Treaty to be restricted to broadcast, question the demonization of 'pirates', and support endeavours that explore and question the current copyright regime.</p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h3>New Blog Entries</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blog/copyright-bill-parliament">Copyright Amendment Bill in Parliament</a> by Nirmita Narasimhan, 30 August 2011.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/photocopying-the-past">Photocopying the past</a> by Sunil Abraham in the Indian Express, 2 September 2011.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/calling-out-the-bsa-on-bs">Calling Out the BSA on Its BS</a> by Pranesh Prakash, 9 September 2011.</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Internet technologies have fundamentally questioned the notion of governance, not only at the level of administration but also at the level of mechanisms of control, regulation and shaping of the individual. e-Governance initiatives, in combination with other regimes of surveillance, control and censorship, are redefining what it means to be a citizen, a subject, and an individual. We look at questions of governance — at the micro level of the individual and the private (family, relationships, community structures, etc.) as well as the level of governmentality — at the macro level of nation state, citizenship, market economies, and the public (spaces of consumption, work, leisure, political engagement, etc.) under the umbrella of digital governance.</p>
<h3>New Blog Entry</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/understanding-right-to-information">Understanding the Right to Information</a> by Elonnai Hickok, 28 September 2011.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Events Organised</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/internet-as-a-tool-for-political-change">Using the Internet as a Tool for Political Change: Lessons Learned and Way Forward</a>, IGF, Nairobi, 27 September 2011. </li>
</ul>
<h2><b>Telecom</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The growth in telecommunications in India has been impressive. While the potential for growth and returns exist, a range of issues need to be addressed for this potential to be realized. One aspect is more extensive rural coverage and the second aspect is a countrywide access to broadband which is low at about eight million subscriptions. Both require effective and efficient use of networks and resources, including spectrum. It is imperative to resolve these issues in the common interest of users and service providers.</p>
<h3>Articles by Shyam Ponappa</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shyam Ponappa is a Distinguished Fellow at CIS. He writes regularly on Telecom issues in the Business Standard and these articles are mirrored on the CIS website.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/telecom/blog/reviving-growth">Reviving Growth</a>, published in the Business Standard on 1 September 2011.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Event Organised</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/open-spectrum-for-development-in-the-context-of-the-digital-migration">Open Spectrum for Development in the Context of the Digital Migration</a>, IGF, Nairobi, 29 September 2011.</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>Miscellaneous</b></h2>
<h3>Film Screening</h3>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/events/partners-in-crime">Screening of Partners in Crime</a>, Vikalp@Smriti Nandan along with CIS screened the film and followed it with a discussion with the director of the film, Paromita Vohra, Smriti Nandan Cultural Centre, 9 September 2011.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/workshop-rsa-encryption">Prime Security: The Mathematics of RSA Encryption</a>, a one-day workshop with Rohit Gupta, a leading Mathematician.</li>
</ul>
<p><b> </b></p>
<h2><b>News & Media Coverage</b></h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/social-media-masks-forgotten-protests">India's social media "spring" masks forgotten protests</a> [Alistair Scrutton in Reuters, 25 August 2011].</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/social-media-key-to-hazare-success">Social media holds the key to Hazare's campaign success</a> [Alistair Scrutton in NEWS.scotsman.com, 26 August 2011].</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/digital-divide">Digital divide: Why Irom Sharmila can’t do an Anna</a> [FirstPost.Ideas, 25 August 2011].</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/revolutions-viral?searchterm=When+revolutions+go+viral+">When revolutions go viral</a> [Times of India (Crescent Edition), 27 August 2011].</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/ibsa-seminar">IBSA Seminar on Global Internet Governance</a>, organised by the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations, with support from the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and the Center for Technology & Society (CTS/FGV) and governmental and non- governmental actors from India, Brazil and South Africa, 1 to 2 September 2011, Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pranesh Prakash participated in this event.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/copyright-amendment-bill-in-indian-parliament">Copyrights Amendment Bill to Be Tabled in Indian Parliament – Parallel Import provisions have Been Removed</a> [Mike Palmedo in infojustice.org, 5 September 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/power-of-information">The Power of Information: New Technologies for Philanthropy and Development</a> [Indigo Trust, 15 September 2011]. Sunil Abraham participated in this event. A video of his speech is now available on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhpLkEhn9AY">YouTube</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/using-social-media-to-understand-peoples-pulse">Planning Commission, Census 2011 and India Post using social media to understand people's pulse better</a> [Vikas Kumar in the Economic Times, 20 September 2011]</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/foss-instrument-for-accessible-development">The Impact of Regulation: FOSS and Enterprise</a>, organised by FOSSFA and ICFOSS, IGF, Nairobi, 28 September 2011. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/privacy-security-access-to-rights">Privacy, Security, and Access to Rights: A Technical and Policy Analyses</a>, organised by Expression Technologies, IGF, Nairobi, 29 September 2011. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/how-can-privacy-be-protected">Putting Users First: How Can Privacy be Protected in Today’s Complex Mobile Ecosystem?</a>, organised by GSM Association, 29 September 2011.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/truman-show-in-kerala">The Truman Show, in Kerala</a> [Times of India, posted on CIS website on 23 September 2011].</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/news/making-difference-online-offline">Making a difference, online and offline</a> [LiveMint, 27 September 2011].</li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow us elsewhere</h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Get short, timely messages from us on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=456&qid=46981" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Follow CIS on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=457&qid=46981" target="_blank">identi.ca</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Join the CIS group on <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=458&qid=46981" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Visit us at <a href="http://crm.cis-india.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=459&qid=46981" target="_blank">www.cis-india.org</a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2011-bulletin'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2011-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceCISRAW2012-07-30T06:34:19ZPageSeptember 2010 Bulletin
http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2010-bulletin
<b>Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this bulletin we bring you updates of our research, news and media coverage and announcement of events organised in the month of September 2010.</b>
<h2><b>News Updates</b></h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Conference: Internet at Liberty 2010: This conference is being held in Budapest from 20 to 22 September 2010. It is co-sponsored by Google and Central European University. Sunil Abraham and Anja Kovacs are attending the conference. <a href="http://bit.ly/afo0WY" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/afo0WY</a> </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "> INDIA Fears of Privacy Loss Pursue Ambitious ID Project: Fears about loss of privacy are being voiced as India gears up to launch an ambitious scheme to biometrically identify and number each of its 1.2 billion inhabitants. <a href="http://bit.ly/dnJDRu" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/dnJDRu</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Innovate / Activate: The event will be held on 24 and 25 September 2010 at New York Law School. <a href="http://bit.ly/cbICFq" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/cbICFq</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Webinar: Closed for Business: A Global Panel Discusses International Copyright Laws and Their Impact on the Open Internet <a href="http://bit.ly/a3ZFBw" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/a3ZFBw</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The madness of software patents <br />India’s patent law excludes software per se, yet over a thousand patents have been granted, writes Lata Jishnu in an article published in Down to Earth. <a href="http://bit.ly/cpHd7R" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/cpHd7R</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Why piracy is tough to rein in <br />“Video market is being treated as a poor cousin of the film industry” <a href="http://bit.ly/aDUpiY" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/aDUpiY</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Transparency and MDGs: the Role of the Media and Technology <br />Key quotes from sixth panel <a href="http://bit.ly/b3a0YC" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/b3a0YC</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Copyright bill restricts Net access <br />Law to curb piracy may fetter creativity <a href="http://bit.ly/cFj3rD" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/cFj3rD</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">科技改變社會 數位原生代計畫 <br />The Chinese language press covered the Digital Natives workshop in Taipei. <a href="http://bit.ly/bPhEO4" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/bPhEO4</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">科技改變社會數位原生代掀波 <br />The Chinese press published an article on Digital Natives. <a href="http://bit.ly/bHaQor" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/bHaQor</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Information is Beautiful hacks in India with David Cameron <br />The Prime Minister took some of the UK's top hackers and data experts with him to India this week. David McCandless was with them. <a href="http://bit.ly/dr3AJ2" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/dr3AJ2</a> </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><b>Events</b></h2>
<ul>
<li>International Conference on Enabling Access to Education through ICT: ICT workshop in New Delhi from 27th to 29th October, 2010...Registrations open!<a href="http://bit.ly/9flyEK" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/9flyEK</a> </li>
<li>A Talk by Philipp Schmidt: Philip Schmidt of Peer 2 Peer University will be giving a lecture at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore on 6 October, 2010. <a href="http://bit.ly/aVyzMq" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/aVyzMq</a> </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><b>Research</b></h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">On Talking Back: A Report on the Taiwan Workshop: What does it mean to Talk Back? Who do we Talk Back against? Are we alone in our attempts or a part of a larger community? How do we use digital technologies to find other peers and stake-holders? What is the language and vocabulary we use to successfully articulate our problems? How do we negotiate with structures of power to fight for our rights? These were the kind of questions that the Talking Back workshop held in the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica in Taiwan from 16 to 18 August 2010 posed. <a href="http://bit.ly/daE4dM" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/daE4dM</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Binary: City and Nature: A continuation of the last post wherein I am looking at various other representation of the city in both classical and popular medium, today I am writing my views on the analysis of certain Miniature paintings. <a href="http://bit.ly/b5FP5D" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/b5FP5D</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Of the State and the Governments - The Abstract, the Concrete and the Responsive: This post examines the concepts of state and government to lay the ground for understanding responsiveness enforced through transparency discourses and the deployment of ICTs, the Internet and e-governance programmes. It also lays the context for understanding why and how ICTs. Internet and e-governance have been deployed in India for improving government-citizen interfaces, eliminating middlemen, delivering services electronically and for introducing a range of similar reforms to institute transparency and a responsive state. <a href="http://bit.ly/cNLKcY" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/cNLKcY</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Responsive State --- Introduction to the Series: This post is an introduction to a series of posts on the concept of the 'responsive state'. In this series, I try to explain the various meanings that the term responsiveness has come to acquire when it is used in relation with the discourses surrounding transparency and the deployment of ICTs and the Internet to enforce transparency and thereby create a responsive state. Understanding the notion of responsiveness requires us to revisit and analyze certain concepts and the relations that have been drawn between concepts such as state, government, politics, administration, transparency, effectiveness, government-citizen interface, ICTs and effectiveness, among others. <a href="http://bit.ly/agBOiq" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/agBOiq</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Attentional Capital in Online Gaming: The Currency of Survival <br />This blog post by Arun Menon discusses the concepts of production, labour and race in virtual worlds and their influence on the production of attention as a currency. An attempt is made to locate attentional capital, attentional repositories and attention currencies within gaming to examine 'attention currencies and its trade and transactions in virtual worlds. A minimal collection of attention currencies are placed as central and as a pre-requisite for survival in MMOs in much the same way that real currency become a necessity for survival. The approach is to locate attentional capital through different perspectives as well as examine a few concepts around virtual worlds. <a href="http://bit.ly/aaGZj8" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/aaGZj8</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">What's in a Name? Or Why Clicktivism May Not Be Ruining Left Activism in India, At Least for Now: In a recent piece in the Guardian titled “Clicktivism Is Ruining Leftist Activism”, Micah White expressed severe concern that, in drawing on tactics of advertising and marketing research, digital activism is undermining “the passionate, ideological and total critique of consumer society”. His concerns are certainly shared by some in India: White's piece has been circulating on activist email lists where people noted with concern that e-activism may be replacing “the real thing” even in this country. But is the situation in India really this dire? <a href="http://bit.ly/9a3I0G" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/9a3I0G</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Sexuality, Queerness and Internet technologies in Indian context: This blog post lays out the discursive construction of sexuality and queerness as intelligible domains in the Indian context while engaging with ideas of visibility, representation, exclusion, publicness, criminality, difference, tradition, experience, and community that have come into use with the critical responses to queer identities and practices in India. <a href="http://bit.ly/byfPye" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/byfPye</a> </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><b>Accessibility</b></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Enabling Access to Education through ICT - A Conference in Delhi: The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore in cooperation with the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT (G3ICT), a flagship advocacy organization of the UN Global Alliance on ICT and Development (UN-GAID), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), UNESCO, Digital Empowerment Foundation, Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment and the Deafway Foundation is organizing an international conference, Enabling Access to Education through ICT in New Delhi from 27 to 29 October 2010. The event is sponsored by Hans Foundation. Registration for the conference has begun. <a href="http://bit.ly/bmrkf7" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/bmrkf7</a></p>
<hr />
<h2><b>Access to Knowledge<br /></b></h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Pre-grant Opposition Filed for a Software Patent Application by Blackberry Manufacturers: A pre-grant opposition was filed against a software patent application filed in the patent office by Certicom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Research in Motion (RIM), manufacturers of Blackberry. The opposition was filed on August 31, 2010 by the Software Freedom Law Centre which has recently expanded its operations to India. This exciting development was announced by Mishi Choudhary from SFLC on the lines of the seminar on “Software Patents and the Commons” organised on 1 September 2010 in Delhi jointly by SFLC, the Centre for Internet and Society, the Society for Knowledge Commons and Red Hat. Filing more such oppositions to software patents in India was in the pipeline and this is just the beginning of a movement to take on monopolisation of knowledge and ideas through patenting software, the organisers said. <a href="http://bit.ly/9wE1Xs" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/9wE1Xs</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">First Post-Bilski Decision - Software Patent Rejected: In the first decision post-Bilski, the Board of Patents Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) rejected a software patent claimed by Hewlett-Packard. The ruling in this case has buttressed the fact that the Bilski decision furthered the cause of narrowing the patentability of software even though the Supreme Court of the United States totally avoided mentioning software patents or the applicability of the machine or transformation test for software patents in its decision. <a href="http://bit.ly/cnPw7E" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/cnPw7E</a></li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">The Bilski Case - Impact on Software Patents: The Supreme Court of the United States gave its decision in Bilski v Kappos on 28 June, 2010. In this case the petitioners’ patent application sought protection for a claimed invention that explains how commodities buyers and sellers in the energy market can protect, or hedge, against the risk of price changes. The Court in affirming the rejection by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit also held that the machine- or-transformation test is not necessarily the sole test of patentability. The Court’s ruling of abstract ideas as unpatentable and its admission that patents do not necessarily promote innovation and may sometimes limit competition and stifle innovation have provided a ray of hope. In the light of the developments, the Bilski decision as far as patentability of software is concerned may not be totally insignificant, says Krithika Dutta Narayana.<a href="http://bit.ly/bjrPGh" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/bjrPGh</a> </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><b>Openness</b></h2>
<ul>
<li> Free Access to Law—Is it here to Stay? An Environmental Scan Report: The following is a preliminary project report collaboratively collated by the researchers of the "Free Access to Law" research study. This report aims to highlight the trends, as well as the risks and opportunities, for the sustainability of Free Access to Law initiatives in each of the country examined. <a href="http://bit.ly/9VVzkk" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/9VVzkk</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Open Access to Science and Scholarship - Why and What Should We Do?: The National Institute of Advanced Studies held the eighth NIAS-DST training programme on “Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Science, Technology and Society” from 26 July to 7 August, 2010. The theme of the project was ‘Knowledge Management’. Dr. MG Narasimhan and Dr. Sharada Srinivasan were the coordinators for the event. Professor Subbiah Arunachalam made a presentation on Open Access to Science and Scholarship. <a href="http://bit.ly/ciohYy" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/ciohYy</a> </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><b>Internet Governance</b></h2>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Moldova Online: An Interview with Victor Diaconu: In this interview for Russian Cyberspace, set up with the help of Sunil Abraham (Executive Director at the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, India), computer software professional Victor Diaconu explains the nature of Internet use, state control and the development of blogging and social media platforms in Moldova. Victor works at Computaris in Chisinau. He is Moldova educated, and has travelled to several western countries (including lengthy stays to US, UK) to learn about and understand what there is to be done in Moldova. Sudha Rajagopalan interviewed Victor Diaconu. <a href="http://bit.ly/cgIvXT" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/cgIvXT</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Presentation of the UID project by Ashok Dalwai – A Report: On Tuesday, 7 September 2010, Ashok Dalwai, the Deputy Director General of the Unique Identification of India (UIDAI), gave a lecture at the Indian Institute for Science in Bangalore. Representing the UID Authority, his presentation explained the vision of the project and focused on the challenges involved in demographic and biometric identification, the technology adopted, and the enrolment process. Elonnai Hickok gives a report of his presentation in this blog post. <a href="http://bit.ly/aAy5DG" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/aAy5DG</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Beyond Access as Inclusion: On 13 September, the day before the fifth Internet Governance Forum opens, CIS is co-organised in Vilnius a meeting on Internet governance and human rights. One of the main aims of this meeting was to call attention to the crucial, yet in Internet governance often neglected, indivisibility of rights. In this blog post, Anja Kovacs uses this lens to illustrate how it can broaden as well reinvigorate our understanding of what remains one of the most pressing issues in Internet governance in developing countries to this day: that of access to the Internet. <a href="http://bit.ly/cgS9py" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/cgS9py</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Summary of UID Public Meeting, August 25 2010: A summary of the "No UID" public meeting that took place on Aug. 25th at the Constitution Club, New Dehli. <a href="http://bit.ly/9epHTz" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/9epHTz</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">No UID Campaign in New Delhi - A Report: The Unique Identification (UID) Bill is not pro-citizen. The scheme is deeply undemocratic, expensive and fraught with unforseen consequences. A public meeting on UID was held at the Constitution Club, Rafi Marg in New Delhi on 25 August, 2010. The said Bill came under scrutiny at the meeting which was organised by civil society groups from Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi campaigning under the banner of "No UID". The speakers brought to light many concerns, unanswered questions and problems of the UID scheme. <a href="http://bit.ly/97HwbS" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/97HwbS</a> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Wherever you are, whatever you do: Facebook recently launched a location-based service called Places. Privacy advocates are resenting to this new development. Sunil Abraham identifies the three prime reasons for this outcry against Facebook. The article was published in the Indian Express on 23 August, 2010. <a href="http://bit.ly/adXVjB" target="_blank"><br />http://bit.ly/adXVjB</a> </li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><b>Telecom</b></h2>
<ul>
<li>What a highway can do: Despite signs of transformational change, we need more - SOPs and quality <a href="http://bit.ly/deUbmU" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/deUbmU</a></li>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2010-bulletin'>http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/september-2010-bulletin</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccess to KnowledgeDigital NativesTelecomAccessibilityInternet GovernanceCISRAWOpenness2012-08-10T07:22:30ZPageScience, Technology and Society International Conference – Some Afterthoughts
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/science-technology-and-society-conference-in-indore-march-12-13
<b>An international conference on Science, Technology and Society was held at the Indore Christian College on March 12 and 13. It was sponsored by the Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, Bhopal and organized by the Indore Christian College. Samuel Tettner, Digital Natives Coordinator from the Centre for Internet and Society attended this conference and is sharing his experience about the workshop.</b>
<p>This past weekend I attended the “Science, Technology and Society International Conference”. The experience was one of learning, more so on the idiosyncrasies and social particularities of academic research than on the subject matters presented at the conference. </p>
<p>I arrived in Indore late on Friday night; my plan was to just check into the hotel and watch some Tom and Jerry before falling asleep. Then I met the conference organizer, the head of the Department of Sociology at the Indore Christian College, who informed me that I would be one of the key-note speakers the next day and that I had around 40 minutes of speaking time. My presentation at that time was around 20 minutes, so there was less Tom and Jerry than expected. This was the first indication of the interesting cultural experience I was about to have.</p>
<p>As I navigated the rather austere streets of Indore, I realized that this was really a modest city. Not in population of course, because Indian cities are huge compared to pretty much anywhere else in the world, but in its aspirations. I quickly noticed I was the only white person on the streets. “I made the conference international”, I thought, but I was wrong: There was one more white person, a middle aged man from Hungary named Laszlo who had come to present his research on population. And so as the first day of the conference rolled on, Laszlo and I got a taste of some bizarre reverence that continued throughout the two days. I can’t say for sure if it’s the result of some colonial baggage, the Indian tradition of treating guests like gods, may be a combination of both, the truth is that we got treated with way too much respect and an uncanny humility that was at times a bit embarrassing. Laszlo and I got to sit on the stage, next to the former Indian ambassador to Fiji, the head of the college, and other conference organizers. </p>
<p>The influence of Hinduism in more rural areas is very visible, on the stage next to the podium was a huge representation of Saraswati (goddess of wisdom) and there was a constant puja being offered to her. I thought of the academia, the temple of rationality, the house of reason, surely cannot co-exist with the world of religion. It can, if anyone in the world can make it happen, it’s the Indians. There were floral offerings, and introductions, and dedications. It seemed the organizers were very concerned with decorum and pomp and circumstance, pleasing local government officials (I recognized them because they were fat and everyone smiled at them awkwardly) and maintaining a tradition I got the feeling they didn’t understand properly. This whole exercise was ironic to me, as the building was almost in ruins, there was no proper ventilation, and the restrooms were a complete mess with no proper running water, and so on. </p>
<p>Finally I got to speak. I only got 15 minutes because one local man (maybe a friend of one of the local politicians) took his sweet time delivering his speech. This was definitely not my crowd. I was presenting a small paper I wrote called “iCare: Emergent Forms of Technology-mediated Activism” which was basically a summary of two of the findings of “Digital Natives with a Cause?”: One was a concept of activism which moves away from one time campaigns and looks at the practice of activism as an every-day activity, which can be valued without the need of an issue nor a community. The other was an observation about the language of activism and how it relates to different communities, through the use of voice, terminology, literary devices, and context. These were not the topics most attendees were familiar with, for example at the beginning of the talk I asked how many people in the audience used Facebook, and about 15 of out 150 people raised their hands. Relating to the issues of people who use technology incessantly was difficult for this crowd, who were not familiar with terms like “Slacktivism” and “Digital Native”, and who generally held the view that modern society and its overuse of technology were chipping away at traditional Hindu family values. </p>
<p>I tried my best in those 15 minutes, to illuminate some of the basic conceptual bases of the kind of work we’re doing with “Digital Natives with a Cause?”. They enjoyed the presentation, or at least I gathered that from several people who came up to me afterwards and told me so. Many people came up to me and asked me where I was from, and I started saying “USA” after a while, because “Venezuela” does exist in their mind, and “South America” just means the south of the United States.</p>
<p>I got to learn a lot about academic life in more rural traditional social spaces. I am generally completely ignorant of rural life, as I was born in the capital of Venezuela, and have in general lived in very cosmopolitan and metropolitan cities all my life. However what little slices of rural life I had encountered while backpacking through India, were concentrated in the work around the house and the fields. I was under the impression that research, that academic pursuit, and that critical thinking, were activities reserved for the urban, the middle class, the English speaking. Attending this conference opened my view a bit in this respect. People in rural areas have their own academic culture, with their own research interests, views and perspectives, and in most cases, reliable data backing them. Granted, in many cases these cultures are reflections or copies of what comes out of the cities, (and the west to a certain extend) but many times they are not, and getting to experience the complexity of it was a great experience. For example, there were many papers presented which dealt with the politics of caste, which is a concept I have barely come in contact with while being in Bangalore. A lot of people also talked about sustainable development, the impact of technology on agriculture, how new chemical fertilizers are changing the lives of farmers, and one teacher talked about the exiting potential uses for the novel technology called the podcast. </p>
<p>It was then that it dawned on me: “Science, Technology and Society” meant a completely different thing to my audience than it did to me. My presentation about how people conversing on Facebook can be viewed as activism must have seemed so alien and disconnected to them. I left the place very pensive about the whole experience. After taking pictures with some children, I went to a mall, and stood in front of a McDonalds and wondered how globalization is allowing for encounters like this one: A Venezuelan young man speaking at a local college in Indore, in the cultural and geographical centre of India. I’d like to think I was breaking barriers, participating in inter-cultural dialogue, exemplifying the exchange of intellectual and cultural capital that I hope takes places in the following years after our markets have gone global. Then again, I might not have been, I might have confirmed their perception of the well-dressed Westerner, who gracefully does them the favour of speaking at their college, and then talks in an accent about some random and obscure topic no one has any idea about. I’m still trying to decipher what happened. Eventually I went back to my hotel and experienced possibly the one and only truly cross-cultural and global thing in today’s world: Tom and Jerry.</p>
<p>See the agenda <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indorechristiancollege.com/sts/schedule.html">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/science-technology-and-society-conference-in-indore-march-12-13'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/science-technology-and-society-conference-in-indore-march-12-13</a>
</p>
No publishertettnerConferenceDigital ActivismResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-05-14T12:22:08ZBlog EntryRevisiting Techno-euphoria
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/revisiting-techno-euphoria
<b>In my last post, I talked about techno-euphoria as a condition that seems to mark much of our discourse around digital technologies and the promise of the future. The euphoria, as I had suggested, manifests itself either as a utopian view of how digital technologies are going to change the future that we inhabit, or woes of despair about how the overdetermination of the digital is killing the very fibre of our social fabric. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a class="external-link" href="http://dmlcentral.net/blog/nishant-shah/revisiting-techno-euphoria">Published</a> in DML Central on July 5, 2012</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">A way out of it, for some of us working with young people and their relationships with (as opposed to usage of) technologies, is to think of digital technologies as a paradigm through which everyday life is reconfigured, or as contexts within which we evolve new relationships of power and negotiation. Or to put it plainly, it has forced us to think of digital technologies not in terms of tools and gadgets, infrastructure and logistics (though those are also important) but as embodied experiences that reshape the very ways in which we conceptualize our everyday life.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When we talk of digital natives in India, the immediate spaces that they inhabit conjure up images of big crowded IT cities that are transforming into hubs of international outsourcing industries and IT development. We presume that digital natives would be found in the 12% of the Indian sub-continent where broadband access is available. We often narrow our focus to look at urban, middle class, affluent, English speaking, educated youth who occupy extremely privileged positions in their social, cultural and economic practice.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">However, the story* I want to share with you today comes from an unusual location in India – from the village of Banni in the desert region of Kutch, located at the North-Western borders of India and Pakistan. In this small village that is about 80 kilometers from the biggest town with amenities like hospitals and schools, almost every household has a smart phone with access to the internet. In the absence of more popular forms like radio, which are disallowed because of the proximity to the turbulent India-Pakistan borders, the Chinese-made smart phones become the de facto interface of communication and cultural production. The phones become not only the life-line in times of crises, but also everyday objects through which the villages stay connected with the world of cultural production and entertainment. The internet services on the phones allow them to access Bollywood songs and movies, images and games, popular television programming and other popular cultural products in the country. In many ways, Banni is probably more digitally connected than many parts of the larger cities in the country.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">However, the strong influence of Islam in this fairly homogenized community means differential access for the people who live in it. Women, according to the village doctrines, are not allowed access to technologies for fear of corruption. Hence the smart phones are all exclusively owned by men who have complete access to the information highway whereas the women do not have immediate ownership of such interfaces. And yet, the women in the village are quite updated about the latest news, gossip, politics, information about the weather, and cultural productions like TV soaps and Bollywood movies. This discrepancy between lack of access to digital technologies on the one hand, and a fairly comprehensive access to information of their choice is perplexing at first. Till you turn your attention to the children, who, in their pre-pubertal space, are not segregated so clearly into the technology publics and privates, and hence can navigate the spaces which are otherwise so gender exclusive.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">These children would not usually be recognized as digital natives because they are not particularly tech savvy and they do not have direct and unlimited access to the digital devices or connectivity. However, they become interfaces through which the information consumed by the male population permeates and travels to the female population in the village. The children become embodied interfaces, who imbibe the information from these digital devices and re-enact it for the women in their own private spaces. The village now has its own child-stars who not only pass on the local news and information, but also re-enact, on a daily basis, scenes, songs, and story-lines from the soaps and movies that are popular with the women in the village.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While the gendered politics of technology access and the creative ways in which children are able to work as embodied interfaces is interesting – and perhaps needs more space than is afforded here – what remains interesting to me is how this story disrupts the regular narratives of techno-euphoria. It cannot be explained away merely in terms of usage. It cannot be used to claim radical social change in community and gendered relationships. It is difficult to make a technology-empowerment argument though this. What is perhaps most interesting is that it shows how we need to start thinking about digital technologies as producing new ecosystems that reconfigure our understanding of who we are and the roles we play in developing social relationality. The digital natives in these stories are not merely the children – though their embodied interface produces startling insights into how personal relationships with technologies are produced. The men who have access to the phones and have mastered digital literacy in navigating through these phones, the women who become the last-mile consumers who have found creative ways of staying connected despite their lack of access, and the children who become the nodes in this technology-information infrastructure, are all digital natives of a certain kind. They might not have claimed that identity and indeed might never want to. And yet, the very conditions of everyday life, as they are mediated by the presence of digital technologies in Banni, help us understand the social structures and information relationships in ways which are more complex than theorized by our techno-euphoric attention to network visualizations which are heavily determined by usage and action.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This story from Banni is layered and needs unpacking at many different levels. However, it shall always remain, for me, a catalyst to re-think the focus and framework of our technology discourse, and talk about digitally mediated identities (digital natives or otherwise) in a vocabulary that moves beyond usage, infrastructure and access. It emphasizes, for me, the idea that the gadgets and tools we use are, actually, only material manifestations of the digital -- which operates at the level of a paradigm or a context, through which we are slowly reshaping the material, social, and cultural notions of who we are and how we connect to the world around us.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Read Nishant's last post <a class="external-link" href="http://dmlcentral.net/blog/nishant-shah/techno-euphoria">here</a><br />Link to the picture <a class="external-link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pranavsingh/1311922613/">here</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">* <em>I am greatly thankful to my friend Rita Kothari at the Indian Institute of Technologies, Gandhinagar, for first introducing me to this context and its peculiar technology ecosystem</em>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/revisiting-techno-euphoria'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/revisiting-techno-euphoria</a>
</p>
No publishernishantDigital subjectivitiesResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-04-24T11:53:49ZBlog Entry