civil society & ICT

28.10.2004 Six African organisations demonstrating the innovative use of handheld devices in development have bagged 35 such devices each as prize of a competition hosted by bridges.org recently. The handheld devices will now be used in grassroots development projects.

27.10.2004 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India invites all stakeholders to participate in the consultation to increase the reach of telecom services to rural India. Stakeholders are invited to send their comments latest by November 30, 2004.

26.10.2004 Participants at the Global Knowledge Partnership's South Asian Regional Meeting agreed that ICTs can empower people themselves to be economically sustainable.

26.10.2004 Providing information on websites is not enough for improving delivery of government services to the poor, points out a recent study on the usefulness of ICTs in improving governance. Citing the case of Mozambique, the report recommends integration of standardised information management practices in the government websites.

26.10.2004 The World Bank has started a computer donation programme that would provide computers to NGOs, community and non-profit groups working in the areas of health care, education, social services, youth and job training.

21.10.2004 The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) and ICOZA launched a new joint venture, called NGO.ZA, this afternoon in Johannesburg. In view of the fast-changing nature of ICT products and services and the growing ICT awareness and requirements of the South African NGO sector, SANGONeT conceptualised this new initiative aimed at providing the NGO sector with a wide range of affordable ICT solutions.

20.10.2004 Policy issues and financing of ICT for development will be the key discussion issues for the upcoming UN ICT Taskforce meeting. The global forum with the theme “Promoting enabling environment for digital development” is going to be held from November 19 to 20, 2004 in Berlin.

18.10.2004 Community Radio Madanpokhara (CRM) of Nepal, a community-owned radio station, has adopted a novel idea to finance its activities. Local villagers have donated rice and money worth USD 650 to run the station.

18.10.2004 The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) in partnership with Anna University is going to organise an international workshop on community radio from 13 to 18 December, 2004 in Chennai. Managers of community radio stations will learn techniques of installation, commissioning and management of the radio stations in the workshop.

18.10.2004 According to the UNDP research, BiH has very poor gender balance when it comes to employment of women in ICT. According to the research data from employment biros and e-Readiness assessment women hold just one third of jobs related to use of ICT. Having in mind that according to the EUSTAT (EU agency for statistics) demand for ICT is 12% higher then current EU supply, BiH has historic chance to combat unemployment through development of ICT industry.

18.10.2004 According to the UNDP research, BiH has very poor gender balance when it comes to employment of women in ICT. According to the research data from employment biros and e-Readiness assessment women hold just one third of jobs related to use of ICT. Having in mind that according to the EUSTAT (EU agency for statistics) demand for ICT is 12% higher then current EU supply, BiH has historic chance to combat unemployment through development of ICT industry.

18.10.2004 According to the UNDP research, BiH has very poor gender balance when it comes to employment of women in ICT. According to the research data from employment biros and e-Readiness assessment women hold just one third of jobs related to use of ICT. Having in mind that according to the EUSTAT (EU agency for statistics) demand for ICT is 12% higher then current EU supply, BiH has historic chance to combat unemployment through development of ICT industry.

16.10.2004 Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary General, ITU invites governments and other stakeholders to participate in the WSIS stocktaking process. By filling up a questionnaire, stakeholders can help assessing progress in implementation of the Plan of Action at national, regional and international levels.

15.10.2004 Innovators and entrepreneurs from across the globe meet to discuss the scope and opportunities of business incubation in developing coutries in a symposium from October 14 to 19 in New Delhi. Organised jointly by the Indian government and World Bank, the meet seeks to explore promises of new technologies in spurring business incubation.

13.10.2004 Global Knowledge Partnership invites articles for the November issue of its newsletter focusing on ICT for development issues in the Oceania region. Features can be sent to ashley@gkps.org.myby 20 October 2004.

13.10.2004 The Manthan Award, an initiative of Digital Empowerment Foundation along with others, will attempt to recognise and award the best e-Content practices in India. Three winners are going to be selected from each of the eight themes identified for the Award. The winners will subsequently be promoted through road shows and nominated to the international award of the World Summit Award to be held in Tunis in 2005.

11.10.2004 OneWorld South Asia has launched its free medical phone service in the slums of Badarpur in New Delhi so that people can inquire about the services of the local hospital through this interactive system. Jayashree Maji and Atanu Garai file a report.

11.10.2004 As OneWorld South Asia launches its free medical phone service in the Badarpur community in Delhi, the community can send queries through this interactive voice responce system about any services of the local hospital round the clock. Report Jayashree Maji and Atanu Garai.

09.10.2004 Dubai Municipality and the UN Habitat have selected IT4Youth, an initiative to impart IT skills to Palestinian youth, as the recipient of the US$30,000 prize for being the “best practice program". IT4Youth since its inception has made an impact on over 5,000 youth over the last four years.

07.10.2004 More than 4,000 farmers in Ghana’s upper east regions can now switch on their radio sets to get all the crop and market information that they need. Started as a three-month pilot, the Farmer Information Support project also aims to use mobile phones and Internet to set up a long-distance information programme.