communications

25.04.2008 With BBC World Trust launching its most ambitious project called ‘English in Action’, Bangladeshis will soon be able to learn a truly global language on television and mobiles. This will help all sections of society acquire English language skills and increase their prospects in the job market.

24.04.2008 IBM is toying with the idea of providing information to rural users on toll-free numbers. Its pilot project in southern India will provide information on healthcare services, small businesses and micro-finance. Once successful, it will be taken to international markets.

22.04.2008 Kristine Pearson, chief executive of Freeplay Foundation, is the creator of the wind-up and solar-powered Lifeline radio, the first such initiative in the humanitarian sector. She emphasises the use of renewable and clean energy solutions to improve access to communication for the poor.

21.04.2008 A community radio show by college students in Chennai in southern India is bringing alive characters from neighbouring slums to help women deal with issues of health and education. The use of local Tamil dialect is just one of the ways to reach out to its audience in the slums.

21.04.2008 A non-profit media project is organising Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008 in Budapest, Hungary on June 27-28, 2008. The event will highlight the contribution of diverse voices like bloggers, activists and journalists in global information dissemination.

18.04.2008 Using Mobile Phones in Advocacy Campaigns, a strategy guide by MobileActive contains innovative ideas on using mobile phones for active civic engagement. Citing case studies from different parts of the world, the book advocates mobiles as tools of social change in developing nations.

18.04.2008 Partners in Media Asia Pvt. Ltd. is organising India Radio Forum on May 30, 2008 at Mumbai, India. The event aims to inform and update the FM fraternity of the medium’s evolution in the region, and to invite opinions from the industry worldwide about the future of radio in Asia.

18.04.2008 Building on the popular culture of blogging, BBC’s ZigZagmag.net has created an interactive online space to enable aspiring Iranian journalists generate high quality content for a variety of BBC platforms. The virtual newsroom encourages learning and communication through discussions and training.

17.04.2008 Bulgaria has received a grant of 300 million euros from the European Union for the development of its information and communication technologies. Although the country has a very high number of mobile and Internet users, there is still a scope for more ICT penetration in small towns and rural areas.

17.04.2008 As part of Public-Private Partnership, Ericsson and UNDP have entered into a three-year agreement to help raise the living standards in rural areas of China. Using affordable and innovative mobile solutions for development, they will strive to make health, government, educational and financial services better and easily accessible.

16.04.2008 In a step to integrate rural areas with mainstream world, the government of Nagaland, a state in north-eastern India, will distribute community TV sets to villages. The initiative would also provide communities exposure to global and national developments.

16.04.2008 Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies is organising eINDIA2008 from July 29-31, 2008 at New Delhi, India. The fourth annual ICT forum in the country will be a unique platform for stakeholders to share best practices and exchange ideas on creating a technology-enabled society.

10.04.2008 UNHCR and Google have unveiled the "Google Earth Outreach" programme to help understand the refugee world and the ongoing humanitarian efforts. All you have to do is to sit in front of your computer and it will take you on a virtual reality tour in Chad, Iraq, Columbia and Sudan.

04.04.2008 The use of mobile phone communication for various services is rapidly growing in developing countries. The innovative use of mobile phones in the Philippines: lessons for Africa, a report published by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency identifies the best practices and lessons learnt from the Philippines experience.

03.04.2008 Imagine vehicles monitoring each other's speed and position. This is exactly what the embedded sensor networks will be able to do and thus dramatically cut the risk of accidents. Cars will talk amongst themselves and cooperate with each other to avoid mishaps.

02.04.2008 DENVER/RAYBURN 2123 IN SECOND LIFE, Apr 2 (OneWorld) - U.S. lawmakers held the first-ever hearing simulcast in a 3D virtual world Tuesday, probing experts about the opportunities and dangers posed by new online communities.

01.04.2008 From deployment of telegraph in 1854 to the age of Internet, Blackberries, iPods or Personal Digital Assistants, information and communication technology has traversed a long path. Thomas B. Riley, Executive Director, Commonwealth Centre for e-Governance, discusses the evolution of ICTs and assesses the wider changes in society due to their emergence.