policy initiatives in ICT

29.09.2005 Most ICT initiatives till date have been in the form of pilot projects that have worked well in a small community. To upscale this to the national level would need not only excellent planning, but also support from a wide range of players. OneWorld South Asia organized a Panel Discussion "From Pilot Syndrome to Up scaling ICT initiatives - the Grassroots Perspective" at PrepCom 3 on 28th September in this context. Reports Bidisha Pillai, Digital Opportunity Channel Manager, from Geneva.

29.09.2005 Banglalink, a cell phone operator in the country, has introduced voice message service styled i'bubble that will enable all Banglalink subscribers to send a message as voice instead of text to all local mobile operators.

29.09.2005 This APDIP e-Note illustrates the benefits that ICTs can have for SMEs; discusses why countries should be proactive in embedding ICTs into SME policy; and gives examples of how Asian governments have encouraged and enabled SMEs to use ICTs.APDIP e-Notes are brief snapshots that present analyses of specific issues related to ICTs for sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific region. This online series introduces readers to the who, what, where, why and how of a wide range of current issues related to ICTs such as Internet governance, ICTs and poverty alleviation, e-governance, free and open source software, and many others.

28.09.2005 OneWorld South Asia on behalf of the Grassroots Caucus organised a side event “Missing Grassroots Voices” at PrepCom 3 on September 27th. Grassroots voices have always been missing from policy-making fora. The event started with a film screening on grassroots people sharing their development concerns and how ICTs could offer possible solutions to them. This was followed by a presentation by Basudev Dhungana, a grassroots community worker from Nepal and part of the OneWorld official delegation to PrepCom 3. Report Bidisha Pillai and T. N. Anuradha from Geneva.

27.09.2005 APDIP's Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance initiative zooms in on the Internet governance issues, priorities and challenges faced by five countries in Asia.The report results are drawn from extensive consultations and a survey involving all stakeholders (government, the private sector and civil society), and region-wide research undertaken over the past year, as part of the Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance (ORDIG).

23.09.2005 Workshop on the Right to Information Act, 2005 is aimed at analysing the new legislation and offering practical solutions to those who are concerned with the fundamental right to access information.

23.09.2005 Dr. Justice A S Anand, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission (India), sought direct interventions from the State Governments for printing textbooks in Braille and fine-tune the distribution systems for ensuring timely reach of the braile books prescribed by the State Boards are made available to the visually challenged persons at the start of the academic sessions.

23.09.2005 Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited today announced a strategy aimed at supporting the Ministry of Communications and IT, Government of India, in its efforts to address the issue of the digital divide in India.

22.09.2005 World leaders must pay more attention to the role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play in addressing many of the challenges of the 21st century and in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the head of the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says.

15.09.2005 Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has challenged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) assessment of cost and methodology on International Private Leasedline Circuit (IPLC) prices in India, stating that the calculation was conducted without giving the company an “opportunity to react”.

14.09.2005 After surviving Hurricane Katrina's initial blow, the radio communications system for the New Orleans police and fire departments dissolved as its radio towers lost their backup power generators in the ensuing flood.

13.09.2005 The recent announcement of the new employment guarantee scheme by the central government provides an indispensable lifeline to the millions of poor in the rural areas of the country. E.C Thomas in this article analyses the context of the emergence of the new social security measure.

12.09.2005 President of the Indian Society for Technical Education R.S. Nisar said on Sunday that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Knowledge Engineering (KE) are increasingly influencing every facet of the socio-economic structure of life, predominantly in the university education system.

06.09.2005 South Africa has clear and measurable ICT targets, the presidential international advisory council on information society and development said at a council which convened its annual meeting in Zeerust in the Northwest.

06.09.2005 At the World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) conference in Gaborone, the "Gaborone Declaration" proposal was adopted, which will be presented to the UNESCO general assembly.

01.09.2005 Tech Festo '05 seminar on information technology was organised by the Department of Computer Science of the Prof. Dhanapalan College for Women, Kelambakkam in Chennai.