|
NGOs call upon Indian govt to bridge digital, knowledge divides
7 November 2003
BANGLAORE: Communities should be allowed to communicate and share information in their own way and in their own space to allow equitable and sustainable development, a number of civil society organisations said here this week. They questioned the Karnataka state governments rationale in holding technology meets such as IT.com and the Indian governments decision to send delegations to the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) without community participation.
Participating in an interactive public debate on Can ICTs alleviate poverty in India? An alternative perspective these NGOs pointed out that despite increasing investments in IT infrastructure and growing availability of digital technologies, the digital and knowledge divides are widening. The debate was jointly organised by Global Knowledge Partnership, OneWorld South Asia, Mahiti and VOICES as part of their ongoing, one-week-long training workshop on new media for south Asian women journalists.
Opening the discussion, Sunil Abraham, CEO of Mahiti Infotech Ltd, explained how intellectual property regulations are globally leading to privately controlled knowledge and proprietary software which is further widening the knowledge divide. He said the solution lies in free and open source software, which, like ideas, has multiplier effect when freely shared and exchanged.
Abraham stressed on the need for an attitudinal shift and a more balanced governance model for the use and spread of the Internet among all nations. Indian software companies, following their success abroad, must be encouraged to cater to local needs and open source initiatives must be supported, he said.
Ashish Sen, director of VOICES, regretted that some governments in South Asia, including India, are reluctant to allow community radio fearing its misuse, despite existing evidence that it has the opposite effect in Sri Lanka and Nepal, where community radio exists. He also cited the VOICES project in Boodikote village, 16 km from Bangrapet town in Karnatakas Kolar district, where farmer groups are using cable radio to share and exchange information relevant to their lives.
He said that information technology without the right to information, and right to information without the right communicate such information would be ineffective. The UN Human Development Report praises India for democratic institutions. But if we scratch beneath the surface, we find that when we discuss issues related to democratisation of the media, we have a long way to go, Sen pointed out.
Director of OneWorld South Asia Basheerhamad Shadrach regretted that there is no dialogue between peoples organisations and the Indian government about ICT strategies and policies. In contrast to countries like Mali, the Indian government is sending a sizeable delegation to the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in Geneva in December this year, without any discussion with civil society organisations. Nor do have citizens access to information about how the government plans to spend Rs. 10,000 crore earmarked for e-governance or to information of government services that are paramount to their own lives.
A number of city-based NGOs who participated in the discussions called upon the government to allow widening and strengthening the public knowledge domain. They also stressed the need to build multi-sector alliances and coalitions, network with other like-mined people and develop informed strategy on these issues.
|
|
|
|
|
