*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** I had a chance to chat with Vikas briefly while in London and he is bringing a new energy to the exchange of ideas and knowledge in the e-governance arena. Check out his extensive set of resources. - Steven Clift ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 18:43:08 +0100 From: "Nath,V (pgt)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: KnowNet: E-Governance models in South / Developing Countries Upda te Greetings from London from the http://www.DigitalGovernance.org Community. The Digital Governance website was launched a month back to explore INNOVATIVE e-Governance Models in South based on the application of Knowledge Management principles and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The website is a part of the KnowNet Initiative at http://www.knownet.org which harnesses the potential of ICT and Remote Volunteering to catalyse Human Development. DigitalGovernance.org has been tediously identifying and documenting actual E-Practices in the South which enable Transparent, Efficient, and Accountable Governance Mechanisms based on "Information Democratisation" to ones which catalyse "Interactive Governance Processes" that are Inclusionary in characteristics. Some of the Emerging Knowledge Products relating to e-Governance Practices in South (based on Digital Governance's research) are: 1. e-Governance is certainly making its entree in the South progessing from stages of "Wider-Domain Models" or "Critical Flow Models" to the more complex and technology driven "Interactive Service Models". The description of these models is available at the website. An example of "Critical-Flow Model" is the Indian website www.tehelka.com (a leanly funded media organization with limited resources) which exposed a major scam in the Defence Establishment in India relating to corruption and bribery. It led to major political upheavals and a strong civil society unrest. Similarly in Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosovic regime was toppled by the technology of the Internet and satellite comunications. Internet is also increasingly becoming Africa's political corrupticians' nightmare. 2. e-Governance seem to have greater marginal benefits in countries with moderate development indices, and where alternate channels of communications are weak and governance processes are largely democratic to the extent that they are Information- Driven. Example in Brazil, India, Malaysia, Estonia etc. In such cases, e-governance strengthens the two-way communication channel- enabling the civil society to get more acquainted with decisions (as well as decision-makers) which affect their quality of lives and providing them avenues to express/ make an informed choice. The latter is usually provided through conventional Governance processes. The e-Governance models therefore function in complementary to the existing Governance models. 3. e-Governance processes have an equal or greater potential in the South if applied in local geographical domains. Wider-Domain Governance models when applied locally can promote "democratisation of information which is of significance" ranging from basic District-level Governmental Information, to Agriculture and Health related information, to information about disasters, food rations etc. 4. Complex e-Governance models in South (based on advocacy and direct-interaction with the Government) have so far been largely directed towards issues of Global/International Significance. The models have fostered inter-South support on many issues such as Agriculture and Trade Policies, Issues of Big Dams, Genetic Engineering etc. to put up a collective Southern Agenda. Nevertheless, this is a sign of empowered and value-driven civil society movements: an Empowered civil society which can work alongside the National Governments on issues of International significance can fundamentally raise its voice on National Concerns to promote the larger agenda. DigitalGovernance.org functions on a continuous learning mode. More knowledge products would be brought into light in the subsequent updates. You may subscribe to these updates by sending a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please have a look at the Key website updates and some of the feedforward received from over 50 countries towards the end of this email. I welcome your intellectual contributions and feedforward about the DigitalGovernance.org Project to further enrich this website and to catalyse Innovative E-Governance in South. Lastly, Please help spread the word around about this initiative. Warm Regards, Vikas Nath Inlaks Fellow, London School of Economics, UK Home Page : http://www.vikasnath.org ----------------------------------------------------- Innovator, KnowNet Initiative and Digital Governance Conceiver, DevNetJobs.org Email : [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: + 44 (0) 7887 920080 ----------------------------------------------------- Following are some of the Interesting Case-Studies, Publications and Links added to the Digital Governance website. ** Key Case Studies Added (Case-Studies archived on the website = 31) Estonia: The Little Country That Could <http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,20451,00.html> The medieval streets of old Tallinn have changed little in the last few centuries. But high atop Toompea, the hill that has been the seat of power in Estonia for almost 800 years, there is an experiment in 21st-century government under way. Inside the chancellery building, Linnar Viik, information technology adviser to Prime Minister Mart Laar, leads the way through elegant government offices to a shiny new cabinet meeting room. India: Free Internet access to Orissa High Court records <http://www.cddc.vt.edu/digitalgov/news-orissa.htm> Litigants fighting cases in the Orissa High Court will now have free Internet access to case records following the inauguration of two Web sites by state Chief Justice N.Y. Hanumanthappa. A litigant can easily find out in which court his case is appearing and its listing. Besides, the search engines of the Web site will help a litigant or the general public to find details related to a particular case. India : Kerala panchayats adopt e-governance http://persmin.nic.in/arpg/egov.htm#6 The Ernakulam district panchayat had made a quiet entry into the IT world by taking up a unique model of e-governance. The Electronic Industrialisation Infrastructure Development(EIID), a scientific society under the district panchayat, is providing guidance to three gram panchayats in the district to establish information networks as part of their plan projects. And the EIID is doing all this with software that are freely available with open source codes. India: Madhya Pradesh's E-governance site (Jabalpur) <http://www.ciol.com/content/services/egov/showarticle.asp?AID=56&CI=0&SI=6> The Government has gone online in Jabalpur division. The administration has launched its interactive website and CD containing all information on government departments and schemes at www.suvidha.org ( <http://www.suvidha.org)> Pakistan : Punjab Government goes online <http://www.punjab.gov.pk> The website contains information about the economy, culture, government, cabinet, rules of business 1974, and much more. The website says, "Punjab Government may adopt 'SAAF Model' of E-Government. The model is devised in order to formulate a future paradigm for a stable and organised government. In its literal meanings, it connotes, 'transparency and openness', (the two significant hallmarks of Islamic government). It also echoes the concept of public participation in the political process and its access to the information." Peru: Government Goes High Tech <http://www.sdnp.undp.org/it4dev/stories/peru.html> One evening, a few months ago, Enrique Normand, a partner in the law firm of Estudio Rubio, Leguia, Normand & Associates, was finishing up contract negotiations between a Peruvian company and a group of US investors when he realized they were missing a crucial document. They needed to obtain it from the Oficina Registral de Lima y Callao (ORLC), the notoriously slow public registry for Lima and its seaport, Callao. In short, they needed a miracle. Portugal : INFOCID <http://www.infocid.pt> A great portal site on Public Administrative information and issues in Portuguese. Provides name and addresses of the Government and all public organisations, relevant documents and debates etc. ** Key Publications Added (Publications archived on the website =45) Governments Closing Gap Between Political Rhetoric and eGovernment Reality <http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.aspit=enWeb&xd=industries/government/gove_st udy.xml> Online service delivery has never been higher on the political agenda than it is today. From the United Kingdom to the United States, Belgium to Brazil and Malaysia to Mexico, governments are talking about the significant benefits that can be realised by migrating traditionally paper-based and face-to-face services to the Internet. Digital Growth in Africa - things governments can do for free or nearly free <http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/back/balancing-act49.html> News Update asked 25 individuals and organisations drawn from development agencies, the private sector, NGOs and trusts involved in digital development in Africa to make suggestions about things that African governments (or others) could do for little or money to encourage digital development. There was almost a complete consensus on the kinds of things they felt ought to be done Surfing villages: Can Indian villages be logged on to the infotech highway? <http://www.cseindia.org/html/dte/dte20010215/dte_analy.htm> Are they for real and do they stand to benefit from artificial intelligence? Can India's villages ride on the infotech highway to development? To a certain extent this is already happening but it is a knotty situation. Can IT evolve to serve rural Indiaâs needs? The dairy cooperatives of Anand in Gujarat are using IT applications to streamline procedures, making a significant difference to the lives of milk producers in surrounding villages. The Role of Online Publication in the Promotion of Democracy <http://allafrica.com/stories/200103300095.html> The Internet is Africa's political corrupticians' nightmare. In other words, news- media- information censorship by political dictators is curtailed at the door of the Internet. Ask Yugoslav's Slobodan Milosovic whose regime was toppled by the technology of the Internet and satellite comunications. The irony is that the "unimportant" people that the media target in under-developed and developing countries like Sierra Leone for instance, are hardly in a position to access the Internet. Dictatorships in the Digital Age: Some Considerations on the Internet n China and Cuba <http://www.cisp.org/imp/october_2000/10_00drake.htm> The belief that the Internet will spread democracy throughout the developing world is so firmly held in Washington, D.C. policy circles that it is becoming an article of faith. There may be something to the underlying proposition, but this is an analytical question that should be subjected to close investigation before firm conclusions are drawn. The use of Internet in Government Service Delivery <http://www.endowment.pwcglobal.com/pdfs/CohenReport.pdf> Governments have begun to use the World Wide Web to assist in service delivery. This includes, but goes far beyond, the dissemination of information to the general public and involves a variety of other governmental functions. In reviewing some govern-ment websites it is clear that the use of the web for service delivery is still in its infancy. The types of services that can be delivered through the web are still in the process of being imagined and organized by both government and the private sector. Electronic governance and commercial development in Africa: the grassroots perspective <http://legacy.unl.ac.uk/relational/cyberont/iad.html> This presentation explores the emergence of the concept of 'governance' and speculates on the opportunities provided by new electronic technologies for the development of more participatory forms of governance than those experienced in the past. The presentation identifies the possibilities for direct democracy and the greater use of client/user feedback in the shaping of governance structures. Electronic Governance: Re-inventing Good Governance <http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/egov/Okot-Uma.pdf> This article examines the significance of the emergence of Electronic Governance (eGovernance) as a mode of practice in the re-invention of Good Governance. It presents eGovernance as inclusive of Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy), Electronic Government (eGovernment) and Electronic Business (eBusiness), examines the nature and scope of developments in this emerging field and provides a wealth of examples to illustrate essential, embedded concepts and modes of practice. ** Key Links Added (Exsiting Links on the website =52) Anti-Corruption Network for Transition Economies <http://www.nobribes.org/> The Anti-Corruption Network for Transition Economies provides a forum for the exchange of information between anti-corruption practitioners and analysts in Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union. It also serves as a repository of anti-corruption project documentation, legislation, regional and international agreements, survey results, reports, research and other information. Chapter 2 Network <http://www.advocacy.org.za/> The Chapter 2 Network is a clearinghouse of information and communication for social justice issues in South Africa. Through its website, it provides information about advocacy campaigns; training on Advocacy and lobbying, including learning practical skills through the Advocacy game; research on political intelligence, policy analysis and legislation monitoring and networking opportunities to interact with other civil society organisations who are engaged in social justice advocacy. Costa Rica : Democracia Digital <http://www.democraciadigital.org> A non-profit civic initiative directed towards using information and communication technology for the extension and the enrichment of the democratic coexistence of the Costa Rican society, facing the beginning of a new century. The strategy aims at information dissemination on subjects relative to the public interest and creation of new spaces of consultation. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance <http://www.idea.int> International IDEA promotes and advances sustainable democracy and improves and consolidates electoral processes world-wide. It provides a forum for discussions and action among individuals and organizations involved in democracy promotion. Global in ownership and score, independent of national interests, and flexible and quick in its responses, International IDEA is the only international organization with this unique mandate. ** Key Events on E-Governance (Events Posted on the website = 8) Worldwide Forum on Electronic Democracy <http://www.issy.com/e-democratie> May 17, 2001, Paris, France This 2nd Forum will be the occasion to make a new point on the "Revolution of the e-democracy", by advancing the new relations created by the network among the citizens and their elected members and the emergence of the e-citizen. International IDEA Democracy Forum 2001: Democracy and the Information Revolution <http://www.idea.int/2001_forum/index.htm> June 27-29 2001, Stockholm, Sweden By combining a focus on key practical issues with exposure to the latest cutting edge research in the ICT field, the Democracy Forum 2001 will provide a unique opportunity for all concerned with the societal implications of the IT revolution - from academics, ICT specialists and business leaders, to election managers, development experts and politicians - to come together to debate, reflect and develop creative policy options for the future. ****FEEDFORWARD RECEIVED**** I agree that if the people are empowered with right information, automatically they will demand better governance/performance from politica/officer class people. Can one use your network to expose some murky dealings so that concerned people can email the CEO of state and demand action. Collective action means some results. (Bangalore, India) It is very amazing to find a great Net like this. I hope we could help in anyway. (Sudan, Africa) I am trying to establish similar digital government in Japan. (Okazaki, Japan) I am working in Civil Society and networking in rural Guatemala and was curious as to what is out there. (Guatemala) I heard about the Digital Governance initiative through the imfundo discussion group. I find it very interesting, and I would like to implement it in my country. (Argentina) I am trying to develop an special project to disseminate telecentres in Peru starting through a pilot programme. Is it possible to get linked through you with other institutions than can collaborate with this type of project? (Peru) Such a knowledge initiative is critical in developing a more transparent governance, trade and development for my Africa region.That is a good move. I subscribe to the aspirations. (Accra, Ghana) *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
