Re: [GKD] Invitation to Content for Community Needs Programme (India)

[Veronica Peris]

Dear Peter,

We are delighted to note the importance you also give to the focus on
the architecture of the information as well as the infrastructure of the
communication component.

OWSA sees content providers merely as facilitators who would never
attempt to replace the traditional wisdom and practical knowledge
communities have. Sharing of knowledge between communities would
complement the bottom up approach. The information which would flow from
the top would reflect the needs expressed/sought by the community. Your
practical example amply justifies reality.

As a matter of fact, we all could learn a lot from Communities and that
is exactly how we want to proceed by recording this information. This
would in turn help the community to attract further resources which
would hopefully lead to socio-economic progress as well as a sharing of
knowledge/information between communities.

To reiterate, the information flow will not be top-down, precisely
because their knowledge is more realistic and practical.

Despite the distance between you and the venue of the meeting, your
comments absolutely reflect the reality of the situation. OWSA would be
very interested to have TR-Ac-Nets vision for a community database.


Sincerely,

Veronica Peris 



On Friday, June 24, 2005, Peter Burgess wrote:

 100,000 telecenters is progress, but how much depends on the
 architecture of the information and the infrastructure of the
 communication component.
 
 How do the content providers know what information is going to be the
 most valuable in the community where the kiosks are to be located? In
 the main, we choose from afar (I am in New York) and decide what
 information a villager needs, and when it comes to local information
 what we know is rather a small subset of what the village already
knows
 
 The Transparency and Accountability Network (Tr-Ac-Net) database has a
 different information architecture than the British World Service idea
 ... Tr-Ac-Net seeks to help get key information from the community onto
 the record so that this information can help the community attract the
 resource assistance it needs for socio economic progress. When there is
 management information available about community progress, and the
 various activities that have gone on to get this progress, then there
 can be efficiency improvement in the use of resources.
 
 Will the 100,000 telecenters being planned make it possible for
 villagers and community leaders to communicate with a web enabled
 database system like the one envisioned by Tr-Ac-Net, or will the
 information flow merely be top-down. I will argue that information
 flows in both directions, as well as horizontally between local
 communities and local people is several orders of magnitude more
 valuable than the simple top-down approach.




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[GKD] Invitation to Content for Community Needs Programme (India)

[Veronica Peris]

Dear GKD Members,

OneWorld South Asia's (OWSA) http://www.oneworld.net/ under the aegis
of Mission 2007 http://www.mission2007.org/ would like to invite you
to a Content for Community Needs Programme meeting (30 June and 1 July
2005; India International Centre, New Delhi.)

OneWorld will introduce the concept of 100,000 Telecentres and the
opportunities that exist for content developers/providers in the
immediate future.

One of the practical ways of using ICTs, we feel, is to set up
Telecentres (Rural Advocacy Centres/Information Kiosks) that contain
information relevant to the needs of the rural/urban communities. Such
Telecentres would facilitate Communities' access to
information/facilities/services without their having to waste any time
in procuring/accessing the same. To the worker at the community level,
having to procure such information would mean in real terms, having to
drop out of work for at least a day -- often forgo a days wages -- and
the resultant food for him/her self and the family. For this purpose
there is an urgent need to digitise a content repository for community
needs to reach out to rural/urban India at large, as well as tailor the
data to the respective needs of the communities.

Given this backdrop, OWSA with more than 500 organisations including
NGOs, donors, multilateral organization, private sector, media,
academicians and governments as its partners, attempts to provide a
database that answers the needs of the grassroots and enhances their
quality of life. However, it can soon be realised the task is enormous
while the need is immediate -- so we do what we know best -- call on our
partners and colleagues who have amongst them a pool of resources, which
we could then collate in a content repository for community needs. This
definitely would be an ongoing process, as data/information is always
being made available.

As a first step, we would like to invite GKD members to join us in a two
day *Content for Community Needs Programme* (agenda below) where we
could together combine our resources and pool information which could be
put to the use of those who need it the most. This is expected to build
capacities and explore alternative tools and techniques for empowering
people at the grassroots.

Complete credit would go to the source of information, and OWSA merely
provides the platform for its dissemination. A line in response
confirming your interest and participation would be most appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Basheerhammad Shadrach
Director
OneWorld South Asia
C5 Qutub Institutional Area
New Delhi - 110016
T : 91 11 51689000
F : 91 11 51689001

RSVP:
email : [EMAIL PROTECTED]

***

Content for Community Needs Programme
   
Vision:  To provide a database that answers the needs of the
grassroots and enhances their quality of life
Venue:   India International Centre, Conference Room II  
Duration: 30 June and 1 July 2005

Draft Agenda
Thursday, June 30, 2005

0930 - 1030  Inaugural Session
Welcome  Introductory Remarks by Dr. Basheerhamad Shadrach, Director,
OneWorld South Asia (OWSA)
Importance of Contents for Community Needs by Prof. M.S.Swaminathan/ Dr.
Arunachalam
1000 - 1230  *Health  Nutrition*
 Population
 Mother/Child Health
 Nutrition
 
 *Diseases*
 HIV/AIDS
 Malaria
 Tuberculosis
 
 *Water/Water borne Diseases*
 Diahorrea/Dysentry/Cholera/Jaundice/
 Typhoid/etc.
 
 *Rehabilitation*
 Facilities/Benefits
 
 *Gender*
 Gender in Governance
 Cultural Bias

1230 - 1300  Action Plan and Concluding Remarks  
1300 - 1400  Lunch Break
1400 - 1410  Introductory Remarks by Director OWSA
1410 - 1420  Concept and Background
1430 - 1700  Livelihoods
 Microcredit
 Small  Medium Enterprises
 Employment
 Gender in Employment
 Corporate Social Responsibility
1700 - 1730  Action Plan and Concluding Remarks

Friday, July 1, 2005

0930 - 0940  Introductory Remarks by Director OWSA
0940 - 0950  Concept and Background - GC Division
1000 - 1230  Agriculture
 Animal Husbandry/Livestock
 Food Security
 Grain
 Fruit  Vegetables
 Public Distribution System
1230 - 1300  Action Plan and Concluding Remarks
1300 - 1400  Lunch Break
1400 - 1410  Introductory Remarks by Director OWSA
1410 - 1420  Concept and Background
1430 - 1700  Education
 School
 Higher
 Adult
 Vocational
 Remedial
 Distance
 e-Learning
 Gender in Learning

 Environment
 Sanitation
 Pollution
 Wildlife
 Forests
 Disaster
 Natural
 Manmade

 Governance
 Panchayat




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