Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
the key word people seem to be missing is unless: it says don't apply *unless your application meets the program objectives*. it is therefore encouraging, not discouraging, applications. as a RFP posted on state.gov, it doesn't make much sense to think State is discouraging applications. They appear to have updated the page almost immediately to avoid confusion; it now reads Proposals must demonstrate awareness of similar USG-supported programming in Ukraine and how the proposed program would complement ongoing efforts. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 3:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.eduwrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- David Golumbia dgolum...@gmail.com -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
My guess is that since money is already allocated for tech, they wanted to ensure that programs that weren't tech focused had some funds too. (Just a guess). On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com wrote: Evgeny got to them. ;) More seriously, does anyone have digital divide info - cultural and financial - on Ukraine? Tech is not the solution for all cultures. Beer is the correct solution for some. A thousand cups of tea for others. Maybe State knows something we don't? Like: --- INTERNET Ukraine suffers digital divide - study Tuesday 22 March 2011 | 15:40 CET | News There is still a significant difference in household internet access across Ukraine, according to a study by GfK Ukraine. Internet penetration was just 12 percent in rural areas in Q4 2010, reports BizLigaNet. The figure rises to 25 percent in towns with a population below 50,000 and 38 percent of households in cities with more than 500,000 residents. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ukraine-suffers-digital-divide-study--793094 yrs, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com On Mar 21, 2013 3:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
I just really don't see why this is a big deal. So State's funding priorities for tech stuff aren't about those subjects. So what? On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 3:46 PM, Katy P katyca...@gmail.com wrote: My guess is that since money is already allocated for tech, they wanted to ensure that programs that weren't tech focused had some funds too. (Just a guess). On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com wrote: Evgeny got to them. ;) More seriously, does anyone have digital divide info - cultural and financial - on Ukraine? Tech is not the solution for all cultures. Beer is the correct solution for some. A thousand cups of tea for others. Maybe State knows something we don't? Like: --- INTERNET Ukraine suffers digital divide - study Tuesday 22 March 2011 | 15:40 CET | News There is still a significant difference in household internet access across Ukraine, according to a study by GfK Ukraine. Internet penetration was just 12 percent in rural areas in Q4 2010, reports BizLigaNet. The figure rises to 25 percent in towns with a population below 50,000 and 38 percent of households in cities with more than 500,000 residents. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ukraine-suffers-digital-divide-study--793094 yrs, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com On Mar 21, 2013 3:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- US: +1-857-891-4244 | NL: +31-657086088 site: jilliancyork.com http://jilliancyork.com/* | * twitter: @jilliancyork* * We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want the seemingly impossible to become a reality - *Vaclav Havel* -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
the whole thing is not a big deal, but i will risk repeating myself: the original comment on this list overlooked the phrase *unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above*, and this is actually a solicitation *for *proposals, not an effort to discourage them. The original discourage comment was just trying to ensure that proposals were area- and program-specific. State has already modified the page to make this clear, perhaps in reaction to comments such as the original one on this list: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm. It's now clear that there is no intent to discourage applications. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 11:36 AM, Jillian C. York jilliancy...@gmail.comwrote: I just really don't see why this is a big deal. So State's funding priorities for tech stuff aren't about those subjects. So what? -- David Golumbia dgolum...@gmail.com -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
I assumed the same. It's just an odd caveat in the context of US State Department's public relations drive about innovation. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:46 AM, Katy P katyca...@gmail.com wrote: My guess is that since money is already allocated for tech, they wanted to ensure that programs that weren't tech focused had some funds too. (Just a guess). On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com wrote: Evgeny got to them. ;) More seriously, does anyone have digital divide info - cultural and financial - on Ukraine? Tech is not the solution for all cultures. Beer is the correct solution for some. A thousand cups of tea for others. Maybe State knows something we don't? Like: --- INTERNET Ukraine suffers digital divide - study Tuesday 22 March 2011 | 15:40 CET | News There is still a significant difference in household internet access across Ukraine, according to a study by GfK Ukraine. Internet penetration was just 12 percent in rural areas in Q4 2010, reports BizLigaNet. The figure rises to 25 percent in towns with a population below 50,000 and 38 percent of households in cities with more than 500,000 residents. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ukraine-suffers-digital-divide-study--793094 yrs, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com On Mar 21, 2013 3:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
I have now twice pointed out that this perception is a misreading of the document. They are simply trying to cut down on the number of inappropriate applications using very standard language. the original cut-and-paste obscured where the phrase appears on the page, but it is still followed by the exact phrase you quoted: unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. If technology projects have an explicit component related to the program, they are NOT discouraged from applying. There is no story here. There is a lot of other qualifying information in the additional information block. The entire block of information appears to be repeated in all of their RFPs. I've pasted it in below. It suggests they get a lot of applications that don't read the RFP carefully. I repeat: there is no story here at all. Projects that have a strong academic, research, conference, or dialogue focus will not be deemed competitive. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. Projects that focus on commercial law or economic development will be rated as non-competitive. Cost sharing is strongly encouraged, and cost sharing contributions should be outlined in the proposal budget and budget narrative. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 12:33 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.eduwrote: I assumed the same. It's just an odd caveat in the context of US State Department's public relations drive about innovation. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:46 AM, Katy P katyca...@gmail.com wrote: My guess is that since money is already allocated for tech, they wanted to ensure that programs that weren't tech focused had some funds too. (Just a guess). On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com wrote: Evgeny got to them. ;) More seriously, does anyone have digital divide info - cultural and financial - on Ukraine? Tech is not the solution for all cultures. Beer is the correct solution for some. A thousand cups of tea for others. Maybe State knows something we don't? Like: --- INTERNET Ukraine suffers digital divide - study Tuesday 22 March 2011 | 15:40 CET | News There is still a significant difference in household internet access across Ukraine, according to a study by GfK Ukraine. Internet penetration was just 12 percent in rural areas in Q4 2010, reports BizLigaNet. The figure rises to 25 percent in towns with a population below 50,000 and 38 percent of households in cities with more than 500,000 residents. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ukraine-suffers-digital-divide-study--793094 yrs, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com On Mar 21, 2013 3:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. I read that as please stop applying for grants that aren't really related to your project, but I could be wrong on the intent. ~Griffin -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
David, you have indeed pointed it out twice. But it's still inconsistent for the US State Department to carry out a public relations campaign that gives the impression that it's adding a technology component to all its work and then issue RFPs that strongly discourage technology projects from applying unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives. I understand it's standard language. But, presumably, everyone who applies will have the program objective in mind, whether they are tech-oriented or not, so why even bother with the caveat? Also, the language does not disprove Katy's suggestion that the caveat may be there to ensure non-technology projects get support. One way to test whether this is indeed the case is to see whether RFPs issued prior to the public relations campaign lacked that caveat. In any case, I suspect whoever wrote this standard language likely did not put as much thought into crafting the language as we are analyzing it. Best, Yosem On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 9:46 AM, David Golumbia dgolum...@gmail.com wrote: I have now twice pointed out that this perception is a misreading of the document. They are simply trying to cut down on the number of inappropriate applications using very standard language. the original cut-and-paste obscured where the phrase appears on the page, but it is still followed by the exact phrase you quoted: unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. If technology projects have an explicit component related to the program, they are NOT discouraged from applying. There is no story here. There is a lot of other qualifying information in the additional information block. The entire block of information appears to be repeated in all of their RFPs. I've pasted it in below. It suggests they get a lot of applications that don't read the RFP carefully. I repeat: there is no story here at all. Projects that have a strong academic, research, conference, or dialogue focus will not be deemed competitive. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. Projects that focus on commercial law or economic development will be rated as non-competitive. Cost sharing is strongly encouraged, and cost sharing contributions should be outlined in the proposal budget and budget narrative. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 12:33 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: I assumed the same. It's just an odd caveat in the context of US State Department's public relations drive about innovation. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:46 AM, Katy P katyca...@gmail.com wrote: My guess is that since money is already allocated for tech, they wanted to ensure that programs that weren't tech focused had some funds too. (Just a guess). On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com wrote: Evgeny got to them. ;) More seriously, does anyone have digital divide info - cultural and financial - on Ukraine? Tech is not the solution for all cultures. Beer is the correct solution for some. A thousand cups of tea for others. Maybe State knows something we don't? Like: --- INTERNET Ukraine suffers digital divide - study Tuesday 22 March 2011 | 15:40 CET | News There is still a significant difference in household internet access across Ukraine, according to a study by GfK Ukraine. Internet penetration was just 12 percent in rural areas in Q4 2010, reports BizLigaNet. The figure rises to 25 percent in towns with a population below 50,000 and 38 percent of households in cities with more than 500,000 residents. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ukraine-suffers-digital-divide-study--793094 yrs, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com On Mar 21, 2013 3:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
I assume you are referring to this March 5 press release? http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/03/205666.htm the earliest open RFP on State's website is from Feb 15 and includes the same language, which appears on every other currently-open RFP: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/204850.htm I have some experience with both governmental and foundation grantsmaking, and in both cases something between many and a majority of applications completely omit one or more major, explicit requirements clearly stated in the RFP, creating a fair amount of hassle and administrative overhead for the grantsmakers. boilerplate language insisting on the formal requirements is standard for this reason (and still does not drastically reduce the number of inappropriate applications). this does not read to me in any way to actually be discouraging health, science, or technology proposals. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 1:26 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.eduwrote: David, you have indeed pointed it out twice. But it's still inconsistent for the US State Department to carry out a public relations campaign that gives the impression that it's adding a technology component to all its work and then issue RFPs that strongly discourage technology projects from applying unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives. I understand it's standard language. But, presumably, everyone who applies will have the program objective in mind, whether they are tech-oriented or not, so why even bother with the caveat? Also, the language does not disprove Katy's suggestion that the caveat may be there to ensure non-technology projects get support. One way to test whether this is indeed the case is to see whether RFPs issued prior to the public relations campaign lacked that caveat. In any case, I suspect whoever wrote this standard language likely did not put as much thought into crafting the language as we are analyzing it. Best, Yosem On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 9:46 AM, David Golumbia dgolum...@gmail.com wrote: I have now twice pointed out that this perception is a misreading of the document. They are simply trying to cut down on the number of inappropriate applications using very standard language. the original cut-and-paste obscured where the phrase appears on the page, but it is still followed by the exact phrase you quoted: unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. If technology projects have an explicit component related to the program, they are NOT discouraged from applying. There is no story here. There is a lot of other qualifying information in the additional information block. The entire block of information appears to be repeated in all of their RFPs. I've pasted it in below. It suggests they get a lot of applications that don't read the RFP carefully. I repeat: there is no story here at all. Projects that have a strong academic, research, conference, or dialogue focus will not be deemed competitive. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. Projects that focus on commercial law or economic development will be rated as non-competitive. Cost sharing is strongly encouraged, and cost sharing contributions should be outlined in the proposal budget and budget narrative. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 12:33 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: I assumed the same. It's just an odd caveat in the context of US State Department's public relations drive about innovation. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:46 AM, Katy P katyca...@gmail.com wrote: My guess is that since money is already allocated for tech, they wanted to ensure that programs that weren't tech focused had some funds too. (Just a guess). On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 7:19 AM, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com wrote: Evgeny got to them. ;) More seriously, does anyone have digital divide info - cultural and financial - on Ukraine? Tech is not the solution for all cultures. Beer is the correct solution for some. A thousand cups of tea for others. Maybe State knows something we don't? Like: --- INTERNET Ukraine suffers digital divide - study Tuesday 22 March 2011 | 15:40 CET | News There is still a significant difference in household internet access across Ukraine, according to a study by GfK Ukraine. Internet penetration was just 12 percent in rural areas in Q4 2010, reports BizLigaNet. The figure rises to 25 percent in towns with a population below 50,000 and 38 percent of households in cities with more than 500,000 residents. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ukraine-suffers-digital-divide-study--793094 yrs, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com On Mar 21, 2013
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
Yes, that's a longer version of my first comment. On Mar 22, 2013 5:29 PM, David Golumbia dgolum...@gmail.com wrote: the whole thing is not a big deal, but i will risk repeating myself: the original comment on this list overlooked the phrase *unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above*, and this is actually a solicitation *for *proposals, not an effort to discourage them. The original discourage comment was just trying to ensure that proposals were area- and program-specific. State has already modified the page to make this clear, perhaps in reaction to comments such as the original one on this list: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm. It's now clear that there is no intent to discourage applications. On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 11:36 AM, Jillian C. York jilliancy...@gmail.comwrote: I just really don't see why this is a big deal. So State's funding priorities for tech stuff aren't about those subjects. So what? -- David Golumbia dgolum...@gmail.com -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
I think that means they discourage them *for applying for those grants*. Which is meh, but not really a big deal. On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 8:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.eduwrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- US: +1-857-891-4244 | NL: +31-657086088 site: jilliancyork.com http://jilliancyork.com/* | * twitter: @jilliancyork* * We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want the seemingly impossible to become a reality - *Vaclav Havel* -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
Evgeny got to them. ;) More seriously, does anyone have digital divide info - cultural and financial - on Ukraine? Tech is not the solution for all cultures. Beer is the correct solution for some. A thousand cups of tea for others. Maybe State knows something we don't? Like: --- INTERNET Ukraine suffers digital divide - study Tuesday 22 March 2011 | 15:40 CET | News There is still a significant difference in household internet access across Ukraine, according to a study by GfK Ukraine. Internet penetration was just 12 percent in rural areas in Q4 2010, reports BizLigaNet. The figure rises to 25 percent in towns with a population below 50,000 and 38 percent of households in cities with more than 500,000 residents. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ukraine-suffers-digital-divide-study--793094 yrs, Shava Nerad shav...@gmail.com On Mar 21, 2013 3:04 PM, Yosem Companys compa...@stanford.edu wrote: Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
[liberationtech] US State Dept Discourages Using Technology to Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Citizen Engagement in Ukraine?
Fostering Civic Engagement in Ukraine (approximately $500,000 available): DRL’s objective is to support the role of civil society in policy formation and enhancing accountability and responsiveness of government officials in Ukraine. The program will support civil society to foster an inclusive and participatory democratic system of government and hold politicians and public officials more accountable to constituents. In order to foster more unity among civil society efforts, the program should support post-election advocacy on areas of policy formation and implementation such as ongoing efforts related to elections and election law reform; freedom of assembly legislation; and/or reversing legislation restricting the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations. The program should also examine how well existing laws are implemented and help civil society ensure that citizens can use official institutions and mechanisms to exercise their rights. Program activities could include, but are not limited to: support for activities to encourage debate and advocacy by citizens and civil society organizations, small grants to civil society for monitoring and/or advocacy activities, creating regional civil society partnerships to increase civil society unity on advocacy efforts, or connecting Ukrainian civil society with their counterparts in one or more countries in the region through NGO-to-NGO exchanges and mentoring in order to take advantage of shared post-communist and transition experiences. Successful proposals will demonstrate a strong knowledge of civil society in Ukraine and an established ability to work with regional civil society groups. DRL strongly discourages health, technology, or science- related projects unless they have an explicit component related to the requested program objectives listed above. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/p/206488.htm -- Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
