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+ ---------------------------------------------------- + For all the news and analysis about the WSIS summit from a civil society perspective, please visit our Special Coverage section at: http://www.digitalopportunity.org/section/dochannel/wsis + ---------------------------------------------------- + ********************************* Latest News http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/archive/1138 ********************************* INDIA PLANS MASSIVE CYBER PROJECT IN KASHMIR, SANS POWER & CONNECTIVITY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Indian government has announced an ambitious US $8.2 million plan to set up 139 Community Information Centres connecting all villages across the state of Kashmir, alongside call centres and other schemes to boost information technology, even though both power and connectivity remain elusive in the state. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70973/1138/557 UK COUNCIL PUTS CITIZEN BENEFITS CLAIMS ON EXPRESSWAY ----------------------------------------------------- In an innovative e-government initiative, the Halton Borough Council in UK is driving its housing and other benefits straight to the citizenry, literally. Equipped with laptops connected to the council's benefits-management system, its Benefits Express bus helps local people navigate the bureaucratic maze of applying for housing benefits and council tax relief. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70972/1138/557 AS ONE COMPANY TAKES OVER US AIRWAVES, DIVERSITY DISAPPEARS ------------------------------------------------------------ Before the deregulation of radio in the US in 1996, no company could own more than 40 radio stations. Now one - Clear Channel - owns over 1,200, as well as hundreds of thousands of billboards, concert halls, and other entertainment products. All this means most of what we hear is only what they want us to hear, explains Free Speech Radio's Dante Toza. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70894/1138/557 MEDIA, COMMUNICATORS CONCERNED AT WSIS MEASURES ----------------------------------------------- The Bellagio Symposium on Media, Freedom and Poverty, which came together recently, has expressed concern that in the World Summit on the Information Society some of the measures being considered run counter to freedom of expression and that there is inadequate mapping of development objectives against the proposed actions. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70782/1138/557 ACCESS TO INFORMATION ESSENTIAL TO KNOWLEDGE SOCIETIES: MINISTERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Meeting in Paris in preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society in December 2003, ministers from all over the world have agreed that universal access to information and press freedom must guide the ICT use to maximize its effectiveness for individual, community and national development. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70780/1138/557 BOLIVIA ACTIVISTS PROTEST FORCED CLOSURE OF RADIO STATION --------------------------------------------------------- Communication rights activists in Bolivia have denounced the forced closure of Radio Pio XII, one of the affiliates of the Association for Wireless Education in Bolivia. The closure was a direct result of the radio station's role in providing information on the crisis that is developing in the country. Latin American and Caribbean communicators have also expressed their solidarity with the Bolivian people. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70682/1138/557 RADIO PROJECT IN WEST AFRICA GIVES VOICES TO COMMUNITIES -------------------------------------------------------- The Panos Institute West Africa has set up, in Ghana and Sierra Leone, a pilot radio project using ́Oral Testimoniesî, or interviews that are long and extensive discussions on specific topics. Using the oral testimonies of the local population in their original languages, it aims to bring about a concept of a more listener-friendly radio format that facilitates integration and synthesis and encourages creativity. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70675/1138/557 FINALISTS NAMED FOR APC BETINHO COMMUNICATIONS PRIZE 2003 --------------------------------------------------------- APC has announced the 12 finalists for the Betinho Communications Prize 2003. Three of the projects will be awarded US$ 7,500 in prize in recognition of their outstanding people-centred technology initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70540/1138/557 SOUTH AFRICA GETS ITS OWN 'GRAZING LAND' FOR OPEN SOURCE -------------------------------------------------------- South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has launched an Open Source Centre as an attempt to stimulate the adoption of Open Source software technologies in Africa. The centre has adopted as its theme the concept of 'Meraka', a SeSotho term meaning common grazing land. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70537/1138/557 ********************************* Analysis http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/archive/1134 ********************************* MAKING TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR THE POOR ----------------------------------- At the upcoming WSIS conference on technology and development, delegates should consider not just how to improve Internet access in the developing world, but how to overcome the other half of the "digital divide" - making the new technologies work in poorer, less literate societies, argues David Dickson. OneWorld's Open Knowledge Network is already doing just that. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70900/1134/557 ********************************* Get Involved http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/archive/1112 ********************************* WRITE A VIDEO SCRIPT AND WIN A DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA! ---------------------------------------------------- The UK Department for International Development, Gamos and Big World invite you to compete for a digital video camera, plus accessories, to enhance your information and communication for development. Develop a script for a short video that you will use the digital video camera to make and its project planning and send by email or post. Closing date: 30 October 2003 http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70784/1112/557 TALK TO HER: DIALOGUE AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN ICT ---------------------------------------------- From October 24 to November 21, 2003, young women from across the globe will connect in an electronic forum to discuss strategies for the integration of gender dimensions and empowerment of young women and girls at all levels of the ICT for development field. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70783/1112/557 ********************************* Partner News http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/archive/4678 ********************************* 'MAKING THE LINKS' OF DIVERSE VOICES IN CANADA'S HEARTLAND ---------------------------------------------------------- Making the Links is an independent, alternative radio from the heartland of Canada, now in its sixth year of broadcasting. Airing on community stations in Saskatoon and Regina, it features the voices of many communities fighting for social and economic change at home and globally. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70901/4678/557 AMARC LAUNCHES RADIO NEWS AGENCY FOR AFRICA'S RURAL AREAS --------------------------------------------------------- The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) has set up a news agency on development issues. Simbani [1] Africa News Agency will make use of technical information from various organizations, editing it into radio format, thus making it accessible to a wide audience, including to people in the most remote rural areas. Read more in French http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70570/4678/557 ********************************* Current Funding Opportunity http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/archive/4889 ********************************* OSISA INVITES ICT4D PROPOSALS FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA ------------------------------------------------- The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) has formally launched its new ICT Programme Guidelines and has invited organisations to engage with OSISA on developing effective proposals for ICT s and development in Southern Africa. OSISA will support programmes where ICT policy, technologies, networking, literacy and development awareness are not an end in themselves, but where the emphasis is on social action for change. Contact Ashraf Patel at [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for more information. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/link/gotoarticle/addhit/70905/4889/557 Digital Opportunity Channel http://www.digitalopportunity.org Promoting Digital Opportunities for All Editor: Kanti Kumar Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can manage your email digest subscriptions with Digital Opportunity Channel and OneWorld by visiting: http://www.digitalopportunity.org/bulkmail/subscriptionlist/ You will need to log in with your nickname and password, or register for (free) OneWorld/Digital Opportunity Channel membership. ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
