[UgaBYTES] Weekly highlights from telecentre.org

Fri Oct 5 14:25:35 GMT 2007

Hi Everyone,

Here are the latest highlights from telecentre.org

* UNESCAP networks telecentres to benefit the poor
* HIVOS supporting telecentres to create content
* i4d Film Festival India 2007 - Beyond the Mainstream
* A telecentre connects to internet via a mobile phone
* UDS transforms communities through information sharing
* Telecentre National Alliance-Movement for a sustainable partnership
* Young people call for involvement in information technology
* Manthan Award 2007 and ICONECS
* Sengerema telecentre receives 220 computers for rural communities
* Weekly news roundup

* UNESCAP networks telecentres to benefit the poor
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP) is to establish a regional knowledge network of telecentres to
empower the poor, disadvantaged communities and women. UNESCAP hopes to
network and transform selected telecentres into knowledge hubs of global
knowledge networks to provide, develop, organize, share and disseminate
knowledge pertinent to those communities.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44401

* HIVOS supporting telecentres to create content
HIVOS is supporting telecentres in accumulating and documenting content from
communities. Relevant Content has been one of the prime challenges to
telecentres. For many years, the telecentre community has not thought that
the potential linkage of telecentres to focused organizations would address
this challenge. Through UgaBYTES Initiative, telecentres are gathering and
documenting relevant content from their respective communities to bridge the
gap.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44573

* i4d Film Festival India 2007 - Beyond the Mainstream
There is no escaping the mass media. Whether its print, television, radio or
the latest communication channel – the Internet, mass media is ubiquitous
and represents the voice of the masses. In India, about 20 major media
houses represent the voice of a nation of over a billion people. There is an
assumption that in a free and democratic society, exemplified by the US, the
media is free, unbiased and objective. However, the politik of media is
endowed with some essential ingredients which falsify the notion of a free
and open press. The most important of these are: the size, concentration of
ownership, owner wealth, and profit orientation of mass media and
advertising as a primary source of income.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/43746

 * A telecentre connects to Internet via a mobile phone
As from 17th January 2006 a new business venture opened in Fultola, an area
of Bogra town, in Bangladesh. At first sight, it looks like a standard
Internet cafe - a one-room "commercial unit" which opens onto a bustling
street; four screens each with a keyboard and mouse; customers browsing the
Web and reading email. But look inside and you find that this "Community
Information Centre" (CIC) is radically different from a typical Internet
cafe. For one thing, there's only one PC, which functions as a server: each
of the other workstations is powered by a small device, not much bigger than
a cigarette packet.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44315

* UDS transforms communities through information sharing
UDS aims to uplift the lives of the rural poor by giving them appropriate
and relevant information in order to make informed decisions that transform
their lives. It does this through provision of community library services,
distribution of books to poor school children, promoting reading in primary
schools, dissemination of information to farmers and other community members
and development of skills in computer applications. It also provides
Community Based Organisations (CBOs) with relevant information to enable
them improve their service delivery.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44316

*Taking computers to rural India
Kalyan, a thickly-forested village located in western Indian state of
Maharashtra, did not have a telephone connection until about six years ago.
Then one day in 2001, the village's only secondary school received a
computer as a gift. The students, who had never even heard of a computer,
were visibly excited. When a girl student, Shraddha Dimble, was asked to key
in her name, she sweated and fumbled nervously and took a good five minutes
to do so.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44302

* Young people call for involvement in information technology
Young people attending a United Nations-backed summit in Geneva have asked
to be involved in initiatives that utilize information and communications
technology (ICT) to tackle global challenges. At the three-day Global Forum
on Youth and ICT for Development at the Centre International de Conférences,
young people from around the world proposed measures for addressing the
impact of the ICT explosion on their lives.
Read the rest of this ntry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44159

* Telecentre National Alliance-Movement for a sustainable partnership
Today's increasingly technocratic world is in constant search of innovative
ways to keep both man and machine in harmonious existence. Enormous amounts
of e-waste generated from out-of-use electronic machines are becoming a
serious global problem. Yet, this has to be seen as inevitable within the
growing demand-in-need framework of technological and communicative
development. What is most required today is a search for ways that could
meet people cost efficiently with their advanced aspirations and needs,
certainly in a minimal hazardous way. It is a national call.
Read the details here http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/43655

* Manthan Award 2007 and ICONECS
Recognising the best of e-Content innovations and creativity in India, the
2007 edition of the Manthan Award event gala was held on September 22nd in
New Delhi, India. The Award ceremony was preceded by a two day conference on
'e-Content for Development and Sustainability' that culminated in the
felicitation ceremony and Award ceremony on September 22, at India Islamic
Cultural Centre auditorium, New Delhi.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/43749

* Sengerema telecentre receives 220 computers for rural communities
Sengerema Telecentre in Tanzania received 220 computers to increase and
improve access to ICT tools. The computers are part of the August
consignment of 200 P3 desktops and 20 P3 Laptops from Jireh Technology
Solutions - Texas USA. Felician Ncheye from Sengerema telecentre said that
so far 293 computers had been received and are to be distributed with an aim
of providing affordable ICTs to rural communities and meet the ICT4D
initiatives.
Read the rest of this entry here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44572

* Weekly news roundup – Asia
 UN sponsored meeting to link remote Asia-Pacific communities to the web,
ICICI Bank plans to demonstrate its rural smart card in Sri Lanka,  4th
meeting of the SASEC ICT Working Group, OLPC announces 'Give 1 Get 1'
programme and remote Vietnamese village gets Internet access via WiMax
Find the details of the news from Asia here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44166

* Weekly news roundup September 30
Software Development Support for Uganda, making Nigeria an ICT compliant
Economy, Nigeria's Top Schools Go for World Class ICT, 'Silicon Ribbon' Pops
Up Across the Maghreb
Read these and more stories here
http://community.telecentre.org/en-tc/node/44170

Cheers,
Esther
Community Content Facilitator - Africa
telecentre.org
Based at: Ugabytes Initiative <http://www.ugabytes.org/> (Uganda)
Tel: 256414370163

<http://www.ugabytes.org/>

------------------------------------------------------------
telecentre.org is a global community of people and organizations committed
to increasing the social and economic impact of grassroots telecentres.
Working together, we provide the resources that telecentres need to succeed:
locally relevant content and services, support and learning opportunities,
and networks that help telecentre activists connect to each other. With
these things in hand, tens of thousands of telecentres will be in a better
position to enrich the communities they serve. Our founding investors
include Canada's International Development Research Centre, Microsoft, and
the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. We invite others who share
our vision and  commitment to join us. Visit www.telecentre.org to learn
more.
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