[UgaBYTES] eIndia is here again!!

[Shipra Sharma]

Dear all,
eIndia 2009, the fifth one in the series of very popular conferences organised by Centre for Science Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), is scheduled to take place from 25th to 27th August, 2009 at Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad, India. This conference is co-organised by the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India; and Information Technology & Communication Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh is the State Host Partner of this event.
Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is a city with an illustrious past and a promising present and future in the IT sector. It is also famous for its "Hyderabadi cuisine", specially "biryani". So, the delegates attending this conference have the opportunity to observe, discuss, partner, network and also dine with like minded people from India and abroad in one of the most famous historical cities and IT hubs of the country.
For new entrants in the telecentre community, let me explain that eIndia 2009, just like its predecessors, is a three-day international conference and exhibition organised annually by CSDMS. This is the first time that the conference has moved out of the Indian capital, New Delhi. It is a unique platform for knowledge sharing in different domains of ICT for development and facilitates multi-stakeholder partnerships and networking among governments, industry, academia and civil society organisations from different countries, including the host country- India.
The main attractions of this conference are five parallel tracks on: egov India, digital learning India, eHealth India, eAgriculture India and Indian Telecentre Forum or ITF. As their names suggest, these tracks focus on five emerging application domains of ICT for Development, i.e., governance, education, health, agriculture and telecentres-- the physical structures that allow access to ICTs and are also the delivery points for services offered in the four areas mentioned earlier, specially in rural areas.
Although the telecentre domain, as witnessed by the proliferation of groups on the telecentre.org site, covers all the issues that would be discussed in the parallel tracks of the conference, the Indian Telecentre Forum (ITF) would be of special interest to the telecentre community. It would discuss key telecentre issues, such as the Indian telecentre landscape, international telecentre experience, connectivity, content and services and grassroots innovations in these areas. It would also confer 'Telecentre awards' for: a) Innovative grassroots telecentre of the year, b) Government/policy initiative of the year, and c) Civil society/development agency initiative of the year.
The conference will also serve as an exhibition host to some of the latest e-solutions, services, initiatives and case studies from across India and beyond.
The eIndia 2009 Awards being organised as part of the event aim to honour the distinguished professionals and institutions working in the domains of e-Agriculture, e-Governance, Digital Learning, eHealth, Telecentre and Municipal IT.  
The Award selection process will go through a dual process of Jury as well as public voting system.The online voting has started from 1st August 2009 and closes on 20th August 2009. The selected winners will be invited to the Award giving ceremony of eINDIA 2009 conference.
Please visit the eIndia website and vote for the best ICT initiatives from around the world.
Also, please plan your calenders according to the event's schedule and make it a point to attend eIndia 2009. Registration of participants is still open and there is also on the spot registration facilities for those reaching Hyderabad on 25th August, 2009. For more details, please visit: eIndia 2009 , Indian Telecentre Forum, and telecentre.org Events.
eIndia 2009 is also on twitter, facebook and linked In 
See you in Hyderabad!