Knowledge Network & Database

This programmatic area addresses the goal of creating knowledge network and database to know about best practices in the field of ICT for Development. All projects in this area have the overarching goal of creating a knowledge network and database of all kinds of digital interventions aimed at socio-economic development and empowerment of people and communities. The projects seek to cover interventions across different categories of digital media, including mobile phones and social media and different geographies including the whole of South Asia and the Asia Pacific region.

Through 5 projects DEF has discovered and honoured nearly 6,000 ICTD innovators. A knowledge hub and repository of hundreds of best practices in use of digital tools for development has been created.

Projects

The Manthan AwardmBillionth AwardVodafone’s Mobile for Good AwardE-NGO Challenge: Summit, Award& NGO MarketplaceSocial Media for Empowerment: Summit &Awarde-Uttara AwardDigital Knowledge Centre

DEF’s first and oldest project aimed at discovering and honouring interventions and innovations in the field of ICT for Development has today grown to become globally renowned with competitors from 36 nations of South Asia and the Asia Pacific region vying for the coveted award.

DEF in partnership with World Summit Awards, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India and other organisations interested in ICT for development launched the Manthan Awards in October 2004 to identify, reward and give recognition to significant contributions in the field of ICT interventions for development (ICTD). The specific objective was to bring to the attention of all stakeholders such as governments, business and industry and civil society organisations engaged in the development sector significant ICTD initiatives and valuable digital content that are successfully serving underserved communities especially in rural areas and urban slums. Most of these success stories go unheralded in the mainstream media as these ICT interventions often operate in media-blind areas and sectors.

Consequently, there is little knowledge-sharing among the progenitors of these initiatives which in turn hinders the emergence of an eco-system that feeds on this knowledge and enables scaling up of these initiatives and coordination among them for much larger impact. The Manthan Awards sought to bridge this gap and create a platform that would not only highlight such ICTD initiatives but also help to create a network and database of such players that would enable all stakeholders to contribute in a way that would enhance the overall impact of such ICT interventions. Initially, the awards were limited to entries from India. In 2008, the scope of the awards was expanded to South Asia and in 2012 to the entire Asia Pacific region. Today, the awards invite entries from the following 36 countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, China, Cambodia, Fiji, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Island, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor, Tonga, Vietnam.

Outcome & Impact

Making visible the contents that already exist and thus demonstrating the richness and diversity of content creativity to those interested in understanding and planning an Information Society.

Focus Area Recognising and honouring ICT interventions for development

Impact

  • Has created a database of 3535 ICT on ground interventions from nominations received in 11years from 36 nations across South Asia and the Asia Pacific region
  • Has honoured and felicitated 358 ICT practitioners

Team
Lucky Tamang: 9643391021 (lucky@defindia.net)
Satya Prakash: 9278089024 (satya@defindia.net)
Ambar Madan: 9818930360 (ambar@defindia.org)

Website manthanaward.org

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Communication Department

+91 74288 55244

E-Mail: info@defindia.org

Since 2010, recognising mobile phone based interventions and innovations in the area of telecom from across eight countries in South Asia.

mbillionth

The mBillionth Award is an integrated platform for recognising innovations and best practices in the use of mobile phone technology for development and empowerment of marginalized communities. Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) launched this as a separate award in 2010 as a spin off from the Manthan Awards. This first-of-its-kind initiative in South Asia has today become the most influential and leading platform in the region for not only recognising and honouring best practices in use of mobile technology for development but also for networking among practitioners to create an ecosystem for knowledge sharing, partnerships and collaborations.

  1. To recognise and honour excellence in mobile communications across South Asia. To make the mBillionth Award South Asia the most influential and leading platform to explore, recognise and honour excellence in mobile innovations, applications and content services for development and empowerment across South Asia.
  2. To recognise innovations and creativity in mobile and telecom solutions
  3. To provide a platform for benchmarking people-oriented innovations in the telecom industry
  4. To provide a wider forum for strategic networking, alliances and partnership building
  5. To provide a South Asia Congress to exchange ideas, policy strengths & mobile advocacy
  6. To facilitate in building a South Asia network for campaign and advocacy in mobile for mass empowerment and inclusive growth.

Focus Area
Excellence in mobile communications across South Asia

Impact

  1. In five mBillionth Awards so far, we have received a total of 1279 nominations of which 170 innovators in use of mobile technology for development and empowerment have been felicitated
  2. The scope of accepting nominations for The mBillionth Award has grown from national initially then to all of South Asia
  3. The 5th mBillionth Award gala was witnessed by more than 800 delegates from eight South Asian countries.
    For both of the award events we have valuable partnerships with Vodafone, PIR, MINT, ICTA in Sri Lanka, Bytes for All from Pakistan, D.Net from Bangladesh

Team
Lucky Tamang: 9643391021 (lucky@defindia.net)
Satya Prakash: 9278089024 (satya@defindia.net)
Ambar Madan: 9818930360 (ambar@defindia.org)

Website: mbillionth.in

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mbillionth.in


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Communication Department

+91 74288 55244

E-Mail: info@defindia.org

Recognising and honouring mobile phone applications and innovations developed and used by non-profit organisations in India; also helping them with financial aid and mentorship for scale.

Vodafone Foundation has been working across many countries with a program called “Mobile for Good” to help mobile based applications benefit communities at large in the domain of education, women, agriculture, and livelihood. In 2011, Vodafone Foundation launched the program in India by partnering with DEF through the mBillionth Award, which has been identifying mobile and telecom based applications in India and South Asia. Since 2011, Mobile for Good program in India has identified and supported 18 projects by diverse not-for-profit organisations spread across the length and breadth of the country. In 2014, Mobile for Good Awards became separate from mBillionth award and is now being treated as an independent award.

Objectives

  • Set up a sustainable, robust and scalable awards programme in India, highlighting Vodafone Foundation’s key focus – ‘Mobile for Good’ – in India.
  • Recognise NGOs/NPOs, other social organisations and entrepreneurs that demonstrate innovation in mobile and wireless-related technology, to address critical social issues that are aligned to Vodafone Foundation’s strategic focus areas.
  • Conceptualise and launch a first-of-its-kind Social Apps Marketplace for the social development sector.
  • Incubating award winners with credible partners from media, universities, start-ups and incubators, etc. to help them upscale and build capacity of their projects.

 

Focus Area
Motivating and Encouraging Innovations in Mobile Content and Services Delivery by NGOs

Outcome & Impact

  • Grants worth Rs 16.9 million have been given to 18 NGOs
  • Has created a database of 492 mobile interventions for development in 4 years

Team
Chitra Chauhan, Project Manager

Avesta Choudhary, Communication Manager

Website: www.microsite.vodafone.in

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Communication Department

+91 74288 55244

E-Mail: info@defindia.org

Use of digital tools brings efficiency and large-scale impact among non-profit communities. E-NGO Challenge recognise such NGOs and helps NGOs to become digitally inclusive.

The eNGO challenge aspires to create an ecosystem of NGOs, which use Information Communication Technology (ICT) and digital media for good governance practices for the benefit of societies and communities at large. The challenge seeks to recognize, salute and honor best NGO practices using ICT in any part of the world. The eNGO challenge is a joint initiative of Public Interest Registry (PIR) and Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF).

Objectives

  • To promote and encourage best ICT practices by NGOs for community development;
  • To create an ecosystem of NGOs who uses ICTs and digital media for good governance practice for community serving purpose ;
  • To create and build a network of NGOs into innovative ICT practices for learning, experience sharing and promoting good practices;
  • To encourage bottom up NGO led local content development and population, information and community work experiences on ICT platforms through the web especially for wider access and partnership;
  • To advocate the wider need for good ICT practice among NGOs as the third sector working partner hand in hand with the public and the private sectors

Focus Area
Encouraging NGOs working in the field of ICT for Development

Outcome & Impact

  • Created a database of 647 ICT for Development interventions by NGOs from 8 countries in Asia and Africa
  • In 3 editions honoured and felicitated 27 winners

Team
Lucky Tamang: 9643391021 (lucky@defindia.net)
Satya Prakash: 9278089024 (satya@defindia.net)
Ambar Madan: 9818930360 (ambar@defindia.org)

Website: www.engochallenge.org

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Communication Department

+91 74288 55244

E-Mail: info@defindia.org

Rewarding social media interventions for development across South Asia to create a platform for networking, learning and mutual cooperation.

social media award

The emergence of new media and social media platforms has pushed traditional media to the fringes. Digital outreach medium and Social Media platforms like Facebook, twitter, YouTube, blogs, Google hangout, Flickr, Foursquare etc play a critical role by involving millions of people in real time. Social media is the illustrious and most potent democratic tool of empowerment, promotion, participation, commerce, cause, campaign, activism, among others. In an effort to identify how social media platforms have been utilized for their campaign-and-cause based programmes, Digital Empowerment Foundation initiated Social Media and Empowerment Award in 2013 to honor and recognize those social media initiatives who are using social media technology as a catalyst for communication, spreading awareness and fulfilling their mission and needs of social development.

Objectives

  1. To synergize efforts and dialogues on social media and how it can become an efficient tool for real work and inspire others to utilize it in bringing positive change;
  2. To make a vast pool of talent of Social Media evangelists to share and feed knowledge so that decision making can be improved;
  3. To recognize, honor and encourage best social media practices through “Social Media for Development & Change” Awards;
  4. To organize 4 workshops on different project locations to impart knowledge on social media tools in order to empower communities
  5. To create a regional network of Social Media Experts to facilitate the use of Social Media among participating countries and create regional cooperation, collaboration and network;
  6. To demonstrate the best social media initiatives, practices and success stories from 8 South Asian Countries during main event;
  7. To provide attendees a wider forum for strategic alliances, partnerships building and structured network opportunity;
  8. To build a tribe of followers through social media that grows organically and can contribute in overall development of the region;
  9. To create effective community network that will share authentic information on social changes and developmental activities through social media;
  10. To provide a platform to the existing as well as upcoming social media initiatives for scaling up.

Focus Area
Honor best social media initiatives for empowerment.

Impact

  • In 2 years has created a database of 286 social media for development and good governance interventions.
  • Honoured and felicitated 17 best practices using social media.

Team

Avesta Choudhary
Mobile– +919910034326
Emailavesta@defindia.net

Ravi Guria
Mobile– +919910391971
Emailravi.guria@defindia.net

Website:socialmedia4empowerment.net

Recent Updates


social media

Social Media – Paving Way Towards Digital Integration

Posted: May 25, 2015

Social media has drastically changed the style of communication. Today Internet has redefined communication. Digital Empowerment Foundation with American Centre as an Outreach Partner conducted a workshop in Kohima on 31st March, 2015 with YouthNet as our local partner.

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E-Mail: info@defindia.org