The Museum of Digital Society: A Living Archive of Digital Inclusion
The world is standing at the crossroads. One way leads to inclusive globalisation and the other to exclusive localisation. While globalisation at the cost of local skills is certainly undesirable, sharing and engagement is the only way forward for any society and culture in the digital era that is the hallmark of inclusiveness. We cannot build walls around us and hope to grow. Hence, the war between globalisation and localisation shouldn’t result in throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Prayag means sangam or confluence; and that’s what we are championing through the first Digital India mela, ‘Prayag’.
Digital India mela Prayag is the confluence of lives, culture, tradition, heritage, ideas, thoughts, energies and more, all enabled by digital movement. And this confluence is not limited to India, but spans across South Asia. It is endeavouring to find a common complementing ground between globalisation and localisation. Globalisation enhances reach and accessibility that helps livelihood opportunities at the local level.
We still have a long way to go before every Indian is digitally enabled. Prayag is the celebration of Digital Bharat to the extent we have achieved (which unfortunately is not much), so it makes way for the digital enablement of the remaining population, which is mostly rural and semi-urban.
Prayag showcases digitally enabled innovators, artisans, handloom weavers, farmers, health workers and teachers, among others, at the grassroots level, and provide an enriching platform for learning, interaction and engagement between various sections of society. It’s a start, which is driven by our belief that education is more important than literacy; creativity thrives on rippling chaos than placid order; and leveraging technology to preserve culture and tradition by enabling access and reach to, for and by them.
The occasion will also mark the Gala Evenings for the 13th Manthan Awards, the 5th eNGO Challenge, the 4th District Collector Champions Awards, and the 2nd CIRC Awards. The best digital innovators and trailblazers from South Asia will be honoured and felicitated on this occasion.
Some of the other highlights of the mela include a mega exposition of 500+ stalls, display of arts & craft; folk music & dance; organic food stalls; games, entertainment & competitions and Dariya Dil Dukaan. Interactive sessions, too, will be held on governance & livelihood, environment & agriculture, business & commerce, healthcare & wellness, digital empowerment & tools, learning & education, culture & tourism, inclusion & empowerment, entrepreneurship & outreach; and smart settlements & urbanization.
So mark your calendar for February 25, 2017. We’re celebrating Prayag at Surajkund Mela Ground in Faridabad, Haryana. You should join us too.
For more information visit www.prayag-india.org.
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