This article was first published in the Mint newspaper on March 2, 2016. This is a story of communities whose world of knowledge, skills and wisdom lies in oral and audio visual communication. Despite being functional illiterates, their current generation is fast adopting digital tools and media to leverage their traditional skills, like folk music—not just…
Trai has rebuked telcos and the likes of Facebook which had introduced Free Basics as a content service in the name of providing free access to the Internet
Sikar is the 24th district of Rajasthan wherein ‘Jawaabdehi Yatra’ has witnessed an abysmal picture of stone mMining when the team was invited to visit Shuklawas village in Kotputli. The entire village is severely affected by illegal stone mining and its deadly impact where debris from blasts can be seen on houses, fields and even schools. With…
CIRCs across the country have collectively achieved the target of making over 6,000 people digitally literate in the months of November and December 2015. Elaborate planning, meticulous steps, constant support and regular mobilisation has helped CIRC staff across India to strengthen their connection with the grassroots, and enabled them to communicate to the masses the…
India’s craft traditions and skills, passed on from generation to generation, are not just an important part of its cultural identity but a crucial means of sustenance for numerous communities. As per unofficial figures, there are about 20 crore artisans who form the backbone of India’s non-farm rural economy. Keeping this in mind, DEF in…
Taking forward the partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, an independent non-profit committed to promoting liberal policy and politics, we are hosting a summit on ‘Individual Rights in the Age of Digital Medium’ in Bengaluru, Karnataka on September 30, 2016. For the same, we invite papers on themes around (i) Access, Openness & Diversity; (ii)…
DEF organised a two-and-a-half day training workshop on Internet Rights and a one-and-a-half day Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Advocacy Workshop in New Delhi from February 3-6, 2015. The workshop brought together representatives from various human rights organisations and human rights defenders towards building a network of individuals and organisations who raise their voices in support…
Cyber city Bengaluru is getting ready to host on September 9 and 10, 2016, the first-ever Crowd Sourcing Summit to be held in India. The Summit is being organized by Digital Empowerment Foundation in collaboration with the global platform Crowdsourcing Week (CSW) and will be open to anyone interested in the concept of Crowd Sourcing.…
Rajesh Verma, Former Secretary, Government of Sikkim What ails ICT in the government? It was an honour being a member of the Grand Jury for the Manthan Awards. I was particularly impressed by the number of entries from the government sector some of which were very innovative. This set me reminiscing about the 36 years…
Meet 27 year old Arun Daniel Yellamaty, founder of the Youngistan Foundation and the Hunger Heroes and Transformers project that has in a short span of two years roped in 700 volunteers who buy raw materials, cook food and provide more than a 1,000 free meals to the poorest of the poor across four cities…