[GKD] Community Radio Gives India's Villagers a Voice
INTERESTING STORY from South India. Sorry for the delay in posting it. As someone involved with the community-radio debate, I'd urge anyone who sees potential in this form of communication to add their voice to the demand for freeing India's airwaves. The world's largest democracy needs to prove its commitment to free speech. Interestingly, while Deputy PM L K Advani was recently praising the potential of community radio (while launching the educational radio station at Anna University in Chennai) officials of the government are quoted below as expressing their reservations. Fear is the key! The potential is lost. If you would like to join a mailing-list devoted to spreading awareness about community radio and its potential, sign on below... FN ___ cr-india mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india ___ Community Radio Gives India's Villagers a Voice Officials Worry Local Stations May Foment Unrest By Rama Lakshmi Special to The Washington Post Wednesday, September 17, 2003; BOODIKOTE, India -- Crushed under the weight of three years of drought, the villagers lost their patience when the public water pipes dried up last June. For eight days, there was no water for cooking, cleaning or washing. There were murmurs of protest everywhere. Women came out of their homes with empty pots demanding that the old pipes be fixed and new wells dug. Men stood at street corners and debated angrily. The village chief made promises, but nothing happened. Then, a young man ran over to the village radio station and picked up a recorder. Women complained and shouted into the mike and vented their anger at the village chief's indifference. There was chaos everywhere. But I recorded everything, said Nagaraj Govindappa, 22, a jobless villager. He played the tape that evening on the small community radio station called Namma Dhwani, or Our Voices. The embarrassed village chief ordered the pipes repaired. Within days, water was gushing again. India's first independent community radio initiative is in this millet- and tomato-growing village in the southern state of Karnataka. It is a cable radio service because India forbids communities to use the airwaves. A media advocacy group, with the help of U.N. funds, laid cables, sold subsidized radios with cable jacks to villagers and trained young people to run the station. The power of community radio as a tool of social change is enormous in a country that is poor, illiterate and has a daunting diversity of languages and cultures, said Ashish Sen, director of Voices, the advocacy group. Emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling in 1995 declaring airwaves to be public property, citizens groups and activists began pushing for legislation that would free the airwaves from government control. Two years ago, India auctioned its FM stations to private businesses to air entertainment programs. And late last year, India allowed some elite colleges to set up and run campus radio stations. By keeping the airwaves restricted, activists complain, the Indian government lags behind such South Asian neighbors as Nepal and Sri Lanka. Nepal launched South Asia's first community radio station in 1995 and today has at least five independent stations across the country that address people's complaints and act as hubs of information in times of strife. In Sri Lanka, Kothmale Radio has been an integral part of the Kothmale community for 14 years. Last December, Sri Lanka issued a broadcasting license to the formerly clandestine radio station run by the Tamil Tiger rebels, Voice of Tigers. The decision was made to strengthen the peace process underway after nearly two decades of war and to bring the radio transmissions under Sri Lankan law. Radiophony, an Indian lobby group for community radio, claims that villagers can set up a low-powered, do-it-yourself radio station -- with a half-watt transmitter, a microphone, antenna and a cassette player -- for approximately $25. The group says such a station can reach about a third of a mile and cover a small village. Last year, the group supplied a low-wattage transmitter to a World Bank-supported women's group in Oravakal, a village in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Mana Radio, or Our Radio, ran for five months before officials from the communications ministry seized the equipment and shut down the broadcast in February. We have to tread very cautiously when it comes to community radio, said Pavan Chopra, secretary of India's ministry of information and broadcasting. As of today we don't think that villagers are equipped to run radio stations. People are unprepared, and it could become a platform to air provocative, political content that doesn't serve any purpose except to divide people. It is fraught with danger. The ministry runs the All India Radio service that covers the country and has more than 200 stations.
Re: [GKD] RFI: Satellite Communications with Western China?
Guangzhou Weida Communications Technology Company Ltd. has commissioned a LinkStar hub in Suzhou and 300 broadband VSAT terminals, mostly in rural areas of western China. The network provides education centers and business customers with Internet, data, video, and retail services. Business customers include banks, supermarkets, and gas stations. Guangzhou Weida is the first private company to receive a VSAT communication license from the Ministry of Information Industry of People's Republic of China. http://www.viasat.com/vsat/access/ Petah Tikva, Israel, May 1, 2003 - Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILTF) has been selected by the China Telecommunications Corp. to provide a large-scale, satellite-based rural telephony network in the Tibet autonomous region of China. China Telecom will make an initial purchase of a DialAway hub, 14 gateways and 1,300 VSAT terminals for public call offices to serve the region's remote villages. The tender indicates that the contract can be extended to a total of 5,000 VSATs. http://www.gilat.com/PressRoom_PressRelease.asp?sbj=535 Last July I got DSL service in Lhasa through China Telecom. Performance of this new service was quite good then. -gmc Gordon M. Cressman Director, IDG ICT Program RTI International [EMAIL PROTECTED] +1 919 541-6363 +1 919 271-7003 Mobile +1 202 354-4840 Internet Fax Joe Monahan wrote: Does anyone have experience or information regarding the use of satellites to deliver educational content to central or western China? I know its a long shot, but wonder if there might be bandwidth on a commercial satellite for development or distance education efforts. I seem to recall sometime ago the deployment of low earth orbiting - LEO satellites for developing country communications? ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
Re: [GKD] RFI: Satellite Communications with Western China?
Aloha, The Nokia pilot is Bridge-IT: http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,5184,27266,00.html It is an interesting, but expensive, approach. Currently, I am working with Mabuhay Philippine Satellite Corporation which operates the Agila II satellite with a footprint over much of Asia. We are piloting low cost satellite solutions to rural/remote areas with video, internet...and even satellite radio www.mabuhaysat.com; and PEACESAT to implement solar-powered, receive-only satellite Internet stations in remote Pacific islands, as well http://www.peacesat.hawaii.edu/. Both organizations have a wealth of experience in this arena (while Mabuhay Sat would have more specifics on Western China). -Andy Andrew Kerr Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Honolulu, Hawaii, USA www.prel.org Steven Rudolph wrote: Nokia has a program they are piloting in the Philippines that uses satellite transmission for educational purposes. See if you can find the info on the nokia site. Joe Monahan wrote: Does anyone have experience or information regarding the use of satellites to deliver educational content to central or western China? I know its a long shot, but wonder if there might be bandwidth on a commercial satellite for development or distance education efforts. I seem to recall sometime ago the deployment of low earth orbiting - LEO satellites for developing country communications? ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
[GKD] New Book Highlights Role of ICTs in Africa's Education System
AfricaDotEdu: IT Opportunites and Higher Education in Africa Edited by: Maria A. Beebe, Koffi Magloire, Banji Oyeyinka, and Madanmohan Rao Book Description Ordering Information: The AfricaDotEdu book is available for purchase from the WSU Press for the cost of $34.95 + shipping (US Dollars). If you should have any further questions, please feel free to contact either WSU Press [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Matt Kloes [EMAIL PROTECTED] at the Center to Bridge the Digital Divide via e-mail. [Forwarder's Comment: You might want to ask why the book is not available as a free download on-line or why there is no reduced price for purchasers in the developing world. George] ICTs like the Internet have a huge potential as a positive change factor across a wide range of sectors in Africa - but their diffusion and usage have faced massive challenges in the past. In much of Africa, the situation is now improving for the better - as documented by the newly released book AfricaDotEdu: IT Opportunities and Higher Education in Africa. The book is the first to chronicle and analyse the growth of the Internet in Africa and especially highlight the role of the education sector. The editors are Dr. Maria A. Beebe (Center to Bridge the Digital Divide, Washington State University), Kouakou Koffi Magloire (managing editor of The Industry, South Africa), Dr. Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka (United Nations University, Maastricht, Netherlands) and Dr. Madanmohan Rao (IT consultant and writer, Bangalore, India). What kind of impact is IT having on educational institutions, systems, content and processes in Africa? And what critical roles does the higher education sector play in developing local capacities in pedagogy, research, publishing, healthcare, e-commerce and cyberlaw? These are the two most critical sets of questions facing researchers, educators and policymakers in Africa today, as well as in the development community at large. The themes are scholarly researched and presented by over 25 African writers, providing a uniquely first-hand African view on regional developments. This unprecedented compilation of scholarly essays provides comprehensive statistics, analysis and roadmaps for the future of the Internet in African education. Topics covered in the 24 chapters range from digital libraries and country case studies to national IT policies and e-learning. AfricaDotEdu is required reading for academics, policymakers, consultants, students and the development community involved in the foundations and frontiers of education and ICTs, especially in Africa. The pivotal role played by African higher education institutions in the spread of ICTs in the region is the highlight of this book. As a benchmark for e-learning initiatives, AfricaDotEdu can help answer some critical questions about preparing students to meet 21st century challenges. We invite you to engage the editors as they plan for the book series which includes AfricaDotGov and AfricaDotMedia, said Dr. Maria A. Beebe, Senior Associate for Global Networks at the Center to Bridge the Digital Divide, Washington State University http://www.africadotedu.org/ --- = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Via / By / Excerpted / From / Thanks to: http://www.comminit.com/DiscussionForums/sld-9613.html (c)info http://members.tripod.com/~media002/disclaimer.htm Due to the nature of email the WWW, check ALL sources. http://media002.tripod.com/ Member http://www.carcc.ca/ http://www.caj.ca You must be the change you wish to see in the world. (Gandhi) ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
[GKD] Implementing WSIS Action Plan
Dear Fellows, The CTO has appointed AITEC to co-ordinate a major conference it is holding in March with the theme Implementing the WSIS Action Plan. The conference will be held in Nairobi over 25-26 March to coincide with the Kenya National ICT Convention which AITEC is also organising on behalf of the ICT Federation of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance. Over 300 high-level policy-makers, government officials and representatives of ICT enterprises are expected to attend the CTO conference. I will participate in the conference and will present a paper titled WSIS Plan of Action vs the Role of Govt. in Developing Countries which will focus to extend the role of ITU / CTO and other leading development partners to monitor the Implementation of the WSIS Action Plan. The role may be as watchdog and workable in partnership with local organizations who are involved in the WSIS process. If anybody of this group is participating in the conference and interested to share participate in the process to implement the WSIS Action Plan, please lets sit during the conference. I will stay at Safari Park, the venue of the conference and we can meet at the hotel. Any ideas contributions are also most welcome towards implementation of the WSIS Action Plan. Best regards, Md Shahid Uddin Akbar Coordinator ICTDP'B (ICT for Development Program, Bangladesh) Room No. 107-108, Baitus Sharf Complex, 149/A Airport Road, Tejgaon Dhaka 1215 BANGLADESH Tel : 880 18 243935 www.ictdpb.org ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/
