Dear all,
Here is the A2K newsletter for the month of May, 2013. Apologies for the delay.
Wikimedia Foundation, beginning from September 1, 2012, awarded the Centre for Internet
& Society (CIS) a two-year grant of INR 26,000,000 to support and develop free
knowledge in India. Consequently, Wikimedia Foundation’s India Program became the Access
to Knowledge (A2K) program of CIS. In this newsletter, we are pleased to bring you updates
about the recently concluded exhibition organised in our offices in Bangalore and Delhi
and share with you the feedback to the Access to Knowledge work plan from the wikipedia
community.
The A2K team consists of three members based in Bangalore: T. Vishnu Vardhan, Dr. U.B.
Pavanaja and Subhashish Panigrahi and one member Nitika Tandon in Delhi. Noopur Raval,
Programme Officer left the organisation on April 24, 2013. Archives of our newsletters
arehere.
Wikipedians from various communities can request for outreach programs, technical bugs,
logistics-merchandize and media, public relations and communications at
http://bit.ly/TOcXId.
Celebrating 5 Years of CIS
CIS is now 5 years old and we recently celebrated this by holding an open exhibition in
our offices in Bangalore and Delhi from May 20 to 23, showcasing our work and
accomplishments over the five year period. We had about 170 visitors coming in to our
office. Renowned artists like Tara Kelton, Kiran Subbaiah, Navin Thomas, Abhishek Hazra
and Sharath Chandra Ram exhibited their work. The four-day event attracted press coverage:
Bangalore Mirror (May 18, 2013), DNA (May 19, 2013), Hindu (May 22, 2013), Prajavani (May
23, 2013), Udayavani (May 25, 2013) and Bangalore Mirror (May 31, 2013). Download all the
posters that were part of the exhibition here.
# Announcements
Access to Knowledge Work Plan (April 2013 - June 2014): CIS has announced its detailed
plan with projection of outcomes and expected impact of the A2K programme activities. The
document has been made in consultation with various stakeholders and keeping in mind the
objectives, opportunities and challenges faced by each of the Indian language Wikimedia
projects. Feel free to share any feedback.
WMF-A2K Revised Budget (draft) and Utilization (September 2012 - February 2013): In our
effort to increase transparency with the working of CIS-A2K programme, we aresharing with
you the A2K Programme Budget along with the utilization for the above period. The proposed
revisions to the budget along with some notes are here.
CIS Signs MOU with TISS, Mumbai: has signed a MoU with TISS as part of which we will
collaboratively work towards building Digital Knowledge Partnerships with select higher
education institutions.
India Access to Knowledge IRC can be accessed here: May 13, 2013 (All Language Discussion)
and May 26, 2013 (Odia Language Discussion).
# Blog Entries
Odia Wikipedia: Needs Assessment (by Subhashish Panigrahi, May 11, 2013).
Access to Knowledge Work Plan: Synopsis of Feedback by Wikipedians (by Nitika Tandon, May
20, 2013).
Wikipedia Introductory Session organized for Data and India portal consultants (by
Subhashish Panigrahi, May 30, 2013).
My First Wikipedia Training Workshop – Theatre Outreach Unit, University of Hyderabad (by
T. Vishnu Vardhan, June 19, 2013).
# Event Organised
Kannada Wikipedia Workshop (April 29, 2013, Govinda Pai Research Centre, MGM College
Udupi). Dr. U.B. Pavanaja led the workshop and gave a talk on Kannada Wikipedia
# Event Participated
Kannada IRC Meet (organised by the Wikipedia Community, May 7, 2013). Dr. U.B.Pavanaja
participated in this.
# Upcoming Event
Digital Humanities for Indian Higher Education (co-organised in collaboration with
HEIRA-CSCS, Tumkur University, CILHE-TISS and CCS (IISc), Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, July 13, 2013).
# Press Coverage
Report on CIS 5 Years Celebration (Prajavani, May 23, 2013). Prajavani published a report
of Dr. U.B. Pavanja’s talk “From Palm Leaf to Tablet – Journey of Kannada”.
Report on CIS 5 Years Celebration (Udayavani, May 25, 2013). Udayavani published a report
of the evening programme hosted as part of the Centre for Internet and Society's 5
year celebrations in its Bangalore edition.
A Feature on Wikipedia and Telegu Wikipedians (HMTV, May 30 – 31, 2013). T. Vishnu Vardhan
is quoted in this half an hour feature on Wikipedia and Telugu Wikipedians.
Wikipedia Live Phone-in Programme (HMTV, June 1, 2013). T. Vishnu Vardhan speaks about
Telegu Wikipedia in the discussion that was telecasted live.
*About CIS*
CIS was registered as a society in Bangalore in 2008. As an independent, non-profit
research organisation, it runs different policy research programmes such as Accessibility,
Access to Knowledge, Openness, Internet Governance, and Telecom. The policy research
programmes have resulted in outputs such as the e-Accessibility Policy Handbook for
Persons with Disabilities with ITU and G3ict, and Digital Alternatives with a Cause?,
Thinkathon Position Papers and the Digital Natives with a Cause? Report with Hivos, etc.
We have conducted policy research for the Ministry of Communications & Information
Technology, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, etc., on WIPO
Treaties, Copyright Bill, NIA Bill, etc.
CIS is accredited as an observer at WIPO. CIS staff participates in the Standing Committee
for Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meetings regularly held in Geneva, and participate
in the discussions and comments on them from a public interest perspective. Our Policy
Director, Nirmita Narasimhan won the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities from the Government of India and also received the NIVH Excellence Award.
*Follow us elsewhere*
Get short, timely messages from us on Twitter
Join the CIS group on Facebook
Visit us at
http://cis-india.org
*Support Us*
Please help us defend consumer / citizen rights on the Internet! Write a cheque in favour
of ‘The Centre for Internet and Society’ and mail it to us at No. 194, 2nd ‘C’ Cross,
Domlur, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru – 5600 71.
*Request for Collaboration*
We invite researchers, practitioners, and theoreticians, both organisationally and as
individuals, to collaboratively engage with Internet and society and improve our
understanding of this new field. To discuss the research collaborations, write to Sunil
Abraham, Executive Director, at sunil(a)cis-india.org or Nishant Shah, Director – Research,
at nishant(a)cis-india.org
CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy
International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag
Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and
support for most of its projects.
Thanks
Nitika Tandon
Program Manager
Access to Knowledge
The Centre for Internet & Society