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ASIA PACIFIC TELECENTRE NETWORK Monthly Newsletter ISSUE 03 JULY 2010 |
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NEWS Inviting nominations for 7th Convocation of NVA Fellows |
Reported By: Shipra Sharma |
This is an announcement from M S Swaminathan Research Foundation - a non-profit research organization based at Chennai, India, inviting nominations for 7th Convocation of NVA Fellows. This announcement is being made on behalf of Mr. Senthilkumaran, Director, IEC, Jamshetji Tata National Virtual Academy, MSSRF, Chennai, India."Rural women and men are rich in grassroots wisdom based on experience of working with nature and natural resources. Their strength lies in the saying; "One ounce of practice is worth tons of theory". If rural transformation is to take place, the contributions of grassroots academicians is essential since they know the problems of rural communities and also their solutions. Whether semi-literate or literate, rural families are able to master new technologies, provided the pedagogic methodology is learning by doing. This method of leapfrogging in acquisition of new skills was termed by Prof M S Swaminathan in 1972 as "techniracy". What the rural families, particularly women, need is social prestige and recognition. They take to new technologies like fish to water provided they are helped to do so through appropriate training and capacity building opportunities.Based on this concept, 1223 NVA Fellows (M:730; F:493) have been selected from 21 States (Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkand, Bihar and West Bengal) and one Union Territory (Puducherry). NVA has also selected 31 International Fellows from Afghanistan, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Philippines, Nepal, Kenya, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. This programme started since 2005. NVA Fellows are socially committed grassroots experts in different thematic areas such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, health, education, disaster management, etc. |
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Dear APTN Members,
It's a great pleasure for us to inform you that now you can join with APTN web portal by using our new URL: www.aptn.asia . We are looking forward for your participation and support in our web portal.
APTN Secreatariat |
 | Sabah government's first major digital inclusion project in Malayasia |
 Courtesy: FutureGo.asia
Malaysia's second largest state, Sabah, announced its first major investment - worth a total of RM383 million (US$119 million) - to bridge the digital divide.Spanning from year 2010 to 2015, the project targets under-served areas where there are no telecommunication or broadband services. The initiative stems from the Universal Service Provider Programme, a scheme started by the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia (MECM) to promote the availability and usage of network and application services throughout the country.To extend internet coverage and telecommunication services, the state government has earmarked RM55 million (US$17 million) for Community Broadband Centres. These will be scattered across the rural regions of Sabah, a state with a population of 3.2 million. 14 broadband libraries which cost RM22 million (US$6.8 million), and 212 towers for expansion of cellular coverage - worth RM298 million (US$92 million) - will be constructed.As a result, more people will be able to enjoy broadband and cellular services. "With broadband centres set up, people from rural areas would be able to go online and get connected to the rest of the world," Mr Bruno Vun, Director of the State IT Advancement Unit told FutureGov. Read More |
| eSociety Day in East, Sri Lanka |
 Written By: Seuwandi YapaInformation and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka, the single apex body involved in ICT policy and direction for the nation which operates under the Presidents Secretariat, continued its efforts to empower the community in Sri Lanka and to spread the wealth of IT knowledge to the community in the Eastern provinces through another 'eSociety Day' program. This was conducted with the support from Consortium of Humanitarian Agency (CHA) and resource persons from government departments and private organizations on 27th and 28th of July 2010 at the Open University Computer Lab in Batticaloa, Eastern province, Sri Lanka. eSociety team of ICTA, working under the e-Sri Lanka Initiative, has been actively taking part in national efforts to spreading the wealth of IT knowledge through similar programs conducted during the past few years. eSociety Day in Batiticaloa which is organized under the theme of "ICT towards grassroots" marked the 2nd eSociety Day program focused on ICT developments in North and East parts of the country, whereas the first eSociety Day program was conducted in Jaffna Peninsula, Northern Sri Lanka. With the cessation of the war, the Government of Sri Lanka has expedited development in the Northern and Eastern provinces and the community in this area is now able to look ahead to a brighter future which is being enlightened with ICT developments. |
| Common Service Centres running in rural India |
Written By: Jayantha Pal
The Government of India has launched the National e-Governance Plan, under the plan there are about 100,000 ICT enabled centers known as Common Service Centers are being opened all over rural India. These centers are set up through Public Private Partnership by rural entrepreneurs known as Village Level Entrepreneurs. These centers are set up in various Governmental Block Offices ,Panchayat Offices and some private places. These centers are set up to give the common people the G2C,G2G,B2c,B2B and various other services such as banking,agricultural, tele medicine, e-learning and various e-commerce services. I in the state of West Bengal am a VLE and is running such a center in the Berhampore Block Office of Murshidabad District. |
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| Telecentre News Beyond Asia Pacific |
| Southern Africa regional telecentre network institutes a three year regional development plan |
 Courtesy: www.satnet.org
The Southern Africa Telecenter Network (SATNET) held its first regional telecentre planning workshop. The event was organized by SATNET secretariat with support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and was held at Lusaka's Cresta View Hotel from 23rd to 25th June 2010.
The participants were mainly national telecentre network leaders, representatives from network focal points and telecentre project managers drawn from eight (8) selected southern African countries. The main purpose was to provide a direction and explore ways to up-scale the work and future of telecentres in southern African region. The objective of the workshop was to enable selected and active member countries from the region to review the activities of telecentres, national networks and plan for a strong regional telecentre knowledge sharing platform for sustainable development that will impact on regional development in Southern Africa.
The regional planning workshop was held as a follow-up from the Sustainable Telecentre Africa International Workshop, which was held under a joint auspices of CTA, InfoBridge Foundation, ZAA-ICT/SATNET project, IDRC and IICD that took place at the Cresta Hotel in Lusaka, Zambia from 17-19 June 2008 and attended by over 55 participants from all over Africa. The exchange of experiences and outcome of the regional telecentre steering committee meetings during the Lusaka June 2008 workshop resulted in the planning and implementation of this regional planning workshop.
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| Using ICT to empower people with disabilities |
Written By: Nabil Eid
ICT opens up great opportunities to improve the quality of life of Persons with Disabilities. We must make the most of these opportunities without substantial efforts throughout society, there is a risk that these technical developments will only give us products and services which increase the information gap. However, if determined efforts are made, ICT can become an effective tool, allowing a greater number of people to play a part in society. ICT has contributed towards the greater independence of Persons with Disabilities. But at the same time, developments in ICT have changed society as a whole. A host of new products and services have become part of our everyday lives. However, only some of these developments have benefited disabled people. More information about ICT4D find the link: |
| Key Competences for All |
courtesy: Telecentre-Europe
This project by Telecentre- Europe proposes to support enhancement of basic Key Competences of Low Qualified Adults in order to improve their Employability, by means of an alternative learning approach (ICT-based, user-centred, interest-oriented). The main deliverables of the project are a research and analysis of local context conditions in Latvia, Romania, Belgium, United Kindom and Spain, a toolkit to improve job-focused key competences of users at a risk of exclusion, a handbook for telecentre/PIAP facilitators and a guidelines for other social and educational organisations interested in incorporating the toolkit in their offer for disadvantaged users. The project is born from two interlinked processes. On one side, the increasing demand of users of telecentre and other public internet access points to develop their digital competences for job seeking and job performing (digital literacy focused on employability). On the other, the political recognition of the role that ICT is increasingly playing in the job market across Europe. (cf. "New Skills for New Jobs" EC Communication, 2008). |
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| Contact Info:
Asia-Pacific Telecentre Network Secretariat,
ICT Agency of Sri Lanka,
No. 160/24, Kirimandala Mawatha,
Colombo 05, Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94-11-23699099 Ext. 327
Fax: +94-11-2368387 email: info@aptn.asia / web: www.aptn.asia |
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The Asia-Pacific Telecentre Network (APTN) is a collaborative initiative of the United Nations' Economic and Social Commission for the Asia-Pacific (UN-ESCAP) and telecentre.org and APTN Secretariat presently being hosted at ICT Agency (ICTA) Sri Lanka. The network will promote innovation and knowledge-sharing amongst Telecentre organizations in the Asia-Pacific region where Telecentres are growing exponentially each year. The APTN is expected to be developed into a unique network of Governments and Private sector supported telecentres, telecentre service providers, research & development organizations, telecentre experts, consultants and other stake holders active in the field of communication and information technology. APTN will serve as the focal network or the knowledge hub for communication and information technology in the Asia Pacific region. Join www.aptn.asia |
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