IT for Change, on invitation, prepared a document for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) on the progress made on the Beijing Platform for Action, concentrating especially in Section J about Women and Media that required considerable reframing in the light of the epochal techno-social developments characterising this historical juncture. This document aims to use the powerful lens of the 'information society' to defiine the emerging priorities for analysis and action towards gender justice.It offers a conceptual framework that takes from Section J the critical concerns articulated around issues of Media and Access to Technology, but it also goes a step further to flag two more issues for women's empowerment (not grasped by Section J) that the information society casts its long shadow on – Violence Against Women, that the BPfA addressed as a central concern and Access to Knowledge, which at the time of Beijing, was not anticipated to transform so profoundly the very basis of power in society. In including these two additional dimensions, the document explores the new context of self-expression and social relationships vis-a-vis digital reality

The conference will assemble policy makers, scholars, practitioners, civil society and IT enterprises' representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu to conceptualize the principles for 'software for the public sector' and as a part of this, discuss the challenges and possibilities in adopting Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the public sector on a large scale, particularly in schools programs. Debates will be based on the concept that the architecture and design of software for public sector must be determined by principles of social justice and equity, universal access to resources, the need to produce public goods, transparency, accountability, and participation. Sessions will address issue

  A number of state education departments in India are launching computer learning programmes in schools. The predominant model for this programme is to outsource the entire program to vendors. However a few states like Kerala have successfully insourced this program, by building in-house apacities to conduct this program. This paper "Policy Brief on ICTs in School Education", discusses outsourced versus integrated models in this area, drawing from our research in two states of India. The research learly demonstrates the superiority of integrated models to outsourced/PPP models.

IT for Change, APC Women's program and Sulá Batsú  co-hosted a workshop on  “The Internet and Citizenship: Applying a Gender Lens” at the IGF 2009 Meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt to analyse the interface between citizenship and the Internet through a gender perspective. The theme brought together inquiries in three dimensions: 1. within the Internet itself, considering the impact of the present paradigm and emerging trends on inclusion of women; 2. at a global citizenship scenario, understanding the trans-local nature of the Internet; and 3. within national contexts, examining how the Internet re-situates the citizen and redefines citizenship vis-a-vis the state and the market. Anita Gurumurthy from IT for Change moderated this discussion. Heike Jensen (from Humboldt University in Berlin/OpenNet Initiative Asia), Margarita Salas (from Sulá Batsú Cooperative in Costa Rica), and Olga Cavalli (from the Government of Argentina) were the panelists. The participants spoke on women's citizenship based on a more broadly defined notion of 'censorship', the ways in which the feminist movement strategically used digital technologies to resist from the Free Trade Agreement with Central America and Dominican Republic (CAFTA), and also the existing barriers that impede women from using technology and developing a career related to it.

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology(MCIT) last year released a Draft policy on Open Standards for eGovernance. This progressive policy mandates adoption of single and wholly public standards in various e-governance projects in India. However NASSCOM and MAIT have written to the government suggesting changes which will weaken the policy and advance narrow commercial interests over national interests. IT for Change is part of a campaign launched by FOSSCOMM