access to knowledge

Owing to the increase in mobile penetration and availability of cheaper internet, mobile usership in rural India is growing rapidly. According to the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5), 91.5% of rural households in India now have a mobile phone – an increase of 4.2% when compared to the findings of the NFHS-4 (2015-16). On the other…

In the past, Open and Distance Learning (ODL)  was primarily conducted through snail mail where institutions sent reading and other materials to learners. With the advent of Internet and related digital technologies, this has gradually changed. This paper explores how a free and open digital technology like MediaWiki, and Wikimedia open…

IT for Change (ITfC) played an important role in campaigning efforts to bring to the Government of India's notice that the use of non-royalty-based open standards in e-governance are basic to ensuring people's right to information in a digital age.

As a part of advocacy efforts, ITfC worked with the National Campaign…

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Public software is 'software developed or procured, for the public good, which is publicly owned'. It is essential for participating in the digital society and thus needs to be provided to everyone as an universal right and entitlement. It includes operating system, text/image/audio/…

IT for Change, in collaboration with the e-Governance Department, the Department of Public Instruction and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Government of Karnataka), Karnataka State Knowledge Commission, ICT for Development Community/ Solution Exchange, UNESCO, organised a workshop on 'Software…

This document was an input into the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) High-Level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Review of Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

It aims to use the powerful lens of the 'information society' to define the emerging priorities for analysis…

This case study is part of a research project that sought to analyse how different telecentre models approach development on the ground, proceeding to elaborate a typology based on the cornerstones of participation and equity. To conduct this assessment, four telecentre projects were examined: the Gujarat government’s e-Gram…

This paper was written for the second IGF – Access Plenary Panel (Rio de Janeiro, 2007). It posits that ICTD models for poor people cannot be driven by financial considerations, and neither can they be demand-driven. Access to ICTs for the information poor has a very direct impact on their development status; consequently, ICTs cannot be…