Development and Democracy

2007
IT for Change conducted an international workshop from 18-20 January 2007 in Bengaluru (India). The workshop proposed to examine the policy options for development in the information society by bringing together policy advocates, leading thinkers and researchers in both fields. The workshop was an effort to construct a social policy framework for…
2007
The information society phenomenon presents a paradigmatic shift in redefining political, social and institutional systems. However, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) which constitute a vital component of this phenomenon are mostly guided by neo-liberal principles and are nested in technical domains, resulting in the absence of…
2007

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…

2007

Anita Gurumurthy was at the 2007 Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD) Conference held on 15-16 December in Bengaluru (India). She participated in a panel discussion on 'Meaningful Research for ICT and Development'. Her presentation highlighted the dominant meanings ascribed to ICTD theory both in…

2006
This article was published in the EgovOnline.net magazine in August 2006. The challenge for the 'Right to Information' is that while such rights may have been translated into laws, the practice of enforcing such rights is one which in many contexts is out of reach for those without considerable access to legal or financial resources. However, it…
2006

IT for Change was part of a workshop on 'Audio visual resources for development: Moving towards open paradigms' in Bengaluru (India) on 15 June 2006. The workshop was aimed at initiating a policy dialogue on free sharing of audio visual (AV) development content aimed at grassroots interventions, so that these interventions…

2005
This presentation was made at the DataQuest Seminar on 'Making e-governance happen' on 3 March, 2005, in Chennai (India). It focuses on the governance reform mandate of e-governance, and highlights the dangers in vesting decision making powers on national e-governance with technology departments. An assessment is made on processes and…
2005

In 2005, IT for Change carried out a series of three case studies in order to explore community-owned ICTD models in India. The selected initiatives were Akshaya (Kerala), the rural e-Seva kiosks (Andhra Pradesh), and n-Logue, TeNet and DHAN Foundation (Tamil Nadu) which are all large scale initiatives.

The research…

2005
IT for Change was closely associated with the drafting of the Civil Society Statement for the second phase of WSIS held in Tunis (Tunisia) in 2005. The broad mandate for WSIS was to address the long-standing issues in economic and social development from the newly emerging perspectives of the opportunities and risks posed by the revolution in…
2005
This paper argues for a public goods approach to ICTs, education and sustainable development. The author discusses the inadequacies of the current engagement of ICTs in education. Shifts from classroom-based learning to pupil-centered learning have occurred, but by and large the manner in which the ICT opportunity has been employed in the…