e-Governance

Welsh Assembly introduces website on Work-Life Balance
Welsh Assembly Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, Jane Davidson, recently, launched the http://www.wlbinwales.org.uk website, which aims to provide free information, advice and guidance on Work-Life Balance to employers, employees, unions and the general public.

The launch of the website is said to be one of the key strands to the Welsh Assembly government’s policy for more effective work-life balance for employers and employees in Wales promoting the benefits of work-life balance and communicating those benefits across the public, private and voluntary sectors in Wales.
Source: http://www.publictechnology.net

Dubai Municipality gets Best Middle East e-Government Portal award
Dubai Municipality (DM) has bagged the Best Middle East e-Government Portal award during the 10th Middle East Information and Communication Technology Excellence Awards presented at a ceremony held on the sidelines of the 11th GCC e-Government Forum at Dubai World Trade Centre on 25 May, 2005.

The award recognises an Internet portal that furnishes combined e-Government services provided by different government organisations as a one-stop repository where businesses and citizens can gain access to all government services. The e-Government initiative of Dubai Municipality, started in 1999, has been a pioneer in providing e-Services. All its services are provided through one access point, which is the DM portal http://www.dm.gov.ae
Source: http://www.ameinfo.com

Burkina Faso government’s initiative to develop means of communication in rural zones
Burkina Faso is classified among the poorest countries of the world but it is advancing in the world of technology. The government of Burkina Faso issued a law concerning the universal service and a fund was set up. The idea consists in feeding a fund, which will be used to develop the rural zones in suitable means of communication such as telephone, Internet and others.
Source: http://www.iconnect-online.org

Perak to become ‘knowledge state’ by 2020
The state government of the Perak in Malaysia has launched a strategy to transform Perak into a ‘knowledge state’ by 2020. The plan will be disseminated in two stages and will focus on three areas: knowledge infrastructure, knowledge economy and knowledge society. A total of 25 initiatives will be put in place to support the strategy, whose mission is to make ICT the bedrock of the Perak economy. One of the targets of the plan is to have a broadband network installed in all government agencies by 2006; other goals are to have 63 per cent Internet penetration throughout the state by 2010 such as Internet kiosks in all town centres and 40 per cent e-mail usage in rural areas.
Source: http://www.enn.ie

Rwandan Information and Communication Infrastructure concentrates on ICT drive
The government of Rwanda has recognised the role information and communication technologies (ICTs) play in accelerating the socio-economic development.

The Rwanda cabinet adopted the National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) Policy and Plan in 2000. Moses Bayingana, Director, Private Sector, Education and Community Programmes has said that the policy is in line with the government’s vision 2020. The Rwanda Information Technology Authority (RITA) is established as a state agency to facilitate the implementation of the national and sector ICT programmes outlined in the NICI Policy and Plan.

The current thrust areas of NICI are human capacity development, infrastructure, e-Government, ICT in education, community access and private sector facilitation.
Source: http://allafrica.com

Bihar approaches to

e-Governance mode
The Indian state of Bihar would step into e-Governance mode when the state capital is directly connected through video- conferencing with nine divisional headquarters by the end of this month. State Chief Secretary K.A.H. Subramanian said that the facility, would be formally launched on May 25 and extended to district headquarters of 37 districts of the state from May 31. He also said that video-conferencing would help the top brass of the state administration keep in touch. The facility would also permit regular feedback from the district magistrates about day-to-day developments related to government schemes. The cost of setting up the facility at the state capital and divisional headquarters would be $15 million and for linking each district with the state headquarters would cost $1.5 million. National Informatics Centre Network (NICNET) will set up the infrastructure for the facility.
Source: http://news.webindia123.com

HRD Ministry’s new effort to bridge the digital divide in India
Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is hoping that the third attempt to bridge the digital divide between private and government schools succeeds where the earlier two endeavours of Computer Literacy and Studies in Schools (CLASS) in the 1980’s and revised-CLASS of 1990’s failed.

Brazilian village steps into digital age Located in a narrow tropical valley, 180 miles southwest of South America’s largest city of Sao Paulo, the village lacks phone lines and other basic services. But a move by the government is driving Ivaporunduva into the digital age. As a part of a larger plan to fight against poverty, the government has installed a satellite-based Internet connection that will end years of isolation for the village. Residents could make doctor’s appointments online, find new markets to sell fruits and also download school lesson plans. It is been expected that the Internet connection could perk up the community’s monthly income by hundreds of dollars each month. It is also permitting them to access bigger markets, where they could sell organic bananas at the main wholesale market. Source: http://thehindubusinessline.com

HRD Ministry is optimistic about the new approach named as Information and Communication Technology@Schools Scheme and hopeful that universalisation of computer literacy would percolate to students in small towns and the subordinate divisions of a district in India. The scheme has four main components-partnership with state governments and union territories for providing computer-aided education to secondary and higher secondary government schools; establishment of two self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology (SMART) schools in each state, universalisation of computer literacy through the network of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti to incorporate computer literacy to 10 neighbouring schools; and financial assistance to State Institutes of Educational Technologies under the project mode.
Source: http://www.timesofindia.com

Education

Global Education Partnership boosts up business skills in poor Kenyan youths
The non-profit Global Education Partnership (GEP) - Wundanyi, which aims to incorporate business skills to impoverished Kenyan youths, won the $7,500 Africa Hafkin Communications Prize, organised by the Association for Progressive Communications. The Hafkin prize recognises African initiatives in the use of information and communications technology for development. GEP is based in the Taita Taveta district of eastern Kenya. This area is one of the poorest in the country, with a poverty rate of 66%. The project aims to improve the job prospects of Kenyans aged between 15 and 24. The students are taught commercial skills such as writing a business plan, marketing and buying and selling goods.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Health
Madras Medical Mission launches telemedicine service
In India, the Madras Medical Mission (MMM) has launched its telemedicine service to connect 10 hospitals in the state recently. The hospitals include those in Anamalai, Tiruvallur, Dharapuram, Tindivanam, Kumbakonam, Sriperumbudur, Gopichettipalayam, Karaikudi and Pattukottai. Under the initiative, specialists would be linked through a network allowing them to receive and transmit medical records such as echocardiograms, CT scans and X-rays. Based on the information, specialists would be able to treat patients in remote areas. While inaugurating the space hub for the electronic intensive care unit, Verghese Eapen, Vice-President of Madras Medical Mission, said telemedicine would carry healthcare to the villages.
Source: http://www.hindu.com

Use of ICT to provide training on HIV, AIDS
The spread of HIV, AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) is the main warning to development in Africa and in the rest of the world. Furthermore, the scale of the epidemic threatens to undo all other development advancement. Therefore, logical action would be taken to utilise ICT to deliver crucial and life-saving information about HIV, AIDS, TB, sexually transmitted infections, nutrition and malaria to people.

The Managing Director of LearnScapes, a South-African company said that considering the technology boom and the HIV boom existing at the same time, they need to extend the uses of ICT, which will assist them in educating people about the diseases. To fight against the epidemic, LearnScapes developed a range of applicable courses for delivery by ICT. These courses include topics like HIV, AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, nutrition, opportunistic infections, malaria, cholera and general hygiene.
Source: http://www.itweb.co.za

Health and Safety Executive introduces e-Bulletin to update farmers on health
In UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an agriculture e-mail bulletin to update farmers about the latest health and safety issues.

HSE’s agriculture e-Bulletin will be issued free to subscribers roughly every three months, providing brief information on topical issues with links to more detailed articles on the HSE website. It is mainly aimed at farmers, farm managers, landowners, trade associations and unions. The first e-Bulletin was issued in April, 2005. Some of the topics covered included new regulations on working at height; tree-climbing research should prevent accidents; dust masks or recent prosecutions in the agriculture sector.
Source http://publictechnology.net

Irish government launches health portal
The Irish government has officially launched the ‘Harley Street of cyberspace,’ an online communications network aimed at health professionals and the citizens.

The website, http://www.healthhub.ie is developed by Odyssey Internet Portals in collaboration with the Irish College of General Practitioners. It is developed in an attempt to facilitate the interaction and communication of health professional organisations with their members and with each other, as well as providing the general public with a point of access to health professionals around the country.
Source: http://www.enn.ie

Agriculture

ITC wins Golden Peacock global award for it’s e-Choupal initiative
Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) has won the Golden Peacock global award for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging economies 2005 for its e-Choupal and social and farm forestry initiatives. Dr Ola Ullsten, former Prime Minister of Sweden, who also headed the jury, presented the award in London on May 12. According to ITC, the award recognised the impact of the two initiatives in transforming lives and landscapes in rural India.

Presently, ITC’s e-Choupal initiative provides over 3.5 million farmers’ access to crop-specific, customised and comprehensive information at their village and vernacular. Over the next decade, the e-Choupal network aims to cover over 100, 000Indian villages, representing a sixth of Indian villages and connecting more than 10 million farmers.
Source: www.business-standard.com

AP government to computerise all agricultural offices within two years
In India, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to computerise all mandal agricultural offices within next two years with a view to provide farmers access to latest information in agriculture-related issues. Poonam Malakondaiah, Commissioner for Agriculture, while addressing a national workshop that held recently in the state on ‘Web services on oilseeds development: DACNET (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation Network) Phase II initiative’, has said that half of the 213 offices has been computerised so far and they will complete the remaining ones by 2006-07. She further said that the government is looking at ICT as a potential tool to reduce cost of cultivation and increase economic returns to farmers. In order to impart the fruits of ICT to farmers the government is providing computer training to farmers in villages. The Directorate of Oilseeds Development and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) conducted the workshop.
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

CRIDA, IIIT to provide
IT-based agricultural information in India
The Central Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) along with the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad, proposes to initiate a pilot programme for IT-based agricultural information and dissemination system to provide weather-based decisions in agriculture.

The proposed project is expected to provide real-time data collection and advisories, weather-based forewarning of crop pests and diseases. YS Ramakrishna, Director of CRIDA said that the agricultural operations require adequate contingency planning. Hence, they are planning a coordinated project with the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural Institute (ANGRAU), IIIT, National Council for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and India Meteorological Department (IMD). Using the expertise of each of the centres, the agro meteorological programme aims to know the influence of weather on dynamics of pests and diseases, climatic changes and its impact on different agro-ecological regions and identification of the crops based on Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. The information includes some general information like weather, crop demand-supply information, market prices, credit-related information; pre-sowing information like best practices in soil and tillage, choice of crops, source of seed materials, time to sowing; and crop production and protection measures from pests, adverse weather conditions and post-harvest practices like time to harvest, storage facilities, current pricing and offtake at local markets.
Source: http://financialexpress.com

Kerala government to launch e-Literary centres in Kozhikode district In India, after the successful implementation of the ‘Akshaya’ programme in the neighbouring district of Malappuram, the administration of the state government of Kerala has recently decided to launch the e-Literary centres in the Kozhikode district of the state as well, aimed at addressing the socio-economic inequities in the society by bridging the digital divide. The Collector Rachna Shah has said that as part of the Kerala Government’s ambitious plan to introduce the programme in other districts, the administration would set up 176 computer learning centres in various parts of the district. The scheme would be a stepping stone for generating massive economic growth and creating direct employment opportunities in the district. In the first phase of the programme, entrepreneurs would be selected to set up self-sustaining Akshaya centres at approved locations for incorporating e-Literacy. Initially, the centre would impart a 15-hour-training to a member of a household. In the second phase, each centre would offer a variety of services in e-Learning, e-Commerce, advanced IT training, e-Governance and communication enabling the entrepreneurs to earn a steady income. The other districts, where the programme was being implemented were Kasargod, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta and Kollam. Source: http://www.hindu.com

Community Radio

Community radio: A strong development tool in rural Uttaranchal
Although a full-fledged community radio movement is still to become a reality in

ICT community centre launched in rural Ghana Ghana’s first rural-based Information and Communication Technology (ICT) business centre, commenced operations at Nkurankan, a market town near Koforidua in the Yilo Krobo district recently. Sogakope in the Volta Region and Sege in the Greater-Accra Region are also expected to benefit from a similar facility, in the course of the year. Ghana Telecom (GT), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and two other partners, under a joint pilot project initiated the scheme. They have dubbed ‘e-Care’ to stimulate business and economic development in rural communities. The public could access telephone,fax, computer, Internet and other communication services that would be made possible by renewable energy at the rural business centres. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GT, Dickson Oduro-Nyanning, while speaking at the launch of the facility at Nkurankan said that it is the aim of the company to help rural communities to become part of ‘the knowledge society’ by furnishing them with ICT facilities. He urged entrepreneurs to patronise the centres to enable them to develop rural-based economy. He also said that the company is committed to create awareness on ICT benefits in rural communities, as well as enhancing entrepreneurial skills of the rural people. Source: http://www.ghanaweb.com

India, villagers in various rural pockets all over the country are using the airwaves to put up their voice about various issues.

Uttaranchal Community Radio is currently performing as an important development tool for creating awareness, spreading information and facilitating communication, despite the absence of policy support and government aid. It is a radio service for geographically bound communities in areas with poor infrastructure where people do not have access to the mainstream national and regional media. The service, which is run and managed by local people addressing issues relating to the community in the local language, was introduced in Uttaranchal by the Himalaya Trust, a Dehra Dun-based civil society organisation, with support from UNESCO, in September 2001. Since, May 2004, five community radio groups - four in Garhwal in the Western part of the state, and one in Kumaon in the East - have been engaged in a research initiative looking at grassroots media and poverty.
Source: http://www.infochangeindia.or

Telecom
Reliance Infocomm aims to bridge digital divide
Reliance Infocomm (RIM) has decided to expand its network to cover a targeted 4.3-crore population in Tamil Nadu, India.

Participating in the ‘Reliance Carnvial’ held in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu, to commemorate the World Telecom Day on 17 May, 2005, RIM Business Head of Tamil Nadu, Ajay Awasthi said that they are working to bridge the digital divide between the rural and urban areas. Their main focus is to create an equitable information society in Tamil Nadu and all over India. Reliance would connect 600 towns, 10,000 villages, 14 National Highways, 22 State Highways, 37 rail routes and 43-million population in the state by the end of this year. About 5,700 towns and 4,00,000 villages would be connected across the country under this phase. The major focus, however, would be on providing total connectivity throughout Tamil Nadu.
Source: http://www.newindpress.com

Digital library
UGC sets up Information Library Network to facilitate access to e-Publications in India
VIirtual libraries are not a distant dream any longer if the plan to automate them and digitise data is anything to go by.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has embarked on an ambitious programme just to achieve this, while networking various universities to provide access to information and books across the country. The Chairman of the State Council of Higher Education, K.C. Reddy has inaugurated a training programme designed for librarians towards this drive. As a part of this initiative, a five-day intensive training programme to enhance access to e-Publications has been initiated by a team of scientists from Information Library Network (INFLIBNET) for librarians from 50 government colleges. The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has become the first state to achieve this. The INFLIBNET centre based in Ahmedabad, India, has developed a software package that helps in computerising the functioning of libraries before they are networked with each other.
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

Local language
Microsoft launches low-cost PCs with Hindi version Windows XP in India
In a bid to target the first time users and make personal computer (PC) more affordable, Microsoft recently announced the launch of its PCs with Hindi version of Windows XP, priced at $.42 million, in India.

Microsoft is counting upon a previous tie-up with the Uttaranchal government for an e-Governance project for the new venture’s success. It has tied-up with the State Bank of India, United Bank of India and Bank of India for easy financing schemes that include a down payment of $.084 million and equal monthly installment of $8.86 over 48 months.

The Microsoft India Business and Marketing Director, Ranjivit Singh said that the PC is launched for the first-time for home computer buyers in Uttaranchal as part of an exercise that will cover all Hindi-speaking Indian states. The starter edition offers Wordpad, Internet Explorer, Outlook and Media Player with a Hindi user interface. In Uttaranchal, the PC is being provided under the state government’s ‘People’s PC Programme’, under which government employees can buy them in installments.
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com