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Manthan Award South Asia 2008 : Nomination Closes on Aug 28
The last date for filing in nominations for the Manthan Award South Asia 2008 has now been extended till August 28. It has been done bowing to popular demand and to facilitate our new member countries i.e. all SAARC Countries including India file in their nominations in a more relaxed atmosphere as the Manthan concept is kind of new for most of them. Meanwhile keep the nominations coming till 28th August '08.  More...
WSA Road Show @ e-INDIA 2008

In the series of at three road shows to be organized in India, Digital Empowerment Foundation, WSA’s India partner, organized the first road show in its national capital New Delhi on July 29-31, during the e-INDIA 2008. More...

DEF Participates in e-INDIA 2008
Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) participated recently in eINDIA 2008 as an exhibitor to showcase its various works to the eINDIA visitors. The event was from 29th July to 31st July '08.  DEF displayed all its initiatives in trying to bridge the digital divide in India with much gusto to the visitors  counted in all more than 250 over the entire exhibition period. More...
E-mpowering people through rich content
DEF's Founder & Director, Osama Manzar in this interview with www.AOL.in explains the whole rationale of Manthan Award initiative and his setting up of Digital Empowerment Foundation as a means for bridging the digital divide in the region, which is a rich enabler for others in the world but poor themselves as far as digital development is concerned. Read on for More...
YES Fund's firstseed to Youth Entrepreneurs
Five young ICT entrepreneurs won the first YES Fund ICT Business Plan Competition 2008, at a Seminar on “Accelerating Youth Employment through New-age Entrepreneurship” held in New Delhi on 21 July, 2008. For full Press Release read on More...
BBC enters Community Radio - Should We Worry?
BBC World ties up with Chandigarh-based FM radio
What seems like great news to read has much deeper implications if we look at it more minutely. The community radio initiative is meant to be involving community members in programme creation very actively More...
Manthan Awardee wins another accolade
Manthan Awardee (2007) & human rights activist, K Stalin, of Drishti Media & Arts has won another accolade this time in Zanzibar, Tanzania as his film, "India Untouched - Stories of a People Apart " was adjudged the second best film among the 60 best of the screenings More...
Launch of Manthan Award for South Asia
The Manthan Award 2008 for South Asian Countries : to recognize the best e-content for development is launched now. The Manthan Award, after its four years of interventions in India, has now decided to cover South Asian Countries, namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. More...
Manthan Awardee in tie up with Educomp
Designmate has entered into a strategic tie up with the Educomp to market one of its products Eureka.in which got the Manthan Award in 2006 and was also a winner at the World Summit Award in 2007, reports The Hindu More...
DEF launches ''Towards Digital Panchayat''
Maharashtra Leads the way - 
February 16, 2008 may go in the history of "bottom up digital inclusion revolution" as Digital Empowerment Foundation starts its concept of "Local Area Portal" through spearheading Digital Panchayat project from Maharashtra, where 50 Panchayats
More...
Portal based on Parliamentary constituency launched
A brief profile of India's first local area portal based exclusively on one parliamentary constituency. http://localareaportal.org is bilingual both in English as well as in Hindi. More...
DEF helps develop tribal woman portal
In a one of its kind ventures to study through survey,  assess, and come up with solutions the hitherto neglected tribal population of the country, Digital Empower Foundation (DEF) has helped Department of Information Technology (DIT), GoI and its wing Media Lab Asia (MLA) come up with a website (www.tribalwomanindia.org) More...
A Panel Discussion during the Techshare India 2008
Role of technology enabled digital content for People with Disabilities: A Panel Discussion during the Techshare India 2008. It is a proven fact that the Information Communication Technology (ICT tools) has great potential to empower the communities including the differently challenged ones. More...
Brief Profile Of Digital Empowerment Foundation
Set up in 2002 Digital Empowerment Foundation is into Information Communication Technology (ICT) enabled  empowerment and development activities at the grassroots level. For this purpose, DEF has outlined its mission and vision in a realistic manner. It has tied up with like minded orginsations and partners to carry forward its objectives. More...
E-gov is all about changing mindsets - TCS Chief
S Ramadorai, CEO and MD, Tata Consultancy Services in this interview published on Indiatimes.com (30 June '08) talks about e-Government scenario in India and the challenges associated with it.
Excerpt : "The government has to switch from a mindset of procurement where technology is seen as an input to one where it is focused on outcomes and services". More...
DEF launches 'Gyan Vatika'
Digital Empowerment Foundation in association with Intel Foundation has launched a Community Information Resource Centre (CIRC) christened 'Gyan Vatika' (Knowledge Garden) in GinjoThakurGaon, Burmu Block, Ranchi, Jharkhand. More...
‘Knowledge is embedded in languages’
"Knowledge is embedded in languages and if you want to share knowledge around the world you should promote linguistic diversity. I am very confident of this". This is just an extract from an interview carried by digital opportunity channel on gLocal relevance More...
Travel international live local thanks to gLocal
Websites letting you chose a home to stay in a local location as compared to staying in a motel, can actually enrich your knowledge about that place and make your holidays worth remembering even more. This trend is catching on fast in the west as this article appearing in the TimesOnline (13 Aug '08) proves, a gLocal journey we can call it thanks to the internet. More...
Website in focus - www.kidsrgreen.org
Environmental website in news for kids. This website has made the final rounds of the prestigious Stockholm Challenge Award 2008 edition under its Environment category. More...
When digital media go super size

'Media stacking' is one strategy people use to cope with our all-you-can-eat digital culture. Would you like even more digital fries with that?
Extract from an article appearing in TimesOnline (August 15 '08)

More...
Who'll be first to offer disabled people a job?
With the recent news that those private sector companies that employ disabled people will be provided incentive in the form of whole PF and other benefits given by the GoI, another similar development has taken place in the UK. The London Times (23/07/2008) carries an interesting article titled  - Who'll first to offer disabled people a job? Read on... More...
All you need to read about low cost laptop politics
A fascinating eye opening story about 'gray' areas of world's philanthropists by the day sometimes named Intel & Microsoft. Digital divide assumes a whole new meaning from this long story but a must read from The Sunday Times (10 Aug '08).    More...
Community Radio Workshop Conducted by DEF
DEF organised a workshop in association with SWRC, Media Lab Asia & SEWA entitled "Community Radio in the hands of Communities: Operations and Collaborations" and it was held during 2-4 February 2008 at Barefoot College, Tilonia, Ajmer More...
Digital natives vs digital immigrants : A case study
“He's a digital native; you're a digital immigrant. Your brains are never going to be on the same circuit system.” This geeky conclusion to a British mother by an expert sums up the fact that how Google generation thinks differently from their parents. A fascinating case study in contrast appearing in TimesOnline (June 9 '08). Read on More...
DEF unveils Neer Jaal (Water Web)
DEF unveils India's First Holistic Water Resource Management System - Neer Jaal. Neer Jaal is an Information Communication Technology enabled water resource management system for grassroots communities.  More...
Digital Empowerment Foundation Media Coverages
Digital Empowerment Foundation, its founder & director, Osama Manzar and Manthan Award, all the three get featured in world media from time to time. A compendium of all the links for you More...
No ordinary Jury
"The Manthan jury is no ordinary jury, and the jurors are not adjudicating rights from wrongs. Rather they are creatively engaged in a very interesting dialogue. As one who is not trained to be a technocrat or an IT professional, it was a very enriching experience for me to see More...
Manthan Awardee starts SMS based Blood Donation service
www.indianblooddonors.com, a Manthan Awardee in the e-Health category from 2005 edition has adopted to the changing times and started a SMS based blood donation service. More...
Manthan Awardee develops active web GIS
K. Srivathsan of Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management - Kerala (IIITM-K), a 2007 Manthan Awardee, has developed Kerala's first active web GIS in public domain. More...
Manthan Awardees among Stockholm Challenge finalists
As many as 4 Manthan Awardees figure among the list of finalists in the Stockholm Challenge Awards 2008 edition. The Manthan Awardees to make the final cut include More...
Manthan Awardee among Asia's Best Young Entrepreneurs
One of the  Awardees of Manthan Award 2007, Ms. Saloni Malhotra, the young entrepreneur from DesiCrew Solutions, who is its founder & CEO, has been voted the second best entrepreneur in the age group 30 or under in the Asia-Pacific region by the prestigious Businessweek.com. More...
Manthan Awardee meets Nobel Laureate
A Manthan Awardee presents award winning concept to Mohammad Yunus. In his meeting with Dr. Yunus, Ravi Ghate explained his Manthan Award winning idea and its unique social service that it offers through short messaging servicing (SMS). Dr. Yunus liked the concept of “SMS for masses”   More...
Destined destination : India through a foreigner’s eyes
I joined Aiesec in March of 2005. I seemed to be the right choice for Mr. Osama Manzar – creator of the Digital Empowerment Foundation. This is how my Indian adventure began. I left Poland on the 29th June 2005 and came back home after six months on the 3rd of January of the following year. More...
DEF NEWSLETTERS : 'Towards Digital Panchayat'
Maharashtra has taken the lead in "bottom up digital inclusion revolution" as DEF has initiated the concept of 'Local Area Portal' through spearheading Digital Panchayat. More...
DEF NEWSLETTERS : Community Radio Workshop at Tilonia
A 3 day Community Radio workshop was held at Barefoot College, Tilonia on 2-4 Feb '08 by Digital Empowerment Foundation. More...
 
NEWS AT A GLANCE
Online news reading habits growing in US
Instant internet news reading habits are pushing the tradional way of reading news on newspapers and watching it on TV behind in America as people become web savvy. Though people of both varieties still pick up a magazine, reports Timesonline (Aug 18 '08)..More
A Chennai based software developer, Akmin Technologies Pvt Ltd,  has come up with a website which lets us create websites from our GPRS enabled handsets. This breaking technology is intended to tap growing mobinet users, reports The Hindu..More
Intel plans 16K-20K WiMax laptop
Intel is seeing a growth possibility in WiMax ready laptops and it is working with world's top manufacturers to bring it in the price zone of US$ 300 to 400 approx. Rs16K to Rs 20K in India. With the 3G policy announced, WiMax will provide the next big growth opportunity, reports TOI..More
Mobile net fuelling entertainment content consumption
Indians are using their mobile phones with net connection more for entertainment than for information or other purposes as compared to the west. This feature is fuelling entertainment related content consumption in a big way. A study has found out, reports HT..More
IIT Delhi in outreach mode soon
One of country's premier institutes, IIT Delhi is planning to take its expertise in providing education outside its campus with the distance learning method through a two-way video conferencing and other technological interventions soon, reports HT..More
Online gaming emerging as edutainment
Online gaming segment in India is proving a one hot stop for entertainment, education and employbility as the industry is growing at a brisk pace in the country. The gaming companies like Games2win are hoping that this trend catches on with the youth and for this they are incorporating many current issues like inflation and some political goings on too, reports nogyan.com..More
Internet telephony nod by TRAI
In a far reaching decision for the telecom sector which is expected to provide a major boost to intenet telephony in India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has allowed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) unrestricted internet telephony services. The move is likely to usher in a new round of price wars in the long distance telephone services, reports NDTV..More
Google search is used by just 49%
Contrary to popular perception, a new report finds that only 49% of the web users use Google search. Many more interesting internet related findings have come to light during this surey, reports TimesOnline..More
Mobile digital libraries in vogue in US
Digital libraries has caught on with an elan. They have so many advantages mainly the accessibility and portability factor that nowadays people hardy visit them in person in the US. Librarians are also liking it, reports HT..More
Antivirus to go virtual
Recent researches have indicated that the antivirus in our computers may be a thing of the past and be replaced by virtual antiviruses via cloud computing, reports TOI..More
Health to go digital in Delhi
All hospitals in Delhi will go digital soon to keep pace with the changing times. So many things could become transparent like admission of patients, bed availability, and generally a better hospital experience for the health capital of India. Less paperwork is just another byproduct, reports iGovernment..More
Radio Misty ties up with RNW
Radio Misty 94.3FM the prominent local FM radio network of North Bengal & Sikkim has tied up with RNW (Radio Netherlands Worlwide) to exchange their international programming for local populace, reports ET (04 Aug '08) ..More
Lenovo enters low cost laptop market with netbook
Lenovo is entering the fast expanding low cost laptop market as it is about to unveil the Pound Sterling 279 & 319 netbook (approx. Rs23K & Rs 26K). The brand christened IdeaPad & S10 respectively is expected to cater to students and teachers specifically, reports TimesOnline..More
e-auction for 3G spectrum allocation
e-Auction is to be used for the first time on a broader scale by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, in the much anticipated 3G bidding later this year to ensure greater transparency and on the spot bidding, reports mint ..More
YouTube to beam Olympics to India
YouTube, the popular video sharing service from Google, has bagged the rights to show  a capsule of 3 hours of recoded content from Beijing Olympics to many countries including India, but not to UK or the USA, reports TimesOnline..More
Even 100-year olds finds net alluring & useful
According to a research those aged even 100+ find the web irrestible as 12% of them use the internet frequently, 7% of them uses e-mails and about 3% use wikipedia. These facts are indicative of the power of the internet, reports TimesOnline..More
2b mobile broadband users by 2015
A mobile broadband boom worldwide has been predicted by analysts as by 2015 AD about 2 billion users are expected. HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access)  technique is expected to provide the maximum connectivity, reports TimesOnline..More
Virtual reality dawns as air fares go up
The corporate world of late has started holding parleys via video confrencing or even commuting by rail/road rather than flying to destinations physically, all due to soaring oil prices and subsequent higher air fares to cut down on costs, reports DNA..More
Internet is changing contours of art business
The internet is bringing about social change in a different way in the art world. It is influencing the artists creating art and the classes, the lovers of art often with big money, reports TOI..More
e-Baying @ one product per minute in India
e-Baying or buying goods through the Internet is growing steadly in India. Currently a product is bought every passing minute on the world most busy internet buying site, reports NDTV..More
Mobile number portability by mid 2009
The central government has planned to introduce mobile number portability from mid 2009. Roughly about 30% of the mobile users aren't satisfied with their current service providers but they would like to retain the current numbers of their's, reports The Asian Age..More
 
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