Full Coverage: Capacity building

26.12.2005 While the right to education is recognised as fundamental for each citizen, access to it is not guaranteed. In the developing world, the essential building blocks for education systems are suffering from deficiencies, ICT can help respond to these challenges and create the environment that is conducive for effective and quality education systems.

26.12.2005 Ek Sansaar Ek Awaaz Radio programme was launched in Nepal on 21st December 2005 with the objective of voicing the voiceless; connecting communities and empowering people and strengthening the rural broadcastersÂ’ network. Programme Manager, OneWorld South Asia, Geeta Malhotra writes on the initiative from Nepal.

26.12.2005 Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Centre (Doha, Qatar) is currently conducting a UNESCO-supported two-week training programme on TV Journalism and TV Reporting for twelve Palestinian women journalists.

26.12.2005 Residents of Nagapattinam, the worst tsunami-affected district in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, paid homage to the 6,065 people who had lost their lives in the tragedy. A minute of silence was also observed in memory of the victims of the tsunami. People took a pledge on the occasion that they would be fully aware of the disaster and create awareness about it in society.

26.12.2005 Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta is organising a two-day training programme on "Information Communication Technology for Development" during 4-5 January, 2006.

23.12.2005

22.12.2005 Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has worked in the tsunami-hit coastal regions of Tamil Nadu. The MSSRF website has comprehensive information on rehabilitation work and action plans related to the deadly natural disaster. Also see the Tsunami newsletter in PDF.

21.12.2005 This FAO training manual explores the linkages between local knowledge systems, gender roles and relationships, the conservation and management of agricultural biodiversity, and food security.

20.12.2005 The South-South Exchange Travelling Workshop will be hosted by a GKP member, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) from 28 November to 5 December 2005.

20.12.2005 As part of the “Strengthening ICT Use in Schools and SchoolNet” project, UNESCO will convene a five-day workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand from12 to 16 December 2005. The workshop aims to enhance teachers’ understanding of telecollaboration and enable them to coordinate UNESCO SchoolNet online activities effectively.

19.12.2005 Geeta Malhotra talks about the role of community communicators who build the capacity of rural people in converting information into knowledge and how this knowledge could be shared with communities through various media tools - radio, comics, photography, written communication and the Internet.

19.12.2005 India on Sunday welcomed the revised draft declaration released at the sixth WTO Ministerial and said the strategy to forge a grand alliance of 110 developing countries had paid off.

19.12.2005 This article clearly indicates the need for using technology in the
traditional garment sector which provides livelihood opportunities for
millions of people in India and other South Asian countries. We invite
membersÂ’ feedback on the first hand reporting by Surajit Talukdar,
Journalist, Aizwal, Mizoram

16.12.2005 India will have to pull up its socks if it has to retain its edge in the global offshoring scenario as China is rapidly catching up with improved communication and training facilities in English, world-class infrastructure and strong urban facilities. Rahul Kumar attends a seminar in New Delhi on offshoring.

14.12.2005 The Asian Development BankÂ’s decision to provide a $205 million loan and grant package to help increase access to quality social services in Balochistan should go a considerable way in improving these vitally important sectors. The programme will support policy reforms to address long-standing issues in education, health, water supply and sanitation. Enhancement of human development indicators is a huge challenge, and increased resources should help meet the test speedily and effectively.

12.12.2005
Taking an estimate of poor households in India as 50 million, the total demand for credit comes to around Rs.150 to 450 billion. The supply of credit, however, has not been commensurate with this demand. It has rather been declining at least from the commercial banksÂ’ side. The proportion of bank credit below Rs.25,000 has declined steadily from 18.3% of total scheduled Commercial Bank credit in 1994 to 5.3% by March 2002. The number of borrower accounts has reduced from 55.8 million to 37.3 million. Thus, there is a large-scale gap between the demand and supply position and the formal financial sector has almost failed to reach the unreached section of the rural poor. This gap is actually an opportunity for the corporates to bridge it by doing with ethical and responsible manner.

12.12.2005 New Delhi based environment organisation - Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is holding a hands-on training programme on Water Pollution & Urban Sewage Management from January 16 - 20, 2006 in New Delhi.

05.12.2005 The Farmers' International conference on Democracy, Peace, Food Sovereignty and Action Plan: For Road to Hong Kong, has decided to throw its weight against the ministerial meeting by derailing negotiations through intensive protests.

02.12.2005 With Indian language computing becoming simpler and the Internet gaining popularity throughout the country, groups dedicated to community participation in the development process are emerging. One such group is Chhattisgarh-Net, working in the Central Indian tribal-dominated state of Chhattisgarh. One of the founder members of Chhattisgarh-Net Shubhranshu Choudhary, a journalist, spoke to BhashaIndia about his experiences at using Hindi on their website. OneWorld South Asia helped Chhattisgarh-Net develop the local language website.