Full Coverage: Knowledge

31.10.2007 Spain's new electronic ID cards will reach 30 million citizens soon. The Interior Ministry has already distributed 1.2 million chip-based cards and expects to issue at least 800,000 more by the end of the year.

31.10.2007 BangaloreIT.in 2007 - billed as Asia’s biggest ICT event - got on to a slow start on October 30, with few IT enthusiasts participating on the first day.

31.10.2007 A two-day workshop on “IT for All” is promoting the use of Information Technology for the betterment of all sections of society. The workshop, organised by FTK-Center for Information Technology, Jamia Millia Islamia, opened at its campus in New Delhi.

30.10.2007 The Jatropha scrub weed can weather droughts, stop soil erosion, transform barren lands into lush greenery, while providing self-sufficient energy for rural communities – all at the same time. While India has plans to make the plant its chief biofuel source, there is little knowledge on the environmental impact of its cultivation.

29.10.2007 Policy planners, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations will deliberate whether pastoralism provides a strategic alternative in the quest for sustainable development in a two day national seminar at Jaipur, Rajasthan on November 21-22.

27.10.2007 A small Indian village in the western state of Gujarat discovers the power of the Right to Information (RTI). After four years of complaints on the lack of health care services, a few straight questions to the Public Information Officer make things move.

25.10.2007 Bihar is one of the few states in India, which has failed to reap the benefits of modern technology. To catch up with other states, the government now plans to take internet into the rural hinterland. The e-kiosks will function as delivery points for e-governance and e-learning centres, providing information and services such as commodity rates, agricultural counselling, health and hygiene, etc.

25.10.2007 KPO Australia 2007 will bring together enterprise, government and outsourcing providers to promote the key benefits of Knowledge Process Outsourcing at Sydney, from 7 - 9 Nov 2007.

21.10.2007 The UN International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction that falls on October 10 calls for strategies to prevent and mitigate natural disasters. Kathambi Kinoti says the role of women has been far less explored considering the huge impact that disasters have had on women’s lives. What lessons have we learnt from past disasters?

10.10.2007 A new manual encourages the hearing disabled communities in developing countries to take control of their health. Developed by the Kenyan Peer Education Network,The Deaf Peers’ Education Manual addresses three main issues: sexual education, relationships and hygiene for a basic understanding of sexual health, HIV/AIDS, and can be adapted to fit the cultural context and needs of the deaf communities.

09.10.2007 Reuters Market Light (RML), a mobile phone-based service launched by Reuters, will connect India's 250 million farmers with buyers and traders and offer updated pricing information, news and weather updates. So far, 7,500 farmers have signed up for the service.

09.10.2007 YouTube is all set to move beyond entertainment. The University of California (UC), Berkeley has become the first university to make its entire course lectures and special events available to viewers on YouTube. The university’s recently launched educational technology services (ETS) delivers course and event content as podcasts and streaming videos.

09.10.2007 Reuters Market Light (RML), a mobile phone-based service launched by Reuters, will connect India's 250 million farmers with buyers and traders and offer updated pricing information, news and weather updates. So far, 7,500 farmers have signed up for the service.

09.10.2007 YouTube is all set to move beyond entertainment. The University of California (UC), Berkeley has become the first university to make its entire course lectures and special events available to viewers on YouTube. The university’s recently launched educational technology services (ETS) delivers course and event content as podcasts and streaming videos.

09.10.2007 Greater decentralisation of ICT programmes with locally relevant, context specific and flexible content can boost literacy, says the 10 point charter of the two day international conference of E-9 countries on ICT for Literacy in Bangalore, India. The E-9 countries are Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, China and India.

05.10.2007 Ahmednagar based NGO, Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), in Maharashtra, India, is training young men and women to report on local news. 'Rural Chronicle' will publish their efforts with the aim to engage the youth in local development issues.

05.10.2007 On October 3rd ,Delhi University joined the league of Indian universities with a community radio station. DU 90.4 FM will broadcast community related programmes as well as those dealing with students' issues.

03.10.2007 ‘India aspires to be a knowledge society but wants to engage poorest 250 million in menial tasks,’ says Professor Anil Gupta of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Vice Chairman of National Innovation Foundation. Here he speaks on the need to democratize the spirit of e-content and bring about a cultural revolution through digital technologies.

01.10.2007 FAO’s new web platform will help users exchange personal experiences, opinions and best agricultural practices. This global initiative will bring policymakers, rural service providers, development practitioners, farmers, researchers and ICT specialists together to help promote rural development.