http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/archive/1088 en_GB_uk http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/160369/1/1088 Africa today presents the most promising opportunities and perspectives for the ICT industry. International Telecommunication Union is organising Telecom Africa 2008 which will bring together technologies, topics, leaders, speakers and networking opportunities for growth and investment in the continent. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/160309/1/1088 Rural health practioners in Alaska are being facilitated through videoconferencing to cater to the needs of the mentally ill. Through lectures and consultations, the health providers will build their technical skills related to nutrition and surgeries. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/160284/1/1088 Telecentres can serve as an important source of information by connecting citizens with the government. A growing trend of commercialisation is however treating such entitlements as services and citizens as customers who pay service charges, writes research associate Vivek Vaidyanathan. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/160234/1/1088 A comprehensive database, designed to track school-going children in Orissa in eastern India, has received the prestigious Prime Minister Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2006-07. According to the state's Primary Education Project Authority, project ‘e-shishu’ will enable steps for universal education in the state. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/159776/1/1088 Digital Empowerment Foundation in association with Intel Foundation has launched a Community Information Resource Centre (CIRC) named 'Gyan Vatika' (Knowledge Garden) in a village in Jharkhand in eastern India. The move aims to impart knowledge to locals about various development related issues. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/159770/1/1088 Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies is organising eIndia2008 from July 29-31, 2008 at New Delhi, India. The fourth annual ICT forum in the country will be a unique platform for stakeholders to share best practices and exchange ideas on creating a technology-enabled society. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/159552/1/1088 Under Indian government’s Integrated Child Development Services, Lakshadweep, a centrally administered archipelago, has decided to digitise all its 87 anganwadi centres. The move aims to monitor women and child development programmes in the geographically isolated islands. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/159404/1/1088 The state government in Bihar in eastern India plans to set up FM radio stations in schools to make education more effective. Apart from airing phone-in programmes on career counseling, quizzes and guest lectures, the channels would also educate students on community development, health and disaster management. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/158140/1/1088 To boost its corporate social responsibility work, GAIL India Ltd has launched an e-Shiksha programme for rural children at some of its plants in north and central India. Started with an investment of INR 6.3 million, the mobile centres will have buses equipped with laptops to teach children computer basics in local languages. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/158046/1/1088 Steve Buckley of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters was in India recently. Aware of the countless hurdles faced by community radio in the country, he said that the policy here was restrictive in nature. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/158003/1/1088 Western Indian state of Goa is embarking on an ambitious project to promote knowledge of information technology. It is going to set up centres to impart training and establish IT parks to address the problem of growing unemployment in the state, especially among the youth. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/156859/1/1088 The Delhi Cabinet in the Indian capital has given the nod to online Project Jeevan that would provide a single-window facility on various government services to its citizens. To begin with, computerised kiosks will enable easy payment of various bills, issue of forms, applications and information brochures. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/156711/1/1088 A new mobile phone service launched in Singapore aims to extend the reach of government e-services to the public and business users on the move. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/156455/1/1088 In a recently held conference in India, participants from eleven countries deliberated upon the emerging trend in public service delivery system through mobiles. There is an immense potential to make government services more accessible to everyone with mobile networks covering 70% of world’s population. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/156419/1/1088 GPRS mobiles will soon deliver e-governance services to villagers in Faizabad in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The project will connect rural areas with the district headquarter, while also monitoring government functionaries at work and tracking the progress of various programmes.