ANNUAL REPORT

April 2007­ March 2008 List of Board Members

Chairman

Dr K.R. Srivathsan , Director, IIITM­K Park Centre, Technopark Campus, Thiruvananthapuram ­ 695 581 Kerala, India.

Vice Chairman

Mr. Anwar Sadath, Executive Director, IT@School SCERT Building, Poojappura Thiruvananthapuram­12 Kerala. India.

Executive Secretary

Mr. Satish Babu InApp Information Technologies India (P) Ltd 121 Nila, Technopark Thiruvananthapuram 695 581

Treasurer

Dr V Sasikumar, FSF India 32, NCC Nagar Peroorkada.P.O Thiruvananthapuram 695005

Members

Mr. P M Sasi, IEEE Kerala Section Centre for Development of Advanced Computing P.B.NO:6520, Vellayambalam Thiruvananthapuram 695033

Mr. Amarnath Raja, Computer Society of India InApp Information Technologies India (P) Ltd 121 Nila, Technopark Thiruvananthapuram 695 581 Dr Venkatesh Choppella, IIITM­K Park Center, Technopark Campus, Thiruvananthapuram ­ 695 581 Kerala, India.

Ms. Asha Varma, NIC Principal Systems Analyst National Informatics Centre Kerala State Unit

Ms. Bindu Sajan, Journalist 554, Haritham Darshan Nagar, Peroorkkada Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram

Coordinator

Mr. M. Arun C­11, Elankom Gardens Vellayambalam Thiruvananthapuram­ 695 010 Acronyms

ACCORD Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development AIR All India Radio CSO Civil Society Organisation FOSS Free and Open Source Software GNU GNU is Not Unix ICFOSS International Centre for Free and Open Source Software ICT Information Communication Technology IEDC Integrated Education for Disabled Children IIM Indian Institute of Management IIITM­K Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management in Kerala IT Information Technology KSITM Kerala State IT Mission KSMTF Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation LSG Local Self Government NGO Non Government Organisation OER Open Education Resource OS Operating System SIEP State Institute of Encyclopaedia Publications SPACE Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment UNDP United Nations Development Programme SPACE for Freedom in Computing Free as in freedom

Advocacy by Free Software Movement and SPACE has created a high level of awareness of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) among policy makers in Kerala. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy adopted in January 2007, commits the government to mandate free software in all the ICT initiatives of the state. Advocacy efforts by SPACE during the year led the government to develop strategic action plans for the development and promotion of FOSS in Kerala.

International Conference on FOSS policy

SPACE made a proposal to the Government of Kerala for organising an international conference on FOSS policy. The government is keen on organising the event, given its support for FOSS and the huge success of the international FOSS conference held in the state two years ago. The conference titled Free Software, Free Society: Freedom in Computing, Development and Culture is scheduled to be held in Thiruvananthapuram in December 2008.

International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS)

SPACE advocated for setting up a FOSS development centre in Kerala to facilitate the development and deployment of free and open source technology for the country. The government has assigned IIM Bangalore to develop a mission plan for the centre which is expected to be set up in Thiruvananthapuram.

FOSS and Open Education Resources

SPACE advocated to the Department of Technical Education on the use of Open Education Resources (OER) and FOSS in education. The Department has agreed to include OER in the revised polytechnic curriculum. The state government is also expected to ask all engineering colleges and polytechnics in the state to adopt Koha (a free software) for their library management.

SPACE organised a meeting of the Education Minister Mr. M.A Baby, Dr. Ajaykumar IAS, IT Secretary and Mr. M S Vijaya Kumar, Advisor to National Knowledge Commission in January 2008 to highlight the benefits of OER in higher education. The Minister agreed to consider the inclusion of OER in the upcoming Open Education University.

Advocacy among civil society and NGOs

SPACE considers civil society, the key partner in catalysing the development of a free and democratic society. Sensitising civil society organisations (CSO) on the potential of FOSS and new media and enhancing their capability in applying them was a major activity undertaken by SPACE during the year. ACCORD, Gudalur emerged as a model for hand holding CSOs. SPACE started building relations with 10 CSOs including village libraries.

Organisations networked by SPACE ● Tirurangadi Young Men's Library, Malappuram ● EMS Library, Ernakulam ● Prathyasa Foundation, Ernakulam ● Win Society, Ernakulam ● Rajagiri Outreach Society, Ernakulam ● Open Frame, Kannur ● Kochi Film Society, Ernakulam ● MythriVanitha Sangam, Thiruvananthapuram ● Sakhi, Thiruvananthapuram ● Anveshi, Kozhikode ● ACCORD, Gudallur The ACCORD experience

ACCORD (Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development) is an organisation established in 1985 in Gudalur to champion the rights of Adivasis. SPACE established relationship with ACCORD in July 2007.

Following hand holding intervention by SPACE, ACCORD shifted completely to free software in December 2007. ACCORD now makes use of Ubuntu operating system and relies on open office for office applications. It maintains a dual boot system as most of its accounting data is entered on Linux non­compatible software. The team has started using php (computing language for free software) and built some basic applications on their own.

According to the news letter of Just Change India, a sister organisation, ACCORD believes that free software fits philosophically with its “goals of justice, equity, sharing and community owned markets”. ACCORD was able to understand the political vision behind free software movement and identify itself with the larger political goals shared by both. This understanding urged them to adopt free software for their operations, despite the painstaking efforts involved. The leadership of young men and women at ACCORD also speeded up the makeover.

The philosophy of free software was not confined to the four walls of ACCORD, but was taken to the community. Thus work with ACCORD had a ripple effect, in mobilising opinion on FOSS and leading to the formation of a FOSS community in Gudalur.

“Just Change India” a global trade movement to link communities directly, started a blog using free software tools. It gave coverage to the shift to free software in its online newsletter describing it “ our desire to use common property resources in the technology space”.

Excerpt from Just Change news letter SPACE for My Voice Towards a Democratic Public Media Space

The Internet has pushed the boundaries of traditional media and revolutionised the ways in which information is shared and accessed. It has democratised media, giving room for the powerless to speak, to be heard and to connect to others. It has done away with gatekeepers and established biases. Media, clearly, is no longer the prerogative of a few.

Web4all­ Your place in cyberspace

Despite the permeating e­conciousness in the state, the skills and resources to ride the new media wave are in short supply in Kerala. The Web4all project, envisions a role for every one on the web by equipping them with the skills and resources to do so.

Under the programme, SPACE organised workshops for individuals and CSOs and introduced them to the concepts and tools of new media. The participants gained experience in setting up websites using free software tools and content management systems. A server provided by SPACE hosts the websites free of cost.

4 workshops on ICT and new media. Average 12 new articles in all the websites every week. 20 men and 28 women including students and Akshaya entrepreneurs trained. 21 websites set up by schools, Akshaya centres, CSOs and local communities

IT entrepreneur attracts samoosa business

Abdul Salaam is an Akshaya entrepreneur trained by SPACE. During the training, he put up a website that read: “My name is Abdul Salam. My centre is located at Vattaloor Mekkulamba, near Samoosa Padi. Do you know Samoosa? It is very tasty and healthy. It is exported all over Malappuram District. There are many samoosa factories at Samoosa Padi.”

A few days later, to his great astonishment, Salaam received a business proposition from Bangalore to market samosas there. Of course, Salaam, who had never traded in samosas, declined the offer. But the incident gave him and many other entrepreneurs like him, an insight into the diverse opportunities presented by the web. SPACE for My Voice Towards a Democratic Public Media Space

Ente Gramam

Ente Gramam. My village. The assertion of a community's identity in a global village. Eight Gram Panchayats and one Municipality of Kannur District have carved a distinct identity for themselves on the web through their portal. Now it ranks the largest local language portal in India.

The web portal of Kannur

The concept of a village portal for Kannur was mooted by Akshaya and UNESCO while an ethnographic action research was underway in Kannur to assess the information needs of the community. SPACE, invited as a technical partner, conceptualised and gave shape to the portal in October 2007. A team of editors and community facilitators were trained by SPACE to undertake the tasks involved in portal management. Out of the 13 members trained, only two were men.

Ente Gramam is slowly emerging from the shadows of the research programme to which it owes its origin to take on an independent identity boosted by the support of Local Self Governments, the local community and village telecentres.

Ente Gramam has wider implications for governance. The project can contribute towards increasing transparency in government which is exemplified by some panchayats which have published the list of beneficiaries under various schemes of the panchayat. The agenda of gramasabha meetings are regularly posted on the site.

Over 100 articles in each website 148 visits to each site every month SPACE for My Voice Towards a Democratic Public Media Space

While radio in India remains synonymous with the Government controlled AIR and the private FM stations that clutter our air waves, it has become increasingly important to reinvent radio as a medium that meets the concerns and needs of ordinary people. Community media, especially Community radio, has played a key role in empowering local communities in different parts of the world. In India, community radio has long been a scarcely­tapped resource since it did not have a policy framework until very recently.

Radio Alakal

Radio Alakal, the first community radio initiative of SPACE and Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali (KSMTF) completed two years of operation in May 2008. Radio Alakal functioned from the offices of SPACE at Vellayambalam in Thiruvananthapuram and was being narrowcast in the coastal village of Vizhinjam.

The office of Radio Alakal was moved to Mother Theresa Grandasala, a village library in Vizhinjam in July 2007 to enhance local ownership of the radio. A team of five youngsters from Vizhinjam were trained in community radio production. SPACE provided a computer, mike, headphone, voice recorder and guided them in producing programmes locally. The team puts together an hour long programme each day including weather forecasts, experience sharing by those who have encountered dangers at sea and other information of local interest.

Community radio workshops

SPACE organised a one day consultation meeting on Community Media and Development in Thiruvanathapuram in September 2007 with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Alakal Media Society. Noted NGO representatives and community media experts exchanged views on the new community radio policy, processes involved in initiating community radio and shared success stories from other parts of the country.

SPACE organised community radio workshop for students of Thiruvananthapuram Press Club in January 2008. 17 students including 9 girls took part in a three day workshop. The students produced a series of programmes in different audio formats such as news, documentary and discussion.

A nine day community radio workshop was organised at Ottasekaramangalam panchayat in February 2008. 14 trainees including 8 women who participated in the workshop received hands on training in radio production. A documentary produced by the trainees on the issue of water shortage influenced the decision of the local government to place a water tank in an area identified by the trainees as severely affected.

SPACE also supported radio training workshop organised by Radio DC, a campus radio initiative of DC books, a leading publishing house in Kerala. The participants included students and housewives from the local community. Radio DC also expressed interest to broadcast audio programmes developed by SPACE.

National Workshop on Community Radio

SPACE participated in the 2nd Annual Conference of Community Radio Forum in Bangalore in February 2008. It highlighted the importance of linking FOSS community with community radio groups in India. SPACE also initiated the work of transferring a community radio guide (Community Radio ­ A User’s Guide to the Technology by N Ramakrishnan for UNESCO) into wikipedia format. (http://cr­ userguide.web4all.in). SPACE for Better Governance A People's Perspective for e­governance

The FOSS friendly ICT policy adopted by the Government of Kerala has enamoured several public institutions in Kerala to the philosophy of FOSS. The unrelenting advocacy and capacity building efforts of SPACE influenced and facilitated the migration of such institutions to FOSS.

Kerala State Electricity Board

Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) shifted to free software in March 2008. It developed a billing software, Oruma using free software technology. SPACE trained the technical team of KSEB to build the applications and provided trouble shooting support. The shift will help KSEB save Rs. 9.5 crore on licence fee and software upgrading.

Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board

The Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board shifted to free software a year ago attracted by the spirit of freedom espoused by FOSS. SPACE developed a software for the Board to edit Malayalam documents which were built on other formats. In the first phase of the shift, the Board saved Rs 10 lakh and in the next phase it expects to save over Rs 20 lakh.

State Government Secretariat

Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keltron), the major supplier of computers to government started providing computers preloaded with Ubuntu GNU/Linux OS during the year. This is leading to the migration of the State Government Secretariat to FOSS. SPACE provided training to system administrators at the Secretariat to manage GNU/Linux systems. SPACE for Differently Abled Setting Minds Free

Information and communication technologies that directly impinge on the quality of life of the disabled have been around for some time. However, lack of awareness and the political will to apply them to address real needs of the disabled have limited the reach of such technologies.

Insight

Insight, the first ever ICT centre for the disabled in Kerala was set up by SPACE in April 2007 with the support of Kerala State IT Mission. It is envisioned to extend the benefits of Information and Communication Technologies to the disabled and enable them to lead independent and productive lives.

The resource centre of Insight at Thiruvananthapuram provides training to students and teachers in the FOSS based assistive technology known as Orca which enables the visually challenged to navigate the Internet with ease. Equivalent proprietary software for the visually challenged costs $ 1500. Training materials in braille and audio format are also developed at the centre.

Insight Resource Centre

The resource centre of Insight at Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram is a beehive of activity. Visually challenged persons including students and teachers drop­in every day at the centre where two trainers, guide them in using the computer and Internet.

One of the trainers, Mr. Sukumaran, is visually challenged and the rapport established between the trainer and the trainee is instant. He explains to them how he downloads his favourite news sites on the Internet, types and reads his mails and takes care of his information and communication needs using Orca.

The centre has five Orca supported computers and high speed Internet connection. It is open to all the visually challenged on all week days except the second Saturday of each month.

● 15 visually challenged Master Trainers developed. ● 24 Master Trainers of IT@School project, 13 teachers of Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDS) and 73 visually challenged people trained. Technology Development

SPACE compiled free software OS with speech enabling tools and it plans to distribute the software compilation to the visually challenged. Research and development activities are under way at the resource centre to enable Malayalam Text to Speech system and Malayalam Optical Character Recognition system which are critical for enabling Malayalam computing and ICT for the visually challenged.

Computers for Master Trainers

SPACE mobilised funds for procuring computers by networking with State Bank of India, State Bank of Travancore and G­TECH. It was successful in mobilising around Rs. 3 lakh. Kerala State IT Mission will procure the computers and distribute them to them Master Trainers.

Swaram – audio magazine for the visually challenged

SPACE launched Swaram, an audio magazine for the visually challenged in January 2008. The current media scenario offers little or no content relevant to the visually challenged in a format easily accessible to them. Swaram attempts to give the visually challenged an edge in today's information society by providing an an overview of current affairs, news and views. The first two editions of Swaram were compiled and produced with the support of Mediact, an NGO that promotes media literacy among children and media students of Press Club, Thiruvananthapuram. The magazine which currently offers content only in Malayalam is distributed on CD­ROMS. SPACE for Multicultural Worlds Many voices, a better world

Language is the primary tool with which people connect to each other, construct an identity for themselves and develop a sense of belonging. Every language has an identity that is distinct from others, in terms of the social, cultural and historical values they signify. It is host to a people's memory, a nation's pride. Modern communication technologies which rely heavily on English could however soon cause several languages to degenerate or disappear.

The chasm created by language also contributes to the digital divide as it denies access to technology for a vast majority of people for whom English is not their first language. Most computer users are unaware of the alternative technologies that can help them to make efficient use of their computer in their own language.

Malayalam Computing Campaign

SPACE urged the Government of Kerala to launch a Malayalam Computing Campaign. SPACE will provide the technical and managerial support for the campaign which will run for three years. An information booklet and campaign logo developed by SPACE were released by the noted Malayalam poet, Sri Madhusoodhanan on World Languages Day on February 21.

Called Nammude Basha Nammude Computerinu (My Language for My Computer), the campaign seeks to raise public awareness on the possibilities of local language computing. SPACE will train Akshaya entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, educational institutions and individuals in enabling Malayalam (using Unicode standard) in their computers. SPACE for Both Men and Women Ensuring equity in technology initiatives

Gender imbalances are pronounced in the context of information and communication technologies as communities generally fail to adopt a women inclusive approach to ICT development. SPACE initiated gender research during the year to take stock of the situation in Kerala.

Awareness and use of ICT among students

The study is being conducted among students of selected Arts and Science Colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. It explores the level of awareness and use of ICT tools among students and the various factors that prevent them from doing so. The study employs survey and focus group discussions with the students.

Impact of IT@ School

The study primarily seeks to explore the changes in the personal and managerial capabilities of women Master Trainers and School IT Coordinators of IT@School project. The study is being conducted in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode.

ICT use in women organisations

Women organisations in Kerala play an important role in the development debate by voicing the rights of women. SPACE initiated a study to assess the level of ICT use by the noted women organisations in the state in view of equipping them with the skills to build powerful information and communication networks.

Programmes for women

SPACE strove to provide equal opportunities for both men and women in its initiatives. 18 women students from Press Club and Mahatma Gandhi College for Arts and Science, Mahe were trained in ICT use. 20 women including Kudumbashree members, team members at ACCORD and Press Club students received in training to set up web sites. SPACE for Knowledge Sharing Nurturing and enriching knowledge commons

Knowledge Commons, a concept that reiterates the value of shared knowledge is gaining ground around the world. As the Internet gives access to information like never before, it has also given rise to a new patent regime that access to information through intellectual property rights, licensing and other restrictive measures. Knowledge sharing has assumed a political position.

Digitisation of Malayalam encyclopaedia

SPACE successfully championed its political position regarding knowledge sharing in its advocacy with the State Institute of Encyclopaedia Publications (SIEP) this year.

The SIEP is an autonomous institution supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Kerala. It has published 13 volumes of a general Malayalam encyclopaedia known as Sarvavijnanakosam and plans to bring out seven more. SPACE urged SIEP to support knowledge sharing through the new medium of Internet by digitising the encyclopaedia. It also recommended Technoworld, an IT based Kudumbashree unit in Thiruvananthapuram to undertake the work.

SPACE trained the women staff at Technoworld in the relatively complex tasks of digitisation, such as understanding document structure, image processing and wiki mark up techniques. The unit completed the digitisation of the first volume with over 1000 articles and has started work on the second volume. With this SPACE could demonstrate the capacity of women enterprises like Technoworld to undertake digitisation while furthering the cause of knowledge sharing. SPACE Partnerships

SOMA

SOMA is an NGO that offers management services for development sector programmes and projects. It was the primary resource partner of SPACE during the year. SOMA in collaboration with Hivos undertook a programme to promote FOSS based ICT development in Kerala with the technical support of SPACE. SOMA also provided financial and managerial assistance to SPACE.

IT Department, Government of Kerala

Involvement of SPACE in government programmes increased. SPACE was consulted on policy decisions regarding ICT. The media initiatives of SPACE are expected to receive a boost through government involvement. The Malayalam computing campaign will accelerate local language content development and it will support the web development programmes of SPACE.

Public institutions

SPACE has built a strong partnership with public institutions such as Kerala State Electricity Board, and the Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board. SPACE provided critical and consistent technical support to these institutions which enabled them to make a hassle­free shift to free software. SPACE sensitised the State Institute of Encyclopaedia (which generates valuable local language content), on the concept of free knowledge. Media reports on these partnerships enhanced the visibility of SPACE.

Kudumbashree & Akshaya

Collaboration with Kudumbashree received a set back when the latter failed to move forward on a proposal mooted by SPACE for supporting IT units. Most of the Kudumbashree IT units were on the verge of closure following a government order to discontinue their services in IT@School programme. SPACE did however, build a credible model of capacity development of Kudumbashree IT unit (as in the case of Technoworld, Thiruvananthapuram) and this has influenced opinion within Kudumbashree. Due to leadership changes in Akshaya, joint activities were kept on hold. However relations are expected to be resumed soon with the roll out of Insight and Malayalam computing campaign.

Civil Society Organisations

SPACE initiated networking with civil society organisations in Kerala. The successful migration made by ACCORD was a breakthrough, since ACCORD has set a trend in not just shifting to free software but in mobilising a community for FOSS in Gudalur. Educational Institutions

SPACE built excellent rapport with the Press Club which runs journalism courses. A long term collaboration is expected in training students in new media but also in generating a pool of web content developers and editors. SPACE also engaged with various Arts and Science colleges in Kerala as part of new media training for students. It started addressing schools as a community for strengthening new media initiatives.

Community radio groups

SPACE has developed into a major agency that offers free software support to community radio initiatives. Apart from Radio Alakal in Vizhinjam, SPACE offered support to a community radio programme of Ottasekaramangalam panchayat and Radio DC.