India is largely with more
than 60 per cent of our population dependent
on agriculture and allied activities. It is
important to address their needs with value
added information. In many situations we have
witnessed local knowledge coming to the rescue
of major global problems. It is a fact that
the knowledge base in the grassroots actually
gives ways to various solutions at the global
level. Similarly other global issues like the
HIV AIDS, Food Security, Digital Divide, it’s
the grassroots communities who can suggest appropriate
strategies.
Various ICT initiatives aimed at improving access
of information communication to the grassroots
communities are more inclined towards pushing
external information. But the fact is not all
the external information provided through such
initiatives is much of use to them. They are
more tuned to their own information and knowledge
which is local and is more relevant to their
needs. It is not just the global knowledge but
a balance of global and local information that
helps in improving quality of life at the grassroots.
Presently, no doubt, content through Information,
Education and Communications programme are reaching
to the communities, but not sustaining at that
level. Government, Non-Government Organisations
are doing their best to empower the communities
with knowledge, but their withdrawal leaves
the vacuum behind. No doubt, other mainstreaming
media are also playing a vital role, but there
is a need to reflect on how ICTs could be used
for IEC and need-based content could be made
available to them.
Open Forum, while promoting ICTs in the communities
realized the importance of blending of local
vis-à-vis global content and the unprecedented
urgency and need to digitize content to reach
out to rural and urban communities of india,
as well as tailor the content as per the respective
needs of the communities. With its more than
386 organizations - including NGOs, donors,
multilateral organizations, private sector,
media, academicians and governments as its
partners, took the initiative of strengthening
the content database for catering to these
needs, but to fill-in the gap, there is a
need to build content coordination mechanism.
Taking above facts into consideration Open
Forum came up with a monthly publication,
in Hindi at first phase and its web version.
Antatah, Hindi meaning of word “At Last”,
is the Official Publication of Open Forum.
This would be a tool for information dissemination
as to create Awareness and Sensitization of
people at large.The primary aim of this initiative
is to provide customized community based contents
and reach to its related services for the
local community. Here we will try “To
create and implement a sustainable, scalable
platform of entrepreneurship for enabling
the development of rural economy and society
through contents with the use of Information
and Communications Technologies”. Objectives
for this initiative were as follows:
1. To develop theory on creating and exploiting
diversity in regime shifts for social development.
2. Understand critically the niche methodology:
specifically, the influence, limitations and
challenges faced by sustainable niches in
the India, past and present.
3. Contribute to policy by stimulating debate
and making recommendations about the role
of sustainable niches for radical transitions
toward sustainable technological regimes.
Open Forum believes that Information can
be used for greater external accountability.
There is now widespread recognition that if
citizens are to create pressure for better
services they need better information, and
information that meets the three Rs: Reliable,
Relevant, and Regular. There are a variety
of promising initiatives. The Government of
India has recently passed a Right to Information
law, that creates enormous scope for citizens
to know what is happening—but it is
only a promise that will require support to
become a vehicle for service improvements
and not merely a means for political grandstanding.
Open Forum is also providing a list of contents,
which can also be termed as a variety of efforts
to make information available from the bottom
up through its Publication and web initiatives
or else, existing channels—such as the
Gram Sabha or user committees in various sectors—such
as the non-governmental organization.