There are many programmes aimed at helping
knowledge and information flows in the development
sector. Traditionally, these have included conferences,
workshops, journals, libraries and extension
workers. The last decade has seen the emergence
of new approaches such as portals, gateways,
resource centers and one-stop shops. In one
way or other these are aimed at bridging information
gaps, making connections, and facilitating exchange
between different actors.
Open Forum facilitates knowledge sharing on
development issues and the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) among civil society bodies and
other stakeholders through the appropriation
of new media tools. Open Forum’s online
and Offline advocacy aims to strengthen grassroots
voices and impact pro-poor policies while highlighting
various development initiatives of partner NGOs.
Open Forum is home to a range of such programmes,
all of which play an information brokering role
aimed at helping development research and knowledge
reach those who can use it to reduce poverty
and injustice. These services include: Antatah,
Development, K4D, Online Community Radio, Digital
Library Project and K4D TV.
In different ways, these services and others
like them act as mediators between producers
and potential consumers of research based information.
Thus, the idea of a knowledge or information
intermediary may be a useful label for such
people who, like the family of services based
at IDS, are involved in addressing information
and communication challenges within the development
industry. The Open Forum portal is a flagship
source of development news, features, views
and resources with a strong focus on the MDG
themes – poverty and livelihoods, education,
health, gender, environment and global partnership.
It provides special coverage on people’s
initiatives and campaigns for equitable and
sustainable development, human rights and climate
justice in the realization of MDGs.
At Open Forum, the New & Emerging Media
Capacity Development Trainings prepares the
“communicators of the twenty-first century.”
These new communicators will combine technological
expertise with effective communication skills
across a wide range of media, developing “new
media literacy” in response to the digital
revolution that has radically changed all aspects
of human communication. Such trainings prepares
community not only for existing technologically
sophisticated delivery systems but also prepares
them to be future developers, entrepreneurs
and content providers of emerging media. While
most conventional training programs in media
emphasize established message content strategies
and delivery systems, Open Forum integrates
this traditional approach with the creation,
applications and implications of emerging media.
The program mixes classes which focus on the
theory and history of media with ones focused
on practical application where students become
versed in a wide range of technical skills.
Publication on Development issues:
Antatah
Open Forum has undertaken to advise the stakeholders
on how ICTs could be mainstreamed, mainly from
the perspectives of the policy-makers and the
practitioners on the ground. The monthly Magazine,
Antatah, focussing on the issues around the
MDGs helps the stakeholders in their planning
process. This publication has been approved
from the Registrar for Newspapers of India,
Government of India. With the Introductory copy
itself Antatah has succeeded in attracting reputable
and well-informed contributors and attracted
a good response. 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”. The Antatah content will
also be mirrored electronically in the development
portal for online access which is currently
under development status. Antatah, our Official
Monthly Publication in Hindi which keeps a close
eye on development issues in India and informs
audiences on the progress of the MDGs in the
South Asia region and has a current reach of
over 48,600 key recipients in national governments,
civil society, media, academics, bi-lateral
and multilateral agencies and the private sector.
Purpose of the publication
Content means Information and experiences created
by individuals, institutions and technology
to benefit audiences in contexts that they value
and it communicates best when users recognize
their own faces and their own stories –
their cultures – in it. Stressing the
importance of creativity for bridging the Digital
Divide and creating digital opportunities and
for closing the Content Gap Open Forum has initiated
to come out with a Monthly Publication called
“ANTATAH” based on Social Development
Issues and Holistic Growth. The aim of this
publication is to facilitate knowledge sharing
by people at the grassroots and for the content
dissemination among them. This would also encourage
peer-to-peer networking among grassroots communities.
The basic aim of the monthly publication Antatah
is to create a platform for critical debate
on role, scope and experiences relating to mainstreaming
ICTs in the development interventions. It also
seeks to address the concerns of the policy-makers,
government and nongovernmental agencies and
the donor world that are still sceptical about
the utility of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) as tools to enhance human
development.
Online Platforms and Adaptation of
New Technologies
The recent launch of the Open Forum Portal in
partnership with Civil Society Organization
aims to bring together campaigns, theory, praxis
and debate from the region. Work is also underway
on a Indian Development Knowledge Repository
to make possible the acquisition and dissemination
of development content through multiple channels.
Open Forum is dedicated to the formulation of
new media solutions including mobile technology
for strengthening the campaign for MDGs in India.
