BytesForAll
Encyclopedia
BytesForAll is a South Asia
n initiative to focus on how information technology
and the internet
can help in taking up social development issues. It is one of the oldest ICT4D (information and communication technologies for development) networks in South Asia. It was launched at a time when ICT4D was yet to become a buzz-word on the development circuit, and was still largely unnoticed for its potential.
BytesForAll was founded in July 1999 by Frederick Noronha
of Goa
, India
and Partha Pratim Sarkar
of Dhaka
, Bangladesh
. Photo alongside shows Noronha (left) and Sarkar at an April 2006 APC-organized meet in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is inspired by the Free/Libre and Open Source Software
(FLOSS
) model, and says it prefers to be an unfunded, volunteer-driven project.
In 2005, BytesForAll became the lone member of the Association for Progressive Communications
or APC in South Asia.
The BytesForAll mailings and discussions via its mailing list are summarised and published each month in the i4d magazine published from near New Delhi
each month. BytesForAll has also shared contents and columns with the Spider internet magazine of Karachi
, Pakistan
(Dawn
group), and earlier with the Express Computer magazine of the Indian Express group of Mumbai
, India
.
The first issue of BytesForAll e-zine (July 1999) is archived online by the Inti.be website.
; Archana Nagvenkar of Goa
in India
; Farah Mahmood of Pakistan
; Frederick Noronha
of Goa
in India
; Fouad Riaz Bajwa of Lahore
in Pakistan
; Lasanthi of Sri Lanka
; Mahrukh of Pakistan
; Miraj Khaled of Bangladesh
; Monjur Mahmud of Bangladesh
; Nalaka Gunawardane of Sri Lanka
; Partha Pratim Sarkar
of Dhaka
in Bangladesh
and currently in Ottawa
; Prayas Abhinav of Ahmedabad
in India
; Reba Shahid
of Karachi
in Pakistan
; Sangeeta Naik of Goa
in India
; Shahzad Ahmad of Islamabad
in Pakistan
Minhaaj ur rehman in Islamabad
; Warren Brian Noronha of Mumbai
in India
; Zunaira Durrani of Karachi
in Pakistan
now in the UK, among others.
Members who have been part of the volunteer admin team in the past included Zubair in Islamabad
, Arun-Kumar Tripathi in Dortmund
, Shivkumar in Mumbai
, Rajib in Kathmandu, Daryl Martyris in Chicago
and Sangeeta Pandey in Kathmandu.
One of the goals of the BytesForAll project is to build people-to-people links across the diverse yet similar countries of South Asia, a region which is home to a huge population, but also faces a lot of political trouble at times.
BytesForAll is a virtual organisation which does not have a physical office or entity. Its members and volunteers interact via cyberspace, through email and occasional group chat
sessions.
One of the early, tone-setting essays is titled When a Modem Costs More than a Cow and is by noted Dhaka
, Bangladesh
-based photographer Shahidul Alam
who has founded Drik based in the locality of Dhanmondi. In it, Alam argues strongly a case for ICT and technology to reach the poor. He says, "Where information is power, denying information to marginalized communities, actively prevents the rural poor from overcoming the unequal power structures that they are trapped within. While it is in the interest of the powerful in society to restrict such access, it is also in the interest of the powerful nations to deny access and maintain domination. The unrestricted flow of general information is an essential pre-requisite for an egalitarian society."
, and free software
(or FLOSS
). BytesForAll has actively debated the growth of Free Software and Open Source in South Asia.
In mid-2006, BytesForAll set up its BytesForAll_FLOSS network to build links among supporters of FLOSS
and techies dabbling in it, in South Asia.
Over the years, BytesForAll has been able to build links and bridges among techies and development activists (specially those with a tech focus) in the South Asian region.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
's Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Human Development in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society and Director of the MIT India Program Prof. Kenneth Kenniston has called BytesForAll "the single most valuable source of information on 'IT for the people' projects anywhere in South Asia."
BytesForAll has taken online issues relating to IT and public health, disaster mitigation, non-English computing, mass education and the like. It described its activities thus; "Each month an offline E-zine goes out to its interested readers. In doing so, it has managed to highlight a surprising number of often-unnoticed success stories from a region where access to computers is still a class privilege."
It has focused repeatedly on issues such as efforts to promote computing in regional languages through GNU/Linux; the Learn Foundation's experience in laying a knowledge pipeline in rural Bangladesh; PraDeshta's idea of deploying a broadband communication network in Bangladesh; SDNP Pakistan's success in developing a knowledge network within the country; Kothmale's implementation of innovative "community radio" services in rural Sri Lanka, among others.
Themes it has also focused on include IT-for-public health, Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS
), ICT and human rights, emerging ICT technologies, community radio concerns, ICT for poverty alleviation, ICT for mass education, the knowledge society, local language computing initiatives, the "digital divide" generally, ongoing conferences and seminars in the region, and e-governance issues.
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n initiative to focus on how information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
can help in taking up social development issues. It is one of the oldest ICT4D (information and communication technologies for development) networks in South Asia. It was launched at a time when ICT4D was yet to become a buzz-word on the development circuit, and was still largely unnoticed for its potential.
FLOSS-inspired
Frederick Noronha
Frederick Noronha is an independent journalist based in Saligao in the Bardez taluka of Goa. He is active in cyberspace and involved with e-ventures involving Goa, developmental concerns and free software. He writes mostly on free software / open source issues, technology, and computing issues in...
of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Partha Pratim Sarkar
Partha Pratim Sarkar
Partha Pratim Sarkar is the co-founder of the BytesForAll network. From Dhaka, Bangladesh, he immigrated to Canada and is currently a professor at Iowa State University.-External links:*...
of Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Photo alongside shows Noronha (left) and Sarkar at an April 2006 APC-organized meet in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is inspired by the Free/Libre and Open Source Software
Floss
Floss may refer to:* Dental floss, used to clean teeth* Embroidery thread, machine or hand-spun yarn for embroidery* Fairy floss or candyfloss, alternative names for cotton candy* Rousong, i.e. meat floss-Computing:...
(FLOSS
Floss
Floss may refer to:* Dental floss, used to clean teeth* Embroidery thread, machine or hand-spun yarn for embroidery* Fairy floss or candyfloss, alternative names for cotton candy* Rousong, i.e. meat floss-Computing:...
) model, and says it prefers to be an unfunded, volunteer-driven project.
In 2005, BytesForAll became the lone member of the Association for Progressive Communications
Association for Progressive Communications
The Association for Progressive Communications is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and...
or APC in South Asia.
Mailing list
BytesForAll_Readers had some 1,548 subscribers as of October 2006, and describes itself saying it "is particularly designed for BytesForAll readers and supporters who want to take part and want to be updated about ICT and development-related issues in South Asia."The BytesForAll mailings and discussions via its mailing list are summarised and published each month in the i4d magazine published from near New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
each month. BytesForAll has also shared contents and columns with the Spider internet magazine of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(Dawn
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is still below the horizon...
group), and earlier with the Express Computer magazine of the Indian Express group of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Among oldest
BytesForAll also describes itself as "being one of the oldest network on ICT4D issues in South Asia". Its mailing list, which is watched by a number of ICT enthusiasts and academics across the globe sees itself as a forum that "encourages a free flow of information and a lively debate and discussion on people-oriented IT practices."The first issue of BytesForAll e-zine (July 1999) is archived online by the Inti.be website.
Volunteers, team
Run by a volunteer administration team, BytesForAll's current team includes AHM Bazlur Rahman of BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
; Archana Nagvenkar of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; Farah Mahmood of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
; Frederick Noronha
Frederick Noronha
Frederick Noronha is an independent journalist based in Saligao in the Bardez taluka of Goa. He is active in cyberspace and involved with e-ventures involving Goa, developmental concerns and free software. He writes mostly on free software / open source issues, technology, and computing issues in...
of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; Fouad Riaz Bajwa of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
; Lasanthi of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
; Mahrukh of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
; Miraj Khaled of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
; Monjur Mahmud of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
; Nalaka Gunawardane of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
; Partha Pratim Sarkar
Partha Pratim Sarkar
Partha Pratim Sarkar is the co-founder of the BytesForAll network. From Dhaka, Bangladesh, he immigrated to Canada and is currently a professor at Iowa State University.-External links:*...
of Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and currently in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
; Prayas Abhinav of Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; Reba Shahid
Reba Shahid
Reba Shahid is an information and communication technology -focused journalist from Pakistan. She is the Editor of the Spider and writes a fortnightly column on Information Technology for the BBC website in Urdu named Reba Ki Diary -Articles by Reba Shahid:* *...
of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
; Sangeeta Naik of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; Shahzad Ahmad of Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Minhaaj ur rehman in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
; Warren Brian Noronha of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; Zunaira Durrani of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
now in the UK, among others.
Members who have been part of the volunteer admin team in the past included Zubair in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Arun-Kumar Tripathi in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Shivkumar in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Rajib in Kathmandu, Daryl Martyris in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Sangeeta Pandey in Kathmandu.
One of the goals of the BytesForAll project is to build people-to-people links across the diverse yet similar countries of South Asia, a region which is home to a huge population, but also faces a lot of political trouble at times.
BytesForAll is a virtual organisation which does not have a physical office or entity. Its members and volunteers interact via cyberspace, through email and occasional group chat
Online chat
Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...
sessions.
News, criticism of South Asian ICT issues
BytesForAll has emerged as one of the credible sources of news and criticism of the ICT4D networks in South Asia. It is read by campaigners, activists at the grassroots, people involved with actual projects, funders, key players in the development debate and also academics in both South and North.One of the early, tone-setting essays is titled When a Modem Costs More than a Cow and is by noted Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
-based photographer Shahidul Alam
Shahidul Alam
' was born in 1955 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He studied and taught chemistry in London where he obtained a PhD from the University of London.He started photography in 1980 and was awarded the by the London Arts Council in 1983...
who has founded Drik based in the locality of Dhanmondi. In it, Alam argues strongly a case for ICT and technology to reach the poor. He says, "Where information is power, denying information to marginalized communities, actively prevents the rural poor from overcoming the unequal power structures that they are trapped within. While it is in the interest of the powerful in society to restrict such access, it is also in the interest of the powerful nations to deny access and maintain domination. The unrestricted flow of general information is an essential pre-requisite for an egalitarian society."
Covering the field
Over the years, BytesForAll has been intensively covering the field, mainly through its volunteer network of journalists and writers. BytesForAll has highlighted and tracked the growth of certain projects from South Asia, including the Hole In The Wall project, the SimputerSimputer
The Simputer is a self-contained, open hardware Linux-based handheld computer, first released in 2002. Developed in, and primarily distributed within India, the product was envisioned as a low-cost alternative to personal computers...
, and free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
(or FLOSS
Alternative terms for free software
Alternative terms for free software have been a controversial issue among free software users from the late 1990s onwards. Coined in 1983 by Richard Stallman, "free software" is used to describe software which can be used, modified, and redistributed with little or no restriction...
). BytesForAll has actively debated the growth of Free Software and Open Source in South Asia.
In mid-2006, BytesForAll set up its BytesForAll_FLOSS network to build links among supporters of FLOSS
Floss
Floss may refer to:* Dental floss, used to clean teeth* Embroidery thread, machine or hand-spun yarn for embroidery* Fairy floss or candyfloss, alternative names for cotton candy* Rousong, i.e. meat floss-Computing:...
and techies dabbling in it, in South Asia.
Over the years, BytesForAll has been able to build links and bridges among techies and development activists (specially those with a tech focus) in the South Asian region.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
's Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Human Development in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society and Director of the MIT India Program Prof. Kenneth Kenniston has called BytesForAll "the single most valuable source of information on 'IT for the people' projects anywhere in South Asia."
"Beyond the ... digital divide"
BytesForAll has argued that it goes "beyond the popular concept of digital divide. We not only recognize that there is a widespread disparity between information have and have-nots (in terms of access and distribution) but also raise and analyze the issues that put them trapped into it and bring about solutions wherever they exist." It adds that this network "want(s) to see how IT are being used for the benefit of the dis-empowered, one who has no purchasing power to tempt the market to build solutions for him or her."BytesForAll has taken online issues relating to IT and public health, disaster mitigation, non-English computing, mass education and the like. It described its activities thus; "Each month an offline E-zine goes out to its interested readers. In doing so, it has managed to highlight a surprising number of often-unnoticed success stories from a region where access to computers is still a class privilege."
It has focused repeatedly on issues such as efforts to promote computing in regional languages through GNU/Linux; the Learn Foundation's experience in laying a knowledge pipeline in rural Bangladesh; PraDeshta's idea of deploying a broadband communication network in Bangladesh; SDNP Pakistan's success in developing a knowledge network within the country; Kothmale's implementation of innovative "community radio" services in rural Sri Lanka, among others.
Themes it has also focused on include IT-for-public health, Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS
Floss
Floss may refer to:* Dental floss, used to clean teeth* Embroidery thread, machine or hand-spun yarn for embroidery* Fairy floss or candyfloss, alternative names for cotton candy* Rousong, i.e. meat floss-Computing:...
), ICT and human rights, emerging ICT technologies, community radio concerns, ICT for poverty alleviation, ICT for mass education, the knowledge society, local language computing initiatives, the "digital divide" generally, ongoing conferences and seminars in the region, and e-governance issues.