Empowerment through Internet

1
Empowerment through Internet

• Sana Gul
• 2006, Pakistan

2
Digital Divide, 2006

• ITU estimates that some 800000 villages
  representing around one billion people worldwide
  still lack connection to any kind of
  information and communication technology

3

• Internet
• In 2004, the developed world still had 8 times
  the Internet user penetration rate of the
  developing world.

4
Solutions??

• Infrastructure?
• Hardware prices
• Connectivity
• Localization?
• Of end-user applications
• Of web interfaces
• local language content

5

• Infrastructure Stats
• Pakistan
• Population 146 million
• 200,000 internet subscribers
• 400 on fibre optic
• Increased bandwidth
• 1800 localities on Net
• VSAT DAMA for rural areas
• ---
• Information Technology Policy of Pakistan
  Providing an Enabling Environment for IT
  Development

6
Localization Status

• Microsoft released the first Urdu version (with
  proofing tools) of Microsoft Office application
• Microsoft has the Vista localization underway
• Word processing applications (open sources) Urdu
  fonts, KB, sorting, spell checker, grammar
  checker are available
• Urdu desktop publishing software have long been
  available

7

• Questions
• Why the low internet penetration/ digital access
  in Pakistan

8
Experiences- PAN Localization project

• Providing digital access convoluted/ complex/
  multi solution issue
• We say an INFO STRUCTURE is essential for
  providing the access to information

9
Info Structure
10
Local Pages
11
Local Content
12
PAN Localization project

• Addressing the development of the top sections of
  the info-structure
• End User Apps
• Local Content
• Localization technology

13
Technology-

• Survey and Baseline the existing technological
  support for local language computing on open
  source MS platforms
• Published as PAN Localization on Local Language
  Computing in Asia 2005
• Develop requisite technology to enable local
  language computing
• Survey and Baseline the existing support of web
  technologies on open source MS platforms for
  Urdu content deployment (e.g. testing Urdu
  support on browsers, DBMS, Scripting Languages,
  both for FOSS and popular proprietary options)
• Prototype and test access and availability of
  Urdu Domain Names

14
Local Content
15
Content Generation

• Take hard copy information and bring it online
• Take soft information in other languages and
  translate to local language
• Generate content after contacting the releavnt
  organizations, to publish content online
• Beware of the IPR issues
• Solution Open Content lic.

16
Computer Literacy

• Through end- user training
• Provide localized web-interfaces
• Increase end-user access and generation of local
  language content
• Give away free server space for local language
  website hosting
• Small competitions with a prize money for the
  best local website

17
Generate Requirements

• Areas we intend to focus at the start
• Health, Education
• General Health, Higher and Sec. education
• 20-40 yrs, Students and Teachers
• Both Genders
• Urban, semi urban, semi rural

18
Conclusion

• We AIM to reach increased digital access by the
  end of the project
• This is a prototypical activity and we aim to
  replicate the same in 6 more countries if the
  designed experiment is successful