SanskritVoice March 9, 2008
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Non-Profit , 1 comment so farThe most popular posts on eIndia are entertainment-related (no surprise there), suggesting that writing more about that category should increase visitor traffic. But one of the advantages of not being ad-supported is that I write about what I want.
So here is a review of a site that will be uninteresting to the bollywood-obsessed Indian masses. SanskritVoice is a not-for-profit project by Sheshu Karthick, with the objective of reviving public interest in Sanskrit. It’s an unpretentious site, where you can learn Sanskrit words at your leisure (via RSS or email) and read/share articles related to Sanskrit language.
The content is still ramping up, but it has a good aggregation of Sanskrit resources (like the Sanskrit dictionary search). I like the idea of campaigning the learning of an ancient language and creating a community around it. Much better use of the internet as ‘knowledge infrastructure’, especially when you contrast it with useless communities like Kayastha2Kayastha or infernal initiatives like DesiSexTube.
SanskritVoice finds good company with other non-profit Indian web initiatives like PositiveSaathi and IDontWantDowry. Hope they find sustenance in ad-based model or donations.
Blogswara.in September 4, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Non-Profit , add a commentBlogswara is an online initiative by Indian artists, aimed at creating music collaboratively over the net. People with different talents (lyrics, singing, recording, etc.) come together in a virtual setting to create albums and compositions in hindi, tamil and malayalam. Listeners can download the music for free
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Since I haven’t listened to the albums yet, I don’t feel qualified to comment on the music. But the sheer ingenuity of the concept forced me to write about it. I think Blogswara is an excellent (albeit tad unusual) example of how a population can internalize technology as an infrastructure for it’s inherent talent. Passionate artists on Blogswara have creates three albums since May 2006, all working in synergy from different parts of the world.
In future, look out for such primordial soup of passion, collaboration and technology to spawn the next generation of artists and albums.
Indibloggies September 4, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Faves, Non-Profit, Organizations , add a commentIndibloggies are the unofficial Indian version of the ‘bloggies‘ awards that started around 2001. The intent of rewarding and recognizing the best of blogs remains common to both.
Indibloggies started as a parody on bloggies by one guy in 2003, and grew from formal ‘jury’ in 2004 to official sponsors in 2005. Now they are a platform for showcasing the best of Indian blogs. The procedure for selection isn’t set in stone… its a mix of rating score by online voting and the interesting lineup of jurors. Anybody can submit nominations.
Like the redundancy of everything else in the internet-world, there are multiple of such ‘awards’ and organizations existing today. In case you are interested, valleywag has an interesting comparison of them here.
TeleDoc.org July 8, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Healthcare, Non-Profit, Technology , add a commentTeleDoc is a project of Jiva Institute, an India-based non-profit research and development organization that aims to foster sustainable development by producing innovations. Launched as a pilot project in 15 villages in Haryana in April 2003, TeleDoc provides handheld mobile phone devices to village-based health workers in India, permitting them to communicate with doctors remotely.
TeleDoc uses java-enabled mobile telephones to provide real-time ability to record and transmit diagnostic information that doctors can analyze and then prescribe medication and treatment. At a regional office, medicines are prepared and picked up by field workers, and delivered to patients in their homes through a network of pharmacies and delivery personnel. The approximate cost of this entire process is 70 rupees (US$1.50) per consultation, which is pretty impressive.
TeleDoc won the World Summit Award for eHealth in 2003 at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland. Jiva is an organization based out of Faridabad (Haryana) promoting Ayurveda techniques.
In my view, TeleDoc signifies yet another indigenous IT solution to healthcare issues in India. There are plenty of such isolated efforts in existence today (just read about Andhra Pradesh and TamilNadu government’s Disease Surveillance Solution implemented by Voxiva) and hopefully will be the agents of change.
HISPIndia.org July 8, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Healthcare, Non-Profit, Technology , comments closedHISPIndia.org is a not-for-profit organization that supports design, development and implementation of Public Health Information Systems in India. The team behind it comes from University of Oslo (Norway), SCTIMST (Kerala), IIITM (Kerala).
Health Information System Project (HISP) activities started in India in 2000, and the resultant software (DHIS- District Health Information Software) software was deployed in the state of Andhra Pradesh. As the project grew, it led to formation of HISPIndia as an NGO in 2003. Today, HISPIndia has about 35 full-time staff and is active in Kerala, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and soon in Karnataka.
HISP projects are also being run in other developing countries- Ethiopia, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania , Botswana, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia and Vietnam. As a ‘network’, HISP aims to strengthen open source health software, share best practices and deploy the technology working directly with health services of each country. Masters and doctoral students from University of Oslo leverage HISP for research activities. If you are into Healthcare IT, check out their software resources section and wiki.
ManthanAward.org June 9, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Non-Profit , add a commentDigital Empowerment Foundation(DEF) is a non-profit organization based out of Delhi since late 2002. It’s aim is to use ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) to do social good and empower the needs of people in areas like agriculture, health, education etc.
ManthanAward is DEF’s initiative to provide recognition for organizations demonstrating best practices in digital media and creativity. The list of 2006 winners would give you an idea of profile that is rewarded.. like Bhojpuria.com, a site promoting language and community of Bhojpuri people. It’s a good collection of indigenous Indian websites that are hardly publicized otherwise. I’ll probably start reviewing them one by one in the future.
Friends2Support.org May 31, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Faves, Non-Profit , 2commentsFriends2Support is a NGO based in Hyderabad that focuses on blood donation. It started a couple of years ago as a modest effort as a community of about 200 donors, and currently has over 15,000 donors registered in different Indian states.
It’s an interesting concept- anyone can log on or call the hot-line to find out the list of donors in their geographical area. I’d imagine that this really facilitates blood donation and provides a useful ‘donor database’ for those in need. They also provide other services like education, request-for-blood postings, event coordination and escort.
Another useful application of the web for a greater cause. Check it out and if possible, register with them if you are in India.
Youth For Equality January 9, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Non-Profit , add a commentYouth For Equality is a forum of indian students that are against caste-based reservation in education system. They are not a political group, but a coalition of concerned folks who want to lobby the cause of merit-based education preference.
Medico Friend Circle January 6, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Non-Profit , add a commentMedico Friend Circle is a non-profit organization of concerned medical professionals. The site looks low-key, but serious in tone. I’m not a part of MFC, so this review will be pretty shallow. I stumbled onto their site sometime back, and it appeared to me as a sincere effort. If anyone knows more about MFC, feel free to leave a comment, I’m curious.
Association for India’s Development (AID) January 6, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Faves, Non-Profit , add a commentAssociation for India’s Development (AID) is a great volunteer organization. It supports grassroots organizations in India and initiates efforts in various interconnected spheres such as education, livelihoods, natural resources, health, women’s empowerment and social justice.
I’ve been a part of AID myself and it’s a great organization to work with. They have active chapters in major indian and US cities. Check them out.[Link]