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Summary of July 10th Meeting
Posted by: servelots Member of Group STM
Updated: 2004-10-11 20:35:34
Category: IT and Society > Meetings > Minutes
 
Meeting Minutes
Date 10-07-2004
Minute Taker (s) Muthatha Ramanathan
Minutes The meeting on Saturday was attended by about 25 people from diverse
backgrounds. There were IT professionals, academics, researchers, NGO folks, and a few others.

It is very clear that there is a great deal of interest in this collective/group/forum/space (however one envisions it). Several people who could not be at the meeting have inquired about what happened at the meeting. This report is an attempt to capture the gist of the meeting.

The meeting opened with Dinesh and Subbu situating the idea for creating this space in their personal histories/experiences. Please refer to the meeting minutes to read more about this. They also presented their conception of the nature of the space.
  • The space should not be only for airing grievances about IT, for a blind celebration of IT, or for a blind rejection of IT either.
  • The space should allow for a critical reflection on the various facets of IT and its interfaces with society.
  • The space should enable a dialogue between the technically-savvy and the socially-minded and hopes to involve IT professionals, academics, NGO people, sociologists, etc.
  • Ultimately, the space will enable solutions to emerge out of a deeper critical understanding.

The floor was then opened for everyone present to share their perspectives and personal experiences about IT and its interfaces with society. We present a flavour of the several threads that stood out. Please refer to the meeting minutes for the detailed comments and discussion.
  • IT companies are like any other business and the profit motive comes foremost.
  • Need to question the influential role that IT companies have in policy input vis-a-vis panchayats. This is especially a big concern in projects like the IT corridor where vast swathes of land are acquired from "villages".
  • While computers let us do wonderful things, why is there a need to keep changing 'dabbas' every 2-3 years? Why do h/w and s/w change so much and so often, and in a way that I can no longer use what I have learnt? And, what happens to the 'dabbas' when they are discarded?
  • e-governance is a very promising trend in India and it is important to widen the current techie-dominated character of e-gov sector in India. The voice of civil society also needs to be heard.
  • The concept of e-governance has to be questioned. For example, Bhoomi represents an ideological shift from the social reform focus of the land reforms to a purely technological phenomenon in terms of what technology can do. For example, the Bhoomi database only recognizes one type of land holding whereas there are a vast number of different types of land holdings.
  • IT and internet can be used by civil society for advocacy and for
development in the rural context.
  • A few were interested in exploring how, through IT, rural artisans can be provided updated designs and such, or how they can develop new digital products using knowledge that they possess.
  • "I am extremely cynical about IT's use or its potential in the development sector".
  • How much of research conducted at educationl institutions is relevant to society? There was a call for more relevant research which can be funded through grants provided by the Govt. to these institutes.
  • There was an example of how the internet has had certain kinds of positive cultural impacts in terms of empowering women in India.
  • The questions/reflections here are nothing new. They are asked every time a new institution comes up (a new technology, religion, education, etc.). For example, religious institutions have been acquring huge amounts of land in agricultural areas. Or, there have been questions asked in the past about the role of science in society, whether it is objective, whether it is beneficial to society, etc. IT is not a disembodied phenomenon. IT is just yet another social practice, an outgrowth of human consciousness itself. We have to be critical about it like all other social pehnomena.

After this, the discussion centered around how to create a space for bringing together the various threads that came up earlier. Everyone shared their ideas for projects/discussions and how to move forward. Some of the ideas were:
  • identifying a list of projects around which task groups can form
  • having regular meetings with focused discussions
  • taking up case studies of projects like Bhoomi and critiquing them
  • collecting personal stories of being impacted by IT and disseminating them
  • IT techies meeting the IT-affected
  • watching a movie by Indu Krishnan which is about the life of an IT professional over a few years. this movie is part of a longer documentary series called "The New Americans".

The issue of a name for the group/space/activity was brought up. There was a request to create a website. There was also a request for a mailing list, but some members were against creating a yahoogroup.

It was decided to meet at Fireflies on the 25th(*) to see Indu Krishnan's movie. Conveyance will be arranged to get there. Given that it is out of the way, people should add an additional 90 minutes to get to/from Fireflies. At the meeting, some time could also be spent critiquing a IT-related project that Fireflies is interested in initiating in the surrounding villages. Once the logistics for this event is finalized, a separate mail will be sent out announcing the screening.

(*) We actually decided on the 24th, but there are a couple of events on the 24th which some of you might be attending. One is a right-to-information meeting, and the other is a VOICES-PROOF consultation on IT & social change.
 
 
 


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