Welcome to PARTNERS, the monthly newsletter that brings you the latest news and views from the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).

This issue features perspectives on "ICT and Indigenous Knowledge". For the online version of this newsletter, please visit www.globalknowledge.org.

In this issue:

• HIGHLIGHTS
• SPECIAL FOCUS
• EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
• EVENTS CALENDAR
• LINKS TO OTHER ICT4D NEWSLETTERS

HIGHLIGHTS

GKP at the ICT4D Platform (09 to 13 December, 2003)

The ICT4D Platform aims to encourage joint action in order to increase access to knowledge and information through ICTs, strengthen the voice of the disadvantaged by promoting the use of ICTs. The event will encourage networking and information exchange as it is an opportunity for all participants to showcase best practices and lessons learnt. The Platform will serve as a catalyser for raising awareness amongst official WSIS delegations, visitors and the media.

As co-organiser of the Platform, the GKP and its members have a special presence with a pavilion of 200 square metres. The GKP will make optimum use of ICT to present the partnership's strengths, accomplishments and future potential in engaging, informative and entertaining ways. At the GKP Pavilion, members will have the opportunity to participate at regional or thematic presentations, ICT4D storytelling as well as showcase their work and organization. The Pavilion also includes a discussion area - a space to network and to conduct media interviews.

For more information on participating in GKP activities, please visit: http://www.globalknowledge.org;

For information about the Platform itself, please visit: http://www.ict-4d.org

World Knowledge Forum

The World Knowledge Forum (WKF), which was launched in 2000 in South Korea, attracts more than 1000 participants annually.

The GKP has been a Partner of the WKF since the beginning and currently serves as one of the Forum's six Knowledge Partners. The other five partners are: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Bain & Company, INSEAD, the International Organization for Knowledge Economy and Enterprise Development (IKED), and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP).

At WKF 2003, GKP and IKED organized a joint session on "Fostering SME Innovative Capability: ICT, Stakeholders and Development". The session was a North-South dialogue on the issues related to nurturing SME innovation, growth and sustainability with ICT and focused on the role of different stakeholders in addressing and overcoming barriers and challenges faced by SMEs in the developing world.

David Madie, Co-founder and CEO of Metrocomia A/S and Huijiong Wang, Vice President, Academic Committee of Development Research Center of the State Council were amongst the Session Speakers. The session was co-moderated by Rinalia Abdul Rahim, Executive Director of GKP and Thomas Andersson, President of IKED.

This joint session marked the first collaboration between GKP and the Sweden-based IKED. In 2004, GKP and IKED are preparing a follow-up session on the topic with a focus on women entrepreneurs in SMEs.

More info: http://www.wkforum.org

Awards for ICT4D initiatives

Four awards have been launched with the participation or lead of GKP to support and recognize excellence in key initiatives and innovation in ICT4D. These awards have been established through collaborative efforts with various partners and serve as mechanisms for gathering success stories in the use of ICT4D. The awards will be given out and showcased at the ICT4D platform in conjunction with WSIS. The awards include:

• The GKP Youth Award in collaboration with the YCDO (Youth Creating Digital Opportunities) coalition
• The Gender and ICT Awards in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communication-Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP)
• The GKP-Panos Media Award in collaboration with the Panos Institute; and
• The Tony Zeitoun Awards in collaboration with InfoDev and the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) where the GKP financial contribution will go to the ICT stories with the strongest link to poverty reduction.

The winners of the awards will receive their prize at the ICT4D Platform in December 2003.

More info: http://www.globalknowledge.org

Bellagio Symposium on Media, Freedom and Poverty

The Bellagio Symposium on Media, Freedom and Poverty was held to explore the links between and develop a better understanding of current media trends and poverty. This meeting was organised by the Panos Institute, London, in association with the Communication for Social Change Consortium and the Rockefeller Foundation. Financial support was kindly provided by the Rockefeller Foundation. It was the "Frati Dialogues on Media and Social Change" series organised at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Conference Centre in Italy. The meeting built on work carried out at the Global Knowledge Media Forum held in 2000, a joint activity between Panos and the Global Knowledge Partnership.

A statement was written in an attempt to bridge differences in approach among organisations involved in media freedom, media pluralism and social advocacy.

To read the full document, please visit: http://www.panos.org.uk or contact Kitty Warnock (conference organiser) at the Panos Institute (kittyw@...).

New GKP Members

GKP would like to extend its warmest welcome to the twelve organisations that have joined the GKP:

• RITS - Information Network for the Third Sector, Brazil
• Earth Council Geneva, Switzerland
• Kerala State Information Technology Mission, India
• Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Center (RITSEC), Egypt
• MITRA Technology Foundation, India
• OrphanIT - Remote services, Australia
• Datamation Foundation, India
• Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Egypt
• Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), Sri Lanka
• Thai RuralNet Group, under TRRM (Foundation for Thailand Rural Reconstruction Movement under Royal Patronage), Thailand
• Digital Divide Data, Cambodia
• Centre for Women's Research (CENWOR), Sri Lanka

Asian Forum on ICT Policies and e-Strategies

The Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ICT Policies and e-Strategies in Asia and the Pacific was endorsed by high-level Asian delegates at the recently concluded Asian Forum on ICT Policies and e-Strategies, as Asia-Pacific input to the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) to be held in Geneva in December 2003. The Forum was organized by the United Nations Development Programme's Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP) under the auspices of the UN ICT Task Force. It was supported by the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia, Malaysia and sponsored by the Government of Japan.

The 17 point declaration reflects the views of delegates comprising Ministers and senior government officials, as well as private sector and civil society representatives from 22 countries in the Asia Pacific region, and as well as regional and international organizations. To ensure that the views of developing nations of the Asia-Pacific region are not marginalized in the international discussions on formulating guidelines towards the Information Society at WSIS, emphasis was placed on specific policies on poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), governance, gender, infrastructure and access, human resources, content and applications, enterprises and entrepreneurs, and regional co-operation. The specific needs and interests of least developed countries, landlocked and developing island nations of the Asia-Pacific region were also highlighted.

Details are available at http://www.apdip.net/asian-forum.

SPECIAL FOCUS: ICT AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

Editorial

Neither the simplistic slogans such as "traditional knowledge is good and modern science is bad", nor the modern scientific world's view of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) as "little more than superstition" is acceptable in the 21st century. In recent years, there has evidently been a steadily growing recognition that, in fields from medicine to agriculture, the modern world has paid a high price for rejecting traditional practices and the knowledge.

Quite right, the world has in the recent decades witnessed a number of grassroots level documentation efforts, thanks due to the modern day scientists such as R. A. Mashelkar, Paul Feyerabend, Fergus Sinclair, and the like who have recognised the potentials of IK alongside mainstream science. Aiding these efforts are support networks such as the Open Knowledge Network (http://www.openknowledge.net), an emerging community of grassroots knowledge workers that believes that IK needs to be shared, and shared freely across the boundaries of language, geographical terrain and cultures to maximise its benefits.

Advocates such as Feyerabend believe in the co-existence of traditional knowledge and modern science, supporting, and no means substituting, each other. The real challenge is to find ways that both science and traditional knowledge can work in a complimentary fashion towards improving human well being, not in asserting the primacy of the respective cultures out of which they have developed. As Sinclair rightly puts it, "traditional knowledge may, in practice, be more universal than many social scientists like to think". This upturns the suggestion that the modern science is independent of local cultures, common to all societies while the traditional knowledge is embedded in local culture.

One important distinction, however, about IK is not just that it 'belongs to' the local poor communities out of whose practical experience it has emerged, but in the belief that most of it can freely be shared and put to use as a common good unlike the modern science, its western counterpart, that tends to commercialise its findings. A Ghanaian practitioner describes, "Embedded in the products and services associated with IK are proprietary systems which are often more flexible and negotiable than its western counterpart in some cases and non-existent in others. The engine of growth and sustenance is neither the market nor the profit motive nor is it prone to large-scale mass production and economies of scale". Well, does this then offer some lessons for the modern science?

Basheerhamad Shadrach, Director of OneWorld South Asia (http://southasia.oneworld.net), is a veteran information professional with experience in a variety of organizations in India and Europe. His immediate previous assignment was with Transparency International in Germany as Head of Knowledge and Information Services, and of e-governance programs.

The views expressed in this section are not necessarily the views of the GKP.

Notes, Articles and Resources

African Indigenous Science and Knowledge Systems

Various perspectives on African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIK) are presented on a website by a wide range of scholars. The site publishes brief extracts from scholarly works on the subject and focuses on several areas. Among them is a paper which examines the conceptual issues associated with Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IK) including the nature of the intersection between Science and IK. It also reflects on methodological pluralism and knowledge production.

More info: http://www.africahistory.net, http://www.africahistory.net/AIK.htm

Alaska Native Knowledge

A special site has been established to serve as resource for compiling and exchanging information related to Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing. The site aims at assisting Native people, government agencies, educators and the general public in gaining access to the knowledge base that Alaska Natives have acquired through cumulative experience over millennia.

More info: http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/index.html

Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge (CBIK)

Issues of biodiversity conservation and community development are the focus of a website launched by the CBIK. Its main emphasis is the relevance of indigenous knowledge and innovations related to resource governance and management at community and watershed levels.

More info: http://cbik.org

Development Gateway

A collection of stories from the 'Seeing is Believing' program highlights cases from around the world on amazing results, when new technologies are in the hands of indigenous peoples.

More info: http://www.developmentgateway.org/node/130646

Electronic Commerce and Information Exchange (ECIE)

ECIE.ORG is a non-profit organization whose basic mission is to empower the Latino community by motivating them to use the Computer and Internet to access information.

More info: http://www.ecie.org

SRISTI-HONEYBEE Network of Grassroots Innovators and Inventors

SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions) is a global NGO based in Ahmedabad set up to support the Honey Bee network of grassroots innovators and inventors engaged in evolving sustainable alternatives for natural resource management. It provides a voice to "economically poor" but "knowledge rich" communities and individuals.

One of the recent initiatives of SRISTI has been to build a database of local institutions which are initiated and governed by local people. The primary aim of setting up of such a database is to strengthen the network amongst the people and make it easily accessible to those who are interested to learn how to manage natural resources under informal and culturally diverse conditions.

To date, 71 examples have been recorded based on literature reviews. SRISTI is interested in recording case studies of similar institutions from any part of the world.

To know more about SRISTI and its activities please visit: http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/~anilg/sristi/sristi.htm or http://csf.colorado.edu/sristi

Index of Indigenous Knowledge Resources on the Internet

This Virtual Library is an index of indigenous knowledge resources on the Internet. This site is constructed primarily to provide information resources to the Native American community and only secondarily to the general community. The information is organized, insofar as possible, to make it useful to the Native American community and the education community.

More info: http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAknowledge.html

Indigenous Knowledge Pages (IK-Pages)

The Indigenous Knowledge and Development Network (IK-network) promotes the integration of indigenous knowledge in development as a contribution to the global endeavour to attain a decent and humane society, based on the principles of equity and sustainability.

Information sharing is crucial in the IK-network's strategy, which allows the diversity of knowledge to play its appropriate role in community-based and participatory approaches for development. As part of the initiatives of the IK-network, the IK-Pages have been created and are maintained by the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education.

More info: http://www.nuffic.nl/ik-pages

International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR)

The IIRR is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that aims to improve the quality of lives of the rural poor in developing countries through rural reconstruction: a sustainable, integrated, people-centered development strategy generated through practical field experiences. The IIRR has a tradition of starting with "what the people know" and building on "what the people have". A manual was drawn on the varied experience of IIRR staff, representing decades of participatory development field work. The bulk of the manual is the result of a participatory workshop, an especially fast and efficient technique, pioneered by IIRR, to produce information materials.

More info: http://www.panasia.org.sg/iirr/ikmanual

NativeWeb

NativeWeb is an international, non-profit, educational organization dedicated to using telecommunications including computer technology and the Internet to disseminate information from and about indigenous nations, peoples, and organizations around the world; to foster communication between native and non-native peoples; to conduct research involving indigenous peoples' usage of technology and the Internet; and to provide resources, mentoring, and services to facilitate indigenous peoples' use of this technology.

More info: http://www.nativeweb.org

Third World Network

The Third World Network is an independent non-profit international network of organizations and individuals involved in issues relating to development, the Third World and North-South issues. Its objectives are to conduct research on economic, social and environmental issues pertaining to the South; to publish books and magazines; to organize and participate in seminars; and to provide a platform representing broadly Southern interests and perspectives at international fora such as the UN conferences and processes.

More info: http://www.twnside.org.sg/access_4.htm

United Way International (UWI)

UWI is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to strengthen communities and improve lives around the world by mobilizing local people and companies to give time and money and helping local charities become more effective.

More info: http://www.uwint.org

UNESCO

The Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education / Indigenous Knowledge (NUFFIC/IK-Unit) (1) in co-operation with UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations Programme (MOST) established a Database of best practices on indigenous knowledge in 1999 which initially contained 27 best practices. Through the second phase (2001-2002), 22 cases were newly added.

This database is part of the MOST database of Best Practices, which concentrates on poverty alleviation. It contains examples of successful projects illustrating the use of local and indigenous knowledge in the development of cost-effective and sustainable survival strategies, covering Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and Latin America & Caribbean. It also includes a geographical and thematic index and another one of institutions acting as indigenous knowledge resource centres.

More info: http://www.unesco.org/most/bpindi.htm

World Bank

The Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Program's website opens a gateway to different sources on IK. It aims to facilitate a multilateral dialogue between local communities, NGOs, governments, donors, civil society and the private sector. The ultimate objective of the website is to help mainstream indigenous/traditional knowledge into the activities of development partners and to optimize the benefits of development assistance, especially to the poor.

More info: http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/index.htm

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

South-South Exchange Travelling Workshop (30 October-6 November 2003)
India

The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) is hosting the South-South Exchange Travelling Workshop from 30 October-6 November 2003. The purpose of the workshop include an exchange of development perspectives between village communities in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry in southern India and civil societies from developing countries with specific focus on ICT-enabled development.

For more information, please visit: http://www.globalknowledge.org

WSIS South Asian Regional Gender & ICT Consultations (17-18 November 2003)

Datamation India has been mandated to organize the Regional Gender & ICT Consultations in New Delhi. They are expected to be inaugurated by the President of India. The consultation will include a large number of central government ministers, senior government officials and parliamentarians.

For more information, please contact: response@...

Talk to Her: A Dialogue to Action among Young Women in ICT Understanding Challenges, Identifying Needs and Building Communities of Learning

From October 24 until November 21st 2003, young women from across the globe will connect in an electronic forum to discuss strategies for integration of gender dimensions and empowerment of young women and girls at all levels of the ICT for development field.

Their goals will be to identify challenges, prioritize needs for support and uncover strategies for building communities of learning, that will allow young women to begin or advance their engagement with ICTs.

Background documents and case studies will supplement the discussions by summarizing the involvement of young women and girls in policy processes such as the World Summit on the Information Society, and by examining the existing global and regional communities available to young women in ICT for development.

The program for the discussions will be the following:

Pre-conference: Introductions (24 - 31 October)
Week 1: Supporting young women involved in ICT4D policy-making (1 - 7 November)
Week 2: Supporting young women involved in ICT4D projects (8 - 14 November)
Week 3: Community and conclusions (15 - 21 November)

While there have been many initiatives to empower young women and girls in the field of ICT4D, there has been little visible effort on a continuous basis to enable these young women act as a community of learning, supporting each other's ideas and encouraging the involvement of new girls and young women. This discussion will help to assess how a structured community might emerge within the overall YCDO framework, enabling the continuity of young women's work in the field.

For more info and to sign up, please visit: http://groups.takingitglobal.org/ycdogender or email Maja Andjelkovic, at mandjelkovic@...

This online discussion is facilitated by Youth Creating Digital Opportunities (YCDO), a coalition of organizations committed to enabling young people to achieve their full potential in the field of information communication technologies.

The YCDO Community gathers hundreds of young people in a variety of contexts, including the online space at http://www.ycdo.net

Dili International Youth Forum on Youth and ICTs (12 to 15 November 2003)
Dili, Timor-Leste.

The Dili International Youth Forum (DIYF) is a component of an ICT Capacity building pilot project for the Youth of Timor-Leste. This project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and supported by the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP). The project is implemented by MIMOS Berhad Malaysia, AOC & Associates Group and Yayasan Salam Malaysia, National Youth Council of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Education, Culture Youth and Sports, Timor-Leste, Ministry of Transport Telecommunications and Post, Timor-Leste and the Department of Labour and Solidarity, Timor-Leste.

The Forum will offer an opportunity to youth and youth service providers in Timor-Leste to improve their knowledge on the applications of ICT in view of skill-set building, workforce development and employment creation. In addition, the Dili Youth Forum will enable the sharing of knowledge on ICT capacity building programmes and projects that are being implemented by youth in other countries.

DIYF has been designed to strengthen an enabling environment for the adoption of a National Action Plan for Youth and ICT in the country. This National Action Plan will be the basis for launching new Youth and ICT projects that would be implemented over 3 years beginning in 2004. The Forum will also enable the establishment of new partnerships with organizations based outside Timor-Leste for implementing these new projects.

For more information and on-line registration please log on to: http://www.diyf.net.my

International Conference on Computers in Education 2003 (02 to 05 December 2003)
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

The ICCE 2003 aims to incrementally build on the foundations of a vibrant "Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education" community. It brings together public and private leaders and policy makers, scholars, school principals, teachers, organizational development professionals from around the world and particularly from the Asia-Pacific region to share information, resources and methods, best educational practices, and develop a deeper understanding of the fundamental issues relating to the implementation and integration of ICT in education. The theme of this Forum is The "Second Wave" of ICT in Education: from Facilitating Teaching and Learning to Engendering Education Reform. It intends to launch a new phase of international dialogue on ICT-related curriculum goals and levels of implementation.

More info: http://www.icce03.org

World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the Information Society (04 to 05 December 2003)
Lyon, France

In preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the cities of Lyon and Geneva have undertaken a joint initiative to organize Cities e-World-Lyon 2003, the first world summit of cities and local authorities on the information society. Cities e-World-Lyon 2003 brings together the mayors and elected local representatives from five continents as well as representatives from economic, financial, community and media circles involved in local life. The aim of this meeting is to take into account the specific perspectives of cities and regions complementing the World Summit of heads of state and government. It also highlights the initiatives taken by cities and local authorities as well as those of the private sector and civil society.

More info: http://www.cities-lyon.org/en_index.html

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (10 to 12 December 2003)
Geneva, Switzerland

The World Summit on the Information Society will bring together key stakeholders at a high-level gathering and will contribute to a better understanding of the ICT revolution and its impact on the international community. Heads of State, Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society will be present at a single high-level event. The participation of the various partners (Member States, UN specialized agencies, private sector and civil society) in ensuring smooth coordination of the practical establishme of the information society around the globe is crucial for the Summit and its preparation. The anticipated outcome of the Summit is to develop and foster a clear statement of political will and a concrete plan of action for achieving the goals of the Information Society, while fully reflecting all the different interests at stake.

More info: http://www.itu.int/wsis

Women in the Digital Era: Challenges and Opportunities (WIT 2003) (10 to 13 December 2003)
Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India

The objective of WIT2003 is to discuss the opportunities and challenges created by the new technology in women's development. It aims to assist in the formulation of mechanisms for drawing more women into the IT sector. This includes identifying modalities of extending IT education and training to women communities based on the market requirements. The varying capacities of women's involvement in the digital world include users, designers, managers and leaders of IT.

More info: http://www.auwit.org

International Conference on e-Governance - 2003 (10 to 12 December 2003)
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

The IECG- 2003 offer delegates a unique opportunity for collaboration and networking among leaders and peers working to make digital government a reality. The 3-day Conference includes 5 tracks and 30 thought-provoking sessions.

More info: http://www.iitd.ac.in/iceg

World Electronic Media Forum (09-11 December 2003)

The World Electronic Media Forum (WEMF), a parallel event of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), will gather world media leaders in Geneva from the 9-11 December 2003. The WEMF also aims to involve the greatest number of media actors worldwide through its website: http://www.wemfmedia.org.

Visitors to the website can provide their input on vital media issues of the 21st century through an online questionnaire (available in 9 languages) focusing on:
- World Violence
- Media Freedom
- The Influence of the Media on the World Political Agenda

The input from the questionnaire and other elements of the website will form an essential part of the contribution of civil society to the WEMF both before and during the event.

To submit your feedback for the online questionnaire, please visit: http://www.wemfmedia.org

Petersberg Prize

The Petersberg Prize aims to give recognition to the most exemplary contribution in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development carried out over the last 10 years. The Development Gateway is inviting nominations of individuals or organizations that have made a major impact in the use of ICT for development. A prize of 100,000 euros is to be awarded to the winner.

The Development Gateway will share the stories of the nominees by publishing them on its portal in order to promote the global understanding of ICT4D and its potential impact.

Nominations are due by February 1, 2004. The Prize will be awarded at the next Development Gateway Forum in mid-2004. Full information, rules, and nomination forms are available at http://www.dgfoundation.org/prize. Please address queries to prize@....

Video Contest

In conjunction with the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), WFUNA (World Federation of the United Nations Associations) and CONGO (Conference of NGOs in consultative relationship with the United Nations) have launched a Video Contest for Young People around the World on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Young members or officers in charge of youth programs are invited to participate and show their opinions and views on the MDGs, using the audiovisual tool. WFUNA and CONGO will do their utmost to ensure a large diffusion of the videos during 2004 and 2005 through solidarity oriented film festivals.

The video work dealing with any MDG can tackle the issue from any wished angle:

• Express any critic to the implementation of MDGs in the national context
• Showing a successful example of implementation of any MDG
• Showing the difficulty of the implementation of any MDG
• Showing hopes or action taken related to any MDG
• Imagine any symbolic idea linked to any MDG

Each participant is invited to send a video work dealing with one single MDG. However, the participant can send up to eight video works, each one dealing with a different MDG. The winning videos will be shown to the public during the WSIS, on 10 December 2003, at the ICT4D Platform in Geneva.

The competition is opened to people aged between 15 and 35 and all videos should be sent before 26 November 2003 to: Kouraich Jaouahdou, CONGO Communication Officer, Palais des Nations, bureau E2-B. CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

All videos will be viewed by a selection committee consisting of two representatives of CONGO, two representatives of WFUNA, a specialist from the film industry as well as a specialist of development related issues

For more information, please contact: Kouraich Jaouhadou, CONGO Communication Officer: kouraich@...; or Béatrice Lueber, WFUNA Programme Officer: wfuna@...

The World Bank Grants Facility for Indigenous Peoples

The World Bank is partnering with Indigenous Peoples leaders to launch a new initiative, the Grants Facility for Indigenous Peoples, which will support sustainable and culturally appropriate development projects planned and implemented by and for Indigenous Peoples.

Through small grants, the Grants Facility will support projects that include Indigenous Peoples in development operations, improve their access to key decision-makers, empower them to find solutions to the challenges they face, and promote collaboration in the public and private spheres.

Proposals must directly benefit Indigenous Peoples in a culturally appropriate, sustainable, and gender inclusive manner and address issues central to Indigenous Peoples' aspirations. Examples of the type of projects supported by the Grants Facility are innovative pilot projects that build on indigenous culture, identity, knowledge, natural resources, intellectual property and human rights, and/or institutions.

Decisions on grants will be announced in late January 2004. Disbursements will be made before June 2004 following necessary clearances.

For more information, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/indigenous

EVENTS CALENDAR

Due to limited space, only selected events are listed in Partners. For the more comprehensive GKP Global ICT Events Calendar, please visit http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/eventsmaster.cfm?&action=view&menuid=85

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) - Geneva 2003
Date: 10-12 December 2003
Venue: Geneva, Switzerland
Website: http://www.itu.int/wsis

ICT-4D Platform
Date: 9-13 December 2003
Venue: Geneva
Website: http://www.ict-4d.org

InfoDev Symposium
Date: 9-10 December 2003
Venue: Geneva
Website: http://www.infodev.org/index.html

LINKS TO THE NEWSLETTERS OF OTHER ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS

Academy for Educational Development (AED)
http://learnlink.aed.org/Publications/home.htm

Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
http://lists.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/apcnews

British Council
http://www.britishcouncil.org/infoexch/info@uk/info@...

DiploFoundation
http://www.diplomacy.edu/DiploNews

Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA)
http://www.icamericas.net/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display

International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD)
http://www.iconnect-online.org

Information for Development Program (infoDev) - World Bank
http://www.infodev.org/exchange

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
http://www...itu.int/wsis/newsroom/eflash/latest.html

ProPoor Infotech Centre
http://www.propoor.org

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
http://www.sdc.admin.ch/news.php?userhash=9f51fe09f2b88f7211db2f8c0a1dda57&l=e#2

The Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO) - subscribe to newsletter via http://www.piango.org

United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)
http://www.unido.org/en/doc/9634


Alternate access point to all linked newsletters:
http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/index.cfm?menuid=249&parentid=179


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Partners is the newsletter of the Global Knowledge Partnership, a growing partnership of public, private and not-for-profit organizations working together to help people access knowledge and harness information and communications technologies towards equitable, sustainable development.

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