A WORD ABOUT THE MANTHAN AWARD

Manthan Award is a first of its kind initiative in India to recognize the best practices in e-Content and Creativity. It (http://www.manthanaward.org) was launched on 10th October '2004, by Digital Empowerment Foundation in partnership with World Summit Award, Department of Information Technology, Govt. of India, and various other stakeholders like civil society members, media and other similar organisations engaged in promoting digital content inclusiveness in the whole of South Asian nation states for development.

Since then it has come to define the very best in e-Content for development arena in India. Now, after four immensely successful years of holding it within India, the organisers have felt that it's about time it is expanded a bit and its areas of operation now is all of SAARC countries namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan & Afghanistan.

So nominations are welcome from all of SAARC countries.Welcome aboard the gLocal journey called Manthan. Welcome one, welcome all.

Digital Empowerment Foundation, a Delhi based not-for-profit organization was registered on December 2002, under the "Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860" to find solutions to bridge the digital divide. With no political affiliations, it was founded by Osama Manzar to uplift the downtrodden and to create economic and commercial viability using Information Communication and Technology as means. It was actively started in the year 2003 after the founder director left his software company to seriously pursue the aims and objectives of Digital Empowerment Foundation.

A BACKGROUND NOTE

The increasing and fruitful use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) is being recognized and acknowledged world over. That ICT is a great tool for development and empowerment is being realized by its various stakeholders. Countries of the world are resorting to use of ICT to better their socio-cultural and economic landscapes in ways feasible and sustainable depending on their ground level situations.

Developed and under developed countries and societies are experiencing the increasing interventions of ICT in various domains of activities. The ICT components increasingly being used for development and empowerment purposes includes computer, Internet, Community Radio, audio-video, and other latest gadgets. Blogging is another new entrant in the ICT domain. 

So far ICT is being increasingly used in areas like livelihood, education, employment generation, entertainment, health, environment, sustainable development, ICT literacy, business, commerce, and in other fields. Instances have been reported in large numbers of how ICT has helped and assisted in community empowerment and development, trade and business, education and health and so on. In this entire gamut of ICT exercises credit goes to governments, CSOs, NGOs, individuals and others whose valuable contributions have bore fruit so far and the efforts still continues. So far so good.

IT is not roses all the way in case of ICT and its role in development and empowerment world over. There are increasing reports of digital divide, information poverty, information haves and have/nots, digital gaps, digital poverty which all point to the huge gap in making ICT available to a huge chunk of world population as well as to a huge section within a nation. India fits well into the above dichotomy of digital growth versus digital divide.

It is more than a decade that ICT has seen its vertical as well as horizontal growth in various domains of interventions be it education, health, livelihood, trade and commerce and governance. Both public and private projects and programs have been initiated at the behest of Governments, CSOs, Corporate bodies, individuals using ICT. No doubt such gigantic exercises using ICT for development and empowerment have bore mixed outputs.

There are reports emanating from states in India like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, Delhi where ICT has been used in the most utilitarian and quality perspectives. Instances are reported of how individuals and local communities are being empowered and sustained using various ICT tools like Internet, PC, CR and other mediums. Projects like NeGP, Mission 2007, CSCs, Info kiosks run by various bodies and agencies are all leading to an accelerated use of ICT for all round holistic growth and development of India.

Despite all these, the bug of digital divide haunts India. There are cases where ICT has been pumped into those hands and heads wherein the existing environment is either healthier or better of vis-à-vis in those areas wherein even the basic services of ICT is still being deprived in terms of telecom facilities along with power non-availability, no PC penetration, no trace of Internet, no means of traditional technology and so on.

With this the information gap is hurting the community development in the holistic sense. The rich-poor divide is seen to have its reflection in this information and ICT maps as well. With this there is left out huge gap for quality and timely interventions of ICT in those inaccessible, unreachable, alienated lands and communities for their upliftment and empowerment.
It is here Digital Empowerment Foundation could trace its ICT interventions justified and timely.

Mission & Objective