The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development

Dear all,

The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development 
http://www.lyondeclaration.org/ was successfully launched at the World Library and Information Congress 2014 in Lyon. Since then, over 280 organisations from across the library and development community have signed the document and called upon United Nations Member States to incorporate access to information in the new post-2015 development framework. The Declaration has now been translated into 13 languages.

Following the release of the Open Working Group Outcome Document in July, IFLA is now waiting to see what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will present to the UN General Assembly later this year in New York. The Secretary General is currently overseeing preparation of a ‘synthesis report’ that will bring together the outputs of various processes on the post-2015 development agenda and help UN Member States find a way forward in negotiations over the next twelve months. The synthesis report is expected to be released at the end of October/early November.

What are the next steps?

Once the synthesis report is issued it is crucial that policymakers in the capitals of UN Member States get to hear what libraries want to see in the new framework. As outlined in the Lyon Declaration, IFLA wants the United Nations to acknowledge that access to information, and the skills to use it effectively, are required for sustainable development, and to make sure that the framework’s goals, targets and means of implementation reflects this.

Your voice will be needed for us to achieve this goal.

IFLA is currently preparing an advocacy toolkit which will help library representatives to approach decision-makers in order to talk to them about the importance of access to information in development. IFLA wants to help its members and partners to take the opportunity to position themselves inside development debates in their home countries, so that their governments recognise the value libraries bring to development. Ultimately, libraries can benefit from being included in the national plans that will implement the new development agenda from January 1st, 2016.

The advocacy toolkit will be available in early October 2014.

What can you do to help?

• You can sign the Lyon Declaration and add your voice to the call at the United Nations.
• You can translate the Lyon Declaration into your language and share it with colleagues in your own country.
• You can encourage others in the library and development sectors to sign the Lyon Declaration.
• You can organise meetings with policy makers in your country and use the toolkit provided by IFLA in order to make the library voice heard on a national level.
• You can promote the principles of the Lyon Declaration throughout your network and ensure that the message gets spread as widely as possible.

The Lyon Declaration is available here.

Contact Julia.brungs AT ifla.org for more information on IFLA’s post-2015 activities.

Background

The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development calls upon United Nations Member States to make an international commitment through the post-2015 development agenda to ensure that everyone has access to, and is able to understand, use and share the information that is necessary to promote sustainable development and democratic societies. It was prepared by IFLA and a number of strategic partners in the library and development communities.

Please also see the webversion.

Julia Brungs
Policy and Projects Officer
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
P.O. Box 95312
2509 CH The Hague
Netherlands
Email: Julia.brungs AT ifla.org

My source: HIFA2015

Technologies for Development: Project - founding ideas

Reading the website of the project (posted yesterday) I noticed that their founding ideas can be mapped to Hodges' model. As depicted below some are pretty obvious, notably the POLITICAL domain and the SOCIOLOGICAL.

Their first founding idea is placed in the interpersonal domain. This is very subjective exercise - literally playing with words - but here I am prioritizing individual cognitive access above physical access. I am thinking of individual participants. As Nanotechnologies for Development state the first idea also focuses on countries - the group. So maybe I am wrong, if there is a wrong when using models - idealisations - in this way?

Staying with the group, access and participation are also a crucial matter of human rights - education, health information, health and social care, employment, freedoms, and security - freedom from violence, unlawful imprisonment...

These founding ideas clearly denote underpinning values, note in-particular the way risks and benefits are included at the individual and the group level.

In the SCIENCES domain from the beginning acknowledges time, process, project management. Nanotechnology needs to be understood in terms of the environments we inhabit. Not just us, now; but grandchildren... too. Not just the physical environment, but that embodied under and within this other divide: skin.

Within the mechanistic domains how will consultation about benefits and risks be negotiated and communicated to the humanistic domains?

How will the individual - group : community - commercial enterprise and innovation be squared?
 
This individual-group distinction is becoming ever more significant - of which more to follow.

individual
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

group

The first founding idea of this project is that developing countries should not be denied participation in advanced modern technologies.	The third core idea is that such developments entail risks and benefits that need to be addressed from the beginning.
The second that they should do that in their own culturally-specific ways. Our approach rejects any a priori distinction between traditional and modern technologies, but rather seeks innovative ways to connect indigenous and globalized knowledge and practices.	The fourth founding idea is that choices about those benefits and risks need to be made in a democratic way.

Source: Technologies for Development: Project Founding ideas

Technologies for Development: Project Closing Conference - Nanotechnologies for Development in India, Kenya, and the Netherlands

[ This is a small but interesting interdisciplinary conference - pj ]

December 15-17, 2014. Maastricht University Brussels Campus

What is the challenge of development today? What is the role of science and technology in development? What are the problems and possibilities that emerging technosciences—such as nano-bio-technoscience—pose for development? What institutional and organizational configurations enable development? How can interdisciplinary inquiries into the social studies of science, technology, and innovation contribute to developmental agendas?

The closing conference of the NWO-WOTRO http://www.nwo.nl/en/about-nwo/organisation/nwo-divisions/wotro sponsored project, *Nanotechnologies for Development* http://fasos-research.nl/nano-dev/, invites proposals that reflect on the relationship between science, technology, development, and innovation.

We are interested in contributions that offer insights into the historical and contemporary principles and practices of development and the role of science and technology therein. These reflections can be empirical, conceptual, or methodological. We also welcome contributions that reflect on collaboration between researchers and development practitioners. We thus invite proposals from a broad range of participants: activists, academics, development practitioners, and beyond.

The conference programme will strive to strike a balance between various approaches and perspectives and consist of keynotes, panel presentations, and a closing roundtable discussion.

The conference will be held at the Brussels campus of Maastricht University (Avenue de l’Armée / Legerlaan 10, 1040 Brussels, Belgium) on December 15-17, 2014. Participation is limited to 50 participants.

To participate, please submit a title, 500-word abstract, a list of 5 keywords, and your CV (max. 400 words) to techdev-conf-fasos AT maastrichtuniversity.nl. The deadline for sending your abstract is September 14, 2014. The conference committee will notify their decision by September 30, 2014.

[c/o hipnet] Data Visualization Enthusiast? Join us on the Data Viz Hub!

Dear Colleagues

The recently launched Data Viz for Development Hub [http://datavizhub.co] is a vibrant community for sharing resources, tools, examples, and ideas about data visualization. Using graphs, charts, maps, tables, infographics, and other visualizations can improve how we communicate information to stakeholders and the larger development community. With a wealth of resources available, and a growing interest across international development practitioners to build effective visualizations, the Hub will help keep communicators, evaluators, developers and others in the know about data viz best practices and new tools, connecting visualizers from all domains of expertise.

Check out the Hub at datavizhub.co, and join the community listserv by emailing:
dataviz AT knowledge-gateway.org with the subject "Join." We look forward to connecting with you about all things data viz!

Questions? Contact Libby Skolnik at libby.skolnik AT jhu.edu

Source: http://www.hipnet.org/

Development Informatics (IS/ICT) Masters Scholarship from Manchester University

I last posted a news item on this in 2010 my source - ciresearchers AT vancouvercommunity.net:

The 2013 Development Leaders Scholarship - worth £15,200 - is available for developing country applicants to the one-year MSc ICT4D programme; creating ICT4D champions.

It is also tenable on the MSc Management and Information Systems programme; which develops “hybrid” information systems professionals.

Applicants apply first for the programme. On receipt of an offer, send a scholarship application statement by June 2013. Scholarship covers all tuition fees. Details at: http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/postgraduate/taught/funding/

If you know someone interested in studying either ICT4D or M&IS at MSc level, could you please let them know about this?

They are welcome to contact me with questions.

Thanks
Richard
---------
Prof. Richard Heeks
Director
Centre for Development Informatics
IDPM, SED, University of Manchester
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester M13 9PL  U.K.

Phone: +44-161-275-2870
Fax: +44-161-275-2898
Email: richard.heeks AT manchester.ac.uk
Web: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/richard.heeks/

Centre Web: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/cdi

Our new one-year Masters in ICTs for Development:
http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/06237/index.asp

Blog: http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CDIManchester
Publications list on Google Scholar