26th July, 2008, Pondichery
SPACE , partnering with UNDP, provided 10-days training for first batch of community media facilitators at Pondichery. The training aimed at enabling the Village Information Center staff from different villages, linked with post Tsunami rehabilitation work, to acquire skills in Free Software based audio,video and web development tools.
The Village Information Centers, set up by the direct intervention of UNDP along with the support of Pondichery Multipurpose Social Service Society(PMSSS), Dhan Foundation and BEDROC , were a direct outcome of a joint study conducted by different UN agencies that co-ordination and dissemination of information played a big role at the time Tsunami hit. But the sustainability of Village Information Centres had to be made sure once the project time comes to an end , so it was planned to convert them to multipurpose centers offering different services to the community. Later it came to a conclusion that community relevant content has to be generated in this centers . Free Softwares will be used to generate ṫhe content, considering its socio,economic and legal implications
The training originally scheduled to cover 20 days, covering 15 people each in two batches. The module of the training covered installation and trouble shooting of Ubuntu Operation Systems, Open Office , Audacity, Kino, Avidemux and Wordpress Content Management System
Society For Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment
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