"The
award is dedicated to the women of Baduria, who fight a daily
battle against unnamed, hidden and silent odds. Nabanna is a
movement and there are still miles to go to reach our goal.
This recognition brings our project under global spotlight,
which is very important. The award has brought great joy to
my team members who have worked unfailingly against major obstacles
to take the project where it is today.
The
award acknowledges the importance of research in project work.
It also highlights the importance of off-line dissemination
strategies for ICT projects. More importantly, it makes it clear
that an ICT project can be successful provided it takes an approach
that links its progress to the needs of the local community."
-Jhumpa
Ghosh Ray
Nabanna team leader in Baduria
Submitted
by: Suryatirtha Ray, Change Initiatives
In
2002, concerned over the lack of penetration of ICTs among the
rural poor, Change Initiatives found that absence of information
and a information sharing mechanism among poor women have thwarted
their ability to fulfil basic needs, restricted their awareness
and blocked their desire to mobilise to break barriers that
limit their participation in society.
Change
Initiatives is putting a web-based information system to strategic
use for the benefit of poor women of Baduria, a rural region
in North-24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
The project, Nabanna, is a collaboration exercise among Change
Initiatives, UNESCO, National Informatics Centre, researchers
of London School of Economics and Queensland University of Technology
and the Baduria Municipality.
Read
the prize-winning application!
