From debsinha at gmail.com Mon Nov 1 20:09:34 2010 From: debsinha at gmail.com (Deb Ranjan Sinha) Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2010 09:39:34 -0500 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Corporatisation of public transport in Delhi Message-ID: <001b01cb79d2$9b8f3d60$d2adb820$@gmail.com> *The order for buses by StarBus Company has been placed to Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. The two companies will supply them 50 buses which will start operating by November-end. Other private players like Spicejet and Kingfisher may also be given a chance to bid for their entry into the transportation system, he added, not wishing to be identified.* http://www.zeenews.com/news665194.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Nov 2 20:23:12 2010 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2010 20:23:12 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] As Bangalore city grows, footpaths shrink Message-ID: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_as-bangalore-city-grows-footpaths-shrink_1460934 *As Bangalore city grows, footpaths shrink* Published: Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010, 9:21 IST By Team DNA | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA The city that is home to over 80 lakh people — liberal estimates put the figure at one crore — is casual in its attitude towards public safety. There are eight stakeholders of the city’s safety. They are the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), traffic police, telecom, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and members of the public. Citizens have always found that one or more of these authorities are at work in some parts of the city at any point of time. But these agencies and the people have no inkling on what each authority is doing as no prior information or even spot display is made available to the people. Of all civic amenities, the most neglected is the footpaths of Bangalore. Footpaths and pavements adjoining major roads are shrinking by the day, making Bangalore among the most pedestrian-unfriendly cities in the country . Though Bangalore has a road network of about 5,600 km, there is no official record on the total length of footpaths or pavements dotting the city. While pavements in the central parts of the city are disappearing because of road-widening projects, they have not even been conceived for the new roads being constructed on the city’s periphery. The average width of a footpath in the city is anywhere between 0.5 and 1 metre, thus jeopardising the pedestrians’ right to sidewalks. The only reliable starting point on footpaths is the Union urban ministry’s national study two years ago of major cities including Bangalore. Bangalore was ranked 12th among the 30 sampled cities on the ‘walkability index.’ It is estimated that 16% to 58% trips by citizens in Indian cities are made on foot. The study raises concerns over pedestrian infrastructure, amenities and services being sidelined during the urban planning process. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad ranked higher than Bangalore on the index. A higher index reflects better pedestrian facilities in the city concerned. The study shows that Bangalore has 0.63 as the index. Chandigarh, with 0.91, topped the list of sampled cities. The average index for all the cities stood at 0.52. The report, that was released in May this year, showed that tourist cities like Varanasi and Shimla and small and medium cities scored low on the index. In London, the index is roughly estimated at between 1.5 and 1.7. * MN Sreehari, traffic and transportation expert, traces the issue to the planning level, when road projects are designed with the vehicles — and not with people — in mind. “All stakeholders of public roads must be involved in any meaningful urban planning, especially on road and footpath usage. In Bangalore, it is woefully lacking,” he says. On roads like KG Road and Commercial Street, the walkers’ space should be above 2.5 metres. With pedestrians figuring in 38% of the road accident deaths in Bangalore, the city can’t afford to let the walker’s space shrink further, says the expert.* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Nov 3 11:31:24 2010 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 11:31:24 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Taxpayers association opposes JNNURM extension In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Date:01/11/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/11/01/stories/2010110160990300.htm Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada* Taxpayers association opposes JNNURM extension * Staff Reporter *All the development activities have now come to a halt due to the lack of the funds* VIJAYAWADA: The Taxpayers' Association has demanded the State government not extend the JNNURM further, saying the scheme was being used for nothing but to cheat the taxpayers. In a statement here on Sunday, association president V. Sambireddy said that instead of releasing Rs. 1,093 crore to the Municipal Corporation as per the recommendations made by first finance commission, the State government released only Rs. 7 crore in the last five years, he said. Instead of releasing these funds it launched the JNNURM scheme, he said. In this scheme also the State government released only 11 per cent of the total funds of Rs. 470 crore, he said. All the development activities have now come to a halt due to the lack of the funds at various levels. Potholes in the roads, incomplete drainage works, delay in payment of teacher salaries, are some of the problems that are plaguing the Municipal Corporation because of the financial crunch. Secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu said that the B.P.S. scheme, taxes on garbage, drinking water supply and drainage have been enhanced by VMC to raise the funds required for the scheme. Taking all these issues into consideration we could say without a doubt that the JNNURM scheme was not a boon to the city, but a bane, he said. It is not proper for the government to extend the scheme further. It should release the funds immediately as per the finance commission recommendations. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sollybenj at yahoo.co.in Wed Nov 3 12:22:31 2010 From: sollybenj at yahoo.co.in (solomon benjamin) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 12:22:31 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] "Governing the large metropolis" at SciencesPo., Paris Message-ID: <196152.44941.qm@web137305.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear all, Sciences Po Paris has opened its admission for the Master's programme "Governing the large metropolis". It is a two year interdisciplinary and comparative course, both professionally and research oriented, training young professionals specialized in the governance of large metropolis. The course is organized with three semesters at Sciences Po Paris. The teaching will be provided by academics and professionals alike.  The master is taught entirely in English. An urban field trip is organized during the first semester. Students will have to work on a professionalizing capstone for six months (two days a week) paid by a private or public organization during the second semester of the first year. The fourth semester is spent on the field, in various cities and partner institutions (San Paolo, Rio, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Delhi, Mexico, Cape Town...) Various scholarship schemes are available. For more information: http://master.sciences-po.fr/en/node/247 Those of you who wish to get more details may contact Mr. Gilles Verniers, Sciences Po Representative to India, at: gilles.verniers at sciences-po.fr  -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tous les courriers électroniques émis depuis la messagerie de Sciences Po doivent respecter des conditions d'usages. Pour les consulter rendez-vous sur http://www.ressources-numeriques.sciences-po.fr/confidentialite_courriel.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nidhi_b_5 at yahoo.com Thu Nov 4 09:44:25 2010 From: nidhi_b_5 at yahoo.com (nidhi batra) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 21:14:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Competition & Fellowship Message-ID: <537439.54029.qm@web51605.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Young Urban Leaders: Competition & Fellowship “Participate in the Redesign your Street Contest & win a funded internship opportunity at one of the World’s Greenest Cities –Portland, Oregon, USA” We are looking to stir the next generation of civic leaders in India…. Our Young Urban Leaders program is aimed at promoting solution driven insights and ideas to address pressing urban challenges of India; and offers a platform for young leaders (under 30 ) to work with and learn from the most progressive cities of the world. The winner of this competition will have an opportunity to intern in the Metro Government Office of one of the world’s Greenest Cities Portland, Oregon, USA  in Feb 2011. Find out more on why Portland is a Star among cities here - http://bit.ly/bIJt5Q Given that The Urban Vision community is global- We invite & request all of you to vote on the entries and contribute to the discussion! Competition Theme: Re-imagine Our Cities: Build Livable Streets The departure of the institution of walkability in our cities is one of the fundamental reflections of the complete failure of Indian cities. The revival of our cities has to start from making them livable. Think about it - the great cities of the world are all by nature essentially great places to walk. The theme of YUL -2010’s “Re- imagine our Cities” competition is “Building Livable Streets” is about imagining the solutions that can make Indian cities walkable and therefore livable. *The Big Idea *  Entry Deadline extended to till Nov 3oth 2010 * * Pick a street or intersection you are familiar with, that you believe needs to be revived. Take a picture of this area and edit the picture with design interventions to highlight ideas you'd like to see implemented. /For more details on eligibility and to submit your Entry by logging on to/ http://www.theurbanvision.com/ yul *The Big Vote * All the proposals will be open to public for discussion and votes for a month till November 3oth . We encourage you to vote for your Favorite submissions by visiting the contest here http://www.theurbanvision.com/ yul *The Big Jury - * An eminent panel of over 50 multi-disciplinary jurors will choose the winner from the top 10 shortlisted Participants at a Jury and Awards evening in Mumbai on December 15th. *The Big Prize * A 6 month internship in one of the World’s Greenest and Most Progressive Centers of Urban Policy – Portland, Oregon, USA. The round-trip Air travel & accommodation is provided as part of this program. For more info log on to website: http://www.theurbanvision.com/ yul  or write to info at theurbanvision.com mailto:info at theurbanvision. com Regards Nidhi Batra Founder Member & Consulting Editor-Urbanism The Urban Vision E: nidhi at theurbanvision.com W: www.theurbanvision.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From samirfayaz at yahoo.com Mon Nov 8 17:13:27 2010 From: samirfayaz at yahoo.com (Samir Shaikh) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 03:43:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= Message-ID: <871250.32193.qm@web113313.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> http://sudinondation.phpnet.org/go.php From bharati at chintan-india.org Mon Nov 8 22:56:26 2010 From: bharati at chintan-india.org (Bharati Chaturvedi) Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 22:56:26 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] position for policy tracker Message-ID: Hi All, Here is something that might be of interest to people, particularly if you are a fresh graduate or someone with a few years of experience. Chintan (www.chintan-india.org) is hiring what we call a policy tracker. The person will track policies and news related to waste, wastepickers, specific issues related to cities and other related themes, as well as research and write papers and updates for advocacy and write a blog on a specific issue. They have to interact with some wastepickers and grassroots organizers, as required, as well policy makers at various levels. Want more details? Email me. We hope to have someone in place by December 1st, so hurry. And we also hope to get at least a year's commitment, not less. Bharati. Bharati Chaturvedi Director Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group C-14, Lajpat Nagar. New Delhi. India. www.chintan-india.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From subasrik at gmail.com Tue Nov 9 13:29:21 2010 From: subasrik at gmail.com (Subasri Krishnan) Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2010 13:29:21 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: IIHS institute on 'Re-imagining the World Class City' Message-ID: Dear All, The IIHS is pleased to announce an Institute on *‘Re-Imagining the World-Class City’* to be held in Bengaluru from 3 to 9 January 2011. We would be grateful if you were to nominate/circulate this to appropriate candidates. This week-long initiative will bring together theoretical debates and existing practices, enabling an interdisciplinary exploration of the systems, processes and values that drive the development of these cities. The Institute will be conducted by an inter-disciplinary Indian and international faculty of academics and practitioners for the selected 40 applicants. Applicants should either have completed or be currently pursuing Bachelors or Masters programmes areas any discipline. The Institute is also open to young professionals from relevant fields with no more than five years of work experience. Please click here for details. Please note that the deadline for receiving applications is 21st November 2010. [image: Re-Imagining the World-Class City.jpg] With best wishes, Aromar Revi Director -- Subasri Krishnan III Floor, 64 Bhagwan Nagar New Delhi - 110014 email: subasrik at gmail.com ph: +91-99103-95629 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cugambetta at yahoo.com Wed Nov 10 10:38:20 2010 From: cugambetta at yahoo.com (Curt Gambetta) Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2010 21:08:20 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fw: Vacancies at UDRI In-Reply-To: <335035.49992.qm@web57401.mail.re1.yahoo.com> References: <000001cb7fc7$28d2bc70$7a783550$@org> <335035.49992.qm@web57401.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <207010.22089.qm@web57406.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Please see this announcement for vacancies at UDRI in Mumbai. -Curt ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: UDRI Research Fellowship Programme To: Curt Gambetta Sent: Tue, November 9, 2010 11:57:26 PM Subject: Vacancies at UDRI Vacancies at UDRI URBAN DESIGN RESEARCH INSTITUTE INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING3VACANCIES Interested applicant should send their CV with a covering letter and relevant samples of work toinfo at udri.org DIRECTOR- PUBLIC FORUM AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN PROJECT Description of Responsibilities The Development Plan project of the UDRI intends to set up a public participatory process that can inform the formulation of the new Development Plan for Mumbai (2014-2034) that is currently under review by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. A qualified candidate for a Director for Public Forum and the Development Plan project should be a highly responsible individual capable of both following instruction and working with little supervision, and who feels comfortable managing staff. This position is responsible to the Executive Director for direction, coordination. The primary role is overall management, formulation and coordination of programs related to the Development Plan project and UDRI forums events. Additionally, the Director will assist in the grant process and general administration related to this work including progress reporting and follow-up communication with funders. The Director will identify, plan and implement the objectives set by the Executive Director to ensure the organization's overall effectiveness. Main functions and responsibilities include the following: Advise and assist the Executive Director and Directors in formulating the Development Plan project by organizing required research, data gathering and formulation of surveys and setting up of citizen group networks. Formulating and coordinating other UDRI public Forum events. Coordinating and communicating with network partners and government agencies. Manage UDRI administrative activities related to these projects. Manage the Organization's budget and reporting on progress of projects as per the requirements of the organizations funders and the policies of UDRI. Co-ordinate and manage all Public Forum support activities; particularly as regards the organization of events, lectures and seminars and the conduct of meetings. The person appointed will also be required to perform such other duties as may be assigned and may be subject to reassignment within the UDRI. Competencies The qualified candidate will have Bachelors in Architecture, Urban Planning or other related field. A working knowledge of Greater Mumbai area. Significant interest in civil governance and urban issues combined with strong leadership. Proficiency in speaking and drafting in Marathi or Hindi is a plus in addition to a required competency in English. Candidates should also be able to demonstrate that they possess the following: · Well-developed Research skills · Designing and executing qualitative and quantitative public surveys. · Strong communication and presentation skills. · Result orientation and budget awareness. · Excellent organizational skills. Software Knowledge AutoCAD Photoshop Microsoft Office. GRAPHICS COORDINATOR Description of Responsibilities The individual should be a highly responsible and creative and capable of both following instruction and working with little supervision, and who feels comfortable in generating graphics for interactive workshops in Hindi, Marathi and English. This position is responsible to the Director-Public Forum and Director Research Fellowship for the direction and coordination. Additionally, the Graphic Coordinator will assist in the formulation of Reports, PowerPoint Presentations, Publications, Brochures and posters for interactive workshops under stringent deadlines. The Graphic Coordinator should also possess adequate web designing skills so at to independently manage a website for the program. Main functions and responsibilities include the following: Produce graphics for Reports, PowerPoint Presentations, Publications, Brochures and posters for interactive workshops under stringent deadlines. Graphics will have to be generated in Hindi, Marathi and English and the command over Aakruti software is beneficial. Manage all project graphic needs, including graphic documentation of events under the Public Forum. Assist in the coordination and management of Public Forum support activities, particularly as regards the printing of posters, banners and branding of the project. The person appointed will also be required to perform such other duties as may be assigned and may be subject to reassignment within the UDRI. Competencies and Experience Individual having in-depth knowledge of the following 1. Corel Draw 2. PowerPoint presentations (MS office) 3. Adobe Illustrator 4. Photoshop 5. Dreamweaver 6. Flash Additional knowledge of following software is beneficial 1. Aakruti (Devnagri DTP) 2. Autocad A minimum of 2 years of graphic designing experience preferably in nonprofits. Significant interest in civil governance and urban issues combined with strong graphic skills. Proficiency in speaking and drafting in Marathi or Hindi and a required competency in English Individual should be ready to travel in Mumbai via public transportation. DOCUMENTATION COORDINATOR AND TRANSLATOR Description of Responsibilities The individual should be a highly responsible and methodical and capable of both following instruction and working with little supervision, and who feels comfortable writing/ translating and communicating in Hindi Marathi and English for interactive workshops. This position is responsible to the Director-Public Forum and Director-Research Fellowship for direction and coordination. Additionally, the Documentation Coordinator will assist in the formulation of Reports, Transcribing audio cassettes (Hindi, English, Marathi), Keeping Minutes of the meeting, for interactive workshops under stringent deadlines. Main functions and responsibilities include the following: Transcribe event audio cassettes, Writing/translating Reports, coordinating Logistics for public events. Text will have to be generated in Hindi, Marathi and English and the command over Aakruti software is essential. Assist in the coordination and management of Public Forum support activities, particularly as regards the text for posters, banners and branding of the project. The person appointed will also be required to perform such other duties as may be assigned and may be subject to reassignment within the UDRI. Competencies and Experience Candidate should be a graduate from any background and has a very good command over Hindi Marathi and English reading and writing. Individual having in-depth knowledge of the following 1. MS word (MS office) 2. Aakruti (Devnagri DTP) Additional knowledge of following software is beneficial 1. Photoshop 2. Coreldraw A minimum of 2 years of similar experience preferably in nonprofits. Significant interest in civil governance and urban issues combined with strong graphic skills. Deepali Mody Director-Research Fellowship URBAN DESIGN RESEARCH INSTITUTE 43, Dr V B Gandhi Marg Kalaghoda, Fort Mumbai 400023 INDIA Tel: (91) 22-65735773/22822924 www.udri.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sumandro at gmail.com Thu Nov 11 09:45:01 2010 From: sumandro at gmail.com (sumandro) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:45:01 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: Invite: lecture by mod - urban action research collective: Thursday 11 Nov 2010, 6:30 pm In-Reply-To: <20101110084443.7390@gmx.net> References: <20101110084443.7390@gmx.net> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Rachel Lee Date: Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 2:14 PM Subject: Fwd: Invite: lecture by mod - urban action research collective: Thursday 11 Nov 2010, 6:30 pm To: designzeit at gmail.com, tile at perglobal.org, sumandro at gmail.com -------- Original-Nachricht -------- Datum: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:47:51 +0530 Von: Suresh Jayaram An: 1.shanthiroad at gmail.com Betreff: Invite: lecture by mod - urban action research collective: Thursday 11 Nov 2010, 6:30 pm Lecture Invitation *communication . **design** . **research **: **attacks * by* mod urban action **research **collective * * * * * ***[image: anschlaege.jpg] * * mod urban action* research group invite you to a *short presentation* and *introduction to the work* of the Berlin based communication design group * anschlaege.de* * * *on Thursday 11th November, 18:30* * * *@ 1Shanthiroad Studio/Gallery* #1, Shanthi road, Shanth Nagar, Bangalore - 560 027 ..... *anschlaege.de *– *communication . **design** . **research **: **attacks* *anschlaege.de * was founded in Berlin by Christian Lagé, Steffen Schuhmann and Axel Watzke in 2001. Since then we have been creating a better world! Our main areas of activity are integral communication and design. What is more, involving exciting partners into our research projects has become a never-ending source of inspiration. Communication is not a way to make a mountain out of a molehill; it’s a way to make an idea into public opinion, chewing gum into revenue and an inside tip into a full house. We design communication. For those who have something to say, we supply a platform – tailored to subject, site and audience, using everything that strikes us as useful. The measure of Design is functionality. Good design not only makes for easy cleanup, it makes books readable and complicated ideas understandable. It reveals new perspectives; it’s the answer to a question. Design is part of the solution. We are designers ;-) Research is like playing with a rock on the shore. We pick it up, weigh it in our hand and find out if it has sharp edges, for instance, or if it’s a fragment of a bigger whole. We quickly decide what is to be done. The essential thing is to have both feet on solid ground. A standpoint. From there, one can do almost anything with rocks: build dams, smash windshields, skip them across the water. For more information on mod please visit: http://www.mod.org.in/mod/ http://workshop.mod.org.in/ For more information on anschlaege.de please visit: http://www.anschlaege.de/ -- GRATIS! Movie-FLAT mit über 300 Videos. Jetzt freischalten unter http://portal.gmx.net/de/go/maxdome See you on Thursday, -- *1.Shanthi Road Studio/Gallery* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "1Shanthiroad studio/Gallery" group. To post to this group, send email to 1shanthiroadstudio at googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to 1shanthiroadstudio+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com<1shanthiroadstudio%2Bunsubscribe at googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/1shanthiroadstudio?hl=en. -- GMX DSL Doppel-Flat ab 19,99 €/mtl.! Jetzt auch mit gratis Notebook-Flat! http://portal.gmx.net/de/go/dsl -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: anschlaege.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 130924 bytes Desc: not available URL: From yanivbin at gmail.com Fri Nov 12 16:33:41 2010 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:33:41 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Written declaration in the European Parliament to Fight Privatization of our Water Resources In-Reply-To: <126644.59522.qm@web34303.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <126644.59522.qm@web34303.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: V. Suresh and D. Nagasaila ----- Forwarded Message ---- *From:* Gabriella Zanzanaini * * Dear friends, (français en dessous) There is some good news from Brussels, 5 MEPs have today launched a written declaration (attached) in the European parliament to make sure EU legislation guarantees that water remains in public hands. This is a very political issue in the Parliament and mainly covers privatization of water in Europe. They have three months to collect more than 300 signatures from other MEPs (only MEPs can sign it), if they are successful, it will be handed to the other European institutions and will have to be taken into account by Member States. This may not lead to a legislative change of course, but is a good opportunity for us to use as a goal in terms of our campaigns or awareness raising issues and ties in well with the preparations of the Alternative World Water Forum. A written declaration does not have much legal weight, but if the European Parliament (which represents the citizens of Europe more directly than the other EU institutions) can collect enough signatures among its MEPs, it shows that the movement against the privatization of water is getting stronger, even in its birthplace. We have distributed a press release for this today, but will also be drafting a letter which will be sent around to collect signatures from NGOs to then sent to MEPs to urge them to sign the declaration. We will be counting on your support! Please contact me at gzanzanaini at fweurope.org if you would like any more information. Please feel free to distribute to other networks. In solidarity, Gabriella Chers amis, Il ya quelques bonnes nouvelles de Bruxelles, 5 députés européens ont lancé aujourd'hui une déclaration écrite (ci-joint) au Parlement européen pour garantir que l'eau reste en mains publiques. C'est une question très politique dans le Parlement et porte principalement sur la privatisation de l'eau en Europe. Ils ont trois mois pour recueillir plus de 300 signatures de députés européens (que les députés peuvent le signer), si elles réussissent, il sera remis aux autres institutions européennes et devra être pris en compte par les États membres. Ce ne peut pas conduire à un changement législatif bien sûr, mais c'est une bonne occasion pour nous de l'utiliser comme un objectif en termes de nos campagnes de sensibilisation et cadre bien avec les préparatifs du Forum alternatif mondial de l'eau (FAME). Une déclaration écrite n'a pas un grand poids juridique, mais si le Parlement européen (qui représente les citoyens de l'Europe plus directement que les autres institutions de l'UE) peut recueillir suffisamment de signatures parmi ses députés, il montre que le mouvement contre la privatisation de l'eau devient plus forte, même dans sa ville natale. Nous avons distribué un communiqué de presse aujourd'hui, mais on va également rédiger une lettre qui sera envoyée à tous pour recueillir des signatures des ONG/organizations pour ensuite envoyé aux députés européens pour les inciter à signer la déclaration. Nous comptons sur votre soutien! Contactez-moi à gzanzanaini at fweurope.org si vous souhaitez plus d'informations et n''hésitez pas à le distribuer à d'autres réseaux. Amitiés, Gabriella This is our press release from today, welcoming the move: *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* *11 November 2010* * * *Food & Water Europe Welcomes MEPs’ Move to Fight the Privatization of Our Water Resources* *Brussels *- Food & Water Europe welcomes the initiative of five MEPs who today launched a written declaration in the European Parliament to fight the privatisation of water resources. Together the MEPs, Giommaria Uggias, François Alfonsi, Véronique de Keyser, João Ferreira and Niccolò Rinaldi have reaffirmed the importance of the protection of water as a public asset. “Claims that privatization would bring efficiency and better service have not materialized,” says Food & Water Europe Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “Instead, we have seen communities suffering from numerous problems including poor maintenance and rising bills, demonstrating why the movement to stop the privatization of water is gaining momentum around the world.” The privatization of water began in Europe, but this so-called “French Model” of private water management is being rejected on its home turf. Numerous municipalities around France are fighting for a return to public water, and in one of the most high-profile cases, its capital Paris ended its contract with Veolia and returned to public water this year. Elsewhere around Europe, a similar trend has been brewing; in Italy more than 1.4 million people signed a petition calling for a referendum against the privatization of their water services. The failures of water privatization don’t stop at Europe. In the United States, the city of Atlanta ended its water contract with United Water 16 years early due to delayed repairs, lost jobs, inadequate responses to emergencies and charges to the city for work not done. In Latin America, in La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia, privatization of public water services (pushed by the World Bank and IMF) worsened access to water for poor communities who couldn’t pay. In Cochabamba, Bolivia, after a week of multiple protests, the president of Bolivia was forced to terminate its water privatization contract with Aguas del Tunari, a subsidiary of Bechtel. “The privatization of water has simply been a failure everywhere in the world. It has failed in the global south, it has failed in the United States and it is not working in the EU,” says Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Europe. “It is crucial that all MEPs in the European Parliament sign this written declaration to send a clear message that water is not for profit and that access to water needs to be protected as an affordable public good and part of the global commons,” urged Gabriella Zanzanaini, Director of European Affairs for Food & Water Europe. *Food & Water Europe is a program of Food & Water Watch, Inc., a non-profit consumer NGO based in Washington, D.C., working to ensure clean water and safe food in Europe and around the world. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.* Contact: Gabriella Zanzanaini, +32488409662, gzanzanaini(at)fweurope.org Gabriella Zanzanaini Food & Water Europe Rue d'Edimbourg 26 Brussels 1050 Belgium tel: +32 (0) 2893 1045 mobile: +32 (0)488 409 662 gzanzanaini at fweurope.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Privatization of water written declaration.doc Type: application/msword Size: 46592 bytes Desc: not available URL: From murthy.kavya at gmail.com Sat Nov 13 13:05:16 2010 From: murthy.kavya at gmail.com (Kavya Murthy) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:05:16 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] The Delhi Urban Platform: A Walk in the Old City with Sohail Hashmi Message-ID: *The Delhi Urban Platform invites you to-* *A Walk in the Old City with Sohail Hashmi *Starting at the Chawri Bazar Metro Station at 8 a.m, 20th November, 2010 [Everybody must reach by 7.50- 7.55.] *We can have only 15 people on this walk: do write in to kavya at sarai.net as soon as possible if you're interested and absolutely sure you can make it, and the first fifteen will be able to go along. Others can line up for the another walk with Sohail later. Do carry some money, since we will be eating a (sumptuous) breakfast. * The walk will try to cover one part of Shahjahanabad, variously described as Old or Purani Dilli or Dilli 6 - the last sobriquet derives from the pin code of the area and was used derisively to describe the city that Shahjahan built and its residents and all that the experience of visiting the area entailed. The walk will try to bring together a view of the life of this part of the city as it has existed, the major professions that are and were in practice here; you will get to see some interesting buildings, hear some anecdotes about the place, get an idea of how the city transformed and changed with the arrival of the colonialists and how it was gradually forgotten by the residents of its younger cousin that grew all around the earlier Delhis and other scattered settlements to the north and south of Shahjahanabad. We will walk down Chawri up to Jama Masjid. On the way we talk about Chawri Bazaar and the businesses that were conducted here, why a road is called Nai Sarak, what the have Marathas to do with this part of the city. If possible we will go up the stairs to see the mosque of Nawab Rukn-ud-Daulah. >From Chawri we turn right go through the scrap market and enter the Jama Masjid from the South Gate. THE SMALL PRINT 1 Every one carries their shoes in their hands or in cloth/plastic bags. Bring your own carry bags 2 Do not wear bermudas, skirts, sleevless shirts etc unless you want to wear the ungainly robes that the management at Jama Masjid will make you wear to cover your body. The robes have to be hired at 20 rupees per piece. 3 Those wanting to take photographs of the mosque will have to pay 200 rupees per camera. They try to charge for cell phone cameras also. Keep the cell phones out of sight. We come out of Jama Masjid through the North Gate, go through the fireworks market, Dariba Kalan and Dareeba Khurd (Kinari Bazar), visit 9 Ghara-a listed heritage site that is fairly well preserved- and go on to Gali Paratheywali (you can have breakfast here) and come out at Kunwar ji Namkeen and hit Chandni Chowk. At Chandni Chowk we can decide which route to take, and back to the Chandni Chowk Metro Station and back to whereever you came from. Do write in if interested! -Delhi Urban Platform -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sumandro at gmail.com Sat Nov 13 13:58:33 2010 From: sumandro at gmail.com (sumandro) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:58:33 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] mace, kolkata - course on natural architecture Message-ID: Dear Friend: Modern Academy of Continuing Education (MACE, Kolkata) is launching a 40 hour module, with the approval of the University of Calcutta, titled Elements of Natural Architecture. Throughout the twentieth century, a great diversity of movements, originated from diverse disciplines, in various countries and with various specific objectives, like Vernacular architecture, Appropriate technology, Low-cost architecture, Ecology, Sustainable design, Energy-efficiency, Green design, etc. have added a huge strength to, and considerably broadened the scope and the possibilities of, what gradually appears like a coherent, consistent movement towards a more ecological architecture. We are blessed in Bengal with a good number of refreshing initiatives in this direction from individuals and small groups, with working, compelling achievements. We have requested some of these architects, designers, artists, scientists and ecologists to give a comprehensive and practical course, to people as diverse as architects, interior designers, developers, builders, students, and all interested citizens without any pre-condition for enrolment. The course includes hands-on sessions and site visits. The overall aim is to build a bridge between theory and practice and strongly ground some of the key concepts and ideas within the context of Bengal. Finally, "green" architecture cannot be only technical, but should have a meaning also. Therefore the course also comprises various aesthetics aspects, including a brief introduction to Organic architecture, which has opened up possibilities of a new relation to nature since more than one century, with architects like Louis Sullivan, Antonio Gaudi, Frank Lloyd Wright, and remains today one of the most creative, with architects like Imre Makovecs or Calatrava. This course has no equivalent in Kolkata. It aims to give to people who have a professional or personal project, the opportunity to learn from the experience of some of those who have put the theory into practice, and contributed significant achievements to this very dynamic movement. With Best Regards: Laurent Fournier (Architect and Course co-ordinator) mobile: 94322 21682; email: lohabithi at gmail.com Please see the poster (A3 size PDF file) attached for the course content and other details. The course starts 19th November 2010. http://www.modernacademyofcontinuingeducation.org/other_courses.html Modern Academy of Continuing Education (MACE) 4th Floor, Modern High School for Girls 78 Syed Amir Ali Avenue Kolkata-700019 Ph: 22816872 (D), 2287 5326/6080 Ext: 245/257 Email: mace.mhs at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: course on natural architecture.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 2444890 bytes Desc: not available URL: From anithasuseelan at gmail.com Sun Nov 14 12:54:13 2010 From: anithasuseelan at gmail.com (Anitha Suseelan) Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:54:13 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Monograph Flyer Message-ID: Dear All, Please find the attached IUDI_National Urban Design thesis Seminar_Flyer, released by B V Doshi, for sale. You may forward this to your friends and colleagues, who may be interested. For placing the orders you may kindly contact me at anithasuseelan at gmail.com with regards Anitha Suseelan Architect, Urban Designer, Faculty, School of Architecture, RV College of Engineering, Bangalore. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: IUDI_nts_Monograph_Flyer.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 3863252 bytes Desc: not available URL: From veena at doccentre.net Mon Nov 15 12:38:36 2010 From: veena at doccentre.net (veena) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:38:36 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Invitation: Talks on Knowledge in the Internet Era, November 18, 19, 2010 at CED Message-ID: <4CE0DC74.4070606@doccentre.net> Doc2.0: A Resource Mela and Meet of Documentation Centres ** *KNOWLEDGE IN AN INTERNET ERA Role of Documentation Centres in the Info-digital Society *Talk by Avinash Jha Thursday, 18 November, 2010, 5pm -7 pm How exactly are the grounds of knowledge shifting in the Internet era? How is the development of more sophisticated manipulation of information, changing qualitatively our own understanding and relationship with knowledge? Avinash Jha had been the main documentalist at CED for many years, particularly when we started the early process of digital documentation. He traces his quest on science, knowledge and society, through this experience to his current studies at the CSDS, Delhi. This is the first sharing session of KICS (Knowledge in Civil Society ) in Bangalore, where each one of us can share knowledge that we are engaged with in our endeavours in civil society. *RECLAIMING CIVIL SOCIETY SPACE ON THE INTERNET Public domain v/s Copyright* A talk cum discussion by Sunil Abraham Friday, 19 November, 2010, 5pm - 7 pm Understanding the laws that govern copyright infringement, the public domain versus copyright, what ethical stand do we take, and yet how Documentation Centres can work. Sunil Abraham is a Bangalore-based social entrepreneur and Free Software advocate. He is the Executive Director of The Centre for Internet & Society. He founded Mahiti in 1998 and continues to serve on the board. He was granted an Ashoka fellow in 1999 to 'explore the democratic potential of the Internet'. He was granted a Sarai FLOSS fellowship in 2003. Between June 2004 and June 2007, Sunil also managed the International Open Source Network a project of UNDP's Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme serving 42 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Until 2008, he managed ENRAP an electronic network of IFAD projects in the Asia-Pacific facilitated and co-funded by IDRC, Canada. The sessions are being held as part of Doc2.0, a resource mela of documentation centres, with exhibition and technical and public sessions being held from 18th to 20th of Nov. at CED Bangalore. For further details contact: Jacintha/Priya: 25353397, 9341248784 Venue: *Centre for Education & Documentation* No.7, 8th Main, 3rd Phase, Domlur 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560071 Ph: 25353397, cedban at doccentre.net http://www.doccentre.net Directions to reach CED -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 4392687 bytes Desc: not available URL: From sumandro at gmail.com Tue Nov 16 16:01:09 2010 From: sumandro at gmail.com (sumandro) Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:01:09 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] instituto cervantes de nueva delhi - freshlatino Message-ID: *The Instituto Cervantes de Nueva Delhi cordially invites you to the inauguration of the architectural project FRESHLATINO curated by Ariadna Cantis *http://cvc.cervantes.es/artes/freshlatino* *Inaugaration: 23rd of November, 2010 at 1830 hours* * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 23 november 10 invite freshlatino[1].pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 205880 bytes Desc: not available URL: From sollybenj at yahoo.co.in Mon Nov 22 20:43:28 2010 From: sollybenj at yahoo.co.in (solomon benjamin) Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:43:28 +0530 (IST) Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?utf-8?q?CSH-CPR_Urban_Workshop_/_N=C2=B010_/_Patri?= =?utf-8?q?cia_Annez?= Message-ID: <391879.94004.qm@web137309.mail.in.yahoo.com> Dear  Colleagues,  Please find the flyer for the 10th CSH-CPR workshop on urban issues, held every last Tuesday of every month. The next one will be on Tuesday 30, November at 3:45 Pm at the Centre for Policy Research.  Sorry for cross-posting and please send an email if you want your name deleted from the sending list,  Sincerely,  Marie – Hélène Zérah and Partha Mukhopadhyay    Marie - Hélène ZérahPh.D, Urban StudiesHead, Urban Dynamics Centre de Sciences Humaines, 2, Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi, 110 011, India  Ph. + 91 11 30410070 / 74Fax. + 91 11 30410079Mobile + 91 9560205325email: zerah at ird.frwebsite: www.csh-delhi.com   -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: UrbanWorkshop10 Annez.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 100807 bytes Desc: not available URL: From gautam.bhan at gmail.com Wed Nov 24 03:02:39 2010 From: gautam.bhan at gmail.com (Gautam Bhan) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:32:39 +0000 Subject: [Urbanstudy] =?utf-8?q?Nigah_QueerFest=2710=3A_26th_November-5th_?= =?utf-8?b?RGVjZW1iZXIsIDIwMTAsIERlbGhpIEkg4KSo4KS/4KSX4KS+4KS5IA==?= =?utf-8?b?4KSV4KWN4KS14KWA4KSv4KSw4KSr4KWH4KS44KWN4KSfICfgpafgpaYg?= =?utf-8?b?LSDgpajgpawg4KSo4KS14KSu4KWN4KSs4KSwIC0g4KWrIOCkpuCkvw==?= =?utf-8?b?4KS44KSC4KSs4KSwIOClqOClpuClp+Clpiwg4KSm4KS/4KSy4KWN4KSy?= =?utf-8?b?4KWA?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: English I हिन्दी ***Please Forward Widely**** Nigah QueerFest ‘10 26th Nov - 5th Dec 2010 Now in its fourth year, The Nigah QueerFest ‘10 is Delhi’s annual celebration of queerness. The festival this year brings back the curated film festival and our popular performance component along with a visual arts exhibition, workshops, and more. A year after the July 2nd, 2009, Delhi High Court judgment, the theme of the festival is "Freedom" as we explore and challenge what it means for us to be "free" post the judgment. For the complete festival schedule and all the other events, please check our website: http://www.thequeerfest.com/ *Opening of the QueerFest:* We invite you to join us for the opening of the QueerFest on Friday, 26th November, at 7 pm, Max Mueller Bhawan, Kasturba Gandhi Marg. *About Nigah:* Nigah is a queer collective that works on issues of gender and sexuality. Apart from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, we understand queer to be any identity, politics or process that challenges dominant norms. Based in Delhi, India, we try to create inclusive and safe queer spaces using media, training, and conversations. At Nigah, we remain proud to be an autonomous collective entirely funded by individual donations from queer and queer-friendly people in India and elsewhere in our attempt to continuously expand queer-positive spaces around Delhi. Please note that there is no entry fee/pass for any of our events. Everyone is welcome to join us! Cheers, Nigah team email: contact at nigah.org website: http://www.thequeerfest.com/ facebook page: facebook.com/nigahdelhi ****कृपया व्यापक रूप से फॉरवर्ड कीजिये**** *निगाह क्वीयरफेस्ट '१०* २६ नवम्बर - ५ दिसंबर २०१० अपने चौथे साल में, निगाह क्वीयरफेस्ट '१० दिल्ली में यौनिकता का सबसे बड़ा उत्सव है। इस साल का फेस्टिवल फिर से वापस लाया है एक बेहतरीन फिल्मों की श्रृंखला, हमारी लोकप्रिय परफॉरमंस कि रात, और साथ में फोटो प्रदर्शनी, कार्यशालाएं और बहुत कुछ और। जुलाई २, २००९ की हाई कोर्ट जजमेंट के एक साल बाद, इस फेस्टिवल का मज़मून है 'आज़ादी'. जजमेंट के एक साल बाद हमारी जिंदगियों मे 'आज़ादी' का आखिर क्या मतलब है? फेस्टिवल और बाकी सारे कार्यक्रमों की अनुसूची के लिए कृपया हमारे वेबसाईट http://www.thequeerfest.com/ पर जाएँ। *उद्घाटन के बारे में:* क्वीयरफेस्ट के उद्घाटन कार्यक्रम के लिए हम आपको आमंत्रित करते हैं: २६ नवम्बर को रात सात बजे, मैक्स म्युलर भवन, कसतूरबा गांधी मार्ग पर। *निगाह के बारे में:* निगाह एक क्वीयर समूह है जो कि जेंडर और सेक्सुअलिटी के मुद्दों पर काम करता है। लेस्बियन, गे, बाईसेक्सुअल और ट्रांसजेंडर के अलावा, हम क्वीयर को एक ऐसी पहचान, पोलीटिकस और प्रक्रिया मानते हैं जो कि हमारे समाज के प्रभावी मानदंडों को चुनौती दे। दिल्ली में स्थित, हम मीडिया, ट्रेनिंग और बातचीत से सम्मिलित और सुरक्षित क्युईर जगाहों को बनाने कि कोशिश करते हैं। निगाह में हम सब को गर्व है कि हम एक स्वायत्त समूह हैं जो कि पूरी तरह से भारत और और जगहों के क्वीयर और क्वीयर-सहायक लोगों के व्यक्तिगत दान पर आधारित हैं। कृपया ध्यान दें कि हमारे कार्यक्रमों के लिए कोई प्रवेश शुल्क या पास कि ज़रुरत नहीं है। हम सबको आमंत्रित करतें है। आपकी, निगाह कि टोली ईमेल: contact at nigah.org वेबसाइट: http://www.thequeerfest.com/ फेसबुक साईट: facebook.com/nigahdelhi -- ___________ I write at: www.kafila.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sumandro at gmail.com Thu Nov 25 10:10:31 2010 From: sumandro at gmail.com (sumandro) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:10:31 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: "Toiling Muses: Cultures of the Working Class": Two day Seminar at Kirori Mal College, 26-27 November In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jai Sen Date: Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 7:37 AM Subject: Fwd: "Toiling Muses: Cultures of the Working Class": Two day Seminar at Kirori Mal College, 26-27 November Thursday, 25 November 2010 Friends in Delhi and in struggle Here’s something a little different, that many of you might be interested in. Tomorrow and the day after. Here's to making music in and through everything that we do ! JS fwd Begin forwarded message: *From: *bono *Date: *November 24 2010 7:48:54 pm GMT+05:30 *To: *Bhagwati , Jai Sen , Ninan Ann , Ravi Sinha , gowharfazili at gmail.com, "www.sacw.net" , mningthouja at yahoo.com, h.bonojit at gmail.com *Subject: **"Toiling Muses: Cultures of the Working Class": Two day Seminar at Kirori Mal College, 26-27 November* *Toiling Muses : Cultures of The Working Class * *26th & 27th Nov 2010* * * *Department of English, Kirori Mal College* *in collaboration with* *Department of English, University of Delhi* *Day 1 : 26th November* 9:30 am Registration *OPENING SESSION * 10:00 – 10:15 Opening address by Prof. Sumanyu Satpathy, Head of Dept. of English, University of Delhi and Dr. Someshwar Sati, Associate Professor, Department of English, Kirori Mal College. 10:15 – 11:15 *Mazak* by Dr Shankar Ramaswamy, Research Scholar, University of Chicago Chair: Prof. Alok Rai, Dept. of English, University of Delhi 11:15 – 11.30 Songs by students Tea Break *REVOLUTION’S BEATING HEART: MINERS AND SHIP WORKERS *Chair: Pravin Kumar, Asst. Professor, Dept. Of English, Ramjas College, University of Delhi 11.40– 12.10 *Three Observations on Caribbean Music: Jahaj,Work and Funk * by *Dr. Anil Persaud*.(PhD from JNU; currently in a collaborative SEPHIS research project on labour migrations to South Africa, Guyana and Argentina) 12:10- 12:40 *Dancing and the Dialectics of Defiance on South African Mines, an Historical Overview * by *Prof. Peter Alexander*, South African Research Chair in Social Change, University of Johannesburg. 12:40- 1:10 Discussion Lunch *BLOWING DOWN THE OLD DUSTY ROAD * 1:40 – 2:10 *Reading by Dilip Simeon,* Historian and Novelist (formerly at the Department of History in Delhi University. Recently published the novel “Revolution Highway”) 2:10 – 3:10 *Grubstreet*, The English Literary Society of Kirori Mal College presents: *Games in the Dust* by *Shashank*, Eng. Hons., 3rd Year *The Lucifer Descendants* by *Ritwick, Ushashi, Shreya and Kshitij*, Eng.Hons, 2nd Year *Why I Sing the Blues*, by Shardul, Eng. Hons. 1st year Discussant – Dilip Simeon *Day 2: 27th November* * *10:00 – 11:00 *Spaces Of Labour* by *Dr.Chitra Joshi*, Labour Historian and Associate Professor, Dept. Of History, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. Chair: Dr.Veena Naregal, Institute of Economic Growth Tea Break *REWORKING FRONTIERS OF LABOUR* 11:15 – 11:45 *On Ranciere’s Nights of Labour* by *Prof. Neeladri Bhattacharya*, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University 11:45 – 12:30 *On Raymond Williams and the Debates on Class* by *Dr. Nandini Chandra*, Dept. of English, University of Delhi 12:30 -1:00 Discussion Lunch *AESTHETICS OF RESISTANCE *Chair: Saumyajit Bhattacharya, Dept. Of Economics, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. 1:30– 2:00 *Music of the People: A Study of the Evolution of Bishnu Prasad Rabha’s Music* by *Prachee Dewri*, Dept. of English, Hansraj College 2:00 – 2:30 *Radical Expression: The Making of an Anti-Establishment Rhetoric* by *Prof. Sambudha Sen*, Dept. of English, University of Delhi 2:30 – 3:00 Discussion *VAPOURS AND WHISTLE: MAKING THE STEAM ROLL * Screening of *Veiled in Vapour* (30 mins) directed by *Mukul Mangalik*, Dept. of History, Ramjas College, University of Delhi. Discussion with the filmmaker on work, culture and railways. *Personal Narratives as worker by Dharam Pal (Burmee)*, retired steam loco driver, who also features in the above mentioned film. *Venue: Seminar Room, Kirori Mal College, North Campus, University of Delhi Contact : Amrapali – 91-9718242891, Saumya – 9013454058, Jyoti – 7838719486 * ______________________________ Jai Sen jai.sen at cacim.net CACIM, A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India www.cacim.net Ph : +91-11-4155 1521, +91-98189 11325 *NEW :* Jai Sen, 2010 – ‘On open space : Explorations towards a vocabulary of a more open politics’, in *Antipode*, Vol 42 No 4, 2010 (ISSN 0066-4812), pp 994–1018. (Full original unedited version available @ http://cacim.net/twiki/tiki-index.php?page=Publications.) Jai Sen, March 2010b – ‘Be the Seed : An Introduction to and Commentary on the government of Bolivia’s Call for a ‘Peoples’ World Conference On Climate Change And The Rights Of Mother Earth’’, @ http://cacim.net/twiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=64, http://www.choike.org/2009/eng/informes/7620.html, and http://www.zcommunications.org/be-the-seed-by-jai-sen. Also available in Spanish @ http://www.choike.org/2009/esp/informes/153.html *FORTHCOMING :* Jai Sen, ed, forthcoming (2010a) - *Interrogating Empires*, Book 2 in the *Are Other Worlds Possible ?* series. New Delhi : OpenWord and Daanish Books Jai Sen, ed, forthcoming (2010b) - *Imagining Alternatives*, Book 3 in the *Are Other Worlds Possible ?* series. New Delhi : OpenWord and Daanish Books *CHECK OUT* both *CACIM* @ www.cacim.net and *OpenSpaceForum* @ www.openspaceforum.net ! *& SUBSCRIBE TO* WSFDiscuss, an open and unmoderated forum on the World Social Forum and on related social and political movements and issues. Simply send an empty email to worldsocialforum-discuss-subscribe at openspaceforum.net *SUBSCRIBE TO* WSFDiscuss, an open and unmoderated forum on the World Social Forum and on related social and political movements and issues. Simply send an empty email to worldsocialforum-discuss-subscribe at openspaceforum.net P *Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail !!* *Note :* I work on a Mac. In case you don't, and are having problems opening any Word attachments I have sent you, you could try one of the following : (a) Put your cursor on the icon, do a right click, see ‘Open With’, and open with Word…; or (b), try saving the document onto your desktop or hard disc, and then opening it. With apologies in advance if this advice seems to question your technological literacy.. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From harishpoovaiah at gmail.com Sat Nov 27 10:52:41 2010 From: harishpoovaiah at gmail.com (Harish Poovaiah) Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:52:41 +0530 Subject: [Urbanstudy] Fwd: India's Unique Identification (UID)-related Bill designed to trump the RTI Act on transparency In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Venkatesh Nayak Date: Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 1:00 PM Subject: [HumJanenge-YG] India's Unique Identification (UID)-related Bill designed to trump the RTI Act on transparency Dear all, Parliamentary Research Services (PRS), Delhi which is doing very valuable work tracking Parliament and briefing MPs on legislative matters has uploaded the text of The National Identification Authority Bill, 2010 (NIAI Bill) on its website. This Bill is due for introduction during the current session of Parliament. The complete text of this Bill is attached and also available at: http://prsindia.org/uploads/media/UID/The%20National%20Identification%20Auth ority%20of%20India%20Bill,%202010.pdf A comprehensive critique of the contents of the NIAI Bill and the intention of policymakers in Government to put such a legislation on the statute book has already been published by Prof. Jean Dreze. His article may be accessed at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/25/stories/2010112563151300.htm I have keyed below some thoughts on the implications of the NIAI Bill to the transparency regime established by the Right to Information Act, 2005 and related matters. What is the NIAI Bill all about? Readers will recollect that in 2009 the Government of India created the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for the purpose of undertaking preparatory work which would eventually lead to the issuing of unique identification numbers (popularly known as Aadhaar numbers) and identity cards for all people living in India. Conceived by the Planning Commission of India and housed currently in that institution, the Unique Identity initiative is also connected to the creation of the National Population Register which is underway. The UIDAI was instituted by executive action. The NIAI Bill has been drafted with the purpose of creating a stautory framework for this entire exercise which is here to stay. The NIAI Bill seeks to establish the National Identification Authority (NIA) for the purpose of spearheading the exercise of giving Aadhaar numbers and identity cards to individuals residing in India on a voluntary basis but upon receiving payment. Prof. Dreze has shown how the voluntarism highlighted in one provisions of the NIAI Bill can lead to compulsion when Aadhaar numbers are made mandatory for accessing benefits of various social welfare schemes and services provided by public authorities. The NIAI Bill provides the statutory basis for compelling people to acquire Aadhaar numbers. As the Planning Commission conceived of Unique Identity as a means to ensure proper delivery of the benefits to the impoverished segments of society, the compulsion falls on them first and foremost. They will have to pay fees (to be specified in the regulations) for enrolling themselves onto the Aadhaar database, acquiring identity cards and also for getting wrong information about them held in country-wide databases corrected. Every time an Aadhaar holder applies to avail the benefit of any welfare scheme and submits his/her Aadhaar information he/she will be required to get it authenticated. This means going back to the NIA, paying fees for authentication with no certainty that it will be authenticated. The NIA has the power to refuse to authenticate but the NIAI Bill does not specify the grouns on which a negative response may be issued to the applicant. The NIA is designed to be an authority unto itself. The NIA will be vested with vast powers to carry out its umpteen functions under the law. An Aadhaar number or identity card to be issued under this law will neither be proof of citizenship nor domicile status in any State. (I wonder why the name Aadhaar then? 'Aadhaar' means 'basis' or 'foundation' in Sanskrit and Hindi and a host of other Indian languages. When the Government cannot assure fool proof identity cards for citizenship and domicile status for every citizen Aadhaar becomes a misnomer for such initiatives. The underprivileged citizen will continue to remain 'Niraadhaar' (without a firm basis) for purposes other than receiving the benefits of welfare schemes and being under surveillance by State agencies. The NIA is empowered to collect identity information namely, demographic information and biometric information about every individual who approaches it with a request for an Aadhaar number and an identity card. Demographic information includes only the following data: name, age, gender and address of an individual. The NIAI Bill specifically prohibits the collection of information about race, religion, caste, tribe, ethnicity, language, income or health of a person. What kinds of biometric information about an individual will be collected will be specified in the regulations by the NIAI. The demographic and biometric information will be held in a Central Identity Depository over which NIA will have oversight functions. An individual has the right to correct inaccurate data held by the Depository about him/her. As Prof. Dreze points out there is no certainty that the inaccuracies will be corrected or a decision will be taken in a time bound manner. There is no possibility of appeal against the NIA's decisions within the proposed statute. The Identity Review Committee sought to be established under the NIAI Bill can only study the uses to which the Aadhaar system if being put to and submit an annual report. Decisions of the NIA cannot be challenged before this Review Committee. The NIA is truly designed to be an authority unto itself. How does the NIAI Bill affect transparency regime established by the Right to Information Act? Provisions for keeping the demographic and biometric information secret are contained in Chapter VI of the NIAI Bill. Under the title: "Protection of Information" Clauses 30-33 regulate the securing and holding of Aadhaar data about individuals in a confidential manner. Ensuring confidentiality of Aadhaar identity information is the responsibility of the NIA. (Sections 30, 31) Irrespective of any other law, the NIA or any of its officers or employees or agencies that maintain the Adhaar databases, have a duty not to reveal the information they collect and hold. The 3 members of the NIA are required to swear an oath of secrecy after appointment. Secrecy clauses will continue to bind them even after they vacate office. Information from the Aadhaar databases may be provided only upon receiving an order from a competent court. Or information may be dislcosed in the interests of national security if an officer of the Government of India of Joint Secretary rank and above authorises disclosure. In other words the NIAI Bill overrides the RTI Act. It also ousts the jurisdiction of the Information Commissions to deal with information access disputes. Why is this problematic? Chapter VI of the NIAI Bill is problematic for the following reasons: 1) The NIAI Bill throws a veil of secrecy over information about individuals already available in the public domain: Identity information about individuals that will be collected by the NIA has two parts- demographic and biometric information. What kinds of biometric information will be collected is left to the NIA to specify in the regulations. This may include a range of data such as thumb and palm prints, iris recognition, DNA data and other similar means of identifying individuals that may be developed by science in future. Demographic information includes- name, age, gender and address of an individual. If this Bill becomes law in its current form this demographic information will become secret. But is this data truly secret now? Every bit of demographic information pertaining to every Indian citizen above 18 years of age contemplated in the NIAI Bill is already available in the Photo Electoral Rolls published by the Chief Electoral Officers under the Election Commission of India on their websites. In fact even the name of the father or husband of a voter is accessible on these public lists which the NIA may not collect under the current version of the Bill. So why should this information be tagged with the 'confidential' label when this is already public information? In fact the UIADI started its pilot projects by collecting information from these Photo Electoral Rolls (See an admission of this fact on UIADI website: http://uidai.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content &view=article&id=141&Itemid=164) The UIADI's website clearly mentions this usage of publicly available information. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the NIAI Bill dos not explain why this information must be held confidentially when such information about 700 million voters is already publicly available. 2) What about demographic information about under-18 year olds?: The Photo Electoral Rolls mentioned above do not contain demographic information about citizens below the age of 18 years as they are not eligible to vote. This is a sizeable number of India's population (about 450-500 million). Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act exempts the disclosure of personal information if it may lead to invasion of the privacy of the individual. This clause has served well for denying access to personal information for the last five years. However the NIAI Bill does not recognise the RTI regime. It places in the hands of the NIA all authority to determine information access issues. If access to information is denied under the NIAI law, a person cannot seek the same information using the RTI Act. Depsite the NIAI being a public authority as defined in Section 2(h) of the RTI Act the overriding effect of Section 22 will not cover this law as it will be passed after the enactment of the RTI Act. The overriding effect applies only to laws in existence at the time of the enactment of the RTI Act. So the principle of 'generalia specialibus non derogant' (a general law cannot override a special law) will come into play. The Information Commissions will have no authority over the NIAI. A major exception to the regime of transparency is being created by the NIAI Bill. This is completely uncalled for as personal information is protected from dislcosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act and has served well till date. There is no reason why exceptions to the RTI Act should be carved out in this manner. The NIAI BiIl must be amended to state that information will be provided in accordance with the RTI Act. 3) How is the NIA, a government-controlled body, better placed to decide information access issues than Information Commissions?: The NIA is completely controlled by the Central Government unlike the Information Commissions which decide on information access disputes under the RTI Act. The Chairperson and two part-time members of the NIA are appointed by the Central Government. There NIAI Bill does not provide for a selection committee to shortlist candidates for these positions. The Information Commissioners are not appointed by the respective Governments. They are appointed by the President and the Governors at the Centre and in the States respectively, on the basis of recommendations made by statutorily established selection committees. All members of the NIA can be removed by the Central Government for specific reasons mentioned in the Bill. The Information Commissioners appointed under the RTI Act can be removed only through a special process involving a reference to the Supreme Court which will be investigated and reported upon by the Court. The rank of the members of the NIA is not specified. The CEO of the NIA is of additional Secretary rank. The Chief and Information Commissioners of the Central Information Commission and the Chiefs of the State Information Commissions are equal in rank to judges of the Supreme Court- much higher than an Additional Secretary to Government. The Central Government may issue directions to the NIA and even supersede it if necessary. The Information Commissions cannot be subjected to directives from any authority save the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Given the complete subordination of the NIA to the Central Government, how is it best placed to have sole authority to decide on information access issues? Further, the NIAI Bill does not provide for any forum where a decision of the NIA may be appealed against. This is completely contrary to the principles of data protection that inform privacy laws in other countries. There must be an independent body that will adjudicate over access disputes in the context of personal information. The United Kingdom has established the Data Protection Tribunal for this purpose. In New Zealand the Ombudsman is also the authority for adjudicating personal data access-related disputes. The Privacy Commissioner performs this role at the national level in Canada. The NIAI Bill ignores these international best practices. The NIAI Bill must be amended to give the Information Commissions established under the RTI Act the job of adjudicating information access disputes under this law. 4) The NIAI Bill is silent on how Aadhaar data will be shared with other agencies: The NIAI Bill contemplates situtations where the identity information of Aadhaar number holders will be shared with agencies engaged in delivery of public benefits and public services. The NIA has the power to make regulations to define these procedures. The written consent of the individual is required in such cases. This provision has been drafted ignoring the fact that more than a third of the people in India cannot read or write. When the numbers of neo-literates who can only sign their names is added to this figure, the number of people who cannot possibly give written consent goes up considerably. The NIAI Bill is silent on how the consent of such individuals will be obtained. Yet it is claimed that this statute is intended to serve such underprivilged segments of society. While this information-sharing provision [Clause 23(2)(k)] appears innocent from the point of view of the Planning Commission's original intention of having Aadhaar type-systems to improve the delivery of welfare programmes, the potential of this provision to enable surveillance of individuals by State agencies becomes clear when viewed through the prism of national security. An officer of Joint Secretary rank and above can authorise disclosure of this data to any person- even without the consent of the individual. An individual - if at all he/she gets to know that information about him/her has been ordered to be shared with some other State agency can appeal this decision only in courts. Even this procedure is not specified in the NIAI Bill. 5) Under data protection laws data collected for one purpose cannot be used for another purpose : Although the right to privavy is a deemed fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, India does not have a privacy or data protection law. The Department of Personnel and Training has recently issued an approach paper aimed at developing such a law for India. In the absence of an overarching data protection law, it is necessary to ensure that crucial international best practice standards informing such laws operational elsewhere on the planet are incorporated in the NIAI Bill. For example, it is a cardinal principle of data protaction laws that personal information collected about individuals by one agency, for a specific purpose, cannot be transferred to some other agency for use in order to achieve a different purpose. This principle is sorely missing in the NIAI Bill. Prof. Dreze has pointed out how Aadhaar system is one of the several measures initiated by the State to create a surveillance mechanism- Big Brother is watching over everybody. This has major implications for people's human rights. Did the Department of Personnel and Training object to the creation of exceptions to the RTI regime? The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Ministry of Personnel is the administrative depatrment for the RTI Act. Prior to seeking the Union Cabinet's approval for tabling the NIAI Bill in Parliament, the Government would have sent the text of the Bill to the relevant Departments for inter-ministerial consultations. This is a mandatory requirment. Was the DoPT involved in this consultation process? Did the DoPT object to the implied exclusion of the RTI Act? In an age of RTI we cannot know unless we file RTI applications to find out. Later the Bill would have been put up for deliberations in the Committee of Secretaries. This is also a mandatory requirement. Did the Secretary, DoPT point out to the contradictions between the NIAI Bill and the RTI Act in this meeting? In an age of RTI we cannot know unless we file RTI applications to find out. Did the Ministry of Law which is required to vet all Bills for ensuring that no other law is violated by its provisions, point out that the NIAI Bill carves out an exception to the RTI Act? In an age of RTI we cannot know unless we file RTI applications to find out. The Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs is likely to table this Bill in Parliament in the current session. After the exit of the Minister of State for Personnel the Minister of State for Planning is in charge of this Ministry also. Has any attention been paid to the need for harmonising the provisions of this Bill with the regime of transparency established by the RTI Act? In an age of RTI we cannot know unless we file RTI applications to find out. The effectiveness of the RTI Act is being curbed through other statutes. Readers will remember this trend began with the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 which ousted the jurisdiction of the RTI Act in a similar manner. The NIAI Bill may be violative of a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution: Chapter VII of the NIAI Bill lists out penalties for specific offences. Offences such as impersonation, identity theft, unauthorised collection or disclosure of identity information of any individual, tampering, interfering with or causing harm to the management of the Aadhaar databases may be punished with a prison term up to three years and fines extending up to INR 10,000 (US$ 218) The fines for offences committed by companies are stiffer. However there is a sinister clause which prescribes a general penalty without specifying any offence. Clause 41 of the NIAI Bill specifies a prison term of up to three years and a fine up to INR 25,000 (US$ 545) for any offence for which no penalty is provided elsewhere in the Act. Clauses 34-40 are the only provisions dealing with offences under this proposed law. All of them are linked to specific penalties. It is not clear what purpose the general penalty clause will serve in the absence of an identifiable offence. This provision may be violative of Article 20(1) of the Constitution of India. Every citizen has the fundamental right not to be convicted of "any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the Act charged as an offence..." So unless a law specificaly terms an act as an offence a person cannot be tried and punished for such an act. Clause 41 may be struck down on grounds of violating a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. Readers who have been following the unravelling of the UID process will have many more concerns over the provisions of the NIAI Bill. I request them to share this email within their circuits. I have not recommended a course of action to correct these anomalies in the Bill as I would like to learn from other viewers about their thoughts on this important subject. Kindly send your response to this email id. In order to access the our previous email alerts on RTI and related issues please click on: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic le&id=65&Itemid=84 You will find the links at the top of this web page. If you do not wish to receive these email alerts please send an email to this address indicating your refusal. [I have not posted this message on humjanenge at googlegroups.com. However this message may be automatically relayed through that group to unintended recipients. My apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused to such recipients.] Thanking you, Yours sincerely, Venkatesh Nayak Programme Coordinator Access to Information Programme Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative B-117, I Floor, Sarvodaya Enclave New Delhi- 110 017 tel: 91-11- 43180215/43180200/ 26864678 fax: 91-11- 2686 4688 website: www.humanrightsinitiative.org alternate email: > nayak.venkatesh at gmail.com __._,_.___ Reply to sender| Reply to group| Reply via web post| Start a new topic Messages in this topic( 1) Recent Activity: - New Members 1 Visit Your Group messages in archives can be accessed only by members, but all are welcome to join hum janenge group. visit http://indiarti.blogspot.com to know everything on rti. [image: Yahoo! Groups] Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest• Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From p.arabindoo at ucl.ac.uk Sat Nov 27 23:42:27 2010 From: p.arabindoo at ucl.ac.uk (Pushpa Arabindoo) Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2010 18:12:27 -0000 Subject: [Urbanstudy] New MSc programme at the University of Edinburgh Message-ID: <007801cb8e5e$a64ec040$1d6b5290@uclusers.ucl.ac.uk> MSc in South Asia and International Development Centre for South Asian Studies, the University of Edinburgh The MSc in South Asia and International Development is the only UK postgraduate international development programme with an explicit South Asia focus. Edinburgh's Centre for South Asian Studies has a very successful track record in teaching and research at the highest levels, and its members have been consistently rated as outstanding in the UK's RAE since 1990. It is an internationally recognised and well-established hub of South Asia expertise, and is one of the top four UK Universities with social scientists working on South Asia. This programme is linked to the University of Edinburgh's Global Development Academy, which fosters a dynamic interdisciplinary community of scholars who are working in partnership throughout the world to tackle the most important issues facing international development. South Asia's development represents one of our most important global political, economic and social issues, and poses important intellectual and practical challenges. Perturbing questions are raised by the co-existence of enduring poverty and inequity with apparently dynamic social and economic change: How does development take place in South Asia and how has it been shaped by history? What roles do the various states play in development actions? What roles are - or should - be played by non- state actors? Programme Overview This MSc programme will help place South Asian development in a wide social, political and historical context. Courses provide analytical skills to help you understand the processes that have shaped poverty and underdevelopment with particular reference to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The MSc will enable you to contribute understanding, challenge taken for-granted perspectives, and create possible solutions to development problems. Programme Structure This Masters Programme is an interdisciplinary programme, combining rigorous training in analytical and qualitative methods with an emphasis on policy and practice as they relate to international development. The programme has two compulsory, core courses. They are 'Politics and Theories of International Development' and 'South Asia: the Roots of Poverty and Development'. They are designed to enable you to contextualise and analyse the processes that have shaped poverty and underdevelopment in South Asia in the context of historical and contemporary global processes and the many responses to them. Elective Courses will provide you with a tailored curriculum, drawing on the full breadth of expertise and perspectives from the Centre for South Asian Studies and across the University. Finally, your dissertation will give you the opportunity for an in-depth study of a topic of particular interest to you. The programme is flexible and available on a full-time basis over one year and a part-time basis over two years. Entry Requirements We are keen to receive applications from potential students with a strong honours degree (either a UK 2.1 or its international equivalent). Particular consideration will be given if you have relevant professional and practical experience. Contacts For further information, please visit the programme webpage or the Global Development Academy website: Programme webpage: www.sps.ed.ac.uk/said Global Development Academy website: www.ed.ac.uk/global-development Dr. Pushpa Arabindoo Lecturer in Geography & Urban Design UCL Urban Laboratory Department of Geography University College London 26 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AP Tel.: 020 7679 5512 (internal ext. 25512) Fax.: 020 7679 7565 e-mail: p.arabindoo at ucl.ac.uk http://www.ucl.ac.uk/urbanlab http://www.ucl.ac.uk/urbanstudies -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: