[Wsfii-Dharamsala] [wsfii-coord] Re: wsfii-coord Digest, Vol 11, Issue 15

[Vickram Crishna]

At 11:39 AM +0000 3/20/06, Julian Priest wrote:
>On Sun, Mar 19, 2006 at 02:06:34AM +0100, Laird Brown wrote:
>  > On 18-Mar-06, at 12:00 PM, Julian Priest wrote:
>We eventually agreed that it was a good idea to have one
>  > >event this year where we could focus press and international
>>  >attention.
>>
>>  On what, precisely?
>
>That's a good question! Maybe its a question that should be asked on 
>wsfii-discuss?
>....
>This is particularly relevant in India this year as the law was 
>changed last february I believe to allow the use of 2.4 Ghz for 
>unlicenced use thereby clearing the way for people to legally build 
>their own networks. At around the same time the Indian government 
>have announced their mission 2007 which aims to connect India's 
>600,000 villages over the next years. Of course that is an enormous 
>task and Arun and others don't see how it can be done except by 
>using the stratagies of wireless networking and self provission.
>
>So it was this context that led to India being the venue for the 
>_slightly more international_ wsfii for 2006 when we discussed in 
>Djursland and London.

Just one minor correction: Mission 2007 is a 'people's movement'. It 
has been endorsed in a rather wishy-washy way by the government.

Separately, the GoI's IT ministry has announced it will build 
'knowledge centers' in 100k villages, which just happens to be the 
same size target as the scaled down (from the original 600,00 
villages) Mission 2007. Both these targets are difficult, but with 
good will and enough preparatory knowledge, some of us believe that 
action can snowball towards achievement. But let's face it, nothing 
has really taken off yet, although we have a precious few rural 
networks in place here and there.

I had hoped wsfii dharamsala in May would be a major step along the 
way, and lay a solid foundation for a bigger wsfii bangalore, where 
many groups of grassroots initiatives from different parts of India 
could come and witness the potential for wireless data networking by 
themselves. But that was just my own wish, not practical enough given 
the difficulties of getting funding in time to support such a major 
effort without possibly surrendering our independence.

Many of us want wsfii to happen in India in any case, to demonstrate 
several of the things that Julian listed.

Today, the very positive merger of the two initiatives into a tight 
wsfii dharamsala in October seems not only more achievable, but one 
that is slated to get a lot more meaningfully done. It is a pity that 
the weather in the North makes waiting till November unreasonable, 
but pragmatism must take its won shape. I am primarily thinking again 
here of how and when the meet will be funded.

Also, the specific objectives are still somewhat hazy. Arun and I 
earlier felt between us that the most critical steps for putting 
people's minds at ease about these needed to have a secretariat in 
place, to set some of these things in place. I have spent the last 
couple of months in Amsterdam on a separate wireless research 
project, and having spoken to people there about this, there are some 
possibilities in sight, which I describe below.

The secretariat's first objectives are to set down meaningful targets 
for this wsfii meet, and to get funding for it. The targets are 
emerging in any case from this discussion, but not the funding, not 
that I can see at least.

With the emphasis having shifted firmly to doing a single wsfii 
dharamsala (a digression - I must also point out here that most of 
the people I spoke to can't pronounce or even enunciate dharamsala, 
can we call it wsfii india?) this year, our thought of hosting this 
secretariat within Radiophony, with the prelim work being done out of 
Mumbai, where I am based, may not suit everyone. fyi, Radiophony is 
the organisation that Arun and I share, and it is based out of our 
computers, primarily in Delhi and Mumbai, where we individually live.

I am agreeable to drive the secretariat work along the lines above 
until the funding is in sight - which must happen by the beginning of 
summer, or else we will need to recast our vision. However, I don't 
actually have the financial freedom to do this work, and will have to 
'borrow' from the total funds to be sourced. A bridge loan with no 
strings attached is in line (no strings meaning, the lender has 
indicated that if the meet remains unfunded, then the loan won't be 
called in).

On the other hand, if someone else is prepared to take up this work 
more 'independently', then that may be the way to go.
-- 
Vickram

		
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