About OneWorld South Asia

OVERVIEW

OneWorld works in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for sustainable development and human rights. The OneWorld network disseminates relevant and topical information to audiences worldwide on development issues, makes technology work for the people at the grassroots and conducts research on best practices in governance.

To achieve all of this, OneWorld works collaboratively with partners to create ICT-assisted innovations and appropriate e-tools to bring development benefits to grassroots communities.

MEDIA

The OneWorld South Asia portal is a popular website on sustainable development and human rights. With content collated from NGO partners and written by seasoned journalists, the portal is a one-stop information window on development news from South Asia. This news and information is further disseminated to people through RSS feeds.

OneWorld has met with considerable success in its work with people and community-based organisations in using Community Radio as a powerful tool to amplify information on socially relevant and development-related issues. OWSA has worked with dozens of organizations across the country in numerous languages, reaching out to the local populace with news, views and information in an interesting format in their local languages. Our work on Community Radio can be heard and downloaded from Ek Duniya anEk Awaaz (One World, Many Voices). With over 900 audio programmes, categorised in 27 themes in 10 languages, this platform also serves as a virtual network between CR stations in the region. 

TECHNOLOGY INTERVENTIONS

One of our biggest achievements has been the ease with which we have been able to translate ICTs onto ground work in our efforts to empower communities. Through LifeLines India, we have been able to provide a service that allows the simple Indian farmer in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, in North India, to get information on agriculture over his mobile phone.

This service has now been extended, in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan and UNICEF, to provide academic support to over 400,000 rural teachers. A toll-free platform allows government teachers to seeks answers to their queries from any place in Rajasthan.

In association with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, and the UNDP, we have developed an innovative project to improve the efficacy of India’s flagship livelihood security programme – the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS). This initiative allows even unlettered people person to navigate through the technology, to access the relevant information on their own, and also conduct transactions with regard to his or her employment options.

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE

OneWorld is currently working with the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG), Government of India, to build an online knowledge & research initiative, Governance Knowledge Centre. This dynamic platform brings research rigours to the fore while sharing best practices and developments in governance and public service delivery.

DOCUMENTATION AND PUBLICATIONS

Over the course of its work in various fields, OneWorld has brought out numerous publications which our partners and stakeholders can download. 

E-Governance Report Card

Fixing the climate with ICTs

Stock-taking & appraisal of online web resources on climate change in India/South Asia

Grassroots Innovations for Sustainable Development: JICA Partnership Programme in India

ICT Facilitated Access to Information Innovations: A Compendium of Case Studies from South Asia