Shuttleworth Foundation

TK Commons Meeting in Cape Town

Holly — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:42:00 +0000

On the 31st January representatives from the Bushbuckridge Traditional Healers’ Association, lawyers working on issues around traditional knowledge (TK) from Kenya and Ghana, and Natural Justice gathered in Cape Town with support from the Open A.I.R. Project. The theme was “Non-Traditional Users of TK—Opportunities and Challenges Around Compliance”. Breakout sessions delved into the definition of TK commons, methods of pooling and sharing TK, TK practioners and their issues, external links to non-traditional users of TK, and existing and future policies around TK. Interviews with the healers from Bushbuckridge on the challenges they have faced in managing the sharing of their TK informed much of the discussion.

Looking forward, the representatives looked to build on the successes of the Bushbuckridge community. As communities in Ghana and Kenya move forward with their development of TK commons, participants will support the development of linkages between these communities and the Bushbuckridge healers. They will also continue to look for ways to creatively collaborate to analyse and shape laws and policies around TK based on experiences at the grassroots level.

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Speaking on Digging into Open Data at Data Insights Meetup in Cambridge Today

Rufus Pollock — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:07:31 +0000

I’ll be talking at Data Insights Meetup today on the topic of Digging into Open Data.

Where: Fountain Inn, Cambridge, UK (OpenStreetMap)
When: Feb 2nd 2012, from 7:30pm

Abstract

There has been growing interest, especially in government, in ‘open
data’. This talk will explain what open data is, why it is important
and go on to cover some of the Open Knowledge Foundation’s recent work
in this area.

About the Open Knowledge Foundation

The Open Knowledge Foundation has been a pioneer in the field of open
data since its inception in 2004. It works in a wide array of areas
from sonnets to statistics, genes to geodata. Its open-source CKAN software powers http://data.gov.uk/,
http://thedatahub.org/ and dozens of other open data hubs around the
world. For more information about the Foundation see http://okfn.org/
and http://okfn.org/projects.

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Live Mag SA in Arise Mag

Gavin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:18:35 +0000

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New Publication: Legal Pluralism in Southeast Asia

Holly — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:01:00 +0000

A new publication entitled “Diverse Paths to Justice: Legal Pluralism and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Southeast Asia” has been released by Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Forest Peoples Programme, the Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), and Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). Demonstrating that legal pluralism is “at the heart of Indigenous peoples’ struggles”, this fascinating compilation includes a range of articles by leading practitioners and academics about the legal landscapes and Indigenous peoples’ experiences in Nagaland (India), Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia), the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh).

The publication can be downloaded here.

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Project plans for 2012

Kathi Fletcher — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:22:00 +0000

I am thrilled to report (a bit belatedly) that my fellowship with the Shuttleworth Foundation has been renewed for another year and I have big plans for the next year (along with the team of designers, developers, testers, open ed collaborators, and students working with me so far)!

Year 1 Review and Year 2 Plans

In Year 1 we:

Created an API (OERPub) for publishing OER to remixable repositories. The API is an adaptation of the popular SWORD API.
Implemented the API in Connexions, a repository anyone can use to create open textbooks and share learning materials.
Developed an importer for creating and publishing remixable OER to Connexions.
Formed a team of designers and developers using OERPub.

In Year 2 we plan to:

Work with specific OER producers and help them publish their content efficiently while making it remixable using the OERPub tools.
Create an easy to use visual editor for the importer to create a full service “Massive Content Enabler”.
Expand OERPub to include common APIs to make open assessment banks interoperable.

References

The complete plan

I am always looking for more people to get involved so if some aspect resonates with you, please get in touch.

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Exploring Native Land Rights in Sabah

Holly — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:56:00 +0000

Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a symposium entitled “Sabah Native Land Rights: Issues, Challenges and the Way Forward”. Chaired by Dr. Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan (UMS Kadazandusun Chair), it was hosted by the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) School of Social Sciences from 30-31 January in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The opening keynote was delivered by YAA Tan Sri Richard Malanjum (Chief Justice, High Court of Malaysia). Highlights of the paper presentations included:

Overview of Native Customary Land Laws in Malaysia (Dr. Ramy Bulan, Centre for Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Law, University of Malaya)

Governance of Customary Land and Natural Resources in Sabah (Datuk Osman Jamal, Director, Sabah Lands and Surveys Department)

Land Rights, Native Rights, and Human Rights (Tan Sri Simon Sipuan, Former Vice Chairman, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia)

Selection of Village Headmen in Sabah (Dr. Paul Porodong and Dr. Gaim Lunkapis, UMS)

As in many former British colonies, the legal landscape in Sabah consists of a mosaic of statutory, common, and customary law. Drawing on a burgeoning global jurisprudence in support of Indigenous peoples’ rights, many presenters called for greater legal pluralism, effective reform of decades-old legislations, and a national tribunal to address violations and the backlog of an estimated 300 000 native title applications.

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Weekly Update: Rufus Pollock – 30th January 2012

Rufus Pollock — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:17:08 +0000

2012-01-30

Availability

All week (in London Wednesday)

Last Week

Lots of CKAN
- Especially work on Recline Data Explorer. This is now fully functional and integrated into the DataHub, see e.g. this gold prices dataset
Work on BibServer and Public Domain Works and its Public Domain Calculators
Open Economics Hackday — it was great!
- Working on YourTopia code – clean rewrite in pure js
- Data wrangling: Economics datasets on the DataHub — up 10 in the last week
Post on Dreams of a Unified Text
Various administration

This Week

Some core admin, including getting a standard spreadsheet template for budgeting and (simple) tasks/todos
More on OKFN Labs with Tom Rees and others
CKAN work and planning
More work on YourTopia code with Open Economics team — hope to get it to the point where we can upgrade curr
ent YourTopia to new codebase
NESTA round-table on innovation on Wednesday
Talking at Data Insights meetup in Cambridge on Thursday

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Kalpavriksh Newsletter on Biodiversity and Livelihoods

Holly — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:39:00 +0000

The latest edition of People in Conservation, the newsletter of the Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group, focuses on biodiversity conservation and livelihood security. The introductory editorial carefully analyses current methods of agricultural production and concludes by arguing, “to avert a humanitarian crisis of major proportions, new agri-food systems (production and access to food) are desperately needed – to ensure food security for all as well as to do so in an environmentally sound way. Continuing to rely on fossil-fuel-based mechanized industrial production is not a possibility.”

Other articles examine the Indian National Biodiversity Authority’s decision to prosecute Monsanto for promoting BT brinjal in violation of the Biodiversity Protection Law, a critical analysis of India’s proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, and a report on the Lokpanchayat movement to protect local seeds.

Read the newsletter in English and in Hindi.

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Lamu Communities File Petition on Port

Holly — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:53:00 +0000

Lamu community members yesterday filed a legal petition at the Milimani Courts in Nairobi arguing that the Government of Kenya has violated several sections of the new constitution with its implementation of the proposed Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET). These violations include failing to provide information, consult the community, and carry out an environmental impact assessment. The case will be heard in Malindi on February 8th. Natural Justice is currently supporting the communities of Lamu in their calls for information and participation in the process and development of a biocultural community protocol (BCP).

The press statement prepared by the Chief Petitioner can be found here.

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Understanding Community-Based REDD+

Holly — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:06:00 +0000

As REDD+ programmes begin to be implemented at the community level by UNREDD and the World Bank, it is critical that communities are fully informed about the projects and the rights and protections mandated under REDD. In this complex context the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) have produced a fantastic resource for communities, ‘Understanding Community-Based REDD+: A Manual for Indigenous Communities.’

The manual ‘looks at REDD+ at the project level and tries to provide some guidance to finding answers toquestions like: How does REDD+ fit into the overall livelihood and forest management systemsof indigenous peoples? How does REDD+ work on the ground? What are the typical activities ofa REDD+ project? Who are involved in a REDD+ project? What are the particular knowledge andskills needed for implementing a REDD+ project? By assisting communities in finding answers to such questions, the purpose of this manual isto help indigenous communities acquire the knowledge and skills needed to take a decision onwhether to join a REDD+ project, and if they do, to be able to fully and effectively participate init.’

You can download the full manual here.

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