International Journal of Education and Development using ICT

International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 1, No. 4 (2005)

Profiting from empowerment? Investigating dissemination avenues for educational technology content within an emerging market solutions project

Payal Arora, Columbia University, USA

Abstract
The "Stills in Sync" (SIS) venture was initiated by PlanetRead, the implementing non-profit agency, in partnership with Hewlett-Packard (HP), a global information and technology company. It’s multi-media product is designed to enhance literacy in rural India through the revival and proliferation of popular regional folksongs with social awareness themes. This product is an offshoot of the Same Language Subtitling initiative that won the World Bank Development Marketplace Award in 2002 the 'Tech Laureate' honor from the Technology Museum of Innovation in 2003. In this paper, I explore the multiple trajectories for the scaling of this product within HP's inclusive community in Kuppam. HP embraced Kuppam as it’s social and economic laboratory with the idea of creating new markets through the strategic deployment of technologies while "furthering the goal of being a model corporate citizen" (WBCSD, 2005). Of particular concern here is the negotiation between profit generation and social action for sustainable reform.

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