Tenth Meeting of the Governing Board Second SDC-NFP Coordinators Meet

Transcription

1 The (SDC), set up at NISCAIR (erstwhile INSDOC) for exchanging information among the member countries, has been functioning since January During , following activities were carried out at the : Tenth Meeting of the Governing Board The Tenth Meeting of the Governing Board of SDC was held on October The meeting was attended by all the members of the Governing Board except the member from Pakistan. The agenda included report on performance, programmes and budget for 2005, audited accounts for 2003 and progress report of Traditional Knowledge Task Force. The decisions of the meeting included approval of programmes and budget for 2005, conducting a workshop in Sri Lanka, celebration of Charter Year and recruitment of full-time professionals for SDC. Seen at the Governing Board meeting of SDC (from left): Smt Q. Khauam, GB member from Bangladesh; Shri V.K. Gupta, Director, SDC and NISCAIR; Shri P. Shah, Director, Secretariat; and Shri S.B. Sharma, GB member from Nepal Second SDC-NFP Coordinators Meet The Second Meeting of the National Focal Points Cell (SDC-NFP Cell) Coordinators was held at 86

2 NISCAIR on 6-7 May The meeting was attended by the Coordinators from Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka and India. Various issues concerning the SDC programmes for the year 2004 and 2005 were discussed during the Meet. Collection Development SDC has a modest collection of reports and documents produced in the region. The has acquired several new documents during 2004 which include reports of various international organizations. Training Courses A major activity of the is imparting training to the library and information professionals of the member countries. The emphasis of all training programmes is on effective utilization of information technology in library and information science. The training programmes conducted during the year are as follows: (a) Short-term Courses SDC-NFP coordinators meeting in progress The short-term training programme on Information Technology for Information Management is organized for a period of five weeks. This 87

3 year, two such programmes were conducted. The first programme, conducted during 26 April 2004 to 28 May 2004, was attended by 12 participants from India (1), Sri Lanka (1), Pakistan (1), Bangladesh (2), Maldives (2), Bhutan (2) and Nepal (3). The second programme, conducted during 20 September 2004 to 21 October 2004, was attended by nine participants from Bhutan (1), India (2), Maldives (2), Nepal (2) and Sri Lanka (2). (b) Attachment Training Programmes The Attachment Training Programmes on information management are organized for a period of three months. These programmes are specially designed to suit the specific needs and background of the trainees. During the year, two attachment training programes were conducted. The first programme commenced on 26 April 2004 and continued up to 23 July It was attended by seven professionals one each from the seven Member States. The second programme commenced on 20 September 2004 and continued up to 17 December Five professionals, one each from Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, attended. (c) Long-term Course Associateship in Information Science Since 1999, candidates from countries are being admitted to INSDOC s Associateship in Information Science (AIS), a Master s level programme in Library and Information Science. For the batch, two participants, one each from Maldives and Nepal joined in September 2003, completed their first year and left in August These participants after completing the first year of formal training are working on their dissertation in their respective countries. For the batch, one participant from Sri Lanka has been admitted and is undergoing formal training. Workshop on Library Automation The in association with the Ministry of Planning and National Development, Maldives, which is also the SDC s National Focal Point (NFP) in Maldives, organized a Workshop on Library Automation from 1 to 5 August

4 The workshop was inaugurated by the Minister of Planning and National Development, Mr Humdun A. Hameed. The five-day workshop comprised theory and practical sessions, wherein the participants had hands-on training on modern areas of information technology application in libraries. In all, seventeen participants from different nations participated in the workshop. Resource persons for the workshop were drawn from NISCAIR. The Director, SDC, gave a presentation on the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), which was attended by the Minister of Planning and National Development, Maldives, Ayurveda practioners, doctors and the media. On the concluding day, a formal feedback was obtained from the participants who rated the workshop very useful and suggested the need for more such workshops in future. The valedictory function was presided over by Mr Humdun A. Hameed, Minister of Planning and National Development and Ms Mariam Waheeda, former SDC GB Member, was the Chief Guest. Charter Day Celebrations The Charter Day was celebrated on 8 December Prof. Uma Singh, for South, Central, Southeast Asian & South-West Seen on the dais during Charter Day celebration at NISCAIR (from right) are: Dr Gian Singh, Scientist, NISCAIR; Prof. Uma Singh, School of International Studies, JNU; Shri O.N. Chaddha and Smt. Renu Arora, Scientists, NISCAIR 89

5 Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, gave a lecture on, its activities and contributions to the development of the region. Brochures and posters on were distributed to school children to create awareness about. Workshop on Creation of TKDL for Countries A major event during the year was a two-day workshop on Creation of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) for Countries, held at Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi, during December Organized by SDC in collaboration with NISCAIR, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), the workshop was attended by 11 delegates from member countries, viz., Bangladesh (2), Bhutan (2), India (3), Maldives (1), Nepal (1) and Sri Lanka (2). Mr Mikhail Makarov, Head, International Patent Classification (IPC) Division and Mr Shakeel Bhatti, Global Intellectual Property Issues Division, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), participated as the international resource persons. The key issues that were discussed included the Shri V.K. Gupta, Director, SDC and NISCAIR, delivering his address at the inaugural function of the workshop. Seated on the dais are Shri S.K. Banerjee, Additional Secretary, MHRD and Smt. Bela Banerjee, Joint Secretary, MHRD 90

6 creation of Legal and Policy Frameworks for Traditional Knowledge (TK) protection in countries and developing a Technical Framework for creation of TKDL for countries, and these emerged as the major recommendations of the workshop. Inaugurating the workshop, Shri Sudeep Kumar Banerjee, Additional Secretary, MHRD, said that protection of TK was a common interest of the region, and for this, a joint effort should be initiated by all countries. The keynote address by Dr R. A. Mashelkar, Director General (CSIR) (read in absentia), emphasized the defensive protection of TK through the unique approach of TKDL. He informed that the scope of documenting TK is being extended to include areas such as Traditional Foods, Traditional Architecture and Construction Technologies and Tribal Knowledge. Value addition is being done to the database on medicinal plants. Under the Components of Biodiversity Digital Library (CBDL), a collaborative effort of CSIR with Botanical Survey of India, approximately 22,000 plant species are being digitized. He also focused on the current developments at the international level, particularly, the efforts being made by India on inclusion of TK journals from the developing world in the PCT minimum list. Earlier, in her welcome address, Smt. Bela Banerjee, Joint Secretary, MHRD, emphasized that region is rich in genetic resources and TK and there is an urgent need to create both proactive and defensive protection mechanism for these. She cited TKDL developed by India as a good example of defensive protection, which could serve as a model for developing such digital databases in other countries. Nine sessions spread over two days had presentations by the resource persons from WIPO; Shri V. K. Gupta, Director, SDC and NISCAIR; and scientists, IT experts and TK experts from NISCAIR which addressed various issues such as: protection of traditional knowledge; classification of traditional knowledge; protection as applicable to different areas of traditional knowledge; role of TKDL in protection, preservation and wealth creation; evolving policy for TKDL for countries; capacity building for creation of TKDL for countries; and legal protection and practical planning for TKDL for countries. Presentations were also made by the delegates from the member states on TK existing in their respective countries and the legal protection, if available. 91

7 Mr Shakeel Bhatti and Mr Mikhail Makarov presented the recommendations finalized by two working groups on legal and policy frameworks for TK protection in countries and technical framework for creation of TKDL for countries, respectively. Mr Shakeel Bhatti Mr Mikhail Makarov Mr Chenkyab Dorji, Secretary General, Secretariat, Nepal, in a meeting with Shri V.K. Gupta, Director, SDC and NISCAIR (extreme left). Mr Dorji was accompanied by Mr V. Ashok, Joint Secretary (), MEA and Mr Rajiv Chander, Director, Secretariat, Nepal. Shri V. K. Gupta, Director, SDC and NISCAIR summarised the outcome of the workshop and expressed the hope that this workshop would act as a springboard for the initiation of creation of TKDL in the member countries. Secretary General visits SDC and NISCAIR Mr Chenkyab Dorji, Secretary General, Secretariat, Kathmandu, Nepal, visited SDC and NISCAIR on 17 March He was accompanied by Mr V. Ashok, Joint Secretary (), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and Mr Rajiv Chander, Director, Secretariat, Nepal. Shri V.K. Gupta, Director, SDC and NISCAIR, gave a brief presentation on the activities of SDC and NISCAIR and highlighted the achievements of the TKDL initiative. The Secretary General also visited the National Science Library of NISCAIR and was highly impressed by the vast collection and the available resources and facilities. He also saw the collection and other facilities at the SDC, and highly 92

8 appreciated the activities carried out by the, especially the HRD programmes conducted for professionals in the Region. SDC Website The website of the has been launched. It gives the profile and activities of SDC. It also provides details of forthcoming events. The website can be accessed at: New Co-ordinators at SDC As per the recommendations of the Tenth Governing Board, Shri S.K. Arora, Scientist F and Dr Archana Sharma, Scientist C have taken charge as Co-ordinator, SDC and Co-ordinator, SDC-NFP Cell, respectively w.e.f. 1 March