We would like to announce that the application period is extended to Saturday, April 10.
Information on applying for Mekong ICT Camp.
Also if you need invitation letter for visa application to visit Thailand, please do contact neriga [at] tff.or.th immediately. Visa application process may takes long time.
TechCrunch just published a nice article on “How to Build Engaging One-of-Kind Facebook Fan Pages”. It shows limitations of Facebook, and techniques and tools to get around and make use the full potential from Facebook.
TechCrunch is a blog company that profiles startup companies, products and websites. You can get up-to-date with the latest development in the Internet and social media industries from TechCrunch.
Follow @TechCrunch on Twitter.
Social change is usually starts with the questions to the norm, the typical, the status quo, the non-question parts, the ‘normal’. One of the interesting techniques that we can use to spark the question is culture jamming.
Culture jamming, a tactic used by many consumer social movements, is a mechanism in which an activist attempts to disrupt or subvert mainstream cultural institutions or corporate advertising. Culture jamming is often seen as a form of subvertising.
Many culture jams are simply aimed at exposing questionable political assumptions behind commercial culture so that people can momentarily consider the branded environment in which they live.
Culture jams re-figure logos, fashion statements, and product images to challenge the idea of “what’s cool,” along with assumptions about the personal freedoms of consumption.
Culture jamming is usually employed in opposition to a perceived appropriation of public space, or as a reaction against social conformity.
Culture jamming sometimes entails transforming mass media to produce ironic or satirical commentary about itself, using the original medium’s communication method.
Adbusters is a popular magazine/website on culture jamming.
Last week we went to Chiang Mai surveying venues for BarCamp Chiang Mai 3+Mekong.
Here are the photos from Media Arts and Design space, Chiang Mai University, in which we are under investigation if it possible to use this as the venue / or does there other possibilities available to us.
The space is on ‘cafe district’, Nimmanhaemin road (map). It is possible to have one hall, four session rooms (three on 2nd floor, another on 1st floor), an open space outside building, and a rooftop of the building.
Rooftop, with cinema screen, BBQ-friendly
Open space, has bar
Stair way
Hall
Room 1 (lecture)
Room 2 (lab)
Room 3 (common)
Sitting corner, hall way
Help spread the words about the camp to your local hacker-, journalist-, and social worker communities, with this handy A4 flyer (PDF) 
hashtag: #mekongict
With a lot of requests, we decided to make the application criteria more open geographically. Participants are now welcome from EVERY countries and territories. We believe that experiences from participants outside Mekong will further benefits Mekong campers.
On proportion, about 60 participants will be selected from Mekong (the number is unchanged), another additional 5-10 will be selected from outside.
On sponsorship, FULL sponsorships are available for people from Mekong sub-region (areas in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam). This also includes people who are originally from elsewhere but currently working in projects that related to developments of Mekong.
Small numbers of PARTIAL sponsorships (camp fee and accommodation, but not travel cost) are available for people from outside Mekong.
Application deadline is March 31, 2010.
Inquiry about applications should be directed to Neriga Yakaew – neriga (at) tff.or.th
Application Form: Download application form in OpenDocument format (.odt) or in Microsoft Word format (.doc)
There are thirteen questions. Please answer every questions clearly, otherwise the application will not be reviewed. Indicate your financial needs in the application form.
Send the completed form, in plain text format, to apply (at) mekongict.org.
Please spread the words around More info at http://mekongict.org/apply
Building a very beautiful website or a very cool community space that very few people can access to is of no point. That’s why we have to have universal design
in mind from the start. From Wikipedia:
Universal design refers to a broad-spectrum solution that produces buildings, products and environments that are usable and effective for everyone, not just people with disabilities.
It emerged from “barrier-free” or “accessible design” and “assistive technology” and recognizes the importance of how things look. For example, while built up handles are a way to make utensils more usable for people with gripping limitations, some companies introduced larger, easy to grip and attractive handles as feature of mass produced utensils. They appeal to a wide range of consumers.
In the Web context, W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works with organizations around the world to develop strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. BBC’s Future Media Standard & Guidelines also provide comprehensive guidelines to accessibility (designed for their websites, but applicable to yours as well).
Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University outlines the principles of universal design, these principles are broader than those of accessible design:
The authors, a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers, collaborated to establish the following Principles of Universal Design to guide a wide range of design disciplines including environments, products, and communications.
A good piece on universal access to information and information technology, as fundamental rights, from the Center for Internet and Society India: India Needs Policy Formulation for IT and Web Accessibility. While some measures are already deployed by the Indian government to ensure universal access to information, the article highlights that current laws and policies are already outdated and not tailored for this very age of the Internet. As a result, it failed to accommodate universal and equal access for every citizen, and leave many of them from the participation in the Internet.
Read more on Wikipedia for universal design and web accessibility.
