From UNESCO Communication and Information Division:

UNESCO launches Open Access Curricula for Researchers and Librarians 

Within the overall framework of UNESCO Strategy on Open Access to scientific information and research and to take forward UNESCO’s leadership role in diffusing knowledge amongst its Member States, UNESCO has developed a set of manuals to facilitate capacity building of library and information professionals and researchers.

The development of the modules has been undertaken very carefully and the development process covered diverse opinion in the subject area, and in consultation with more than 50 experts to include diversity and expertise from the developing south. Read more HERE

 

Health News from Reuters

India slashes health budget, already one of the world's lowest

The government has ordered a cut of nearly 20 percent in its 2014/15 healthcare budget due to fiscal strains, putting at risk key disease control initiatives in a country whose public spending on health is already among the lowest in the world.
Two health ministry officials told Reuters on Tuesday that more than 60 billion rupees, or $948 million, has been slashed from their budget allocation of around $5 billion for the financial year ending on March 31.
Despite rapid economic growth over the past two decades, successive governments have kept a tight rein on healthcare expenditure. India spends about 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on public health, compared to 3 percent in China and 8.3 percent in the United States. Read more HERE

UN to declare June 21 as World Yoga Day: Swaraj 

 

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) The United Nations will soon declare June 21 as World Yoga Day following a proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.

"Three months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the world community that India's yoga should be celebrated as World Yoga Day. I am happy to inform you that we have received support of 170 nations and four days from today, the United Nations will declare June 21 as the World Yoga Day," Swaraj said at a function in the presence of yoga guru Ramdev.

Addressing the 'Gita Prerna Mahotsav', organised "to celebrate 5,151 years of religious book Gita" at the Red Fort Maidan here, the senior BJP leader said that yoga is not merely an exercise, but a road to prosperity and good health.

During his visit to the United Nations in September this year, Modi had urged the world community to celebrate Indian yoga at the international level and that June 21 be declared as the World Yoga Day. Read more HERE

Source: PTI

ICLAM 2014 : Conference  Report

The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in collaboration with the Government Information and Official Publications section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)  and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) organizined the second international conference of the series titled International Conference on the Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museums (ICLAM) in New Delhi from 27th to 29th November, 2014. The conference theme was Innovative Ideas, Technologies and Services. In the 21st century the core issue in memory institutions, i.e., libraries, archives and museums, is innovative applications of digital technologies in all the spheres of activities ranging from management to collaboration. Technological innovation is vital to reinforce the  roles of libraries, archives and museums in promotion of formal and informal learning. However, innovations - whether internal or external, radical or incremental - are not growing with the pace as it should. Critical changes are taking place in paradigms and products in libraries, archives and museums. On the basis of deliberations on various aspects of innovation the conference suggested effective strategies for creating sustainable culture of innovation in institutions in managing scientific and cultural heritage resources.

 
ICLAM 2014 organized the Pre-Conference Workshop on  (i) Open Educational Resources for Libraries on 26 November 2014 by Dr. Sanjaya Mishra, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, New Delhi. Open Educational Resources (OER) have emerged as a new wave in the field of teaching and learning. While OER emerged during the same time at that of the Open Access (OA) movement, it has made significant strides. New publications models are also emerging due to easy availability of platforms and technologies supporting open dissemination of knowledge resources. However, understanding of open licensing and copyright issues are still challenging for many. This workshop was the primer on OER, and focussed on discussing what, why and how of OER in the context of the roles performed by Library and Information Professionals

(ii) Institutional repository using DSpace by Mr. Manoj Kumar K., Scientist D  INFLIBNET Centre, Infocity, Gandhinagar, Gujarat

ICLAM 2014 covered a wide spectrum of talks ranging from  Open Access Scholarly Information by Leslie Chan, OASIS; LAM in the digital shift by Rolf Källman, Head of Department, Digisam, The National Archives of Sweden, Stockholm Community Engagement through Digital Innovation -- Dr. Ceri Gorton, Cultural Development Manager, Oxford City Council, UK
Disaster Management for GLAM sector from archivist from Artlab, Australia - Heather Brown, Artlab, Australia, Social Media and Social Networks: innovative applications by Osama Manzar, Founder & Director Digital Empowerment Foundation, New Delhi; Let the knowledge go around : reimagining GLAM through the lens of openness by T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director,Access to Knowledge, The Centre for Internet & Society, Bengaluru. There were many more interesting talks by Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director INFLIBNET Centre, Infocity, Gandhinagar, Gujarat,  Dr. RK Chadha, Additional Secretary, Parliament Library, New Delhi, Dr. S.Majumdar, Librarian, IIC, New Delhi, Prof. Laxman Rao, UGC Emeritus Fellow, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Dr. Gayas Mukhudumi, University Librarian, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, Dr PR Goswami, Director, IGNCA, Dr. R.K Sharma, Librarian, UNIC, New Delhi and Dr. Ramesh C Gaur, Librarian JNU, N. Delhi. In the conference were present several eminent professionals-.. and papers  covered in the conference were engaging too. The new concepts that I learned were Internet of Things (IoT),...... overall the  conference provided a stimulating environment for discussions imbued with eclecticism among theorists and practitioners representing various stakeholders and diverse schools of thought from different parts of the world.

Gates Foundation announces world’s strongest policy on open access research

Read more at : Bill & Melinda Gates foundation