Universal declaration of human rights (video)

Lovely video on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Hollywood meets the UN!
Hopefully this gets the message across in a complementary way to the earnest persuasion of politicians and activists.
I love the comment on YouTube: "where can we sign...".

Digital versus paper

I've no doubt digital content will displace a lot of paper in the long run in many areas, though paper will remain viable for specialist applications. Digital devices will also be a plaything of the wealthy for many years but, like mobile phones, will eventually find their way into the hands of those who need them.

At Frankfurt bookfair this year, the UN Environment Programme is not handing out the usual printed catalogues, but instead providing a bamboo memory stick with sample publications (all of their publications are now free online). Trade fair visitors love such things. A memory stick is much more portable than a mound of documents. Of course there are trade-offs. Some of the documents on the stick will likely be printed on a myriad of inkjets and laser printers, less efficiently than a central print run. Yet, only those who want them will print - removing the guess work for the publisher.

Digital reading devices - Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, iRex - are fantastic. E-ink screens are easy on the eyes and you can hold dozens of publications for the weight of one paperback. Students rejoice! They are also connected: through WiFi and other options you could foreseably update your reading list on the fly.

These are book-shaped devices. There are also large, flexible screens being developed which are better suited for newspaper and magazine reading. Plastic is not the friendliest material but, being hardy, they benefit from relative longevity.

These gadgets may lack the tactile nature of print publications, but digital natives are unlikely to miss the filthy hands of a newspaper reader. This won't only be an issue for consumers, however. Publishers will need to find a viable way to support the format. I suspect that if Amazon and Sony were to open up their devices, so that people could simply read any content, then we could see mass adoption very quickly. Of course there would be piracy (of the type that has made MP3 players a phenomenal success), but there would also be terrific scope for self-expression; blogs as the new podcasts?!

Open Access Day promotes communication

Few things could promote communications for devlopment more effectively than free and open access to knowledge.
Open Access Day and Open Access Week are an effort by the Public Library of Science, PLoS, to encourage bloggers to demonstrate their commitment to the open access movement, and promote the cause through word of mouth.
Open access is an antidote to the regulatory nightmare of digital rights management, over-zealous copyright legislation and ludicrous patenting terms which turn artists and thinkers - or their employers and publishers - into profiteers, and audiences and collaborators into 'consumers'.
Open access is a cause célèbre among many scholars whose ultimate objective is to connect with others, rather than earn profits. It is a cause to itself, but also a major challenge to the publishing industry which is still trying to iron out the wrinkles (or simply resist, in the hope that it will fail). Publishers and other intermediaries argue that they need to get paid for quality assurance, production and marketing. However, digital search and electronic archives are challenging traditional, paper-based publishing models just as digital downloads are forcing music publishers and movie makers to review the way they do business.
People who want to access knowledge will value easy access, especially if they do not have to pay. But publishers warn that there might be less quality material available if the free and direct model takes over. In fact, they want to be able to charge for 'value' of easy access, such as searchable archives.
The rapid growth of peer to peer communities such as Facebook and (earlier) MySpace show that information exchange can blossom without concern for quality or accuracy. However, the boom in Wikipedia and similar publications also points to the potential for generating timely, accurate and insightful knowledge with minimal costs to readers. That has to be good news for the development community.

2011: Visit Open Access Week
Earlier: Open Access News blog