At the workshop titled "Communities Managing Community Knowledge", in October 2002 six Bangalore based NGOs were introduced to the concept of leveraging the Internet to manage information in a collaborative and inclusive manner.
The workshop included a theoretical introduction to Information and Communication Technologies and a hands-on session with the PANTOTO Communities Software. PANTOTO is an online community builder that allows user to create online support structures for communities.
At the workshop, Rema, a first time computer user, created an information management system. At the end of the workshop she was able to send a URL to a colleague who could post and view information that was being collected through a baseline survey of slums.
Addressing the workshop, Ms. Asha Prasanna Kumar said that allowing first time computer users to build application was a big step in taking ICT to the masses in India. She also added that for any project in the social development sector to be successful it is imperative to ensure participation and involvement and the PANTOTO Communities software was able to achieve this in a transparent and cost-effective manner.
