http://www.iiitmk.ac.in/~choppell/events/wireless-2006 (I was asked to pass this info. pass it on to your kerala friends)

Connected, Unplugged and Free Workshop on Wireless Networking Hosted and Boosted by the Community December 1st and 2nd, 2006 Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management -- Kerala Technopark, Trivandrum, Kerala 695 598, India

Sponsors:

* SPACE Kerala * IEEE Kerala Section * Computer Society of India

Venue: IIITM-K, Nila, Technopark, Trivandrum, Kerala 695 581, India Printable pdf copy of this announcement Introduction

A hands-on workshop on Community Wireless Networking is being organized on 01-02, Dec. 2006 at IIITM-K, Nila, Technopark. The workshop will have a hands-on session on building community networks, with people sharing their experiences, current developments, challenges and emerging opportunities in the area of community wireless networking. The inspiration for this workshop is the Air Jaldi Summit held at Dharamsala, India in October 2006 http://summit.airjaldi.com. Community Wireless

With wireless networking technologies breaking the barriers of distance and cost, it is now feasible to network communities with meshed networks that span towns and villages, with each node doing their bit to add to the network. This gives rise to the possibility of developing networked communities without the dependence on service providers and hosted by the community, for the community. Kerala and Community Networking

Kerala is ideally suited for propagation of such networks due to its unique nature of having a ``rural - urban continuum'' and there being practically no place without human habitation within a kilometre of distance. Such networks, hosted and boosted by the community, could be the easiest and most cost effective way to go forward for developing urban and rural networks. Who can attend

Anyone! Participation is specially encouraged from students, teachers, activists, technologists, and government officials and policy makers.

Participation at the workshop is expected from several presenters from Europe and North America, many of whom are part of the WSFII (World Summits on Free Information Instrastructures) community and who were also at Air Jaldi. Registration

Please register for the program by sending an e-mail to Venkatesh Choppella choppell_AT_iiitmk.ac.in or Amarnath Raja amar_AT_inapp.com with the subject line: Community Wireless Workshop Registration Fee

A registration fee of Rs. 200 will be collected at the venue to cover the cost of lunch and refreshments for both days. Tentative list of Speakers

* K R Srivathsan (IIITM-K and SPACE, India) * Amarnath Raja (IEEE Kerala and SPACE, India) * T B Dinesh (Servelots and Janastu, India) * Rene Ejury (University of Rostock, Germany) * Fred Pook (Magip, Goa, and Los Net, Holland)

Schedule of Events Schedule Day Time Event Fri, Dec 1 9:30am-10am Registration 10am-12noon Tutorial on Community Wireless 2pm-5:30pm Field/Hands-on session Sat, Dec 2 9:30am-12noon Case Studies and Sharing of Experiences in networking communities: From Europe/Africa/US/Goa -- from visitors From India (Akshaya, Nagapattinam, Pantoto, IIITM-K) 2pm-5:00pm Brainstorming Session: Challenges and opportunities in networking communities with wireless.