Digital Empowerment Foundation, House No# 44, 2nd & 3rd Floor, Kalu Sarai, Near Naraina IIT Academy, Sarai (2026)

01/04/2026

Register already!

We are back at the Learning Societies UnConference this year in Delhi NCR! Happening from 10 April to 13 April 2026 at Bennett University, Greater Noida.

We are bringing a lot of energy, fun, enthusiasm, curiosity, our creative skills, and so much knowledge and eagerness for learning and unlearning.

Join us and get a chance to visit the Museum of Digital Society, shop artisanal crafts from DigiKargha, and see and learn about the work of the Digital Empowerment Foundation. Along with that, participate in creative workshops curated around media and information literacy, circular economy, and understanding digital divides, all while playing games and making art!

Along with that, get a chance to meet the LSUC community, dance, sing, make art, and explore alternate ways of livelihood!

Register now at https://shikshantar.org/lsuc

23/03/2026

Whose citizenship counts?

In the article titled, "Whose citizenship counts? Transgender rights through India’s digital governance lens," Dr. Arpita Kanjilal and Osama Manzar highlight the structural gaps between constitutional guarantees and their translation into digital systems.

The Supreme Court’s NALSA judgment established the right to self-identification of gender. More recently, the Court has recognised digital access as integral to the exercise of fundamental rights to ensure inclusive digital public infrastructure.

However, current digital systems, across identity, welfare, and service delivery, often rely on rigid data frameworks that do not adequately accommodate gender diversity, resulting in barriers to access.

As Parliament considers key amendments today, transgender persons and communities have raised concerns that these changes are inconsistent with the principle of self-determination affirmed in NALSA, 2014.

This presents a critical governance challenge:

👉 How can exclusion risks be mitigated at the design stage of digital public infrastructure?
👉 Can identity frameworks remain both verifiable and inclusive?
👉 How can fundamental rights be consistently translated into digital systems?

Policy imperative:

Aligning recognition with system design requires flexible identity fields, interoperable databases, and rights-consistent verification processes to ensure that inclusion is built into implementation.

In an increasingly digital ecosystem, citizenship is mediated through systems, and their design will determine who is included in practice.

14/03/2026

A huge milestone for India’s last-mile digital empowerment and for Digital Empowerment Foundation.

Samriddh Gram, a Model for Phygital Service Delivery in India's Last Mile, will be inaugurated today in the presence of Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India.

Umri Village in Guna District, Madhya Pradesh is Digital Empowerment Foundation’s first people-centric DPI-enabled village in India. hashtag

The Samriddh Gram Pilot in Umri Village showcases how integrated services can drive socio-economic development in rural India through the Samriddh Kendra, a one-stop hub located in the Panchayat Bhawan that enables seamless delivery of both physical and digital services.

Using BharatNet connectivity, the centre brings together access to education and skilling, agriculture advisory, telemedicine and health services, e-governance, financial inclusion, e-commerce, and digital connectivity, ensuring that essential services reach citizens at the last mile.

Implemented by the Digital Empowerment Foundation in partnership with the Department of Telecommunications ( DOT ), Government of India, the initiative demonstrates how digital infrastructure combined with communities at the heart of digital design can translate into meaningful adoption of technologies and inclusive rural development.

DEF's framework for hashtag has the following foundational components:

1. People-centric
2. Government-led & Publicly Accountable Systems
3. Lived Realities of People at the Core
4. Meaningful, Last-mile Access
5. Affordability and Accessibility
6. Inclusivity in Design
7. Digital Access as a Public Good and Basic Right

This is just the beginning. Miles to go.

PhygitalServices DigitalPublicInfrastructure

08/03/2026

This International Working Women’s Day, we celebrate and honor the power of women in shaping the digital world.

At Digital Empowerment Foundation, we believe that when women lead in digital spaces, entire communities thrive. From grassroots digital entrepreneurs to women driving digital inclusion at the local level, your stories are inspiring agents of change.

DEF's 24 years of work with grassroots communities in India's last mile has taught us how breaking social and behavioral norms opens doors for women to lead digital transformation, build trust, and access rights and opportunities right in their communities.

Let us amplify women’s voices in tech, policy, and digital empowerment today and every day.

07/03/2026

Onwards to the International Working Women’s Day.

Digital Empowerment Foundation recognizes the resilience, skill, and invisible labour of women who sustain entire ecosystems of work, often without recognition.

In places like Seelampur, Delhi, women are at the heart of the informal e-waste economy. They carefully sort, dismantle, and recover materials from discarded electronics, work that supports families and fuels recycling systems, yet remains largely unseen.

As highlighted in Digital Empowerment Foundation’s report, “The Invisible e-Waste Economy of Seelampur,” many women in this sector balance a dual role: working long hours in challenging environments while also carrying the responsibility of caregiving and household labour. Their contributions power local economies, but their stories are rarely told.

This International Working Women’s Day, we reaffirm our commitment to:

🔹 Recognizing women’s labour in informal digital and recycling economies
🔹 Advocating for safer working conditions and fair opportunities
🔹 Amplifying voices of women whose work sustains communities
🔹 Building pathways for digital inclusion, dignity, and empowerment

True digital inclusion must also mean recognition, safety, and opportunity for the women who power these invisible economies.

07/03/2026

This International Working Women’s Day, we ask a critical question: Where is “We” in AI?

Women make up only ~30% of the global AI workforce and just 16% of AI research roles (UN Women, 2026). As AI reshapes the future of work and women’s jobs face greater exposure to automation (International Labour Organization, 2026), this gender gap is not just a social concern; it is a risk to building fair and inclusive technologies.

The divide begins much earlier. In rural India, only about 25% of women access the internet, and around 27% of adolescent girls own a smartphone (NFHS; ASER). This lack of digital ownership limits participation in the digital economy and financial independence.

This is especially critical when nearly two-thirds of beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, India’s flagship collateral-free loan scheme for micro-entrepreneurs are women. Yet without digital access and autonomy, many women entrepreneurs struggle to fully leverage financial opportunities and scale their businesses (GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report, 2025).

Research from UNESCO’s Women for Ethical AI (W4EAI) South Asian Chapter initiative warns that when women are missing from AI development, technologies can reinforce gender stereotypes and biases embedded in data, shaping systems that fail to represent half the world.

At Digital Empowerment Foundation, through the Just AI Initiative, we believe the future of AI is built from the ground up, with women as designers, developers, researchers, and decision-makers.

Because the future of AI cannot be built without half the world.

06/03/2026

Onwards to the International Working Women’s Day.

We celebrate and honor the women who are quietly transforming India’s digital future.

Across rural and underserved regions, women are stepping forward as digital leaders, bridging information gaps, enabling access to government services, and helping their communities participate in the digital economy.

Our publication “Reminder: Log In. Link Up. Light the Margins” by Manisha Aryal captures powerful field notes from India on SoochnaPreneurs—information entrepreneurs who are creating impact at the village level. Through digital tools and community trust, these women are becoming catalysts of inclusion and opportunity.

Their stories remind us that digital empowerment is not just about technology but about agency, access, and leadership.

At Digital Empowerment Foundation, we remain committed to supporting women at the grassroots who are lighting the margins and shaping a more inclusive digital society.

DigitalEmpowerment

05/03/2026

We are delighted to share that the Digital Empowerment Foundation, in partnership with Safetipin and Raahgiri Foundation, will be hosting a table at the upcoming public square.

: Haq. Nyay. Badlaav. — Representing Youth Voices on Public Spaces for International Women’s Day 2026.

is envisioned as a living public square where youth, police, urban planners, civil society organizations, corporates, and decision-makers come together to listen, reflect, and co-create ideas for safer and more inclusive public spaces, including the digital spaces!

The gathering will follow the World Café format, featuring interactive and rotating conversations that encourage open dialogue and collective reflection. At our table, we will discuss about digital rights and host interactive games and activities on misinformation, cyber fraud, and online safety!

Please join us this Friday, 6 March 2026, from 2:45 PM – 4:15 PM at the Epicentre – Indoor Art Exhibit Hall, Gurugram.

Kindly confirm your availability by registering at the following link:

https://lnkd.in/gznxRD_6

05/03/2026

Onwards to the International Working Women's Day.

What happens when a woman in a rural village becomes the go-to person for digital services?

A farmer learns how to access a government subsidy.
A student applies for a scholarship online.
A mother enrolls her family in a health insurance scheme.

And all of this happens without traveling miles to a government office. This is the reality created by SoochnaPreneurs — grassroots digital entrepreneurs shaping meaningful access in India's last mile.

What makes it even more interesting is that this model is now being studied in academic research.

A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science by Dr. Aindrila Chatterjee, Amit J. Chauradia, and Kiran Pedada examined rural microentrepreneurs working within the Digital Empowerment Foundation’s SoochnaPreneur ecosystem.

A recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science examined DEF’s SoochnaPreneur program across multiple rural districts in India. The findings were powerful:

Key findings:

- 40.8% increase in consumer acquisition in villages with women entrepreneurs
- 64.1% higher value delivered through welfare access and services
- Greater access for women who often hesitate to approach male service providers
- Even male entrepreneurs performed better in mixed-gender networks

The takeaway is simple but powerful:
When rural women become digital leaders, entire communities benefit through local leadership, trust, and community-driven entrepreneurship.

SoochnaPreneur InclusiveDevelopment RuralInnovation

03/03/2026

If AI is to truly serve half of humanity, it must be built for communities first.

At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, collaboration with convened a dialogue titled, “AI Commons for the Global South: Data, Models & Compute for Half of Humanity.”

For Digital Empowerment Foundation, this dialogue closely aligns with our approach to 'Just AI – Data & Algorithms for Communities', ensuring that AI systems are rooted in community realities, local knowledge systems, and equitable access to digital infrastructure.

Moderated by Rakesh Dubbudu, the panel brought together eminent speakers Jayesh Ranjan, P J Narayanan, Professor Amanda Brock, Osama Manzar and Sunil Abraham. The session explored how AI Commons can move beyond rhetoric to structural transformation.

Through the lens of the Just AI Initiative, key reflections shared by Osama Manzar included:

• Data from the Ground Up: Communities must not merely be data subjects but data stewards and co-creators.
• Algorithms with Accountability: AI systems deployed in the Global South must reflect local languages, contexts, and lived realities.
• Infrastructure Before Intelligence: Bridging last-mile digital divides is foundational to building meaningful AI ecosystems.
• Commons as Collective Power: Open, interoperable, and participatory AI frameworks can counter extractive digital economies.

The conversation reinforced that AI Commons is not simply about access to compute or models but is also about redistributing technological agency.

03/03/2026

Here’s to yet another critical dialogue on shaping accountable and context-driven AI futures.

"Reinforcements & Learning: Multistakeholder Convening on AI Governance" was convened by the Centre for Communication Governance and the Global Network Initiative, bringing together diverse global stakeholders to examine pathways toward responsible AI ecosystems. Digital Empowerment Foundation and its Just AI Initiative was honoured to join this important convening under the MAPAI Initiative and as part of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 satellite events.

Under the theme "Building Context-Driven AI Infrastructure", the workshop, "Lessons for Public Interest AI from Digital Public Infrastructure" reflected on how experiences from agriculture, health, and education can inform equitable AI governance frameworks.

Osama Manzar, Founder & Director, Digital Empowerment Foundation, featured as a speaker and contributed his insights on bridging grassroots digital divides, strengthening community-led digital ecosystems, and ensuring that AI systems are built upon inclusive and accessible infrastructure. He emphasized that meaningful AI governance must begin with meaningful access at the last mile.

Key Takeaways:

• Principles of interoperability, openness, and accountability in Digital Public Infrastructure provide foundational lessons for Public-Interest AI.
• AI policy must be grounded in socio-economic and institutional realities rather than abstract global templates.
• Embedding digital rights and democratic oversight is critical to preventing extractive or exclusionary AI systems.
• Cross-sector dialogue remains essential to aligning innovation with public interest.

We remain committed to advancing research-driven, community-rooted approaches to AI Governance that centre people, rights, and sustainability.

With esteemed co-chairs and speakers, Kay McGowan, Shashank Mohan, Mary Kerema,OGW, J. Carlos Lara Gálvez, Shikoh Gitau, Priit Turk, Amba Kak, and Markus B. Siewert.

01/03/2026

Embracing a 'glocal' approach to AI governance, let's connect the dots from global conversations to local realities, ensuring AI-driven growth benefits citizens in the last mile.

Digital Empowerment Foundation and its was honored to participate in a high-level panel convened by Windfall Trust during the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

Our Founder & Director, Osama Manzar emphasized on the importance of AI-responsive public policy, people-centric digital public infrastructure, and context-driven social protection systems, especially for the gig and platform workers, and that reflect Global South realities.

Osama Manzar and Adrian Brown co-authored a piece in Indian Express titled, "There’s a way to prepare for the Great AI Disruption - and India can show the way."

Infromed by diverse perspectives from co-panelists - Ambassador Thomas Schneider, Co-Director of International Affairs at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications Kô Goma, Ministry of Public Service Efficiency and Digital Transformation, Togo, Rebecca Finlay, CEO, Partnership on AI, Stella Luk, VP of Programs, GiveDirectly and Sambhav Jain, Managing Director & Partner, BCG - this session underscored the need for international cooperation to ensure AI-driven economic transformation strengthens institutions, protects the workforce, and advances equitable growth.

GlobalSouth InclusiveGrowth FutureOfWork IndiaAIImpactSummit

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