Chief Minister flags off Akshaya Janasevana Pracharna Yathra

Chief Minister flags off Akshaya Janasevana Pracharna Yathra

Trivandrum, November 9, 2010 – Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala Shri. V S Achuthanandan via web conference today flagged off the Akshaya Janasevana Pracharna Yathra from Kasargode. The ceremony held using the web hosting facility at IT@School premises in Trivandrum had the presence of Dr. Ajay Kumar, Principal Secretary – IT, Akshaya Director – Korath V Mathew, Anwar Sadath – IT@School Director and Kasargode District Collector Anand Singh IAS. Kasargode MLA, C T Ahmed Ali delivered the Presidential address from Kasargode Collectorate Compound.

The ceremony was witnessed by over 5000 people from the IT@School centres in all districts.

Inaugurating the function, Shri V S Achuthanandan said, “Today though Information Technology has grown leaps and bounds, only a small percentage is exploiting its capabilities. Realizing this, Kerala Government’s initiatives to take the benefits of IT to the masses is seeking realization through Akshaya. Akshaya has also been successful in providing direct and indirect employment to over 15,000 people. Kerala Government is now trying to introduce more Government to Citizen services (G2C) through Akshaya.”

Shri C T Ahmed Ali MLA delivering the Presidential address said that Akshaya established in 2002 as an e-literacy pilot project in Malappuram, has grown to be a 2000 strong network across the state and that Akshaya Janasevana Pracharna Yathra is an initiative to spread awareness of the Akshaya Citizen Service Centres across the state and the services offered. The dignitaries present at the function held Kasargode Collectorate Compound were Shri. K Kunjiraman MLA, Shri. K V Kunjiraman, MLA, Shri. Pallipram Balam MLA, and Shri H Kunjambu, MLA.

The vehicle from Kasargode reached Kannur. Shri V K Balakrishnan, Kannur District Collector received the vehicle. Kannur Muncipal Chairman M D Shreeja inaugurated the Akshaya exhibition at the Kannur Collectorate. Additional District Magistrate Sudheer Babu presided over the function. The function at Kannur was also attended by Akshaya District Coordinator Abdul Rajeeb, Akshaya Deputy Planning Officer Ramesh Kumar, PRD Deputy Director P P Chandran, District Information Officer Manoj. The exhibition reiterated that the services offered by Akshaya Centres across Kerala needs to be increased providing more employment.

From Kannur the yathra will move on to the other districts and culminate in Trivandrum on November 18, 2010 to celebrate Akshaya Day. The vehicle traversing all the districts will be stopping at various places spreading awareness on Akshaya and its services through street plays, distributing literature detailing its various services. The vehicle after starting from Kasargode will reach Kannur Collectorate Compound in the afternoon

About Akshaya

Akshaya is a landmark ICT project by the Kerala State Information Technology Mission to bring the benefits of this technology to the entire population of the State. It is instrumental in rural empowerment and economic development. It has opened over 2000 Citizen Service Centres across the State with at least two centres (e-Kendra) in every village Panchayat. Each e-kendra, set up within 2-3 kilometres of every household cater to the requirements of around 1000-3000 families to make available the power of networking and connectivity to common man. The project is a catalyst in creating massive economic growth and creation of direct and indirect employment in the State by focusing on the various facts of e-learning, e-transaction, e-governance etc.

Some of the services provided by Akshaya are:

· eLiteracy programmes

· Citizen Services

· Educational programmes

· e-Krishi

· Service and Payroll Administrative Repository of Kerala (SPARK)

· Online application of Ration Card

· Registration of BPL families under Health Insurance

· Unique Identification Number

· Collection of Yearly subscription of NRK Welfare Fund

· E-Grantz for SC/ST

For further information please contact Sajeev Kumar, Thought Factory (the official Public Relations company for Kerala IT) @ 94470 19669/Richy Alexander, Thought Factory @ 98474 16617

November 18, 2010 to be celebrated as Akshaya Day

November 18, 2010 to be celebrated as Akshaya Day

Akshaya Janasevana Pracharna Yathra organized from Kasargode to Trivandrum to spread awareness on the Akshaya activities

Trivandrum, November 8, 2010 – Kerala IT department’s ‘Akshaya’ initiative today announced that November 18, 2010 will be commemorated as Akshaya Day. This was announced at a press conference called by Korath V Mathew, Director – Akshaya. As part of the celebrations, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri. V S Achuthanandan on November 9, 2010 will flag off the ‘Akshaya Janasevana Pracharana Yathra’ through a video-conference.

Akshaya Janasevana Pracharna Yathra is planned as an initiative to spread awareness of the Akshaya Citizen Service centres across the state and the services offered by them for citizens. The Yathra will start its journey from Kasargode Collectorate Compound and traverse all the 14 districts, stopping at various places spreading awareness on Akshaya and its services through street plays, distributing literature detailing Akshaya’s various services. It will also stop at all the District headquarters for a seminar on Akshaya and its activities and will culminate at the State capital on November 18, 2010.

“Akshaya, an innovative project of KSITM launched in 2002 with the aim to bridge the digital divide through e-literacy, today has grown manifold to become an ICT initiative that brings the benefits of technology to the entire population of the State.” Said Korath V Mathew. “The vehicle traveling across the State will showcase the different services offered by Akshaya and how the e-world is transforming and ensuring all the citizen services offered by the Government is reaching to the grass root level.”

“Akshaya today is bringing in a lot of Government to Citizen (G2C) services to the grass root level in Kerala. With over 2000 Citizen Service Centres (CSCs), Akshaya is playing a key role in rural empowerment and economic development and is a catalyst in creating economic growth by creation of direct and indirect employment in the State by focusing on various activities of e-governance, e-learning, e-transactions, etc. Through this Yathra we aim to inform all the citizens about the services they will get from an Akshaya Centre near their house and urge them to avail the benefits of an Akshaya centre.” Said Korath V Mathew.

Special stalls will be set up in each district headquarters when the Yathra reaches the respective district for citizens to attend and understand the various services offered by Akshaya centres. The stalls will offer Akshaya services such as e-Payment, e-Filing, online application of Ration Cards, Registration of BPL families under Health Insurance, collection of subscription amount for NRK welfare fund, etc.

“On November 18, 2010 when the Yathra culminates in Trivandrum, we have a seminar showcasing Akshaya’s activities, future challenges and a presentation by our clients (other government departments). The celebrations will culminate with an awards ceremony for Akshaya entrepreneurs to recognize their contribution in the success of Akshaya.” Added Korath V Mathew.

At the flagging off ceremony, the presidential address will be delivered by Shri. C T Ahmed Ali, MLA and the felicitations will be delivered by Kasargode District Collector Shri. Anand Singh IAS, at the venue. The other dignitaries expected to be present at the venue are Shri. K Kunjiraman MLA, Shri. K V Kunjiraman, MLA, Shri. Pallipram Balam MLA, Shri H Kunjambu, MLA and Principal Secretary for IT Dr. Ajay Kumar. The inaugural ceremony of flagging off the Akshaya Janasevana Prajarana Yathra from Kasargode will be done through the video conference facility of IT@School from Thiruvananthapuram.

Akshaya Service Delivery Manager, Mr. K S Ramesh Kumar and Assistant District Coordinator for Kollam, Mr. Regi Thomlal as participated in the press conference.

About Akshaya

Akshaya is a landmark ICT project by the Kerala State Information Technology Mission to bring the benefits of this technology to the entire population of the State. It is instrumental in rural empowerment and economic development. It has opened over 2000 Citizen Service Centres across the State with at least two centres (e-Kendra) in every village Panchayat. Each e-kendra, set up within 2-3 kilometres of every household cater to the requirements of around 1000-3000 families to make available the power of networking and connectivity to common man. The project is a catalyst in creating massive economic growth and creation of direct and indirect employment in the State by focusing on the various facts of e-learning, e-transaction, e-governance etc.

Some of the services provided by Akshaya are:

· eLiteracy programmes

· Citizen Services

· Educational programmes

· e-Krishi

· Service and Payroll Administrative Repository of Kerala (SPARK)

· Online application of Ration Card

· Registration of BPL families under Health Insurance

· Unique Identification Number

· Collection of Yearly subscription of NRK Welfare Fund

· E-Grantz for SC/ST

Students from Nirmala Bhavan create the best animation film at the World Animation Day Workshop conducted by Toonz Academy

The first runner up is Christ Nagar HSS and Second Runner up is St. Roch’s
Convent School

Trivandrum, October 29, 2010 – Supriya D, Resmi L R and Ann Sara Abraham of Nirmala
Bhavan, have bagged the first prize for the best animation film they created at the World
Animation Day workshop conducted by Toonz Academy. The first and second runner ups have
been bagged by Christ Nagar HSS, Kowdiar (Jishnu B and Vishnu B) and St. Roch’s Convent,
Shangumugham (Rubina Rajabudeen and Jincy Joseph). The winners were announced at the
valedictory function held today at the Kesari Memorial Hall. Hon’ble Minister for Sports &
Youth Affairs, Shri M Vijayakumar gave away the prizes to the winners.

Toonz Academy had organized a one day workshop to celebrate World Animation Day on
October 27, 2010 where 60 students from 27 schools from Trivandrum district participated. The
students in groups of 2 to 3 were provided with a theme – ‘A Man in front of a Whale’ and
were asked to brainstorm on story ideas. The groups with the guidance of Toonz experts created
their own animation characters into 40 second films. 24 animation films were produced by these
students.

The animation films were screened at the valedictory function today. Renowned film editor
and director Sri. Arun Kumar awarded the certificates to all the students who participated in the
workshop.

Giving away the prizes, the Chief Guest Shri M Vijayakumar expressed his happiness in being
part of such an initiative where children were given the opportunity to give wings to their
creativity through a medium that is most liked by them – Animation. He also stressed on how
learning can be made interesting in schools by adapting animation as a way to communicate.

In his presidential addres, Toonz Academy President R K Nair said, ““We are immensely happy
to have conducted this workshop for children on World Animation Day. Animation today is
being used in all sectors and it is necessary that students understand the latest technology and
innovation in the animation field. The workshop was held solely with the objective to make them
understand the efforts behind making a good animation film. The enthusiasm displayed by these
60 students to learn every nuances of animation has given us immense satisfaction. We were
also astounded at the creativity these students exhibited and the stories they have created in the
process. Their enthusiasm and response to this workshop is a morale booster for us.”
Noted film editor and Director Sri Arunkumar, himself a graphics artist and 3D animator, gave
an expert talk on animation in movies which the participants found to be very informative. He
also shared his own personal experiences in animation, psot production and direction.
Mr Vinod AS, Academic Head of Toonz Academy talked, with the help of film footage, and
explained to the students how some of the spectacular scenes of famous movies were actually
made with the help of animation and special effects.

The ceremony was also attended by staff and students of participatory schools, and from Toonz
Academy.

____________________________________________________________________

For more information, please contact Anupa Vasudevan or Nibin Oommen, Thought Factory @
2438768 / anupa@thoughtfactorypr.com, nibin@thoughtfactorypr.com

TCS IT WIZ Quiz for Students

The TCS IT Wiz , Tata Consultancy Services’ IT quiz for students will be held on 29th September at IMA House, Kaloor.

This nation wide contest has already completed regional rounds conducted in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Pune, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. After Kochi, further rounds will be held at Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai.

The quiz is open to school students from Classes 8 to 12 . There is no entry fee and each institution can send multiple teams of two members each. The winning teams from the 12 regional rounds will compete for the national championship at the finals in December.

The quiz will focus on application of information technology across various sectors, including the Internet, IT buzzwords, acronyms, personalities, companies, brands, software products and areas where IT has made an impact such as education, entertainment, multimedia, gaming, banking and music.

Entries through the respective institutions should reach TCS on or before September 27th at TCS IT Wiz Quiz Coordinator, Tata Consultancy Services, Tejomaya, L&T Tech Park Ltd, Infopark Campus, Kusmagiri PO, Kakkanad, Kochi.

Phone: 0484 6618081 or 91 9495779260).

First Indo-Latin American animation venture ‘Gaturro’ tops box office in Argentina

Technopark-based Toonz Animation's 3D animated feature film ‘Gaturro’ has topped the box office figures in Argentina a week in to its premiere on 9^th September. Released both in normal 3D format and in stereoscopic format the Spanish version of the movie received wide spread appreciation from all quarters of the industry. The 90-minute film, a product of Indian creativity and technology combined with Argentinean humor and imagination has been co produced with Illusions Studios Argentina, at a cost of USD 7 million.(Rs.32 Crore)

Based on the famous Argentinean cartoon strip, the 3D animated film brings to screen, the life of ‘Gaturro’ the cat, whose love for his neighboring cat Agatha constantly gets him into trouble. Hollywood, glitz, and glamour throw the adorable cat, with a little help from his furry pals, into a wild journey that ultimately leads to the realization that true love is all about being your real self. Created by cartoonist Cristian Dzwonik (“Nik”), the comic has been published in more than 30 books, magazines and comic volumes and has become a phenomenal success across Latin America. “Gaturro” includes not only the love story between the two cats, but also an entire universe of fellow pets and humans that expands the franchise of characters.

“We are thrilled at this phenomenal response. After getting good reviews at this years’ Cannes, we had a gut feeling that the movie would do well. We had tried really hard to make it technologically at par with the best and also with an equally good story line. Plans are on to release the English and Hindi version in India by January next year” says P. Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Animation India.

The world-wide distribution of the movie is done by the Oscar winning Voltage Pictures. A universe of amazing characters, a high visual impact 3D production and a captivating and amusing story make up an adventure providing fun for the whole family.

ThoughtFactoryPR: Indian PR firms yet to jump on the social media ba...

ThoughtFactoryPR: Indian PR firms yet to jump on the social media ba...: "Let me start with New Marketing Labs President Mr. Chris Brogan’s quote “The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about posi..."

Indian PR firms yet to jump on the social media bandwagon

Let me start with New Marketing Labs President Mr. Chris Brogan’s quote “The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about positioning, and social media is about becoming, being and improving.” Yes that is what we are going to witness soon in India. Social media is not a media. It is a platform to listen, engage, and build relationships. And I doubt how many of us really make use of this new generation networking platform.
Ivy Ledbetter Lee, one of the founders of public relations had very good reasons to establish that PR can influence the world. It took time for many of the kosher lobbyists and PR brains in India to realize the possibility of PR in all aspects of life. Indian PR firms have been following the conventional mode to get the maximum visibility for their clients though the methods are obsolete. Now it is the time for adopting different tactics; and undoubtedly Social Media is the new platform for effectual Public Relations, which is yet to be explored. The India PR enterprises should try the Soicial Media tool which is absolutely cost efficient than any other PR practices. Let’s have a discussion about this next generation PR dynamism.

Press Releases and Social Media
Wiki says one anecdote on an origin of modern press releases is about an incident in 1906 involving Ivy Lee. Lee's public relation agency was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had just fallen victim to a tragic accident in which 53 people died. Ivy Lee convinced the company to issue the first press release to journalists, before other versions of the story, or suppositions, could be spread among them and reported. He used a press release, in addition to inviting journalists and photographers to the scene and providing their transportation there, as a means of fostering open communication with the media.
Presently press releases are running the shows. PR professionals have been pushing their level best to get an utmost visibility for their press releases, however all these practices are utterly conventional methods of pitching. Social media can give a better acceleration for your stories (provided the release should be newsworthy). However data is pertinent for each press release and while using social media the PR practitioners should be aware of what to give and what omit.
Social media can really rejuvenate the press releases. It is an effective distribution channel and the reach will be umpteenth times better. Twitter, Facebook, Linked in and blog all can fortify your efforts. Before trying these practices you should have brevity. Suppose some journalists can not join the press conference the Youtube link of the client’s spoke person byte can actually facilitate the journalists. Lets have a look how Social Media Pres Release Works.
It is really hard to get social media community interested in traditional releases. Always consider the end user to ensure singular focus in a social media release. You need to have a blog platform which publishes only valid as well as relevant news. It is necessary to creat a story angle first and then publish your post. . Remember not to waste reader’s time, therefore each sentence should be informative and short. Headlines needs to be catchy. If you follow these steps, you will gain traffic to your blogs. Pitching Journalist using Social Media Pitching stories to a journalist through social media is an effective method with better response. Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, blogs let you know large number of journalists whom you can really be in touch. Pitching a journalist will not be happen instantly, you have to comprehend the journalist before you contact. The most pertinent factor is creating a fostering relationship with the journalists. Social media can undoubtedly fortify the rapport. New generation PR experts say that “Journalists like being helped rather than they like being pitched.” After all effective communication is necessary and social media can enhance the communication between Journalist and PR through blogs, online forums and discussions.
The journalist fraternity is very much active in blogging; your comments and retweet to the journo’s content is always good, adding their stories to your FB, Linkedin, and Twitter pages will be a good idea.
Edify your clients about social media
I believe the Indian PR practitioners should enlighten the clients about the gamut of social media. Perhaps we are lacking an effective communication between the PR professionals and corporate folks. Creating discussion group and survey in Linked In or in facebook, RSS feeds can actually facilitate your clients to get a maximum visibility. Regular client updates through social media will certainly give a good impetus among the multitude abruptly. Incredibly it will not charge you to an extent. Check how much time you can spend daily for social media. Above all if you can make your clients a little proactive in social media as a tool of dominant marketing strategy obviously that makes you the real generation-next Public Relation professional.
Connecting the PR world
People say that when you network you are your client. If you are in the PR world at least you should communicate efficiently. Social media is the only contrivance that enhances live interaction anytime across the globe. It is all about how you can market yourself or your firm. Networking is an inevitable part in public Relations; also keep the rapport with other PR professionals. Linkedin and Facebook is a real time avenue for social networking. Learning from others will always benefit, for that you need to actively participate in the online discussions and forums. Before I conclude let me say, the new generation PR pros have been realised that social media is a platform for non-stop networking and innumerable opportunities. Now get your works done swiftly using this breakthrough innovation. Let’s start clicking the opportunities.