Created out of a deep understanding of the global digital divide, New Delhi based Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) is a not-for-profit that has been tirelessly working for digital inclusion across the world and in particular India, South Asia and the Asia Pacific region since its inception in 2002.
DEF’s mission is to use ICT and digital tools to bridge the digital divide and empower underserved and information-dark communities in such a way as to create a digital age, post-industrial global society where all people on Planet Earth have access to information, knowledge and services at all times and at all places.
Working with a multi-stakeholder approach to end all kinds of inequality and create a more inclusive global society, DEF has so far set up over 1,000 digitally empowered entities in India and abroad impacting more than a million people and a network of more than 5,000 grassroots NGOs/CBOs/CSOs who in turn have digitally impacted more than a billion people across the world by helping them to cross the border and enter the information age.
Apart from its various programmes, DEF has also launched various Awards such as The Manthan Award South Asia and Asia Pacific, the mBillionth Award South Asia, e-NGO Challenge, Social Media for Empowerment Award South Asia and Asia Pacific.
These awards identify and recognise innovations and best practices that help to ensure more extensive use of ICT and digital tools for socio-economic development and empowerment of the masses, especially marginalised communities.
Vision
To make the digital revolution reach the masses so as to create even opportunities for and linkages between the haves and have-nots of society in a way that empowers the poorest of the poor and all marginalised, information-dark communities and there is a two-way flow of knowledge, goods and services between the mainstream economy and the grassroots level urban/rural economy through use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and digital media.
Mission
To constantly empower people, especially marginalised and information-dark communities, by (a) providing them access to the Internet and making them digitally literate, (b) raising awareness about their rights and entitlements and giving them the voice to demand better governance, better delivery of government services and better protection of their basic human rights, (c) enabling them to access better health, education, skilling and livelihood opportunities, (d) allowing them to access new markets through website presence and e-commerce, (e) ensuring protection of their culture, heritage, environment and natural resources, (g) creating a knowledge network of digital practitioners and database of effective ICTD innovations and interventions so that these innovations and interventions can be scaled up and partnerships can be forged for using them according to specific socio-economic developmental needs and (h) advocacy and activism to ensure access for all to the Internet as a basic human right and more extensive use of ICT and digital tools for development.
DEF launched the Soochna Seva program in January 2014 with an aim to spread awareness about existing public schemes amongst the deprived sections of the society and enable them to derive benefits from the same. The program was founded with an intention of strengthening the Public Schemes Information (PSI) delivery and entitlement system to address larger issues of poverty, rural development, social exclusion and inequity of marginalized groups through information empowerment. This initiative is further expected to strengthen the governance structure at district administration level and below.
The Soochna Seva program has been deployed to run an integrated information services delivery and citizen entitlement framework in five specified BRGF (Backward Region Grant Fund) districts in India, in six key areas of Education, Health, Livelihood, Employment, Financial Inclusion, and Social Security. The level of operation for the program is at the district administration level and below (blocks and Panchayats).
The key achievement during this period has been raising the level of awareness on various government schemes and entitlements to the communities and building a relationship with various stakeholders. Given below is a snapshot of our achievement with respect to the target in the year 2014.
Osama Manzar
Country Director, Delhi
Syed Kazi
Project Director, Delhi
Abdul VahidChoudhary
Project Officer, Delhi
Saurabh Srivastava
Graphic Designer
Balaji Madiq
Senior Project Executive
The Soochna Seva program has been deployed to run an integrated information services delivery and citizen entitlement framework in five specified BRGF (Backward Region Grant Fund) districts in India, in six key areas of Education, Health, Livelihood, Employment, Financial Inclusion, and Social Security. The level of operation for the program is at the district administration level and below (blocks and Panchayats).
The key achievement during this period has been raising the level of awareness on various government schemes and entitlements to the communities and building a relationship with various stakeholders. Given below is a snapshot of our achievement with respect to the target in the year 2014.
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| *The Others category include availing of documents such Aadhar card, birth certificate to avail benefits of Schemes. This category does not include any schemes. |
District-wise achievements are given below. |
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Below are the state-wise summaries Financial Inclusion, Social Security, Health, and Others. |
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| Figure 2.1 (a) – shows state wise number of beneficiaries registered and availed the benefits under Financial Inclusion. |
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| Figure 2.1 (b) – shows state wise number of beneficiaries registered and availed the benefits under Social Security |
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Digital Empowerment Foundation
House No. 44, 2nd & 3rd Floor (Next to Naraina IIT Academy)
KaluSarai, (Near IIT Flyover)
New Delhi – 110016