Computer Association of Nepal - USA

Thank you all of our dedicated networking event patrons!  Please read the note below and click on the links to learn a lot more about the topics.

 

July 8^th, 2010 meeting was very lively and engaging.  We had an insider view of Nepal Research and Education Network (NREN) from our guests Kishor Panth and Prashant  Manandhar who are active volunteers for Nepal Wireless Project and work very closely with Mahabir dai.  Together with other volunteers like Gaurab Upadhyay, they help out technically to bring the internet to villages.  They explained that the wireless projects in the villages are successful because the projects are requested by the villagers themselves and partly maintained by villagers as well.  This is perfect example of how organically grown projects can be sustained instead of projects brought over by foreign donation without paying attention on how to empower locals with ownership of the projects.

 

It was also eye opening for us that the project processes of Nepal Wireless project are now streamlined, equipments are standardized, towers used are permanent and the network is maintained in a consistent manner since last year.  So, today if a village is determined to bring internet in their village (Library, VDC, School, Office, and Banks etc.) a blueprint of the project is available to get it done quickly.

Highlight of the discussion concentrated on how the NREN (45MBPS connectivity) can be used by the projects dearest to CAN-USA and other professional organizations:

 

·         Disaster Preparedness

·         Tele-Medicine

·         Open University for Nepal (OUN)

 

Kishor ji emphasized that the CAN-USA should continue the Networking events and also have frequent brainstorming sessions with Nepal counterpart in a regular basis which will have a high impact.

 

The Networking event concluded with the following remarks:

 

1.        Next Bay Area networking event will continue on 3^rd Thursday of the month (August 19^th) but in a lunch setup at Ming’s restaurant with a guest speaker.

2.        Networking and brainstorming session with Nepal counterpart should continue in at least once in two months basis.

3.        CAN-USA should work with professional organizations to support NREN

 

Attendees:

Bhushan Mudbhary

Bineet Sharma

Kishor Panth

Pradeep Khanal

Prashant Manandhar

Samana Ghimire

 

Computer Association of Nepal-USA (CAN-USA) is an American organization dedicated to the professional development of its members and technological progress of Nepal.  It is a tax exempt 501 (3) © non-profit organization with members throughout the United States.  The organization continues to utilize the creativity and talent of its members and the broader American community to develop technology-rich solutions that address some of Nepal’s challenges. Please visit http://www.can-usa.org/ for more information.