ABSTRACT: The Stills in Sync (SIS) project is a joint initiative of the nonprofit
organization PlanetRead and
the global information and communication technology (ICT) company Hewlett Packard (HP). The
SIS project entails creating a multimedia
product designed to enhance literacy in rural India
through the revival of regional folksongs on relevant social issues. This product utilizes the Same
Language Subtitling (SLS) feature that won the World Bank Development Marketplace Award in
2002 and the Tech Laureate in education honor from the Technology Museum of Innovation (San
Jose) in 2003. This paper explores the dissemination avenues of the SLS folksongs product and
its effects within the Inclusive Community (icommunity)
of HP in Kuppam, India. This community
has functioned as a social and economic laboratory in which HP tested new technologies.
Analyzing this test environment makes apparent the dichotomy between corporate responsibility
and community development. Keeping the balance between profitable goals of the ICT business
and development goals towards sustainable social and economic reforms has been illustrated by
the survey results in this paper
