CALL FOR PAPERS IDIA2009 Conference 28-30 October 2009 Digitally Empowering Communities: Learning from Development Informatics Practice
www.developmentinformatics.org/conferences/2009/3rd.html Call for papers ------------------------------------------------------------ The 3rd International IDIA Conference will be held in Africa in order to make it easier for interested parties of this continent to participate. The conference is aimed at researchers, policy-makers and reflective practitioners. It will be managed by the School of Information Technology, Monash South Africa (Johannesburg). Monash University is seeking to accelerate its engagement internationally, and this conference reflects this commitment. The Conference will be held at the Berg-en-Dal camp in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The Conference Committee calls for papers on the following themes. Papers will be peer-reviewed. Selected papers will be published in an accredited Journal. While the main language of the conference will be English, participation from Francophone and Portuguese-speaking Africa is most welcome. 1. Communities and empowerment * What are developing communities? * Does every community need to 'develop'? * What does 'empowerment' mean in a DI context? * Why should communities be empowered with ICT? * What are the objectives of empowering communities? * What are the methods and instruments to empower communities? * Implications of the full range of 'digital divides'. 2. Development Informatics and ICT4D * Satisfying basic development needs with ICT. * What ICT cannot achieve; its limitations in development practice. * The range of changing economic models for empowering communities with ICT. * What are the special ICT issues for deep rural communities? * Giving voices to the poor via ICT; the necessity of advocacy. * The relevance of ICT planning and policies. * Does development automatically empower; the role of vested ICT interests? * Ethical and moral issues, eg. the barefoot economist debate, top-down/bottom-up/dual system approaches, and technological determinism. * Global versus regional implementation 3. DI in practice * What are the technical issues, networking problems, and relevant ICT devices? * System design for the bottom of the pyramid of the digital divide * Do small communities benefit from ICT, or is it only applicable on a large (regional, national) scale? * How do the micro social groups (eg. households and families) use ICT for their business? * Evaluating separate and integrated business, government and civil society ICT solutions. * Issues of free access and sustainable access. * Business filling the gap in the absence of government co-ordination of ICT practice. * When business practice and community expectation collide in ICT, who suffers? * Differences between individual access (such as OLPC, mobile phones) and public access (telecentres, MPCCs). * Open source vs proprietary systems. 4. Opportunities * The future of skills and literacy training, and professional development, as part of ICT. * Opportunities for professional communities to contribute to ICT. * Eliciting expressions of local concern and building them into ICT programs. * Ensuring that external ICT solutions meet local needs. * Balancing short-term and long-term ICT solutions. * Universal access as a dream or reality? * What is the appropriate role of developed countries in assisting with ICT empowerment? * Adapting developed values and practices to suit ICT contexts. * Which community networking principles best assist with ICT? * Is it meaningful to consider the role of the 'international community' in ICT? * Ongoing, universally-applicable measures of the effectiveness of ICT for empowerment. * Comparative studies of ICT for empowerment. Submission of abstracts and proposals ------------------------------------------------------------ Abstracts and proposals (not full papers) can only be submitted via the electronic registration system which will become available shortly. Important dates 1 March 2009 Final date for submission of Abstracts 1 April 2009 Notification of acceptance of Abstracts 1 June 2009 Full papers due for blind peer review 1 August 2009 Peer review results 1 September 2009 Final version of papers due Registration Information ------------------------------------------------------------ Registration Information will become available in the first quarter of 2009, latest by 1 April. Details will be posted on the website. Conference fees ------------------------------------------------------------ See website for details. The conference venue is in a difficult to access, remote location, which will result in transport problems. Accommodation in chalets requires self-catering for meals. In view of this, the Conference Organisers have made special arrangements for transport to the venue, and for meals. Conference fee: to be confirmed, as we are still finalising some sponsorhips to make the fee cheaper. Details about Berg-en-dal: www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/camps/berg-en-dal/ www.routes.co.za/nationalparks/kruger/berg-en-dal/ About IDIA ------------------------------------------------------------ Development Informatics specialises in communities in constraint contexts, such as rural, distant, poor, or disadvantaged communities in developing countries and regions. Community Informatics focuses on communities in developed countries. IDIA was founded in 2006 and has held national workshops on Development Informatics, as well as two international conferences. IDIA2009 is the 3rd International IDIA Conference, which will be held on 28-30 October 2009 at the Kruger National Park, South Africa. _________________ Dr Jacques Steyn (Director: IDIA), on behalf of the organising committee. www.developmentinformatics.org/conferences/2009/3rd.html _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-requ...@digitaldivide.net with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
