Dear All, I request you to forward the call for papers for the ‘Technology, accountability and democracy in South Asia and beyond’ to any relevant people or mailing lists. The four main themes for the conference are:
1. Technology and the electoral process 2. Combatting “last-mile” corruption in public services 3. Gender, technology and accountability 4. Building safeguards around India’s Aadhar project. We are interested in academic research and project presentations, and we would particularly welcome studies, projects or initiatives that focus on vulnerable groups. You can download call for papers with further details here: http://liberationtechnology.stanford.edu/news/bombay_conference/ S Vivek Technology, accountability and democracy in South Asia and beyond (summary version) Seasoned activism meets technical imagination *Dates*: January 17-18, 2014 *Location*: University of Mumbai Over the last few years, there has been unprecedented focus on corruption and accountability across South Asia. Accountability movements have resulted in a variety of initiatives including special monitoring bodies, transparency laws, monitoring mechanisms, judicial reforms and refining government processes. These initiatives bring different understandings of problems and approaches, with varied strengths and weaknesses. Despite these differences, they are increasingly converging on the use of technology to augment a growing set of accountability strategies. The availability of new devices, the power of the Internet, the reach of mobile phones, and citizen activism give us reason to believe that the use of technology has real promise in advancing the accountability agenda. Yet the claim of technology’s promise is not without its critics. The use of technology has created new avenues for corruption despite claiming to combat it. Technologies rolled out in the name of advancing citizenship also create avenues for greater surveillance and disenfranchisement. Many initiatives are not controversial, but their effectiveness is yet to be evaluated rigorously. Finally marginalized people, who need tools for accountability more than anyone else, have significantly lower levels of engagement with it. The promises and problems of technology’s relationship with accountability require closer examination. This conference proposes to bring together people who are engaged in these questions as activists, officials, academics and innovators to examine how technology is currently being used for accountability projects and to build meaningful platforms for the future. We specifically seek to bring together people with experience in accountability movements (with or without the use of technology), young innovators and researchers in order to promote rich multidisciplinary conversation and to build new collaborations. Seasoned activism meets technical imagination One of the most persistent criticisms of technology for democracy projects is that they focus heavily on the tools without paying attention to the complexity of their use and the fact that accountability is a political project steeped in power relations. In order to ensure that technical imagination goes hand in hand with a sophisticated understanding of the problems and strategies necessary to make technology a tool for progressive change, we propose to invite seasoned civil society activists and leaders from the government who have had a successful track record in managing positive change to meet individuals who are just beginning to consider technology as a response to the same problems. The conference will thus foster an exchange of ideas between innovators and experienced activists so that innovators can share their tools and experiences while also deepening their understanding of technology’s relevance and challenges for potential uses on the ground. In turn, experienced political, social and economic leaders will gain ideas on how elements of technology can be introduced into in their work. With this in mind, the conference format provides for opportunities to learn about technology projects, meet with platform creators, and participate in workshops to gain tools suitable for diverse campaign needs. Who can participate · Innovators who have been building technical tools that could be used by citizens, civil society and the media to make governments, corporations and NGOs more accountable. We also welcome projects that are based on social media, mobile technologies and data journalism, etc. for promoting accountability. · Leaders from the government who have an experience in the conference themes. These include people who have an experience in election commissions, local administration, procurement process, accountability bodies (e.g. auditors, information commissions, ombudsmen and Lok Pals) and other public bodies that suit the conference theme. The conference is particularly looking for leaders who have made a concerted effort at improving accountability in their sphere of work. · Civil society organizations that have been working on issues such as clean elections, anti-corruption, improving public services and governance of public resources. We welcome organizations that already use technology as a part of their campaign strategy or those who are interested in understanding how technology could be used in their work. · Investigative journalists who focus on different aspects corruption and accountability who are interested in using technology for analysis and reporting. · Academic researchers who have studied accountability projects of interest to the conference. We are particularly interested in studies on the intersection of technology, accountability and democracy. Organisation The conference is led by the *Center for South Asia* and the *Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law* (CDDRL) both at Stanford University. It will be organized in partnership with Department of Civics and Politics, University of Mumbai and the Stanford Alumni Association of India. In case you are interested in applying for the conference or if you would like to learn more, please send an email to Vivek S. ([email protected]) or Rachel Brule ([email protected]; [email protected]). To register, please go to http://southasia.stanford.edu/bombay_conference
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