Workshop Technology And Society: Diversity, Development And Community Change

Community informatics and Information and Communications Technology for Development research projects frequently focus on the appropriation of ICTs and the design of information systems to meet the needs of communities. Such projects typically involve a range of participants reflecting different cultures, different theoretical background and different levels of training, and depend for their success on the ability of the project to bridge differences. However, the harmonization between different theoretical and methodological backgrounds always proves to be critical. The workshop aims to strengthen the existing partnership between Sapienza, Bangladesh Universities, international NGOs operating in Bangladesh and other international partners (e.g. Monash University – Australia), which are active in the area of ICTs for Development. The Department of Communication and Social Research (Sapienza University) -through the proponent of the current project- is already involved in the large-scale ICTs in society project in Bangladesh (2015-2019) called PROTIC (meaning “sign” in the Bengali language), led by Monash University Australia and the international NGO, Oxfam. A number of Bangladeshi universities, including the University of Dhaka, are research partners to this project. In order to strengthen this international network, and to benefit all the partners involved in the field of ICTs for Development, the Sapienza funds for international cooperation financed the organization of seminars and intensive workshops in Bangladesh and in Italy aimed at sharing competencies, experiences and theories among scholars from a variety of cultural, disciplinary and institutional backgrounds. This intensive workshop will serve as training opportunities for early stage researchers working in the field of ICTs and information studies with a particular emphasis on international cooperation. The goal of the workshop is not training in the particulars of each student’s research, but at sharing perspectives and reflecting on the big picture of their studies in society and their ‘formation’ as researchers. Early stage researchers will be helped to identify and to take into account localised or context-specific social and cultural issues in the design of their research, consequently improving the effectiveness and sustainability of their projects. The idea of emic understandings of culture is also at the base of the workshops, with the aim of fostering intercultural exchange between researchers at the different stages of their careers.