Category: DESC

Our new identity as the ICT4D Collective

As of 1st August 2023, the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at Royal Holloway, University of London has reverted to its original identity as the ICT4D Collective. We are a group of very diverse researchers and practitioners from across the world, bound together by our commitment to the highest possible quality of research-practice relating to the use of digital technologies in the interests of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people.

Meeting staff and students at the NIC's ICT and Electronics Innovation Lab in Pokhara, Nepal, July 2023
Our last engagement as members of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D: meeting staff and students at the NIC’s ICT and Electronics Innovation Lab in Pokhara, Nepal, July 2023

The Collective and the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D

The original ICT4D Collective was created in 2004, and evolved through an agreement in 2007 between UNESCO and Royal Holloway, University of London into the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development). UNESCO Chairs are groups of researchers in specific institutions undertaking work of direct relevance to UNESCO’s fields of competence, and they promote “international inter-university cooperation and networking to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work”. Members of our UNESCO Chair have been very proud to have been associated with UNESCO for the last 16 years, and to have collaborated closely with many good friends in UNESCO’s Paris headquarters and field offices. We were also honoured that Houlin Zhao, the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) between January 2015 and January 2023, and Jean Philbert Nsengimana, former Minister of Youth and Information and Communication Technology (MYICT) from Rwanda, were our Honorary Patrons.

The following are some of the things we have particularly enjoyed engaging in over the last 16 years:

  • Working together collegially in a truly multidisciplinary context, involving colleagues from Computer Science, Geography, Information Security, Law and Managament at Royal Holloway, University of London.
  • Creating one of the largest groups of postgraduates completing PhDs in the field of ICT4D during the late 2000s and early 2010s.
  • Crafting an extensive partnership network involving governments, the private sector and civil society, and sharing the lessons we have learnt about making partnerships successful.
  • Contributing our experiences in global discussions around the role of digital tech in international development, especially in the UN’s WSIS process (since its origins in 2003), and UNESCO’s many gatherings relating to education and technology.
  • Playing a leading role in the World Economic Forum and UNESCO’s Partnerships for Education initiative.
  • Working on the ground in support of diverse groups of marginalised people, especially those with disabilities, out of school youth, women in patriarchal societies, and migrants and refugees.
  • Being recognised as the 7th most influential global think tank in science and technology in the Go To Think Tanks Index Report for 2015 (we remained 15th in the 2020 index)

Quick links to aspects of our new identity

We are now re-energised as the ICT4D Collective, with 22 founding members drawn from 13 countries – we welcome new members who share our aims and principles. Quick links to our research and practice are available below:

An exciting future…

We all look forward to continuing the work started by the original ICT4D Collective almost 20 years ago, although we remain very sad that the new leadership team at Royal Holloway, University of London did not see value in the institution continuing to have a UNESCO Chair. Perhaps we represented voices from the past; perhaps we have been too critical and anarchic; perhaps we have just been honest and spoken truth to power. Whatever the reason, we will continue to have fun working together, we will continue to challenge the status quo, we will continue to point out the many harms caused by the use of digital tech, and we will continue to work with and support the world’s poorest and most marginalised peoples.

Digital Environment System Coaliton’s sessions at WSIS Annual Forum 2023

Participants under Rousseau's statue on the DESC Walk in Geneva, 16 March 2023

Particiants on the DESC walk photographes beneath the statue of Rousseau as the sun sets

The Digital Environment System Coalition (DESC) convened two sessions (403 and 204) on 16th and 18th March at this year’s WSIS Annual Forum held in Geneva. The first was a walk which we believe to be the first ever such event held during a WSIS annual forum, and the second was a more traditional session within the cavernous CIGG. Both sessions were convened by the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at Royal Hollloway, University of London which provides the Secretariat to DESC, in association with INIT (the Inter-Islamic Network on IT), the WWRF (Wireless World Research Forum), ICT4D.AT, and RC-DISC (the Research Cluster for Digital Inequality and Social Change at the University of Canberra).  

Experiencing digital environment interactions in the “place” of Geneva (Session 403): the DESC Walk

We experience things differently when we walk, when we talk together, and when we interact with the real physical environment.  We feel the fresh air on our faces, smell the vegetation, hear the noise of running water, and touch the rough rocks on the slopes.  We interact differently with each other.  We pause and contemplate where we are.  Our minds engage in ways that are so, so different from when we sit in large conference halls.

This DESC walk provided an opportunity for participants (i) to share their own research and practice relating to the interactions between digital tech and the environment, (ii) to discuss the positive and negative impacts of digital tech specifically on the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere, and (iii) to make recommendations concerning the further development of YouthDESC.  In essence, individual participants brought the group to a halt at locations that they felt were most appropriate for them along the walk and shared information about themselves and their research/practice, and we also stopped at five pre-planned locations to discuss each of the main themes as a group.  Moderators of each main stop sought to encourage the participants to highlight three positive and three native interactions between digital tech and the environment.

  • Parc Mon Repos – the biosphere (led by Paul Spiesberger).  Issues discussed included the positives of being able to share nature through digital images, use of remote sensed imagery to monitor the biosphere, and the use of digital tech to enhance agricultural production.  Negatives included digital pollution of plants and green spaces, potentially adverse effects on human health (including mental health), and increased urban exploitation of rural environments through digital tech.
  • Poste Filial – YouthDESC (led by Tasfia Rahman).  This began with a visit inside the building to discover the ways through which it is now necessary to use virtual/digital systems to post a physical/real card.  We also recognized the important links between postal communication in the past and digital communication at present.  The Instagram account of @YouthDESC was discussed, alongside the pros and cons of different social media platforms for engaging youth
  • Pont des Bergues – the hydrosphere (led by Ahmed Imran).  It was recognised that unlike the biosphere and lithosphere, the impact of digital tech on the hydrosphere is less immediately visible.  However, negatives include the impact of deep sea mining for rare earth minerals, and the heating of water in cooling systems.  The use of water warmed by the heat produced by servers was, though, also seen as a benefit.
  • Ile Rousseau – the atmosphere (led by Zumana Imran).  Beneath the feet of the philosopher Rousseau, our thoughts turned to the atmosphere above us, and focused on the positives of the use of satellites for monitoring environmental change and enabling communication in isolated places, whilst also recognizing the harms of treating outer space as we used to treat the oceans (global commons), the impact on dark space, and space junk.  It was also recognised that different cultures have differing views about the environment, and we must engage with indigenous communities.
  • Auditoire de Calvin – the lithosphere (led by Tim Unwin).  As dusk came upon us, few people remained to walk up the steps to the Cathedral and Auditoire de Calvin, but we nevertheless discussed the impact of mining for minerals used in digital tech, the impact of waste especially in landfill, and also the potential benefits in land management.

Scenes from the DESC walk in Geneva, 16 March 2023

Reimagining the Interface between Digital Tech and the Physical Environment (Session 204)

This formal workshop session had three main aims:

  • to share an updated overview of DESC’s emerging model that challenges much existing work being undertaken on digital tech and climate change;
  • to provide an update on its ongoing activities since WSIS 2022; and
  • to do this in a lively and interactive way.

Official ITU photograph from WSIS Session 204

The session was structured as follows:

  • Introduction to DESC, highlighting the need to adopt a holistic approach focusing on the interaction between digital technologies and the totality of the physical environment (including the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere – see diagram below) rather than just climate change.  Indeed, a focus primarily on  human-induced climate change is likely to lead to seriously adverse impacts on other dimensions of the physical environment.
  • Summaries of the key points of discussion explored during the DESC walk (WSIS Session 403) the previous day, presented by the five discussion moderators (including the YouthDESC session).
  • Highlights of two examples from the activities of DESC’s Working Groups emphasizing why these issues matter:
    • The indigenous DESC Working Group (Poline Bala’s sliodes were presented by Tim Unwin).  This highlighted that indigenous peoples are insufficiently represented at events such as WSIS, and that they can contribute significantly to new ways of addressing the interface between digital tech and the physical environment
    • A video presentation by James Crabbe on the importance of omics for informing policy on deep sea mining.
  • This was followed by an introduction to the toolkit being developed by DESC for all those who have pledged to the ITU-led Partner2Connect initiative to enable them to consider and address the environmental impact of their proposed interventions.
  • The final element was a lively discussion around the issues raised, that included new commitments from participants to explore collaboration on implementing the DESC toolkit

DESC in Geneva

The general consensus from both sessions was that they were enjoyable and informative – and that DESC should offer to convene another walk in 2024 when we can delve once again into both the positive and negative impacts of the design and use of digital tech on the environment.

The UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at the WSIS Annual Forum 2023

We are delighted that members of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at Royal Holloway, University of London, are involved in the following four sessions at this year’s WSIS Annual Forum in Geneva between 13th and 16th March 2023 (listed in chronological order):

  • Session 184: International Conference on Digital Transformation of Education: Road towards SDG 4 (Guest of Honour and Panellist), Thursday 16 March 09.00-09.45
  • Session 403: DESC Experiencing digital environment interactions in the “place” of Geneva (convenor) – this is a discussion-walk around Geneva commencing at the main entrance of CICG on Thursday 16 March from 16.00-18.30 (more details)
  • Session 204: DESC Reimagining the Interface between Digital Tech and the Physical Environment (convenor), Friday 17 March, 10.00-10.45 (more details)
  • Session 329: MIDEQ WP9 What migrants want: digital tech, inequality and migration (convenor), Friday 17 March, 11.00-11.45

Please do join us at these sessions, the last two of which will also be available for those wishing to join online. More information is available on the DESC sessions here.

Members of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at in-person WSIS 2022

Members of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D have been involved in the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) since its inception in 2003 (Geneva) and 2005 (Tunisia), and have participated in many of the subsequent Annual Forums held in Geneva.

After two years of virtual WSIS events, it was a great pleasure to be back in Geneva during the week of 30th May-3rd June this year and excellent that so many of our Members, Affiliated Members and Partners could participate – both in person and online during the hybrid sessions. Congratulations to Gitanjali Sah and her team for putting on such an interesting and enjoyable week of events, which highlighted the great value of being there in person and holding conversations with old friends, as well as making new acquaintances.

Some of the highlights of our contributions included:

Paul Spiesberger (Affiliated Member and Chair of ict4d.at) served as a High Level Panel Facilitator throughout the event

Ahmed Imran (Affiliated Member and Director of RC-DISC at our partner, the University of Canberra), Tim Unwin (Chairholder) and others at the Academia Round Table on 1st June (Session 397)

Tim Unwin (Chairholder) Panellist in High-Level Dialogue on the Transforming Education Summit and the 2023 GEM Report on Technology and Education, 1st June (Session 298)

Providing summary of DESC Session 281 during HIghlights and Key Outcomes Session 489, 30th May

Tim Unwin (Chairholder) Panellist in Session 406 Academic perspectives on WSIS and the SDGs, 2nd June

Carlos Álvarez Pereira, Suay Ozkula, Paul Spiesberger, Knud Erik Skouby and Tim Unwin participating in Open Space Session on the Digital Environment System Coalition (Session 448), 2nd June

The WSIS Annual Forum remains one of the most valuable of the many duplicating and ovelapping digital technology events, conferences and summits organised by the UN and other agencies. It provides an important opportunity for governments, international agencies, companies and civil society to come together to discuss recent dvelopments in the broad field of digital tech for “development” focusing particularly around the Action Lines agreed almost 20 years ago by the UN system.

Members, Affiliated Members and Partners of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at Royal Holloway, University of London, look forward to paticipating in future WSIS events in the years to come.