Category: digital

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.

Helping migrants from Nepal and their families to benefit from safe, wise and secure use of digital tech

Hari Harindranath and Tim Unwin with migrants, migrant organisations and tech organisations in Kathmandu, January 2023

The UNESCO Chair in ICT4D leads Work Package 9 within the MIDEQ Hub (funded by UKRI GCRF) on technology, inequality and migration. This is explicitly an intervention package, designed to draw on research across the Hub to bring migrants, migrant organisations and tech developers together to craft practical interventions that can benefit their lives and reduce inequalities associated with migration. We have been working with NISER, our lead partner in Nepal, since 2019 undertaking research on how migrants already use digital tech (see our working papers), and building on this work Prof “Hari” Harindranath and Dr. Maria Rosa Lorini visited Nepal in September 2020 to initiate our intervention activities. Migrants identified two main areas where they felt that interventions could make a significant difference: appropriate training in the uses of safe, wise and secure digital tech, and creating a platform or portal as a digital one-stop-shop that would bring together the most important sources of information for Nepali migrants and ther families.

Hari returned to Nepal with Tim Unwin in January-February 2023 to convene workshops (on 28 and 29 January, and 3rd February) and meetings to take forward the implementation of these two interventions. Good progress was made in the following areas (further details here):

  • Designing the content structure for the platform, and setting in motion the work of the content team and the tech team who are going to take forward the digital one-stop-shop with a Beta version planned for May 2023.
  • Running a pilot workshop in Kathmandu for migrants based on the slide deck developed with migrant organisations over the previous couple of months. This was well received, with helpful comments having been suggested for improvement.
  • Running another workshop in Pokhara for students and staff from a Migrant Resouce Centre, which recommended that we need to develop a more basic introduction to the wise, safe and secure use of digital tech for those who have negligible prior knowledge of digital tech.

This visit to Nepal also provided the valuable opportunity to have a very productive visit to colleagues in the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu (30 January), to sign a partnership agreement and discuss collaborative research-practice with Gandaki University in Pokhara (1-2 February), to meet with tech companies including Hamro Patro and Ncell (3 February), to explore collaboration with government initiatives through the Foreign Employment Board (31 January), to engage with colleagues at the National Innovation Centre (31 January), and to meet with fellow researchers working in the field of digital tech and migration (see images below).

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who attended our workshops, and who contributed to this work. We are also grateful to the staff at the Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur and the Landmark Hotel in Pokhara for facilitating our stay and meetings – and would recommend both for anyone visiting Kathmandu and Pokhara respectively.

Our latest Working Paper: Uses of digital technologies by migrants from Haiti and to Brazil

Members of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D are leading Work Package 9 of the MIDEQ hub (funded by UKRI GCRF and Royal Holloway, University of London) and are exploring how digital tech can be used to reduce the inequalities associated with migration, especially in four corridors: Nepal-Malaysia, Ethiopia-South Africa, China-Ghana, and Haiti-Brazil. The fourth of our working papers presenting data on the Uses of digital technologies by migrants from Haiti and to Brazil has just been published within the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D’s publication series. Key findings and abstract are as follows.

Key findings

1. Context matters: groups of migrants from different countries and backgrounds use digital tech in varying ways and for different purposes.  There is no such thing as one size fits all.2. Many migrants aspire to use digfital tech for educational and employment purpose – yet these are things that digital tech could already be readily used for if they knew how.  3. Most migrants focused on the use of digital tech for increasing economic well-being – none specifically addressed their potential for reducing inequalities.

Abstract

This working paper is the fourth in the series produced as part of the output of Work Package 9 on technology, inequality and migration within the MIDEQ Hub, a multi-disciplinary research project in 12 countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia, including the Haiti-Brazil migration corridor.  It presents the results of three iterations of an online survey totalling 372 respondents most currently living in Brazil, and mainly from Haiti; 92.7% of those who reported their status identified themselves as migrants, with the remainder being family members of migrants (5.5%) or returned migrants (1.8%).   Following a summary of the methodology, which explains the impact of COVID-19 on our research practice and why an online survey was used to replace our originally planned interviews and focus groups, the paper provides an overview of the most important results and an exploratory data analysis, focusing on the potential influence of age, gender, countries of origin, migration status, and occupational status on the ways in which respondents use digital technologies and for what purposes.  Three important conclusions for the subsequent stages of our research on the inequalities associated with migration and how digital tech may be used to reduce these are: first, the migrants responding to this survey are from very different backgrounds, and these differences have a strong influence on their use of digital tech; second, many migrants aspire to use digital tech for purposes that they could readily do if they knew how; and third, none of the migrants specifically identified inequality or equity as issues that they would like to use digital tech to address.

To read this paper in full (v.4 .pdf) please use this link.

Other UNESCO Chair in ICT4D Publications are available here.

UNESCO Chair in ICT4D signs partnership with the University of Canberra

Paddy Nixon, Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra, signing the MoU with Tim Unwin, Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at Royal Holloway, University of London

The UNESCO Chair in ICT4D signed a partnership Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Canberra on 28th March during the International Symposium on Digital Inequality and Social Change (ISDISC) convened by the University’s Research Cluster for Digital Inequality and Social Change (RC-DISC), led by Dr. Ahmed Imran, who is also an Affiliated Member of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D.

The MoU provides the basis for extensive collaboration between the two research groups, focusing particularly on:

  • Research collaboration
  • Workshop and conference convening
  • Research visits and exchanges, especially for early career researchers
  • Collaborative grant applications
  • Implementation of practices to reduce digital inequalities
  • Policy recommendations

This closely reflects the University of Canberra’s interests in developing research in the field of ICT4D, building its transnational networks, and increasing its reputation in digital inequality research and practice, while also reinforcing the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D’s commitment to crafting partnerships with cognate bodies, developing new ways to reduce digital inequalities, and developing collaborative research activities. It will also provide opportunities to build closer collaboration between colleagues from other disciplines in both institutions.

ISDISC was a hybrid event held at the Univeristy of Canberra and brought together researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines across Australia, with many virtual contributions also coming from elsewhere in the world.

The International Symposium on Digital Inequalities and Social Change being opened by the Executive Dean of the Univeristy of Canberra’s Faculty of Science and Technology, Prof. Janine Deakin, with Dr. Ahmed Imran in attendance.
Participants at the ISDISC conference held at the University of Canberra, 28th-29th March 2022

Tim Unwin’s keynote address at ISDISC on Marginalisation and empowerment: exploring digital inequalities is available here.

Our latest Working Paper: how migrants in South Africa use digital tech

Members of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D are leading Work Package 9 of the MIDEQ hub (funded by UKRI GCRF and Royal Holloway, University of London) and are exploring how digital tech can be used to reduce the inequalities associated with migration, especially in four corridors: Nepal-Malaysia, Ethiopia-South Africa, China-Ghana, and Haiti-Brazil. The third of our working papers presenting data on the uses of digital technologies by migrants in South Africa has just been published within the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D’s publication series. Key findings and abstract are as follows.

Key findings

1. Migrants in South Africa are very diverse, making subtly different usage of digital tech – while smart phones and the Internet are the dominant technologies in use, context nevertheless matters in how they are used.  2. Very few migrants make any use at all of apps that have been developed specifically for migrants – and even those 3.7% that claim to do so may not have actually used apps that were deliberately designed for them  3. Many migrants have limited knowledge in how to use the full potential of
their mobile phones – basic training in digital skills and safety might therefore be a valuable intervention for them
 

Abstract

This working paper forms part of the output of Work Package 9 on technology, inequality and migration within the MIDEQ Hub, a multi-disciplinary research project in 12 countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia, including the Ethiopia-South Africa migration corridor.  It presents the results of an online survey of 297 respondents mostly currently living in South Africa (92.2%), and mainly from Ethiopia (59.8%); 92.7% of them identified themselves as migrants, with the remainder being family members of migrants (6.2%) or returned migrants (1.1%).  Following a summary of the methodology, which explains the impact of COVID-19 on this research and why an online survey was used to replace our originally planned interviews and focus groups, the paper provides an overview of the most important results and an exploratory data analysis, focusing on the potential influence of age, gender, countries of origin, migration status, and occupational status on the ways in which respondents use digital technologies and for what purposes.  Three important conclusions for the subsequent stages of our research on the inequalities associated with migration and how digital tech may be used to reduce these are: first, the migrants responding to this survey are from very different backgrounds, and these have some strong influences on their use of digital tech; second, very few migrants make any use at all of apps made specifically for them; and third, many migrants still appear to need basic training in the safe and secure use of digital technologies.

To read this paper in full (v.3 .pdf) please use this link.

Other UNESCO Chair in ICT4D Publications are available here.

Uses of digital technologies by Nepali migrants and their families

Members of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D are leading Work Package 9 of the MIDEQ hub (funded by UKRI GCRF and Royal Holloway, University of London) and are exploring how digital tech can be used to reduce the inequalities associated with migration, especially in four corridors: Nepal-Malaysia, Ethiopia-South Africa, China-Ghana, and Haiti-Brazil. The second of our working papers presenting data on the uses of digital technologies by Nepali migrants and their families has just been published within the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D’s publication series. Key findings and abstract are as follows.

Key findings

1. Nepali migrants and their familes make extensive use of digital technologies – especially smart phones and the Internet for a wide range of purposes, and not just for audio and video calls2. Very few migrants make any use at all of apps  that have been developed specifically for migrants – and even those 8.7% that claim to do so may not have actually used such apps      
3. Migrant use of digital technologies increases through the migration journey – only 46.4% had used digital tech daily before migrating, whereas 85.4% used them daily while in the migration destinations.        

Abstract

This working paper forms part of the output of Work Package 9 on technology, inequality and migration within the MIDEQ Hub, a multi-disciplinary research project in 12 countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia, including the Nepal-Malaysia migration corridor.  It presents the results of an online survey of 266 respondents in and from Nepal, 58.5% of whom identified themselves as migrants, with 28.1% being family members of migrants, and 13.4% being returned migrants.  Following a summary of the methodology, which explains why an online survey was used to replace the originally planned interviews and focus groups, the paper provides an overview of the most important results and analysis, focusing on the potential influence of age, gender, countries of origin and destination, migration status, and occupational status on the ways in which respondents use digital technologies and for what purposes.  Three important conclusions for Phase Two of our research are: first, the vast majority of Nepali respondents have smart phones and access the internet very frequently for a wide range of purposes; second, simply designing another new app may not be particularly valuable; and third, it might well be wise to work with, or build on, technologies and apps already in existence, so as to improve them in ways that could increasingly empower migrants.

To read this paper in full (v.5 .pdf) please use this link.

Other UNESCO Chair in ICT4D Publications are available here.