Three of the 32 authors who helped craft the tapestry: Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World: An Emancipatory Manifesto, speaking in our Session 347 (Credit: ITU Official Photographer)
It is a long time since the ICT4D Collective last had a booth at the WSIS Annual Forum, but given our active involvement in both WSIS and AIforGood in 2026 we were delighted to have been allocated Booth 39 in this year’s much redesigned exhibition area. We are so grateful to Gitanjali Sah and Sarah El Omari for making this possible (and thanks too for the t-shirts to add to our collections).
Booth 39 provided a great opportunity to catch up with friends made since the ICT4D Collective was established in 2004 as well as the chance to meet many new faces working in similar areas and sharing similar values. It also provided an excellent base from which to foray out into the many sessions in which we were involved during the week (see link to our programme of activities at WSIS). For Tim, Booth 39 also provided a great opportunity to raise the profile of his new book among those engaged in the WSIS process. The pictures below share glimpses of what members of the collective engaged in mainly around Booth 39 during the week.
Some of the resources we had freely available on the stand are also available online:
The ICT4D Collective and its members are taking an active role in this year’s WSIS Forum as we have done ever since the first WSIS summits in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005. If you are in Geneva then, do please join the sessions in which we will be involved, visit our stand in the Exhibition, or meet us for a drink in one of our favourite hostelries!
Session: Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World, 6th July
Join the ICT4D Collective’s session on Monday 6th July from 16.00-16.45 in Room L1 Montbrillant for a lively discussion about what we all need to do if the poorest and most marginalised are indeed to benefit from, rather than being enslaved through, the use of digital tech. See the great speakers lined up below!
Session: The future of education and research in the AI era: equipping young people for tomorrow
Tim Unwin is a panellist in Session 541 being convened by the ITU from 10.00-10.45 on Tuesday 7th July in Room G3, ITU Varembé.
Session: AI Empowerment for Older People from a Gender Mainstreaming Perspective, 7th July
Tim Unwin is a panellist in Session 188 being convened by the Aging & Technology Policy Lab, KAIST Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy (South Korea), from 13.00-13.45 on Tuesday 7th July in Room A, ITU Tower Building.
Session: Connecting the Unconnected in the field of Education Excellence, Cyber Security & Rural Solutions and Women Empowerment in ICT, 7th July
Members of the Collective will be participating in this session being convened by Prof. N.K. Goyal from the CMAI Association of India, along with CSAI and TEMA in Room A on Tuesday 7th Juk from 15.00-15.45. As in previous years, Tim Unwin will have the enjoyable but challenging task of moderating a very full session of Indian speakers.
Session: Foresight for FAIR Cities – Exploring AI Risks and Mitigation Strategies, 9th July
This important session in Room B Palexpo from 16.00-16.45 on Thursday 9th July is being convened by UNU-EGOV to address some of the risks of AI and strategies that can be put in place to mitigate them in the context of their project on “FAIRCities: Foster AI for Inclusive and Responsible Cities“. Tim Unwin has been invited to be a speaker.
Celebrating the publication of Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World: An Emancipatory Manifesto
Following successful pre-launch and launch events for Tim Unwin’s latest book at the ITCILO in Turin (Italy), at UNU-GOV’s headquarters in Guimarães (Portugal), and during eLearning Africa in Accra (Ghana) several of the authors are going to be present during WSIS including Benita Rowe, G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath, Mei Lin Fung, Revi Sterling, and Yuliya Morenets and will be talking about during and after our session on 6th July. A small number of signed copies of the book will also be available at the >30% discounted price (of £25, CHF 28, €30, US$35) during the session and at our Exhibition stand. We may well also celebrate together at a local hostelry (probably Les Brasseurs) on the evening of 6th July.
The ITU’s Partner2Connect initiative is convening a session on Building the future we want: scaling inclusive AI solutions through collaboration on 9th July from 14.00-15.00 during the AI for Good Summit and Tim Unwin has been asked to moderate the session on “Children, Youth, and Online Protection”. This should be an exciting and highly interactive “engagement”.
It’s an exciting day: Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World: An Emancipatory Manifesto is officially published today. Find out more at https://ict4d.org.uk/diuw (or http://digital-inclusion.org) – and for a short period get 20% off the recommended price!
Thanks to everyone who made this possible, especially:
The 31 authors of the vignettes – listen to them reading their descriptions on our podcast.
All those at Routledge who had faith in the book and who helped in its production, especially Helena Hurd, Katerina Lade, Susan Dunsmore (copy-editor), and Jen Hicks (production)
Those who read parts of it in draft and provided valuable comments and advice (see the Acknowledgements)
And above all those with whom I have worked over the last 50 years and inspired my to write the book!
Upcoming launch events
I’m delighted to share the news that we will be having a series of launch events and discussions around the themes of the book in different locations around the world, including
April 20th: at UNU-EGOV in Guimarães, Portugal
June (precise date to be confirmed, but between 1st and 6th): Accra, Ghana
July (c.6th-8th): coinciding with WSIS Annual Forum and AIforGood (or Bad)
December (7th or 8th): Kuala Lumpur
London – dates to be confirmed
Kathmandu, Nepal – date to be confirmed
At these events copies of the book will be available with a 30% discount.
Links
To find out more about the book, do explore the links below:
Prof G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath visited Nepal in January 2026 funded by an ODA grant from Royal Holloway, University of London to work with partners there to develop new collaborations and help sustain digital interventions undertaken through the UKRI GCRF MIDEQ (2019-2024) project and over the past two years through other funding streams.
Launch of our new collaborative resources
A key highlight was an event to launch our multi-lingual, multimedia resources on the safe, wise, and secure use of digital technology by migrants and other vulnerable groups, developed in partnership with the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (ACORAB), a network of 300+ community radio stations reaching every corner of Nepal
The event included a multi-stakeholder dialogue on digital safety among vulnerable groups in Nepal which brought together nearly 60 participants representing migrant and civil society organisations (female migrants, undocumented labour migrants, LGBTQ+ communities and migrant families from marginalised backgrounds), media and tech organisations including BBC Nepali and international NGOs as well as other international organisations.
New partnership opportunities with Pourakhi
The visit led to new opportunities for partnership with organisations in Nepal that can help further the impact of our ongoing work in support of labour migrants’ use of digital technologies. Pourakhi Nepal, a migrant advocacy group that supports female migrants and returnee migrants, and a key partner for our MIDEQ work, has committed to taking guardianship of the migrant information portal, Pardesi.org.np, which was the result of our collaboration with several migrant organisations and a local tech NGO undertaken during our UKRI GCRF MIDEQ project. The portal will now become part of Pourakhi’s core activity ensuring that it remains updated and relevant to Nepali migrants and their family members.
Meetings with government officials and international organisations
Hari was also able to meet with Nepal’s Minister for Education as well as senior officials at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, migrant organisations, local tech and media organisations, and international organisations including UNESCO, IOM, ILO and Helvetas, all with a view to embed our digital interventions within the activities undertaken by our partners, thereby ensuring their sustained impact.
Photos, from the top: two with Gov. of Nepal officials; with UNESCO Nepal; with the Minister for Education; with BBC Nepali Sewa; and with ILO Nepal
Do you know anyone involved in the application of science to support innovations in ICT, AI and digital tech for development. If so, do encourage them to submit an application by 30 April 2026 for THE NIGERIA PRIZE FOR SCIENCE AND INNOVATION. Details are in the image below, or find out more at https://www.thenigeriaprizes.org/the…/nps_call_for_entry/. The award is worth $100,000.
It’s great to see the global reach of our website over the last three years (since January 2023) in the map below. Just a few countries still to crack! We look forward to those living in one of the pale grey states discovering our research and practice – please spread the word. To be sure the dominant countries in terms of visitors remain the UK and USA, but Nepal (3rd), South Africa (6th) and India (7th) are also in the top 10.
In case you are concerned about how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy. In essence, all we use your data for is to find out the countries from which we receive visitors, and can therefore generate maps such as this.
Many of the authors have contributed audio recordings of their vignettes. These are available here, but are also being shared on a regular basis through our blog and our podcast over the next six months. Do follow us on Apple Podcasts to listen to these inspiring examples of how digital tech can be used constructively by some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people, but also the reasons why most such initiatives fail sufficiently to serve their interests.
This important book can be pre-ordered from Routledge using the link above, and for those who respond quickly there is a 20% reduction if you order before 23rd October 2025.
The 15th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) held between 2 and 4 September 2025 brought together in Riohacha, Colombia, more than 800 delegates representing governments, city mayors, businesses, civil society, youth and academia to exchange ideas on some of the most pressing challenges in global mobility.
The Colombia Chairship deserves huge recognition for putting together an ambitious and thoughtful programme shaping dialogue around six thematic pillars spanning mobility and women, children and young people on the move, media and culture for changing narratives, the promise and perils of new technologies, climate mobility, and the critical importance of regional cooperation and partnerships between origin and destination countries.
Prof. G Hari Harindranath comments that “it was a privilege to contribute remarks on behalf of academia at the session on the Future of the Summit on the final day and to speak in Round Table 6 on the digitalisation of migration management alongside colleagues from the governments of Ecuador and Georgia, the Institute of Employers, and technology and immigration services organisations”.
In the digital space, the opportunities are clear: technology can contribute to making migration safer and more efficient. But without safeguards, it can deepen inequalities. Many labour migrants already face precarious conditions, and now digital insecurity adds another layer of vulnerability, particularly so as they often lack the capacity to use digital tech safely, wisely and securely.
If we design digital systems with simplicity, accessibility, transparency, accountability and proportionality at the centre, we can then bring the benefits of digitalisation to those who are most likely to be disempowered by it. Getting it right for the most vulnerable means getting it right for everyone.
Thank you to the GFMD and for creating space for academic voices throughout this process, from the preparatory roundtables through to the summit. Evidence-based perspectives are essential in a field that is increasingly politicised and polarised, and GFMD’s unique framework is one of the few places where all stakeholders can meet together as equals.
Following our impact activities in Brazil during 2024, Prof Hari Harindranath returned to Rio de Janeiro in June/July 2025 to work with our local research partner, Dr Heloisa Melino, and organisations there for a series of follow-on activities funded by Royal Holloway’s Social Science Impact Accelerator (SSIA). These included three main activities.
1. Amplifying the impact of our work through artistic means
Efeito Urbano, an arts organisation and social project, based in the Providência favela of Rio de Janeiro, showcased a creative performance on digital safety in the periferias which drew on SSIA-funded work previously undertaken by Collective members, Prof Harindranath, Prof Tim Unwin and Dr Heloisa Melino and the experiences of the artists themselves with social networks and digital technologies.
Efeito Urbano is the first professional dance company in Morro da Providência and has developed its own concept of creation and research, Dança Urbana Negra Periférica, based on the pillars of race, gender and territory as well as traditional and contemporary Afro-referenced dances, in addition to the diverse expressions and cultural manifestations of experiences in the favelas and peripheries
The dancers put on a stunning performance capturing the intertwining of physical and digital lives in the favelas of Rio (link here to a short video). Choreographer Juliana Mello explained that the performance was a starting point for their new residency aimed at reflecting, through the language of dance, how the peripheral body navigates, resists and reinvents itself in the digital environment, with its strengths, pitfalls and invisibilities. Producer Ellen Pereira da Costa talked about the importance of engaging young people through artistic means to spread important messages such as the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech in their contexts which are often characterised by scams, identity theft and violence, both physical and online. Their aim was “to explore the potential of art as a languagethat activates different senses compared to textual narratives, by engaging the body and movement in the exchange of knowledge on a topic as urgent and necessary as this – particularly among vulnerable populations, who make up the core audience of Instituto Efeito Urbano”.
2. Extending our work on the safe, wise and secure use of digital technologies by vulnerable groups
This visit allowed us to extend our work on digital safety nasperiferias from our earlier focus on communities in the Maré favela of Rio de Janeiro to young people in the Morro da Providência favela and the surrounding areas. Following the Efeito Urbano performance, Hari and Heloisa led a workshop on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech by vulnerable groups with some of the artists and members of the audience. Participants were keen to share their online experiences with each other and through the creation of a series of short videos.
3. Evidencing the impact of our ongoing work
We undertook an Outcomes Meeting to gather qualitative feedback on impacts and outcomes from our activities during 2024 with our main partner organisation, Casa Resistências in the Maré favela of Rio. The team at Casa Resistências, an LBT advocacy organisation and a shelter for women fleeing violence and abuse, had previously collaborated with us on activities relating to the safe, wise and secure use of digital technologies nas periferiasincluding a workshop led by Dr Heloisa Melino and the creation of a range of beautiful resources on digital safety designed by local graffiti artist, JLo. These and related activities were aimed at helping activists and others remain safe online while they report on rights violations and undertake their advocacy campaigns. Hari’s visit offered the opportunity to reflect on our activities and their impacts and outcomes.
Kimberly Veiga from Casa Resistências explained that our collaboration had helped build capacity and enabled them to undertake further activities with local partners such as Fiocruz University on online safety for activists and others in the favelas. She spoke of the impact of online harms for people in her context including online scams, digital identity theft and violence.
This collaboration has allowed us to think about technology as a route to access rights and it has opened another avenue for us to obtain wider support… It has helped us connect with wider networks of support. We now exchange experiences and access support from across the country, including psychological and therapeutic care…Thanks to this collaborative work, we have now created a new agenda on digital for our organisation
Kimberly Veiga, Casa Resistências
Kimberly spoke of the cascading effect of our collaboration that led them to undertake activities relating to the challenges faced by lesbian mothers and the creation of trustworthy resources to support them, similar to the ones we helped create on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech by vulnerable groups in the Brazilian periferias. Fernanda highlighted the importance of our resources not only as a means to disseminate messages on online safety at all the events they attend but also as a means to enhance the visibility of the broader advocacy work being undertaken by Casa Resistências.
The visit also enabled Hari and Heloisa to meet with Voz das Comunidades, a community media organisation based in the Complexo do Alemão (Alemão complex of favelas in Rio) where they presented their ongoing work on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech in the peripheries. The team at Voz shared their experiences of working in the challenging context of the favelas and the importance of physical and online safety as they go about recording and reporting on community matters.
Voz das Comunidades and their Social Impact team expressed interest in working with us in the future. So, watch this space!
In summary, our impact agenda in Brazil funded by SSIA has allowed us to work with multiple organisations and communities in the peripheries of Rio to spread awareness on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech by vulnerable groups, helped build capacity of both individuals and organisations and reach a broader range of groups through engaging workshops and creative activities and multimedia outputs relevant to the local contexts in Brazil. Hari hopes to continue further collaborative work in Brazil with Heloisa given the interest and enthusiasm shown by local organisations.
The ICT4D Collective and Microsoft (UN and International Organisations UNIO) (supported by Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication, ICT4D.at, and YouthIGF) convened a very lively and interactive Session 360 this morning at the WSIS+20 gathering at Palexpo in Geneva. This began by recognising that digital tech will not be used successfully to deliver the SDGs (especially SDG10) by 2030, but then focused in a very positive way on what governments, the private sector and civil society can indeed do to try to ensure that the poorest and most marginalised can use digital tech to improve their lives.
The session built on an online survey conducted in advance of the gathering to explore what people in our networks consider are the most important actions that can be done by governments, the private sector and civil society (as well as international organisations and academia). This is summarised in the slide deck used to guide the sessions (the whole deck is also available by clicking the image below).
Lively introductory thought-provocations were given by Erica Moret (Microsoft), Bazlur Rahman (BNNRC), Paul Spiesberger (ict4d.at) and Yuliya Morenets (Youth.IGF), and the main focus of the session was then to create together a mind map from brainstorming by participants both in the room and also online (as well as using post-its). This generated a wide range of positive and constructive ideas for what we all need to do if we really care about helping the most marginalised use digital technologies to improve their lives. This discussion is summarised below (click on image for full sized .pdf file):
The session ended by participants re-committing themselves to doing something different in the interests of the poorest and most marginalised.
The multistakeholder digital tech communities associated with the UN system seem unlikely to deliver on the SDGs by 2030, despite the efforts of those involved in developing and implementing the Global Digital Compact (2024). In particular, SDG10 on reducing inequalities remains insufficiently addressed, with much emphasis instead continuing to be placed on maximising economic growth through innovation. All too often the most marginalised, especially those with disabilities, LGBTIQ communities, women in patriarchal societies, the elderly, ethnic minorities and refugees, are in practice made yet more marginal through the adoption of the latest digital tech by those more powerful and richer than they are.
UNDESA, ECOSOC/CSTD, many other UN agencies, and the IGF process are all conducting widespread consultations about the future of “digital and development” and the WSIS Process, but these have still not sufficiently addressed the tendency for digital tech to be used to increase inequalities, rather than to address issues of inequality and equity. Our interactive session is the culmination of a consultation process during the three months before the annual WSIS Forum through which people across our different networks have contributed their ideas to what the five highest priorities should be for governments, the private sector, civil society and the UN system in creating greater equity in the use of digital tech. The findings of this process will be presented during the session, and participants invited during the session to add to the recommendations through the interactive development of a mind map on marginalization that will provide a very specific output to feed into the wider ongoing debate within the UN system about digital tech and equity.
Please make your voice heard beforehand
Everyone is invited to contribute before the session through a short (max 10 minute) online survey available at: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/rhul/digital-equity-wsis2025. This will form the basis of our conversations in Geneva, and so even if you cannot attend in person please do copmplete this survey about what needs to be done to ensure that the poorest and most marginalised can indeed benefit from the use of digital tech.
ICT4D Collective 