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6th IDIA Conference
IDIA2012 Conference
Istanbul, Turkey
6-8 September 2012
Alleviating Digital Poverty with ICT innovation in emerging economies.
Will ICT Rights make a difference?
A conference about ICTs, poverty (digital and other) and rights (digital and other).
We invite you to submit an abstract for a proposed paper in the area of Developing Informatics / ICT4D for IDIA 2012 (the 6th International Development Informatics Association Conference) to be held on 6-8 September 2012, in Istanbul, Turkey. The theme of the conference is:
"Alleviating Digital Poverty with ICT innovation in emerging economies.
Will ICT Rights make a difference?"
Submit and register here:
Online conference system: https://www.conftool.net/idia2012/
Keynote speakers
Keynote title TBA
Professor Chrisanthi Avgerou
Information Systems and Innovation Group
London School of Economics
London
Keynote title TBA
Mustafa Akgül
Bilkent University
Ankara, Turkey
1. Call for Papers
The conference is aimed at researchers, policy-makers and reflective practitioners. It will be managed and hosted by the 1 School of IT at the South African campus of Monash University, 2 North-West University (South Africa), and the 3 Department of Computer Engineering at Marmara University (Turkey).
Papers will be double-blind peer-reviewed and accepted papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings. Selected papers will be submitted for publication in an accredited journal in DI (Development Informatics) / ICT4D.
Conference proceedings will be distributed at the conference.
The DI / ICT4D space is a dynamic, complex, morally challenging and altruistic area for intervention or for undertaking research. The 5th IDIA conference, held in October 2011 in Lima, Perú, identified these realities. One of the key themes emerging from that conference was the need to understand the connections between access and usage of ICT and poverty, connecting both issues under the concept of digital poverty. Also, in the context of the recent social uprising around the Mediterranean Sea, the importance of ICT and new media are growing. The voices of citizens through the use of social media are becoming a part of the political scene. ICT tools for communication as well as for organizing and structuring political responses under both autoritarian and democratic regimes are gaining ground. The need to go beyond the technical aspects of ID / ICT4D demands serious attention. The 6th annual IDIA conference hopes to progress in this direction.
Development Informatics covers a broad range of fields relevant to developing countries and marginalised communities, and includes disciplines such as Health Informatics, e-Governance, and e-Learning. The 6th IDIA2012 Conference hopes to progress in exploring improving the field of Development Informatics, and calls for papers in any of the following themes.
2. Themes
2.1 Digital poverty alleviation
- What is digital poverty? Theoretical, methodological, empirical discussions and developments.
- Does poverty alleviation require an ICT dimension? What experiences, at the local, national or regional level, can offer guidance?
- What are the skills for development agents that ICT can provide?
- How can ICT, among others, contribute to the non-monetary dimensions of poverty alleviation, including political, cultural and minorities issues?
2.2 ICT Rights
- Are there specific rights associated to ICT access and usage? Are these rights connected to development in any meaningful way?
- Is rights promotion a requirement for those involved in DI / ICT4D work?
- Are rights specific to cultural or social realities, or are they universal? Is ICT a way to universalize rights? And if so, what right do we have to promote these rights?
- Is development work with ICT being transformed by the current usage of social media for political purposes?
2.3 The field of DI / ICT4D
- Development informatics and poverty alleviation: academic, theoretical and practical issues.
- What is the relevance of social and cultural conditions and contexts of work activities for Development Informatics?
- What developmental challenges are brought by the widespread deployment of technologies in deprived communities, in developing nations, in aboriginal communities?
- Minorities and DI: ethnical, gender, sex, religion and the work of development.
- The relationship between commercial informatics, development informatics and information systems.
Papers may be relevant to one or more of these topics and the above themes.
We especially invite academics, practitioners, policymakers and activistsfrom the Mediterranean and Middle East regions to participate.
3. Panels
Candidates may also put in proposals for a panel discussion.
Kindly submit possible themes and names of panelists.
4. Research Exchange
A Research Exchange session is proposed for either 5 September or 9 September. The purpose of this session is for sharing current non-published work in progress research (i.e. working papers, Ph.D, M.S. or academic non-degree-oriented research).
If interested, please indicate which date suits you best. Arrangements will be made in time, and there is no extra fee if you are already registered for the main conference.
5. Submission of Abstracts and Proposals
Abstracts of no longer than 300 words may be submitted through the electronic submission system: http://www.conftool.net/idia2012/
If an Abstract is accepted, its full paper may only be submitted via the electronic submission system. For relevant themes see the Call for Papers above.
| 28 February 2012 | Submission of Abstracts | |
| 15 March 2012 | Notification of acceptance of Abstracts | |
| 1 May 2012 | Full papers due for blind peer review | |
| 1 July 2012 | Peer review results | |
| 1 August 2012 | Final version of papers due |
5.1. Conference proceedings
TBA
5.2 Format for papers
For reviewing purposes:
Papers should be submitted in one of these formats:
- Open Office - ODF template 15Kb
- RTF - RTF template 24Kb
- MS Word - DOC template 17Kb
Please do not save in *.docx format, but in an older version
[Use Save As... and select an older version of MS Word] - No other formats are accepted - no PDFs are accepted
Formatting requirements
- The paper should include a title, abstract, and references (any style of your choice) - but no footnotes.
- Please remove all references to author names and institutions.
- The paper length should be between 4000 and 8000 words including all headings, references, and footnotes
- We recommend 1.5 or double line spacing with size 10 or greater font
- Use of footnotes should be minimised
- The abstract should be a maximum of 300 words
For publishing purposes
Papers accepted after the double-blind peer review process must comply with the following requirements, otherwise they will not be included in the Conference Proceedings. Also meet the deadlines for submissions to have the paper included in the Proceedings.
- The paper should include the author and co-authors' name, affiliation and contact email
- Note that papers may be reformatted by the conference organisers for the conference proceedings and for journal submission
- The paper will only be included in the conference proceedings if at least one co-author is able to present the paper at the conference
- Once the paper is accepted for the conference proceedings, it is assumed that the author gives consent for the paper to be published online by the conference organisers
- Do not submit in *.docx format
6. Registration
To register, please use the online conference system at
https://www.conftool.net/idia2012/
6.1 Registration fees
| USD | ||
|---|---|---|
| Conference fee | tba | |
| Early bird | tba | |
| Student Specials | ||
| Conference fee | tba | |
| Early bird | tba | |
Students have to present proof of current registration at a higher education institution.
Early bird ends: 1 June 2012
6.2 Visa letters
- Visa application support letters will only be supplied to individual authors of peer reviewed papers that have been accepted
- Do not request bulk Visa application supporting letters
- For observers who require a Visa letter, please submit your qualifications, year of completion, university from which you obtained your degree, and a short paragraph of your research interest and activities in the field
- Support letters will only be supplied after full registration for the conference, including payment of the conference fee
6.3 Gala Dinner
The gala dinner will be organised in a boat in Bosphorus which can be windy and cool in September.
7. Accommodation
See the list of affordable hotels [coming soon!] within easy reach of the conference venue.
8. Transport / Airports
There are two airports in Istanbul:
- Atatürk (IST)
- Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
Getting to Taksim from both the airports is easy and cheap by bus.
For timetables, fares and other information: http://www.havatas.com.tr/en/
9. Info and Tips
9.1 Currency Exchange
There are many currency exchange shops in the city and they have quite fair rates. The rates can be higher in the airport.
10. Programme Committee
See the Programme Committee page.
Organizing Committee
| Melih Kirlidog | Conference Co-Chair | |
| Jacques Steyn | Conference Co-Chair | |
| Erdal Balaban | ||
| Fuat Ince | ||
| Sevinc Gulsecen | ||
| Meric Aykol | ||
| Imelda Koen | ||
| Charles van der Vyver |
About IDIA
IDIA, the International Development Informatics Association, is an association serving as a forum for international cooperation between individuals and organisations focusing on research into the use of ICTs by developing economies and societies (ICT4D). IDIA was founded in 2006 and has held national workshops on Development Informatics, as well as five international conferences.
IDIA2012 is the 6th International IDIA Conference.
