[Air-L] Digital Natives with a Cause? - A Report

[Nishant Shah]

The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore and
Hivos<http://http//www.hivos.net/>have assessed the state of knowledge
on the potential impact of youth for
social transformation and political engagement in the South. This
report ‘*Digital
Natives with a Cause?’* charts scholarship and practice of youth and
technology and informs further research and intervention within diverse
contexts and cultures.

The report displays that digital natives have a potential impact as agents
of change. It concludes that multidisciplinary theoretical approaches
venturing beyond the cause-and-effect model and providing the necessary
vocabulary and sensitivity are crucial to understanding Digital Natives. The
lament that youths are apolitical is a result of insufficient attention to
activities that do not conform to existing notions of political and civil
society formation. Digital Natives are sensitive and thoughtful; it is time
to listen to them and their ideas, and to focus on their development as
responsible and active citizens rather than on their digital exploits or
technologised interests.

The report specifically focuses on youth as e-agents of change within
emerging Information Societies to explore questions of technology mediated
identities, embedded conditions of social transformation and political
participation, as well as potentials for sustained livelihood and education.
It identifies Knowledge Gaps and Networks and further areas of intervention
in the field of Digital Natives.

As a first step in working towards enabling digital natives for social
transformation and political engagement, Hivos and CIS will organize a
multistakeholder conference fall 2010.

A Summary of the report, as well as the detailed narrative are now available
for discussion, debate, suggestions and ideas.

The report is available at http://cis-india.org/research/dn/dnrep
and also at
http://http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause/News/New-Publication-on-Digital-Natives<http://http//www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause/News/New-Publication-on-Digital-Natives>


Apologies for Cross-posting

Warm regards

Nishant

-- 
Nishant Shah
Doctoral Candidate, CSCS, Bangalore.
Director (Research), Centre for Internet and Society,( www.cis-india.org )
Asia Awards Fellow, 2008-09
# 00-91-9740074884