[Air-L] CFP: ICT4 Democracy Summer school New Delhi 16-22 March 2014

[Jakob Svensson]

ICT4Democracy
Summer School 2014
March 16-22, 2014
New Delhi, India

Organized by:
Society for Education and Research Development  -India
HumanIT,  Karlstad University  -Sweden

www.serd.org.in/summerschool2014

Introduction
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have emerged as powerful 
tools for reaching to the ever-increasing information demands of the 
society. The increasing diversity of ICTs and their equally diverse 
applications in different domains of human life are posing a lot of 
questions every moment. Researchers around the globe are working to take-up 
these questions and challenges. This summer school is focused upon political 
aspects of ICTs and in particular their role in political and democratic 
development. The developments of E-government and E-services have been 
remarkable the last five years and when it comes to ICTs for social and 
political change, the recent popular uprisings in North Africa and the 
Middle East have provided us with examples of how information circulation 
using online platforms can induce processes of democratization and political 
developments.
We are especially inviting participation from students who are at the stage 
of preparing their doctoral or masters' theses qualifications as well as 
activists, government officials, practitioners, NGO and aid agency workers 
to participate in the summer school to share experiences and learn from each 
other. The school is interactive in character, and is composed of keynote 
lectures, tutorials and workshops with the presentations from young 
researchers. The idea is to encourage participants to build up collegial 
relationships. The topics and angles of this summer school will be relevant 
for young researchers and practitioners from various academic disciplines as 
Political Science, Informatics, Computer Science, Media & Communication 
Studies, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Law and Anthropology. Our aim is 
to create a good mix of research and practice, theory and empiric material, 
we cordially invite projects, government organizations, as well as other 
senior researchers to present papers or to organize workshops as part of the 
summer school. We are aiming at between 25 to 40 participants and 10 invited 
faculty members (keynote speakers, workshop organizers, seminar leaders and 
paper supervisors).

Contributions Invite
Researchers from all disciplines as well as practitioners and activists are 
welcome to the summer school. We invite contributions on application 
scenarios, use cases, and good practices; research with an empirical focus; 
and inter-disciplinary work. Topics of interest include, but are not limited 
to:
E-governance
E-government and E-administration
E-participation
E-campaigning
E-voting
Role of ICT in Social and Political change
ICT for Corruption Fighting, Transparency and Accountability
ICT for Civic Empowerment and Gender Equality
ICT for Grass roots Media and Freedom of Expression
ICT for Poverty Reduction
ICT for Peace
ICT and Human Rights
ICT for Corporate Governaance


Contributions will be selected based on an extended abstract review by the 
Summer School Program Committee consisting of reputed academics, well-known 
practitioners and activists. Contributions should contain a clear problem 
statement; an outline; and a clear messages. Accepted short versions of 
papers will be made available to all participants in the Summer School 
Pre-Proceedings and on the summer school website. Work in progress is 
strongly encouraged since the aim of this summer school is for participants 
to develop and discuss their ideas before having the opportunity to turn 
them into final papers. Final full papers between 8 and 15 pages in length 
will be graded by reputed academics and considered for a book publication by 
Springer edited by the summer school chairs.
To submit an extended abstract (max. 700 words in length) please go to the 
Submission page at the summer school website at 
www.serd.org.in/summerschool2014

Schedule and Structure of Summer School
The summer school will have an integrated week long program consisting of 
keynotes, workshops, paper presentations, panels and discussions. The aim of 
the summer school is to encourage a stimulating interchange between all 
participants from different fields and from different parts of the Globe – 
be they new researchers, activists or experienced practitioners. The summer 
school will start on Sunday 16th with registration, welcome addresses and 
mingle for participants to get-together. This will be followed by the 
welcome dinner. The following five days, Monday to Friday, will be centered 
around one theme a day with a morning keynote followed by discussions in 
smaller groups lead by a reputed academic, activist or professional. The 
second half of the morning will be devoted to participants presenting their 
works and discussing them in smaller constellations also lead by reputed 
academics activists, and professionals. The afternoons will be devoted to 
workshops related to the theme or study trips organized by research groups, 
government or development organizations. There will be good opportunity for 
the participants to work on their final papers, organize own meetings/ 
discussions with each other and faculty in the evenings. Friday afternoon 
will be devoted for individual meetings of participants with the faculty 
mentors to discuss their final papers (students will be allocated to 
different faculty mentors as per the area of expertise). The summer school 
will finish Saturday with a sightseeing tour around Delhi. Final papers will 
be due within two weeks from the end of the summer school.

Registration and fee

The registration fee includes access to all the sessions during the summer 
school, workshops and demonstrations, keynotes, Social Programme, lunches 
and refreshments throughout the summer school and Welcome Reception and 
Dinner on 16th March. Shared Accommodation of six nights (with breakfast ) 
is included in the registration fee of USD 450. Else, the participants will 
have choice to book their own accommodation and go for a registration Fee of 
USD300. Payment instructions will be made available on the summer school web 
page.
Registration fee (With shared accommodation for 6 nights - checking in 
Sunday 16th ) USD 450
Registration Fee (Without Accommodation) : USD 300

Important Dates
Extended Abstract Submission November 10, 2013
Acceptance/ review note: December 10, 2013
Registration and short paper deadline: February 1 , 2014

Financial Assistance and Grants? We are working hard on getting sponsorship 
for few participation grants (including travel support) for the best rated 
proposals. In the event that we will be able to provide such travel grants 
– the selection will especially target participants from developing 
countries (with the best reviews). We have not secured this funding yet. 
Hence, at this stage we are not yet able to sponsor anyone. When we have any 
more information it will be made available on the website. Hence, there is 
no need to email us concerning this – just keep an eye on the webpage.

Best Paper Award
An award for best student paper submitted and presented will be organized, 
which will be presented during the closing ceremony of the summer school. 
The paper should be written by the participant her/ himself for 
consideration of the award. The paper may include the names of the 
supervisor (s), however any contribution to the paper by other researchers 
should be made clear.

Course Certificates
Participation Certificates will be issued to all the participants.

Summer School Chairs:
Dr. Vikas Kumar, SERD / Asia-Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi
Dr. Jakob Svensson, HumanIT, Karlstad University, Sweden

Contacts:
Questions Related to the Summer School Should be directed to the summer 
school secretariat:
ict4dd at serd.org.in
summerschool2014 at gmail.com


Jakob Svensson, Ph. D.
Ass. Prof. Media and Communication Studies
Director HumanIT
Director, BA Programme in Media & Communication Studies
Director, MA Programme in Global Media

Karlstad University
SE-65188 Karlstad, Sweden
Telephone +46 54 700 1893
Mobile + 46 73 443 48 04

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www.kau.se/en/humanit
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