Development 2.0 and Beyond: Challenges for ICT4D in 2013

The discipline of ICT4D has never appeared more, or less, relevant. On the one hand, technology has become unprecedentedly pervasive, plastic, mobile, and cheap; increasingly based on open standards, emerging, platform-based architectures beckon towards an empowered era of development hubs, mashups, and commercial and social enterprise that increasingly offer those in emerging economies an independent, ‘continuous beta’ of thought and activity. On the other, it might be said that such positive developments challenge those working in ICT4D, and even ‘development’ itself, to engage in a new way with people who are increasingly ‘doing it for themselves’. In this talk, Thompson addresses some of the opportunities and contradictions presented by this tension, and considers some emerging ways in which ICT4D researchers may contribute to the field.

About the series

This seminar series gathers leading scholars and practitioners to reflect on the influence of new communication technologies on development processes. The seminars will focus on the dramatic changes in citizens’ ability to coordinate and mobilize for political action, on global migration and its relation to digital media, and on how international and national actors are seeking to shape the applications of technology and communication. The series provides a focus point for academics and non-academics in Oxford who are interested in the challenges and opportunities of employing new communication technologies in development contexts. The series was organized by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) at the University of Oxford, co-convened by Dr Iginio Gagliardone and Dr Mark Graham.