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Technology in Development: Evolution of ICT4D Research and Practice

This is an extract of the chapter 2 of my thesis “Evaluating how information and communication technology (ICT) interventions affect the wellbeing of Indigenous communities in the North Rupununi, Guyana”

In the context of rapid industrialisation of traditional social systems of the second half of the 20th century, information and communication technologies played the role of assisting in the diffusion and acceptance of innovations (Davis 1989; Rogers 1969). The application of ICT in development – often referred to with the ICT4D acronym - became an area of research and practice (Kleine & Unwin 2009), situated at the convergence between informatics and development studies. ICT4D draws on a variety of disciplines and fields, including information systems (Avgerou & Walsham 2000; Bhatnagar & Bjorn-Andersen 1990; Bhatnagar & Odedra 1992; Odedra-Straub 1996; Roche & Blaine 1996; Walsham & Sahay 2006), human-computer interaction (Dearden 2008), computer science, and communication studies (Mansell 2002). Other disciplines include sociology, economics and governance (Heeks 2010). While its multidisciplinarity has contributed to producing a rich body of literature (Gomez 2013; Patra et al. 2009), these disciplines also have their preferred approaches for characterising the role of ICT in development, favouring technological, information, or people centric approaches. As a result, the field is open, dynamic and conflicted.

Some researchers refer to ‘Information and Communication Technologies and Development’ (ICTD) (Avgerou 2010; Dearden & Dearden 2013; Gomez 2013; Kai-Ti Kao 2010; Perez & Ben-David 2012). This is also the case at the ICTD international conference held almost every year since 2006, which describes itself as an international forum for researchers and practitioners exploring the role of information and communication technologies in social, political, and economic development. Others refer explicitly to ICT for Development, popularised by the use of texting shorthand within its acronym: ICT4D (Diaz Andrade & Urquhart 2012; Heeks 2008). They argue that using the ICT4D acronym provides a purpose for activity, and has the advantage of forcing practitioners to make explicit what they mean by development, thereby helping to uncover assumptions (Kleine & Unwin 2009; Walsham & Sahay 2006). More recently, the term digital development was said to have gained renewed interest (Heeks 2016)[1].

The evolution of ICT4D research is also heavily influenced by the evolution of ICT over the past few decades. In the 1980s and 1990s, the natural home of ICT4D research was the Information Systems (IS) literature. IS aimed to make sense of new technological opportunities and the increasing computerisation of developed societies (Heeks 2008). The interest of IS was to design systems aimed at helping governments and business organisations develop and use ICT effectively (Walsham 2012). It was therefore essentially driven by objectives of effectiveness and competitiveness, and focused on issues of technology transfer and implementation (Ad Hoc Panel 1987; Cyranek & Bhatnagar 1992; Grant-Lewis 1987; Grant Lewis 1992; Lind 1991; Odedra 1992), the contribution of systems development methodologies for analysing the socio-organisational conditions in developing countries (Bell & Wood-Harper 1990; Korpela 1996; Korpela et al. 2000; Mursu et al. 2003), as well as technology adoption in recipient countries (Al-Gahtani 2003; Rose & Straub 1998).

Starting from the mid-1990s, the growing adoption of ICT targets by international development agencies, combined with the limited diffusion of internet in poorer countries also brought to light the increasingly unequal spatial and social distribution of ICT. The main question for development actors soon became to find solutions to extend ICT access to the poor in order to reduce the digital divide, and to create favourable conditions to lift them out of poverty (Kenny 2000; Mbarika et al. 2007; Norris 2001; Wresch 1998). The installation of telecentres in poor and rural areas was one of the principal solutions advanced for granting access to ICT. This type of intervention presented multiple advantages for donor organisations: they were quick to install and produced tangible evidence of achievement, they delivered internet access to the poor and, not least, they also provided sales for IT companies (Heeks 2008). The dominant model of intervention involved public-private partnerships, often implemented through top-down, supply-driven processes. Underlying this was a vast communication system aimed at convincing societies on the necessity to adopt digital technologies:

“Using the language of ‘digital revolution’ and ‘information superhighway’, marketing professionals and politicians together ensured that the general public was aware of the significance of the crucial role of new ICTs in their societies” (Kleine & Unwin 2009:1048).

The growing use of ICT in development interventions also drew important criticisms. It was for instance argued that the focus of donors on bridging the technological divide in developing countries was leading to new dependencies from these countries towards those that owned and designed the technologies (Wade 2002). It was also accused of imposing a modernist logic onto its recipients in general, and Indigenous peoples in particular, drawing them towards a system of beliefs alien to them, and risking the loss of cultural identity (Diaz Andrade & Urquhart 2012). However, the biggest criticism targeted the lack of results of many interventions, which highlighted the limitations of blueprint, techno-centric approaches. The gap between the centralised design of these ICT4D interventions and the differing realities of the local contexts in which they were implemented (Heeks 2002) affected their sustainability (Best & Kumar 2008), and generated increasing frustration (Bailur 2007b; Madon et al. 2007; Parkinson & Lauzon 2008). An account of a World Bank policy paper by Wade (2002) explained, for instance, that following the installation of 23 multipurpose community telecentres in rural Mexico, only five were working two years later: a failure rate of 80 percent. Calls were made to deepen ICT4D research, and compensate the lack of theory, conceptual definition, interdisciplinary approaches, qualitative research and longitudinal research (Gomez & Pather 2010; Van Dijk 2005). In addition, it indicated a need to develop effective instruments for monitoring and evaluation (Kleine and Unwin 2009). In short, these failures triggered a self-assessment within the ICT4D community:

“Large scale hardware and operating system innovation specifically targeted at the bottom-of-the-pyramid are risky ventures, reserved only for the brave or foolish” (Heeks 2008:29).

Although telecentre-styled interventions lost their appeal, the idea of a role of ICT in development has remained influential in policy circles, the industry, and civil society organisations. Much of their focus has shifted to the new opportunities made possible by the diffusion of mobile technologies (World Bank 2012). It has been argued that the adoption of mobile communication, the diffusion of network-based applications, and the generation of user-based content may foster collaboration among stakeholders, generate new sources of income, and even empower the voiceless (Heeks 2008; Kleine & Unwin 2009; Silva et al. 2009; Thompson 2008). Yet, an important challenge of ICT4D remains the need for an increased understanding of the relationship between ICT interventions and wellbeing. This is also true in Indigenous contexts where, as argued earlier, values may deviate significantly from those promoted in global development models and which often drive development interventions.

[1] For the sake of clarity, I hereafter solely use the acronym ICT4D.

#ICT4D #ICT #development #information #communication #technology #intervention #research #phd #literature review #indigenous #wellbeing #telecentre #internet

The bonding effect: Sunken boats, spongy bread and floating flip flop

It is often said that certain life experiences can have a bonding effect in human groups. We knew this would be the case when we unloaded the two boats from the van, eager to canoe our way down the beautiful Squamish river, just 45 minutes north of Vancouver, and only two days after most of us had met for the first time.

Upon arrival at the departure beach, the sun was already high in the sky, reflecting on the river surrounded by a stunning landscape of rolling green hills covered in pine trees and snow-capped mountains in the background. The river was wide and mighty. In its centre, a visible stream the speed of “a sprinting person”, the boat company had warned us.

Alexia, Aruna, Tim and I unloaded the equipment on the beach, consisting of one kayak, one canoe, four paddles, six life jackets, as well as several bags with personal items and food for a picnic. The atmosphere was light and exhilarating so after covering ourselves in sunblock we took a moment to enjoy this special place, and share a cold beer with our bare feet in the hot white sand.

We decided that I would start in the kayak and the rest of the group would take the canoe, the plan being to frequently alternate so that everyone could enjoy the two boats. Boosted by excitation and sitting in this fast and agile boat, I engaged on the river, followed by the canoe, paddling my way down river, then turning around and trying to fight the stream to wait for the canoe to catch up with me. I knew I was going to get wet, and indeed I was. Only a few minutes after embarking, I was now sitting in a cold bath of river water. The sensation of water on my skin reminded me that this mountain river was only a few degrees above zero, “7 or 8 degrees”, the guy from the company had said.

I took the water pump and started to methodically empty the kayak, which got the rest of the group sitting in the canoe to crack up in laughs. In retrospect, the thought of a tall Belgian dude obsessively pumping water out of his tiny little kayak, thereby creating a geyser of water going sideways does make for a funny picture… But I could not get enough water out, and as I was now drifting sideways in the fast stream, a new wave of water poured in and tipped my embarkation. In a fraction of a second, I was underwater trying to swim my way out of the kayak.

When my head emerged from the water, the rest of the group had stopped laughing, maybe because of the expression on my face, as my whole body was now immerged in the cold water and I was trying to catch my breath. I caught the kayak’s end with one hand to prevent it from sinking further and started gathering the water pump and my flip-flops, which were floating around me. I yelled at the group to try and fetch the paddle for me. I’m not sure what my plan was, but as the canoe approached, I threw the water pump and the flip-flops towards them to free up my second hand. I figured that I would swim behind them to the nearest beach where we would empty the kayak and get on our way again.

Things did not exactly turn out this way…

#bonding #nature #canada #vancouver #geographers #conference #CAG2015

Pantanî Blog: Indigenous Youngsters Broadcast Worldview

If you happen to visit the Rupununi region of Guyana, and go on a hike with a local guide, it is likely that, as happened to me, you will hear plenty of fascinating stories and legends on the natural environment. At the end of January 2014, when I travelled to the Deep South of Guyana with a team of local and international researchers, I had the opportunity to visit a place called Skull Mountain, located in the Kanuku mountain range, not far from the Brazilian border. During the visit, our elder guide had a story on every mountain, every river and every valley. It was like being walked through an old town, with its church, its streets and its main square. It was buzzing with memories and legends, evidencing the strength of the mutual relationship between Amerindian culture and their environment. Of course, this is a subtle relationship, one that does not immediately spring to the eye of the foreign observer. It is without material evidence, marks or scars, because it is not based on the extensive extraction of natural resources or on the harnessing of the natural environment. Instead, it is deeply spiritual and embraces a cosmo-centric worldview. What appears as thousands of hectares of wild savanna, forests and mountains is in fact the result of a mutual relationship, where human beings shape their environment and their environment in turn shapes what the humans have become, both in a non-materialistic way. No wonder indigenous territories happen to be amongst the most preserved places on earth!

Many oral legends and stories bear witness to the intensity of that relationship. Very few, however, of these stories have been documented to date. And as the sirens of modernity become louder, some communities feel increasingly challenged in their worldviews. As youngsters are drawn to modern lifestyles, traditional culture and values tend to fade away and, with them, that special relationship with nature. Pantanî Blog, therefore, aims at fostering a reflection on how ICTs can be used for the promotion of indigenous worldviews through the exercise of digital storytelling. Thanks to a generous grant of £4,300 from an alumnus of the OU Masters in Environmental Management, the project allows four young participants to improve their writing skills as well as their command of digital communication tools, through the use of digital tablets. Each month, the participants meet with elders in their community, gather traditional stories, edit them and then publish them on the open access Pantanî Blog website (stories are published around once a week). From an initial focus on history and traditions, the project team will gradually explore the possibility of producing stories and opinions on more current topics such as events or issues, and propose a personal interpretation of the subject covered.

Other means of diffusion are also being considered. From December 2014, the stories will be told on the local radio station and, towards the end of the project, a book will be published and distributed in schools. However, as the internet gradually becomes more accessible to local communities, it is hoped that the project will have provided a basis for the development of new virtual spaces for the expression and diffusion of local culture, news, and values. Crucially, by providing a direct channel of communication for indigenous worldviews, the project also upsets the paradigms that suggest only foreign experts are able to represent the views of indigenous peoples to a wider audience. To discover the work of the storytellers, visit the Pantanî Blog website.

#broadcast #worldview #indigenous #youngsters #storytelling #skull mountain #guyana #makushi #territory #ict #digital storytelling

First World Conference on Indigenous Peoples 2014

On the week of 22 September 2014, the UN General Assembly ran two crucial events: a Climate Summit and the first World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. Although advancing decisions on climate change is of utmost importance, the timing of the two events somewhat eclipsed the conference on indigenous peoples. Yet, it produced an Outcome Document and, in particular, a practical tool which I thought I'd mention here.

The tool - a Handbook - is said to be targeted to Members of Parliament (MP) to help them successfully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It is the work of the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UNDP, the International Forum for Agricultural Development and, importantly, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

At the Press Conference of 22 September, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong explained the importance of the Handbook by highlighting the central role of MPs in

Rewriting discriminatory laws

Adopting budgets to provide adequate resources for the implementation of indigenous rights

Overseeing governance, policies and programmes.

He also suggested that Parliaments provided a platform for indigenous peoples to actively participate in national decision-making processes. "Parliaments need to learn about the situation of indigenous peoples. Only then will they be able to design culturally appropriate and sensitive legislation and to ensure that government policies and programmes address historical discriminations and inequalities", he continued.

The Handbook was therefore designed to assist MPs in this challenging task. It presents some good practices for recognising indigenous rights in different regions of the world and how the provisions of the UNDRIP have been implemented successfully at the national and local levels. Also at the Press Conference, Chief Wilton Littlechild mentioned the example of the 2007 legislation adopted by the Pluri-National State of Bolivia, which fully incorporated the principles of UNDRIP into Bolivia's national legislation.

In my view, the question remains whether this tool will be used by MPs. Indeed, indigenous people count to approximately 360 millions in a global population of approximately 7 billions people (1 in 19 people). Yet, still according to IPU, their representation in Parliaments only accounts to approximately 1 in 46 MPs. Much work remains to be done to ensure a proportionate representation of indigenous peoples in Parliaments.

In addition, while the Handbook does recognises the role of indigenous peoples in tackling many world's issues. Their role seems not to be understood as primary actors but rather as a resource to get insight from: "In many States, indigenous peoples’ institutions, systems of governance and traditional knowledge often provide insight into the search for solutions to today’s complex environmental, developmental and governance problems."

To conclude, there is a strong smell of business as usual. This Handbook does provide some valuable advice and good examples of best practices in the implementation of UNDRIP. But it does not recognise the fundamental role of indigenous peoples in providing solutions to the above-mentioned problems, nor does it seek to associate them as equal partners in the search for these solutions. It is therefore unlikely that the role and situation of indigenous peoples improves fundamentally any time soon, handbook or no handbook.

#undrip #handbook #wcip2014 #climate #indigenouspeople #membersofparliament #discrimination #indigenousrights

I've been working on this infography to illustrate the various sources of surveillance on the Internet and the possible solutions to improve one's privacy and security...

What is missing? How can it be improved?

#surveillance #control #internet #security #privacy #NSA #gchq

"Sir, I got an idea, we are going to overthrow Castro with Twitter!"

That may well have been how the geeky intern, freshly employed at USAID, first brought the idea of ZunZuneo to his Manager. This is not true, of course, but suppose it was, why in the world would he think it could work?

We all remember the Arab Spring. Numerous journalists, bloggers and researchers have highlighted the role that social media may have played in facilitating the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. More recently, governments in Turkey and Venezuela have been known to block certain social media sites for fear of growing political unrest. And a few days ago, it was USAID’s turn to enter the legend with the creation and secret funding of a Cuban Twitter called ZunZuneo. The operation, which is well described here by @wayan_vota ambitioned nothing less than to patiently build political opposition for regime change… through a social media!

While the disappointment towards USAID or the blocking of social media by some unscrupulous governments is perfectly legitimate, it should not lure us into thinking that social media have, by essence, the power to overthrow governments, or to put it mildly make societies more democratic. In academic jargon this is called techno-determinism, it roughly corresponds to the idea that technology irremediably changes us (usually for good), that same idea that was very much “en vogue” across Europe in the beginning of the 20th century (when will we learn?).

A couple of months ago, I had compiled some literature on the topic and it was very divided! Here is a non comprehensive account of some of my findings:

Technologies for Social Change: An Optimistic Vision

Optimistic positions see in the networked nature of digital technologies a possibility for people to communicate and take action outside of established hierarchical power structures. This form of grassroots digital democracy would constitute an alternative to representative, top-down, democracy; as well as plebiscitary, bottom-up, democracy. In both vertical models, it is argued, the agenda is determined by the elites whereas in a model of grassroots digital democracy, the people would generate the agenda horizontally, through the use of the Internet. Following this logic, connected societies could be more democratic and successful by establishing a system based on social self-organization characterised by cooperation, decentralisation and participation (Fuchs, 2008).

“The hope is that the nature of power in the digital network will change the nature of power in the real world as digital networks become ever more integrated into our lives” (Joyce, 2010:11-12)

Another reason for optimism would lie in the affirmation that technology is socially constructed (Kirkpatrick, 2008), meaning that users construct the value and meaning of technology by using it. The co-optation of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, for other purposes than those originally intended by its developers (take that USAID!), i.e. transmitting political content, would be an example of such unexpected social construction.

For their most optimistic supporters, digital technologies create the conditions for a new era, an epochal change (Castells, 2012; Shirky, 2008). Others argue that digital technologies, strengthen the public sphere and have a positive impact on democracy (Eltantawy & Wiest, 2011; Ghonim, 2012; Smith, 2011). At minimum, they would result in a more just and egalitarian future.

Towards Ubiquitous Surveillance: A Pessimistic Vision

The pessimists fear that digital technologies are providing anti-democratic forces the tools they need for implementing a level of control that surpasses everything that existed before. Thanks to the control they exert on the physical infrastructure, as well as corporate complicity and co-optation (Harp, Bachmann, & Guo, 2012; Warf & Grimes, 1997) governments are tempted to use digital networks to control populations by monitoring communications, blocking access of certain users or even tracking and persecuting digital dissidents (Joyce, 2010; Morozov, 2010). This also happens in democratic countries as was evidenced by the recent revelations concerning the activities of the US National Security Agency (NSA) in the framework of its programme PRISM.

Digital technologies enhance the effectiveness of state surveillance and threaten the right of privacy (Leistert, 2012; Netchitailova, 2012; Tække, 2011). Hence, there is a genuine fear of a shift of society towards ubiquitous surveillance or perpetual observation as theorised by Michel Foucault in his account of the ‘panoptic’ society (Foucault, 1975). For Mark Andrejevic, this shift may have already occurred. He suggests there has been a reversal of the modality of surveillance: from using targeted groups to using the population to identify target groups (Andrejevic, 2013).

Lastly, Morozov points to the dangers of digital technologies as empowering tools for bad intentioned hackers as well as terrorist who would be tempted to use the digital network to attack targets that they would previously not have been able to reach (Morozov, 2010). He criticises the naivety of what he calls ‘cyber-utopianism’:

“a naïve belief in the emancipatory nature of online communication that rests on a stubborn refusal to acknowledge its downsides” (Morozov, 2010:XIII)

Arguments Against Techno-Determinism

El-Ojeili & Hayden mention that scepticism on the theories of social change in information societies point out to the continuity with older capitalism in terms of the technological and knowledge dimensions (El-Ojeili & Hayden, 2006:62). Indeed, for many authors, the current western enthusiasm around the democratic potential of digital technologies is nothing more than a new form of – digital – Orientalism, a simplistic argument that sees a technological fix to complex problem.

Scepticism is particularly acute with regards to the Internet. In the 1990s, Warf & Grimes had already observed that much of Internet’s use is for commercial, academic and military purposes, thereby reinforcing entrenched ideologies of individualism and consumption. Hegemonic discourse, they argued, legitimate existing ideologies and politics as being normal, necessary, or natural (Warf & Grimes, 1997).

Gladwell denounces the lack of impact of digital activism, highlighting its inherent “weakness” (Gladwell, 2010). For Hakken, like other technologies, the Internet is political, and like all politics, it “manifests multiple, contradictory tendencies” (Hakken, 2003:366). In his own description of the Internet, Fuchs explains:

“The Internet is a techno-social system consisting of social networks that make use of a global network of computer networks. It is embedded into the antagonisms of contemporary society and therefore has no in-built effects or determinations” (Fuchs, 2012a:781)

#ZunZuneo #socialmedia #democracy #REVOLUTION #usaid #cubantwitter #techno-determinism

Sacred Skull Mountain and the Mighty Wapishanas

The Kanukus, sometimes called ‘Blue Mountains’ by locals because of their deep blue colour on the horizon line, are a stretch of mountains running East to West between the Rupununi and Takutu river in the Southern part of Guyana. When driving on the main road from the predominantly Makushi-populated North Rupununi, passing these mountains means entering into the historical land of the mighty Wapishanas, made of endless savannahs surrounded by mountains, rivers and deep forests on the East.

One of these mountains, in fact a rocky hill located close to the village of Shulinab, holds an archaeological treasure of human fragments and ancient ceramic pots that earned it the bone-chilling nickname of “Skull Mountain”.

The place is not easily accessed without local guides, it is located hours away from the village, surrounded by dozens of other mountains. The hill itself is only a 30-minutes ascension but it presents steep slopes of a black rock that turns into soap when humid. We had the unpleasant occasion to test it as a gentle rain started falling while we were in the middle of our ascension. In an effort to adapt to the changing weather conditions we removed our shoes and finished the ascension in socks to have a better grip. Needless to say, it was a rather tense moment. Any a mistake would have resulted in a 20 meters slide ending, at best, in a bush of cactus. Once arrived on top of these slopes, we discovered what seemed to be a shelter in the rocks, at the foot of which a dozen of ancient ceramic pots of all sizes, some of which were in pieces. The main one, which had a diameter of around 80 cm, was full of human bones of all sizes, including children’s skulls... Behind, under the rock, a jaguar nest, empty of course. In the rocks, some human made storage holes indicating they may have held weaponry such as arrows. Above, on the rock, on a surface of approximately 20 square meters, a faded but still clearly visible red paint presenting patterns and symbols drawn by it’s ancient occupiers.

The local story of this site, told by a Makushi elder, is fascinating: an ancient Makushi group fleeing combats with other tribes and settling on this fortress-like mountain with women and children. An alcohol-tainted dispute between some of the men that turned into a bloodshed, and during which no one made it out alive, apart from the killer, an enigmatic watchman. When did it happen? No one really knows. The site was only discovered 15 years ago with all the skulls and bones and ceramic pots placed in a ceremonial way. Unfortunately, pillages have been on-going since, people took pots and bones away, or displaced them, irremediably altering the historical message left by this ancient tribe…

During that visit, and the long discussions that followed with our local guides who happily shared tales and legends on the environment that surrounded us, I was struck by the strength of the mutual relationship between these communities’ identity and their historical land. It may be hard for an outsider to see at first, but local knowledge and traditions have shaped this environment over the centuries. It was just done in a more subtle way, in a more balanced fashion than what industrial civilisations have done on their lands. What appears to be thousands of hectares of wild savannah, forests and mountains is in fact the result of this mutual relationship, where human beings shape their environment and their environment shapes who they are.

Admittedly, extending land rights for local communities beyond their current, restricted localities, to encompass the full extent of their ancient territory does make a lot of sense. The landscape as it is now is the result of thousands of years of traditional management by these communities. Selling it away in the form of private plots to mining, lumbering or agricultural companies will likely destroy this land and fragment local culture, beliefs and irremediably alter the very existence of its guardians: the local communities. Inversely, by reinforcing their rights, these communities will continue to care and manage this land for the benefit of their own children, what we call the environment, and the rest of Humanity, just because it is sacred to them.

#Makushi #Wapishana #indigenous #land rights #skull mountain #guyana #South Rupununi #archelology

The internet has given activists the means to communicate, mobilise supporters and take action but while they are watching the government, the state's watching them

#surveillance #NSA #democracy #digital technologies #internet #campaign #encryption #electronic frontier foundation #tactical tech

From optimism to delusion: Cyber-technologies, democracy and surveillance

This post was published on the Re.Framing Activism Blog on 15 November 2013. It is reproduced below in its integrality.

Thanks to the tremendous development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the growing accessibility of the digital network, activists and citizens have found a new space for political expression: the Internet. We should be enthusiastic about these developments and embrace ICTs where it helps us build a better future. But we should also be wary of its downsides, and not be fooled into false digital promises.

From the Arab revolutions to Indigenous-led campaigns and, more recently, the spontaneous social movements that burst in Turkey and Brazil, over the last three years, the Internet seems to have turned into a megaphone for political dissidents and human rights activists. The networked nature of web 2.0 applications, in particular social media, and the explosion of users worldwide provide activists with unprecedented tools to communicate their ideas, mobilise supporters and take action outside established hierarchical power structures. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have become privileged fields of action for professional campaigners as well as grassroots movements.

With their built-in feature allowing many-to-many communication, social media have revolutionised the way information is produced and shared: everyone is encouraged to participate, share opinions, pictures and videos on issues that they care about or witness and instantly upload them from their smartphone on the Internet. Institutions and individuals that represent public authority are now under constant citizen scrutiny. They know that any abuse, any mistake can spark online retaliation and take proportions that are hard to control. Many cyberactivists and academics see in digital networks a new source of power that will eventually force the ruling elite around the world to become more transparent, accountable and favour human rights and democracy.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a technological fix to a complex problem and, the solution itself carries its own load of downsides. Indeed, while digital technologies have participated to the success of social and revolutionary movements, they also tremendously enhance the effectiveness of state surveillance. Due to the supervision they exert on the physical infrastructure, governments are tempted to use digital networks to control populations by monitoring communications, blocking access of certain users or even tracking and imprisoning digital dissidents, e.g. in China and Iran.

Recent revelations by the Guardian on the surveillance system set up by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart: the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) have shown that this is not an exclusive feature of authoritarian or non-democratic regimes. The Western surveillance system uses every single means at hand, from tapping online communications and phone calls, to extorting user data from private companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft, and to archiving billions of bits of personal information into highly secure data centres, all in the name of security.

Let’s be clear on one thing: it is still preferable to be a political dissident in the US than it is to be in a country like China. But the level of surveillance achieved by democratic governments, in clear violation of their own privacy rules and without public debate, as well as the pressure exerted against whistleblowers and journalists who stand up against it, is unsettling. Admittedly, they seem closer to the practices of Beijing or Tehran than those of Washington, DC or London.

We would be wrong to assume that digital technologies have some kind of built-in determinism that will necessarily result in a more transparent and democratic society. Such assumption is inaccurate and will only lead to greater pitfalls once the bulk reality catches upon us. So, is this the price to pay? Are we condemned to see our hopes in the ability of digital technologies to make the world a better place vanish, only to realise that they are in fact weakening the rule of law and human rights at home?

Not necessarily. For one, a series of people and organisations – from Mozilla to the Electronic Frontier Foundation – are working to keep the Internet free, open and secure for activists and ordinary citizens. These, in turn, need to start adapting their behaviour and take the necessary measures to limit unwanted access to their personal information, e.g. by using encryption schemes. In addition, we need to involve our representatives in Parliament into a public debate about state’s eavesdropping practices and support the adoption of a regulatory framework that is flexible enough to respond to a fast-evolving sector and strong enough to keep us secure from the abuses of state surveillance.

#Cyberactivism #democracy #surveillance #mozilla #eff #guardian #Snowden #ict #revolution #indigenous #social media #transparency #social movements

Post #MozFest Blues

In the midst of my interrogations and research on the role of information and communication technologies (ICT), a couple of weeks ago, I found myself subscribing to the Mozilla Festival (#MozFest). The three days event organised at Ravensbourne, London from 25 to 27 October was an opportunity to discover Mozilla’s latest products, such as Webmaker or Lightbeam, as well as other open source tools. I had prepared a nice little to-do list, from reinforcing my knowledge of social media, to learning tools for mapping or web teaching kits. I figured I would walk around the festival, jumping from one session to the other to try and get a bit of everything. Instead, it was a completely different experience that awaited me, as I quickly found out.

Having never participated in a hackathon I was not really familiar with the concept behind this sort of events, which consist more or less of locking up caffeinated participants in a room for 48 hours and let the magic of creativity, coding and hacking operate. #MozFest had two particularities, though, 1) participants were allowed to sleep at night, which was not such a luxury given all the information that you have to process during the day and; 2) the amount (1500!) and eclectic background of people involved in #MozFest made it a truly unique event.

For a week-end, Ravensbourne became the global capital of free(d) geek-tizens; a hotspot of coders, designers, artists, activists, teachers, journalists and a shit load of volunteers attaining a level of concentration insanely higher than the maximum level recommended by the WHO! Over the course of two and a half packed days, this happy crowd generated a myriad of ideas, projects and #makes, some of which might develop into features of tomorrow’s Internet.

After discovering some of the brilliant ideas presented and developed during the festival, I more or less got sucked into a team working on a system for improving emergency response. In less than two days, we were able to come up with a very concrete system and software for organising and acknowledging volunteers in humanitarian disasters situations, and showcase it by the close of the festival on Sunday evening. Needless to say that working together with and along other people resulted in some of the best networking I have done in a long time.

Okay, not everything was faultless of course. For one, I just don’t get why so many people attached to openness and freedom on the web work on Apple products! More seriously, the level of techno-enthusiasm, e.g. technology will save us, was skyrocketing. It gets sometimes difficult to validate from my academic perspective, which aims to draw a balanced view of the role of ICTs in human societies and cannot ignore issues such as the digital divide or the fact that no one has yet found a solution that can reconcile Internet use and the right to privacy. Furthermore, the question of the environmental impact of the digital world everyone is so keen to build seems to clearly be off the radar (here is my idea for next year).

Overall, being able to join a community of passionate, solution-driven people dedicated to openness, freedom and emancipation on the Internet was a thrill. Admittedly, developing a concrete idea in a limited amount of time with a range of different talents felt like a breeze of fresh air in the very abstract, slow-paced and lonely journey of a full-time PhD researcher!

Sent from my MacBook ;-)

#mozfest #ravensbourne #internetfreedom #firefox #ict #geek #hacklab #hackaid #surveillance #opensource

Why we need to take Snowden seriously? Excerpts from the interview Glenn Greenwald and Janine Gibson gave to Redittors.

#surveillance #nsa #prism #snowden

The end of privacy

Today I had the opportunity to attend a Seminar at the University of Westminster featuring Dr Vincent Mosco from Queens University, Canada. Titled "To the Cloud: Big Data in a Turbulent World", his presentation aimed at exposing some of the challenges ahead as the economy increasingly relies on the promise of dematerialised data hanging in the cloud. Three main points attracted my attention:

1) One of the first thing that strikes the non technical profane that I am, is the fact that far from being immaterial, the cloud relies on thousands and thousands of very real - and polluting - data centers disseminated all over the world. These secretive centers rely on a massive, and uninterrupted, quantity of energy for cooling down their servers (according to a Greenpeace report, if it were a country, the cloud would have the fifth largest electricity demand in the world). An idea for a title in the next IPCC report: "The impact of the cloud on climate change".

2) Importantly, despite its known conveniency, the cloud is also at the centre of concerns around privacy. Companies are pushing us to adopt their 'solutions' and hand them the keys to our virtual life. The usual suspects include of course Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Apple, Google and Facebook. The recent PRISM scandal shows that governments are deeply involved too. The truth is, our personal information is monitored, aggregated, sold, spied on and stored 'forever' in some obscur data centers. Therefore this question: Is the cloud a utility, should it be public?

3) For Mosco, the culprit is not these companies taken individually, nor governments, it's the system itself which is to blame: Information Capitalism. Big Data is the new El Dorado, it is influencing the way we do business and the way we do research as well. It favours quantity over quality, correlation over causation, data over theory and presentism over context. "Let the data speak for itself" is the new motto, and it all seems to be leading to intellectual impoverishment rather than the super smart society promised by Eric Schmidt and his friends.

There is no doubt that we should have a cold-headed, public debate and ensuing legislation on the questions of data protection and transparency for those in charge of our private data. Until this happens, we should all take responsibility for not selling out our liberty for mere convenience. Initiatives like the tor project might be a start...

#big data #the cloud #privacy #prism #nsa surveillance

Some Reflections on Indigeneity and Digital Technologies

In most developed societies, information and communication technologies (ICT) have become embedded within the lives of individuals, creating a phenomenon of ‘time and space compression’ that is transforming profoundly the way information is generated and shared (Arnason, 1990; Bauman, 1999). Ubiquitous connectivity and technological capabilities allow many-to-many communication to take place (Fuchs, 2012; Ganguin & Hoblitz, 2012), expanding social relations over the globe (Held & McGrew, 2002; Mann, 2001) thanks to constant flows of user-generated information onto the digital network. While this is removing boundaries for those who have access to the digital network, it is also perceived as worsening the exclusion of those who can not afford the price of end-devices such as computers or handhelds, lack the skills or live in remote regions where infrastructure is absent (Norris, 2001; Qureshi, 2012; Radovanovic, 2011; Van Dijk & Hacker, 2003). These issues are especially relevant to indigenous communities who are peripheral to the market economy, usually lack the capacity to engage with advanced technologies, and are the last to benefit from infrastructure development.

However, recent infrastructure developments and the growing digital literacy of users outside urban centres are increasingly allowing indigenous communities to harness ICTs for preserving their cultural heritage, sharing information and building networks. Scholars have documented how indigenous communities use digital technologies to mediate issues, such as human rights violations, and needs that were previously stuck in the local sphere for lack of access to conventional communication outlets (Belton, 2010; Hirtz, 2003; Landzelius, 2003, 2006; Stahler-Sholk, 2010; Zimmerman, Zimmerman, & Bruguier, 2000). As Landzelius puts it, their increasing existence as online communities allow indigenous peoples to generate political opportunities:

“the nowhere/everywhere virtuality of cyberspace may mean that groups otherwise far on the periphery of power can nonetheless commandeer information hubs and alliances to gain center stage, in geo- as well as local politics” (Landzelius, 2003:12)

Despite, or because of these new opportunities, critical voices have denounced the dangers of bringing ICTs to traditional societies, arguing that those who engage with, and appropriate non-traditional knowledge and tools would lose their traditional culture and therefore their indigenousness (Jackson and Warren, 2005). In Latin America, Jackson and Warren argue that this argument has been used by states to challenge indigenous leaders and reject their claims or marginalise their movements. This translates to a form of essentialism; a thinly veiled form of racism:

“a process of freezing, and reifying an identity in a way that hides the historical processes and politics within which it develops”(Jackson & Warren, 2005, p.559).

Instead, we argue that a group’s knowledge and identity are not definite characteristics but the product of complex sets of relationships which have in most cases grown from changes and influences over time and generations (Briggs, 2005). Indigenous knowledge and practices are not only varied and evolving, they are dynamic responses to changing contexts of situated agents. In other words, indigenous communities are actively engaged in the production, acquisition and transmission of knowledge “which occurs in cultural, economic, agroecological, and sociopolitical contexts that are products of local and external processes” (Bebbington, 1993, p. 275). As Agrawal (1995, p. 422) points out:

“What is today known and classified indigenous knowledge has been in intimate interaction with western knowledge since at least the fifteenth century. In the face of evidence that suggests contact, variation, transformation, exchange, communication, and learning over the last several centuries, it is difficult to adhere to a view of indigenous and western forms of knowledge being untouched by each other”.

Technological change and novel ideas can thus be seen as percolating within and among indigenous communities as part of an adaptation process, and are not solely the result of an hegemonic trend towards modernity, globalisation and loss of cultural identity (Belton, 2010; Diamond, 1999). In this perspective, we should not underestimate people’s ingenuity to appropriate new knowledge and tools for their own purposes. Using the instances of the Mayan peasants, Indian farmers or even the Amazonian Kayapo, all of whom have relatively low literacy levels, Dyer-Witheford (1999) argues how indigenous peoples have successfully interfaced advanced communication networks with traditional forms of mobilisation. This suggests that the appropriation of ICTs may, in some cases, result from strategies to safeguard indigenous traditions and resisting hegemony, rather than represent examples of co-optation and loss of indigenousness (Assies, 2000; Fisher, 1996; Garfield, 2001). As Hirtz puts it:

“it takes modern means to be traditional” (2003:1)

David Harvey is a Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY), Director of The Center for Place, Culture and Politics, and author of nu...

David Harvey speaks about taking on the public space and turning it into a common (Nov. 2011)

#common #public space #david harvey

Celebrating Brazilian Indian Day

For most of its colonial history, Brazil’s relationship with its indigenous peoples has been marked by a tension between an apparent desire to protect communities and continuous endeavours to build a “unified” nation, notably through policies of territory occupation and conquest. Up until the 1980s, state protection of indigenous peoples’ lands was primarily focused on objectives of integration and assimilation. Once indigenous groups had been assimilated into Brazilian society, theywould no longer benefit from specific state protection, losing their right to their land in the wake of their emancipation.

It was only in 1988, with the adoption of the new Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil that the objective of assimilation was dropped in favour of the recognition of the cultural and territorial rights of indigenous peoples. One of theConstitution’s key provisions required that procedures to identify and demarcate all indigenous traditional lands had to be completed by 1993. By 2004, eleven years after the original deadline, only 55% of indigenous territories had been demarcated. What started as an extremely ambitious project of territorial recognition had been scaled down due to rising contestation among non-indigenous groups, particularly ranchers, miners and loggers.

One of the territories under dispute, the Raposa Serra do Sol in Roraima, became a symbol of the fierce opposition between indigenous and non-indigenous groups with over 500 appeals made against the proposed demarcation. The demarcation was first finalised in 2005, but the case was subsequently taken to the Federal Court, Brazil’s highest judiciary authority. In 2009, the court confirmed the legality of the decision in what was initially deemed an important victory for indigenous peoples and human rights groups. However, the devil is in the details, and the Federal Court’s decision was replete with a series of exceptions that have since begun to severely restrict the nature of the right of indigenous peoples to their lands. UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, declared that the ruling seriously limits “constitutional protections by specifying State powers over indigenous lands on the assumption of ultimate State ownership”.

The solutions for the sustainable management of natural resources by communities that are evidenced in Project COBRA are not all directly dependent upon the recognition of indigenous land rights, but it helps to make them successful. The implementation of these solutions in Brazil and elsewhere requires a legal framework that recognises the collective aspect of indigenous traditional land, and the culturally diverse management of natural resources that derives from it. On this 19th April 2013, it is worth reminding ourselves that Brazil’s formal recognition of what is sometimes labelled the indigenous peoples’ heritage – or the expressions of the relationship between the peoples, their land and the other living beings and spirits which share the land – would be the most noble and appropriate manner to celebrate the Indian day.

lastrealindians-deactivated2015

LRI stretches down to the land of the Condor. Respect to Chief Tashka!

indigenousactivism

This says a lot!

As one of the oldest geological formations on earth, the Guiana Shield is also the continuation of West Africa’s Gold Coast. Hence, it is a highly mineralised region with large deposits of gold, diamonds, bauxite and uranium. Today, formal and informal gold exploitation are important contributors to the local economy. However, in the absence of effective regulatory measures, the bounty may turn into a nightmare, in particular for Amerindian communities, the environment and security.

Check out my new opinion written with Wouter J. Veening on www.projectcobra.org

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