On 13 June 2023, IFIP Working Groups 9.4 and 9.5 have joined forces in convening a workshop titled “Current Issues in the Digital Society”. The workshop was organised as a pre-conference session of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), which took place in Kristiansand, Norway.
The workshop has been a fantastic occasion for two Working Groups under IFIP Technical Committee 9, centred on ICT and Society, to explore the many synergies across its members. IFIP WG 9.4 on the Implications of Information and Communication Technologies for Development works on issues connected to ICT for Development (ICT4D), as well as its present-day ramification on topics including design ethics, data justice and surveillance. IFIP WG 9.5 on Our Digital Lives views digital technologies as intertwined with everyday life, and explores the multiple facets of this intertwinement. While the two groups have collaborated before, for example with the Our Digital Lives track held during the IFIP 9.4 Virtual Conference, the workshop was our first occasion to create a shared event appealing to ECIS participants, but also to our memberships at large, and beyond it.
The workshop has accepted 23 research abstracts, centered on themes that engage diverse aspects around the topic of Current Issues in the Digital Society. In just one day we have had the chance to learn about a wide variety of themes: digital platform ecosystems; informational injustices; digital identity; inequality in digital societies; open banking and financial inclusion just to name a few. The hybrid format, allowing for remote participation through the day, has ensured the possibility for colleagues to join in from multiple sites worldwide, with presenters covering a spectrum from Thailand to eastern California. Splendid technical assistance from ECIS has made this all possible, and we are extremely grateful for the logistical assistance we received!
The real heart of the workshop consisted in the problematisation – and in a way, revolution – of the core presentation format, conventionally structured around slide-based presentations and a Q&A. To maximise interactivity and creative generation of ideas, we have experimented with a new format: presentations were structured around four slam sessions, in which presenters have had the chance to convey their research in the way they preferred. With sessions loosely centred around thematic cores, the slam format has resulted in a proper flourishing of creativity. Over just one day we have heard research conveyed through poems, photostories, memes, startup pitches, and even a dance-based presentation (yes!). Experimenting with the slam session format has been a fantastic form of liberation from the conventional structure of workshops, and one that democratised the convening of research by infusing freedom in the very way this is structured. Doing so has also been an important learning occasion for all of us, experimenting with novel ways to perform the reporting that is so central to our research works.
As organisers, we are extremely thankful and looking forward to building on the constructive feedback that participants have given us on the workshop. We look forward to many more occasions to build activities together!
IFIP 9.4 BLOG 