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@serd.org.in summerschool2014@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 www.kau.se/media www.kau.se/en/humanit twitter.com/Centre4HumanIT facebook.com/karlstadsuniversitet KAU.SE