This is the twenty-first episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Ettie Unwin draws on her experience in using statistics and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases to argue powerfully that scientists (and by implication all of us) need to work with rather than on people living in economically poor parts of the world. As she says “Since the global burden of infectious disease is not
equitable, it’s important to help train my future colleagues around the world in methods and tools so they can model transmission themselves”.

The full vignette can be read here.

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Ettie is a Senior Lecturer in Statistical Science at the University of Bristol where her research focuses on developing methodologies related to infectious disease transmission to improve global public health. She is passionate about co-creating research with partners in areas where the global burden of disease is highest, whilst sharing her technical knowledge when appropriate.

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

This is the twentieth episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Dato’ Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi draws on his experiences in Malaysia to reflect on what has changed over the last two decades in terms of how and why digital tech is being used, from the days of kedai.com which was seen as being a way to “bridge the digital divide” to the contemporary period when Malaysia is still providing free collective broadband to rural and underserved communities. He concludes that “the technology has evolved and yet inequalities still remain. In the end, it’s never about the technology but it’s about what technology can do for society. Let’s begin by agreeing on the societies we want, then apply the appropriate technologies to make them thrive”.

The full vignette can be read here.

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Sharil, from Malaysia, trained and practised as a lawyer, became a policy maker, went into corporate finance and then moved on to become a telco regulator and a trade negotiator. Thereafter, got involved in corporate restructuring, automotive, infrastructure and aviation, whilst dabbling in a spot of angel investing, startup mentoring, media and movie making. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia.

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

This is the nineteenth episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Revi Sterling reflects on the challenges facing gender digital inclusion, and asks: “I wonder what we did wrong for the last twenty years. Were we ahead of ourselves? Were we just Cassandras warning people about restrictive social norms and technology determinism? It’s a petty bitterness I have. There’s a twinge of resentment when I look at the ‘new’ gender and digital inclusion research agendas – retreads if there ever were. No one has heard of the canon of digital divide research we built. If they have, they say ‘It’s so old!’ but if you don’t address a gaping wound, it doesn’t heal”. She concludes that “‘Development’ now is not about progress; it’s about keeping progress from slipping. Our goal is to hold the gendered rock. The goal of development work now may be maintaining a state – instead of expecting state change – until newer systems evolve to fill the vacuum. We need to be content, even dedicated, to holding the boulder on the steep hillside and not letting it slide”.

The full vignette can be read here.

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Revi started out elevating women’s voices through technology. This led to positions and programmes helping millions of women use technology to achieve their goals, as well as 20+ years of frustration with donors, governments, peer institutions and rural busses. I will never stop talking about social norms, opportunities, and inequities.

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

This is the eighteenth episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Paul Spiesberger argues that those who can should switch to Linux OS, support initiatives such as Public Money Public Code, encrypt data, use decentralised Internet services, and dusrupt power structures by demanding policy changes.

The full vignette can be read here.

Audio read by Georg Steinfelder

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Paul graduated as a computer scientist from TU Wien and is a passionate programmer. He is the operative head of ROTA at INSO, and works with SAI, TU Graz. Since 2014, he has served as the chair of ICT4D.at, and he is a member of the ICT4D Collective.

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

Este é o décimo sétimo episódio do nosso podcast baseado nas histórias de amigos e colegas que contribuíram para o novo livro de Tim Unwin, Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. Nele, Fernanda Scur ilustra como “Qualquer solução digital deve… ser complexa e, acima de tudo, ter em conta tanto o contexto a que se destina como as partes interessadas que precisam de estar envolvidas na sua implementação”. Isto é ilustrado pelo exemplo de como “o governo federal brasileiro ofereceu ajuda financeira de emergência a trabalhadores informais e pequenos empresários durante a pandemia de COVID-19 no início da década de 2020”.

A vinheta completa pode ser lida aqui (em inglês).

Todos os ficheiros áudio relacionados com o livro também estão disponíveis no nosso podcast com um novo episódio a cada semana.

Fernanda (do Brasil) é estratega de parcerias multissetoriais, com foco no envolvimento intencional e em ações colaborativas eficazes que impulsionam mudanças sistémicas/estruturais para um impacto social e ambiental positivo. É doutorada em Pensamento Sistémico para Colaboração Ativa e experiência em design de interação, desenvolvimento de projetos, design conceptual e de processos, análise de redes complexas e experiência do utilizador.

A informação completa sobre o livro está disponível nos seguintes links:

This is the seventeenth episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Fernanda Scur illlustrates how “Any digital solution must … be complex and above all take into consideration both the context for which it is intended and the stakeholders that need to be involved in its implementation”. This is illustrated through the example of how “Brazil’s federal government offered financial emergency aid to informal workers and small entrepreneurs during the COVID pandemic in the early 2020s”.

The full vignette can be read here.

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Fernanda (from Brazil) is a multi-stakeholder partnership strategist, aimed at purposeful engagement and effective collaborative action that drives systemic/structural change for positive social and environmental impact. She holds a PhD in Systems Thinking for Active Collaboration and has experience in interaction design, project development, concept and process design, complex network analysis and user experience

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

This is the sixteenth episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Benita Rowe illustrates how “Digital interventions aimed at preventing or responding to gender-based violence (GBV) have re-emerged in recent years in cyclical form, each positioned as a world-first innovation”. Yet, she argues that “Despite differences in format, these interventions often replicate a flawed set of design assumptions that consistently fail to
account for lived realities”.

The full vignette can be read here.

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Benita (originally from Australia) designs and advises on digital strategies with a focus on service delivery in humanitarian and conflict-affected settings. Over nearly two decades, she has worked across crisis preparedness and response, to education and health, supporting system resilience in more than 17 countries, in collaboration with UN agencies, international organisations, private-sector and industry actors, local organizations, and foundations.

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

This is the fifteenth episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Nimmi Rangaswamy concludes that “What was once imagined as a shared, empowering infrastructure has become a personalised, pay-per-use playground — curated for binge and scroll rather than community or collective good. The Internet in India today is more a screen in the palm than a shared window. It entertains more than it empowers, and connects more to content than to community”.

The full vignette can be read here.

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Nimmi is a Professor at the Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems, IIIT, Hyderabad. She teaches on the society-technology interface, bringing an anthropological perspective to explore the impacts of AI. Her research in Human-Computer Interaction foregrounds local practices of technology diffusion and how communities engage with digital systems — through sharing, learning, training, and adaptation

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

This is the fourteenth episode of our podcast based on the vignettes contributed by friends and colleagues to Tim Unwin’s new book Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto. In it, Nnenna Nwakanma tells the story of her experiences having asked to visit a “school that the media has touted as the ‘model’” of good use of digital tech in education in a West African country. As she notes, “I needed to see things for myself, where the rubber hits the road. I also refused any ‘official’ or ‘media-related’ accompaniment”. The vignette reports on the schocks she encountered when she visited. As she concludes “When are we going to stop working FOR stakeholders and start working WITH them?”

The full vignette can be read here.

All audio files relating to the book are also available on our podcast with a new episode every week.

Nnenna from the internet’ is a voice for systemic policy changes for development through open, rights-based and human-centred technology. She is a champion for empowering internet and information access, freedom of expression, open data, open government, and the open web. She was proclaimed as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2021 (Côte d’Ivoire)

Full details of the book are available through the following links:

Voici le treizième épisode de notre podcast, inspiré des témoignages d’amis et de collègues qui ont contribué au nouveau livre de Tim Unwin, «Digital Technologies in an Unequal World: An Empancipatory Manfesto». Yuliya Morenets y raconte sa rencontre dans le hall d’inscription d’un événement IGF, illustrant comment l’inclusion des jeunes privilégie souvent la familiarité à l’innovation. Elle conclut : « Si nous voulons une véritable participation, nous devons dépasser le symbolisme. Nous devons investir dans les jeunes, non seulement comme des acteurs, mais aussi comme des bâtisseurs : imparfaits, passionnés et toujours en apprentissage. L’important n’est pas de polir chaque voix, mais d’écouter celles qui n’ont pas encore été entendues ». 

Le texte intégral est disponible ici.

Audio en français

Tous les fichiers audio relatifs au livre sont également disponibles sur notre podcast, avec un nouvel épisode chaque semaine.

Yuliya est avocate, experte en gouvernance numérique et fondatrice du Youth IGF. Figure reconnue de la coopération numérique internationale, elle conseille les gouvernements en matière de cybersécurité et de cybercriminalité. Forte de plus de 15 ans d’expérience internationale, elle est également une fervente défenseure de l’inclusion numérique dans les pays du Sud (France).

Vous trouverez tous les détails concernant l’ouvrage en suivant les liens suivants: