This is the twenty-fifth and final 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, Tim Unwin provides a summary of his perspectives on leading Imfundo: Partnership for IT in Education between 2001 and 2004 in the UK’s Department for International Development, and asks why, despite Imfundo making al of its information and lessons learnt available online and in hard copy, so many digital tech for development initiatives still tend to start again from scratch instead of drawing on the experiences of previous such interventions

The full vignette can be listened to here.

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

Tim is the Catalyst of the ICT4D Collective, and Emeritus Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, and was the editor of ICT4D: Information and Communication Technology for Development (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and author of Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Development, (Oxford University Press, 2017).

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

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

This is the twenty-fourth 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, Tom Wambeke argues that we need to “move beyond inclusion as mere access toward inclusion as transformation — a redefinition that gestures toward a truly radical inclusion. This vision demands co-designing for the pluriverse — a world where multiple ways of being and knowing coexist”.

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.

Tom is a UN Senior Executive and Chief of Learning Innovation at ITCILO. With global experience in learning innovation, digital transformation, and foresight, he leads impactful programmes on inclusive capacity development. A speaker, strategist, and facilitator, he collaborates worldwide to foster sustainable, tech-enabled solutions for digital inclusion.

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

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

This is the twenty-third 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, Ugo Vallauri shows how “it’s possible to give devices a second lease of life, to create abundance and digital access out of Big Tech’s deliberate attempts to make products obsolete, with extortionate pricing of spares, repair-averse design and increasingly using software as a weapon”. He shows how Restart Parties and Repair Cafés provide part of the answer to a more sustainable digitsal future, noting that “in Africa, Asia and South America repair remains vital: a necessity, not a privilege”.

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.

Ugo is co-founder/co-director of The Restart Project, a charity which promotes repair to change our throwaway economy. He’s a co-founder of Right to Repair Europe, a coalition advocating for ambitious right to repair legislation. Ugo is a fellow of the Ashoka Foundation in Italy, with 20 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector

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

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

This is the twenty-second 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, Jamie Proctor argues that “to serve the needs of the world’s poorest and most marginalised it is essential to systematise … changes towards multidisciplinary teams, delivering iteratively, with a focus on citizens. Otherwise, the potential benefits of digital technology in the public sector will never be realised”.

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.

Jamie’s background cuts across research, education and technology. He has worked in tech start-ups, across UK Government digital teams, and established a school construction NGO in Malawi. He wrote this contribution whilst seconded to EdTech Hub from FCDO, and maintains keen research interests in the development of climate resilient and sustainable school infrastructure.

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

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

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:

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

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:

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

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:

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

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:

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

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:

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/

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:

ICT4D Collective » ICT4D is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://ict4d.org.uk/