Technologies of Social Change: Access, Appropriateness, Affect
Thanks to everyone who came out to the event. Some great points were made in yesterday’s intimate and lively discussion.
Thursday’s discussion was the first step in the conversation, so let’s keep talking about technology and civic engagement below.
Some key issues raised during the discussion:
- Importance of technologies being seen as only one part of a complex process
- Role of collaboration and community engagement in introduction and implementation of technologies
- Flexibility in planning projects. Willingness to accept that you may not have the answer.
- Importance of context knowledge in understanding how technologies can effect social change
- Ethical challenges to using new technologies to promote civic engagement activities
- Respective role/importance of the public vs. private sector in provision of technologies of social change needs to be examined
Post anything – thoughts, comments, further questions, articles, etc that you’d like to share. We look forward to continuing the conversation!
An interesting Article to follow on from my comment.
Does user participation lead to sense of ownership for rural water systems? Evidence from Kenya
S Marks and J Davis
https://jennadavis.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Marks_Davis-%20participation%20and%20sense%20of%20ownership_June2011_v3.pdf
Scott
I really appreciated the discussion. There were a great number of good points which set me thinking about a number of issues, but one area in particular was of central importance to me.
I would like to know: Would the individuals who are exploring technological solutions to issues across the globe, benefit from training in community engagement and community development theories and practices? If so, when would they have time for workshops/ learning sessions?
Related to that, do you feel that inclusion of a community engagement student on the teams (EWB, DEID for example) would be useful to projects?
“Would the individuals who are exploring technological solutions to issues across the globe, benefit from training in community engagement and community development theories and practices? If so, when would they have time for workshops/ learning sessions?” – In my opinion, absolutely. If we want to truly create sustainable models of change owned by the local communities, instead of short-term projects that cannot be sustained following the departure of external aid, individuals involved in this field of work need to make time. Not just for workshops/learning sessions, but thinking critically about how to incorporate a general civic-mindedness in their daily work/studies.
I was on an EWB trip myself two summers ago, to Bolivia assessing the possibility of an irrigation project. It was incredibly frustrating for me, the emphasis of technology and surveying over actually connecting with the local community, and feeling unsupported whenever I bring up my concerns certainly did not help. As such, in response to your second question, inclusion of this ‘community engagement student’ (whatever that means) seems token to me – wouldn’t it be better if all students can work effectively with communities? If that’s not the case now, then maybe it’s time to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to restructure existing curricula.