WebSci’20 Workshop: Digital (In)Equality, Digital Inclusion, Digital Humanism, online 07-07-2020

WebSci’20 Workshop: Digital (In)Equality, Digital Inclusion, Digital Humanism Read the ACM WebSci’20 DigDivDigHum Workshop Final Proceedings: [PDF]. Or download the full companion proceedings from the WebSci’20 website. The full recorded video presentations of the DigDivDigHum workshop are now available. The WebSci’20 main conference proceedings can be accessed at the official site. From its inception, the […]

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Supporting the Seed Value Chain in rural Mali

Since 2011 researchers from the W4RA team (VU Network Institute, Computer  Science Department, Centre for International Cooperation and AI-tech company Bolesian) have worked with farmer organizations in Mali to help improve the efficience of the seed value chain, to the benefit of local smallholder farmers,  to help increase food security in this country. The seed value chain […]

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Digital Inclusion in Times of Corona

Last year we did research and wrote a book about the Amsterdam Digital Divide, with great contributions from five of my master students Information Science. Yet, the need for Digital Inclusion has never been so pressing as in these times of Corona, in which many, especially elderly and vulnerable people are separated from their families […]

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Digital Divide, Citizenship and Inclusion in Amsterdam

“The Digital Divide is commonly associated with those parts of the world, where access to Internet and Web is poor or lacking. However, even in places such as the city of Amsterdam, where Internet infrastructure and access are commonplace, a Digital Divide exists. A significant part of the population (1 out of 5) is currently […]

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Francis Dittoh wins 3rd place at Internet Society Ghana Chapter #Chapterthon2019

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Francis Dittoh interviewed by RadioNet – Internet Society

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Siying Zhang and Lisanne van Lent: Network Institute Academy Assistants

The VU’s Network Institute has awarded a research grant to two master students: Siying Zhang and Lisanne van Lent to do an interdisciplinary research on mhealth (mobile health) for the prevention and management of the spread of Dengue virus and other infectuous diseases in Southeast Asia. In this research project the health risks, as well […]

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Postponed due to Corona-crisis: 7th Symposium “Perspectives on ICT4D” 24 April 2020

“Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Development: can digital technologies support community-based innovations?” Every year the International Symposium “Perspectives on ICT4D”, held at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, aims to gather a broad community of researchers and practitioners to discuss and reflect on new paradigms of knowledge sharing and knowledge generation, to the benefit of unconnected communities, living in low […]

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TO-INN book release: Culture, citizenship, participation – Latin American perspectives

Culture, Citizenship, Participation – Comparative Perspectives from Latin America on Inclusive Education  Cultura, Ciudadania, Participacion – Perspectivas Comparativas de la Educación Inclusiva Edited by Anna Bon, Mónica Pini, and Hans Akkermans – written by 38 collaborating authors from Latin America and Europe. “Inclusive education is the endeavor to ensure access to quality education for all […]

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Intervention or Collaboration ? Rethinking modes of knowledge production in ICT4D

Over the past decades information system developers and knowledge engineers in ICT projects in wealthy regions of the world have come to realize that technical work can only be successful when situated in a broader organizational context. However, for low-resource environments (such as for example rural Africa), where contextual embedding is even more demanding given […]

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