– Collocated with the 10th ACM Web Science Conference –
The Web is the biggest open public space for information, communication and knowledge sharing for billions on the planet. However, it is not (yet) accessible for over half of the world population, mostly in the Global South. This symposium addresses the ensuing issues, in other words, it tackles the Web dimension of what is commonly called the Digital Divide, and (even more importantly) what can be done about it.
Barriers to the Web and universal access to it include no internet, poor infrastructures, scarce electricity, and limited text literacy. Such obstacles are here to stay for many years to come. Thus, innovative solutions, cross-border and interdisciplinary thinking, and a reflective debate are needed to realize the full potential of the Web. This is what our event proposal aims at. Importantly, this reflective debate should include the people at the “other” side of the digital divide, whose voices are all too often ignored.
Venue: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Sunday 27 May 2018.
Organizing Committee:
Anna Bon – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands (a.bon@vu.nl)
Victor de Boer – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands (v.de.boer@vu.nl)
Christophe Guéret – Accenture Labs, Dublin, Ireland (christophe.gueret@accenture.com)
Gayo Diallo – Université de Bordeaux, France (gayo.diallo@u-bordeaux.fr)
Jaap Gordijn – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands (j.gordijn@vu.nl)
For participation: please register for the Symposium.
Find the call for papers and posters.
Program Committee:
Chris van Aart – 2CoolMonkeys BV, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Cheah WaiShiang – UNIMAS University of Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
Marlien Herselman – CSIR – Pretoria, South Africa
Adele Botha – CSIR – Pretoria, South Africa
Francis Dittoh – University for Development Studies UDS, Tamale, Ghana
Stefan Schlobach – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, NL
Katharina Kinder-Kurlanda – Koblenz University, Germany
Nana Baah Gyan – Central University, Accra, Ghana
Jan Fransen – IHS Erasmus University, NL
Maneesha Sudheer – Amrita University, India
Victor de Boer – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Jaap Gordijn – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Anna Bon – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Christophe Guéret – Accenture, Dublin, Ireland
Gayo Diallo – Université de Bordeaux, France
Santiago Gaitan – IBM Benelux
Ed Tan – University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Marije Geldof – Institute for Social Studies, the Hague, NL
Stéphane Boyera – SBC4D, Toulouse, France
David Dalton – Gorta Self Help Africa, Ireland
Edward Mutafungwa, Aalto University, Finland
