One of the many challenges of attending conferences is that one usually has to spend around 12 hours a day deep underground in cavernous halls, or in dim windowless rooms watching images and words on large screens! Not only is one left bereft of natural light, but air conditioning is no replacement for the oxygen of fresh air! So after the main activities of ITU’s Telecom World were over today, I took myself back to Doha’s Souq Waqif just to immerse myself in the smells of spices, shisha and the wonderfully rich oud perfumes, to glimpse the rich colours of the textiles and jewels, to hear the laughter of small children and the squaks of parrots, and just to walk among ‘real’ people far from the robots and aggressive capitalism of many in the ICT and telecommunications sector who were expounding the virtues of the latest technologies at the conference! Although this souq is a relative modern re-interpretation of the souq that used to be here, it continues in that rich tradition of sounds, smells, tastes and textures that have always dominated markets in the region. I hope that the pictures below capture something of the reality of this world beyond the virtual!
Tag Archives: Doha
Reflections on the young researchers’ workshop at ICTD2009, Doha
Sitting in the young researchers’ workshop here in Doha, amidst the splendour of the new Carnegie Mellon University campus, brings together a random series of unconnected thoughts about ICT4D:
- much academic discourse plays to the tunes of conductors who are not necessarily particularly interested in the needs of the poorest and most marginalised
- we need to break free from the shackles of traditional disciplinary frameworks
- please let’s not try to create a single ICT4D ‘discipline’ – the exciting things happen at the edges, where we bring together contrasting ideas and arguments!
- a huge amount of literature has already been published on ICT4D – let’s stop trying to reinvent the intellectual wheel. Let’s engage with the really exciting ideas and arguments that are already there – and take them forward. Let’s bring theory and practice together in innovative ways. Let’s try to make a difference!
- as I get older, the more I realise how little I know. Academic ICT4D could do with a huge dose of humility!
- there really is a difference between ICT4D and ICTD – which is why I believe so passionately in the ‘4’
- we need to work much harder at learning each other’s languages – both culturally and academically
- I am reminded about the line in Michael Moore’s film SiCKO, which commented that America is about ‘me’ whereas Europe is about ‘we’. I think there is an important truth somewhere in this, although certainly Europe is becoming more about ‘me’ than ‘we’, and there are huge dangers in essentialist arguments such as this! If ICT4D is to move forward, we do need to do it collaboratively – hence why I believe so strongly in the importance of our work being part of a Collective adventure
- there is a real contrast between sitting here in the plush air-conditioned lecture theatre, and the harsh reality of life for out of school youth on the streets of Addis Ababa or the amputees in camps in Sierra Leone – how can ICTs be used to support these people in their life aspirations?
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