The e-Bario Knowledge Fair & Research Colloquium

Created By roger harris on 30-May-2007 12:00 AM

Location: Bario, Sarawak, Malaysia
Date(s): 6-Dec-2007 to 8-Dec-2007

Globalisation and Indigenous Peoples: Facing the 21^st Century with Confidence, with the help of Information and Communications Technologies

 

To be held in Bario, Sarawak, Malaysia, 6-8 December 2007 (right before the 3rd Global Knowledge Conference in Kuala Lumpur)

 

Rationale

Asia contains the majority of the world's present-day indigenous populations, about 70%.  Indigenous peoples continue to feature among the least-served sections of many societies.  They face a diverse range of issues and concerns associated with their status and interaction with other cultural groups, and changes in their inhabited environment.  These issues include cultural and linguistic preservation, land rights, ownership and exploitation of natural resources, political determination and autonomy, environmental degradation and incursion, poverty, health, and discrimination.  At the same time, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the form of community-based telecentres are rapidly spreading into the rural and sometimes isolated areas that are inhabited by such people, offering them opportunities to deal with some of these issues.  Many countries in Asia are in the process of setting up national networks of rural telecentres with the intention of raising living standards and providing opportunities for underserved sections of society for full and equal participation in their emerging knowledge economies.  Whilst it is commonly understood that technology is essential yet of itself insufficient, the mechanisms for ensuring that desirable outcomes will actually emerge are far from well-understood.  Left to its own devices, technology is fully capable of reinforcing social disparities. The e-Bario telecentre project has addressed these issues in the case of one remote and isolated community in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, with many notable achievements to its credit.  Still, it remains a work in progress. The purpose of the Knowledge Fair is to share the experiences of e-Bario and the indigenous Kelabit people in order to accelerate its own rate of contribution to community development as well as the progress of other similar initiatives worldwide. 

 

e-Bario and Local Knowledge: A research colloquium           

The research colloquium will bring together a range of stakeholders; indigenous peoples, researchers, policy makers, donor organisations, development agencies and practitioners along with the UNDP’s Asia Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) and the UNDP Regional Initiative on Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Development in the Asia Pacific (RIPP). The focus will be on Information and Communication Technologies for Indigenous Peoples (ICT4IPs) and will present e-Bario as a case study to illuminate the broad issues relating to the use of ICT4IPs. The colloquium format will be a combination of presentations and panel discussions that will include peer reviewed papers.  Contributions are invited, initially in the form of abstracts dealing with among other areas:

§          the role of telecentres in development in remote and rural areas

§          ICTs, community informatics and development among indigenous and rural and remote populations

§          evaluation and impact assessment for rural ICT projects

§          ICTs, and indigenous cultureThe intention will be to have a mix of presentations and discussions allowing for a maximum degree of interaction and including continuing participation and commentary from the Bario residents.  Presenters are invited to provide abstracts for papers, case studies, workshops and seminars. An international panel will select for research quality, diversity and significance of contribution both to knowledge and to support the practice of ICTs for Development. Proposed papers should be between 4,000 and 6,000 words in length.  Case studies should between 2,500 and 4,000 words.  Workshop and seminar proposals should outline their topics and their relevance to the conference theme.  

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

Dr. Michael Gurstein

Professor Heather Hudson 

Schedule and submissions

An abstract for a submission at the colloquium should be sent to Dr. Michael Gurstein, Programme Chair, or to Dr. Roger Harris, by June 15 2007.  Selected authors will be invited to submit a full paper for peer review by September 1 2007.  Accepted papers will be fast-tracked for a special issue of The Journal of Community Informatics (http://ci-journal.net/) on ICTs for Aboriginal Communities.  An edited volume is also under discussion.    

Coverage                   

The research colloquium will focus on the social appropriation of ICTs by underserved rural and indigenous people, within the context of the e-Bario project and its impact on the Kelabit people of Malaysia.  Topics to be addressed will include, but need not be limited to the following:

• §      The e-Bario Telecentre as a case study of ICTs for Indigenous Peoples-     History and operation of the e-Bario project and other ICT4IP projects.-     Technology for ICTs in remote locations and community informatics-     Telecentre operations.-     Community participation-     Challenges and lessons learned.-     Finances and sustainability.
  
• §      Replicating e-Bario and ICTs4IP-     National contexts for bridging the digital divide.-     Lessons learned for rural development with ICTs.
  
• §      The Cultural and Economic Context of e-Bario and ICT4IP-     ICTs and the Kelabit culture.-     Prospects; ICTs for cultural, social and economic enrichment of the Kelabits and other indigenous peoples.-     Implications for indigenous peoples.  -    E-commerce in highland commodities.   
  
• §      The Impact of e-Bario and ICTs4IP-     Highland tourism for ecological conservation.-     Potential for income-generation from tourism.-     Avoiding the negative impacts of tourism.-     Impact of the internet on education. -     Use of computers at the schools in Bario and other indigenous peoples-     e-Bario & the clinic; the impact on health care for IP’s.-     Social communications.-     Publicity & awards; influence on public policy.-     Stories from e-Bario; impact on social, economic and cultural aspects of life.
  
• §         ICTs and Indigenous Peoples
  
• §         Rural Telecentres
  
• §         ICTs for Rural Development
  
• §         Bridging the Digital Divide
  
• §         E-Inclusion for the Underserved
  
• §         Globalisation and Voices of the Poor
  
• §         ICTs, Culture and the Environment
  
• §         Policy implications 
  
•  
  

Costs    

Bario is accessed by air from Miri, in Sarawak, Malaysia.  The approximate total cost for the colloquium is estimated at around US$150, which will include conference registration with 3 days accommodation and meals in Bario and return transportation by chartered aircraft from Miri to Bario.  Air connections may require an overnight stay at the registrant’s cost in one or both directions in Miri, depending on flight schedules.  Hotel accommodation can be had in Miri for US$25 per night upwards. Approximate return air fare from Kuala Lumpur to Miri is estimated at between US$80 and US$380 depending on choice of airline (i.e. Air Asia or Malaysian Airlines).  For international travellers who may be attending the 3^rd Global Knowledge Partnership Conference GK3 in Kuala Lumpur, the additional cost to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Miri may be negligible, depending on your airline and starting point. 

 

Accommodation        

Delegates will stay in local lodgings, which are clean and comfortable, and which will provide a taste of the local culture and life-style, as well as contributing to the local economy. 

 

Contacts and enquiries

John Tarawe; Conference Chair; jtarawe@bario.net

Dr. Roger Harris; Deputy Conference Chair; harris38@netvigator.com

Dr. Michael Gurstein; Chairman Programme Committee; gurstein@gmail.com 

 

e-Bario Knowledge Fair

Alongside the e-Bario Research Colloquium there will be a multi-track Knowledge Fair presenting the experience of a very remote community as it adapts to and integrates ICTs as a basis for its social, economic and cultural development. The Knowledge Fair will allow those from outside the community to experience first hand daily life in the remote village of Bario, in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, one of the East Malaysian states on the island of Borneo.  This is a unique event, organised to bring researchers and practitioners into face-to-face dialogue with the indigenous people of Bario; the beneficiaries of the e-Bario project. It is expected that the opportunity for such two-way direct learning will be of considerable benefit and interest not only to the community but also to other similar communities and NGOs, administrators, researchers, practitioners and policy makers. 

Cultural events and research        

Cultural events and workshops will be scheduled into the programme.  Further excursions are also available, principally trekking and adventure trips into the surrounding forested highlands.  Details may be found at the Bario tourism web site; http://www.ebario.com/.  The e-Bario Knowledge Fair is also an opportunity to generate collaborative proposals for longer term research involving the Kelabit community, their use of ICTs and the surrounding environment.  The people of Bario welcome opportunities to host activities by outside researchers that support their development aims.  There are many local resources to facilitate such research; including the e-Bario telecentre, skilled staff and adequate accommodation and logistical arrangements.   

 

Programme Committee; Dr. Michael Gurstein, Committee Chairman, Executive Director of the Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training, Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Roger Harris; Consultant, Roger Harris Associates, Hong Kong. Dr. Alvin W. Yeo; Deputy Dean (Postgraduate and Research), Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Malaysia. Prof. Doug Vogel; Professor, Department of Information Systems City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Dr. Shirin Madon; Senior Lecturer in Information Systems, London School of Economics, UK. Mr. Lars Bestle; UNDP Asia Pacific Development Information Programme, Bangkok, Thailand. Ms. Laura W. Y. Lee; UNDP Malaysia. Dr. Peter Brosius; Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Georgia, USA. Radhika Lal; Senior Policy Advisor, ICT for Poverty Reduction & MDGs, United Nations Development Programme, New York, USA. Dr. Sandra Smeltzer; Assistant Professor, University of Western Ontario, Canada. Dr. K.J.John; Executive Director, Oriental Hearts Mind Study Institute (OHMSI), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.. Ann-Kristin Håkansson; Indigenous ICT Taskforce. Riaka Hiakita; Tuhoe Education Authority, New Zealand. Dr. Susan O'Donnell; National Research Council of Canada, Institute for Information Technology, Canada. Brian Beaton; Coordinator,  Kuh-Ke-Nah Network, K-Net Services, Canada. Dr. Artur Serra; Coordinator. Centre for Internet Applications (cANet); Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain. Dakshinamoorthy Balakrishnan; Warisan Global Sdn Bhd, Malaysia. Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Norizan Abdul Razak ; Head, E-Community Research Center, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 

Sponsors

UNDP Regional Indigenous Peoples Programme (RIPP)

UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP)

Centre for Community Informatics Research, Training and Development

Roger Harris Associates; Hong Kong

Asian Encounters

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak;

Center for Integrative Conservation Research, University of Georgia;
Charlotte Travel Ltd.;
Malaysian Airline System 

http://ebarioknowledgefair.org/  

Dr. Roger Harris
Roger Harris Associates
http://rogharris.org/
Asian Encounters
http://asianencounters.org/
e-Bario Knowledge Fair
http://ebarioknowledgefair.org/

Web Site: http://ebarioknowledgefair.org/

Contact: John Tarawe; Conference Chair

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