Call for Papers

Call for Papers: Third eBario Knowledge Fair 2011: ICTs for Indigenous Peoples 16-18 November 2011, Bario, Sarawak Malaysia

About eBario Knowledge Fair

The e-Bario Knowledge Fair (eBKF) is a bi-annual conference, held in the village of Bario, Malaysia, which showcases the use of ICTs for rural development. It is conducted in conjunction with the local community, bringing together researchers, practitioners and policy makers with the residents of Bario and the wider Kelabit indigenous ethnic community. The eBKF is a pioneering example of Development Conferencing, the process by which development specialists articulate their plans and share their ideas together with the people whose lives they are trying to improve, and in their own surroundings.

Theme

The Third Knowledge Fair will adopt a theme of Technological Innovation for Indigenous Peoples. As part of this, and with the assistance of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Knowledge Fair will feature the Asian recipients of grants under the IFAD’s Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (26 projects in 13 countries) with particular reference to their potential use of Information and Communication Technologies and sources of renewable energy in support of development for Indigenous Peoples.

Additional contributions are also sought that can stimulate further debate on the applicability and deployment of these technologies towards solutions to the specific problems faced by Indigenous Peoples. As eBario has been awarded Malaysia’s first license to operate a community radio station, the Third eBario Knowledge Fair will include a focus on the use of community radio for engaging with indigenous issues.

Suggested topics

The topics for regular sessions include, but are not limited to:

  • Preservation of cultural heritage with ICTs
  • ICTs and environmental protection
  • ICTs and climate change
  • Giving voice; new media for public debate
  • Traditional knowledge; collection, preservation and intellectual property rights
  • Creativity, adaptation and indigenisation of ICTs for social transformation
  • Indigenising ICT4D
  • ICTs for community mapping and community memory
  • Renewable energy for ICTs

Format

The eBKF is informal, inclusive and participative. The Third eBario Knowledge Fair will adopt a range of knowledge sharing methods in addition to formal paper presentations. We therefore invite contributions that address the general theme; either as academic research papers or detailed suggestions for a knowledge-sharing activity e.g., using one of the following methods; Chat Show, Fish Bowl, Storytelling, and World Café. (See http://www.kstoolkit.org/KS+Methods for a description of these).

Important dates

  • Extended Abstract: August 18, 2011
  • Notification of acceptance: August 25, 2011
  • Full submission: September 30, 2011

Paper submission

Information regarding the paper format and submission process will be made available here.

For further enquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us at +6082 583668/583669 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.