Journal

DIRPC 2019

A cup of coffee sits on top of a stack of papers, a laptop and the programme for the DIPRC conference on Angela's lap.
But first: coffee.

It’s real now! We held the first presentation about the the SocialTech project at the Digital Inclusion Policy and Research Conference at the University of Liverpool in London.

It was a great conference, and an amazing opportunity to connect with other researchers, professionals from both the third sector and industry, government officials and students working on the intersections of society and new communication and (emerging) internet technologies.

We got some interesting feedback after our presentation.
The slides and annotations can be found on the project website, but I also want to give a short summary of the current state of the project itself below.

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What is a conference?

Close up of the conference poster zoomed in on the “Changing Worlds” conference logo.

For the Changing Worlds Conference, we tried to experiment with the format of an academic conference. We learned as we went, and were definitely a lot more adventurous in the second year of the event.

The whole experiment started when a group of master’s students with a wide range of disciplinary and personal backgrounds came together to imagine and later execute the conferences. We noticed early on that we all had different expectations for what a conference might look and feel like. And being social scientists, we decided to explore what that might mean.

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After the conference

A few programmes and nametags (with pre-printed pronoun options) arranged on a desk with some pencils

And the conference is over. I wish I had found the time to take more pictures of all the signs and other print products and decorations we made for the conference besides pink and purple paper puffs, but I was too busy.

You can have a look at the conference program if you want to know more about the conference topics and exhibitions.

The image above shows some of the print products we made for the conference, in our continuous effort to make it feel less like a stuffy academic event and more like a space for exchange, curiosity and experimentation.

Turns out organizing a conference with loads of experimental features and events (such as a sound performance installation and an art exhibition) is even more work than organizing a “regular” academic conference. But it was definitely worth the extra effort.

It was a wonderful event and we got lots of positive feedback from everyone attending!

New Poster!

Tables in a lecture room with posters for the Changing Worlds Conference
Look what just came from the printers!

New conference year, new poster! It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but somehow printed artifacts make a project or event feel “more real”.

We went with a similar style as for the last conference, but this time I chose to do a digital illustration since that makes the individual elements reusable.

The main idea is the same as for the first conference poster in 2014, but our choice of artifacts reflects that this instalment of the conference focuses more on art and activism. While both the artwork and topic of the first conference were leaning more towards historical reflections, this year’s vibe is both a bit dystopian and very playful.

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