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Leaving No-One Behind? A Research Agenda for Queer Issues in ICT4D

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Freedom and Social Inclusion in a Connected World (ICT4D 2022)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 657))

Abstract

The ICT4D community, and the IFIP Working Group 9.4, is bound by a shared interest in social emancipation through digital technologies. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are often evoked to highlight the many social, economic, and environmental arenas where we are active. However, a perspective centring on queer issues is notably absent from our various mission statements. In this paper, I present a research agenda for queer issues in ICT4D to address this absence. I examine the literature that presents such a perspective in information systems and ICT4D, exploring the challenges that the invisibility of queer issues leads to. For LGBTQ+ people, this absence causes barriers and hesitancy in engaging with public services, and worse, the perpetuation and amplification of systematic discrimination. As researchers, developers, and practitioners, we can and should adopt a more inclusive approach, building on past experiences with ICT to address the plights of marginalized groups.

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Acknowledgement

I would like to show my gratitude to Dr. Johan Ivar Sæbø, Assistant Professor at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, for his support and encouragement, and for his contributions to the structure of this paper. I would also like to thank Dr. Silvia Masiero, Assistant Professor at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, for her guidance through the literature on data justice, for her comments, and for the encouragement she gave me throughout the preparation of this research agenda.

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  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Katherine Wyers

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  1. Katherine Wyers
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Correspondence to Katherine Wyers .

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  1. Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK

    Yingqin Zheng

  2. The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Pamela Abbott

  3. ESAN University, Lima, Peru

    Jose Antonio Robles-Flores

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Wyers, K. (2022). Leaving No-One Behind? A Research Agenda for Queer Issues in ICT4D. In: Zheng, Y., Abbott, P., Robles-Flores, J.A. (eds) Freedom and Social Inclusion in a Connected World. ICT4D 2022. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 657. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19429-0_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19429-0_32

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