E-DEMOCRACY, EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 2010

IADIS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
E-DEMOCRACY, EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 2010
Freiburg, Germany, 26 - 28 July 2010
(http://www.edemocracy-conf.org/)
(http://www.mccsis.org)

Conference background and goals
This conference aims to encourage and foster efforts of researchers and practitioners by sharing cutting-edge research, innovations, models, theories and strategies that address issues and challenges related to cultivating online communities for grassroots democracy, equity and social justice.

Format of the Conference
The conference will comprise of invited talks and oral presentations. The proceedings of the conference will be published in the form of a book and CD-ROM with ISBN, and will be available also in the IADIS Digital Library (accessible on-line).

Best Papers
Selected authors of best papers will be invited to submit extended versions of their papers to selected journals (i.e. IADIS International Journal on Computer Science and Information Systems - ISSN: 1646-3692) including journals from INDERSCIENCE Publishers.

Types of submissions
Full and Short Papers, Reflection Papers, Posters/Demonstrations, Tutorials, Panels and Doctoral Consortium. All submissions are subject to a blind refereeing process.

Topics for this conference include, but are not limited to:

Citizenship
Unleashing the power of citizens in developing countries to use the Internet to drive their own social & political development agenda

Digital divide:
Achievement of equity by bridging the digital divide and promoting critical and digital literacies

Participation:
Provision of effective online platforms for meaningful participation of citizens

Access
Optimization of wider access to democratic dialogues through successful community cultivation

Community cultivation
Enhance the benefits of social development interventions through the use of digital, wireless and mobile technologies for cultivating communities to conduct inquiry and socio-political action

Sustainability
Facilitating sustainable grassroots, bottom up co-created solutions and approaches to leadership, human rights, and civil society development

E-mentoring
Reports and reflections on the successes and failures of deploying e-mentoring strategies for raising political awareness, civic consciousness and community cultivation

Transference
North-South, South-South, and public-private partnerships and collaboration for co-creation of online communities

Community Ownership & Strengthening
Studies of efforts of involving citizens as stakeholders in initiatives to promote democracy, social justice and equity by strengthening their capabilities and promoting their involvement in online communities.

Important Dates:

• Submission Deadline (new date): 29 March 2010
  
• Notification to Authors (new date): 30 April 2010
  
• Final Camera-Ready Submission and Early Registration (new date): Until 24 May 2010
  
• Late Registration (new date): After 24 May 2010
  
• Conference: Freiburg, Germany, 26-28 July 2010

Conference Location
The conference will be held in Freiburg, Germany.

Secretariat
IADIS Secretariat - IADIS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE E-DEMOCRACY, EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTIVE 2010
Rua Sao Sebastiao da Pedreira, 100, 3
1050-209 Lisbon, Portugal
E-mail: secretariat@edemocracy-conf.org
Web site: http://www.edemocracy-conf.org/

GENDER EQUALITY RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

The Gender Equality Research Fellowship is a new ERRC programme, introduced in 2010. This programme will provide the opportunity for interested individual activists working at a local level in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine to conduct research on gender equality issues that have been neglected up to now or on issues already researched, but looking at them through perspectives not yet explored.

Deadline for applications: 10 April 2010

Information about the fellowship:

The fellowship is expected to start in April/May and will last for approximately 6 months. Fellows are expected to come to Budapest, Hungary, for a period of 4 to 8 weeks for orientation and preparation of the research project (which will include aspects of media and communication, research methodology design, basic financial orientation and human rights training as relevant) and then travel back to the research location to conduct the research with the ongoing assistance of the ERRC. The Fellow will work closely with ERRC’s Women’s Rights and Equality Coordinator.

Research proposal:

Fellows will largely be selected on the basis of their research proposal. The proposal should target a neglected or poorly understood issue related to gender equality. While no limitations are imposed on the topic, proposals that address state response to violence against women (including domestic violence), women’s health issues and trafficking in human beings are encouraged.

• Research projects should be action oriented: projects will be expected to have an advocacy component.
  
• Proposals should be community based.

Profile of the applicants:

The ERRC seeks Fellows who have significant experience living and working in Romani communities and who have been engaged in work with Roma communities at a local level for extended periods of time. The researcher should have a minimum of one year experience in the location in which the research is to take place. The Fellow should have working knowledge of English (with some language support available in particular cases). The ERRC will provide support which includes a basic monthly stipend, some provision for field research expenses for the duration of the fellowship (in Budapest and in the research location), travel and housing while in
Budapest.

Application Procedure:

To apply for this fellowship, please send the following as attachments:

• A two page research proposal;
  
• A maximum one page letter of interest describing yourself including details of your prior work on the issue to be researched;
  
• CV; and
  
• The contact details of two referees.

Candidates should submit their documents via email to Csilla M Farkas at: csilla.farkas@errc.org. The message should be entitled: Research Fellowship.

Applicants will receive an acknowledgment of receipt but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted in the course of the selection process. The selected fellows will be contacted by May 10.

Scholarships for the symposia of the European Forum Alpbach

Scholarships are available for students and recent graduates up to 30 years of age. We welcome applications from all countries and academic disciplines.
Our main objective is to ensure the participation of many young people in the entire event. The combination of academic seminars followed by symposiums and short courses on specific topics reflects the special character of the European Forum Alpbach.
Please take into account that there is a different call for scholarships to participate in the Alpbach Summerschool on European Integration and that you can apply only either for the European Forum Alpbach or the Alpbach Summer School.
Deadline for scholarship application: April 16, 2010 (postmark)

The amount of the scholarship differs according to the European region the applicant is coming from. Usually, the scholarship covers the tuition fees only. For applicants from Southeastern, Central and Eastern Europe a contribution to the accommodation costs and in exceptional cases a daily allowance can be included as well. Travel costs have to be borne by the participants.

The applications are selected considering the following criteria of same importance: letter of motivation, prove of successful university studies, professional experience, societal involvement, and style. 100 points can be achieved. For every failed application in the past 5 points will be added, for every successful application 10 points will be subtracted.

Students and young graduates having been scholarship holders in the past have the possibility to apply for a return scholarship. The scholarship comprises 90% of the participation fee, 10% have to be borne by the scholarship holder. If you apply for a return scholarship, you need to hand in the application form and a letter of motivation only.

The scholarship holders will be listed on our website and informed by e-mail at the beginning of July at the latest. Please make sure to mention an e-mail address in the application form that is valid from March to August. The European Forum Alpbach disposes of an adequate allocation of students’ rooms. Therefore, it is not necessary to reserve accommodation prior to the announcement of the selection results.

Scholarship call and application form for the symposia of the European Forum Alpbach
[download here]

Transnationalism in the Global City

The application is now open for the

EDMIDI European Doctorate on Migration, Diversity and Identities Intensive Summer Programme 2010

Transnationalism in the Global City - 27th June - 9th July
University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

The theme of the 2010 IP in Odense, "Transnationalism in the Global
City", focuses on an exciting and highly relevant research topic in the
European context. Too often study of the urban in the social sciences
and humanities seems confined to the issue of social problems. However,
the urban is also a strategic site for understanding major new trends
that reconfigure social order, inequality and conflict. These include
the impact of globalization, new information technologies,
socio-cultural diversity, and the intensification of trans-national and
trans-local dynamics.

In examining questions about transnationalism in the global city, the
EDMIDI programme aims to challenge mainstream forms of theorisation and
empirical analysis of urban studies within the European context in the
social sciences and humanities. The programme seeks to meet this
challenge by theorising and empirically specifying the new conditions
that confront urban society and the study of the urban today, utilising
a diverse range of research methods.

The summer programme is open to 24 PhD candidates registered in European
Universities who are working in a field related to the thematic focus of
the European Doctorate of Migration, Diversity and Identities.

Application deadline: 15th April

More information available at:
http://www.sdu.dk/Om_SDU/Institutter_centre/Isk/Centre/SoPraCon/EDMIDI.aspx

The 1st Global Conference: Childhood

The 1st Global Conference: Childhood
Date: July 3-5, 2010
Site: Oxford, UK
Organiser: The Steering Group
Topics: This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary conference project seeks to investigate and explore all aspects of childhood. The period of life prior to adulthood is one of dramatic change and development of physical, intellectual, psychological, and many other types of characteristics. The nature of childhood and its significance as a separate phase of life, however, is viewed quite differently in different cultures and in different historical eras.

This conference will look at all aspects of the experience of childhood as well as the social and cultural perceptions of children and childhood. We encourage submissions on any theme to do with the nature of childhood, including, but not limited to the ones listed below:

• Definitions of Childhood;
  
• Childhood and Development;
  
• Children and Relationships;
  
• Perceptions and Depictions of Childhood;
  
• Other Issues of Childhood.

Language: English
Deadline: May 28, 2010
Contact: David White, Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, Canada or Rob Fisher, Network Founder and Leader, Inter-Disciplinary.Net, Freeland, Oxfordshire,, United Kingdom
E-mail: dmw@inter-disciplinary.net, child@inter-disciplinary.net
Internet: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/probing-the-boundaries/persons/childhood