SIG III (International Issues in Information) is
hosting a free half day workshop on intercultural information ethics at the
ASIST Annual meeting in Pittsburgh on October 27th. We invite
everyone interested in developing a global code of information ethics to attend.
For registration information, go to http://www.asis.org/asist2010/workshop-SIGIII-am.html.
Workshop date: October 27th, 2010, 8:30 –
12:30pm.
Intercultural Information Ethics in the Global Information Ecosystem:
Opportunities and Challenges
Catherine Johnson University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada |
Johannes Britz University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |
This half-day workshop is intended for anyone currently
engaged with issues of intercultural information ethics, especially on a global
scale. In particular, it seeks to further discussion among those scholars
already working on the task of developing a Global Code of Ethics, as outlined
by UNESCO in the previous section. Finally, the workshop will also provide PhD
students and faculty who are new to issues of intercultural information ethics
with an opportunity to learn about the state of the field today.
Presenters will come from a variety of regions across the
globe, in order to maximize the number of intercultural perspectives in
information ethics. The following is a list of presenters, by region, that have
been confirmed for the event.
Session Moderator
Toni Carbo
Africa
Dennis Ocholla (South Africa)
Asia
Soraj Hongladarom (Thailand)
Europe
Rafael Capurro (Germany)
Middle East
Mohammed Aman (USA/Egypt)
North America
Thomas Froehlich (USA)*
*Confirmation pending.
The workshop will be organized by Catherine Johnson,
University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada and Johannes Britz, School of
Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee, WI, USA.
This half-day workshop will feature a series of
mini-presentations from region representatives addressing the most pressing
ethical issues in their respective areas of the world. Discussions will be
guided by the major themes that emerge from the talks, which may include (but
will not be limited to): digital divides, access to information/knowledge,
privacy, intellectual property rights and the asymmetric flow of information.
Presenters will submit a brief summary of their remarks ahead of the workshop
so that the organizers and session moderator may plan for discussion
accordingly.
Each regional report would focus on the following items:
1) What are the main issues in information ethics
that confront your region today?
2) What do you feel are the emerging issues in
information ethics that your region must prepare for?
3) What opportunities do you see for an intercultural
exchange, or the creation of a "global information ethics", in terms
of the challenges facing your region?
4) What are the major challenges within your region
that might prevent benefiting from an intercultural exchange of knowledge,
expertise, solutions in information ethics.
5) What is necessary for your region to overcome
these challenges?
Projected schedule is as follows:
8:30 - 8:40: Welcome (Britz, Johnson)
8:40 - 8:55: Introductions (all)
8:55 - 9:00: Presentation guidelines (Carbo)
9:00 - 11:00: Regional reports (including break)
11:00- 12:10: Group discussions and feedback
12:10 - 12:30: Reflection & Next Steps (Britz, Johnson,
Carbo)
Standard conference-supplied AV equipment.
Skype/videoconference capabilities
UNESCO (2003) Promotion and use of multilingualism and
universal access to cyberspace, UNESCO General Conference, 22 November. Available
online at
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13475&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html,
accessed 1 March 2010