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On 8 th September 2008, the IFIP WCC – World Computer Congress (http://www.wcc2008.org7), Milan, 7-10th September 2008, FIera Milano Congressi, MIC, Via Gattamelata 5 – will host the Women&Technologies: research and innovation conference. The conference will take place throughout an entire day (9.30 – 18.30) – subdivided into working sessions and round tables – and will witness the participation, both live and via videoconference, of some excellent speakers, including women leaders in ICT at a global level, be it in the field of research, industry, culture or institutions.
The relationship between women and technologies, and their influence on the worlds of work, culture, institutions, daily life and civil society, is currently a very popular and hotly debated topic, the importance of which is being recognised at every level: from gender to media studies, from declarations of intent relating to “equal opportunities” in firms and institutions to the divisive “pink quotas” in politics, to the ever more diffuse teleworking companies. But it is also a contradictory and multi-faceted issue, which is sometimes presented with positive approaches, situations and modalities, while on other occasions – still and, sadly, often – it is the object of ancient and unpleasant stereotypes that recall a sort of “protected reserve”: women? Yes, a category to sustain and aid, provided this occurs within clearly defined spaces and limits.
It is thus within this contradictory reality that our objective, our desire and our project was born: to topple the view of the situation; uproot and then invert these now outdated stereotypes; develop new arguments that eliminate the conceptual errors; and to introduce, clarify and create direct links between women and technologies that demonstrate the existence of previously unexplored synergies with limitless potential. Synergies from which both subjects – women and technologies – will be able to profit via a rich, reciprocal interchange that will bring unpredictable developments in the future. A world to discover and get to know, taking chances first hand and making use of those feminine traits such as curiosity, enthusiasm, intuition and boldness in the process.
This conference is thus a great ambition and a great strategic opportunity, but one that will not be satisfied by a limited number of speeches or papers, however prestigious or brilliant. We thus recognize the need for a more ample and articulate discussion, which is open to the extremely valuable contributions of a highly-qualified group of women who are directly and professionally involved and interested in ICT, at a global level, as well as being leaders in their sectors (Research, Business, Innovation).
The objective of the conference is thus that of transmitting a new message to its participants, be they men or women. A message that is completely different from those that have prevailed to date. A message that can be summed up in 4 bullet points:
l we invent the future in order to foresee it
l we create a roadmap for the upcoming years
l Women and ICT: a reciprocal interest (in research and innovation)
l Women and technologies: not only consumers, but also producers
Within these broad themes, four particularly important and relevant topics were identified, and will be the focus of the scheduled sessions:
l Art and Affective Computing
l Interaction and Dialogue in the Web Communities of the future
l Innovation in Enterprises and Institutions
l Women and ICT in Europe
The conference will contain a series of 'live' speeches given by a number of brilliant Italian and international speakers, as well as a series of contributions made via videoconference by equally brilliant women scattered across the globe. We expect speakers from Algeria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Japan, Greece, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Tunisia and the USA.
The conference will be bilingual, Italian and English, and a simultaneous audio translation service will be available.
Participating is free, but requires prior registration, available online at this link.
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Milan, 11th April 2008
IFIP World Computer Congress 2008 Hosted Conference
Women&Technologies: research and innovation
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