Rebalancing Power: Designing Technology of, by and for the First Mile?

Decisions around technology are often taken in offices in Silicon Valley or in the hallways of government offices. These technologies then go on to impact the lives of everyone. With greater access to the internet, more and more people from rural and vulnerable communities (‘First Mile’) have now gotten access to these technologies but their demands and needs neither shape technology design by corporate firms nor are central to government agenda. This session will try to understand how communities can become central to the design, development, and deployment of technology. Together, we will hear practitioners and participants from different communities and intermediary organisations (NGOs/tech activists/GovTech developers) highlighting ways and means of adopting a ‘First Mile’ approach in technology development. The session will delve into real-life stories of such implementation and marks the start of a continued collaboration towards design technology of, by, for the people!