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Participatory Design Conference PDC2020 - Participation(s) otherwise
Manizales, Colombia June 15-19 2020
Universidad de Caldas
WEB: www.pdc2020.org
FB:https://www.facebook.com/PDC-2020-505446103195145
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pdc_2020/
Twitter:@PDC_2020
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The Participatory Design Conference (PDC) has a long history in bringing together research concerned with the direct involvement of people in co-design, development, implementation, and appropriation activities around technologies, spaces, artefacts, and services. The conference invites researchers and practitioners working on participatory design, as it is encountered and discussed in multiple fields including, but not limited to: HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), CSCW (Computer Supported Cooperative Work), CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning), ICT4D (Information and Communication Technology for Development), Science and Technology Studies (STS), Social and Community Informatics, Development Studies, Media Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Design, Architecture, Spatial planning, and Arts.

In 2020, the 16th Biennial Participatory Design Conference (PDC) will be held in Manizales, Colombia, for the first time in South America. It will be hosted by Universidad de Caldas. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Festival de la Imagen 2020 (www.festivaldelaimagen.com), one of the largest and most recognized design events in Colombia, which will bring a variety of unique possibilities and encounters for PDC and its community.

PDC 2020’s theme is “Participation(s) otherwise”

Since Participatory Design’s (PD) emergence as a research community, PD scholars have asserted that design is a practical, social and political endeavour. Main commitments include: offering alternative technologies, rendering design processes democratic, open and accessible to wide participation, and amenable to critical scrutiny and mutual learning. By proposing the theme of Participation(s) otherwise, we want to invite the PD community to think further on the diverse meanings and ontologies that participation and design can take on. Let’s open up the understanding of “participation” beyond modernist narratives and theoretically “universal” cookie cutter solutions and account for diverse practices.

What forms, conceptions and understandings of participation, collaboration, intervention, design and technology can we draw upon to contest essentialist views on participatory design? Are current conceptions coherent with plural understandings and realities? What haven’t we realized before? From whom else are we / can we be learning?

We welcome a variety of different contributions, such as theoretical elaborations, case study analysis, long term explorations and/or methodological reflections. Submissions may address one or more of the following anchor points. These should not be considered as mandatory, but rather indicative of things we believe require urgent action:

Local/global - place/territory: Explorations of place, space, materiality, and temporality within participatory design and for technologies otherwise.

Economies: Inquiries into the role and scope of participatory design in the critique, reinterpretation and construction of green, circular, open, commons and solidarity processes. This includes also provocative reflections on participatory design processes themselves, understood as a process of exchange.

Representation, resistance and governance otherwise: The potential of participatory design practices to support (or undermine) forms of civic participation, power redistribution and conflict negotiation, to challenge authoritarianism, or explore horizontal ways of organising
- including making alternative (or resistive) technologies, spaces, systems, processes or infrastructures.

Design Research: Explorations of new forms of making otherwise and methodological innovations for design as participatory political praxis (including decolonial, feminist, and collective research and action approaches). Reflections on how those can transform scientific writing to be more representative of collaborative knowledge construction processes.

Participation and interculturality: spaces and features of (and for) dialogue and design that avoid universalism and include critical perspectives towards collaboration, co-creation, and the role of technology in these processes.
Submission formats
* FULL PAPERS: (maximum 10 pages, excluding references - In English). Full papers should report on substantial and original, unpublished research that advances PD. Full papers are presented on single-track sessions in the only research conference exclusively dedicated to PD, therefore PDC full research papers have a broad impact on the development of PD theory, approaches and practices. Each submitted full paper will be double-blind peer reviewed and may be subject to a “revise and resubmit” process if deemed suitable. Where papers rank equally, we will give preference to those that best address the theme of the conference. Full papers will be published in Vol 1 of the PDC ACM International Conference series.

* PLURILINGUAL PD (ES/PT): (maximum 10 pages,excluding references - In Spanish or Portuguese). Besides the customary tracks, this year we are inviting paper contributions in Spanish or Portuguese from regional PD aligned practitioners and researchers. The intention is to encourage the Latin-American community to share knowledge and express ideas in their own languages. ES/PT papers should present original, unpublished ideas and research that contributes ideas to practices of PD. We welcome regionally relevant themes and considerations as well as broad and general contributions. Papers will be presented and discussed in thematic sessions run in parallel. Submissions to the plurilingual track will be double blind peer-reviewed and may be subject to a “revise and resubmit” process if deemed suitable. Where papers rank equally, we will give preference to those that best address the theme of the conference. The papers will be published in ES/PT in Vol 3 of the proceedings published by Universidad de Caldas. This part of the proceedings will not be published by ACM.

* EXPLORATORY PAPERS: (maximum 4 pages, excluding references - In English). Exploratory papers should present original, unpublished ideas and research that explores, advances or reflects on PD potential future developments. Exploratory papers benefit from making one, clear contribution. Authors are encouraged to present a focused reflection or a meaningful empirical case study. A focused reflection will be expected to explore or advance existing ideas/concepts or propose new ones at a theoretical level, even coming from nearby disciplines to build an interdisciplinary dialogue. A case study will be expected to present applications of PD that are empirically fascinating even without strong theoretical grounding. Exploratory papers will be presented and discussed in thematic sessions run in parallel. Each submitted paper will be double-blind peer reviewed. Exploratory papers will be published in Vol 2 of the PDC ACM International Conference series.

* BEYOND ACADEMIA: (maximum 2 page proposal - In English). This track invites contributions from practitioners active in community, commercial, government, and not-for-profit spaces who are exploring participatory frameworks in their work. The invitation is open to those grappling with the potential and the challenges of participation in any of the conference anchor areas (see above). The intent is to foster and celebrate lively exchanges regarding emerging questions about the politics and practices of participation between those working in different learning, innovation and activist spaces locally and internationally. Submissions to this category will be curated by the chairs. There will be an online form to submit the contributions (an academic paper is not required), and the possibility to include audiovisual material (2 min video) to complement the story. In the conference, presentations will take the form of short, lightning talks and/or panel/roundtable discussions. Please note that everyone who attends will be required to pay for registration regardless of whether they are presenting.

* EXHIBITIONS/SITUATED ACTIONS: (maximum 2 pages text, excluding references + 2 pages optional images or plans - In English). This format encompasses PD-inspired exhibitions, performances, demos, and/or design/art work that can be presented in the Festival in exhibition context and as situated action sessions during the days of the conference. Proposals should include a description (2 pages) of the project and its relationship to participation and the situated action proposed. Plans or images (2 pages), and specific requirements for realisation in terms of space and materials should be mentioned. Audio or video files describing the project can also be submitted to clarify aspects of the concept. Those submissions that address or explore the conference theme will be favoured in the selection process. Each submitted proposal will be peer reviewed for applicability to the PD conference, and (once accepted) undergo a process of curation into the situated action format and for publication in Vol 2 of PDC ACM International Conference series.

* INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS: (maximum 3 pages, excluding references - in English). Submissions to this category are expected to propose sessions that go beyond presentation formats and that actively engage participants in different and novel types of activities, e.g. problem definition, small discussion groups, mapping themes, do-it-yourself, hands-on group work etc. Their topic should concern any area of interest of PD at any level, e.g. theoretical reflections, methodologies, practices, etc. Workshops take place 2 days before the main conference in sessions of half-day or full-day. The proposal should include: the workshop’s title and its goals; the planned format, methods or techniques used to structure the workshop; the way participants should contribute to the workshop; its relevance to PD; its need and value at PDC; and a draft schedule. In particular, it should make clear how the workshop topic and format link to the conference theme and how the organisers have the relevant expertise to set up this workshop. The duration of the workshop (half/full day), minimum and maximum number of participants, and how they will be recruited should also be described. In the recruitment procedure, important dates should be clearly communicated to the participants. Finally, the workshop proposal should include a clear statement about the expected concrete outcomes of the session (e.g. journal publication, research proposal, future collaborations, exhibition). The following main evaluation criteria will be considered to select and accept the proposals: relevance of topic to conference, interactivity of format, potential to draw participants. If you anticipate the need of specific equipment or setup for running your workshop, please contact the workshop chairs well in advance of the submission deadline. Workshop proposals are published in in Vol 2 of PDC ACM International Conference series.

* TUTORIALS: (maximum 3 pages, excluding references - in English). Half day and full day sessions for teaching conceptual frameworks, methods/techniques, and novel approaches in PD. The proposal should contain a title, goals, method or technique, its relevance to PD, intended participants and a schedule for the tutorial. We are looking particularly for tutorials with relevance to the conference theme, and the local/societal context of PDC 2020. Please describe in the proposal any handouts or materials that you intend to make available to participants. In the evaluation of the proposals the following will be the main evaluation criteria: relevance of topic to conference; knowledge and skills transfer; potential to draw participants.

* CONVERSATIONS: (maximum 4 pages, excluding references - in English) This new track aims to foster passionate discussion about emerging concerns, future themes and alternative viewpoints through integrating, participatory formats (e.g. fishbowl conversations, world cafe, etc). Proposals should make a case for the topic to be discussed and explain why it is pressing for the PD community to engage with it. When proposing a specific format, please consider a maximum limit of one hour, and how the room needs configuration with available elements like chairs and tables. Preference will be given to formats that allow broader participation and more than listening. This track will be curated by the chairs. Selection will ensure we have a varied programme that engages PDC attendees, strengthens the community and enables people to participate. Selected submissions will be compiled in Vol 3 of the proceedings published by the Universidad de Caldas.

* DOCTORAL COLLOQUIUM: (maximum 4 page proposal, excluding references - in English). A full-day session intended for PhD students working within the field of Participatory Design (PD). It will provide students with a safe and open space to discuss what matters to them concerning their studies, and collaboratively seek ways to address them. Participants will have the opportunity to present their work, share their experiences, and receive feedback, support, and suggestions from experienced participatory design researchers and peers. Selection for participation will be based on the quality of proposal, taking into account how the research is related to PD. The proposal must include: 1) an overview of one’s PhD project, including research motivations and questions, methods, intended contributions, progress to date, and plans for further research, and; 2) a brief description of what one wants to gain from participating in the Doctoral Colloquium or a brief description of one’s ideal PD Doctoral Colloquium. The aim will be to ensure diversity by including students with different disciplinary emphases, at different stages of their research programs, and coming from different cultural backgrounds. Accepted applicants will be asked to do some pre-conference preparation – for example, reading the other participants’ submissions, or relating your proposal to a chapter from the PD Handbook. More directions will be provided. Doctoral Colloquium submissions will not be published in the conference proceedings.

* STUDENT PROJECTS: (maximum 2 pages proposal, excluding references, and up to 5 images to clarify the proposal - in English) We invite design students to share how PD is applied in their projects at their schools, art, and research institutions. Projects will be selected based on clarity and relevance to PD and the conference theme, students groups are welcome. Selected projects will be presented via posters in the Conference and Festival venue. During the conference, attendees will be stimulated to provide feedback/comments/ideas on the displayed projects in the exhibition. A summary of the student projects will be compiled in Vol 3 of the proceedings published by the Universidad de Caldas.

* THE ARTFUL INTEGRATORS’ AWARD: We welcome nominations for the 9th Artful Integrators’ Award, to be presented at PDC2020. The Award is intended to recognise outstanding achievement in the area of PD. Where traditional design awards have gone to individual designers and/or singular objects, the Artful Integrator’s Award emphasises the importance of collaborative participation in design, and a view of good design as the effective alignment of diverse collections of people, practices and artefacts.

Keydates:
4th September 2019 — Submission Deadline for Full Papers + Plurilingual track Papers
1st November 2019 — First notification for Full Paper and Plurilingual track authors
1st December 2019 — Submission Deadline for Exploratory Papers, Beyond Academia, Exhibitions/Situated Actions, Interactive Workshops and Tutorials, Conversations, and PhD Colloquium
1st December 2019 — Second round submission for Full and Plurilingual Papers
15th February 2020 — Notification to (all) authors
28th February 2020 — Student volunteers’ application Deadline
15th March 2020 — Camera ready papers (all formats, except student projects) + Submission Deadline for Student Projects
31st March 2020 — Notification to student volunteers
25th April 2020 — Notification for student projects authors
25th April 2020 — Early bird registration Deadline
15-16th June 2020 — Pre-conference: Interactive Workshops and Tutorials, Doctoral colloquium, and Conversations
17-19th June 2020 — Main conference


Join us in Manizales Colombia!
Felipe Londoño, Claudia Jurado and Andrea Botero, — General chairs
Chiara Del Gaudio and Leonardo Parra — Program chairs
More info soon at: www.pdc2020.org


Host & Venues
The University of Caldas (Universidad de Caldas), is a public research university based in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia. The university offers education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The host will be the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, specifically its Visual Design Department. More info in spanish can be found at: www.artesyhumanidades.ucaldas.edu.co/departamentos/diseno
www.disenovisual.com

Manizales is a Latin-American cultural spot in the heart of the Andes, in Colombia’s coffee growth area and cultural landscape. Being a non-central city with an organic social environment and iconic openness to the visitors, Manizales will host PDC with safety, flexibility while offering rich cultural exchanges. Manizales is connected daily to Bogota (the capital) through several flights. The international airport in Bogotá is well connected through hundreds of international flights every day.

The University has several campuses: the Campus Universitario Principal (Main University Campus, CUP), hosts the faculties of Natural and Exact Sciences and Engineering. The Palogrande Campus which hosts the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences; Sancancio Campus which hosts the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences; Versalles Campus which hosts the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Bellas Artes Campus that hosts the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. All these campuses can have space availability to host conference activities.

PDC conference activities (social and academic) will take place mostly in the Rogelio Salmona Cultural Center, The ExpoFerias Convention Center, the Banco de la República Cultural Center and the Recinto del Pensamiento Natural Reserve. These are all venues used in the past to host the Festival de la Imagen, an event that draws every year close to 7000 visitors local, national and international. The surrounding area also offers a great variety of possibilities to organise interesting and participatory social and cultural programs that will be part of the program.