Fourth eBario Knowledge Fair 2013: ICTs for Indigenised Development.
Bario, Sarawak Malaysia

About the eBario Knowledge Fair
The e-Bario Knowledge Fair (eBKF) is a bi-annual conference, held in the village of Bario, Malaysia, which showcases the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for rural development. It is conducted in conjunction with the local community, bringing together researchers, practitioners and policy makers with the residents of Bario and the wider Kelabit indigenous people. The eBKF is a pioneering example of Development Conferencing, the process by which development specialists articulate their plans and share their ideas together with the people whose lives they are trying to improve, and in their own surroundings.

Theme
eBKFIV - the Fourth Knowledge Fair - adopts the theme of ICTs for Indigenised Development.

Indigenous peoples around the world share a common range of particular challenges, relating to; the preservation of their languages and cultures; relationships to the lands that they occupy; discrimination and marginalisation; social exclusion and isolation; exploitation and deprivation of their natural resources; loss of identity; inadequate education and health care; and excessive poverty.

Despite this, dominant societies continue to follow assimilationist policies in the name of development for all, and in many cases it has become clear that such approaches have had dire consequences for indigenous peoples, pushing entire societies into new conditions of poverty and even extinction. One potential alternative is to indigenise development: to put it to work on behalf of indigenous peoples.

There are now many examples of the use of contemporary ICTs that have delivered beneficial effects in alleviating some of the adversities that indigenous peoples face. From the experiences that are now coming to light, it is possible to suggest that many of the core characteristics of ICTs lend themselves well to solutions for the problems that indigenous people face and are key components for indigenising development.


eBKFIV addresses the use of ICTs for Indigenised Development and is now seeking submissions that will address the following questions:

• How can ICTs help indigenous peoples formulate development interventions that they themselves would welcome?
• How do ICTs help overcome geographical and cultural isolation when engaging with mainstream society and orthodox development planning and practice?
• Can ICTs be effective tools in blending indigenous perspectives into mainstream development?
• Are ICTs useful for counteracting development plans and activities that contradict their own perceptions of development?
• Which of the specific issues and concerns that affect indigenous peoples are most effectively addressed by ICTs?
• What form of social inclusion do indigenous peoples desire and how can ICTs help them achieve it?
• How can governments of nations that include significant populations of indigenous peoples be facilitated towards a better understanding of the need for indigenised development through the provision of ICTs?
The eBKFIV seeks contributions from researchers, graduate students, and practitioners that include, but are not limited to, the following subject areas:

• ICTs and indigenised development
• Preservation of cultural heritage with ICTs
• ICTs and environmental protection
• ICTs and climate change
• Giving voice; new media for public debate and social inclusion
• Traditional knowledge; collection, preservation and intellectual property rights
• Creativity, adaptation and indigenisation of ICTs for social transformation
• Indigenising ICT4D
• ICTs for community mapping and community memory
• Renewable energy for ICTs
• ICT and indigenous cultural tourism
Benefits of attending eBKF
• Connect with researchers and practitioners in the fields of ICT4D, indigenised development, rural informatics and rural tourism.
• Gain insight and share your research with other researchers, development practitioners, policy makers, industry players and indigenous community representatives in informative and interactive sessions.
• Obtain input on your research finding from the indigenous community representatives, researchers and practitioners.

Post Graduate Colloquium
In addition to research tracks, we would like to extend an invitation to participate in our 1st post graduate colloquium in this eBKFIV. This colloquium will increase visibility for the students doing research in ICTs and Indigenised Development for their doctoral and master studies.
The colloquium has the following objectives:
 Provide a supportive setting for feedback on students’ current research and guidance on future research directions
 Offer each student comments and fresh perspectives on their work from a diverse audience and gain valuable experience outside their own institution
 Promote the development of a supportive community of scholars and a spirit of collaborative research
 An opportunity for young scientists to network and engage with others ICTs and Indigenised Development scholars

Students interested in participating in the 1st post graduate colloquium in eBKFIV should submit a full length of a proposal (see details below) describing their research. Submissions relating to any aspect of the eBKFIV theme are welcomed, including: technical advances, usage and impact studies, usability, social and institutional implications, theoretical contributions, interaction and design advances, and innovative in the sciences, humanities, and education.

Submissions should be submitted electronically in PDF format. The proposal should:
 Clearly formulate the research question.
 Identify the significant problems in the field of research.
 Summarize the current knowledge of the problem domain, as well as the state of the art for solutions.
 Clearly present any preliminary research plans and ideas, and the results achieved so far.
 Sketch the research methodology that is to be applied.
 Describe the expected contributions of the applicant to the research area
 For technical research, describes how the research is innovative, novel or extends existing approaches to a problem.

Format
The eBKF is informal, inclusive and participative. eBKFIV will adopt a range of knowledge sharing methods in addition to formal paper presentations. We therefore invite contributions that address the general theme; either as academic research papers or detailed suggestions for a knowledge-sharing activity e.g., using one of the following methods; Chat Show, Fish Bowl, Storytelling, and World Café. (See http://www.kstoolkit.org/KS+Methods for a description of these).

Important dates
eBario Knowledge Fair IV : 12th - 15th Nov 2013
Extended Abstract submission :19th August 2013
Full paper submission : 30th September 2012
Notification of acceptance : 26th August 2012
Last day for Early Bird Registration : 31st August 2013

Paper submission
Your proposal must be of 6-10 pages, New Times Roman, double spacing, 12 pts and APA system. Only papers submitted by then will be included in the conference proceedings.
Information regarding the paper format and submission process will be made available on the eBario Knowledge Fair 2013 primary website: http://ebarioknowledgefair.org


Journal Publication- EJISDC
Selected best papers from this conference can be considered for publication in the Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC). The Journal covers all aspects of the design, development, implementation, management and evaluation of information systems and technologies in developing countries. Authors must produce an extended version of the paper. The selected papers will be re-evaluated by the editorial board of EJISDC.

For further enquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us at +6082 583668/583669 or email us at zamantariq@gmail.com or lcwgary@sebayor.unimas.my