Conference to craft a new collective digital environment in Thiruvananthapuram
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To shape an inclusive technological landscape, IT for Change, Platform Cooperativism Consortium (PCC), and Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) are jointly organising a three-day international conference. The event, scheduled to take place from November 30 to December 2 at the Kerala Arts and Crafts Village in Thiruvananthapuram, aims to propose suggestions to build a policy environment that can support technological innovation.
This initiative also focuses on creating new job opportunities for youth and promoting local entrepreneurship within the state. “We anticipate that this will establish a roadmap for an alternative knowledge society paradigm that centres on people and not Big Tech. Kerala’s social model for development is globally renowned, and through this collaboration, we aim to develop an action agenda for building policy for a unique Kerala model digital economy,” says Nandini Chami, Deputy Director of IT for Change.
The conference will bring together 250 participants from across the globe, including social enterprises, technologists, cooperatives, digital rights groups, gig workers, policymakers and academics. On the last day of the conference, the organisers will announce an action agenda for a collective digital future.
Trebor Scholz, founding director of the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy, is excited about the conference, especially for learning from participants. “Kerala has held a special place in my heart since my 2019 address to the Legislative Assembly. This event not only symbolises knowledge exchange but can sow seeds for the transformation of cooperative landscapes,” he says.