CITAPP Seminar Series talk by Babitha George and Romit Raj on Decentralised Digital Futures

Date: 24/08/2022

About the August 24^th talk: The talk will draw on Decentralising Digital, a research project that sought to co-create new narratives for decentralised digital futures. The project is driven by an approach that centres people’s lived experiences to direct the development of design futures. We wanted to respond to the discord between how technologies are designed and made, and the people that use them; through this project that explores the contours of a future in which digital technologies are inspired and informed by local contexts and considerations.

Bios:

Quicksand is an interdisciplinary design research and innovation consultancy based in India. Our work is driven by an approach that seeks to build on a rich, evocative understanding of people and environments, This is done through multidisciplinary collaborations, expressed through manifests that thread product, service and systemic interventions.

Babitha George is a partner at Quicksand where she works on design research in developmental contexts, steering several of the organisation’s social innovation projects. She is one of the co-founders of the UnBox Festival, leading on networks and collaborations bringing together efforts around social change, art and culture, thoughtful design and open research.

Romit Raj is a principal at Quicksand, and brings together deep experience in technology and Human Centered Design. Romit leads a number of Design Research projects at Quicksand while also supporting technology components in other projects. More recently Romit has been deeply immersed in Quicksand’s work in the public health and conservation/environment sectors.\ Baitha and Romit’s talk will be followed by a discussion and Q&A session.

CITAPP’s Monthly Seminar Series is an attempt to create a forum where researchers across IIITB domains can meet and discuss cutting edge research on the chosen theme of the semester. The Series hopes to explore a technology or topic for its ramifications in different realms of social activity. In particular, we are interested in understanding the specific kinds of complexity that these domains present for technological innovation and design.

CITAPP at IIIT Bangalore is an interdisciplinary think-tank set-up to focus on the policy challenges and the organizational demands made by technological innovation. Of particular interest to the Centre is how technological advances, along with institutional changes that harness the legitimacy and the powers of bureaucracies and market, address the needs of underserved communities.