Development and Democracy

IT for Change's work in the area of development and democracy critically examines the digital paradigms of development and the opportunities and challenges it presents for deepening democracy, global justice and citizen rights. We believe that an equitable information society can flourish only through inclusive and informed debate, involving all stakeholders, especially from the global South. Given the prevalence of Northern perspectives and market-centric thinking in current ICTs for development approaches, we have consciously attempted to articulate alternatives through our research and policy engagement. Techno-architectures must be designed and governed for democratising power, so that countries, communities and individuals at the peripheries can renegotiate their place in the world. From concerns spanning e-governance, public information systems and data in governance to emerging policies in global trade, data governance and the very architectures of Internet policy, ideas of justice must be coded into the legal-institutional architectures of digital technology. 

RECENT

Workers in India's platform economy have been working in gruelling conditions for several years, in the absence of fundamental labor rights, such as access to welfare, redressal for occupational harms, and the right to collective bargaining. Simultaneously, the platform economy has also created new frontiers in the fight for decent work,…

Our Research Associate, Ranjitha Kumar, authored a paper titled, ‘Realising Data Cooperatives in the Digital Epoch: SEWA’s Journey to Reclaim Agri-Value Chains’ for the sixth issue of COOP Dialogue on Positioning Cooperatives in the Gig and Platform Economy, published by the International Cooperative Alliance.

The issue delves into the…

Peoples Working Group on Multistakeholderism, of which IT for Change is a part, submitted a written statement to the Co-facilitators of the Summit of the Future processes that conveyed its disappointment with the draft text for the Pact for the Future for failing to fix the trust deficit about the UN. To avoid a ‘League of Nations’ moment for…

IT for Change played an active role in the T20 engagement group of G20 Brazil 2024, promoting a digital paradigm that emphasizes justice, fairness, and equity in June 2024. Below, you will find detailed information about the various aspects of our participation.

Leadership Role

Our Executive Director, Anita Gurumurthy, has been…

IT for Change, through the Global Digital Justice Forum, submitted its input to the Co-Facilitators of the Summit of the Future on Rev 2 of the Pact for the Future. In its submission, the Forum flagged four critical areas where Rev 2 needs to intensify concrete commitments:

Remove intellectual property (IP) rights barriers that impede the…

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) today is hindered by limited computational power, largely controlled by concentrated markets dominated by Big Tech. High-performance chips crucial for large AI models are further restricted through vertical integration and a centralized cloud market. As AI's economic importance grows, access to…