Mobile Telephony in the Developing World

In just over a decade, mobile technology has provided users in Africa, Asia, and South America and Central America with the first extensive system of electronic communication. Mobile phone use draws from, and influences all spheres of everyday life in developing countries – livelihoods, relationships, security and politics among others. As a cost-efficient and accessible media, mobile technology has increasingly been harnessed for combating poverty thorough a variety of applications which offer services in health care, agriculture, employment and education.

In the conference there will be innovative scientific and policy-oriented papers which draw from empirical research in the humanities and social sciences on the use of mobile phones in everyday life. Topics include,  use of mobile phones in relation to following themes: gender, health, m-banking, livelihoods, politics, economics, education, social relations and culture. How does mobile telephony bear upon gender relationships, economy, social relations and politics? What kind of innovative practices is mobile telephony offering to combat poverty and health problems? Have mobile phones offered new possibilities for economic activities and political participation? How has mobile communication affected social relationships and networks in developing countries? How has it addressed inequalities?

We aim to promote dialogue between research and policy making, so in addition to academic researchers, the conference is open to persons working interested in policy and applications such as representatives of government and NGOs.

The conference is organized by the Finnish Academy funded project "Mobile technology, gender and development in Africa, India and Bangladesh" led by Prof. Laura Stark, Dept. of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä.