Call for Participation

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES AND GOAL

This workshop builds on the successful Computing Professionals for Social Responsibility: The Past, Present and Future Values of Participatory Design workshop held at Participatory Design Conference '20 which re-invigorated conversations around values and social responsibility in light of the current wave of tech workers, academics, and computing and information professionals engaging in politics to change the course of how ICTs impact society. The goal of this workshop is to move beyond the typical output of calling for more participatory or more human-centered design approaches, and instead focus on concrete collective organizing steps to make these practices inherent to good research and practice collaborations and strengthen our socially responsible accountability in the computing community.

With advance activities, this one-day workshop will comprise:

• Lightning talks from participants, followed by small group discussions

• Plenary discussion sessions structured by the workshop's guiding questions

• Small group activities, including mapping existing organizing around computing and technology issues, discussing current research agendas in computing that support an activist research position, and identifying forms of collective organizing for power and effective coalitions from movement and labor contexts

We will alternate plenary discussion sessions and small group activities throughout the day. This format will emphasize active discussions as primary activities throughout the workshop.

The workshop will be conducted using videoconferencing (e.g., BigBlueButton, Jitsi, or Zoom) and online collaboration tools (e.g., Miro, Google Docs). Participants will be asked to submit a short position paper (1-2 pages) using any format that you see fit. Papers can offer a concrete case of collective organizing or social responsibility in the profession, a reflection on current positions or practices, or a personal statement.

Authors should submit their contributions by 11.59 pm on October 7 AOE (Anywhere on Earth). At least one author per contribution must register for the conference and participate in the workshop. Acceptance of papers will be limited to ensure that all participants are able to meaningfully participate in the workshop (up to 40 participants). A compendium of all paper submissions will be published in an Open Access platform (e.g. PubPub).

We will invite a diverse group of participants, ranging from academics and members of industry to practitioners and activists, who are interested in approaching or are currently engaged in collective organizing around the themes of our workshop. Recruitment will happen via a Call for Participation, distributed by organizers using social media, mailing lists, and personal and professional connections. The call and the workshop website will detail the background and motivation of the workshop along with the agenda, submission requirements, format, and resources to be used.

WORKSHOP OUTCOMES

Insights. Inspired and informed by both author contributions and workshop discussions, we plan to put forward a set of reflections on how to engage in collective organizing. We will make these reflections public through a blog post on a platform such as Medium, as well as on the workshop website.

Paper submissions compendium. All contributions will be published as a compendium using the PubPub platform. These will allow for long term engagement with the content and enhanced collaboration among attendees.

Compilation of Resources. Using a virtual whiteboard, and informed by contributions and discussions during the workshop, we will put together a compilation of resources for a wider audience to engage in collective organizing. This collection will be posted on the workshop website.