HCI4SA
Countries in the South Asian region share more than just borders. As developing nations, they share social norms, values, and cultural attitudes towards life. Given HCI plays a significant developmental role in the fast-growing region with its unique challenges, enabling South Asian researchers to create a research and knowledge-exchange community is paramount.
ABOUT US
HCI4SouthAsia is an initiative to bring together people from academia, industry, and government, in HCI and Design, with a research focus on Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (South Asian Countries). We invite individuals across the globe who are researching, and/or plan to explore the South Asian context, on HCI topics, including and beyond development.
As of now, the intent of bringing these stakeholders is two-fold:
To identify more possible missions and visions for this community, we are conducting a workshop at ACM CHI 2021 titled From the Margins to the Centre: Defining New Mission and Vision for HCI Researchers in South Asia.
Different Colours
(Photo by Debashis RC Biswas on Unsplash)
The HCI community in South Asia is not very significant. However, it has the potential to grow. We feel there are people who are practising HCI in some form without having heard of the term and who stand to benefit from being part of an HCI community. Some of these are:
IT industry in South Asia is mature. However, the focus on products and services is recent which has triggered a demand for the professional. The demand in the industry is larger than what the educational institutions can supply. This demand is also supplemented by increasingly popular UX and Design-Thinking courses. A large number of UX professionals are self-taught.
These are students/professors of computer-science, social-sciences and management. Critique of appropriateness of technology & implementation of appropriate technology, including but not limited to digital, have a long tradition in South Asia.
The governance-related & developmental benefits of ICT is well appreciated in the region. Given the complexities of the users’ contexts, building an HCI discourse will help in the long run.
They are responsible for policy implementation so the HCI community should aid them. On the other hand they are in conversation with the people directly, and thus represent them. Therefore, their involvement will enrich HCI research.
In South Asia, there are many potential HCI members (entrepreneurs, policy-makers, academicians, etc.). The popularity of User-Experience & Design-Thinking courses indicates an appetite for knowledge that helps in addressing the complex issues around Information & Communication Technology (ICT). HCI can satisfy this need with theoretical and methodological rigor. Therefore, there are people, who may not have heard about HCI but may become engaged when reached out to.
Fast-growing economies have been employing ICT for development. The complex & contextual realities that affect the efficiency & effectiveness of these interventions require the development of a localized HCI discourse.
We need to nurture many perspectives that arise out of their own localised contexts. Once nurtured, they can bring fresher perspectives & dialogues to the global HCI discourse.
South Asia
(Image Source: The Dollar Business Magazine)
