Decolonising the Digital Award 2025
Category: Research grant / fellowship / scholarship
IAMCR invites applications for the newly launched thematic award Decolonising the Digital. The award will be offered for three consecutive years, from 2025 to 2028 to work that contribute to our understanding of the new global dynamics of digital politics, cultures, and infrastructures, with the aim of identifying modes of control and resistance, and ultimately, challenging digital colonialism. About the award The term digital colonialism refers to the ways dominant powers exploit digital infrastructure, data, and knowledge—alongside control over computational technologies and labor disparities—to reinforce global dependencies rooted in historical colonialism. The broader concept of Decolonizing the Digital addresses the political, economic, and social domination enabled by digital technologies, as well as the resistance movements challenging these practices. Research on digital colonialism critically examines how these technologies deepen existing inequalities and introduce new forms of exploitation, discrimination, and control. The list of topics below is provided to demonstrate the breadth of research that may be considered, not to limit it. The installation and provision of digital surveillance technologies and services A new ‘scramble for Africa’ in which Big Tech actors race to install infrastructure and extract data on the African continent Digital imperialism: using tech power to control and shape politics, the social, economic and technological wherewithal Extraction of natural resources required by the global tech sector International and multilateral movements that seek to redress or deepen digital inequalities Data mining/extraction and innovative strategies by civil and other actors to resist these Use of intellectual property rights, software licensing etc. to create knowledge dependencies South-to-South coalitions and conflicts that either challenge or reinforce digital colonialism Domination of local digital ecosystems through acquisitions and anticompetitive practices Discursive/ideological domination and resistance. The award has an interdisciplinary scope as it potentially encompasses academic research in the fields of international communication, political economy, policy studies, law, digital divide, platform regulation etc. Consequently, eligible papers may be submitted to any of IAMCR's various thematic sections and working groups. In addition, the theme has an explicitly global focus, which will encourage the exchange of ideas between and the contributions of scholars from diverse regions and academic traditions. Awarded papers will be acknowledged with a USD 750 grant. There will be no ranking among the awarded papers. The Award Selection Committee will select up to three papers, but can decide to award fewer or none. Decisions of the Award Selection Committee will be final.
Initiator(s):
International Association for Media and Communication Research - IAMCR
Deadline: 07.02.2025
https://iamcr.org/awards/decolonising-digital2025
Post created by: Lymor Wolf Goldstein