5th International Conference on M4D

Welcome to the 5th International Conference on Mobile Communication Technology for Development. This conference series welcomes researchers, practitioners and all those with interests in the use, evaluation, and theorizing of Mobile Communication technologies for Development. Past M4D conferences have combined two days of plenary parallel paper sessions, panel sessions, short presentations, posters and workshops. M4D2016 will in addition to the above, include pre-conference workshops for practitioners, PhD and Masters students and entrepreneurs as well as start-ups interested in showcasing their work.

This conference provides a forum for M4D enthusiasts to network, innovate, and share experiences of working with Mobile Technologies in Development contexts. The inaugural conference was held in Karlstad, Sweden in 2008. The 2nd conference was in Kampala, Uganda in 2010, the 3rd Conference was in New Delhi, India in 2012 and the 4th conference was in Dakar, Senegal in 2014. We welcome you to Maputo for M4D2016!

How to Participate

M4D2016 welcomes participants from the academia, industry, NGOs, development agencies, and governmental and international organizations.

M4D2016 Conference Theme

Mobile Technologies operate in a date rich environment. In light of this, mobile service providers tailor services towards user communication practices and patterns pushing content and material molded to user interests. Millions of mobile users from the global south engage with social media and other communication platforms, all of which require registration processes of personal data. Data for Development is part of the latest development terminology campaigning for the use of digital data to push the development agenda. On the flip side are the growing concerns for privacy, security and surveillance. With large quantities of personal data located in the digital space, should surveillance and security preclude use of mobile technologies in development?

M4D2016 will take up these discussions along with topics addressing but not restricted to:

• mLearning
• mLivelihood
• mAgriculture
• mHealth
• mInclusion
• mGovernance
• mInnovation
• Mobile app development

For the opportunity to present at the conference, delegates have different options.

• Research papers (8-12 pages including references) which will be peer-reviewed and evaluated based on theory craftsmanship and analytical rigor. Articles considering critical approaches and theoretical development will be prioritized.
• The practitioner’s track is open to practitioners to present their experiences, cases and policies (4-5 pages). These contributions do not have to be guided by academic theory and critical analysis. All accepted papers will be published in the proceedings and allocated a presentation slot.
• Workshops – You can also participate by organizing a workshop. Workshop submissions for proceedings (2 pages) must contain: title, organizers with affiliation, participants, motivation and objectives.
• Panels – We welcome theme driven panels. If you would also like to chair and organize a panel, feel free to submit (2 pages) that must contain title, organizers with affiliation, participants, motivation and objectives.
• Posters or Demos – You are also welcome to present your work in the form of a poster or a demo. Submit 1page extended abstract for this track.

Presentation and Acceptance formats for Research papers:

• Accepted papers with the best reviews will be allocated longer presentation slots in parallel sessions.
• Another level of accepted papers will be allocated shorter presentation slots in short track sessions.
• Additionally other accepted papers will be presented as posters. Accepted paper presenters should thus be prepared to bring posters with them.

Poster size max. 80×120 cm. Roll-ups are also allowed.

Inclusion of accepted papers/posters/demos/workshops in conference proceedings is conditioned on payment of registration fee prior to registration deadline. Conference proceedings will be published in the Karlstad University Studies Series, as well as on the websites of the University Eduardo Mondlane and the Centre for HumanIT, Karlstad.

The submission template is available here and questions can be sent to info@m4d2016.com.