Critical agency and development: applying Freire and Sen to ICT4D in Zambia and Brazil

ABSTRACT

This paper draws upon critical theories and the capability approach. It argues for a conceptualization of development as a process designed to enable people to free themselves from structural disadvantage. Amartya Sen has argued that people’s “critical-agency” to question and reject unjust social norms is “pivotal” to human development and important for tackling inequalities of any kind. Freire’s critical pedagogy, and critical feminism, go further by providing disadvantaged people with the practical means to do this; to identify the structural root causes of unjust social norms and the critical-agency to challenge and change them. Two empirical case studies of ICT4D are presented, from Zambia and Brazil, which draw upon these critical approaches but use them in different ways. The paper argues that ICT4D must go beyond addressing people’s immediate practical needs for access to ICT tools and skills, to also address their strategic interest in identifying and tackling the root causes of disadvantage.

KEYWORDS:

• ICT4D
• critical
• agency
• freedom
• ICT
• development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sammia Poveda (PhD, 2016, Royal Holloway, University of London) doctoral research focused on evaluating approaches to basic ICT training in Brazil, aiming to find out what elements may improve meaningful ICT appropriation and usage. Sammia is also Information Officer of the Executive Council of the Human Development and Capability Association (HDCA), and runs a Latin American ICT4D discussion group using Facebook as a platform. She was a co-author of the UNICEF report, Children, ICT and Development, and has worked as a Research Fellow for the Sheffield Institute for International Development. Before her PhD, Sammia worked in international development for four years with the German Development Agency (GIZ) and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). Sammia is currently a Research Fellow at the United Nations University, Institute on Computing and Society. Her current research is about ICT and Psychosocial wellbeing, and ICT and Women equality.

Tony Roberts’ research focuses on people’s appropriation of technology to secure development and social justice. Tony’s doctoral research at Royal Holloway, University of London drew on the capabilities approach and critical feminist pedagogy to investigate women’s use of participatory video to address the profound gender (dis)advantage experienced in Zambia’s emerging technology sector. After gaining his PhD Tony carried out a post-doc in the Gender Technology Lab of the United Nations University, Institute of Computing & Society, before being appointed a Fellow in the Digital and Technology research team at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Prior to his doctoral studies Tony founded, and for ten years was the CEO of, Computer Aid International, an international NGO that has provided almost 250,000 computers to education and development organizations in over 100 countries.

Notes

1 We hyphenate critical-agency to signify a unity of theory and practice in Freire’s praxis of critique on action and action on critique.

2 For a self-description of Asikana Network see http://asikananetwork.org/sample-page/.

3 For a self-description of CDI refer to http://www.cdi.org.br/; for a self-description of CDI-Campinas refer to http://www.cdicampinas.org.br/.

4 A web-based example of the mobile app is viewable here: http://asikananetwork.org/wrapp/.