Communities real and imagined: designing a communication system for zimbabwean activists

In this paper, I describe how various understandings of community activated the design of Dialup Radio, a mobile phonebased independent media distribution system for Zimbabwean civil society and human rights activists. I identify three distinct communities and discuss their influence on the design process. Finally, I consider the challenges activist designers face in simultaneously addressing the needs of present-day users and the imagined future communities their projects hope to create. Categories and Subject Descriptors K.4.2 [Computers and Society]: Social Issues General Terms Design, Human Factors, Theory Keywords Design, Activism, Community, Mobile Phones, Zimbabwe

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: CANDT
• Authors: Tad Hirsch
• Keywords: CANDT 2009, Emerging Technology, Human Rights Activists, Phonebased Independent Media, Zimbabwean Civil Society