This workshop explores the challenges in applying, extending and inventing appropriate methods and contributions of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) to International economic and community Development. We address interaction design for parts of the world that are often marginalized by the Global North as well as people in the Global North who are themselves similarly marginalized by poverty or other barriers. We hope to extend the boundaries of the field of Human Computer Interaction by spurring a discussion on how existing methods and practices can be adapted and modified, and how new practices can be developed, to deal with the unique challenges posed by these contexts.

Our work with communities in developing countries suggests that HCI practice is a long way from maturity in these contexts. With this SIG, we are seeking to build on a CHI2007 workshop that brought together 50 people to share experience and plan a more integrated approach to the challenges of supporting international development with ICT. We would like to engage a wider cross-section of the community in considering the demands of researching and delivering meaningful design for countries with very different needs from those in the Global North. Our focus will be on issues of development and participation and the impact of differing values in our work.

This workshop explores User Centered Design (UCD) challenges and contributions to International economic and community Development. We are addressing interaction design for parts of the world that are often marginalized by the Global North as well as people in the Global North who are themselves similarly marginalized by poverty or other barriers. We hope to extend the boundaries of the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) by spurring a discussion on how existing UCD practices can be adapted and modified, and how new practices be developed, to deal with the unique challenges posed by this context.

Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are in need of technology innovators who are equipped to leverage technologies in locally relevant domains such as health, government and education. To create skilled graduates who can build and shape locally relevant technologies, higher education institutes in Africa must have Computer Science (CS) education programs that meet local needs, for example, to satisfy the demand for entrepreneurs to build industry and strengthen an economy. This paper characterizes the current state of CS education in SSA in order to identify opportunities for addressing education challenges and to make suggestions that may improve the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in this region. We present the results of a survey of CS educators in SSA institutions of higher education, which was aimed at exploring the issues they face. In addition to the continued chronic under-funding of SSA education, we found that universities in SSA have smaller departments, less focus on Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and offer a variety of courses aside from undergraduate Bachelors degrees. We discuss directions to improve CS curricula through investing in locally tailored courses and changing perceptions of the value of SSA CS higher education programs, standards and educators. Further, we reflect on the challenges of conducting research on SSA. We conclude that further research in this area is needed to build on the ideas we offer here to continue to strengthen CS higher education in SSA.