Date: 18-19 June 2025
Times: 9:00-14:00 Sweden/15:00-20:00 Hong Kong
Venue: Online Workshop
Fee: Free of Charge
Language: English
To apply for the workshop please fill out this form.
Summer Workshop Description
Digital technologies have already become part of everyday life in various contexts in the world, often being pitched as tools to help societies and governing bodies to better mobilize resources and efficient ways to see to the needs of their citizens. One good example is Welfare Technologies (WTs), also known as Assistive Technologies, which are rapidly becoming part of the Global North’s care systems for older adults. WTs are often advertised as the “saviour” of welfare systems, especially in ageing societies with reduced care practitioners and resources. In many societies such digital transformations are mostly led by engineering, innovation strategies, economic reasonings, organizational change and management and even health sciences, the social aspects of such profound transformations are less discussed. This is problematic because, as digital technologies are designed, introduced, and implemented in various sociocultural and geopolitical contexts, they shape users’ lives, bodies, identities as well as relations in profound ways. This is particularly important in relation to equality and fairness because social conditions and imaginaries (e.g., of ageing) could easily affect the design, implementation, accessibility, and use of these technologies with health and well-being consequences. For example, many studies show that WTs often embody and reproduce ageism, as they often approach older adults as a homogeneous group with the same characteristics, needs, and desires. This workshop aims to bring together undergraduate students and scholars from a variety of disciplines who are interested in exploring digital technologies as situated sociotechnical assemblages in various stages of design, implementation, and use. The overarching theoretical concept that connects the theme is intersectionality and agism, which aims to help the participants to identify and discuss the overlapping patterns of social exclusion/inclusions that are created upon digital transformation for older adults.
Topics Covered
- Ageism and Intersectionality in The Context of Digital Care: Theoretical Reflections.
- Ageing with Algorithms/Robots.
- Digital Inclusion and Participatory Design for Older Adults.
- Ageing, Migrants, and Digital Technologies.
Our invited speakers are:
Professor Helen Manchester
A professor of participatory sociodigital futures at the University of Bristol, Professor Manchester’s work focuses on participatory and design based research that foregrounds experiences of ageing, culture, connectivity and digital inclusion. She is particularly interested in sociodigital futures and questions of social justice.
Professor Elaine Lynn-Ee Ho
Professor Ho is Chair Professor at the Department of Geography and Senior Research Fellow at ARI. She is currently Vice-Dean of Research at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS. Her research focuses on two domains: first, transnational ageing and care in the Asia-Pacific; and second, diaspora engagement and diplomacy. Both topics address her overarching interest in citizenship geographies.
Dr. Sofia Thunberg
Dr. Thunberg is a postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and a prominent expert in AI and social robotics. Her research focuses on the interaction between humans and technology, particularly how these innovations can improve people’s quality of life. Among her most notable projects are robots for the healthcare sector, including solutions that support children with autism and older people with dementia.
Hosted Institutions and organizers
Centre for Gender Studies, Karlstad University.
Dr. Tara Mehrabi and Associate Professor Satu Heikkinen.
Gender Studies Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Assistant Professor Ling Han.
Department of Sociology, National Taipei University & The NTPU Flagship Project.
Associate Professor Chang Yufen and Associate Professor Yifu Chen.
Targeted Audience
The workshop is for MA-level students or PhD students around the world. The number of student participants is limited to 30. The deadline for application is the 30th of April 2025. To register or ask further questions about the summer workshop, please get in touch with AWDT-intersectionality@kau.se .
**There will be a certificate of attendance.
Tentative Schedule
| Day 1- 18th of June | |
| SE 9:00-9:10 | Welcome by the organizers |
| SE 9:10-10:10 | Introduction and getting to know one another Each student will prepare 60 seconds with 2 slides: one about themselves and one about their research ideas. |
| SE 10:10-10:20 | Break |
| SE 10:20-11:20 | Seminar 1: Ageing Well with Digital Technologies Satu Heikkinen and Tara Mehrabi |
| SE 11:20-11:30 | Break |
| SE 11:30-12:30 | Seminar 2: Social Robots and Older Adults Interaction Sofia Thunberg |
| SE 12:30-13:00 | Break |
| SE 13:00-14:00 | Workshop-ing Research Ideas Satu Heikkinen, Tara Mehrabi, Ling Han, Yifu Chen, Chang Yufen |
| SE 14:00-14:30 | Discussion and Wrap-up |
| Day 2 – 19th of June | |
| SE 9:00-9:10 | Introduction and Recap from Day 1 |
| SE 9:10-10:10 | Seminar 3: Digital Inclusion and Participatory Design for Older Adults Helen Manchester |
| SE 10:10-10:20 | Break |
| SE 10:20-11:20 | Seminar 4: Ageing, Migrants, and Digital Technologies Elaine Lynn-Ee Ho |
| SE 11:20-11:50 | Break |
| SE 11:50-12:50 | Workshop-ing Research Ideas Satu Heikkinen, Tara Mehrabi, Ling Han, Yifu Chen, Chang Yufen |
| SE 12:50-13:15 | Discussion |
| 13:15 -13:30 | Closing Remarks |