Technology and Social Action
Challenges for the 21st Century
10.00 - 16.30, Thursday 3rd November 2005
An Invitation 
British Computer Society
Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street 
Covent Garden, London WC2E 7HA
Background:
Information & Communications Technologies (ICT) are having a profound impact on social action and the work of organisations in civil society. 
Design thinking and skills are critical for innovation and dynamism in social movements, community groups and voluntary organisations. 
This meeting is the culmination of a one year project exploring technology, design and social action. The meeting will report on initial findings, describe current activities and discuss an agenda for future research. 
We will discuss: 
•	Innovative applications of ICT in civil society 
•	Lessons learned from practice on the ground 
•	Key concerns highligted by experts in the field 
Participants will have a chance to: 
•	Influence directions for future research and practice 
•	Network with practitioners, activists and researchers exploring technology and social action 
•	Join in planning future activities 
Speakers:
Bill Thompson: Technology Critic and Essayist 
Andy Dearden (Sheffield Hallam University), Steve Walker (Leeds Metropolitan University) & Leon Watts (University of Bath): Technology and Social Action Research cluster co-ordinators 
When:
Thursday, November 3rd, 10am - 4.30pm 
Where: 
British Computer Society 
Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street London WC2E 7HA 
Tickets:
Participation is free, but entrance is by ticket only. To obtain a ticket, please send your name and contact details to Paul Manning. Email: p.manning at shu.ac.uk 
Who are we?
Technology and Social Action is a network of practitioners, researchers and activists exploring relations between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Social Action concerns. We are promoting research into: 
1.	Ways that social action organisations can and do use ICT to further their goals 
2.	Better design of ICT to meet the needs of social action groups 
3.	Improving the design capability of social action organisations to promote innovation and improvement 
4.	The emerging concerns of social action organisations with current trends in ICT design 
Technology and Social Action is supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council as part of their 'Design for the 21st Century' programme. 
For more details visit http://www.technologyandsocialaction.org 
Sponsors
We acknowledge the kind support of the British Computer Society and the British HCI Group in sponsoring this meeting. This meeting forms part of our contribution to World Usability Day, 3rd November 2005.