Aims
- Introduce the term technology justice
- Encourage participants to think about how technology links people across the globe
What you need
- 3 Belief Statements (see below) written out onto separate pieces of paper
- Paper and pens
What to do
- Ask each participant to write their name on a small piece of paper.
- Organise the group to stand in a circle and explain that a statement will be placed in the centre of the circle and participants should place their name cards close to the statement if they agree with it and further away if they don’t.
- After each turn, debrief by asking participants why they put their card where they put it and allow them to change the position of their cards during the discussion if they want to.
Reflection and evaluation
- If we were in a different country do you think the answers would have been the same/different?
- What kind of technologies do you think of when you hear the term ‘technology’?
- Discuss what they understand by the term ‘technology justice’ This is defined by Practical Action as a belief that everyone has the right to access the technologies they need to live the life they value without limiting the ability of others now, and in the future, to do the same
- Emphasise that technology means different things to different people depending on their personal situation – wealth, profession, lifestyle, culture, etc.
- Most definitions of technology mention the application of scientific knowledge to solve a practical problem. Get the group to share ideas of what technology they use in their everyday lives. For example: mobile phone, television, hairdryer, washing machine, bike, electricity.
Belief Statements
- I like to have the latest mobile phones and don’t really think about what happens to the old ones.
- People should have access to the technology they need even if they cannot afford it.
- I have never thought about the people and processes involved in making mobile phones.
Activity adapted from www.practicalaction.org for more activities on this topic visit the website.
