The Challenge of Digital Media to Democracy in Europe: an engaged approach

Project Information

Technopolitics

Grant agreement ID: 897796

DOI

10.3030/897796

Project closed

EC signature date 17 April 2020

Start date 1 July 2020

End date 30 June 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 172 932,48

EU contribution

€ 172 932,48

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Technopolitics (The Challenge of Digital Media to Democracy in Europe: an engaged approach)

Reporting period: 2020-07-01 to 2022-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In our digital era, social media have emerged as key influential factors in policymaking. Social media can engage vast numbers of citizens. As a result, it is of great importance to assess the extent to which they can improve democracy in Europe. The EU-funded project Technopolitics - The challenge of Digital Media to Democracy in Europe: an engaged approach, proposes innovative research on the relationship between community engagement, political participation and digital social media in influencing policymaking.

Based on the engaged theory and reserach and applying a cross-disciplinary method, the project investigate the influence exercised by digital technologies on citizens and politics and develop a theoretical scheme that include good practices for democratisation to condition policymaking processes. It also transfer new knowledge of international impact to the host institution, the University of Seville, the shareholders of the project and the society.

The project has fully achieved its objectives: 1) To investigate the influence of digital media technologies in the citizen and political ecosystem; 2) To develop a theoretical framework including the Good Practices for democratization which can oriented the policy-making processes; 3) To transfer new knowledge of international impact to the host institution and the society; 4) To reinforce my career gaining a stable position in the university after the two-year training through-research project, which is the main goal of my Personal Career Development Plan.

The research conducted in the framework of the ‘Technopolitics’ project has focused on specifying the conformation of this new subject of study and epistemic category as a relevant contribution to both social movement theory, in particular, and social and communication sciences, in general. This has been achieved by studying the urban civic cybercultures emerging in the ‘South’ - in both the European Union, with special emphasis on Portugal and Spain, and Latin America, especially Brazil - over the past decade.

The action, therefore, offers a toolkit to policymaking, ascertainig the imporance of the civic engagement as a strategic element to be implemented against the background of the current processes in Social Media which are eroding the democratic awarenness in our societies.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The research program was designed as a collection of five work packages (WPs). WP1 and WP2 have focused on the literature review on the topic to overcome the state-of-the-art, the development of the Technopolitics research approach (Digital ethnography), the design of the analytical framework and the toolkit of Good Practices elaboration. Through a review of the literature on the topic and a digital ethnography of the uses of the Internet Social Media performed by Civic Cultures in diverse urban Internet ecosystems, a toolkit has been elaborated using a Citizen Lab method, with the participation of the shareholders of the project, whose digital media practices has been studied in WP2, linked to the analytical framework of WP3. WP5 and WP4 concern respectively with the transfer of innovative knowledge to the host institution, the shareholders of the action and the society, with the community engagement, dissemination (international workshops, high impact articles, books and final monographs) and communication plan (podcast, microblogging, channels, press releases, newsletter and social media networking) of the project and the consolidation of a stable position in the host institution.


These researched experiences were discussed in different international citizen labs, and open academic seminars were the project was selected as a panel. The engagement of the audience in the discussions is a fundamental contribution to the materials and publications resulted of the project.

Related to the policymaking, the Engaged approach and the good practices toolkit for democratization resulting from the action constitutes the International Panel of the Working Group on Citizen Science of the Spanish Ministry of Universities, under my coordination.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Beyond the state of the art, the action provide a novel analytical framework on the links among Community Engagement, Civic Cultures and Digital Social Media. The framework combines tools for formal reasoning with tools for empirical analysis. Such framework aims at providing solid foundations to support the influence of digital media technologies in the citizen and political ecosystem. Research-wise, the project advance the state of the art by providing: (1) a novel cross-disciplinary analytical and practical approach and (2) a thorough study of initiatives of civic cultures to influence the policy-making processes that can benefit democracy in Europe at a local scope.


The host institution has signed agreements with the shareholders institutions of the network Technopolitics in Portugal and Brazil, to the development of the joint supervision of PhD programs, research and theses related in Technopolitics: A PhD theses has been defended (Cum Laude) in 2022 (Dr Eduardo Baldiserra de Carvalho Salles, University of Sevilla, Spain and PUCRS, Brazil). Three PhD and one MA projects are being developed in the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and the University Pablo de Olavide (Sevilla, Spain) respectively, under my conduction. The three related doctoral projects have obtained funds and support of the Brazilian, Spanish and Portuguese government agencies for Science and Technology.

The obtention of my official certificate as Professor (Profesor Contratado Doctor) has allowed me to gain a permanent position as Lecturer of Ciberculture; Arts, Science and Technology and Science and Society. Three mandatory subjects of the host institution. The theoretical framework resulted of the action is the base of the programs and literature of these subjects, including the outputs and results delivered in the action as transversal content.

The results of the action have engaged more than a hundred researchers, students, makers and co-creators of different countries, publishing in four languages (English, French, Spanish and Portuguese). This material constitutes the initial research track record of the network Technopolitics.

According to the Ethics and open data requirements, the RRI principles and the action Data Management Plan, an intense online activity of the project has been developed through corporate Social Media and the official channels of the universities engaged. Since the beginning of the project was created a monthly space of debate and opinion in the independent journal and radio (podcast) on line El Salto, under the tag Tecnopolítica (Technopolitics), linking the project topic with outstanding trending international issues.

As MSCA researcher I have participated in the latest editions (from 2020 to 2022) of the European Night of the Researchers and MSCA activities organized by the host institution and the Spanish Agency for Science and Technology (NCPs) and also as an associate member of the MSCA Alumni Association.

Citizen Lab coordination

Technopolitics panel discussion in an international workshop

Presentation of Technopolitics in an International event