Research and Design Challenge

Research and Design Challenge Call

“INCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGIES”

The Interaction Design and Children 2024 conference invites children, scholars, designers, and practitioners to participate in this year’s Research and Design Challenge (R&DC) under the theme of “Inclusive Technologies”. 

We invite people from all over the world, from any background, race, gender, nationality, physical ability, thinking style and experience, to imagine and submit their ideas thinking of the following question – How can we transform existing technologies (educational software, assistive devices, social media platforms, interactive gaming, robots, computers, and more) to be more inclusive (more balanced, with the same opportunities for all, where everyone is welcome)?

INFORMATION

Being “inclusive” means making sure that everyone, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, nationality, race, and background, can have access to the same opportunities and feel welcome. It is about giving everyone a chance to live in a comfortable and secure environment, allowing them to play, learn, and work together without leaving anyone out. 

Your ideas could cover a range of topics related to transportation, food and water, energy, education, health, play, and wealth. 

Encouraging an inclusive perspective on “technology”, can better serve the needs of a diverse population, promoting equal access and participation in the digital world. With this approach in mind, we invite you to explore redesigning existing tools or creating new ones. The goal is to think about technology that is accessible to a diverse range of individuals, irrespective of their abilities or disabilities. This can be utilized by your friends, family, a child, or someone in need in your neighborhood. Alternatively, it could be an idea with the potential to benefit countries or make a global impact.

GUIDED QUESTIONS

Here are some questions to help you envisage and dream of ideas that help transform the technologies around you to be more inclusive of everyone:

  • Was there a time or situation where you or someone you know experienced not being welcomed?
    • Can you think of how you could have changed the situation through a new design or transforming the existing one?
  • Was there a time or situation where you or someone else couldn’t use a form of transportation because they had additional needs?
    • Imagine there is a child in your school who uses a wheelchair, and you have a fun activity organised on the 3rd floor of the school, and there is no elevator available. How, through a new idea, can you transform that negative experience into a positive one?
  • Do you think everyone has access to the same education around the world? If not, how can we design or redesign the existing tools and technologies?
  • How could your ideas help society to be more inclusive in terms of healthcare?
    • For example, how can we be more inclusive in terms of education around healthcare and preventing misinformation?
  • How can we ensure everyone has access to healthy food, clean water, and energy?
  • How do you think children like you could be included in the design and creation of new technologies that help your community?

Your idea might be a whole new challenge for inclusion. There are no right or wrong answers in this process. Let’s focus on being creative and caring. Design your ideas, draw them, construct them, or find ways to tell us about your thinking. You can look here to see ideas from past participants published in that year’s Booklet: 

CHALLENGE PHASES & SUBMISSION 

​​PHASE 1 – SUBMISSION OF CHILDREN’S IDEAS

In Phase 1 of the Research & Design Challenge, children all over the world are invited to submit their initial ideas in response to the theme “Inclusive Technologies.” Individuals or teams can make submissions from a classroom, after-school program, club, maker space, or combinations from different schools, clubs, towns, or countries. 

Each individual or team is invited to fill out a simple form with a brief description of their idea along with drawings, pictures or other forms that best express an initial impression of the idea. The ideas received will form the basis for the second phase of the Research & Design Challenge. We accept submissions in any language. To make non-English design ideas understandable for people around the world, we will use translation tools to convert them into English. 

The submission for Phase 1 is closed now.

PHASE 2 – SUBMISSIONS OF DESIGN CONCEPT

In Phase 2, we invite everyone, including children, researchers, and designers, to submit a design concept (i.e., prototypes, not actual artefacts) with the same theme, “Inclusive Technologies,” that builds on one or more of the ideas submitted by children in Phase 1. 

Submissions by children could have the following format:

  • A short 2-minute video in MP4 format where the idea is described and applied to a situation. It can show a prototype, or it can be a role-play that shows how the prototype could be used. Adult researchers (the track chairs and expert reviewers) will judge your video submissions and select three finalists.

All the other submissions should have the extended abstract paper and accompanying video format:

  • A 2-4 page summary (including extra pages for references) in ACM template format (access the submission guidelines https://idc.acm.org/2024/paper-submission-publication/). Adult researchers (the track chairs and expert reviewers) will judge this part of the submissions and shortlist them.
  • A short 1-minute video in MP4 format. Children who previously submitted their ideas in Phase 1 will judge the videos of the shortlisted submissions.

NOTE 1: You can access the Booklet of Children’s Ideas here http://tinyurl.com/IDCBooklet2024. 

NOTE 2: In your submissions, please explicitly mention which child submission from the booklet inspired your design. 

You can also submit any supplementary material (e.g., drawings, sketches, photos) to explain your concept. The submissions will be judged by the children who submitted their ideas on the basis of the videos and by the adult jury, who will consider the paper and all other materials.

We will select a sample of your submissions based on commonly recurring themes, unique perspectives and variations, and surprising design elements. We will then send the sample out to clever adult researchers and creative children, who will vote. The three finalists from paper submissions will be invited to present their ideas to the IDC audience during the conference.

IMPORTANT DATES

Important Dates (Midnight in Anywhere on Earth – AoE)

  • January 31, 2024   February 14, 2024: Children’s Submissions Due
    • February 7, 2024    February 26, 2024: Research & Design Challenge Starts
  • April 3, 2024: Research & Design Challenge Due
    • April 19, 2024:  Challenge Finalists Notification
  • April 29, 2024: Publication-ready Submissions Due
  • June 17-20, 2024: IDC Conference

IMPORTANT LINKS

The Booklet of Children’s Ideas for 2024 is available here: http://tinyurl.com/IDCBooklet2024 

 

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION IN PDF VERSION