Timely relations in rural Africa

Abstract

Abstract: Time is a key aspect of cross-cultural ICT4D research and practice, but rarely the focus of discussion. In this paper we, a group of researchers with diverse backgrounds and residences, aim to open up a dialogue about how different conceptualizations of time affect cross-cultural ICT4D research. We do this by reflecting on our long-term participatory research, design and deployment with inhabitants of Mankosi, in South Africa’s rural Eastern Cape. We start by considering different concepts of time from a critical anthropological perspective and propose that ICTs embed and propagate ‘modern ’ values in relation to time. We then claim, by using concrete examples from engaging with Mankosi’s inhabitants in ICT4D projects that time contributes to dilemmas and paradoxes. This leads us to advocate a deeper sensitivity to the values associated with, and practices that implicate, time in method(ology) and resulting artifacts can significantly enhance studies in ICT4D.