Keynote Speech
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Bozdağ
Understanding digital inclusion in the context of transnational media practices
An increasing number of people around the world lead transnational and multilingual lives, maintaining daily connections with people, content, and contexts that transcend national borders. Such transnationalism and multilingualism are not limited to migrant communities; they also characterize the lives of individuals who consume cross-border media, engage in global social networks, work for multinational corporations, engage in cross-border work, or belong to local minority groups, among others. These forms of connectivity are largely facilitated by the affordances of digital media. Despite the growing prevalence of these realities, both research and policy often remain framed within a national paradigm—what Wimmer and Glick Schiller call “methodological nationalism.” This national framing is also evident in the field of digital inclusion, which encompasses policies, research, and interventions aimed at addressing digital inequalities and ensuring equal participation of all citizens in digital society. Most digital inclusion initiatives, however, are designed with a domestically bound citizen in mind, overlooking the implications of transnational digital engagement. This keynote explores how we might reconceptualize digital inclusion in light of the increasingly transnational nature of everyday mediated practices, and what this shift entails for future research, policy, and intervention.
