PARTNERS
Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
The ways people communicate, to whom, and with what effects are crucial elements of vibrant public life. Our contemporary world is defined by rapid changes in uses of both new technologies and traditional communication media. The Center for Communication and Civic Engagement is dedicated to understanding these dynamic media systems in order to promote citizen engagement and effective participation in local, national, and global affairs.
This is an important historical period for developing new communication models. There are many signs that new forms of citizenship, politics, and public engagement are emerging. Young citizens increasingly participate in global politics and exercise their consumer power at home. Supporters of many interest organizations and parties are graying, triggering the search for communication strategies to mobilize new supporters. The importance of participatory media and social networking on the Internet has become clear in elections and issue campaigns. The news as we know it is losing audience, particularly in younger age groups, raising questions about how public information will be communicated in the coming years. The research and learning programs at CCCE seek to understand these new challenges and opportunities for communication and civic engagement.
International Institute for Socio-Informatics, Bonn, Germany
The International Institute for Socio-Informatics (IISI) was founded to investigate into the design of computer applications in support of social systems. An interdisciplinary group of researchers works at the intersection of computer science, social science, learning science, and design. Taking into account current developments of the internet, multimedia and mobile computing, the main focus of IISI is on a user-oriented and sustainable design of information technology.
School of Media and Information, University of Siegen, Germany
The School of Media and Information (iSchool) is a central scientific institution at the University of Siegen. The iSchool aims to promote interdisciplinary and collaborative, project-oriented and international aligned research. The main task of the iSchool is the exploration of modern mass- and media communication in order to their appropriation, but also to develop applications for information technologies. Therefore the iSchool works empirically, in terms of design and theorizing. It also conducts basic research and contract research – in cooperation with the software- and media industry, institutional and private users, media institutions and services. The iSchool aims to achieve a high level of leverage for all work areas through third party funding projects.
