IT for Social Activists: A Study of World Social Forum 2006 Organizing Process

There has been little research on how social activists use information technology in carrying out their activities. Most of these activists belong to social organizations and recent literature has highlighted that most civil society organizations lack IT appropriation in their work practices. To better understand IT requirements of this sector, there is a need for longitudinal ethnographic studies. In this paper, the authors examine the organizing process of the World Social Forum 2006 event, held in Karachi Pakistan. World Social Forum is an important gathering of social movements across the globe, and organizing such an event requires extensive communication and effective planning skills. The authors' intention is appropriate technology introduction in the organizing process to improve the organizing process. The objective of this paper is to highlight the need and importance of this research issue.