Unleashing Indigenous Iban Values For Collective Technology Design
Gary Loh Chee Wyai, Tariq Zaman, Khairuddin Ab Hamid
Abstract
The digital divide continues to be a problem on a global scale. Since the pandemic began, there has been widespread media coverage of people being unable to work from home or conduct online studies due to the lack of internet access. Many development and design approaches have been used to accomplish specific rural community objectives, including user-centred, participatory and co-design. Each of these strategies is effective at accomplishing certain specific objectives. The purpose of this research is to investigate the cultural and values dimension of the Iban indigenous community in Malaysian Borneo, Sarawak, using a value sensitive design approach. Domestic and cultural probes techniques were used to conduct design workshops with members of the community to explore indigenous communal values and finally, the card sorting method was used to reflect and create meaning from the information gathered. Our processes of engagement and co-design targets establishing a pluriversal design space for building trust, dialogue and co-existence despite the differences between academic and indigenous knowledge systems. In future, the primary discovery regarding collective values will be incorporated into the design and development of Community Networks as a solution bridging the digital divide for the indigenous community in Sarawak.