Building Inclusive Digital Economies

Featured Advisor: Emrys Schoemaker

Emrys is a researcher and strategist with a background in international development programming. Emrys’ research interests are on the use of social media in resource constrained environments, and the social implications of their use. Emrys is currently writing up a PhD thesis at the London School of Economics in International Development that looks at the relationship between mobile social media use and identity, specifically religious and gender identity in Pakistan. He is particularly interested in how technology design and affordances interact with cultural norms and values to generate new social practices. Emrys has over a decade of experience in communications for international development programming as the Director for Innovation and Technology at iMedia Associates, a development communications consultancy, and as a consultant to institutions including the British Government’s Department for International Development, United Nations and World Bank. Emrys’ work has focused on the use of communications, particularly new technologies, in social change processes that include peacebuilding, governance, education and health. Emrys has a Masters in Conflict Management from the Department of Peace Studies, Bradford University. Emrys has been involved in community development initiatives, co-founded startups that provide software solutions to development organisations and lives in New York City, USA. He rides a Brompton and can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Identity at the Margins