Skip to main content

SoBigData Articles

SocInfo 2020: a point of view from organizers

My experience participating in the organisation of the Social Informatics Conference (SocInfo)

We are all aware of living in a society which is constantly changing equilibriums, due to various social (and not only) phenomena. But how can humanity really be changed for the better through scientific research? How can new techniques and novel digital data sets contribute to advance societal progress?

SocInfo is an interdisciplinary venue for researchers from Computer Science, Informatics, Social Sciences, and Management Sciences to share ideas and opinions on societal priorities. In particular, researchers present original research work on studying the interplay between socially-centric platforms and databases, as well as social phenomena. The ultimate goal of SocInfo is to create a better understanding of socially-centric platforms not just as a technology but also as a set of social phenomena and human social dynamics.

This year the 12th International Conference (SocInfo 2020) was held in Pisa in Italy between the 6th and the 9th of October 2020, with general chairs Fosca Giannotti and Dino Pedreschi (from the KDD lab), sponsored by the National Research Center (CNR) and the SoBigData. It covered topics on health misinformation, epidemiology at the time of Covid-19, responsible AI, organisation of cities, and societies, to name but a few, presented by prestigious researchers (you can find the conference program in this link: https://kdd.isti.cnr.it/socinfo2020/program.html).

The realisation of the conference, with more than 200 participants, was organised by the KDD lab, and due to Covid-19 regulations, it took place remotely. Being the chair of the organisation of the lightning talk and the poster session, I can confirm that SocInfo was a unique professional experience. Besides, I interacted with many young enthusiastic researchers, who presented interesting research studies, from topics related to analyzing parliamentary questions and political campaigns to understanding factors behind personal change.

Together with the poster presenters before the poster session.

The date and the location of the 13th International Conference (SocInfo 2021) will be announced very soon, and I strongly encourage you to not miss the opportunity to participate, for learning and exchanging knowledge.

Luca Pappalardo