​Tahu Kukutai
Te Ngira Institute for Population Research
University of Waikato, New Zealand
Indigenous data sovereignty - The future is now.
On-Site Keynote
On-Site in Wellington, NZ: Wednesday, 7 April 2026
Abstract (TBA)
Lisa M. Given
Centre for Human-AI Information Environments,
RMIT University
Information science and AI futures: Leading today for a better tomorrow.
On-Site Keynote
On-Site in Wellington, NZ: Tuesday, 6 April 2026
Abstract (TBA)
Heidi Julien
Graduate School of Education,
State University of New York at Buffalo, United States
Reflections on Moving Towards a Digitally Enlightened Society
On-Site Keynote
On-Site in Edinburgh, UK: Tuesday, 31 March 2026, 10:00am - 12:30pm
Heidi Julien, Professor of Information Science at the University at Buffalo, has been thinking about information and digital literacy for 30 years, exploring these concepts and investigating efforts to develop information skills. The conference theme, “Moving Towards a Digitally Enlightened Society” is appropriately future-oriented but also, perhaps ironically, evokes the optimism and values of the enlightenment era. Her iConference talk will explore the idea of “digital enlightenment” and the challenges she sees to achieving that goal, particularly in our AI-obsessed context. Intentionally provocative, Julien will tackle the assumptions we may bring to notions of digital enlightenment and will consider the so-called solutions we are pressed to accept. She will (re)consider what it means to be digitally literate at this moment in time, focusing on implications for information seekers, creators, and users across a range of contexts. Bringing a social and environmental justice lens to these concerns, this keynote will reflect upon the contested futures before us.