CALL FOR PAPERS – Regional Reshaping Work Conference2024

FUTURE OF WORK REVISITED: PLATFORM WORK IN THE AGE OF AI
May 22 & 23, 2023, Belgrade, SERBIA

Introduction

For many years, Ukraine, Serbia, and Romania have been leading providers of digital labour workers in Europe and beyond. With the outbreak of COVID-19, other Eastern and Southeastern European countries have followed suit. However, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the rise of AI have significantly impacted platform work across these regions, touching upon professional, social and organizational aspects. To explore the profound changes unfolding in the world of platform work, we invite you to join us at the Regional Reshaping Work 2024 conference in Belgrade and investigate the transformative shifts in platform work and their impact on workers, businesses, and societies in Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

Over two dynamic days, we will bring together an array of stakeholders, including academics, legal and policy experts, worker representatives, worker advocates, and companies. During this conference, we will embark on a journey to explain the complex intersections between evolving technologies, skills development, and the changing work environment in the context of platform economy. We will critically analyse these unfolding trends from different conceptual and practical perspectives, with the aim to uphold the principles of decent work in the platform economy and work in Southeastern and Eastern Europe in the context of challenges posed by the fast-emerging, technology driven future.

Topics of Interest

We welcome abstracts that explore the dynamics of AI, skill development, and intersectionality within the platform economy and work, spanning individual, group, organizational, and societal levels. We encourage diverse methodological approaches, including conceptual, qualitative, and quantitative studies. However, the abstracts should have clear practitioner and/or policy implications, as the conference aims to bring together both academics and practitioners and facilitate constructive discussions. Key topics include, but are not limited to:

Stream 1: AI at Work

• Accountability and ethical concerns in the context of AI
• AI and labour processes
• AI and workers’ rights
• AI and the balance of power in multi-sided markets
• Invisible workers in AI

Stream 2: Regulating AI

• Legal aspects of AI usage in the context of platform work, especially:
  • protection and processing of personal data (GDPR)
  • right to privacy at work
  • personality rights
  • anti-discrimination and algorithmic bias
• Possible effect of the (draft) EU Directive for improving working conditions of platform workers
• Platform work: EU AI Act and EU Social Acquis
• Social and societal dialogue about regulating AI in Eastern and Southeastern Europe

Stream 3: Intersectionality and Platform Work

• Gender and organizational and platform work models
• Platform strategies and gender inequalities (access, participation and earning)
• Impact of AI on gender and gender-diverse individuals
• Strategies and policies for a gender equal and intersectional platform economy

Stream 4: Skills for the New Platform Era

• Labour and skills demand in platform economy
• Skills development in platform work
• Cross-disciplinary skills for the AI reliant platform era
• Strategies and policies enhancing skills relevance and recognition

Submission information

Those wishing to participate in the conference by presenting a research paper/report are requested to submit an extended abstract (around 800 words) by February 12, 2024 CEST. Authors of accepted papers will be invited to attend the event and present their research by participating in a panel discussion and/or presenting a poster. Applicants should include their title, institutional affiliation, and indicate if the abstract belongs to the following sections: i) AI at work; ii) Regulating AI; iii) Intersectionality and platform work; or iv) Skills for the new platform era. Abstracts should be sent to belgrade@reshapingwork.net. You may also contact Branka Andjekovic (branka.andjelkovic@gmail.com) with any questions you may have about scholarly contributions to this conference. Notification of acceptance will be sent on February 26, 2024 CEST.

Practical information

The Reshaping Work 2024 Regional Conference will take place on May 22nd & 23rd, 2024 in Belgrade. All presentations will be scheduled for May 23rd between 9:00 and 17:30. The conference dinner will take place on Wednesday, May 22nd. For updates and practical information, please consult our website: https://reshapingwork.net/regional/belgrade-2024/. To ensure you stay up-to-date, please sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Twitter.

Key dates

• February 12, 2024 – Abstracts submission deadline
• February 29, 2024 – Authors notified of decision
• March 4, 2024 – Early bird ticket prices available
• March 8, 2024 – Deadline to confirm presence at the event by registering for the conference
• May 22 & 23, 2024 – Reshaping Work 2024 Regional Conference in Belgrade

Scientific committee

• Branka Andjelkovic, Co-founder and Director, Public Policy Research Centre (Re:people), Head of the Scientific Committee
• Mark Graham, Professor, University of Oxford, Oxford Internet Institute & Director, Fairwork project
• Agnieszka Piasna, Senior Researcher, European Trade Union Institute
• Martin Gruber-Risak, Associate Professor, Department of Labour Law and Law of Social Security, University of Vienna, Austria
• Mayo Fuster Morell, Faculty Affiliate Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University; Director, Dimmons Research Group; Director, Barcelona Chair on digital economy, UOC, Barcelona City Council and Barcelona ACtiva; Chair, COST Action Platform Work Inclusion Living Lab (P-Will)
• Vassil Kirov, Professor and Deputy Director, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
• Jovana Karanovic, Assistant Professor, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
• Tanja Jakobi, Executive Director and Senior Researcher, Public Policy Research Centre (Re:people)
• Iwona Ganko, Human Capital Development Expert – Labour Market, European Training Foundation