FairCom: Using and Shaping Online Communication Inclusively

The climate crisis and mobility restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a current boom in online meetings. For sustainability and environmental reasons, it is crucial that this form of communication continues to be used extensively after the pandemic, thereby reducing traffic and pollution. In light of this development, it is essential that technologies for online meetings are open to everyone and can be used by everyone. However, research shows that these technologies are often not designed or used in an inclusive way; rather, they have an inherent potential for discrimination, which must be minimized. FairCom therefore pursues the goal of contributing to making online meetings more inclusive - both in terms of software and moderation or application. Based on a comprehensive survey of user needs and exclusion mechanisms, we develop solution ideas together with diverse user groups in a highly participatory process. These ideas are subsequently elaborated into technological solution approaches (with testbed implementation) and communicative solution approaches (instructions for action and methods for online moderation), and in a further step serve as an evaluation environment. The results of the evaluation will be disseminated to increase awareness of the issue of inclusion in technology development and use.