Work inequalities in later life redefined by digitalisation
Location
Mendel University in Brno, Czechia
Date
9th and 10th of June, 2026
We invite scholars, researchers, and practitioners to submit extended abstracts for the upcoming DIGI-net Conference 2026, which will focus on the multifaceted relationship between digitalization and older workers. As societies worldwide undergo rapid technological transformations, the implications for aging workforces are complex and increasingly urgent. This conference seeks to explore these dynamics through interdisciplinary and critical perspectives.
Keynote speakers
Prof. PhDr. Iveta RADIČOVÁ, Ph.D., is a sociologist and currently the Dean of the Faculty of Mass Media at the Pan-European University (PEU). Since 2018, she has been a European Coordinator at the European
Commission.
She lectures at both domestic and renowned international universities, including:
Masaryk University (Czech Republic), Umeå University (Sweden), New School of Social Research (NY), and others.
Her research and publications focus on social justice, democracy, and EU policy (160 publications; the
most cited social scientist in Slovakia with over 2,000 citations; holder of a trademark for methodology
and theory in sociological research). More can be learned here.
On the complexity of uncertainties and the consequences of the information revolution
The changes brought about by globalization, geopolitics, migration, terrorism, digitization, and inequalities are putting pressure on the basic principles of liberal democracy.
The thesis that I will try to confirm is: the application of the universal values of democracy, i.e., human dignity, freedom, equality, and solidarity, should be guaranteed by politics and democratic institutions. It is obvious that rapid changes and new conflicts in the social order lead to significant polarization and fragmentation of society and political failure. The world economy is transforming, and delaying the politics behind this transformation means widening the gap in economic and human development between countries, people, and companies, and weakening the very foundations and principles of liberal democracy…
Technological changes are replacing workers, globalization and the rapid movement of people are disrupting communities, the family structure is weakening, the political order in the Middle East is uncertain, the American and Chinese economies are changing the rules of trade, inequality is increasing, the foundations of liberal democracy are experiencing earthquakes, security due to terrorism, war conflicts and energy security is becoming a priority over individual freedom. As Zygmund Bauman states, the paradigm shift today is from a desire for independence from a society made up of communities to a desire to belong to a society made up of individuals. Thus, from the long-term war of rationality, efficiency, and utility against choice-limiting social moral bonds, duties, and obligations, the self-identifying and self-confident individual emerged victorious. However, it is a “positively powerless” winner who, without outside help and intervention, is deprived of the social capital necessary for effective action [1].
The decisive, key step of the present is the separation of collective opinion from the physical proximity of the bearers and supporters. Remote action and the emergence of a mediated public together with a new form of collective intelligence created by this public prevails. Thomson media [2] emphasizes new forms of action in the form of mediated interaction and quasi-mediated interaction, which adds the peculiarity of transmitting information to an unlimited range of recipients to the narrowed range of symbolic indications.
The impact of the Internet, with its product of concurrent virtual reality alongside social reality, can be compared to changes after the invention of writing or printing.
The world is better than it was in the past, but we are plagued by complex and interconnected problems.
[1] Bauman, Z. Retrotópia. Artforum, 2017, str. 54
[2] www.thomsonfoundation.org
Galit Nimrod, Ph.D., is Professor of Communication Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
For more than two decades, her research has examined aging, digital technologies, and well-being, with particular attention to later-life transitions such as retirement, health decline, and spousal loss.
She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and is the author of two sole-authored monographs published by Cambridge University Press, including Seniorland: Aging in a Retirement Metropolis (2025).
She was elected to the Academia Europaea and is involved in international research collaborations and academic and policy discussions on aging, digitalisation, and quality of life.
Aging under Pressure: Technostress, Surveillance, and Inequality in Later Life
This keynote critically examines how digitalisation reshapes later life by imposing new forms of pressure rather than fostering empowerment. Drawing on a series of studies on technostress among older adults, it first introduces technostress as a measurable and systematic threat to well-being in later life. It then demonstrates how technostress intensifies under adverse contexts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and varies across national settings in relation to health, use patterns, and work status. The lecture culminates in an analysis of older workers, showing how perceived employer surveillance may intensify technostress and revealing new forms of inequality within digitalised workplaces.
doc. Jakub Hlávka, Ph.D., M.A., is Director of the Health Economics, Policy and Innovation Institute at Masaryk University and a Clinical Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC).
His research focuses on health economics and public policy, with particular emphasis on the economics of aging and Alzheimer’s disease, innovative payment models for emerging therapies, health system reform, inequality in healthcare access, and resilience in health and national security contexts.
He has held research positions at the RAND Corporation, served as a health policy advisor to the Czech President, and teaches in master’s programs at USC.
The topic and abstract of the presenter’s keynote will be added soon.
Dates
| Registration opening | 8.12.2025 |
| Deadline for extended abstract submission | 11.02.2026 (closed) |
| Acceptance notifications | March–April 2026 |
| Conference | 08 – 10.06.2026 |
Scientific board
- doc. PhDr. Martina Rašticová, Ph.D
- Prof. Dr. Petia Genkova
- Dr. Jelle Lössbroek
- Prof. Dr. Sylwia Przytuła
- Prof. Dr. Matthew Flynn
- Prof. Anabela Mesquita
- Dr. Maria Varlamova
- Dr. Jeroen Spijker
- Dr. Cristina Maria Tofan
- Mgr. Bc. Ondřej Pavelek, Ph.D.
- Prof. Dr. Nataliia Tkalenko
- Dr. Maeve O’Sullivan
- Prof. Dr. Eleni Meletiadou
- Dr. Aija Bukova-Žideļūna
- Prof. Dr. Merita Xhumari
- Dr. Lavinia Andreea Bejan
- Dr. Nataliia Versal
- Dr. Petroula M. Mavrikiou
- Dr. James Ogg
- Dr. Aine Ní Léime
- Dr. Maria Balytska
- Dr. Mihael Nedeljko
Organisation board
- doc. PhDr. Martina Rašticová, Ph.D.
- Ms. Iris Finger
- Mgr. Ondřej Klíma, Ph.D.
- Ing. Hana Vránová, MBA
- Mgr. Silvie Trávníčková