Deadline: 5 April 2012
ICTs, New Media and Social Change in Africa
Conference organised by the Africa Media Centre
In Africa, as in many societies, new technologies increasingly play a prominent role in the production and exchange of information. In spite of their limited penetration on the continent, new information technologies are beginning to have a noticeable effect on politics, activism, culture, entertainment and many other facets of public and private life. There is frequent usage of the Internet and of mobile devices, the rise of influential blogs and news sites, evidence of social media that are more than tools for self-presentation together with the overreliance of major newspapers, radio and television on websites for a broader and more diverse reach in ways that suggest a paradigm shift and the alteration of social values in communication practices today. Evolving media policies, attitudes and use patterns in Africa and the Global South remarkably indicate that the benefits of ICTs and New Media are not confined to the Global North alone.
Key questions, however, relate to how new forms of communication technologies have advanced or subverted social change in Africa. The purpose of this one-day conference is to bring together African scholars from diverse disciplines to collectively explore the thematic issue of the transforming role of ICTs and new media. We are concerned to bring to the fore sub-themes of changing production environments, shifts in funding mechanisms, the role of audiences/users, regulation debates and the ICTs’ potential for human development. Wikileaks have, for example, shown how African governments have struggled to maintain transparency and uphold their citizens’ right to information.
The Arab Spring and other manifestations of tension and struggle among governments, citizens and terrorists, call for debates on social transformation in the context of new media and ICTs. To address these and similar issues relating to the theorisation of the role and influence of new media technologies in Africa, we invite scholars to submit panel proposals and/ or abstracts in the following and related areas:
- Theoretical and Conceptual Issues on New Media and Social Change
- Citizen empowerment, Diasporas and new media
- Social media for Social Change in Africa
- Mediating history in a digital era
- Human development and new ICTs
- New media tools in politics, persuasion and electioneering
- ICTs and Anti-Corruption Campaigns in Africa
- Health Communication, ICTs and New Media in Africa
- Old Media and New Media in Africa
- Regulation of ICTs and new Media in Africa
- Resistance, Activism and New Media Cultures in Africa
- New Media Practices and Organisations in Africa
- Journalism and Media Education in the Digital Age
- From Audiences to Consumer-Producers
- Mobile Phone Revolutions in Africa
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS
The conference organizers welcome abstracts that feature high quality conceptual papers, as well as qualitative and quantitative empirical research papers. Abstracts from individuals including graduate students are welcome.
The deadline for abstracts is Thursday 5 April 2012. Successful applicants will be notified by Monday 16 April 2012. Abstracts should be 300 words long. They must include the presenter's name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the title of the paper. Please send abstracts to Helen Cohen at journalism@westminster.ac.uk
PROGRAMMES AND REGISTRATION
This one day conference will take place on Friday 15 June 2012. The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including presenters) will be £95 with a concessionary rate of £45 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments and administration costs. Registration will open in April 2012.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: journalism@westminster.ac.uk
For submissions: journalism@westminster.ac.uk
Website: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/a-z/africa-media-centre