[liberationtech] ICTs, New Media & Social Change in Africa, London, 15 June 2012

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CALL FOR PAPERS

ICTs, New Media and Social Change in Africa

Conference organised by the Africa Media Centre Communication and Media
Research Institute (CAMRI),

Date: 15 June 2012
Venue: University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW

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 new deadline for abstracts is Wednesday 2 May 2012. Successful
applicants will be notified by Monday 7 May 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 atjournalism at westminster.ac.uk

PROGRAMME 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 at the end of April 2012.
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