CFP: African Women in Media 2020 Summit (AWiM2020)

Published by Bojana

Deadline: 20 January 2020
Open to: African female researchers, practitioners, CSOs and policy professionals
Venue: Johannesburg, South Africa

Description

African Women in Media (AWiM) is pleased to bring you their fourth annual conference, which aims to bring together media practitioners, researchers, policy makers and CSOs.

With the theme Reimagining Futures: Women in Media, Peace and Technologies, AWiM2020 Summit takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa on 29-31 July 2020. ‘Re-imagining Futures’ reflects innovation in media industries, and the growing drive to change the narrative of Africa globally, particularly as African countries work towards achieving a dominant global position, and urgent objectives like Silencing the Guns by 2020, Free movement of people, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Issues around movement, immigration, peace and security, and the lived experiences, roles and insights of women in media practitioners, policy makers, CSOs and researchers make the AWiM2020 Summit a timely focal point to bring these stakeholders together.

AWiM2020 aims to explore three thematic areas:

  1. The prospects of free movement across the continent and the potential impact for female media professionals in Africa, and media and creative industries broadly;
  2. The lived experiences of women in media as participants of peacebuilding and conflict prevention; and,
  3. Emerging technologies and how Africa’s media might leveraging these to improve issues affecting female journalists.

Other questions for the Summit include:

Movement and Migration

How might easier movement between African countries improve the working conditions and opportunities for African women working in media? How might it improve economic contributions of media and creative industries, for example when we consider the flourishing music industries? What might we learn from examples like CariCom and the ERASMUS for journalist project? How might we re imagine journalistic conversations and representation of migration and displacement in Africa?

Peace and Security

What are the lived experiences of women in  media reporting on peace and security in Africa? How might continental agendas provide for the participation of women in media? How might female media producers use their position and lived experiences to tell the stories in a way that empowers female survivors of conflict to speak out?

Emerging Technologies

How are global media responding to emerging technologies of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Robotics and others? How can these technologies help the media better know and engage audiences? What can we learn about gathering, storage and access to data? What is the outlook for online safety of female journalists in Africa? What specific technologies can support specific needs of women in media in African countries?

Eligibility

In exploring these questions, AWiM2020 Summit welcomes paper, panel and workshop proposals from researchers, practitioners, CSOs and policy professionals in the following topic areas:

  • Journalism
  • Globalisation
  • Fourth industrial revolution
  • Media and film studies
  • Intellectual property rights
  • Global Agendas
  • Discourse analysis and global implications
  • Peace and security
  • Global communication and technology
  • Intercultural communication and public policy
  • International conflict
  • Feminist studies
  • Migration and mobility
  • Postcolonial studies
  • Culture and media policy
  • Participatory communication
  • Audience
  • Community media
  • Access and Citizen Empowerment
  • Cultural studies
  • Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Machine Learning
  • Blockchain, Empowerment and Media
  • Communication and Development
  • Communities and Networks
  • Digital Empowerment
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Ethics and Trust
  • Feminism and Political Participation
  • Gender Mainstreaming and Policies
  • International Law and Human Rights
  • Religion and Conflict
  • Representation, identity, ideology
  • Terrorism
  • Transmedia
  • Sustainability and Environment
  • Human capital flow
  • Entrepreneurship

Benefits

AWiM19 attendees indicated Networking, Personal Growth and Content as the top three reasons for attending the conference. AWiM2020 responds to this feedback by deploying a pedagogical approach to the structure of the conference. This starts with re-imagining the Keynote sessions by replacing these on Day One with a High-Level Panel on Security and Women in Media; and on Day Two with Ignite Talks on Re imagining the Future for Women in Media. This is followed by a series of panels with audience interaction at its core, and each day ending with solution round tables and the popular audience showcase segment. These last sessions will aid in capturing reflections on lessons learnt and reporting on solutions and opportunities. Training workshops will be strategic placed to aid this process.

How to Apply?

Abstract should be 150-300 words in English or French. Please include details about your positions, affiliations, and email addresses for all authors. All submissions should be sent to yemisi[at]africanwomeninmedia[dot]com with ‘AWiM2020 CFP’ in the subject line

For more information, please visit the official website.