African Studies Spring Symposium
Information Technology and Transformation in Africa
April 4-5, 2008

Tentative

SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCEMENT
Information Transformation in Africa: Indigenous Knowledge, Information and Communication Technologies, and Libraries,” African Studies Program, UCIS, University of Pittsburgh, April 4-5, 2008; cosponsored by School of Information Science (Pitt) and School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The global digital divide between the West and the developing world, particularly Africa, perpetuates inequality.  For example, it is estimated that about 70 percent of people in North America and Western Europe use the internet on a regular basis whereas the corresponding figure for Africa is less than 4 percent.  And yet, information technology impacts education, business, health services, government, and life in general.  How can the developing world catch up on access to and use of information technology resources?  How can digital resources be applied to make more efficient service delivery in education, business, health, and government in Africa?  Isn’t the control of the global information system by the rich and powerful countries and the relative poverty of digital resources in Africa a question of social justice?  How might intellectual property rights protect Africa’s indigenous knowledge forms?   Join us as we interrogate these and other related questions in our symposium, “Information Transformation in Africa.”  The keynote will be Dr. Kay Raseroka, Director of Library Services, University of Botswana, and past president of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Program

Friday, April 4
4:00 – 6:00 PM: Reception
6:00 -7:45 PM:  Keynote (Kay Raseroka,)

Saturday, April 5
8:00-8:30 AM: Coffee & donuts
8:30-8:40: Brief Remarks on Libraries and Information Systems (Rush Miller, Pitt)
8:40–10:10 AM: Panel 1: Harnessing Appropriate Technologies for Information Transformation

1. The Technology of the Human Voice (Adjaye, Pitt)
2. IT Infrastructure in Africa (Du Plessis, UW-Milwaukee)
3. Library Resources, Knowledge Production, and Africa in the 21st Century (Paulos, CMU)
4. E-scaping Indigenous Knowledges: Epistemic Complexity and Cognitive Justice (Augusto, Brown)

Moderator: (Lelei, Pitt)

10:10 AM-10:30 AM: Break

10:30-12:00 AM: Panel 2: Challenges to Africa of Globalization and the IT Age

5. Impact of IT on Education, Research and Learning (Lelei, Pitt)
6. Health Information Technology (Sirleaf, Pitt)
7. E-Government (Carbo, Pitt)
8. “Ethical Challenges of Copyright on Access to E-Resources (Kawooya, UW-Milwaukee)

Moderator: (Toni Carbo)

12:00 -1:00 PM: Closing Keynote: “From Statistics to Ethics: Setting the Agenda for an African Information Ethics” (Johannes Britz, UW-Milwaukee)

(Hosted by the African Studies Program, UCIS, Pitt; School of Information Sciences, Pitt; and School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee)