[Asis-l] Extended Call for Participation in ASIS&T 2006 Workshop on North American Information Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa (NAIISA)

[K S Albright]

Extended Call for Participation in ASIS&T 2006 Workshop on North American
Information Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa (NAIISA)

Monday, 6 November 2006 5:30-7:00 pm
Submit 250-word project description by October 15
(see details below)

Facilitators: Kendra Albright, Johannes Britz, Wallace Koehler

Purpose:

The purpose of this proposed workshop is to bring those interested and
involved in African information initiatives together for a formal exchange of
ideas and coordination of information about projects and funding.  

Abstract:

Ad hoc, informal meetings, coined the “Africa Forum,” have been held at several
previous ASIS&T and ALISE meetings for persons interested and involved in
information-related activities in Africa.  Participants have exchanged
information on partnerships, grant-funded research, and information needs in
the Sub-Saharan region.  Existing partnerships between Emporia State University
and Nigeria, the University of Tennessee and Makerere University, and the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Pretoria (South Africa)
have raised awareness of the increasing need for LIS research in Africa and the
exchange of information between LIS programs on both continents. Recently,
there has been increasing interest in information initiatives in Africa, as
evidenced by the increasing interest in the Africa Forum and the expanding
social network of participants.  Additional LIS programs and researchers have
stated their interest in establishing academic partnerships and developing
research collaborations. Yet, no formal mechanism exists by which to explore
potential connections and further the development of ideas and exchange of
knowledge, and coordinate efforts for both future projects and funding. 
Several US led African initiatives have happened in ad hoc fashion at the risk
of resource duplication.  The purpose of this proposed workshop is to bring
those interested and involved in African information initiatives together for a
formal exchange of ideas and coordination of information about projects and
funding.  

Objectives:

The workshop will address the following objectives:
(1)	To identify persons and projects currently involved in information-related
research and activities in Sub-Saharan Africa;
(2)	To facilitate the interest of persons not currently involved in this work
who are interested in learning about opportunities;
(3)	To increase opportunities for coordination of efforts and potential
collaboration;
(4)	To identify and prioritize specific information projects that are culturally
appropriate for the African peoples;
(5)	To identify appropriate grants and the development of applications for
initial and continued funding;
(6)	To establish a formal mechanism by which to ensure continuous networking
between scholars.

At this workshop, participants will present their projects/research or interests
in information related activities in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Formal papers are not
expected; the focus will be on the identification and coordination of people
and projects.  Those who wish to participate should submit a 250 word abstract
to Kendra Albright (albright at utk.edu) or Johannes Britz (britz at sois.uwm.edu) by
October 15, 2006 with a description of their research/project (i.e.,
research/project title, time span of research/project, research question,
country of study, user population, theory, and methodology) or area(s) of
interest.

Speaker Biographies:

Kendra Albright (University of Sheffield)
Kendra Albright is Lecturer the University of Sheffield.  Her areas of teaching
and research interest include the role of information in the reduction of
HIV/AIDS in Africa, the effects of information and communication technologies
(ICTs) on development, information policy, and business intelligence. She holds
a Ph.D. in Communications with concentrations in Information Science and
Information Economics, a M.S. in Library Science, and a B.S. in Human
Development. She has over seventeen years of professional experience in science
and business research libraries and private information research and
consulting.

Johannes Britz (University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee)
Johannes Britz is a native South African and moved to the United States first
and a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and then as
Dean of the School of Information Studies (2005) at the same institution. Prior
to this Johannes has been 16 years at the University of Pretoria South Africa.
He specializes in the information ethics and has a special interest in
information poverty and social justice - in particular to the African
continent. He has done consultation work for amongst others the Namibian as
well as South African governments and act also as a consultant for the European
Union on a South African project.

Wallace Koehler (Valdosta State University)
Wallace Koehler is a professor and director of the Master of Library and
Information Program at Valdosta State University. He holds the Ph.D. in
international relations and the MS in information science. He has served as
External Examiner to the East African School of Library and Information Science
at Makerere University in Uganda. His research interests include information
ethics, professional associations, and web- and bibliometrics. 

QUESTIONS: All questions should be sent to Kendra Albright
(k.albright at sheffield.ac.uk).