[Asis-l] Third Call for Participation - ASIS&T - Initiatives in Africa

[Kendra Albright]

*******Third Call for Participation********

ASIS&T 2007:  North American Information Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa
(NAIISA): Social Computing and Communication Environments and Implications
Tuesday, October 23, 2007, 2:15 p.m.

Ad hoc, informal meetings, originally 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 Sub-Saharan Africa.  Recently,
there has been increasing interest in information initiatives in Africa, as
evidenced by the increasing attendance at these meetings, resulting in the
adoption of the name at ASIS&T 2006, North American Information Initiatives in
Sub-Saharan Africa (NAIISA).  

This year’s NAIISA session will focus on establishing information-related
priorities regarding the role of social computing and communications in
Sub-Saharan Africa.  This region of the world, like many developing areas,
presents a variety of concerns about the role of computing and its effects on
culture and society.  While most Sub-Saharan countries are committed to goals
of national development and want to bring about fundamental changes that will
improve the lives of African peoples, the successful integration of computing
and other forms of communication leading to positive social change depends upon
a number of factors. The focus of the NAIISA session this year will be on
issues surrounding the use and influence of computing and communications within
the Sub-Saharan Africa, the identification of benefits and obstacles for social
computing in the region.  Specifically, this session will consider:

•        In what ways are social computing and communications contributing to
significant behavioral or attitudinal changes in Sub-Saharan Africa?  How do we
assess these changes? 
•        Is the information world getting flatter? What can we learn from
Sub-Saharan
perspectives?  
•        In what ways does web 2.0 influence the way information is created,
represented, organized, stored, retrieved, and disseminated in Sub-Saharan
Africa? 
•        In what ways are the new trends in social computing and communications
affecting information science education and practice in Sub-Saharan Africa?

At this session, participants will discuss their projects/research; formal
papers are not expected.  The focus of this session will be on establishing
information related priorities regarding the role of social computing in the
region.  Each participant should prepare a brief (1-2) page description of what
they consider to be the related information priorities for SSA which will be
discussed at the meeting.  The results will serve as a baseline for comparison
with a similar process (and results) at a meeting in African in 2008.

Please contact Kendra Albright, University of Sheffield, with any questions:
k.albright at sheffield.ac.uk.