Important Dates

About the Workshop

The integration of digital humanities (DH) and artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the production of knowledge in African Studies, offering new opportunities for innovative analysis, dynamic visualisation and cross-cultural research. Yet this shift raises urgent questions regarding equitable access, the representation of African languages, and the suitability of methodologies. Current large language models underrepresent African languages, digital scholarly infrastructures remain optimised for English, and digitisation pipelines that produce AI-ready data are themselves shaped by political choices about what to digitise, how to describe it, and who controls access. While recent initiatives on digital sovereignty in Africa have centred on policy and regulation, this workshop shifts attention to methodological practice. It asks how DH methods and AI transform research in African Studies, and how we can design, evaluate, and sustain these methods under African conditions. By bringing together scholars, independent researchers and practitioners from Africa, Europe, and beyond, the event will foster North–South and South–South dialogue at the intersection of African epistemologies and digital methods, moving from description to design.

Convenors

Frédérick Madore, University of Bayreuth

Vincent Hiribarren, King's College London

Emmanuel Ngue Um, University of Yaoundé 1 

Menno van Zaanen, South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR)

Key Dates

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE
  30 April 2026
  
  
• NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE
  15 May 2026
  
  
• DEADLINE FOR FULL PAPERS
  15 August 2026
  
  
• WORKSHOP DATES
  21–24 September 2026

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