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 September 30
(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 utk.edu) or Johannes Britz
(britzsois.uwm.edu) by
September 30, 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.albrightsheffield.ac.uk).
--
Dr Kendra Albright
Department of Information Studies
University of Sheffield
Email: k.albrightsheffield.ac.uk
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