Call for Abstracts: 6th AfLIA Conference and 8th African Library Summit

15TH JULY 2024

ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONFERENCE & CALL FOR ABSTRACTS FOR PAPERS, POSTERS, IGNITE TALKS & BIG IDEAS PODIUM PROPOSALS

AfLIA (African Library and Information Associations and Institutions), serves as the rallying point and voice of the African Library sector with a core purpose of building the capacity of librarians and allied professionals within the sector in order to enable them equitably open up and drive access to information and knowledge for sustainable development in Africa. Furthermore, AfLIA always seeks to empower African librarians and allied professionals to effectively discern, understand, adapt and respond to the evolving trends and developments in the information and knowledge universe.

AfLIA hereby invites all library and allied institutions professionals to be a part of her 6th Conference and 8^th African Library Summit which will hold in Windhoek-Namibia from 19th – 23rd May, 2025.

AfLIA will hold its 6^thConference and 8^thAfrican Library Summit for:

LIS practitioners in all Library types
LIS educators
LIS policymakers
Organizations and professionals working in partnership with African libraries

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A. Theme: Open Knowledge: present, future and African realities

Subthemes –

Whose Knowledge? Open practices, technology and African scholarship
Sustainable open knowledge Communities of practice (CoP) in Africa
Open research infrastructure in Africa
Open knowledge and Intellectual property legislation in Africa
Open knowledge, AI and the African book sector: present and future
Open knowledge, acculturation and African ethnic identities
AI, Open Knowledge and African datasets
Open knowledge, climate change and food security in Africa
Open knowledge, citizenship education, democracy, good governance
UNESCO OER Recommendation and African educational systems
Open knowledge through Wikimedia projects: impact in Africa
Looking into the future: AI, Open Knowledge, Technology and quality education in Africa

B. Special Sessions

In addition to the paper, poster and ignite talk presentations, AfLIA, in collaboration with its partners, will organize special pre/in/post conference sessions including;

Semantic Authority file through Wikibase for National Libraries: Workshop
Information integrity, and digital rights within the Open knowledge framework
Managing perceptions about libraries for stakeholders engagement
AI and Openness: the inflection points
AfLIA / Figshare / TCC Africa – Research Data Management Workshop

C. Expected Outcomes

It is expected that by the end of the Conference and Summit, participants would have been able to:

Understand the realities of different strands and possibilities within the open ecosystem present and future in Africa.
Be conversant with various principles, practices, educational technology and African scholarship
Expand their knowledge as pertains to the sustainable Open Knowledge Communities of practice (CoP) in Africa
Recognize the African Open research infrastructure and the critical place of libraries within the framework
Identify the linkages between AI, Open Knowledge, and African datasets as well as projections of how these paradigm shifts affect libraries and the book sector within the continent
Realize how to widen the intersections between Open knowledge, citizenship education, democracy and good governance in Africa
Understand the interplay between intellectual property legislations and open knowledge in Africa
Gain more knowledge of the relationship between Open knowledge, climate change and food security in Africa
Recognize the role of Open knowledge in cultural exchange, acculturation and African ethnic identities
Understand how the UNESCO OER Recommendation can be a driving force for quality education in Africa
Clearly identify the impact of Open knowledge through Wikimedia projects in Africa
Explore the possible future of AI, Open Knowledge, Technology and quality education in Africa

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D. Important Dates (Deadlines)

Papers

Submission of Abstracts for papers – 15^th September, 2024
Notification of Acceptance/Rejection – 15^th October 2024
Submission of full papers – 5^thFebruary 2025
Submission of presentation slides (PowerPoint) -5^th March 2025

Posters

Submission of description for Posters –15^th October 2024
Notification of Acceptance/Rejection – 15^th November 2024
Submission of the representation (picture) of full poster – 5^th February 2025

Ignite Talks

Submission of description for Ignite Talks –15^th November 2024
Notification of Acceptance/Rejection –15^th December 20224
Submission of presentation slides (PowerPoint) – 21^stFebruary 2025

Big Ideas Podium

Description for Big Ideas Podium –15^th November 2024
Notification of Acceptance/Rejection –15^th January 2025
Submission of full presentation – 1^stMarch 2025

E. Guidelines for submission of abstracts, proposals and presentations

Kindly note the following guidelines to ensure that quality presentations are made at the 6^thAfLIA conference and 8^th African Library Summit.

Submission Guidelines

***Plagiarism Check

Acknowledgement of other people’s intellectual work is a cardinal rule of research. It is a criminal offence to take credit for another person’s work. AfLIA expects librarians and all authors to duly acknowledge all sources quoted and used in their papers. Plagiarized works will not be accepted and may incur penalties.

1. Papers

a. Requirements and Format

Proposals must fall within the ambit of the theme and sub-themes and could be written in English, French or Portuguese. Please note that proposals for the Special Sessions outlined above should be clearly marked *Special Session 1 or 2 or 3 or 4*.

Each proposal must be an original work of the speaker(s) and must include:

Title of proposed paper
Name(s) of speaker(s)
Official Title of speaker(s) or Professional role
Speaker’s institutional affiliation, if any.
Speaker(s) e-mail address, telephone/fax numbers.
Abstract of the proposed paper.
Short professional profile (five lines maximum) of speaker(s).

*If the proposal for a paper presentation is accepted, the completed paper (10-12 pages) should be scholarly, organized with clear logical presentation of ideas, arguments and points, proof-read and copy edited before submission for review.

b. Abstract

Identify the area(s) of interest in the theme and subthemes as well as the Special Sessions 1-4 of the AfLIA conference. Develop a clear understanding of the chosen area(s). Think and search coherently with the appropriate keywords for knowledge and information on the area(s).
The abstract should be a minimum of 350 words and must not exceed 400 words.
The abstract should not make references to other works.
The abstract should not have been part of a presentation in any other conference or previously published online or offline or under consideration for acceptance as a presentation or publication in any other place.
The abstract should have the following components: objectives/scope of the paper proposal; methods and procedures/process of investigation/research where applicable; results; observations; conclusions; and recommendations.
The inclusion of at least four keywords is mandatory.

c. Technical details

Proposals and completed papers should be in Microsoft Word. Papers in other formats will be returned to the author.
Times New Roman font, 12pt is the standard
Maintain 1.5 line spacing within paragraphs and 2.0 spacing between paragraphs.
First line of each new paragraph should be indented.
Please do not insert headers or footers in your proposals or full papers.
Ensure that all sources referred to or quoted in the body of the work to be submitted are listed in the references section and vice versa.

d. PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint slides should have key talking points with appropriate visuals, clips and video and should not be overly crowded with words.
Each paper is expected to have 12 -15 slides maximum.
Slides should be done in Baskerville Old Face 36pt.
No slide should have more than 30 words.
If you use pictures or images in your slides, please ensure there is proper acknowledgement of the source in small print underneath the image or picture.

2. Posters

There will be a Poster session at the Conference/Summit.

Poster proposals must address the main theme or sub-themes and could be written in English, French or Portuguese. Please note that posters are not allowed for the special sessions 1-4.To submit a proposal to participate in the Poster Session, please provide the following information:

Presenter’s name, institution and email
Poster title
Theme of Poster
Poster description (limit 200 words)
Goal(s)
Target audience

Please note that poster presenters are expected to be present to explain what they have put up and to hand out leaflets, or other information materials that they have for those that will visit their posters. Each presenter can therefore present only ONE poster.

Consider these;

Posters should be about new ideas or an application of technology or an activity done;
Posters can describe a project that is ongoing or near completion, not one that is yet to start.

3. Ignite Talks

Short, sharp, passionate, insightful, and inspiring 6-minute Ignite Talks that are about ‘what, how, why and when’ as pertains to the theme and subthemes of the conference will also be accepted. These Talks must be accompanied with related, meaningful and impactful visuals (PowerPoint, Spark Adobe, Canva or video clips)

Here are the requirements –

Presenter’s name, institution and email
Ignite Talk title
The subtheme it addresses
Ignite Talk description (limit 150 words)
A short video (not more than 10MB) of the presentation (optional)

Importantly;

The full and final presentation must not exceed 4 slides in timed automatic sequence. Links to videos might be embedded in the slides; however, the entire presentation must not go beyond 6 minutes. Also, ensure that each slide has meaningful pictorial content.

4. Big Ideas Podium

This is for those who have Big Ideas on how libraries can drive the Open Knowledge presently and in the future within the African context. Such Big Ideas could also be amazing issues about the Open Knowledge with compelling arguments that they would want to share. The Big Ideas Podium is for innovative and creative thinkers, the dreamers in the profession who can stir others up and help the African library sector see the future of libraries as pertains to Open Knowledge.

Note: It requires librarians with artistry in the spoken word –fluency, poetical, dramatic and thought-provoking cadence/delivery.

To submit a proposal to present on Big Ideas Podium, please provide the following information:

Presenter’s name, institution and email
Big Ideas title
The subtheme it addresses
Big Ideas description -100 words limit that must be accompanied with audio/spoken clip (3minutes maximum). The full and final presentation must not exceed 550 words.

Please note that PowerPoint slides will not be required. Big Ideas presenters will rehearse exhaustively with the conference organizers at the venue before their presentations.

F. Submission of proposals

Please email your proposal(s) and all other enquiries to programofficer@aflia.net and copy secretariat@aflia.net

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G. Changes, Cancellations and Withdrawals

AfLIA views the submission of abstracts for Papers and descriptions for Posters/Ignite Talks/Big Ideas Podium as a commitment to register and be present at the 2025 Conference. Nevertheless, if a presentation is accepted and there are situations that prevent the author(s) from being present, it is incumbent on such person(s) to make alternative arrangements for the presentation and communicate such in writing to the AfLIA Secretariat secretariat@aflia.net; with a copy to programofficer@aflia.net at least 6 weeks before the conference.