AfriCHI 2016 Workshops

The workshops below have been accepted to AfriCHI, and are currently open for paper submissions. Click on the title to read more about each workshop, and to download the CFP (call for participation) if you are interested in submitting a paper to the workshop.

Do note that workshops have extended their deadlines. Download their updated CFPs or visit their respective websites through the links below.

The results of a study on HCI education in 2014 prompted the proposal to create a living curriculum that responds to the needs of multiple stakeholders. A workshop held during CHI 2014 signaled coalescence in the requirements for the establishment of said curriculum. This workshop seeks to further explore among multiple diverse HCI educators on how to proceed with the establishment of an HCI living curriculum that integrates different cultural contexts and requirements. The envisaged outcome is a plan to proceed with the creation of such a culturally sensible living curriculum/a and its implementation. For more information visit Living Curriculum website/ Download the CfP for more information on how to submit a paper.
African users are continuously signing onto Social Media and it has become a game changer within the communication system. Most importantly the research on Social Media has become a topic of tremendous interest within the Human Computer interaction (HCI) field. Despite the benefits of Social Media, there have been concerns among users, communities, academics, researchers and governments on the ethical implications of Social Media use. We plan to have a workshop on understanding the ethical implications and perspectives of Social Media use from various stakeholders. Researchers in the Social Media space can share their work and methods in order to gain a broader under-standing of Social Media issues arising on the continent and specifically ethical implications. Finally the work-shop aims to encourage collaboration and cross-cultural research among researcher in the space.
To submit a paper to this workshop, download our CfP here.
This workshop will provide a forum and an opportunity for researcher, practitioners, and designers to discuss and share ideas on interaction design knowledge for low-literacy. In this one-day workshop, we aim to: (1) explore perspectives of interaction design knowledge for low-literacy and (2) establish a common ground to develop a reusable design advice for low-literacy. Both objectives aim towards creating a community that consists both the HCI4D researcher, practitioners and designers that have shared understanding and leverage the use of interaction design knowledge.
For more information about this workshop visit https://africhidmill.wordpress.com
Download our CFP here.
This one-day workshop considers responses and creates alternatives to practices that produce asymmetries between colonised and colonising peoples and imagines a decolonised technology design. It introduces postcolonial and anti-colonial approaches to the cultural legacies of colonialism and imperialism, that frame contemporary technology design, with a special emphasis on African theory and practice. Equally, it is a forum for sharing experiences about uneven socio-economic, political or onto-epistemic relations in technology design and actions that respond to, or resist, these.
For more information about this workshop visit http://decolonisingtechnology.kagonya.net
Download the CFP here.
Africa has experienced an explosive growth of smartphones– particularly sub-Saharan Africa where growth rates are more than twice the global average. Such mobile devices provide new ways for technologies to help people discover and interact with their physical worlds. In particular, harnessing the power of digital mobile maps in Africa has the opportunity to transform lives by providing greater access to information, goods, and services that exist in people’s physical worlds. Despite this potential, there are a number of challenges and opportunities to doing so that are unique to Africa’s culture, infrastructure, and physical landscape. The goal of this workshop is to engage in creative ideation around this topic in order to create a series of innovative designs and to build out a research agenda that would push forward the design and development of such technologies.
Download CFP here. Visit the website for more information.
Gumzo at AfriCHI’16 is a one-day workshop which aims to advance HCI by engaging design practice and scholarship with diverse voices and local or broader creativity, challenging dominant perspectives and raising critical issues about technology, society and participation in technology production. In Gumzo sessions, HCI practitioners, cholars, ethnographers, designers,storytellers, artists, performers and film-makers (and/or designers or researchers who collaborate with them) present original works, ideas and insights that relate technology and Africa, and reflect on the role of audio-visual media and performance in conveying knowledge about technology and design. We also plan to foreground the difficulties for designers and users who need to deal with the unequal global hierarchies of language and culture which inform the development of technologies. To submit a paper to this workshop, download our CFP here.
Disguised as a workshop, this design session will explore a different approach to making in HCI. We'll use low cost materials to help us brainstorm ideas for introducing technology education in low resource communities. We will begin with a tutorial for crafting together paper circuits using paper, LEDs, copper tape, and coin cell batteries. Following the tutorial, participants will get an opportunity to use what they’ve learned to construct personal “get-well soon” card circuits. Participants can voluntarily offer their custom made cards to the workshop organizers to be donated to the children of a local Kenyan hospital. After the design session, the workshop organizers will open the floor up for discussion on the following topics: alternative methods for teaching technology education in low resource communities expanding the technology industry interest amongst low resource communities and changing the perception of the technology industry in low resource communities Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences with any challenges they’ve encountered teaching topics in technology in low resource settings. We encourage all interested persons to attend. Participants are not required to submit a paper to this workshop. However, we request that participants be sure to register for the workshop through the conference website when they register for the conference. Additionally, RSVP here before August 30, 2016 so the organizers can order the precise amount of materials needed for the workshop. Light refreshments will be provided. Sign up to the workshop here!

More about Workshops

Workshops enable a group of people to explore perspectives and experiences of topics in HCI practice, research or scholarship.

AfriCHI has two types of workshops, both may focus on any aspect of HCI theory or application, established concerns or new ideas; however, they differ in terms of whether they are communicated in English or in another language used in Africa.

For both types of workshops, abstracts are written in English for publication in the conference proceedings and archiving online. Workshops will take place during the pre-conference sessions, immediately preceding the main conference. They are allocated six hours per day and may last up to two days.

Submission format: anonymized PDF, 4-pages.
Online submission: Online submission system

Deadlines
Workshop proposals: Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Notification of acceptance of workshop proposals: Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Revised Workshop CFP for website, to promote the workshop: Wednesday, 4 May 2016
Final camera-ready deadline of Extended Abstract for proceedings: Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Final decisions by workshop organisers on applications to their workshop: Wednesday, 15th August 2016
Confirmed registration in workshop by participants: Wednesday, 30 August 2016

Objectives

Workshops are sessions for attendees with common interests to participate in a focused and interactive discussion of relevant topics in HCI practice, research and/or scholarship in Africa. Workshops might address basic and/or applied research, practice, education, new methodologies, emerging application areas, design innovations, or management, strategy, and organisational issues. These can be either in English language or in languages other than English. The overall aims of AfriCHI workshops are to:

  • Foster research communities, communal knowledge creation and mutual support;
  • Advance a field or practice and/or envision future directions;
  • Generate ideas that will give the AfriCHI community new ways to approach a topic or that suggest promising directions for future work;
  • Foster participation across Africa’s languages.

Responsibilities of Workshop Organisers

There are two groups of people involved in each workshop: a workshop’s organisers and its participants. Organisers are responsible for the workshop’s topic, objectives, logistics and final outcome and participants are responsible for the content and discussion. This is the call for submissions by workshop organisers. If you would like to participate in a workshop, please see the list of accepted workshops ( this will be available on 4 May 2016) and make your submission to that workshop’s organisers.

Workshop organisers submit a workshop proposal, which contains several items that depend upon whether the workshop is English or local language; please read all descriptions below for content and format.

After a workshop proposal is accepted, workshop organisers must:

  • Solicit contributions by participants in their own workshop. AfriCHI will publicise all accepted workshops but each workshop organiser must recruit and engage participants. Workshops that do not attract at least 5 participants may be cancelled by the Workshop chairs. We encourage organisers to create web-based resources (e.g. Facebook event/group, Whatsapp group, WordPress site, etc.), link to relevant mailing lists and use other locally appropriate methods to advertise, disseminate information and manage participants’ submissions.
  • Answer queries about their workshop from interested participants.
  • Select contributions to their own workshop and notify participants of acceptance or rejection by no later than 30th August 2016, as participants must have confirmed their registration a workshop by 15 August 2016.
  • Monitor the size of their own workshop. Workshops are limited to the number of participants indicated in your initial proposal (maximum 30) and AfriCHI’s registration system will not allow more participants to register. Contact the Workshop Chairs to discuss the size of your accepted workshop.
  • Register for at least one day of the AfriCHI’16 conference. All workshop organisers must register for AfriCHI’16 and are responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs and arrangements. We will waive workshop registration fees for up to two organisers of each workshop, but participants and all other organisers who attend the workshop must pay the workshop registration fee. Registration by participants in a workshop must be confirmed by 30 August 2016.
  • Distribute accepted submissions and/or participants’ contributions and other preparation materials to participants prior to their workshop.
  • Develop a final agenda of workshop activities.
  • Organise equipment used at the workshop. Please note we will provide minimal technology support, to keep workshop attendance fees low. Thus, organizers should bring their own equipment as far as possible to do so (e.g., laptops, portable supplies) and will be responsible for the security of their own equipment.
  • Facilitate discussion, maintain productive interaction and encourage participation and a diversity of perspectives in the workshop.
  • Develop a plan for any follow-up activities. We ask workshop organisers to produce a report for publication in a SIGCHI Bulletin or Interactions. We encourage additional avenues to maintain communication, e.g. maintaining a website or email list to network with others who might be interested.

Submissions for Workshops

All workshops should have specific objectives and address stimulating topics. In addition to workshops facilitated in English we encourage proposals for workshops that will enable participants to engage in one or some of the, at least, 2000 languages spoken in Africa daily. Local language workshops may focus on a much spoken indigenous language while also aiming to support other languages in the same family (e.g. the Bantu group of languages) or a colonialist language other than English (e.g. Portuguese, French). They can also include strategies to enable people who do not speak the language to participate; for instance, by requiring workshop participants to prepare a summary handout of their contributions in English and/or include English-language slides in their presentations.

Potential organisers of English-Language or local language workshops should submit proposals either via the online submission system or by email to workshops at africhi dot net with the subject line “AfriCHI2016 Workshops”. If you send by email please ensure you provide contact information for the primary workshop organiser, who will serve be the main contact with the Workshops Chairs.

Proposals for both English-Language or local language workshops must include

1) an Extended Abstract and,
2) a Call for Participation for the workshop.

Both items should be submitted as a single PDF file, no larger than 4 megabytes (4 Mb). Please read the specific details for English and local language workshops.

  1. Extended Abstract

Your extended abstract is a 4-page description written in English using the CHI Extended Abstracts format. This is the only document from the workshop that will be included in the AfriCHI conference publications. Please see general conference guidelines about English use.   For both English and Local language workshops this abstract must describe:

  • The context, rationale and motivation for the workshop topic
  • The theme(s) of the workshop and issues to be addressed
  • The workshop goals and activities and how their organisation around mid-morning, afternoon and lunch breaks
  • The duration of the workshop (up to 2 days)
  • The background of the workshop organiser(s)
  • A detailed plan for conducting and following up after the workshop
  • The maximum number of participants (no more than 30)
  • The ways you will promote your workshop to recruit participants (e.g., through a website or other
  • The ways you will select participants and the deadlines involved in recruitment and selection
  • The equipment and supplies you need to run the workshop.
  • Additionally, for Local Language Workshops the abstract must also describe the context, rationale and motivation for the workshop language.

  1. Call for Participation

Call for participation (CFP) in the workshop are written descriptions that we will post on the AfriCHI conference website to advertise your workshop. These are in English for both types of workshop and, additionally, in the language used in a local language workshop.

Both both English and local language workshops your CFP abstract must describe in English in no more than 250-words:

  • The workshop title, names and affiliations of organizers
  • The format, goals/objectives and expected outcomes of the workshop
  • The target audience of the workshop
  • Requirements for participation and contributions, such as submitting position papers or statements of interest and/or expertise in the workshop topic. This should include the format or media of contributions, topics to address, size/page length etc.,
  • Details about where and when submissions should be submitted and selection criteria. The deadline for any participant to submit to a workshop should be no later than 4 August 2016, since workshop organisers must ensure all participants have registered for the workshop on the AfriCHI’16 system by 17 August 2016
  • Information about accepting contributions
  • The requirement that at least one author of each accepted contribution must attend the workshop and all participants must register for the workshop and for at least one day of the conference.
  • Information about promoting and organising your workshop online, e.g. Facebook Event/Group, Website, or in other ways
  • Additionally, for local Language Workshops your CFP should also translate the information above into the main language of your workshop, in no more than 250-words:

Please ensure that your submission is complete, complies with the format and content guidelines for the AfriCHI Workshops and is submitted by Midnight GMT 2 March 2016.

Review & Selection of Workshops

Workshop proposals are not anonymous and will be reviewed by an anonymous jury of experts. The jury consists of leaders in the specified areas of HCI and, for local language workshops, speakers of those languages. Juries will evaluate proposals based on how compelling they seem to be to AfriCHI attendees. This will account for several factors including:

  • The workshop’s potential to generate stimulating discussions and useful outcomes;
  • Expected interest in the topic and/or language;
  • Evidence of a well-organised process and plan for the workshop;
  • The overall balance of topics in the Workshops programme;
  • Evidence that the workshop is likely to facilitate a lively environment for discussion and interaction amongst all participants, particularly in large workshops;
  • Multiple submissions on the same/similar topics or in the same/related language, and whether such workshops should be merged to enrich participation.

You will receive notification on 13 April 2016 of a confirmed rejection or a conditional acceptance. Along with the notification you will receive a report that indicates your submission’s strengths and weaknesses and recommends improvements to both the abstract and CFP. Confidentiality of submissions is maintained during the review process and unaccepted workshop submissions will remain confidential.

Provided you send a revised Workshop CFP by 4 May 2016 we will list your workshop on AfriCHI’16 website, to enable you longer to promote your workshop. Then, provided the final version of your workshop Extended Abstract and Workshop CFP conforms to all requirements by  24 August 2016 we will list your workshop on the conference registration system and publish your abstract in the proceedings.

Camera-ready

We will include information to guide preparing and submitting the final camera-ready versions of your workshop CFP and abstract with notifications of conditional acceptance. You should revise both according to the reviewers’ report and submit your camera-ready, final Extended Abstract by 24 August 2016 using the online submission system. A member of the program committee will check that the final version of each note to confirm it meets publication requirements and, if so, will finalise acceptance. If an abstract does not meet publication requirements by the camera-ready deadline then we may omit it from the programme.

Please also read the publication and copyright information.