Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Access to Information Network – Africa (ATINA)

• 13 January 2020, 15:53

Theme: "Opportunities and Challenges of Enhancing the Well-Being of Women in Africa through Access to Information and Knowledge"

Introduction

IFLA’s Access to Information Network – Africa (ATINA) Special Interest Group (SIG) invites interested professionals to submit proposals on the above theme for its open session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC), Dublin, Ireland, 15-22 August 2020.

Access to information and knowledge is a critical ingredient and catalyst for robust social and economic progress of individuals and communities. Unfortunately, most individuals and communities lack adequate access to information and knowledge to meet their basic needs and aspirations, especially women who constitute the majority of the world’s population.

This inequality of access is most acute in the southern hemisphere, especially in rural communities in Africa. Many African societies are matriarchal at the household level, yet in most cases women lack control of societal affairs, have lower share of community resources and enjoy a lower level of well-being. This pervasive inequality stems mainly from over all lower educational attainment and lack of opportunity of ready access to information and knowledge to enable them to frequently succeed  in our increasingly competitive and interconnected world.

This state of affairs needs concerted attention because women’s equal and adequate access to information, knowledge and other productive resources are critical to the attainment of every development objective, especially the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Global, regional and local human rights and gender empowerment strategies and policies designed to increase women’s well-being and equality fail to achieve their objectives in most communities in Africa mainly because of chronic poor access to information and knowledge, including information technology. This failure also affects the well-being of everyone, as every child’s future prospects and worldview are determined to a greater extent by the educational and economic attainment of their mothers or women who raised them.

We are particularly interested in proposals which explore:

• Evidence-based issues, challenges and opportunities in library-mediated women’s access to information and knowledge in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, especially gender equality and empowerment related SDG targets and indicators.
• Challenges and opportunities of deploying new information technologies to improve access to information and knowledge, adult literacy, and media and information literacy for women in Africa.
• Library-mediated impact of global strategies and conventions on women’s human rights and well-being in Africa.
• Good practices and cases of library services from any place in the world that have enhanced the well-being and empowerment of women through access to information and knowledge.

Language of the session:

Papers are invited in English or French. However, presenters may also give their talk in any of the IFLA working languages. Simultaneous translation is not guaranteed; therefore, presenters are encouraged to provide the PowerPoint in English to facilitate understanding of the ideas presented.

Important dates:

Details on the format and length of the final paper will be emailed to those candidates whose abstracts are accepted.

Proposals should include:

• Title of proposed presentation.
• An extended structured abstract of the proposed paper of 1,000 words maximum.
• Name(s) of author(s).
• Functional position/title(s) of author(s).
• Institutional affiliation(s) of presenter(s).
• Email address and telephones numbers of corresponding author/presenter.
• Short biographical statement(s) of author(s).

Please email your proposals and completed papers to:

ReynaJosvah-Rabiaza (Mrs)
Convenor, ATINA Special Interest Group
Email: reyna.josvah@gmail.com

With copy to:

aazubuike@yahoo.com
Ouattara.cecile1@gmail.com
ckeinzy@yahoo.com
kamole2013@gmail.com

All proposals must be received by 15 February 2020.

Please note:

At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Dublin. Abstracts should only be submitted with the understanding that the expenses of attending the conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

The paper must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere. All papers that are presented at the WLIC 2020 will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.

All expenses, including registration for the conference, travel, accommodation etc., are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. No financial support can be provided by IFLA, but a special invitation letter can be issued to author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

Congress Participation Grants

List of opportunities for support is available on the Apply for Grants & Awards webpage.