The annual South African Communications conference took place at Wits University in South Africa from 14-16 September. The conference brought together media, communications and journalism academics who reflected on a range of topics such as politics and media, film, and feminist and decolonial theory.
DDMAC teammember Bruce Mutsvairo delivered a keynote entitled Towards an Architectonic Explication of Technology: a south-south standpoint. In a blog about the conference Aarti Bhana reflects: “Mutsvairo emphasised the need to acknowledge the advances on the African continent which have contributed to the global information economy such as fact-checking organisations such as as AfricaCheck in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. Mutsvairo also said that citizen journalism and citizens themselves should be co-opted in the fight against misinformation and disinformation. To this end, he encouraged conference attendees to to “develop Afro-centric digital tools which speak to African experiences and African contexts”. Mutsvairo also tackled issues of data regulation, the importance of dialogue in advancing social and civic change and rethinking the meaning of the Global south all of which set the tone for three days of debate and discussion.”
Find the entire programme of the conference here.