From 2-4 October, partners in the ARM consortium gathered for a workshop hosted by the Helsinki Institute for Social Sciences. In Helsinki, team members met for a packed agenda including a keynote by Professor Iginio Gagliardone, training, and in-depth exchanges.
Professor Gagliardone presented his work on the online freedom, the development of internet infrastructure, and the role of China in Africa. This led to very rich discussions on how to explore information infrastructure more broadly, and on the role of culture and context to understand how technical solutions can be implemented differently across countries.
Then, the consortium turned to the more immediate goals of the workshop: take stock of what we have learnt so far, after half a year of focused work, and plan for the future. Discussions concentrated on identifying what we can learn from each case study, and on planning future fieldwork. We will give you a taste of our fieldwork in blog posts throughout next year – so watch this space!
The last part of the workshop concentrated on planning how the ARM team can engage with policymakers, civil society, and academics in the near future.
In 2025, some members will present parts of the ARM research at the International Studies Association Convention (ISA) in Chicago in March 2025.
ARM researchers will also organise a panel on information control with a focus on African, Afropolitan, and Afropean Belongings and Identities at ECAS – the European Conference on African Studies – in Prague, in June 2025. We will share the call for papers here, too.
Photo: Helsinki University Building. Credit: Ilari Nackel, iStock.