The International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD) Africa Chapter and the Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA) invite proposals for Papers and Workshops/seminars to be presented/organized at the 4th IAALD Africa Conference in Pretoria, South Africa, 30th May – 1st June 2018. Please find below all necessary information.

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Conference theme*: 

Agricultural innovations, information and knowledge: Catalyzing the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063

PROPOSALS FOR PAPERS 

Papers should reflect and explore the conference theme - “Agricultural Innovations, Information and Knowledge: Catalyzing the Attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063” and address any of the sub-themes.

Proposals for PAPERS should be sent to 

Amanda Makwangwaidze: [email protected] and in cc. to: [email protected] no later than 30th September 2017

PROPOSALS FOR WORKSHOPS 

Capacity development is a major component of the IAALD Africa Conference which invites proposals for interactive workshops intended to convey knowledge or skills to agricultural information professionals in areas relating to the sub-themes of the conference.

Workshops can be organized as 2/3-day pre- conference events (27th-29th May) or half-day event (31st May).

Proposals for WORKSHOPS should be sent to 

Amanda Makwangwaidze: [email protected] and in cc. to: [email protected] no later than 30th September 2017.

* The Conference has the folloiwng sub-themes:

Knowledge Generation, Management and Sharing

• Documenting experiences, lessons learned & good practices and sharing agricultural knowledge;
• Agricultural innovations systems and advisory services targeting small-holder farmers and rural communities;
• National and institutional initiatives and frameworks for agricultural knowledge sharing;
• Capacity development for agricultural knowledge generation, management and sharing.

Women, Youth and Agriculture

• Engaging and empowering women and youth in agriculture and rural development;
• Rural transformation, agribusiness, entrepreneurship and women and youth;
• Capacity development for women and youth in agriculture.

Open Data and Open Science

• Open data standards and software platforms;
• Regional, national and institutional open data and open science initiatives and frameworks in agriculture;
• Regional and national multi-stakeholder processes/platforms/forums for open data and open science in agriculture;
• Entrepreneur opportunities in open data and open science;
• Capacity development for open data and open science in agriculture.

ICT and Agriculture

• ICT adoption and use by smallholder farmers (especially women and youth) and rural communities;
• ICT applications in agriculture and rural development including Apps, services, etc. targeting smallholder farmers and rural communities;
• Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (drones) in agriculture and rural development – applications and services, cases, challenges, policies, research, etc.;
• Social media in agriculture and rural development;
• Capacity development for ICT in agriculture and rural development, especially for women and youth.

If you are interested in presenting a paper or organizing a capcity development related event, download the Call for Papers and Workshop Proposals.

Source: IAALD Africa Chapter