The School of Information and Communication Studies at the University of Ghana, in collaboration with the University of Kansas, recently hosted the 2024 Symposium on African Digital Humanities. Held under the theme, "Digital Humanities, African Stories and Agency," the event convened graduate students and early-career faculty to explore the intersections of digital humanities with African narratives.
In her remarks, Prof. Akosua Darkwah, Dean of the School of Information and Communication Studies and Chairperson for the Opening Session, emphasised the significance of the workshop in bringing together individuals engaged in digital humanities projects across various locations. She also highlighted the University of Ghana's commitment to becoming a global leader in digital humanities.
In an exclusive interview, Prof. Darkwah highlighted key topics discussed during the sessions, including digital mapping, minimal computing for digital collections and skills for community-oriented digital cultural heritage projects. She expressed excitement about ongoing projects such as the archiving of Ghanaian newspapers to preserve historical records for future generations.
The symposium, held at the Balme Library Conference Room, featured keynote addresses from distinguished speakers. Randa El Khatib, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Open Social Scholarship at INKE & Co-director of the Digital Humanities Summer Institute and Menno Van Zaanen, Professor of Digital Humanities at the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources, were among the notable speakers.
Randa El Khatib's address focused on the transformative power of digital humanities in reshaping African narratives and amplifying voices that have been historically marginalised. “In our digital age, storytelling transcends borders and allows us to reclaim and redefine our narratives,” she noted.
Menno Van Zaanen delved into the role of digital language resources in promoting linguistic diversity and preserving cultural heritage. He stressed that, through digital tools and resources, communities can be empowered to reclaim their languages and stories, fostering a sense of agency and ownership.
The symposium, held in both in-person and virtual sessions to accommodate participants from around the world, facilitated fruitful exchanges among scholars and project leaders from approximately eight countries.
Following a successful opening session, days one and two featured distinguished speakers who presented on a variety of topics. Key among these were discussions on opportunities and next steps for advancing digital humanities in Ghana and the wider region.
Dr. Alex Gil from Yale University followed with a discussion on “Minimal Computing for Digital Collections,” while Malkia Okech, Digital Advisor for African Digital Heritage, explored "Skills for Culture: A Methodology for Community-Oriented Digital Cultural Heritage Projects." The afternoon session featured a panel discussion with a diverse group of speakers including Fu’ad Lawal, Siaka Fadera, Judith Opoku-Boateng, Menno van Zaanen, Augustin Ndione, Emmanuel Ngue Um, Alex Gil, Ashleigh Harris, Karen Ijumba, and Kodjo Atiso.
Day two began with a workshop by Ursula Obserst and Ashleigh Harris from the African Literary Metadata Project (ALMEDA) on "Wikidata Solutions for Informal Literary Archives." The panel discussion on the second day included Randa El Khatib, Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, Oluwaseun Sanwoolu, Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún, Tunde Ope-Davies, and Brian Rosenblum.
The symposium sparked in-depth discussions on a range of digital humanities topics, such as; digital mapping, minimal computing, community-oriented digital cultural heritage projects and Wikidata solutions for informal literary archives. Esteemed scholars and practitioners made valuable contributions that provided insightful perspectives for advancing digital scholarship within Africa and beyond.
The 2024 African Digital Humanities Symposium provided a platform for exchanging knowledge and fostering collaboration, reaffirming the University of Ghana's commitment to promoting innovation and excellence in digital scholarship.