About the Workshop

Digital humanities has a long—and often overlooked—history in African studies, from early databases such as the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database, to more recent projects like the African Ajami Library, Open Restitution Africa, and Archivi.ng. AI tools, particularly large language models, add new possibilities for textual analysis and cross-cultural research.

But implementation raises difficult questions. Decisions about what gets digitised, how it is catalogued and who controls access are not neutral; they often favour institutions that already have resources in place. Most AI systems still underperform on African languages. And the pace of adoption frequently outstrips attention to long-term preservation and local capacity.

Critics have described some digital initiatives as a form of "digital saviour complex," where Northern-led projects reproduce colonial dynamics even while claiming to democratise access. This workshop took these critiques seriously.

This was not a traditional conference. There were no paper presentations. Instead, participants worked intensively across three days in structured sessions designed to produce tangible outputs. Daily synthesis sessions connected insights across the three work streams, feeding directly into the position paper.

1. 01

   Methodological Integration & Digital Preservation

   Adapting AI for African languages and establishing sustainable digital preservation models. Participants documented existing computational methods and infrastructure barriers, then developed technical standards and protocols suited to resource-constrained settings.

2. 02

   Equitable Collaboration

   Designing partnership models that address power imbalances in North-South and South-South research relationships. This stream developed mechanisms for resource sharing and intra-continental collaboration, with African epistemologies at the centre.

3. 03

   Ethical Frameworks & Digital Sovereignty

   Developing frameworks for ethical AI implementation that protect digital sovereignty and promote equitable scholarly exchange. Standards emphasised community engagement beyond consultation to true co-creation.