Position Paper

The main outcome of the “Charting New Territory” workshop will be a jointly authored position paper. Designed to serve as both a manifesto and a practical blueprint, this document will help define the emerging field at the intersection of digital humanities (DH), artificial intelligence (AI) and African Studies.

Moving beyond a summary of our discussions, this paper will translate our collective insights into a strategic roadmap. This will offer concrete guidance on how to advance research, funding and policy in an ethical and sustainable way.

Core Objectives

The paper will present a transformative vision, informed by decolonial thinking and African knowledge systems. It will identify key intersections between methodological innovation, equitable partnerships and culturally responsive ethics. Key components will include:

Methodological Pathways

Prioritized strategies for integrating AI with African linguistic diversity and historical archives.

Equitable Frameworks

Defined mechanisms for North-South and South-South collaboration that ensure resource sharing and data sovereignty.

Ethical Principles

A core set of guidelines addressing algorithmic bias, community consent, and digital preservation.

Targeted Recommendations

To ensure a lasting impact, the position paper will provide specific, actionable recommendations tailored to key stakeholders:

  1. Research Funders

    Proposals for sustainable funding models that support long-term maintenance and equitable collaboration.

  2. Academic Institutions

    Strategies for decolonizing curricula and integrating ethical DH training.

  3. Technology Developers

    Guidelines for designing tools that are linguistically inclusive and culturally responsive.

  4. Policymakers

    Frameworks for data governance and digital sovereignty.

Publication

The position paper will be published in open access in the ZMO Programmatic Texts.

About the Series

The series ZMO Programmatic Texts publish wider conceptual articles engaging with the interdisciplinary and inter-regional research conducted at ZMO. The series provide a platform for authors to present and discuss innovative contributions to current theoretical and comparative debates, in relation to ZMO's programmatic research agenda.