[Commlist] CFP: African Women in Media 2025 (AWiM25) Conference

*CFP: African Women in Media 2025 (AWiM25) Conference*
African Women in Media, in partnership with the African Union Commission 
(AUC), is calling for abstract submissions from media professionals and 
organisations, policymakers and regulatory bodies, academics and 
researchers, civil society organisations, and advocacy groups exploring 
the theme *Beyond Commitments: Advancing Policies for Gender-Safe Media. 
*The theme aims to explore and strengthen the frameworks that influence 
gender and youth (particularly young women and girls) representation and 
experiences in media across Africa.
The AWiM25 conference theme is within the context of the recently 
adopted AU’s Convention to End Violence Against Women and Girls 
(AU-CEVAWG) <https://au.int/en/aucevawg>, and several key AU Instruments 
addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG), promoting gender 
equality, and enhancing the protection of women’s rights across Africa. 
They include African Union Agenda 2063, Protocol to the African Charter 
on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo 
Protocol), African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 
(ACRWC), African Union’s Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s 
Empowerment (GEWE), and African Union Gender Policy.
These frameworks, together with /AWiM’s Kigali Declaration on the 
Elimination of Gender Violence in and through Media in Africa by 2034 
<https://africanwomeninmedia.com/declaration/>/ are critical in 
emphasising media awareness for more equitable and inclusive representation.
The AWiM25 conference has three thematic strands described below, each 
rooted in the pressing need to examine and address the multifaceted 
dimensions of gender-based violence and align policy and policy 
frameworks with actions towards gender equity in and through the media. 
By foregrounding policy action, media accountability and economic 
equity, as well as the voices and experiences of women in the media, the 
conference aims to foster interdisciplinary conversations and 
collaborations across a broad range of topics.
*Thematic Strands:*

 1. *Media, Policy, and Regulatory Frameworks*
In this strand, we welcome submissions that foreground policy and 
regulation frameworks, modes, mechanisms and models in their analyses, 
considering their interoperability across different media stakeholders 
in Africa and their implications on the changing nature of media through 
digitisation. This may include, but are not limited to, works that:

  * Examine global, continental and/or regional media policies and
    regulations that promote gender equality, youth empowerment, and the
    elimination of VAWG.
  * Analyse strategies for ensuring media regulatory bodies adopt
    gender-sensitive and youth-focused approaches.
  * Examine best practices and case studies of effective policy
    implementation across African countries.
  * Examine and analyse gaps in existing regulatory frameworks to ensure
    inclusive representation of women and youth.
 2. *The Rights of Women and Girls in Media*
In this strand, we welcome theoretical, empirical, practice and policy 
contributions that present, discuss and broaden the issue of women and 
girls representation/underrepresentation in the media. We invite 
contributions that explore and examine the current and future state of 
global and continental human rights instruments in the empowerment and 
inclusion of women and girls in media content and leadership. This may 
include, but is not limited to, work that:

 1. Explore key human rights instruments like AU-CEVAWG, the Maputo
    Protocol, and the Beijing Declaration, focusing on their application
    in the media.
 2. Address challenges women journalists and young media professionals
    face, including workplace harassment and underrepresentation.
 3. Advocate for equitable representation of women’s and girls’ voices
    in media content and leadership.
 4. Propose strategies to integrate youth perspectives into human rights
    frameworks within media organisations
 3. *Media, Technology, and Digital Rights Regulatory Frameworks*
In this strand, we welcome /show and tell/ submissions that demonstrate 
tech-enabled innovations and/or fresh perspectives in shaping media 
narratives, storytelling, content creation, fact checking, countering 
mis- and dis- information, media management and production. Submissions 
may also integrate the media’s role in the ever-evolving landscape of 
technological innovation, and the multifaceted impacts of Generative AI 
and other LLMs on the media environment, and the regulatory frameworks 
which enable them. This may include, but not limited to, works that:

  * Identify platform accountability strategies to ensure digital spaces
    protect women and marginalised communities from online harassment. 
  * Assess the impact of algorithmic bias on representation, examining
    how AI shapes visibility, misinformation, and content discrimination. 
  * Examine the role of big tech and media platforms in upholding
    digital equity, including fair compensation models for content
    creators. 
  * Strengthen regulatory interventions that prevent the exploitation of
    African and diaspora women in digital and AI-driven media spaces. 
*General sub-themes that papers can address include, but are not limited 
to, the following:*

  * Gender-Based Violence and Media Accountability
  * Repatriation and Gender Justice
  * Media Freedom and Regulation
  * Digital Media Policies and Platform Governance
  * Media Ownership and Pluralism
  * Freedom of Expression vs. Hate Speech Laws
  * Data Privacy and Surveillance in Journalism
  * Public Service Media and State Influence
  * Media Ethics and Self-Regulation
  * Regulating AI-Generated and Deepfake Content
  * Intellectual Property and Content Rights
  * Media Laws in Conflict and Crisis Situations
  * Representation and Visibility in Media
  * Youth-Led Media and Digital Activism
  * Feminist and Youth-Centered Media Policy
  * Media as a Tool for Healing and Empowerment.
  * Gender and Youth Representation in Media Leadership
  * Regulating Harmful Content and Online Safety
  * Cybersecurity Threats and Solutions
  * AI and Machine Learning in Media
  * User Privacy and Data Protection
  * Digital Literacy and Media Education
  * Blockchain Technology in Media
  * Ethical Implications of Media Technologies
  * Digital Inclusion and Accessibility
  * Regulatory Challenges in Digital Media
  * Impact of Social Media on Journalism
  * Future Trends in Media Innovation
*Types of submission: * 
We encourage and support creative presentations, designs and formats 
that provide attendees with the best experience. Please choose the 
presentation type that best fits your material and utilises your content 
in the greatest way.  You may submit either of the following for 
consideration:

 1. *Paper*– These are individual papers that offer deep dives into a
    targeted topic and can be submitted and presented independently.
 2. *Panel discussions- *This *formal,* thematic, 90–120-minute
    presentation focuses on a key issue. The overall abstract is to
    provide a coordinated presentation by three to four panelists, and
    possibly a moderator, on the general topic of the panel.
 3. *Professional Development Workshop/Skill Building Workshop with 1 or
    up to 3 facilitators- *Workshops are learning opportunities that
    provide attendees with hands on experience and/or in-depth lessons,
    group activities, and real-world case studies.
 4. *Ignite Talks-* Ignite Talks are five-seven minutes long. These
    presentations are given in rapid succession, one following another.
 5. *Fireside chat*– Fireside chats are relatively informal and are
    designed to explore ideas. Rather than presentations, speakers will
    prepare questions or ideas around a particular topic for discussion.
 6. *Demonstrations-* Demonstrations are formal 60-minute presentations
    that show how to use or apply a concept or tool. 
 7. *Multi-paper Sessions:* Multi-paper sessions include three or more
    paper presentations on a common theme. Submit for these session
    types* only* if you are a group submitting a minimum of three papers
    you would like to present as part of one complete multi-paper
    session. Individual papers must be submitted using the “paper”
    session type.
*NEW to the AWiM Conference: *
In addition to the submission types above, this year we will also be 
accepting artistic and audiovisual submissions including but not limited 
to documentaries, short films, live podcasts, creative Virtual Reality 
(VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), screenplays, theatre, etc.
*Submission Deadline: 30 April 2024.*
Note: *ALL* submissions should be formally made via the *Abstract 
Submission Form <https://forms.office.com/r/7BaHvJU6Nc>* and only papers 
shortlisted will be contacted.


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