Afrotellers Conference 2026 · Open Call
A first-ever academic and practitioner track on Narrative Sovereignty in the Age of AI and Shifting Global Power.
For the first time, the Afrotellers Conference features a dedicated paper presentations track. We invite academics, researchers, practitioners, journalists, policymakers, and community leaders to contribute work that confronts what narrative sovereignty means for Afrika in a moment of artificial intelligence, shifting global power, and intensifying information warfare.
This is not a conversation about technology for its own sake. It is a conversation about power — about who has it, who is building it, and how Afrikan voices can actively shape the systems, institutions, and structures that will define the next decade. We especially welcome submissions from women and youth, Afrikan scholars, early-career researchers, and storytellers from communities whose voices are underrepresented in mainstream Afrikan media.
Who writes the code and owns the platforms that carry our stories? Algorithmic colonialism in content and recommendation systems, Afrikan language representation in AI training data, deepfakes and synthetic media in information warfare, data sovereignty, and the tools Afrikan storytellers are building and reclaiming.
Policy architecture and advocacy. How stories drive legal reform and hold power to account; how they shape public policy and electoral dynamics; and how narrative can be protected as a public good and a human right through institutional and legislative frameworks — in dialogue with the EAC, the African Union, and civil society.
Because narrative sovereignty cannot be built on borrowed money and borrowed platforms. Financing models, ownership structures, creative industries, and the economic systems that allow Afrikan storytelling to sustain itself over time.
Complete the form below. Your submission opens a pre-filled email to the secretariat with your details — attach your abstract document before sending.