WELCOME TO INAUGURAL UBUNTU CONFERENCE
We invite papers, panel proposals and poster presentations from academics, scholars, and practitioners for the inaugural multi-disciplinary conference on Ubuntu (Hunhu/Setso/Wutu) in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
This inaugural theory- and praxis-focused conference on Ubuntu and related Indigenous concepts will be co-hosted by
- Africa University’s College of Social Sciences, Humanities, Theology, and Education (CSSTHE)
- Howard University’s Center for African Studies
- Michigan State University’s Institute of Ubuntu Thought and Practice.
Ubuntu Conference will be held in one of Africa’s best kept touristic secrets: the picturesque city of Mutare, nestled in the majestic Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. Leading and emerging heritage studies scholars, scientists, political scientists, cultural anthropologists, cultural artists, linguists, archaeologists, economists, historians, theologians, philosophers, social scientists, community leaders, and activists will explore the indigenous Black African worldview known as Isintu/Chivanhu/Setso/Mila, which has now been reduced to a simplistic (mis-)understanding of Ubuntu as universal human decency or humaneness and interconnectedness (Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu).
CONFERENCE SUBTHEMES
Sub-themes include (but are not limited to) the following areas:
1. Theorising Ubuntu
- Ubuntu (Hunhu/Botho/Wutu)
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila as matrix of Ubuntu/ Hunhu/ Setso/ Wutu
- Humanising Black Africa and the Black African race-nations
- Ubuntu and decoloniality
- Ubuntu and knowledge
- Ubuntu and indigeneity
- Ubuntu as a geopolitical concept
- Ubuntu and Digitising the Humanities
- Ubuntu and STEM/STEAM
2. Ubuntu and contemporary African identities
- Ubuntu and being (A)Bantu/Vanhu/Batho/Watu
- Ubuntu and racial, ethnic, national, religious, and linguistic identities
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila, feminism, and LGBTQI+ agenda
- Ubuntu and the Decolonisation agenda
- Ubuntu and human sexuality
- Resolving the Black African identity crisis
- Ubuntu as a geopolitical tool of the (A)Bantu/Vanhu/Batho/Watu
- Ubuntu, globalisation, and internationalisation
- Ubuntu, Pan-Africanism, and Afrocentricity
3. Getting Black Africa out of bondage and into dominion
- Ubuntu and the Black African condition
- Ubuntu and hegemonic discourses of development
- Ubuntu and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila innovation, science and technology
- Social protection and inclusion for the Black African peoples in the digital era
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila and climate change
4. Ubuntu and holistic well-being in the 4IR era
- Ubuntu counselling models
- Ubuntu and Restorative Justice
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila inspired Social Programs and Mental Health and Well-being solutions
- Ubuntu and AI-driven Social Work interventions
- Behavioural finance, coping and stress management
5. Ubuntu, religion and spirituality in a digital age
- Ubuntu and Indigenous/traditional religion
- African Christian anthropology in a digital age
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila spirituality and religiosity
- Reimagining Ubuntu theology in the digital era
- Ubuntu as a spirituality of liberation
- Ubuntu and Pastoral Care in a digital age
6. Politics and governance in the light of Ubuntu philosophy
- Humane migrant management regimes
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila vs hegemonic discourses human rights, child rights, and animal rights
- Chivanhu/Setso/Isintu/Mila and ‘living for democracy’
- Decolonising International Relations and Diplomacy
- Ubuntu and African politics
- Defining and affirming interests of the Black African race-nations for a new geopolitical dispensation
CONFERENCE TIMELINE
Submission of panel abstracts
Deadline for submission of paper/panel abstracts
Notification of paper/panel proposal acceptance & feedback
Conference registration opens
Submission of full papers for presentation
Submission of PowerPoint presentations
Conference
Final paper submissions for Book of proceedings
Submission of papers chosen for edited and peer-reviewed book on Ubuntu.
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE
* For the purposes of the conference, a student is a person who is registered for a degree at a recognised institution of higher learning in 2024, but is not employed by an institution of higher learning.
Proof of registration should be sent to the Conference Administrator: admin@ubuntuconference.org .
REGISTRATION PROCEDURE
Delegates will be requested to fill in electronic registration forms after acceptance of their abstracts. An invoice will be created and sent to individual delegates with personal details, registration amount and banking details. It is only after this process that delegates will be able to deposit registration fee into the University account that will be provided for that purpose.
CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
- Conference Administrator:
-
Email:
admin@ubuntuconference.org
Call: +263772943476
Call: +263780346850
Conference Venue :
Golden Peacock Villa HotelAddress: Stand 11177. Feruka Road Natvest Industrial Mutare