Hosted at Maktaba Kuu, Kenya National Library Service in Nairobi, the conference “Connecting Codes: AI, Digital Humanities, and the Future of Information” will take place 16-19 June 2026. From the call:
Connecting Codes brings together scholars, librarians, heritage professionals, technologists, and students to explore the evolving relationships between artificial intelligence, digital humanities, and information institutions, with a particular emphasis on African contexts and perspectives. The conference title reflects the work of connecting multiple kinds of “codes”: technical systems such as software, data, and AI models; cultural and linguistic knowledge systems; and the institutional, ethical, and professional frameworks through which information is created, interpreted, preserved, and shared.
The conference builds on a growing body of Africa-centered digital humanities and library work, including earlier convenings at the Technical University of Kenya and the Kenya National Library Service, as well as digital humanities initiatives at the University of Kansas that foreground Africa-based scholarship and diasporic perspectives.
We welcome regional and international contributions that engage meaningfully with African knowledge systems, languages, infrastructures, and communities. While AI is a central lens, Connecting Codes also invites broader digital humanities and information-centered approaches that attend to context, equity, sustainability, and human expertise.
Early-career scholars and practitioners, as well as professionals working in libraries, archives, museums, and related information and cultural institutions, are especially encouraged to participate.
Conference themes include:
- Human–AI Collaboration and the Future of Knowledge Work
- Methods and Practices in Digital Humanities and Information Studies
- Equity, Ethics, and Responsibility in Digital and AI-Enabled Scholarship
- Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Digital Heritage
- Digital Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning, and Capacity Building
Submission formats can be in the form of individual papers, panels or roundtables, posters, workshops or tutorials, and project demonstrations or showcases. Proposal abstracts are due soon on 15 March 2026.
dh+lib Review
This post was produced through a cooperation between Mimosa Shah, Michelle Speed, and Kelly Karst (Editors-at-Large), Ruth Carpenter and Nickoal Eichmann-Kalwara (Editors for the week), Caitlin Christian-Lamb, Ruth Carpenter, Linsey Ford, Pamella Lach, Molly McGuire, Hillary Richardson, Christine Salek, and Rachel Starry (dh+lib Review Editors), and Tom Lee (Technical Editor).