Africa in the Global Digital Value Chain (AfroNET) Workshop

This two-day workshop, generously funded by the Research Ireland New Foundation Grant, brings together academics, researchers, activists, and development practitioners to examine Africa’s role in the global digital value chain. The workshop will create a space for critical dialogue on digital justice, global responsibility, governance and equity, with a focus on linking research, policy, and lived experience.

Why it matters

Global digital technologies, from smartphones to AI, depend on African resources, labour, and environments. Yet the material costs borne by African communities remain invisible in policy discussions. This workshop addresses that gap by centring these realities.

Approach

The workshop is designed as an interactive, collaborative process. Day one focuses on dialogue and critical reflection, while day two shifts toward co-writing and synthesis. Participants will work in facilitated groups to develop shared insights and shape a collective narrative.

Key Themes

Participants will explore questions related to mineral extraction and digital supply chains, digital labour, platform economies, and e-waste and environmental justice. These themes highlight how inequality is embedded across the lifecycle of digital technologies.

Outcomes

The main outcome is a collaboratively authored position paper outlining key challenges, principles, and policy recommendations. This document will inform future research, policy engagement, and collaboration on digital justice and global equity.

Organisers

Dr Thompson Kwarkye

University of Galway

Thompson is an MSCA (ROSETTA) Postdoc investigating the political, ethical, and sociocultural dimensions of AI governance in Africa.

Dr Mahya Ostovar

University of Galway

Mahya is an assistant professor in Business Information Systems at J. E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, University of Galway. 

Mr Dewan Scholtz

University of Galway

Dewan is a PhD researcher examining how time is embedded into digital platforms that rely on voluntary contributions and user governance. 

Prof Rónán Kennedy

University of Galway

Rónán is a Professor in the School of Law, specialising in the intersections of environmental law,  Artificial Intelligence, and information technology.

Programme Outline

Day 1: Framing the Problem

08:00-9:15 – Arrival, Breakfast and Informal networking (Friars Café & Restaurant)

09:15 – 09:30 Welcome Remarks (Prof Frances Fahy) 

The guest speaker will deliver an opening address outlining the workshop's aims, themes, and expected outcomes.

09:30 - 09:45: Introduction to the Broader Workshop Objective (Dr Thompson Kwarkye)

The session will also introduce the broader objectives of the gathering, including reflections on Africa’s evolving place within global digital systems, infrastructures, and value chains.

09:45 – 10:45: Panel Session 1: Africa in the Global Digital Value Chain (Dr Diretnan Dikwal-Bot and Dr Elizabeth Rezor)

A moderated panel discussion exploring Africa’s positioning within contemporary digital economies and infrastructures. Panellists will reflect on themes such as digital transformation, platform economies, technological dependency, labour, sustainability, and inequality within global digital systems.

Key discussion themes may include: Africa and global digital production networks, Digital labour and platform economies, Infrastructure, connectivity, and access, Sustainability and technological futures, Emerging opportunities and structural challenges

10:45 – 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:00 Panel Session 2: Policy, Governance and Digital Futures (Prof Rónán Kennedy and Patricia Wall)

This session brings perspectives from academia, policy, civil society, and practice to discuss governance challenges and opportunities shaping Africa’s digital future. Discussions will focus on how institutions, policies, and collaborative initiatives can support more inclusive and equitable digital development.

Discussion topics may include: Digital governance and regulation, Data governance and digital sovereignty, Education, innovation, and digital skills development, Public–private partnerships, Regional and international collaboration

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch (Friars Café & Restaurant)

13:00 – 14:30: Group Work Session 1: Collaborative Thematic Discussions

Participants will break into smaller facilitated groups to engage in focused discussions around key workshop themes. The purpose of the session is to encourage collaborative reflection, knowledge exchange, and the identification of research, policy, and practice priorities. Each group will identify key insights, emerging questions, and potential areas for collaboration to share during the plenary feedback session.

14:30 – 14:45 Coffee Break

14:45 – 15:45 Group Work Session 2: Developing Collaborative Responses and Future Directions

This second session builds on the earlier thematic discussions and focuses on identifying practical responses, collaborative opportunities, and future research or policy directions. Participants will work together to refine key ideas that emerge from the workshop and consider possibilities for sustained engagement beyond the event.

15:45 – 16:45 Report Back and Collective Discussion

Each group will present a short summary of its discussions, highlighting major insights, recurring themes, and proposed next steps. This plenary session will create space for cross-group dialogue and collective reflection on the broader implications of the workshop discussions.

The session aims to: Identify common themes across groups; Reflect on key challenges and opportunities; Consolidate recommendations and future priorities; and Explore possibilities for future collaboration and engagement.

Participant discussion and final reflections from facilitators will conclude the session.

16:45 – 17:00 Closing Remarks and Next Steps

Final reflections from the organisers summarising the day’s discussions, key outcomes, and future directions emerging from the workshop. The session will also include acknowledgements to participants, speakers, facilitators, and partner institutions, followed by information on potential follow-up activities and continued collaboration.

19: 00 (Taxi pick up at Dunlin Village at 18:50) Dinner - Osteria Da Simone

Day 2: From Diagnosis to Position Paper

08:00-9:15 – Arrival, Breakfast and Informal networking (Friars Café & Restaurant)

09:15 – 9:30 Recap and Framing Session (Dr Mahya Ostovar)

A facilitated recap of the key insights, themes, and tensions emerging from Day 1. Organisers will outline the objectives for Day 2 and introduce the structure and expectations for the collaborative position paper exercise.

The session will: Revisit major themes from the workshop discussions, Identify recurring questions and areas of consensus, Clarify the intended purpose and audience of the position paper, and Introduce the drafting and group work process for the day

9:30 – 10:45 Writing Lab 1: Core Arguments and Thematic Positioning

Participants will work in facilitated thematic groups to begin drafting core sections of the collective position paper. Each group will focus on developing a clear argument, identifying key evidence and examples, and refining the document's broader conceptual framing.

Groups will be asked to: Identify 3–4 core arguments for their section, Draft 2–3 paragraphs per argument area, Incorporate relevant examples or case studies, Highlight key concepts and supporting evidence, Record proposed recommendations and unresolved questions. A designated rapporteur in each group will compile notes into a shared working document.

10:45 – 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:00 Writing Lab Continues

12:00 – 13:15 Lunch (Friars Café & Restaurant)

13:15 - 14:30 Peer Feedback and Integration Session

Groups will exchange draft sections and engage in structured peer review. This session focuses on strengthening coherence across the document and ensuring that arguments, tone, and recommendations align across sections.

14:30 – 14:45 Coffee Break

14:15 – 16:30 Writing Lab

16:30 – 17:00 Looking Forward: Strategy, Outputs and Next Steps (Mahya and Thompson)

This closing session will focus on consolidating the workshop outcomes and establishing a clear pathway for future collaboration, publication, and engagement. Participants will collectively reflect on the progress made during the workshop and discuss how the ideas developed can be sustained beyond the event itself.

20: 00 (19:50 Taxi pick up from Dunlin Village) Super/Dinner - Mona Lisa

Group A: Structural Inequalities in the Digital Value Chain

Group A will critically examine how global digital and AI-driven economies reproduce structural inequalities between Africa and the Global North, and explore pathways toward more equitable technological development. The group will reflect on the political, economic, environmental, and media dimensions of digital capitalism, including extractivism, mining, labour exploitation, poverty, health crises, and unequal knowledge production (to name a few). The group will identify opportunities for African countries to move beyond extraction-based roles toward greater ownership, innovation, industrial development, and fairer participation in the global digital economy. 

Dr Caroline Williamson Sinalo

University College Cork

Dr David Nyaluke

University College Cork

Dr Fernandos Ongolly

Proudly Made in Africa

Mr Lassane Ouedraogo

Trinity College Dublin

Prof Padraig Carmody

Trinity College Dublin and University of Johannesburg

Dr Thompson Kwarkye

University of Galway

Questions for Reflection

 

1. Digital Capitalism, AI, and Structural Inequalities

Focus: How global systems of technology and production reproduce inequality.

  • How is AI reshaping African economies, and what opportunities and risks does it create for African societies?
  • How do global digital value chains continue to reproduce structural inequalities between Africa and the Global North?
  • In what ways are mining, extractivism, environmental destruction, poverty, and health crises interconnected within digital capitalism?

2. Value Chains, Industrial Transformation, and Economic Justice

Focus: How Africa can shift its position within global economic systems to capture greater value.

  • How can global value chains be reformed so Africa gains a fairer share of value, ownership, and technological development?
  • How can African economies move from extraction-based participation toward higher-value technological and industrial roles?

3. Knowledge Production, Representation, and Global Power Relations

Focus: Narratives, epistemic inequality, and collaboration between the Global North and South.

  • How do media narratives about African crises shape global understandings of inequality and development?
  • What role do North–South collaborations play in either reinforcing or challenging unequal knowledge production?

Group B: Labour, Environment and Justice

Group B will explore the intersections of labour, environmental justice, and digital inequality within global technology systems, with particular attention to the impacts of e-waste and precarious digital labour on African communities. The group will critically examine how global digital economies reproduce racialised, gendered, and class-based inequalities through exploitative labour practices, environmental harm, and weak protections for vulnerable populations such as informal workers, women, and children. At the same time, the group will investigate locally grounded forms of resilience, repair, innovation, and knowledge emerging from affected communities, while considering how African-centred approaches, research, and policy can promote more just, accountable, and sustainable digital futures.

Ms Anita McWilliams

Camara Education

Prof Colin Fitzpatrick

University of Limerick

Mr Dewan Scholtz

University of Galway

Dr Diretnan Dikwal-Bot

University College Dublin

Dr Elizabeth Resor

TU Dublin/ADAPT Centre

Dr Tomy Nkube

University of Galway

Prof Martin Oteng-Ababio

University of Ghana

Questions for Reflection

1. E-waste, Environmental Inequality, and Digital Extractivism

Focus: How global waste flows and digital economies reproduce environmental and structural injustice.

  • How does the export of e-waste to African countries reproduce global environmental inequalities?
  • What myths surround circular economy solutions, repair economies, and recycling in African e-waste sites?
  • In what ways are mining, extractivism, environmental destruction, poverty, and health crises interconnected within digital capitalism? (implicit connection from your broader theme)
  • Can “repair” be reimagined beyond devices to include repairing broken systems of responsibility, accountability, and justice?

2. Labour, Inequality, and Exploitation in Digital Economies

Focus: Precarious work, differential vulnerability, and power asymmetries in digital labour systems.

  • How are women, children, informal workers, and marginalised communities differently affected by e-waste economies?
  • Why are racialised, gendered, and classed forms of digital labour treated as disposable within global digital systems?
  • How can workers in emerging digital sectors such as content moderation and AI data annotation be protected from exploitation?
  • How do algorithmic and contractual structures in platform economies undermine labour rights and social protection?

3. Alternatives, Knowledge, and African-Centred Futures

Focus: Possibilities for transformation, local knowledge, and institutional responsibility.

  • What forms of innovation and local knowledge emerge from communities affected by e-waste?
  • What would genuinely African-centred solutions to digital and environmental problems look like?
  • How can research influence policy without isolating Africa from global markets and value chains?
  • What role should universities and researchers play in critically engaging with digital inequality and environmental justice?

 

Group C: Responsibility, Governance and Policy Pathways

This group will focus on governance, participation, and policy pathways for shaping a more inclusive and sustainable African digital future. The group will examine who should be involved in influencing digital policy and the workshop’s position paper, while exploring how African states, European institutions, researchers, educators, and technologists can collaborate to address digital inequality and strengthen accountability across digital supply chains. It will also investigate how innovative educational tools, such as games and immersive technologies, can raise public awareness of issues including climate change, extraction, and digital labour, and how research and policy can move beyond critique toward practical, transformative action.

Ms Chikondi Primrose Nkhoma

1inM

Dr Mahya Ostovar

University of Galway

Engr Dr Mary Ajide

AIM²E™ Lab & Network

Ms Patricia Wall

UCC

Mr Paul Keating

Technological University of the Shannon.

Prof Rónán Kennedy

University of Galway

Dr Favour Ogbugo Offia

University of Galway

Some Questions for Reflection

1. Inclusion, Voice, and Knowledge Co‑Production

Focus: Who participates in shaping digital futures and whose knowledge counts.

  • Who needs to have a voice in shaping Africa’s digital future and the workshop’s position paper?
  • Who is the intended audience for the position paper, and how can it influence policy and practice?
  • How can researchers, policymakers, educators, and technologists collaborate more effectively?

2. Governance, Law, and Institutional Responsibility

Focus: Regulatory frameworks, state roles, and accountability across systems.

  • What role should African states play in bridging digital divides in infrastructure, hardware, and connectivity?
  • How should European law and policy be reformed to better support sustainable African development?
  • What governance frameworks are needed to ensure accountability across digital supply chains?
  • What institutional and policy pathways are needed to move from critique to actionable transformation?

3. Engagement, Education, and Public Transformation

Focus: Communication strategies, learning tools, and societal change.

  • How can educational games and immersive technologies (VR/AR) communicate issues such as climate change, digital labour, extraction, and environmental justice?
  • How can digital learning experiences encourage meaningful public engagement and behavioural change?

 

Important Information

Workshop Dates

16-17 July 2026