
Digital Lounge
1st Floor, Innovation Pavilion
Monday, February 28, 2022
BBC AFRICA DAILY LIVE: CAN WE BUILD CONSENSUS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
Africa Daily was launched a year ago and is a daily news podcast (Monday to Friday) for Africa. Each day we take a closer look at one story, one question, that is making news somewhere on the continent. We hear first-hand from the people at the centre of those stories. Our presenter Alan Kasujja and our network of reporters help us understand why things are happening and how they are changing people’s lives.
In this live episode of the 'The Africa Daily' podcast our discussion will focus on online activism, the impact it’s having - and whether social media is becoming a space to build consensus and move forward.
Young people have been at the heart of shaping the hope for the future of Nigeria. Through the power of social media, the youth have brought to light issues around injustice, violence against women, unemployment, infrastructure, healthcare, and most recently police brutality.
Currently, over 16% of the country’s population are considered to be ‘youth’ aged 15 to 35. It’s now over a year since the biggest protests the country has seen about mistreatment by police. This, like most youth led movements, grew on social media in parallel to the movement on the streets.
In conversation with Alan Kasujja, will be prominent voices on social media in Nigeria - lawyer Feyikemi Abudu, blogger, Jola Ayeye, and queer rights activist, Matthew Blaise. We'll also be inviting YOU the audience to join the discussion.
This session is hosted by BBC
NFT UTILITY & COMMUNITY: THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN HERITAGE AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION
Long gone are the days when Africans feel the urge to leave the continent to seek opportunities for further biz development and opportunities. More importantly, we have entered an era where cultural preservation is now more possible than ever. No more will there be room for the theft of African resources, especially through the art market which presents the top earners in 2021, in the World Art Market Revenue. Covid has expedited innovation, and with the beauty of the internet, and blockchain- it is time to even out the playing field. The residual effects of colonial demarcations are wearing out, and Africa is the Future. Let's discuss how NFTs, DAOS and other blockchain utilities can address the expansion of African Artistry, on all levels. Looking forward to sharing what we've learned, with a larger community, and more importantly, being of service to our Motherland.
*** This Session Will Be Virtual ***
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
MEETUP: AFRICAN PROFESSIONALS & STUDENTS IN THE DIASPORA
African students in the diaspora have a limited voice. Despite contributing significantly to the finances and GDP of their countries of residence and producing great research, innovations, the African perspective and necessary regulation in this billion-dollar sector are sorely lacking.
This meetup will be a discussion and networking session for African professionals and students in the diaspora or anyone with an interest in this.
The session will kick off with an interactive discussion with seasoned African professionals on how government and international policies impact the way Africans live, work, learn and play in the diaspora. Meetup participants will have the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and collectively ideate around African centered solutions and best practices to ensure all African students and professionals abroad can be successful.
This session is hosted by Extrafemi
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
EDTECH MEETUP: CROSS BORDER CONVERSATIONS ON EDUCATION + TECHNOLOGY
African Edtech has a limited voice. Despite producing great edtech innovations, like uLesson, the African perspective in this billion dollar sector is sorely lacking.
This meetup will be a discussion and networking session for African professionals in Edtech or anyone with an interest in the Edtech sector on the continent.
The session will kick off with a live episode of TwinFold with Hassa & Hussa Blake, a podcast and web series exploring all things EdTech. Specifically, The Blake twins sisters will interview seasoned African EdTech professionals on how EdTech impacts the way Africans live, work, learn and play. This special episode will be an interactive conversation with AfricaNXT attendees about EdTech that is for and by Africans.
*** This Session Will Be Virtual ***
This session is hosted by TwinFold Media
THE BBC COMB PODCAST LIVE: THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
The Comb is a BBC Africa weekly podcast that centres on African voices and stories. We combine the rigour of the BBC newsroom with our own distinct, intimate and sound-rich approach to storytelling.
At #AFRICANXT 2022, we are bringing The Comb live and direct to attendees! Join us for a dynamic live recording, where you the audience have the opportunity to participate. In this episode we'll explore Africa’s language famine - why are African languages being marginalised in favour of English and French and what is being done about it? We want to hear about people’s relationship to their mother tongue and find out if things are changing and why. With the help of our panel, we hope to explore this topic in a lively and engaging panel.
MORE ABOUT 'THE COMB'
We have covered a wide breadth of topics since our launch in July 2020 from an episode exploring whether Artificial Intelligence can be racist to another looking at the headaches that come with being a single woman in search of accommodation in Nigeria. In the years since we launched, we have built a loyal and engaged fan base across Africa and beyond.
This session is hosted by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Thursday, March 3, 2022
DISMANTLING COLONIAL STRUCTURES AMID AFRICA'S TECHNOLOGICAL GLOW UP

Donna Maxey MEd
Founder/Board President/Director Emeritus, RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of RacismIt is no secret that Africa is the newest frontier for technology development and experiencing a bit of a global glow up. With an abundance of natural resources, the Continent continues to offer Western investors an abundance of opportunities. Through the pandemic, society has become dependent on technology in new and profound ways. Similarly, the global digital divide remains vast and polarizing. African nations are no exception to these disparities, and ultimately, will face challenges of discerning true investment from exploitation. While richly melinated people of the Continent do not experience a white supremacist problem like their Black sisters and brothers in the United States, Africa is still recovering from the effects of imperial colonialism and fighting against further exploitation from outside nations seeking her abundance.
This workshop will take a deep dive to collectively explore the consistent pattern of intersectional disenfranchisement that occurs along racial, gender, and socio-economic lines and experienced by black people globally.
Workshop facilitators will leverage their experience as a Black women-led organization based in the United States focusing specifically on building community relationships by using race and racism as a vehicle to engage people in conversation, and by extension, build community. Outside of the United States, gender and socio-economic disparities remain consistent; however, where racial lines are not dominant, there are still issues of classism, sexual orientation, religious and tribal affiliations that create barriers for collaboration and community building. Facilitators will discuss how much of this is deeply rooted in colonialism, and by extension, white supremacy.
The goal of this session is to offer tools that can help to dismantle colonialism and strengthen relationships among Black leaders in tech. While technology is part of our collective future and gives Black people throughout the diaspora a foothold into generational wealth, it is an extension of capitalism, a colonial system. While we can not single-handedly dismantle colonialism, we of the global majority can create and expand without imitating our colonizers.
This session is hosted by RACE TALKS
***** THIS SESSION IS HAPPENING VIRTUALLY ****
THE UTILITY OF BLACK TECH MEDIA ACROSS THE DIASPORA
A fireside chat on Black media’s role in covering tech movements, investments, and smart insights across the diaspora. We’ll share how coverage has evolved, why journalism in these spaces is critical for competing for business intelligence across the technology landscape, and predictions for 2022.
THIS IS A VIRTUAL SESSION