Digital Commons Network^™

'Sira': Community-Driven African Filmmaking To Address Harmful Practices, Ousman Jarju, Jama Jack

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This workshop will explore the use of film to raise awareness about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The workshop will begin by screening the film SIRA, which tells the story of a young girl who resists FGM and mobilizes her community to end the practice. SIRA is a film on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) that was produced by RebelVZN and STS Pictures, with support from UNFPA The Gambia. Following the screening, we will explore the first-hand experiences of young African filmmakers who are telling stories that depict the African narrative from a more nuanced angle, balancing the positive with the harmful …

Building Antiracist Communities Of Practice That Result In Transformative Learning Spaces: A Social Education Project, Aaliyah Baker, Marisol Morales

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In killing rage: Ending Racism (1995), bell hooks talks about her writing of this work as being “fundamentally optimistic”, as ‘courageously and fiercely critical”, and as “forging a politics of solidarity”. The creation and evolution of a cross-institutional anti-racism community of practice was drawn to that path. In this workshop, we demonstrate how creating antiracist spaces and connecting with others allow us to explore the role of racism in our lives, our institutions, and our nation. We aim to build the capacity to support a commitment to racial justice in community-engaged work by naming anti-black racism as a human rights …

Unity As Resistance To The Unreliable Narrator, Jairus Hallums

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

According to the 2017-2018 National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80% of American public elementary and secondary school educators are White, leaving Black, Hispanic, Native American (and Indigenous) and bi-racial educators to make up the remaining 20%. Additionally, according to the United States Census bureau, the racial makeup of the United States is expected to become more diverse, particularly in the Black and Latinx racial groups (Vespa, et al., 2020). Knowing the American P-12 public education system educates the majority of the United States’ children, several questions arise as to the capacity of educators to “do no harm” to Black …

Silenced Echoes: Unraveling Digital Authoritarianism's Grip On Zimbabwe's Civic Space And The Battle For Freedom Of Expression, Kudzai Chimhangwa

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This study builds on years of research by Global Voices on the intersection between authoritarianism, lawfare and digital technologies. The central thesis holds that it is not that Zimbabwe is incapable of being democratic but rather, owing to political expediency, has chosen not to be, creating a hostile environment for digital and human rights instead. Systematic looting and mortgaging of mineral resources to countries like China and Russia over decades have created a haven for institutionalized corruption and more importantly, a culture of impunity, intolerance for dissenting voices and disregard for free and fair electoral processes. Digital authoritarianism manifests itself …

The Public Good In South African Education: The Lifeblood Of Democracy, Pagiel Joshua Chetty

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This paper investigates how the concept of education as a public good in South Africa has been affected by privatisation since 1994. This study locates itself within a human rights framework, which is premised upon South Africa’s (seemingly progressive) Constitution of 1996 and seeks to investigate the potential shift of education as a public good (that truly benefits the public) towards a more market-based and neoliberal approach to education provision. In this regard, I analyse the annual South African education budget vote speeches presented in the South African Parliament by successive post-apartheid Ministers of Education from 1994 to 2021. As …

Program: 2023 Undergraduate Mathematics Day, University Of Dayton

Undergraduate Mathematics Day: Programs, Lectures, Promotional Materials

No abstract provided.

Poster: 2023 Undergraduate Mathematics Day, University Of Dayton

Undergraduate Mathematics Day: Programs, Lectures, Promotional Materials

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models, And The Colonialization Of Data: Implications For The Rhetoric Of Human Rights, Adam Todd

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new technology with profound implications for law, its practice, and our definitions of legal rights. This presentation examines how generative AI, particularly through its use of large language models like ChatGPT, may affect the social practice of human rights.

AI language models are computer programs that are trained by reading billions of pages of materials available through the internet and, through brute processing, is able to provide information about the relationships between the language derived from this raw, language-based data. Through this process, the program can provide users with valuable written information with summaries, analyses, …

Toward Decolonizing Legal Theories Of Law And Technology, Olubukola Olugasa

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The necessity of technology for the preservation of sustainable human existence is no longer in doubt. The challenges of climate change owing to the teeming world population against the constantly shrinking resources further justify the necessity for new paradigm of conducting human activities through technology. Good and attractive as the technological-driven new world may be, it has become another platform for the re-invention of colonisation. What used to be the scramble and partitioning of the developing worlds in physical time and space has metamorphosed into a new dimension of scramble and partitioning of the same victims upon borderless globalisation and …

Is Colonialism Episodal Or An Epoch? Understanding Africa’S Retrogressing Progression, Henrietta Oshokunofa

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

After the end of colonialism in Africa, there have been concerted efforts to decolonise Africa by mopping out the vestiges of exploitation, divide-and-rule system, oppression, and dehumanization, among others that characterised the period. Following its succession of an era that witnessed the mass migration of African descent from Africa to the Americas, colonialism was nothing short of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade save for the natural resources exploitation that differentiated it. With post-colonialism being around for almost as long as colonialism, it is yet to demonstrate any significant development in the different sectors of their societies despite gaining independence peacefully through …

Sarah Bartman And Demystifying African Women History: Feminist Engagement And New Epistemologies From Africa, Babere Kerata Chacha

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

I was recently awarded a Sarah Bartman fellowhip by the University of Cape Town and in my inaugural lecture, I posed a critical question. How should we commemorate Sarah Bartmann legacy in history and culture in contemporary Africa? It is important to make our students to understand the history of sexism and oppression and the many barriers and biases that women have historically faced. Historical interpretation of, or representations of women as victims, projecting victimhood onto meta-historical narratives allows for imagining the trajectories of communities along a ‘zigzag’ historical timeline, wherein the present is portrayed as a juncture similar to …

Settler (International) Law And Displaced Transnational Indigenous (African) Peoples In Canada: Presumed Equal But Obviously Separate, Veronica Fynn Bruey

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Documenting and validating Indigenous Peoples collective experiences with colonial violence, land dispossession, forced displacement, systemic racism, and ongoing exclusion from the nation-building process is fundamental to the idealised Westphalian state such as Canada’s constitutional monarchy. The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 make no mention of Indigenous Peoples prosecuted and forcibly displaced by slavery, systemic colonial violence, or neoliberal capitalism (vis-à-vis globalisation). Although the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), 2007 does not define an Indigenous person it stipulates their right to belong and determine their own identity. In Canada, indigeneity is …

Article 14 Of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Africa And The Non-Application Of The Verb ‘Enjoy’?, Cristiano D'Orsi, Cristiano D'Orsi

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

My contribution focuses on Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on the right ‘to seek and to enjoy […] asylum’ (14(1)) –subject to exceptions (14(2)) and how this right has been translated into the domestic legislation of African countries and is applied into practice. This is because the correct application of this article by states would help to construct and develop a better future for refugees in Africa.

The first regional legal instrument to adopt a formula similar to Article 14 is the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter), whose Article 12(3), recalls …

Perceptions Of Young African Scholars’ Migration From Africa To The Global North: A Case Of Selected Kenyan Universities, Anne David, Enock Magack Masaki

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

As the old adage says, ‘East or West Home is best’, that may not be so true for the young African adult. Despite Africa being a very rich continent in its culture as well as physical resources and beautiful weather to a large extent, most of the African youth who live in Africa always dream of a life abroad. So much so that the thought of migrating to the West, either the United States of America or Europe seems to offer the once in a life time solution to all their problems. This is so real that many risk death …

The Intersectionality Of Gender And Corruption In Africa, Qinyi Liu

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Corruption has long been recognized as a significant obstacle to good governance, the protection of human rights, and sustainable development in Africa. While the literature on anti-corruption has flourished in recent decades, there remains a critical gap in understanding the gendered nature and impact of corruption in the African context. This article aims to address this gap by examining the intersectionality of gender and corruption in Africa. It explores the extent to which corruption affects women and men differently, taking into account the social, economic, and political factors that shape these disparities. The article highlights that despite the region's commitment …

Exploring Gender Budgeting To Accelerate The Realisation Of Women’S Rights In Nigeria, Eno Ekpo

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The proliferation of gender budgeting initiatives globally has yielded a progressive understanding of the distributive impacts of responsive gender budgeting to ensure that both women and men benefit equally from public resources for inclusive development. The incorporation of providing resources in international human rights frameworks recognises the relevance of resources to drive development policies and programmes aimed at rectifying gender imbalances that disproportionately affect women and mandates the adoption of gender budgeting as a necessary step by states to translate their commitments to realising women’s rights at domestic levels. The Maputo Protocol, a pioneering African human rights instrument with extensive …

Achieving Social Justice Through Social Economic Rights Litigation, Michael Gyan Nyarko, Svati Shah, Adrian Jjuuko, Kerigo Odada

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Human rights defenders are increasingly using to seek social justice. However, opponents have always expressed some disquiet on the suitability of courts in the adjudication of socio-economic rights, which have been deemed as disputes involving the distribution of socio-economic goods and services and, therefore, a prerogative of the political arms of government. Courts and other (quasi)judicial institutions have been said not to have sufficient expertise, information, nor the democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions relating to the policy choices that have to be made in the fulfilment of socio-economic rights.

Advocates for the (quasi)judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights have, …

Ubuntu, Anti-Corruption Principle, And The Protection Of The Right To Health In South Africa During The Covid-19: The Case Study Of The Solidarity Fund (Sf), Marianne Séverin

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In the COVID-19 context, all States had to protect the right to health of their people by implementing emergency measures to mitigate the negative effects of this global pandemic. South Africa declared COVID-19 a National Disaster (March 15, 2020) under the Disaster Management Act, 2002, N°57. The government has full authority to adopt emergency measures, including the creation of a Solidarity Fund (March 23, 2020) to respond to the coronavirus’ “health, humanitarian and social consequences”. In a context of corruption that is familiar to South Africa (the country scored 44 out of 100 points [Transparency International, 2020]), the Presidency has …

Advancing Access To Justice In Sub- Saharan Africa And Latin America: Innovative Strategies And Methods., Adaobi Egboka

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Access to justice in sub-Saharan Africa is a priority for many stakeholders who aim to support communities that have been impacted by Africa's history of colonization. Ensuring access to justice for all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic background or cultural heritage, is essential for upholding human rights, promoting social cohesion, and supporting sustainable development throughout the continent. NGOs and other justice actors have actively provided access to justice in many countries but have relied on donor funding for their services. However, donor funding is decreasing in many regions, and governments are increasingly closing civic spaces, making it challenging for NGOs …

The Rise And Fall Of The Civil Societies: Why The Push For The Right To Development In Kenya Is In Limbo, Patrick Michael Ogeto

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Before the end of cold war in the 1990s Kenya’s civil society was one of the most vibrant in the region. The civil society comprised of the students and university staff intelligentsia, the religious body, and the local non-governmental organizations. From the heydays of political protests and activism of the 90s, a lot of change has taken place. First, this period saw the re-introduction of multiparty politics, lobbying for defense for human rights and several other numerous political transitions. However, since the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution in 2010, the place of civil society organisations has been bogged down by …

Positioning Public Services In A Rights-Based Economy, Ruth Getobai Nchagwa

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

COVID-19 pandemic has put spotlight on major injustices at the core of our current economic model which exposes many to shortages and risks and delivers extreme wealth for the few. War in Ukraine, political instability in Africa and increased foreign debts by governments in the global south have led to increased inflation which has put the poorest on the margins. Governments as primary duty bearers are crippled by reduced revenues and high rates of debt servicing which has negatively affected provision of public services . Public services are vital goods and services that provide a foundation for dignified and enriching …

Collisions At The Intersection: Intersectionality Of Labor Trafficking, Trauma, And The 'Resource Curse' Phenomena Within The Cobalt Mining Industry In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Patrick L. Kerr

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

First proposed in the early 1990s, the “resource curse” phenomenon describes situations in which countries/regions that are resource-abundant- e.g., metals, minerals- are economically outperformed by countries that are resource-deficient. The resource curse concept also commonly refers to situations in which resource-rich developing regions/countries suffer rather than flourish because of exploitative, extractive industries perpetrated by resource-deficient countries. Rooted in colonialism, this phenomenon has been identified across industries in several African nations. Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a prominent example. Although DRC’s cobalt deposits were discovered in 1914, the past decade has introduced a new surge …

Transforming Gender Norms In Rural Mali By Opening Spaces For Action, Kelly Bohrer, Anna Taft, François Chauvet, Kessia Kouriba, Hawa Yalcouyé, Moussa Tembine

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Communities in the Tommoguiné Region of Mali are actively pursuing development despite economic challenges, insecurity, and isolation from many opportunities. Historically, the marginalization of women and girls has held back some of these efforts and denied certain rights to some of the population. Currently, a transformation of norms surrounding women’s roles in public life and of practices harmful to women and girls is taking place, inspired by a Women’s Literacy, Leadership, and Enterprise program generated through a transnational collaboration between local communities, a Malian linguistic association, and The Tandana Foundation, a Dayton-based non-profit organization. Instead of reinscribing colonial dynamics, this …

African Right To Identity As A Right To Development: A Media Right Agenda, Olunifesi Adekunle Suraj, Gift Oluwatosin Olalusi, Olawale Olaleye

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The Right to Development is still a highly contested concept in academic and political circles. However, it is evident that irrespective of the divide of the debate, all known declarations including the United Nations, the UN Millennium Declaration, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights among others are yet to have a lasting impact on the liberation and the overall development of Africa and African descent. Hence, in order to find solutions around the right to development from the African perspective, this paper aims to reconcile the divergent views on the right to development and propose a …

Sexuality, Homophobia And Africanness: A Rights-Based Analysis Of The Contemporary Pushback Of Africa’S Lgbtqi+ Community, Mziwandile Ndlovu, Sarah Wesonga

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This paper explores the topical and emotive subject of sexuality in Africa from a rights-based perspective. It analyses the growing homophobia in Africa which has manifested in prejudicial statements against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI+) community by senior public officials and legislative efforts to curtail sexual rights. In April 2023, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called on Africa to save the world from homosexuality as ruling party legislators demonstrated overwhelming support for a new anti-LGBTQI+ law. In March in Kenya, both President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga castigated the judiciary for upholding the LGBTQI+ Community’s …

Addressing A Crisis Of Imagination: A Social Justice Lens For The Cinematic Representation Of Queer Persons With Physical Disabilities In African Films, David Ikpo

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In crisis situations, persons with physical disabilities and queer persons, who are already vulnerable and face discrimination on their grounds of their immutable identities are subject to increasing hardship at the hands of the public owing to how the assumptions made of them and the meanings associated with them. This study recognizes the double jeopardy that queer persons with disabilities face, particularly queer men with physical disabilities. This study also recognises that cinematic representations are path through public imagination and perceptions of the minorities are curated. As such cinematic representations of queer persons with physical disabilities can be reconfigured to …

Plus Ça Change, Plus C'Est La Même Chose: The Ongoing Decolonisation’S Mechanic Inside The Franc Zone, Gerard Kamga

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

My purpose in this paper is to provide insights into the mechanics behind the statuquo ante prevailing within the franc zone even though most African countries in general and former French colonies in particular obtained their “independence” from France in the early 1960s following decades of colonisation. Such statuquo is rendered by the formula “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose” loosely translated as the more it changes the more it remains the same. In the upcoming developments, l will portray the extent to which French colonialism in Africa has never stopped and was simply merged with the current …

Youth Activism In Post #Endsars Era: Envisioning A United Nigeria Through The Exercise Of Voting Rights, Alex Ekeke

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Youth activism is an avenue by which, typically, young people engage in civic and political activities that help champion a course, change government’s unpopular policies or create other long-term changes in their communities. As the largest demographic group in Nigeria, youths have recently, shown a strong willingness to participate in activism. Recently, in October 2020, the Nigerian youths, led by some youth activist, championed what is perhaps the most united, decentralized and successful protest in Nigeria through the #Endsars protest movement. Despite the large proportion of young people and youth activism in Nigerian, they have not achieved the level of …

Judicial Activism As A Pathway To Environmental Justice In Africa’S Mining Industry: The Case Of Nigeria And South-Africa, Onyekachi Eni Dr, Dr. Ngozi Chinwa Ole

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Africa’s mining industry embodies the tension between socio-economic development, and environmental protection. On account of their abundant mineral resource endowments, Nigeria and South-Africa constitute Africa’s mining hub with the attendant environmental burdens evident in the distortion of natural environmental equilibrium, disruption of ecosystem services and dislocation of the people from their cultural moorings contrary to extant global and regional instruments on development and human rights. Notwithstanding the negative externalities of mining, the incidence of poverty and the absence of basic amenities in many mining communities often combine to frustrate the effort of mining-affected persons to obtain redress for the violation …

Empowering Nigerian Youths For Social Change: The Convergence Of Civic Education, Media, Art, And Activism, Zainab Onuh-Yahaya

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This paper examines the intersection of civic education, art, and the media as powerful tools for activism, social change, resistance, and transformation, particularly in the context of Nigerian youths. Over the past few years, young Nigerians have emerged as a formidable force in advocating for social justice and good governance in what they have describes as fighting for their lives. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, this study explores how the integration of civic education, media, art, and activism empowers Nigerian youths to address social injustices and inequalities, challenge the generations that have come before, and drive meaningful transformations.

The paper then …