Interactive Exhibitions

The Interactive Exhibitions track provides a unique platform to showcase African wisdom through live exhibits, performances, demonstrations, and design or artwork. These presentations may feature running systems, interfaces, prototypes, or research tools that highlight the innovative application of African knowledge and practices in the areas reflected in AfriCHI 2025's theme. The aim is to solicit diverse expert feedback while fostering critical discourse within the African HCI community.

This track aims to bring African knowledge systems to the forefront of technology design. By offering participants the opportunity to present interactive, tangible applications of African wisdom, it celebrates the relevance of these systems and their potential to inspire global HCI innovations.

AfriCHI 2025, under the theme "Recentering African Wisdom in HCI," seeks to position African knowledge systems at the heart of technological innovation. The Interactive Exhibitions track plays a vital role in this vision by enabling participants to engage with African wisdom through real-time, immersive experiences that bridge traditional practices with cutting-edge technology.

The Interactive Exhibitions track aims to:

1. Demonstrate the innovative application of African knowledge systems in HCI.
2. Create opportunities for hands-on engagement with interactive systems and prototypes inspired by African wisdom.
3. Facilitate collaboration between technologists, artists, and indigenous knowledge holders, fostering interdisciplinary partnerships.

Track Topics

Topics covered by the Interactive Exhibitions track include, but are not limited to:

1. African Wisdom in HCI: Integrating African knowledge systems into interactive technology designs.
2. Collaborative Prototyping: Engaging local communities in participatory design processes that reflect their needs and traditions.
3. Interactive Art and Technology: Exploring the intersection of African art, culture, and digital technologies to create innovative, immersive experiences.
4. Multimedia Storytelling: Showcasing African stories and traditions through interactive exhibits, performances, and digital media.
5. Emerging Technology for Cultural Preservation: Leveraging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality to preserve and transmit African cultural heritage.

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The Interactive Exhibitions track is grounded in the following core values:

1. Unifying Voices: Promoting collaboration, dialogue, and networking between African and international stakeholders in HCI, ensuring diverse perspectives are heard.
2. Shining the Spotlight: Celebrating the vibrancy of African innovation by showcasing cutting-edge research, design methods, tools, and pedagogies.
3. Building Bridges: Enhancing the visibility of African HCI and interaction design within the global HCI community, facilitating greater integration and influence.
4. Widening Participation: Aiming to reach at least 70% of African countries, while also creating channels for newcomers and connecting people beyond the continent to African perspectives and innovations.

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Submission Guidelines

Submissions can include extended abstracts, audio, video, or other multimedia files. We welcome submissions in African languages alongside an English translation to broaden accessibility. Authors are also encouraged to relate their media content to scholarly discourse through pictorial abstracts, papers, or notes as additional publications.

Submission Content

All materials (extended abstract, image, video, supplemental materials) must be submitted through the submission system, with a total size limit of 100 MB. Submissions should not contain sensitive, private, or proprietary information and should not be anonymized. However, all submissions will remain confidential throughout the selection process. Rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity.

Abstract Requirements

Your submission should be self-contained and clearly articulate the novel and distinguishing aspects of your project. For those who cannot view the interactive exhibition in person or through videos, your abstract must address the following:

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1. Description of the system, installation, or exhibit: Outline the problem it addresses and its connection to African wisdom.
2. Relevance: Discuss the broader context of your work, its novelty, and how it resonates with both the immediate conference community and the larger HCI community.

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Additional Elements

All authors must submit:

• Still Image: A schematic description of the demo as a still image, at least 1500 x 1200 px.
• Optional Video: A video summarising the extended abstract is encouraged. It will increase visibility before, during, and after the conference and be archived in the ACM Digital Library. Videos should be encoded in MP4 format using the H.264 codec, with rights-free music.

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Supplemental Materials

For interactive Exhibitions requiring technical or physical setups, a supplemental materials document (up to 4 pages) is mandatory. This document should describe technical and spatial needs, including lighting, power requirements, and any other logistical concerns. It is used solely for review and planning purposes and will not be published.

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Submission Format & Template

The paper should be a maximum of 2000 words (excluding references), with a title and 250-word abstract inclusive. All submissions must use the official conference template and follow the conference author’s guidelines.

Important Dates

- Submission Deadline: April 5th, 2025

- Notification of Acceptance: May 26th, 2025

- Camera-ready Deadline: July 15th, 2025

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Review and Selection Process

Submissions will be reviewed by co-chair based on the following criteria:

1. Sustainability and Ethics: Ensure sustainable practices and ethical treatment of content.
2. Technical Feasibility: Clearly outline the technical and logistical requirements for the exhibit.
3. Relevance to HCI and the Conference Theme: The submission should align closely with the theme of AfriCHI 2025, "Recentering African Wisdom in HCI," and demonstrate how African knowledge systems can inspire or influence human-computer interaction.
4. Experiential Engagement: The exhibit must be highly interactive, allowing participants to engage in a hands-on manner.

Authors are expected to adhere to ethical practices, especially in areas concerning intellectual property. Upon Acceptance authors must submit camera-ready versions by the deadline, incorporating reviewer feedback.

Presentation at AfriCHI 2025

We encourage authors to present their demos or installations on-site to facilitate direct interaction and feedback. 

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Post-conference Publication

Accepted extended abstracts will be published in the Proceedings of AfriCHI 2025, archived in the ACM Digital Library. Authors must present their work at the conference and register as attendees.

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Co-Chairs:

Selma Auala (Namibia University of Science and Technology) and TBC

Interactive-Exhibitions@africhi2025.org

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