ACL Summit 2023: African Cities Conference (ACC) - Digital and Smart Cities Sémè One and UM6P Cotonou And Benguérir, Benin, May 23-24, 2023 |
| Conference website | https://africancitieslab.org/en/african-cities-conference-2023/ |
| Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=acc2023 |
| Submission deadline | April 30, 2023 |
| Notification of acceptance | May 5, 2023 |
| Camera-ready Submission | May 10, 2023 |
| Registration due date | May 15, 2023 |
The "African Cities Conference (ACC) - Digital Cities" is the first annual international expert discussion and exchange forum on African cities that will take place from 23 to 24 May 2023 in the city of Cotonou, Benin. The ultimate goal of the ACC conference is to increase the scope and influence of research and entrepreneurial innovation activities on the African continent related to the digitalisation of cities. The 2023 edition focuses on the African digital city as a potential solution to Africa's urban challenges. The ACC 2023 conference covers all topics related to digital cities in Africa, including work associated with the transition to digital cities and urban planning, African smart cities, Smart geo-information systems (Smart GIS), smart governance, digital city challenges in Africa, urban sustainability, planning/management issues in emerging cities in Africa, urban socio-economic challenges (education, health, employment, youth, economy, food security, etc.), urban environment, and information and communication technologies applied to the urban. Beyond its thematic focus, it aims to advance interdisciplinary research by bridging the disciplinary gap between the different academic cultures of the humanities, sciences and application-oriented research, but also the sectoral gap between urban development actors in Africa.
========= A- Call for Papers CFP ACC 2023 ========
ACC 2023 will promote scientific excellence in Africa through the communication and publication of and publication of the best research results and works written in original scientific articles in its conference proceedings, its book proceedings and its special issues which follow:
- Types of papers
At the ACC International Conference, we aim to stimulate the exchange of new ideas and interdisciplinary perspectives on all issues related to African cities. To this end, we will accept three different types of papers:
- Full papers that present original and high-quality work (6 pages without references).
- Working papers present work in progress or new and visionary ideas (4 pages without references).
- Extended abstracts present existing and pre-published work (2 pages without references).
NB: Extra pages will be overcharged at CHF 10 per page and may not exceed 30% of the required number of pages for each type of paper.
- Presentations & Publications
All accepted papers will be allocated a minimum slot for an oral presentation. Depending on the content and quality of the work, papers will be selected for long or short presentations.
- All accepted and presented conference papers will be eligible for publication in our E3S web of conference proceedings indexed in Scopus, Scimago, IET INSPEC, Ei Compendex, EBSCO, Google Scholar, CPCI (Web of Science) (Subject to acceptance - as for all proceedings journals)
- A category of best papers will be published in our proceedings book by Springer book GeoJournal Library (Pending confirmation) indexed in Scopus, Scimago, IET INSPEC, Ei Compendex, EBSCO, Google Scholar, CPCI (Web of Science) (Subject to acceptance - as for all proceedings journals)
· Soumission Guidelines and Instructions :
We invite potential authors to send original papers that have already been finalised but also those in progress or those already published (See article types details). Authors should choose, according to their preference and the requirements of their affiliating institution, to publish their paper in the E3S web of conference proceedings or in our book to be published by the Springer book Series GeoJournal Library.
- If you choose to publish your paper in the E3S web of conference proceedings please follow the authors' instructions given HERE. Otherwise, you can use one of the templates [Template ACC2023.docx] Word_woc-2col or [Latex template Web of Conferences A4 paper size, two columns format.zip] LATEX_woc-2col depending on the text editor you use.
- If you choose instead to publish your work in the Springer book Series GeoJournal Library. The manuscript must follow Springer template guidelines. The manuscript must be written using one of the MS Word or LaTeX templates. The maximum number of pages, in this case, is 12.
- Submission Link :
Once your paper is finalized, you could first send us the pdf version through Easychair for evaluation and the source file will then be requested by our committee as needed.
- Plagiarism Control :
We remind you once again that a strict plagiarism check will be carried out on all papers and only a similarity of max. 15% of all sources + max. 5% of one source will be tolerated. The plagiarism checker Ithenticate or Turnitin will be used to check the similarity between papers.
- Paper Evaluation :
Each paper will be evaluated by at least two regular TCP members in two rounds of evaluations and the program chair will decide on the acceptance/review/rejection of each paper based on their feedback. Acceptance decisions will take into account the paper's novelty, technical depth, elegance, practical or theoretical impact and presentation.
- Important dates for CFP:
Submission deadline: 15 Mars 2023
Notification of acceptance: 30 Mars2023
Camera-ready Submission: 15 Avril 2023
Registration due date: 30 Avril 2023
Conference date: 23-24 Mai 2023
- Special Issues
High-quality papers may be invited to be submitted to one of our special issues in the following list depending on the theme of the paper and its ranking in the order of quality. The authors of the selected papers will be invited after the conclusion of the conference steering committee and their papers extended according to the percentage required by the special issue will be subjected to a regular submission and review process. Our Special Issues include but are not limited to the following:
-Data & Policy (Waiting to be posted online)
-More to be posted soon!
========= B- Call for Poster and Demos ACC 2023 ======
The poster and demo session of the 1st African Cities Conference complements the research session and provides an opportunity to present recent results and innovative implementations in an informal and interactive setting. During the poster and demo session, authors are encouraged to engage directly with conference participants and discuss their work.
We invite authors to submit work related to African Cities: Digital and Smart Cities that addresses, but is not limited to, the conference research themes (See ACC's topics). However, we also welcome papers that have already been seen in other venues but are to be shared with the ACC 2023 community.
NB: Authors of research papers accepted for the Research Track are explicitly invited to present their work through a poster or demo in the Poster and Demo session in order to further discuss their work with the community and expand their network with other researchers.
- Important dates :
- Submission deadline: 20 April 2023
- Notification of acceptance: 30 April 2023
- Camera-ready Submission: 05 May 2023
- Registration due date: 15 May 2023
- Final video and poster submission: 10 May 2023
- Conference date: 23-24 May 2023
- Submission guidelines & Review process of Posters & Demos
Authors should submit an abstract of no more than two pages (excluding references) for review. All submissions should be written in English, following the E3S web of conference, formatting guidelines, and submitted electronically via the Soumission Easychair system.
- Demos: Demo papers should present mature or prototype systems in which practical problems of African cities are addressed. Submissions should clearly define the objective, scope and audience. All submissions should provide a URL to an online version of their demo or, alternatively, provide a URL to a video presenting the main features of their demo.
- Posters: Posters submitted should describe recent research findings, current research projects or work in progress related to African cities. Additional links to relevant resources are encouraged to be included in the submission.
Authors should indicate whether their submission is a poster or a demonstration article. Submissions should not be anonymised. Each submission will be reviewed by at least 2 TPC members via a single-blind review process and the program chair will decide on final acceptance under the recommendation of the Poster & Demos session chairs.
- Presentations and Publication of Posters & Demos
Accepted two-page Posters and Demos will be published in the proceedings of the 1st African Cities Conference, in the E3S web of conference in open access. All accepted papers will also be available on the conference website. Authors are encouraged to upload additional material (e.g. images, videos) which will be available on the conference website. Accepted demos and posters will be required to provide a final version of their videos and posters two weeks before the conference.
At least one of the authors must be a registered conference participant, and attend the poster/demo session to present the work.
- Posters & Demos Session Chairs
- Stéphane C. K. Tékouabou, Center of Urban System CUS, UM6P, Benguérir, Morocco
- Antoine de Padoue Nsegbe, University of Dschang, Camerooon
======== C- Call for Workshop and Tutorials ACC 2023 ========
In the framework of the 1st African Cities Conference (ACC 2023), we are launching a call for proposals for the organisation of workshop sessions, creative or reflective events and tutorials during ACC 2023. These types of ACC 2023 events will provide a platform to discuss a specific topic related to African cities with an audience specifically interested in that topic in an informal setting (as opposed to the leading conference).
We invite proposals for events that promote discussion, interdisciplinary exchange and interaction, scholarly discourse, and creative and critical thinking, rather than being mere mini-conferences. In order to vary and diversify the activities of the ACC 2023, we offer potential organisers of such events flexibility in the formats that best suit the objectives of their proposal. We also welcome proposals from research communities that are not always featured in African cities' events and conferences so that the conference is not limited to typical researchers.
Thus, within this category of events, we hope to welcome three types of contributions: traditional workshops, creative events and tutorials, each with its own particularities as described below.
- Traditional Workshops
Traditional workshops usually correspond to the topics and challenges of the general call for papers of the main conference. In the context of a traditional workshop, the organisers may consider a programme consisting of a set of invited talks around a certain theme (with or without paper presentations).
- Creative, Interactive or Reflective Events
In the spirit of reflection and community building, we invite academics from all disciplines and individuals representing different communities of practice (including journalism, management, health, advocacy, activism, education, art, law and politics) to contribute to creative and reflective events related to the African Cities Conference 2023.
The format of these events is flexible. Alternative formats include, but are not limited to:
- Speeches, Presentations, Urban lightning talks
- Debates or brainstorming sessions,
- Non-conference,
- Interactive workshop,
- Urban art exhibition or other urban art intervention.
- Tutorials
In this category of event, unlike traditional workshops, and creative events, tutorials are aimed at reasonably well-established topics. However, given that topics on the challenges of African cities are emerging research topics, we hope to welcome them here, especially tutorials that link well-established topics from other disciplines to African city topics. We encourage tutorials to be interactive in order to engage the audience.
- Dates importantes
- Workshop proposal deadline: 15 February 2023
- Notification of proposal acceptance: 30 April 2023
- Deadline for Workshop Call for Paper: 05 May 2023
- Recommended Workshop Submission Deadline: 15 May 2023
- Recommended Deadline for notification of acceptance: 10 May 2023
- Recommended workshop’s paper camera-ready: 23-24 May 2023
- ACC’s 2023 Workshop & Tutorial Date: 24 May 2023
- Submission Proposal Guidelines :
Les propositions doivent être soumises via Easychair : https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=civa2023.
Your proposal should not exceed 8 pages (excluding references) in the Web of conference template and should include the following information
- Title and abstract of the workshop of the tutorial.
- Name, affiliation and short biography of any organiser.
- We recommend at least two organisers, who know the field well and have complementary skills.
- In addition to the main organisers, workshops may involve an additional organisation, e.g. a programme committee to evaluate the contributions.
- The topics and issues to be covered in the workshop or tutorial.
- The expected duration of the workshop or tutorial (half day or full day).
- A link to the previous iteration of this workshop or tutorial, if applicable.
- You can also discuss other closely related workshops.
- A brief description of the format of the workshop or tutorial, e.g. the combination of events such as paper presentations, invited talks, panels and general discussions.
- The size of the target audience.
- Special requirements, if any.
- Include a note if you have special requirements for your session that are not covered elsewhere.
- Supporting materials, if any.
- If you have additional material that could support your proposal, such as a video example of the animation, a website, or written workbooks, you can also include this in your proposal.
- Evaluation criteria of proposals:
- Relevance: Link and relevance to the objectives of the ACC conference and the objectives listed in this particular call.
- Scientific Quality: The potential of the proposal to generate stimulating discussions and useful results on scientific issues related to ACC.
- Organisation: Is the plan clear, sensible, sound and comprehensive?
- Diversity & Inclusion: Reflection on the detailed approach to ensure engagement and participation of a wide audience. Diversity of background of workshop organisers and intended presenters/contributors.
- Proceedings of the workshops and tutorials
Each workshop, on its own, may consider archiving the workshop contributions and documenting the ideas generated during the workshop. If there is sufficient interest, we can archive (with an opt-out option) all contributions to the ACC 2023 workshop, together with the workshop and tutorial summaries, as a combined record of CEUR Workshop Proceeding or our Web of Conference proceeding.
- Workshop & Tutorial chairs Rida Azmi, Center of Urban System CUS, UM6P, Benguérir, Morocco
==== D- Call for Doctoral Consortium & Spring School ACC 2023 ====
The ACC 2023 Doctoral Consortium (DC) & Spring School will be held virtually as part of the 1st International Conference on African Cities - Digital and Smart Cities, which will take place on 23 and 24 May 2023 at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Cotonou, Benin. This forum will allow early career PhD students as well as postgraduate students to focus on an issue related to African cities within the scope of the ACC 2023 conference themes.
The DC offers the opportunity to present and discuss their doctoral research ideas and progress in a supportive, formative yet critical environment, and to receive feedback from examiners, mentors and peers in the field of their thesis topic. The doctoral consortium will also provide opportunities for networking and collaboration with other members of the ACC community. We welcome submissions in all areas of research related to African cities and particularly in digital and smart cities (see "Topics of Interest").
The event is open to both early-career and late-career PhD candidates and asks them to formulate and submit a concrete research proposal, preferably supported by preliminary results. The submission will be reviewed by the conference programme committee. Accepted papers will be supervised by a designated mentor, usually an experienced researcher in the field. If accepted, students will be required to register and attend the event, which will include a series of interactive activities with a spring school. Details of the submission can be found below under "ACC's DC Submission Details".
- ACC’s DC Submission Details
Students must submit a 5-8 page description (excluding references and appendices) of their doctoral research proposal. Papers must be written in English and follow theE3S web of conference formatting guidelines available HERE.
Papers must have a single author (the PhD candidate). Supervisors, other persons involved and funders should be acknowledged in an Acknowledgements section.
All proposals must be submitted electronically via the EasyChair conference submission system. https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=civa2023
All submissions of papers for the DC must contain the following elements:
- Background and motivation: What is the societal and research context of the research?
- Problem statement: What is the general problem that the research addresses?
- Related work: How does the research fit into the state of the art?
- Research questions/challenges: What are the questions the research answers?
- Method/approach and evaluation: How are each of the research questions answered? How are the results evaluated?
- Preliminary results (if available).
- Discussion and future work: What are the intermediate findings, and what are the next steps planned?
Accepted CD papers will be published in the main proceedings of the 1st International Conference on African Cities and more specifically in the proceeding E3S web of conference indexed in Scopus, WoS and many others. Authors will have the opportunity to decline to be included in these proceedings.
- ACC’s DC Important dates :
- Submission deadline: 25 Mars 2023
- Notification of acceptance: 15 April 2023
- Camera-ready Submission: 05 May 2023
- Registration due date: 15 May 2023
- DC & Spring School date: 23-24 Mai 2023
- Doctoral Consortium & Spring School chairs
- El Bachir Diop, Center of Urban System CUS, UM6P, Benguérir, Morocco