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6th SportsAfrica International Conference

6th SportsAfrica International Conference
INJS, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire — April 3-5, 2025
Call for Papers
Theme: Sports in Africa: Ethics, Bioethics, Technologies and Culture
In February 2004, a few scholars and Ohio University hosted the first edition of the “Sport in Africa” conference (renamed SportsAfrica in 2014) to promote the study of sports in African sport. Between 2004 and 2023, the 15 editions of this interdisciplinary conference, scholars, researchers and practitioners from around the world have met and exchanged their work on a great variety of themes.
The Institut National pour la Jeunesse et le Sport (INJS) of Côte d’Ivoire will host, in partnership with the UNESCO Chair of the Alassane Ouattara University of Bouaké, the Félix Houphouët Boigny University of Abidjan and in collaboration with SportsAfrica in Abidjan, (Côte d’Ivoire) the 16th edition of the SportsAfrica conference on the theme “Sport in Africa: Ethics, Bioethics, Technologies, and Culture.”
Ethics and bioethics are crucial subjects in the highly competitive and monetized context of sports. Doping, legalized betting (gambling and its tax returns), the manipulation of new technologies in medical biology, advances in artificial intelligence, data production and control, as well as corruption and all kinds of cheating have spread. These contemporary dimensions of sports pose complex problems related to the integrity of actors, transparency, credibility of results, and other issues. They endanger the physical and mental health of athletes and their communities, creating unacceptable levels of inequalities.
In Africa, political power as well as the influence of non-state groups and corporations (national and international) in decision-making, have the potential of abusing their prerogatives, thus compromising ethical values such as probity, fair play, respect for others and the rules, solidarity and honor, leading to blatant inequalities and corruption that benefit particular interests. Doping is a significant phenomenon, despite control efforts. Both legal and illegal betting can lead to the manipulation of competitions and threaten sports integrity. Technological innovations in medical biology and artificial intelligence can drastically modify basic rules and parameters of competitions, distort performance and access, and push Africa further behind. They can also disrupt indigenous cultural values of certain communities.
Therefore, it is necessary to implement intelligent anti-doping policies and promote a sports culture that respects ethical values. It is essential to promote ethical medical practices, national and international policies, and legislation that protect the weakest and least fortunate.
Ethics, bioethics, and sports in Africa require creative approaches and policies. Governments and private organizations—national and international—must develop effective policies based on sound research and deep knowledge of reality.
This conference aims to be a multidisciplinary space to take a new look at those issues. However, it will critically examine other unresolved or poorly researched questions about the state of sport in Africa. The organizers are soliciting critically reflective communications around the themes below:
Main themes 
Doping and the science of training
Gambling and its impacts
Sport public policies and programs
Implications of technological innovations in medical biology and artificial intelligence
Ethics and bioethics
Ethical Impact of NGOs, national and international corporations;
Additional themes
History of sport in Africa: evolution, mutations and contradictions
Nation, identity and community
Immigration and identity discourses
Sport, violence, and security Issues
Physical education and national policies for schools and university
Gender, ethnicity, race, disability, sexual orientation in sports
The impact of continental mega-sporting events on the development of sports
Sport and public health
Conference organizers invite abstracts from all disciplines of knowledge, including anthropology, business, marketing, history, sociology, geography, political science, political economy, economics, sports management, etc. Reflections,reports on field experiences, and case studies are encouraged.

Submission of abstracts
Individual abstracts must be no more than 200 words with keywords, and without academic reference(s). Submit your abstract using the form available at this website address: https://sportsafrica.org/appel-a-contributions-call-for-papers/.

Presentation Panels/Roundtables
We highly encourage the submission of pre-constituted thematic panels. Each presenter must submit an abstract. Key conference partners may also select specific topics for roundtable discussions.
Each panelist gives a 15-20-minute presentation in a panel of 3-4 presenters, followed by a Q&A session.

Important deadlines:
January 27, 2025: abstract submissions’ deadline for panels and roundtables
February 17, 2025: Deadline for announcement of selected participants
March 2, 2025: Closing date for registrations
For more information on abstract submission, and registration details, visit the official Conference website: https://sportsafrica.org/conference-2025/.
To contact the conference organizing committee, please email sportsafricaUFS@gmail.com

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