A Pan-African Co-Design Workshop on Community-Owned Digital Futures
Manor House Agricultural Training Centre, Kitale, Kenya
11th May 2026 to 15th May 2026
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This convening brings together African community-tech developers, technology experts, agroecology practitioners, and international allies to define and initiate a practical, community-owned pathway for biodigital technologies that strengthen food sovereignty and agroecology in African communities.
Who Should Attend & Why
Who Should Attend & Why
The convening will bring together participants across four actor groups:
African community-tech developers.
These participants are currently building ‘community owned’ software serving agroecology food systems. They can look forward to peer exchange, expert feedback, and new collaborations to strengthen, adapt, and sustain their tools.
African technology experts.
These experts are actively supporting community-tech and conceptualizing guiding frameworks in Africa. They will be exposed to new projects, the challenges and solutions that they have developed. Their technical and systems expertise will help refine actionable, Africa-rooted approaches to community-owned biodigital technologies.
International technology experts.
These participants are interested in supporting African community-tech and contributing to a guiding framework. They will be exposed to new contexts, the challenges and opportunities that they present. Their technical skills and global perspectives will help bridge the gap between different communities, supporting the African tech developer scene and smallholder farming community users.
Collaborative FLOAT partners.
This workshop is an opportunity to expand the scope of FLOAT projects and enable new collaborations. Participants will be introduced to pan-African perspectives, can contribute as international technology experts, and can be supported by Manor House and the workshop facilitators in developing collaborations and exploring the Western Kenyan context.
About the Convening
About the Convening
The rapid convergence of biology and digital technologies, including AI, sensors, robotics, and data platforms, poses serious risks to African food systems when driven by extractive, corporate, and surveillance-based models.
Following the Pan-African Convening and ensuing Declaration on the Future of Biodigital Technologies in Food and Agriculture (October 2025), this convening moves beyond critique to action. It creates a space for co-learning, co-design, and collaboration focused on community ownership and control of digital tools, data justice and collective rights, locally developed or adapted, non-extractive open technologies & building long-term technical capacity within rural communities
Objectives
Objectives
The convening aims to:
Support existing African community-tech initiatives working within agroecology and food sovereignty
Co-design a principle-based guiding framework for community-owned biodigital technologies
Create actionable collaboration plans between African developers and international technical allies
Embed African perspectives within global open-source ag-tech ecosystems
Explore pathways for youth capacity building in rural areas, enabling local ownership and sustainability
Registration & Participation
Registration & Participation
Participation is by application to ensure a balanced and intentional mix of skills, regions, and perspectives. Please fill the registration form below to apply to attend the workshop.
Selected participants may receive partial or full support for travel and accommodation, depending on need and available funding. Due to limited funding, support decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Organising & Facilitation Team
Organising & Facilitation Team
INNODEMS (Kenya) drives practical, community-defined innovation across Africa. Rooted in deep development experience and long-term collaboration, the team works with partners to build context-sensitive solutions in data, agriculture, education, and technology to deliver measurable impact.
GHAIDEMS (Ghana) drives innovation at the intersection of development and education with a deep commitment to contextual problem-solving, capacity building, and sustainable impact. GHAIDEMS supports partners and communities to strengthen education systems, advance data-informed decision-making, and unlock practical solutions to complex challenges.
The event is anchored at Manor House Agricultural Training Centre, a rural agroecological hub in Western Kenya.
Funders
Funders
Contact
Contact
For questions, expressions of interest, or partnership inquiries:
Lead Organiser
Ateamate Mukabana
Email: ateamate.mukabana@innodems.org
INNODEMS Director
Zachariah Mbasu
Email: zmbasu@innodems.org
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