CfP: IGVI Annual Conference - Indigenous Values and Social Change

[Björn Freter]

This might be interesting to some! (I am only forwarding this, please find the contact details below). 

The Institute of Global Value Inquiry (IGVI), in collaboration with the Centre for Gender, Diversity and Social Inclusion at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), invites abstract submissions from philosophers and critical scholars working on global values and ethics in the Global South. The conference will explore the central theme of ‘Indigenous Values and Social Change’ and a sub-theme of ‘African Feminism(s) and Indigenous Values in a Precarious Global Women’s Movement.’ Papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in a new journal, the Review of Global Value Inquiry, scheduled to launch early next year.

Download the Call for Papers here

Learn more about IGVI here: https://igvi.org/

Conference Information:

Location: Wa, Ghana

Conference Date: September 7-9, 2026

Deadline for Submission of Extended Abstracts: April 15, 2026

Deadline for Conference Registration: June 1, 2026

Format: Hybrid (in-person and online)

Keynote Speakers

Prof. Oyèrónké Oyěwùmí (Stony Brook University, USA)

Prof. Sylvia Bawa (York University, Canada)

Prof. David Millar (Millar Open University, Ghana)

Thematic Areas of Interest

Conference theme: Indigenous Values and Social Change

In Africa and across the Global South, indigenous values and philosophies endure despite adversity. Although the values, identities, epistemologies and practices of local peoples are increasingly being undermined by rapid globalisation, they also offer ways to oppose the epistemic harms and erasures suffered by indigenous subjects and cultures. This conference will explore how indigenous values can drive social change. What does it mean to invoke the concept of indigenous values, in a world shaped not only by legacies of enslavement, colonialisation, imperialism and religious imposition, but also by migratory histories, complex identities, and contested epistemologies? How do processes of social transformation—driven by technology, politics, environmental crises, and shifting moral economies—inflect indigenous values and practices? And how might the latter drive social change in positive ways? The conference will be of interest to Global South scholars working on such questions, and invites them to engage in a vital dialogue about the affordances of indigenous values in a plural world.

1. Sub-thematic areas of interest

• Indigenous values, knowledge systems and practices in a plural world
• Indigenous environmental values and social change
• Indigenous political values and social change
• Indigenous social or economic values and social change
• Indigenous values and social inequalities
• Indigenous values in a digital age

2. Conference sub-theme:

African Feminism(s) and Indigenous Values in a Precarious Global Women’s Movement

Across the globe, the women’s movement faces unprecedented setbacks. Funding for research and advocacy on women’s rights, equality, and empowerment is dwindling; regressive policy environments are taking shape; anti-rights sentiments are resurging. These problems threaten feminist organising globally, especially in Africa, where many initiatives by research institutions, government and CSOs rely on state and philanthro-capitalist institutions in the Global North for support. Within African settings, deep-seated patriarchal ideologies, male-dominated practices, anti-rights advocates, and harsh legal instruments further complicate the experiences of diverse groups of women and men. Under the sub-theme African Feminism(s) and Indigenous Values in a Precarious Global Women’s Movement, this conference will explore how African feminist thought and activism navigate these difficulties, drawing on indigenous values as frameworks for women’s well-being, rights, and empowerment. This discourse is especially urgent, as African feminists face multiple layers of challenges. How can they sustain the transformative gains already made, promote African indigenous values as legitimate epistemic resources, and enhance feminist agency? This sub-theme invites scholars who theorise and critically engage African feminist discourse and practice to help navigate the challenges for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

1. Sub-thematic areas of interest

• Indigenous philosophies and ethics on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of global values
• African value systems, relationality and gendered hierarchies
• Tensions between global gender equality frameworks and African relational ethics
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment praxis under precarity
• Feminist philosophies, epistemologies and methodologies
• Epistemic freedoms, justices, and values in studies of women in the Global South
• Decolonial feminist knowledge systems and epistemologies
• Feminist research within African philosophies

Submission Guidelines

Abstract Requirements: We invite extended abstracts of no more than 1000 words, closely aligned with the conference theme. Contributions should provide novel empirical, conceptual, theoretical, or methodological insights into indigenous values and ethics, particularly in the context of social change—whether in theorising, policy, or advocacy.

Support for Presenters: The Institute of Global Value Inquiry (IGVI) will cover travel and accommodation expenses for all presenters attending the fully catered conference venue. Travel arrangements will be offered upon acceptance.

Submission Process: To ensure adequate preparation, please submit the following by April 15, 2026:

• Your extended abstract
• A short CV

Submit these materials to in...@igvi.org and cc: caku...@gmail.com.