About Afrotech Fest
Afrotech Fest is returning for another year! We'll be returning to Rich Mix for a weekend of design, development and exciting discussion.
Afrotech Fest is a 'for us by us' festival seeking to create intentional and alternative spaces within the tech scene. We debut, highlight and showcase speakers across different disciplines, experiences and backgrounds.
In 2018, we put together an exciting programme covering everything from working in games, to exploring possible futures using Wakanda as a touch point. The festival offers interactive events across multiple venue spaces, including talks, workshops, and an opening night party.
2018 HIGHLIGHTS
Participants
A host of amazing speakers, workshop facilitators and artists sharing their unique perspective on the tech world and what they’re doing with technologies they use.
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Talk
Dr. Kortney Ziegler
Code as Advocacy: Using a (Black) human-centered approach in software development
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Talk
Mike Little
My beginnings in tech, and WordPress the early years
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Talk
Alex Fefegha
Your difference is needed
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Talk
Erinma Ochu
Above the Neon
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Talk
Greg Nwosu
Developing while Black
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Youth workshop
Takita Bartlett-Lashley
Tech my Style with STEM in Style
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Talk
Julian Thompson
Change By Design: Inequality & UK Black Communities
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Installation
Natalie
Lukewarm Takes: Qualia in Tweets, Ephemera and Artificial Consciousness
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Engagement
Larry Achiampong
Relic 1
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Installation
Abira Hussein
Nomad
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Talk
Fernando Dias
Afrofuturism in the shell
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Workshop
Nana Parry
How to create a commercially-viable digital product
What to expect
Afrotech Fest offers interactive events across three venue spaces, including talks, workshops, installations, youth events and an opening night party.
Festival schedule
We've put together another exciting programme. We hope the talks, workshops, installations and performances inspire and motivate you throughout the weekend.
Afrotech Fest offers interactive events across three venue spaces. These spaces are called The Stage, The Studio and The Mix.
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friday
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saturday
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sunday
5:00pm
- Registration
6:00pm – 6:45pm
- Your difference is needed
- Alex Fefegha
- Talk The Stage
7:00pm – 8:00pm
- Lightning Talks
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Akil Benjamin and Grace Annan-Callcott
Mary Agbesanwa
Kenigbolo Meya Stephen
Jaccaidi Dyer - Lightning Talk The Stage
- CodeXHiphop
- Buki Thompson
- Workshop The Studio
8:30pm – 11:30pm
- Opening party
- Afrotech Fest x soulcase.live
- Engagement The Stage
9:30am
- Registration
10:30am – 11:30am
- Above the Neon
- Erinma Ochu
- Talk The Stage
11:30am – 12:30pm
- Building the Woke Web: Accessibility and Social Justice
- Olu Niyi-Awosusi
- Talk The Stage
- A step-by-step guide to creating your first webpage
- Fatimat Gbajabiamila
- Workshop The Mix
- Scratch Junior Workshop
- Zia Teshome (N19Stem)
- Youth workshop The Mix
12:30pm – 1:30pm
- Social activism in the digital age
- Victoria
- Workshop The Mix
12:45pm – 1:30pm
- What the fudge cake is GraphQL?
- Faduma Mohammed
- Talk The Stage
1:30pm – 2:45pm
- Lunch
2:45pm – 3:45pm
- Showcase Hour
- Talk The Stage
- Hacking Android apps for fun and bug bounty
- Erin Burns and Slammer
- Workshop The Mix
- The StoryBoard
- Nigel Twumasi
- Youth workshop The Mix
3:45pm – 4:45pm
- An introduction to cyber security: it’s not all doom and gloom!
- Stephen Chapendama
- Talk The Stage
- Youth games tournament
- Nigel Twumasi
- Youth engagement The Mix
4:30pm – 5:00pm
- Relic 1
- Larry Achiampong
- Engagement The Stage
5:00pm – 5:15pm
- How image recognition is changing ecommerce and healthcare
- Efua Akumanyi
- Lightning talk The Stage
5:15pm – 6:00pm
- Developing while Black
- Greg Nwosu
- Talk The Stage
6:15pm – 7:15pm
- My beginnings in tech, and WordPress the early years
- Mike Little
- Talk The Stage
7:30pm – 8:30pm
- Love vs Fear and my mother’s prayers: An interactive experience
- Cocoabean projects
- Enagagement The Stage
9:30am
- Registration
10:15am – 11:15am
- Digital currencies and the denationalisation of money
- Jeansy Molanza
- Talk The Stage
11:30am – 12:30pm
- Showcase Hour
- Talk The Stage
- How to create a commercially-viable digital product
- Nana Parry
- Workshop The Mix
- Tech my Style with STEM in Style
- Takita Bartlett-Lashley
- Youth workshop The Mix
12:30am – 1:30pm
- Change by Design: Inequality in UK Black Communities
- Julian Thompson
- Panel The Stage
- Practical self care & community care: How to recover from burnout & get our energy back ✊🏿
- LiLi Kathleen Bright
- Workshop The Mix
1:30pm – 2:45pm
- Lunch
2:45pm – 3:45pm
- Can technology save a world on fire?
- Dawn Duhaney, Elizabeth Williams, and Lola Oyelayo-Pearson
- Panel The Stage
- Equity-Centred Service Design: A new approach to tackling inequalities
- Ashley Evans
- Workshop The Mix
- Get sh!t Done: Developing a community of black tech experts in Europe
- Cynthia Mukendy
- Workshop The Mix
3:45pm – 4:30pm
- Afrofuturism in the shell
- Fernando Dias
- Talk The Stage
4:00pm – 5:00pm
- South London Raspberry Jam
- Youth workshop The Mix
5:00pm – 6:00pm
- Ways of Working: Lego City Simulation
- Ola Otaiku
- Workshop The Mix
5:00pm – 5:15pm
- Life has never Svelte better
- Andrew Smith
- Workshop Main Stage
5:15pm – 6:00pm
- Subverting the academy
- Katie Mitchell
- Talk The Stage
6:15pm – 7:15pm
- Code as Advocacy: Using a (Black) human-centered approach in software development
- Dr. Kortney Ziegler
- Talk The Stage
8:00pm
- Festival close
Opening party
Join us on Friday for an evening of activities including a games tournament, a live visuals performance accompanied by SA House & Gqom, a retro games corner, interactive projections and a Silent Disco featuring a mashup of bashment and video game soundtracks from soulcase.live
Sponsors
If you’re a company, looking to support a fast-growing, community event that’s changing the industry for good, we'd love to hear from you!
A big thank to you to all 2019 sponsors.
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Opening night sponsor
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Accessibility sponsor
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Travel sponsor
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Installations sponsor
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Inclusion sponsor
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Venue sponsor
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Silver sponsor
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Silver sponsor
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Bronze sponsor
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Bronze sponsor
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Bronze sponsor
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Bronze sponsor
Festival supporters
The venue
Afrotech Fest returns to Rich Mix London for another year. Rich Mix is spread over five floors, is fully accessible, and has plenty of room for a big ideas festival like ours.
The Stage
Right by the entrance to the venue on the ground floor, The Stage will be where our amazing line-up of talks present throughout the weekend. On Friday night, it will also be transformed into the place to be for our opening night party.
The Studio
Take a break from the buzz of the festival in The Studio – our dedicated breakout space. Use the space to rest during the weekend’s activities and take advantage of the lunch offerings available during our scheduled lunch breaks. The Studio and The Mix are both located on the fourth floor.
The Mix
Head to The Mix to learn something new and take part in hands-on workshops delivered by our host of facilitators. The Mix will also host our interactive youth workshops for young people of all ages giving young techies the chance to explore their interests.
Rich Mix London is an independent arts venue in the heart of East London.