Technologies and African Societies in Pandemic Times : Using Technology to Survive and Thrive During the Covid-19 Era

In February 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic became a worldwide health emergency, and in April of that year, the ITU and the WHO created a joint declaration to show their commitment to using ICTs to overcome the pandemic.

Technologies and African Societies in Pandemic Times explores the impact of Covid-19 on African societies in North and West Africa through the lens of technology and social media.

The authors of this book highlight how everyday people dealt with the pandemic from its onset, through the process of the development of the vaccine and to its eventual dissemination. This book tells stories of survival, of coping and, eventually, of economically thriving.

The authors also describe how, in this extremely challenging moment for humanity, people used music, art and social media to reinvent the community, to share joy and pain and to try to remain connected.

Saikou Diallo, Virginia Modeling Analysis Center, USA, is a scientist and educator in the domain of innovation and equal access to technology. He is passionate about using technology to connect people on all spectrums and artificial beings.

Jean-Jacques Maomra Bogui is Associate Professor at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire. His research interests focus on the uses and appropriation of digital technologies, the internationalization of communications and the analysis of the reception of cultural goods.

Julien Atchoua is a psychologist and teacher-researcher in Political Communication at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire. He is also Director at the Centre d'études et de recherches en communication (CERCOM), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.