Chimezie Chika is an essayist, critic, and fiction writer whose works have been featured in publications such as the Weganda Review, the Republic, Lolwe, Efiko Magazine, Dappled Things, and Afrocritik. He has received fellowships from the Lagos Literary and Arts Academy in 2024 and the Ebedi International Writers’ Residency in 2021. Currently, he serves as the fiction editor of Ngiga Review.
Professor Geci Karuri-Sebina is a scholar-practitioner focused on the intersection of people, place, time, and technological change, with a particular interest in the global south. She is an associate professor in digital governance at Wits University in Johannesburg, an adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town’s African Centre for Cities, and a principal at the School of International Futures. Geci also serves as the organiser of the Civic Tech Innovation Network. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in computer science and sociology, dual master’s degrees in architecture and urban planning, and a PhD in planning and innovation studies at the University of Witwatersrand.
Al Kags is the executive director of the Open Institute, an organization dedicated to fostering open governance, citizen engagement, and data rights across sub-Saharan Africa. Recently recognized as an Ashoka Fellow for his pioneering contributions to social innovation, Al is a steadfast advocate for transparency in government and data rights across Africa. Al chairs on the board of Publish What You Fund and was previously a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. His leadership extends through numerous key roles, including as a former member of the Global Open Data Working Group, co-chair of the Kenya OGP Working Group, and chair of the Kenya Open Data Taskforce.
