Introduction

Data, information and scientific visualization uses uncomplicated language to simplify things into concepts that can be easily grasped in graphical format enabling easy understanding/insight and ability to understand cross-cutting complex issues and understand patterns to inform formation of successful strategies and solutions. Enterprises today begin to work aggressively to reach greater Business process Automation (BPA) and offer cutting-edge customer experiences.  Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the most significant automation technologies that play a vital role in the overall solutions.

Importance and Benefits of Visualization

Visualization is an important asset in this data era because:

• It manages influxes of new information making it easy to identify trends.
• Visual trends ease understanding of complex and cross-cutting issues enabling predictive futuristic scientific modelling.
• It brings crucial correlations and relationships into focus.
• It enables sharing of insights as it ismore attractive.
• It makes data valuable and understandableacross all disciplines.
• It easily and quickly identifies outliersin data.
• It facilitates quick memorization ofimportant insights and concepts.
• It facilitates faster decision making
• It narrates a story visually hence simplifyinga complicated message.
• It can be tailored for a specific targetaudience to aid better understanding of the information being presented.
• It enables prevention of informationoverload to the user.
• It is for all disciplines.

Importance and Benefits of Robotic Process
Automation (RPA)

• Cost-Effective– Has potential to reduce operational costs by at least 25%. Robots operate 24/7.
• Accuracy& Quality -RPA offers improved services to processes that have a high probability of human error, thereby increasing accuracy. Robots follow all rules to the dot, thereby producing 100% accuracy.
• Consistency-Robotics is a safe, non-invasive technology that doesn’t interfere with the inherent systems and provides perfect consistency in performing the activities across the board, each time and every time.
• Improved Analytics- Having access to error-free, accurate data from various sources would improve the quality of analytics in the process. This leads to better decision making and overall, to the betterment of the process execution.
•  Increased Employee Productivity- RPA ultimately facilitates humans and robots to do just what they excel at. As RPA frees the employees from their mundane tasks, they can focus more on client and customer interaction, relationship management and other such activities where humans naturally are good at.
•  Increased Customer Satisfaction – Delivering better quality of work with high accuracy and improved customer/client interaction leads to increased customer and client satisfaction.
• Faster-Robots handle and execute a larger amount of work in a shorter time than humans translating into a relatively much shorter period.  Hence faster delivery, coupled with higher.
• Reconciliation from Multiple Systems -RPA makes integration of processes running on separate systems possible.
• Versatility- RPA is applicable across industries and has the ability to perform a wide range of tasks. Any process that is rule-based and can be defined and is repeatable makes an ideal automation candidate.
•  Better IT Support and Management- RPA improves the operational quality of the service desk and monitors the network. This enables companies to handle short term spikes without having to recruit extra staff or train them.
• Seize Opportunities for Scale-RPA is a particular advantage in workflows with irregular volume. Robots can scale up and down instantly to handle any volume of work.

Theory of Change

Whereas data visualization has great potential to understand trends and aid in decision making, its application has not been extensive. This is partly due to the limited understanding of the concepts and the misconception that visualization is complex requiring extensive ICT knowledge. We therefore seek to demystify the misconception and create awareness about visualization to enable its widespread adoption. This will result in its application with the consequence of better understanding of trends and patterns of events which will have profound improvement in decision making. Improved decision making will bolster alignment of programmes and resources for optimum achievement of results. Visualization can therefore play a role in the realization of global development agenda such as Sustainable Development Goals as well as national development goals. Skills, Knowledge and abilities that can be obtained from data, information and scientific visualization symposium such as VizAfrica 2023 offers visibility and better understanding towards addressing in a sustainable manner global development challenges.

For companies, visualization can help in optimizing resources for profitable operations. To contribute to the wider adoption of visualization, the symposium will bring together various actors to engage. In addition, young scientists will be trained on techniques in order to build requisite capacities for application of visualization.

Robotic process automation helps in the application of specific technologies that can automate mundane, routine, standardized tasks, creating higher productivity and value with lesser investment; so essentially a computer software or ‘software bot’ is allowed to capture and interpret applications for processes that involve manipulating data, executing transactions, triggering responses and communicating with other digital systems within the domain. RPA enable enterprises accelerate digital transformation.

The conference target to draw participants from government ministries, universities, research organizations, corporate, small and medium scale industries (SMEs), policy makers in key sectors of the economy and international organizations. 

The symposium has seven sessions on:

1. Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
2. Computer Graphics, Media and Animation
3. Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security
4. Data Stewardship, Analytics, Visualization and IoTs
5. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)-  Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
6. Policy Design, Analysis and Strategic Management
7. E-Health and Universal Health Coverage

All the seven sessions have: Summer School, research, industry, keynote speeches and panel discussions tracks.

Session 1: Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation 

This session invites papers that present innovative visualizations and related solutions in multi-disciplinary fields relating to climate change adaptation and mitigation associated with smart cities, smart energy, smart transport, smart fisheries and smart agriculture that make use of open data. Papers are welcome in all areas of climate visualization techniques, including but not limited to :

• Visual representation of extreme climate events
• Interactive exploration of climate simulation results
• Visual analysis of precipitation patterns
• Explainable AI for understandable prediction models

Session 2: Computer Graphics, Media and Animation

This session covers a wide range of techniques for scientific visualization, information visualization, and visual analytics. VizAfrica 2023 aims at providing a platform for researchers, engineers, manufacturers, data scientists, information scientists, and industry experts to share their results in relation to visualization techniques. Papers in the following areas are relevant to this track: visualization foundations, visual encoding, and interactive visualization techniques, visualization systems and methodologies, interaction, evaluation and user studies, visual analytics, display techniques, computer graphics techniques, media and animations.

Session 3: Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security

Agriculture, nutrition and food security is a key concern for sustainable development in Africa and many developing countries. Agriculture, nutrition and food security is a complex condition requiring a holistic approach to all forms of malnutrition, the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, resilience of food production systems and the sustainable use of biodiversity and genetic resources.

This session invites abstracts and posters that demonstrate use of data and information visualization in agriculture, nutrition, food security and other related areas.

Session 4: Data Stewardship, Analytics, Visualization and IoTs

Whereas data visualization has great potential for understanding trends and aid in decision making, its application has not been widely adopted.  Abstracts and papers that demonstrate use of data analytics and visualization for better understanding of trends and patterns of events leading to profound improvement in decision making are invited. Included are abstracts and papers that demonstrate use of visualization tools and theories for optimization of resources and achievement of UN SDGs.

Session 5: Robotic Process Automation (RPA)-  Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

Studies have made good progress in examining the potential contributions of AI to achieving sustainable development goals and addressing challenges in specific development areas such as poverty, global health, human rights and  environment. This session invite abstracts and posters that apply AI and ML in robotic process automation to improve performance and service deliver.

Session 6: Policy Design, Analysis and Strategic Management

Policy making is a complex activity that involves striking a balance between legal requirements, intended outcomes, the limits of scientific knowledge at any given time, and the public response to the policy. This session invites abstracts and posters in any of the following areas:

• Data visualization and Decision making in organizations
• Visual-based decision support technologies for policy analysis
• Government transparency, open data, e-government and re-use of public sector information
• Integrity and privacy issues in information gathering for policy analysis
• Legal and regulatory aspects of exploiting public data and public information systems for policy making
• Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation and Directive by the European Union
• Multi-modality of information sources, methods for information aggregation and information fusion for policy making
• Values and motivations underlying the use or non-use of public data and public information systems for policy making
• Use of AI and Data Analysis in prevention of inequalities and injustices in society
• Impact of quantum computing in policy formulation
• Crowd sourcing governance
• Citizen science

Session 7: E-Health and Universal Health Coverage

A holistic approach focused on ensuring healthy lives and promoting the universal well-being is required in order to achieve sustainable development. Healthcare is currently intertwined with computer science, social science, behavioral science and information science. Health innovations are geared towards resources, devices and techniques required to optimize acquisition, storage, retrieval processing and use of information in health and biomedicine.

This session invites abstracts and papers on research and case studies from the following topics:

• Data Collection and Data Mining in e-Health Applications
• Mobile and e-Health System Innovations
• E-Health services, Internet of Things (IoT) and Fog Computing in Healthcare
• Wearable and Implantable applications
• E-Health Software Design visualization
• Advances in sensor devices for biomedical monitoring
• Health Data Acquisition, Management and Visualization
• Body Area networks (architectures, protocols, scheduling, etc.)
• Clinical Informatics and Health Information Systems
• Healthcare Knowledge Management and Decision Support
• Healthcare telemetry and telemedicine
• Healthcare Modeling and Simulation
• Remote diagnosis and patient management
• All-pervasive and non-invasive health monitoring wireless systems
• Personal Health Train (PHT) application
• Imaging Science
• Patient Diagnosis Methods
• Patient Monitoring Systems
• Regenerative Medicine
• Systems Physiology
• Telemedicine
• Computer-Aided Surgery

Guidelines on Abstracts

We recommend that the abstract be 600-1000 words.

Posters

Posters should address one of the seven sessions listed above.

Guidelines on Posters

Posters will be an important feature of VizAfrica 2024. The Organisers and Programme Committee will endeavour to ensure that all poster presenters have an opportunity to give a lightning talk as well as participating in the poster reception.  Posters can often be a more effective way of communicating key technical features of a paper and providing a visual summary that really engages the viewer.

Poster proposals must be submitted to a specific session. Poster Proposals should be 600-1000 words. Please describe the subject of the proposed poster in as much detail as possible. Describe the structure of the poster. Above all, let us know:

1. Why will this be an interesting feature of the conference?
2. Why is it particularly suited to a poster and/or demo session?
3. Why the poster or demo will catch delegates’ attention and why will they stop and listen to you?

Excursions on 3rd-4th February 2024

The organizing committee has provisioned for excursions over the weekend of 3rd-4th February 2024 just before the conference starting on Monday the 5th. Participants who wish to participate in excursions to select from the packages below:

1. NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK PACKAGE

It is the only world’s capital
with a park, located about 7 kilometres south of the centre of Nairobi. The
game drive within the park is a 6hr drive which starts at 0630hrs for the
morning drive and 1300hrs in the afternoon. While at the park you will be able
to see, various wild animals such as Lions, Buffaloes, rhino, Giraffes and over
400species of birds. Visitors can also enjoy

• Nature trail safari walk
• Park picnic sites
• An animal orphanage
• The Ivory burning monument

Inclusions

• Transport in a safari vehicle
• Game drive
• Pick up and drop off at the hotel
• Experienced tour Guides
• Bottled water

(Kindly note Tourist vehicles
that includes a Tourist van or a Land cruiser and price per vehicle vary)

Not included

• Park entry fees
• Tips
• Meals and soft drinks

Please check out the entry fee below

2. SHELDRICK TRUST NAIROBI ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE

Sheldrick orphanage operates
an orphan elephant rescue and wildlife rehabilitation, it boasts as one of the
Africa’s oldest wildlife charities and leading conservation organisation. While
at the orphanage you will be able to visit the nursery and witness the young
elephants noon feeding and playtime.

Inclusions

• Transport in a safari vehicle
• Pick up and drop off at the hotel
• Experienced tour Guides

Not included

• Park entry fees
• Tips
• Meals and soft drinks

Please check out the entry fee below

3. GIRAFFE CENTERE

Inclusions

• Transport in a safari vehicle
• Pick up and drop off at the hotel
• Experienced tour Guides

(Kindly note Tourist vehicles
that includes a Tourist van or a Land cruiser and price per vehicle vary)

Not included

• Park entry fees
• Tips
• Meals and soft drinks

Please check out the entry fee

(Kindly note Tourist vehicles
that includes a Tourist van or a Land cruiser and price per vehicle vary) the
price of a six seater tourist vehicle

For the Nairobi Sheldrick
Giraffe Centre City tour

Cost USD 300 (the cost is for max of 6pple in a land cruiser Vehicle)
includes pick up and drop off to the hotel.

 Registration fee for Participants is per categories:

Internationals–USD 400

Locals– KSH. 35,000

Students– KSH. 18, 000

Summer school & Conference – USD 600/KSH. 85,000

Virtual participation – USD 200

 VizAfrica Virtual 5th Feb Click-