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Call for Workshop Contributions

Build. Demonstrate. Experiment. Share.

Hands-on Labs · Technical Demos · Applied Research

Workshop Day: 11 Septembre 2026
Sèmè City Open Park (SCOP)
French & English
Submit a contribution →
About the call

We invite researchers, engineers, students, practitioners, startups and members of the AI community to submit hands-on technical contributions for the in-person Workshop Day.

Selected contributors will lead a practical session combining a short technical presentation with a hands-on workshop, a live demo, a guided implementation, or another interactive technical activity.

Workshop tracks

A1

Generative AI, LLMs & African Languages

  • Large Language Models and efficient adaptation
  • Low-resource NLP and African languages
  • Speech, multilingual AI and evaluation
  • RAG, knowledge systems and responsible generative AI
A2

Computer Vision, Agriculture & Resilience

  • Image classification, detection and segmentation
  • Computer vision for agriculture and crop monitoring
  • Remote sensing, satellite and drone imagery
  • Vision applications for climate, environment and local use cases
B1

Applied AI for Climate & Public Health

  • ML analysis of climate and environmental data
  • Epidemic detection and outbreak forecasting
  • Geospatial and satellite modeling for health/climate
  • Predictive models on real African data
B2

Agentic AI & Intelligent Systems

  • AI agents and tool-using language models
  • Multi-agent systems and agentic RAG
  • Planning, reasoning and workflow orchestration
  • Evaluation, deployment and intelligent automation

These tracks are indicative, not restrictive. Any original contribution that fits the general scope of a workshop is welcome.

What we're looking for

We especially encourage contributions where participants will be able to:

Build or implement something
Interact with a working system
Reproduce an experiment
Work hands-on with a model or dataset
Test and compare approaches
Follow a guided notebook or a live technical demo
Leave with a concrete technical result

Session format

Each workshop runs for about 3 hours and hosts a limited number of selected contributors. Each accepted contribution receives about 50 minutes:

10–15 min
Short technical introduction / presentation
35–40 min
Hands-on workshop, guided implementation, live demo or practical activity

What to submit

01
Contribution title
A concise title describing the proposed session.
02
Workshop track
Indicate which workshop the contribution is submitted to (A1, A2, B1 or B2).
03
Summary
Short description of the technical idea, problem, method, project or application. Recommended length: 250–400 words.
04
Hands-on component
Precisely describe what participants will build, implement, test, reproduce or work with during the session.
05
Proposed session structure
Briefly explain how the ~50-minute slot will be split between introduction, demo, hands-on activity and discussion.
06
Participant prerequisites
E.g. basic Python, introductory machine learning, neural network basics, or no experience required.
07
Technical requirements
Software, frameworks, datasets, APIs, GPU/compute resources, cloud environment, Python packages or external services required.
08
Supporting materials
If available: GitHub repo, notebook, demo, project page, publication, dataset or technical documentation. A complete repo is not required for the initial submission.

Who can apply?

Researchers and academics
PhD, master's and bachelor's students
AI/ML and software engineers
Data scientists and industry practitioners
Startups and technical teams
Open-source contributors
Independent researchers and technical communities

A formal publication is not required. Selection will focus primarily on the quality of the idea, technical relevance, and the learning experience offered to participants.

Selection criteria

Criterion
What we evaluate
Technical quality and relevance
Technical soundness and alignment with the chosen workshop.
Practical value
Degree of active participant involvement (building, experimenting, interacting).
Clarity and reproducibility
Is the proposed lab/demo clear enough to be delivered and reproduced?
Feasibility
Can the contribution be delivered effectively within the allotted time?
Accessibility
Fit with the intended IndabaX audience.
Impact and relevance
Potential scientific, technical, industrial, African or local value.

If your contribution is selected

Selected contributors will prepare the final hands-on session in coordination with the IndabaX Benin Program team. Depending on the contribution, final materials may include:

Presentation slides
Google Colab or Jupyter notebooks
Source code and/or GitHub repository
Datasets
Installation and setup instructions
Software dependencies
Preparation instructions for participants

The IndabaX technical team may test the hands-on materials ahead of the event to ensure participants can access and run them successfully.

Important dates

Call opens
August 20, 2026
Deadline
August 31, 2026
Notification
September 3, 2026
Workshop Day
11 Septembre 2026

Contribute now !

Ready to lead a hands-on session at IndabaX Benin 2026? Submit your contribution now.

Submit a contribution →