Nairobi, Kenya, May 15-18, 2022

Conference Concept

The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded responses from the legal and religious sectors, sometimes creating conflict around issues of religious freedom and the proper scope of legal regulation to mitigate the pandemic. In other cases, it has prompted new collaborations between government and religion in the interest of public health. Institutions of medicine, education, family, and local communities bore the burden of the pandemic. Women experienced increased heightened vulnerability in their families and in their essential economic and business roles. Essentially, no sector of African societies has been immune from the effects of COVID-19, prompting opportunities for legal and religious innovation and agency in response.

With these considerations in mind, the Kenya Conference will address the impact of the pandemic on rethinking the concepts of health and healing—physical, spiritual, socioeconomic, cultural, and by other metrics—in Africa. Papers will explore hat lessons African societies have learned from previous and current pandemics, and what will health and healing practices and imaginaries look like after COVID-19 in Africa?  The conference will focus heavily on direct health concerns, but will raise as well questions about health and healing in a broader sense.

Watch for additional information on this page about conference hotel, information on compliance with ongoing COVID regulations, the tentative conference program, and much more!

Conference Sessions

Sunday, May 15

18:00-19:30

Welcome Remarks, Opening of Conference, &
Plenary Panel 1: Religious Leaders

Monday, May 16

8:30-10:00

Keynote Address 1

Concurrent Sessions 1

10:30-12:00

LEGAL REGULATION OF RELIGION: PART 1

ISLAMIC LAW, ETHICS, SCIENCE & PRACTICE IN RELATION TO COVID-19

RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY AND THE COVID CRISIS (French)

Concurrent Sessions 2

13:00-14:30​

HUMAN RIGHTS AND THEOLOGICAL RESPONSES UNDER COVID

ADDRESSING THE COVID IMPACT

WOMEN, RELIGION AND FAMILY IN COVID TIMES

Concurrent Sessions 3

15:00-16:30

COVID AND THE CURTAILMENT OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN AFRICA

COVID VACCINE HESITANCY IN AFRICA

Concurrent Sessions 4

16:45-18:00

AFRICA TRADITIONAL HEALING & MEDICINE

RELIGIOUS RITUALS & PRACTICES IN COVID: VIRTUAL & LIVING SPACES (French)

RELIGION, THEOLOGY, AND MENTAL HEALTH IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

20:00-21:00

Planning meeting for ACLARS 2023 Côte d’Ivoire Conference

Tuesday, May 17

8:30-10:15

Keynote Address &
Plenary Panel 3: Public Health Experts

Concurrent Sessions 5

10:45-12:15

LEGAL REGULATION OF RELIGION: PART 2

RASTAFARI PERSPECTIVES IN RELATION TO LAW, HEALTH, AND HEALING IN PANDEMIC CONTEXTS IN AFRICA

Concurrent Sessions 6

13:15-14:45

SEX, GENDER, VIOLENCE IN THE COVID PANDEMIC

COVID, MEDIA & CONSPIRACY THEORIES (French)

Concurrent Sessions 7

15:00-16:15

LEGAL REGULATION OF RELIGION PART 3

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS & OTHER RELIGIONS IN AFRICA ON HEALTH AND HEALING

COVID, OTHER PANDEMICS & ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

16:30-17:30

Conclusion & Annual ACLARS Association Meeting

Conference Program

Conference Directory

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