Dg.o 2025 - "More Than an Academic Milestone"

From a Travel Grant Awardee: “Participating in the 26th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (dg.o 2025) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, was far more than an academic milestone—it was an opportunity to represent and amplify African perspectives in a space where digital governance conversations are often dominated by voices from the Global North. As a South African scholar and evaluator, my presence at dg.o 2025 was shaped by a desire to contribute to a growing body of work that challenges dominant paradigms and foregrounds the realities, innovations, and aspirations of the African continent… Winning the Best Research Paper Award in this category was not just a personal honor—it was a recognition of the importance of citizen voices, digital inclusion, and African innovation in the field of digital government. As the award was announced and presented by Prof. Dr. Marie Anne Macadar, I felt a deep sense of responsibility to continue advocating for digital policies that do not simply replicate Western models, but that are grounded in local context, lived realities, and inclusive governance principles.”