location
Protea Marriot Breakwater Lodge
Cape Town V&A Waterfront
From the 1st to the 6th of September 2024 we will be using the Breakwater Lodge as our venue for our 4th conference. It is located at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa boasting first-class facilities and a spectacular view of Table Mountain. It is conveniently located within safe walking distance of the V&A Waterfront and the Oranjezicht Market. It is also close to Cape Town city centre, the Seapoint Promenade, and many other interesting and exciting locations around the beautiful city of Cape Town.
The Conference Facilities are connected to the University of Cape Town Graduate Business School and the Protea Hotel (part of the Marriot Hotel Group). Because of the wonderful facilities, we are also happy to announce that the 4th ABC Conference will be a hybrid event, also for greater accessibility for interested researchers and the public from all over the globe!
Conference Agenda
Plenary Speakers
Prof Angela Stöeger-Horwath
Acoustic Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences
"Vocal Communication in African Elephants: from production to Function and Potential Implications"
WORKSHOPS
MANTA: Making Ambient Noise Trends Accessible
hosted by Jennifer Miksis-Olds, University of New Hampshire, USA
Making Ambient Noise Trends Accessible (MANTA) software is a tool for the community to enable comparisons between soundscapes and identification of ambient sound trends required by stakeholders. MANTA enhances the value of individual datasets by assisting users in creating thorough calibration metadata and internationally recommended products comparable over time and space to ultimately assess ocean sound at any desired scale up to a global level. The software package combines of two applications: MANTA Metadata App, which allows users to specify information about their recordings, and MANTA Data Mining App, which applies that information to acoustic recordings to produce consistently processed, calibrated time series products of sound pressure levels in hybrid millidecade bands. MANTA data product size and formats enable easy and compact transfer and archiving among researchers and programs, allowing data to be further averaged and explored to address user-specified questions. The goal of this workshop is to introduce MANTA and to run MANTA on your own dataset.
Acoustics Ecology and Field Recording
hosted by Samuel Kudjodzi, Klangmedien, Didaktische Medien. Alumnus.-Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Acoustic ecology, sometimes referred to as eco-acoustics or soundscape studies is the study of sound and its relationship between humans and the environment. The Soundscape consists of 3 basic sources i.e., Anthropophony, Biophony and Geophony1. The workshop in Acoustic Ecology and Field Recording is research and participative-oriented. It covers theoretical and practical knowledge of the Soundscape, Listening Strategies and Exercises2, Field Recording Technology, Editing, Soundscape Composition, Mastering and Sound Installation Art.
There are several aims for this workshop. Participants will be provided with new artistic forms of expression to awaken
hidden creative competencies, being able to foster digital and technical competencies in Sound Engineering. Participants will also be shown a medium for passive and active interest in environmental protection topics, sustainability, ecological balance, biodiversity, healthy hearing, strategic urban planning, and product development.
The workshop also hopes to foster creative interest in Cinematic Audio, Immersive Sound and Acoustic Therapy, as well as social and emotional competencies as project work is done in groups. Participants will provided with a unique opportunity to interact with nature with listening technologies which reveal the wide stereo space of sound for
education and recreation.
Bioacoustics Beyond Biology Special Session
Science and art are not mutually exclusive, they can blend together in ways that make both easier to understand and connect with. As part of the 4th African Bioacoustics Community Conference, we will be hosting a special session dedicated to exploring the idea of Art and Science telling each other's stories.
Claire Homewood
CareCreative
CareCreative is an artist, working across disciplines to weave community connectedness and collaborations. In her ongoing project with ABC, she deepens the possibilities for art and science to work together in communicating with the public. How do we develop a space were science can find its way to effective public creative communication through art and how can art hold science in a place where responses could be on an intuitive or emotional or other level... And how can all of this find its way into a graffiti mural?
Caitlin Mkhasibe
Caitlin Mkhasibe (Zulu surname pronounced, mm-ca-sea-beh) is a Cape Town-based mixed-media artist who got her BAFA from the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. Mkhasibe majored in New Media, focusing on sound and visual projection installations. She utilizes abstract mark-making to render organic textures from nature to discuss political ecology, metaphysical moods and outer space.
Student and expert
Q&A Panel
African PhD/Post-doctoral students will take the time to share their stories and experience within the field of bioacoustics, including how they started research in bioacoustics, how they found important opportunities within the field and progressed their career path, via a series of short presentations. These presentations will be followed by a student and expert panel, who will answer questions from the audience and provide advice and solutions to common problems and how to navigate working within the field of bioacoustics. Discussions on how to improve current research strategies, along with data and equipment sharing will also take place during this session.
Cape Town city is one of the top vacation destinations in the world. With tons of sights to see, restaurants to visit and activities to do, you are spoilt for choice!
There are a lot of accommodation options available within close distance of the conference venue - The Breakwater Lodge - including the hotel itself.
See some accommodation options below. There is something to suit every budget!
Things to do in
Cape Town
There is no shortage of entertainment in the city Cape Town, there is something for every taste! There are some really great lists of things to in do in Cape Town, visit the links below and get excited about your trip to the 2023 Telegraph Travel Award winner for 'Best Worldwide City' for the eighth year running!
Travel Budget Tips
become a sponsor
As with all events, nothing would be possible without our generous sponsors. There are many different ways in which you could help us give the best conference we can.
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"Adopt a Student"
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We are aiming to sponsor the cost of 40 - 60 African student's registration and workshop fee, a total of 6 435 ZAR (in-person) or 2 500 ZAR (online)
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Sponsor Student Prizes
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Sponsor a student prize that will be awarded at the end of the conference. We've estimated this to cost about 4 000 ZAR for 4 student prizes at 1 000 ZAR each.
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General Conference Sponsorship
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The committee will use the funds towards general conference expenses. The following levels of funding are available (prices in ZAR):
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