TITLE: HUMAN SECURITY AND ONGOING CONFLICTS IN AFRICA
DATE: 6th October 2015
VENUE: HEKIMA INSTITUTE OF PEACE STUDIES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (HIPSIR), RIARA RD, NAIROBI
On 6th October 2015, Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations will host a one-day conference on “Human Security and Ongoing Conflicts in Africa”. Over the years, the peace and security outlook of Africa has been austere. The spates of terrorist attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia and accompanying radicalization of youths and women in these and other countries; increasing state fragility in Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda as a result of the extension or removal of presidential term limits and poor governance in many African countries; the scramble for Europe by African migrants; periodic bouts of conflict in South Sudan, CAR and the DRC; slow progress of African states in achieving development goals; the growing threat to ecosystems and the concomitant demographic stress, all point to the fact that the human security situation of Africa is dire, and the foundations for peace and stability in the continent shaken.
The conference will concentrate on the following areas:
- Terrorism and Radicalization of youth and women
- Third and unlimited presidential term syndrome
- The current scramble for Europe by African migrants
- Protracted conflicts in South Sudan, CAR and DRC
- Environment and Human Security
The Purpose: From the forgoing, the purpose of this Students-led conference is to bring together students from various the various institutions of higher learning to not only shed light on these issues, but also provoke discussions around potential solutions for the peace and security of the continent. We invite students from various universities and colleges to contribute towards the realization of the human security agenda in Africa by enriching our discussions on the said theme. Students, who would like to make a presentation on any of the sub-themes above, should kindly submit an abstract of no more than 500 words before September 28, 2015.
For further information or any other inquiry send an email to studentsconference@hekima.ac.ke or call +254-729755-905 OR +254-733-616-865
6th Africa Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE) Annual Conference
From the MDGs to SDGs: The contributions of international higher education
7th – 9th October 2015
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
(in collaboration with Open University of Tanzania)
The year 2015 marks the deadline set for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is time to take stock of the progress made since 2000 when the UN General Assembly adopted the 8 MDGs to respond to gross inequalities in human development worldwide and to plan for the future. The attainment of the MDGs was to lead to the development of a shared future based on a common humanity and its diversity. What did international higher education contribute towards the MDGs? As debates are ongoing on the post 2015 developments, especially on the 6 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), what will be the role of higher education especially its international dimension? The mobilization of both internal and external resources to revitalize African universities to enable them address these challenges is an important agenda. The recently concluded Africa Higher Education summit recognized this and identified the critical issues for the future of higher education in Africa. The international dimension of higher education, especially research partnerships and mobility attained lots of emphasis. The 6th ANIE Annual Conference addresses these issues, with an additional focus on disaster risk reduction as a crucial, cross-cutting issue, both for Africa’s higher education enterprise and its development agenda. This year’s conference brings together higher education leaders, opinion shapers, researchers and practitioners to debate these salient and timely topics. It will discuss the impacts of partnerships on research and innovation, mobility, access, management and governance practices, capacity building and knowledge sharing and their relations to the MDGs. It will also probe their role in the debates and formulations of the new SDGs as well as the Sendai Framework on disaster risk reduction. ANIE will host the conference in collaboration with the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) and the Periperi U Consortium (Partners enhancing resilience for people exposed to risks).
Sub Themes:
- University partnerships for research and sustainable development
- Curriculum innovations for the MDGs and the future through SDGs
- Role of African universities and gender equality and women empowerment
- Global partnerships for local impacts
- Disaster risk reduction and resilience
Call for sessions and papers:
We invite abstracts of not more than 200 words and related to the main theme and the sub themes outlined above. They should be sent to sec@anienetwork.org on or before 30 thJune 2015.Authors of successful abstracts will be informed by 15th July 2015.
Pre- conference workshops- 7th October 2015:
There will be two pre-conference workshops on 7th October 2015. One will be on Professionalization of international offices in African Universities while the other will be on -Internationalization of the Curriculum. Each workshop targets a maximum of 30 participants each cost USD 50 over the conference fees. Participants will receive certificate of participation. The details of these will be posted on the ANIE website shortly.
The Africa Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE) is a pan-African network and think-tank committed to the advancement of high quality research, capacity building, information sharing and exchange, transnational networking and cooperation, and policy advocacy on internationalization of education. Established in 2008, ANIE has its Secretariat based at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
More information on the conference can be obtained from sec@anienetwork.org or by visiting http://www.info.anienetwork.org/index.php/2015/04/30/about-us/
African Literature Association Conference 2016
JUSTICE AND DIGNITY IN AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
Hosted by Kennesaw State University and Emory University
Date: April 6 – 9, 2016
Venue: Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue, Atlanta, GA, 30303
“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. in Stride Toward Freedom the Montgomery Story – Chapter XI “Where Do We Go From Here.”
African Literature Association 2016 Conference Theme
As Atlanta gets ready to host the Annual Conference of the African Literature Association in April 2016, our theme is inspired by the words of the city’s most famous son, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Historically, the pursuit of justice and dignity connects Atlanta to the varied experiences of African peoples, as the US Civil Rights Movement drew inspiration from struggles for decolonization and, in turn, inspired these struggles. Atlantans remain committed both to understanding and to pursuing civil and human rights, as attested by the presence in the city of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the Carter Center. The hosting universities also recognize their importance, as Kennesaw State University will hold an International Summit on Civil and Human Rights later this year and Emory University just announced the establishment of the John Lewis Chair in Civil Rights and Social Justice.
Justice and human dignity have long remained central tenets of cultural production from Africa and the African diaspora in the quest for freedom and recognition. Artists, filmmakers and writers from Africa and its diaspora often explore the possibilities for justice and the challenges to human dignity in the face of various forms of oppression. Whether they work as creators of fictional worlds or as critics of the worlds they inhabit, these artists launch a call for critical rethinking and socio-political action. The just treatment of human beings and the preservation of their dignity on the African continent and beyond recur as images, motifs and concepts for urgent consideration, critical re-imagination and scholarly enquiry. These literary and cultural texts offer alternative visions that counter the myopic and prejudicial media portrayals of Africa and its people.
Recognizing the many challenges to justice that remain—and the complicated, mediated avenues by which the arts engage with these challenges—the organizers believe that an emphasis on justice and human dignity will give room for critically reflecting on, as well as celebrating, the current state of creative work from Africa and the diaspora.
Featured keynote presenters at the 2016 African Literature Association Conference include Chris Abani and Namwali Serpell.
Please address all questions about the African Literature Association Conference to the official conference email address: atlanta@ala2016.com