Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland - Interdisciplinary conference on Africa in Ireland: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives (April 2023)

Title:

CFP Africa in Ireland: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives 

 

Hosted by: 

Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland

 

Focus:

This conference aims to address the historical presence of Africans and the Black diaspora in the past, present, and future on the island of Ireland. It will critically engage with this presence and the convergences of Irish-African cultural, political and religious relationships and connections. How does the presence of African-descended people in Ireland disrupt the notion of Irish monoraciality? How should we theoretically address issues of race in the defining of Irish national identity in light of historical and contemporary Black Irish identities? What is the nature of the relationship between Africa and the African Diaspora in Ireland? What remains of Ireland’s soft religious colonialism and the mission project? How did Ireland’s postcoloniality align with pre- and post-independence subjugated African nations?

 

Location:

Queen's University Belfast

 

Date(s):

28-29 April 2023

 

Time:

09:00 - 16:00

 

Price:

Free 

 

For more information:

https://www.qub.ac.uk/events/whats-on/listing/cfpafricainirelandhistoricalandtheoreticalperspectives.html

AFRICA - Climate change and SDG education to target million youths [University World News, November 2022]

Title:

Climate change and SDG education to target million youths

 

Author:

Eve Ruwoko

 

Published:

University World News, 17 November 2022

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20221117073544235

 

From the article:

An estimated million African university students are set to benefit from a digital education programme on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2023-24. 

 

Makarere University, Uganda - Statistics week: Using data to improve agriculture

Title: 

Statistics week: Using data to improve agriculture

Author:

Betty Kyakuwa

Published:

Makarere University, 18 November 2022

https://news.mak.ac.ug/2022/11/statistics-week-using-data-to-improve-agriculture/

From the news article:

* The School of Statistics and Planning yesterday rewarded and recognized the contribution of some of its staff members.

* Speaking at the opening of the conference, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi, who represented the Vice Chancellor, said it is important to use agriculture statistics to inform better planning that can cause transformation in the entire agriculture production chain.

 

Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Norway - New project to determine the causes of violent conflict and migration in the Sahel

Title:

New project to determine the causes of violent conflict and migration in the Sahel

 

By:

Jayne P Lambrou

 

Published:

Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), 21 July 2022

https://www.nmbu.no/en/faculty/landsam/department/noragric/news/node/45749

 

From the news article:

 Small-scale farmers and pastoralists stripped of access to land are more likely to migrate or resist violently. This is the hypothesis that will be investigated in a new project headed by NMBU’s Tor A. Benjaminsen and funded by the European Research Council (ERC). 

 

University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa (May 2022) - UP EXPERT OPINION: We need a more resilient food system

Title:

UP EXPERT OPINION: We need a more resilient food system

 

Interview:

BRINK news interviews Professor Sheryl Hendriks, a food security expert and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development at the University of Pretoria.  

 

Published:

University of Pretoria, 24 May 2022

https://www.up.ac.za/news/post_3077397-up-expert-opinion-we-need-a-more-resilient-food-system

 

From the article:

The World Food Program has warned that 275 million people are facing starvation as a result of global food shortages caused by the Ukraine conflict, bottlenecks in the supply chain, and crop failures in India and China.

The impact of Russian presence in Africa [Preprint - OSFPreprints, March 2022]

Title:

The impact of Russian presence in Africa

 

Author:

Dirk Kohnert

GIGA-Institute for African Affairs, Hamburg, Germany

 

Published:

OSFPreprints, 28 March 2022

https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/gqrmp

 

Note:

This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review.

 

Abstract:

Putin attaches great importance to rebuilding Russia as a world power, including relations with Africa. But while the Soviet Union used to advocate socialist modernization in Africa, Moscow no longer offers socialist ideologies. Instead, it focuses on access to African elites, particularly authoritarian leaders. It also seeks to sway elections in its favour, particularly in fragile but resource-rich states. The Kremlin says it wants to avoid competing directly with other powers active in Africa. Instead, it wants to focus on countries where neither the West nor China dominates. There it expects to be able to work more effectively. But Russia, like China, is challenging Western norms, undermining US and EU sanctions. In addition, both strategic partners support non-interference in the internal affairs of states. In addition, Russia's relations with Africa have been motivated significantly by its interest in African resources and security markets. Russia's resurgence in Africa benefits not least from Islamist terrorism, for example, in the Sahel and Mozambique. It uses fragile states and ongoing conflicts to secure lucrative arms deals and mining concessions. Moscow signed military cooperation agreements with 21 African governments, including negotiations on establishing military bases. It uses paramilitary contractors to manipulate the course of local conflicts in its favour. Since 2015, Russian-African trade has doubled to around USD 20 billion per year. Russia exported $14 billion worth of goods and services and imported about $5 billion worth of African products. In return, Moscow can count on the support of African leaders in foreign policy. Thus, Eritrea voted against a UN General Assembly resolution strongly condemning Russia's war in Ukraine. 18 other African countries abstained, including Mali, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa.

AFRICA - Only two African countries sign 'The Declaration For the Future of the Internet'

Title:

Only two African countries sign 'The Declaration for the Future of the Internet'

Author:

Lenin Ndebele

Published:

News24, 2 May 2022

https://www.news24.com/news24/africa/news/only-two-african-countries-sign-the-declaration-for-the-future-of-the-internet-20220502

From the article:

Cabo Verde and Niger are the only two African countries that have signed 'The Declaration for the Future of the Internet'.

 

RWANDA, AFRICA - Huge gap between students knowing, versus avoiding, plagiarism [University World News, 28 April 2022]

Title:

Huge gap between students knowing, versus avoiding, plagiarism 

 

Author:

Wagdy Sawahel  

 

Published:

University World News, 28 April 2022

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220427142754147

 

From the article:

Comprehensive training for scientific and academic writing should be instituted in higher education institutions in Rwanda and across Africa to promote the importance of academic integrity in scholarly work, improve students’ ability to apply skills to avoid plagiarism, and increase opportunities for publication.  

 

This emerged from a 13 April study titled ‘Assessing Knowledge of and Attitudes Towards Plagiarism and Ability to Recognise Plagiaristic Writing Among University Students in Rwanda’, published in the Journal of Higher Education.

 

AFRICA - Why African scientists are studying the genes of African species, and how they do it [The Conversation, 2022]

Title:

Why African scientists are studying the genes of African species, and how they do it

 

Authors:

Anne Muigai 

Professor of Genetics, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology  

 

Appolinaire Djikeng 

Professor, University of Edinburgh  

 

ThankGod Echezona Ebenezer 

Bioinformatician, European Bioinformatics Institute

 

Published:

The Conversation, 19 April 2022

https://theconversation.com/why-african-scientists-are-studying-the-genes-of-african-species-and-how-they-do-it-180881

 

From the article:

DNA is the blueprint of life. All the information that an organism needs to survive, reproduce, adapt to environments or survive a disease is in its DNA.  

 

That’s why genomics – studying DNA and genes – is so important. It involves sequencing species’ parts or the entire genome. This is a scientific method to determine an organism’s DNA by breaking these components into fragments and determining their compositions or sequences. The fragments are then aligned and merged to reconstruct the original sequence.

Religion as a Security Threat: Case Studies of Extremist Christian Movements in Africa [Scholarly Article - Journal of Religion in Africa, 2022]

Title:

Religion as a Security Threat: Case Studies of Extremist Christian Movements in Africa

 

Author:

Hamdy A Hassan

Department of International Studies, Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

 

Published:

Journal of Religion in Africa, 24 March 2022

https://brill.com/view/journals/jra/51/3-4/article-p426_9.xml

 

Abstract:

Religious extremism presents an ideological perspective found in most major religions and is currently associated with various forms of religiously motivated acts of violence. A conceptual framework is adopted to study the warning features of religious extremism and apply it to case studies of Nigeria, Uganda, and the Central African Republic (CAR). The application of a religious jihadism model to Christianity provides a comparative basis for assessing Islamic radical jihadism, helping to understand religion as a security threat, with particular reference to Christian contexts and examples. Using extremist rhetoric and the mobilization of Christian rituals, members of religious groups attempt to renegotiate their position in the public space within a society from which they are excluded due to political, social, and economic dynamics based on their exclusion. This study finds no significant difference between Islamic jihad and Christian jihad, as each seeks to politically exploit religion for political ends.

 

AFRICA - Humanitarian studies programmes in short supply in Africa [University World News, March 2022]

Title: 

Humanitarian studies programmes in short supply in Africa  

 

Author: 

Wagdy Sawahel    

 

Published: 

University World News, 17 March 2022 

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220308103932835   

 

From the article: 

African universities are lagging behind in their offerings of a general masters in humanitarian studies qualification, which impedes the development of a professionalised workforce to deal with events on the continent requiring humanitarian interventions.

 

Google's African internet cable is heading to SA. First stop: Togo [fin24, March 2022]

Title:

Google's African internet cable is heading to SA. First stop: Togo 

 

Published:

fin24, 20 March 2022

https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/ict/googles-african-internet-cable-is-heading-to-sa-first-stop-togo-20220320

 

From the article:

The West African country of Togo will be the first landing of a new Google undersea connected to Europe, in what the tech giant and the Togolese government have hailed as a “major digital infrastructure transformation initiative”.

A Decade of Strengthening Higher Education and Research Capacity in Africa [Carnegie Corporation of New York, December 2021]

Title:

A Decade of Strengthening Higher Education and Research Capacity in Africa 

 

Published:

Carnegie Corporation of New York, 23 December 2021

https://www.carnegie.org/topics/topic-articles/african-academics/decade-strengthening-higher-education-and-research-capacity-africa/

 

From the article:

The Corporation has invested $134.43 million to help the continent develop and retain the next generation of African academics, build connections between members of the African academic diaspora and African universities, and facilitate higher education policy and research.

AFRICA - How Russia-Ukraine conflict could influence Africa’s food supplies [The Conversation, February 2022]

Title:

How Russia-Ukraine conflict could influence Africa’s food supplies

 

Author:

Wandile Sihlobo 

Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch University

 

Published:

The Conversation, 24 February 2022

https://theconversation.com/how-russia-ukraine-conflict-could-influence-africas-food-supplies-177843 

 

From the article:

Wheat and other grains are back at the heart of geopolitics following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries play a major role in the global agricultural market. African leaders must pay attention. 

 

University of Cape Town, South Africa - Climate change threatens African heritage sites

Title:

Climate change threatens African heritage sites    

 

Published:

University of Cape Town, 14 February 2022

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2022-02-14-climate-change-threatens-african-heritage-sites

 

From the article:

As the effects of climate change continue to cause significant damage across the globe, recent research led by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) revealed that heritage sites of “outstanding and universal value” located along the African coast are at threat of rising sea levels.

 

African scientists engage with the public to tackle local challenges [Nature, February 2022]

Title: 

African scientists engage with the public to tackle local challenges   

 

Author: 

Abdullahi Tsanni   

 

Published: 

Nature, 15 February 2022 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00415-w  

 

From the article: 

Science-engagement initiatives in Africa disseminate knowledge and bridge the gap between research and the continent’s people.

 

AFRICA - 5,000 PhD scholars to meet Africa’s growing AI needs [University World News, February 2022]

Title: 

5,000 PhD scholars to meet Africa’s growing AI needs  

 

Author: 

Eve Ruwoko  

 

Published: 

University World News, 1 February 2022 

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220130114337493   

 

From the article: 

If Africa wants to tap into the benefits of the digital economy to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), at least 5,000 PhD scholars in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning must be cultivated over the next five years, according to Professor Tom Ogada, executive director of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).

 

Chris Wyatt Africa Video (January 2022) - China in Africa: a view from the Middle Kingdom with Eric Olander, Managing Editor of The China Africa Project (CAP)

Title of video:

China in Africa: a view from the Middle Kingdom with Eric Olander

Interviewer:

Chris Wyatt

Interviewee:

Eric Olander

Managing Editor of The China Project (CAP), an independent, non-partisan multimedia news initiative dedicated to exploring every facet of Chinese engagement in Africa.

 

Duration of interview/video:

1:52:12

Published:

Chris Wyatt Africa, 21 January 2022

https://rumble.com/vszlps-china-in-africa-a-view-from-the-middle-kingdom-with-eric-olander.html

Do you know about the German Institute for Global and Area Studies / Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien?

Organization: 

German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)  

 

From the GIGA website: 

The GIGA is home to the largest non-university information centre for area studies and comparative area studies in Germany. The four regional libraries collect literature on economic, political, and social developments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The collection comprises about 200,000 books and approximately 11,000 online journals – plus more than 120,000 online documents.  

 

For more information: 

https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en 

 

The Economist - The World Ahead 2022 - Africa will continue to suffer coups and civil wars in 2022

Title:

Africa will continue to suffer coups and civil wars in 2022

 

Published:

The Economist, The World Ahead 2022, 8 November 2021

https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2021/11/08/africa-will-continue-to-suffer-coups-and-civil-wars-in-2022 

 

From the article:

Of the world's 15 most fragile states, 11 are in sub-Saharan Africa.