Habari no.9 - September/October
Roundtable on trade unions and Labour Issues in Africa
In light of Africa’s booming economies and, according to IMF figures, with six out of ten of the world’s fastest-growing economies being in Africa in 2011, it has become increasingly urgent to consider such growth from a labour perspective. Although the Decent Work agenda is gaining importance, questions about the extent to which labour can benefit from the current economic boom in Africa remain largely unanswered. Read more
Agreement National Research Foundation
7 October, at the occasion of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu's 82nd birthday, VU University Amsterdam, represented by its Chairman of the Board, Drs. René Smit (left on the photo 1), signed an agreement with the National Research Foundation (NRF), represented by its CEO, Dr. Albert van Jaarsveld, for the financial support of 100 South African PhDs for the next five years. Read more
Liberia meeting and book launch, 18 October 2013
On 18 October 2013, a special afternoon was organized about Liberia, on the occasion of the launch of the book Liberia: van vrijheidsideaal naar verloren paradijs (Liberia: from ideal of liberty to lost paradise), written by Fred van der Kraaij. The book is written in Dutch and is a “personal story” of the author, who lived and worked for years in the country. It deals with the political history of the past decades and tries to give an answer to the question why things could go so wrong. The author finds the answer in the origin of the Liberian state: from the onset the country was ruled by a small, authoritarian Americo-Liberian elite, with the exclusion of the indigenous population. Read more
Winners of the Africa Thesis Award
Esther Bergstra and Roxanne Hornman (Wageningen University, Landscape Architecture & Spatial Planning) have won the Africa Thesis Award 2013. For their thesis Cyclone Resilient Landscape: the Case of Vatomandry, Madagascar, Bergstra and Hornman conducted research into the effects of cyclones in Madagascar. They focused on the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programme of the non-governmental organization CARE, that aims to diminish the effects of cyclones. Read more
Seminar: Kalahari Capers: Researching the Bushmen
Keyan Tomaselli gave a seminar on the Bushmen of the Kalahari on 24 October. The seminar was recorded on video, so if you missed it or want to hear it again, click here
New web dossier: Social Protection in Africa
Social Protection is high on the development agenda at present. Governments, NGOs, donor agencies and the private sector in African countries have been involved in social protection initiatives which run alongside local and informal mechanisms of social support. There is an emerging consensus that a minimum package of essential social protection should cover essential health care, and benefits for children, informal workers, the unemployed, older persons and persons with disabilities. Read more
The annual Afrikadag will take place on 2 November. This year’s edition will be held in the Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen in Amsterdam. The Afrikadag will feature lectures, debates, workshops, music and fashion. The ASC will be present with a bookstand with books, brochures and Africa map posters and André Leliveld will be giving a lecture on labour unions in Africa. The day’s general theme is ‘Lets Work!’ Read more
Debating competition: The inclusion of African youth in Europe
The future of African youth in Europe is in your hands! From 15 to 20 November 2013 the International Debate Education Association in the Netherlands (IDEA Netherlands) organizes a series of debate trainings and debates in Amsterdam and Leiden. The purpose is to bring people with a shared interest in the position of African youth in Europe closer together and to engage in a meaningful dialogue with policy makers, politicians, academics and professionals! The program focusses on (hidden) exclusion/discrimination against youth with an African background, especially in the educational and employment spheres. The project consists of four parts: preview debates, a training weekend, a debate competition with a final public debate, and an advocacy part.
NVAS Afrikastudiedag 2013: Everyday Africa, and presentation Africa Thesis Award 2013
The NVAS Afrikastudiedag will be held in Leiden on 23 November. This day will feature lectures on a variety of African countries and the presentation of the Africa Thesis Award 2013. If you are interested in attending, please register here before 31 October. Read more
Since September, the ASC has been hosting three new visiting fellows. One of them is anthropologist Samson Bezabeh, whose work focuses on state-society interaction. He is currently engaged in revising his PhD dissertation into a book monograph. Our second visiting fellow is Issouf Binate. He obtained his PhD in History at the Université Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and is an assistant at the Université Alassane Outtara in Bouaké. The third visiting fellow is Massoud Omar. He was born in Ghana and attended the Institute d’études Politiques, in Bordeaux, where he obtained his MPhil in 1987 and his PhD in 1990. Read more about the visiting fellows
New acquisitions of the ASC Library
ASA Online (abstracts of recent publications)
Posted on 25 October 2013, last modified on 14 November 2013