Conference: Africa and Europe - Cooperation in a Globalised World, 09/06

"AFRICA AND EUROPE. Cooperation in a globalised world."

Wednesday, 6 September, - Friday, 8 September 2006

A conference by the Scribani European Jesuit network, hosted by the Institute for Social and Development Studies (IGP) at the Munich School of Philosophy.

Venue:
Institute for Social and Development Studies (IGP) Munich School of Philosophy
Kaulbachstr. 31.a, 80539 Munich

** Advance notice. Please also forward this invitation to anyone who might be interested .**
(A fully detailed programme will be available by spring 2006)

THEMES AND AGENDA:

Keynote lectures:

• Claire Short, Member of Parliament, former Secretary of State for International Development, UK Ways of Cooperation between Africa and Europe
  
  
• Mgr Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kisangani and President of SECAM, DRC "Option for Africa" - Challenges for the Christian churches and

civil society

• Florence Butegwa, Regional Programme Director - UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Nigeria Women as pillars of cultural, religious and political development
  
  
• Prof. Stephen Castles, Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Migration as an African-European challenge
  
  
• Prof. Dr. Robert Kappel, Institute for Comparative Overseas Studies, Hamburg Globalisation of the economy and the fight against poverty in

Africa

• Valerian Shirima SJ, Provincial East African Province, Nairobi Relationship between Africa and Europe from an African point of

view

Workshops:

• New agents of justice for fragile states
• Migration and development
• HIV / AIDS as human challenge
• Violent conflicts and peace-building
• Inter-religious co-operation for human development

The Conference is open to all interested parties, attendance is free of charge.
The official language will be English.

For more information or to register please contact: s.eibl@hfph.mwn.de Please also visit our website:
http://www.hfph.mwn.de/igp/scribani/scribani_1.htm

Africa is often called the forgotten continent in Europe. Collapsing states, violent conflicts and natural disasters form the picture of Africa in Europe. Therefore Africa is from a political perspective, often seen only in terms of emergency aid. This conference wants to challenge the common picture, instead of that it wants to analyse sophisticatedly the main aspects of the relationship between Africa and Europe. In addition will be asked how these relationships could be organised in the future to develop a better partnership between both continents. For this reason a contribution will also be made to the scientific debate regarding the relationship between Europe and the poorest countries of the world. Besides the success of a new world order depends on how Europe behaves with those countries - in the words of the Federal President of Germany: the development of Africa will be the deciding factor of the humanity of the world. Since there is a priority for the preoccupation with Africa for the Society of Jesus, it appears meaningful for the analysis of the relationship between Europe and the developing countries to occupy with this continent more intensively.

Three main topics will be addressed at the conference, each focussing on a special aspect that contributes the relationship between Africa and Europe: The fight against poverty (esp. the integration of Africa into the world economy), the African-European migration politics and the role of women in Africa. These three aspects are particularly suitable not only due to their respective topicality, but also because their variability would contribute towards determining the range of the relationship.

The workshops in the third part of the conference will allow for a deepened preoccupation with the individual aspects of the three main topics. At the end of each discussion, the question will be asked, which necessary and meaningful political course of actions will be in each respective field. In the final presentation then this question will be taken up systematically and discussed with particular regards to the contribution the Christian churches and the Jesuits can play to organise the future of the relationship between Europe and Africa. In this way it is hoped that a contribution may be made towards the future organisation of Europe with regards to her relationship with Africa.

From: Michael Schöpf
Munich School of Philosphy
<schoepf@hfph.mwn.de>

Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.