MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 02/28/06

Issue No. 8 Spring 2006
February 28, 2006

Weekly News from the AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 100 INTERNATIONAL CENTER

EAST LANSING MI 48824-1035

For back issues, see archive <http://africa.msu.edu>

BULLETIN CONTENTS

EVENTS

MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
FELLOWSHIPS

EVENTS

Feb-mid-March

MSU Libraries (Africana) presents: "Zulu Vistas: Scenes from the Making of the 1927 Silent Movie SILIVA THE ZULU." The Exhibition is located on the 4th Floor, West Wing of the library (outside of Fine Arts Library). For details, contact Peter Limb at 432-6123, ext. 239.

March 1, Wednesday

"Hausa Table," every Wednesday brown bag luncheon with Dr. Ibro Chekaraou. Hausa-phones in the Lansing/East Lansing area meet to practice their Hausa in order to maintain or improve their oral skills in the language, 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.

March 1, Wednesday

"Meza ya Kiswahili" (Swahili table) every Wednesday in the Crossroads Food Court, 12:30 - 1:30. For information, contact Professor Deo Ngonyani, e-mail: ngonyani@msu.edu or call 353-4051.

March 1, Wednesday

"Transitioning from Graduate Student to New Faculty Member: Strategies for Success in a New Faculty Role," WID Graduate Associates Job Skill Building Workshop Series, presentation by Dr. Ann Austin, Professor, Educational Administration, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m., Room 303 International Center. For more information, e-mail wid@msu.edu or call (517) 353-5040.

March 2, Thursday

"Designing the Last Mile of the Supply Chain in Africa: Firm Expansion and Managerial Inferences from a Grocer Model," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Anthony Ross, Faculty, Marketing and Supply Chain Management (College of Business, MSU) and Dave Weatherspoon, Faculty (Agricultural Economics, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.

March 9, Thursday

Spring Break Week. No Brown Bag.

March 16, Thursday

"Reflections on the Struggle of Democracy under the South African Apartheid Government" African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Dr. Renfrew Christie, Dept. of History and Dean of Research (U. of Western Cape), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.

MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS

2006 On-line Summer Course Announcement

RD876, International Rural Development is a 3 credit graduate seminar available every semester on the MSU Angel Program. The course simulates a small group of students sitting around a table with the professor, who has years of hands-on experience designing and implementing many development programs and projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

For more information about this graduate seminar, see the preview at https://angel.msu.edu or e-mail Prof. George H. Axinn at: axinn@msu.edu.

Explore Africa at MSU, Teacher Opportunity

Teachers are invited to a unique learning experience this summer. Explore Africa at MSU is a residential program for gifted and talented students, and offers teachers the opportunity to join the daily academic and cultural portions. The program runs June 18-24, 2006, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., daily.

Participants will attend daily language classes in Swahili; participate in sessions on African literature; develop self-selected projects on African topics; participate in African music and dance, as well as assist an African chef in making a traditional dinner. Teachers will be able to team with other teachers, while students team with other students.

Teachers may take the course in one of three ways: 1) For no credit; 2) for 3 SB-CEUs at a cost or $270.00; 3) for 1,2 or 3 MSU Lifelong Education Graduate credits for TE 890 (Independent study) at a cost of $329.50 per credit.

For enrollment, registration or other information, contact John Metzler, (517) 353-1700 or e-mail:
metzler@msu.edu to enroll. (Have your PID and PAN ready).

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

110th Adwa Victory Celebration, March 4th, at MSU

Greetings to all Ethiopians in Michigan and Windsor Canada and all friends of Ethiopia. Ethiopians in the Lansing Area and Vicinity (ECLAV) would like to invite you and your families and friends to participate in the upcoming 110th Adwa victory celebrations which is going to be held in East Lansing, Michigan on Saturday, March 4, 2006, beginning promptly at 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.. The event will be held on the Michigan State University campus in the Erickson Kiva, Erickson Hall (Corner of Shaw and Farm Lanes, west of the International Center). This is a celebration of an important Ethiopian historical event (Adwa Victory 1896). The program is below:

Part I - 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

• Historic Pictorial Exhibition
• Paper Presentation by Ethiopian scholars and guest speakers
• Presentation of Haile Gerima's film entitled "Adwa Victory"
• Poems by Thewodros and Zelalem from Windsor, Canada
• Poems and short talks by newly arrived families from Yemen to Lansing

Part II - 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

• Lunch
• Music by fitsum and Teshome

Part III - 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

• Seminar and open discussions

The guest speaker is Mr. Abate Kassa from New York (Representative of Kinijit). Mr Abate Kassa, a veteran Ethiopian Social activist, holds degrees in Economics and Political Science. He served for several decades as a practitioner, consultant and educator in business management. He is President of his own consulting and management training business, established in New York in 1973.

The Registration fee is $10.00, includes the cost of Lunch (soft drink and water at a reasonable price). For any questions, please call Birhan Mekuria at (517) 214- 5392. RSVP to Birhan Mekuria if you plan to attend.

2006 Request for Applications: New IDEAS (Innovative Development and Engagement Across Sectors) Partnership Program

Higher Education for Development (HED), in cooperation with USAID's Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade, Office of Education, is issuing the New IDEAS Partnership Program RFA for U.S. colleges, universities and community colleges, together with their overseas higher education partners, to address compelling development issues in USAID presence countries. Applications may address issues in any USAID development sector.

The purpose of the RFA is to:(1) Allow U.S. colleges, universities and community colleges to propose their own partnership programs that strengthen the capacity of higher education institutions to address development issues in any USAID presence country; (2) Allow the higher education community to demonstrate to USAID unique or exceptionally innovative approaches and ideas; and (3) Encourage broader participation by the higher education community in development activities.

HED anticipates making ten (10) awards of up to $125,000 each over a three-year period, contingent on USAID funding. The application deadline is April 25, 2006, 5:00 p.m. EDT. More information, including the RFA, is available on the HED website:
http://www.aascu.org/ALO/RFPs/newIDEAS/newIDE AS06.htm

CONFERENCES

African Children in African Media- Ohio University June 15-17, 2006

The conference considers how African children are represented and underrepresented in African audio- visual and print media. The sessions will explore the role of state, private, and NGO owned media institutions and organizations, and examine their impact on the lives of African children. Educational media, child produced media, media for development purposes are among some of the panel topics. Papers from scholarly and practitioner perspectives are welcome.

The expected outcomes will include research and production projects designed to amplify unique children's voices and cultures, through media created locally and shared globally. For inquiries and information contact conference coordinator Ghirmai Negash at negashg@ohio.edu or Acacia Nikoi at nikoi@ohio.edu. The deadline to submit abstracts is April 1, 2006. For additional information including registration, housing, and travel information visit the Institute's website at: http://www.ohio.edu/afrchild.

International Conference - Western Michigan Univ.

The WMU Center for African Development Policy Research (CADPR) announces an International Symposium on "Challenges and Opportunities Development and Peaceful Conflict Resolution in the Horn of Africa" to be held August 3-5, 2006 at Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. The Horn of Africa (compromising of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti) is one of the most strategic areas of Africa and the global economy. It is a bridge between Africa and the Middle East, as well as the oil fields of the Persian Gulf. It is a culturally and historically rich region of the world with great natural resource potential. It is a region of diversity in culture, languages, and religions. In spite of these potentials, it is currently one of the poorest and unstable sub-region of Africa. The objectives of the conference are to: 1. Raise awareness about critical issues of conflict that drives conflict driven underdevelopment and poverty in the Horn of Africa sub-region, 2. Provide a forum for constructive and informed dialogue on key policy options for peaceful conflict resolution for future development and progress, 3. Exchange research papers on the various dimensions of Conflict and Human development, and 4. Build consensus on policy options that are crucial for future progress in the Horn for peaceful conflict resolution, development, peace and democratic governance both among states and within states. The Symposium is intended for academics, policy makers, investors, and donors and others interested in contemporary issues in the Horn of Africa.

The Conference Conveners invite proposals on development issues and topics related to the following sub-themes: 1.Conflict, peaceful conflict resolution and Development; 2.Historical and cultural Origins of Conflict and lessons for Peaceful conflict resolution; 3. The impact of conflict on economic development and progress; 4. Managing Ethnic and Religious conflict; 5. Terror, Conflict and Conflict Resolution; 6. The Impact of globalization on regional and state conflicts; 7. The relationship between governance and human conflict; 8. Natural and humanitarian disasters and Conflict; 9. Managing Conflict in national Elections; 10. The Role of US in Peaceful Conflict Resolution and Development; 11. The impact of Globalization, conflict and terrorism and; other topics related to the Conference Theme.

Each contributor is invited to complete and submit the participation form (see website) and one typed double- spaced copy of the proposal. Abstracts that do not include a completed Participation Form will be regarded as incomplete and will not be accepted. Visit http://www.wmich.edu/hcenter/cadpr/call.for.papers.2 006.html for registration, specific venue, and other information. Please send all abstracts or proposals by April 15, 2006 to: International Conference on Conflict Resolution and Development in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, Center for African Development Policy Research (CADPR), Haenicke Institute for Global Education (HINGE), Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA; Fax: (616) 387-0630; e- mail: sisay.asefa@wmich.edu.
All abstracts may be sent by electronic mail to SISAY.ASEFA@WMICH.EDU.

FELLOWSHIPS

Scholarships in Human Rights for Women

The Native Leadership Scholarship (NLS) program creates educational opportunities for women around the world who are grassroots leaders, organizers, and activists demonstrating financial need. NLS invests in women's leadership and leadership development by supporting non-doctoral graduate education in human rights, sustainable development, and public health.

Scholarship recipients enroll in programs of study that cover a range of human rights and development issues at the non-doctoral graduate level including gender, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, child exploitation, human and drug trafficking, infant and maternal mortality, microbial diseases, conflict resolution, environmental justice, global fair trade, agroecology, and sustainable development. NLS is a secular program and does not support programs of study that promote specific religious beliefs.

All applicants are invited to fill out pre-applications on the website listed below. NLS pre-applications for the 2006-07 academic year will be available through March 25, 2006 on the website or by request from: info@nativeleaders.org.

For more information please visit:
http://www.nativeleaders.org; or contact: Aline Carton, Program Manager, Native Leadership Scholarship, Channel Foundation, 603 Stewart St., Suite 415, Seattle, WA 98101, USA; Tel: (00)1-206-621-5447; Fax: (00)1- 206-621-2664; e-mail: info@nativeleaders.org.

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