Contact us      Members Login     Join ASG

Africa Study Group

Created in 2007 by Robert Fowler, the Africa Study Group (ASG) is a voluntary association of individuals who share a strong interest in Africa and want to promote closer co-operation between Canada and Africa in all relevant domains.

Upcoming events

Show more

WEBINAR | South Africa’s current Political Reality: The Government of National Unity (GNU) Today | Date: December 12th, 2024 / Time: 12pm – 1:30pm

An insightful discussion on the current state of South African politics! | In an informal, armchair-style conversation, guest speakers delved into how this unique political arrangement is shaping the nation’s future, giving you a deeper understanding of South Africa’s evolving political landscape.

Since the historic election of April 1994, when the African National Congress (ANC) rose to power under Nelson Mandela’s charismatic leadership, much has changed. In the recent May 2024 election, the ANC did not secure a majority for the first time. This led to the leaders of the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) choosing a groundbreaking power-sharing agreement. By forming the Government of National Unity (GNU), the leaders hoped it would provide a more flexible form of governance than a formal coalition and allow for independent political identities. In an informal, armchair-style conversation, our speakers will delve into how this unique political arrangement is shaping the nation’s future, giving you a deeper understanding of South Africa’s evolving political landscape.

SPEAKERS

David J Hornsby is the Vice-Provost & Associate Vice-President (Academic) and a professor in Carleton’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Hornsby was previously a faculty member and head of department at University College London’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy. He also spent eight years as a faculty member at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, in the Department of International Relations where he served as the Assistant Dean of Humanities (Teaching and Learning).

Dr. Oscar van Heerden is a scholar of International Relations (IR), where he focuses on International Political Economy, with an emphasis on Africa, SADC in particular. He completed his PhD & Masters studies at the University of Cambridge (UK) from 2006-2010. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Johannesburg under the NRF chair for International Relations and African Diplomacy (Prof Chris Landsberg). He entered active politics in 1985 as a student & youth activist. Moderator: Dr. Marcia Burdette, ASG Vice-Chair, former Canadian diplomat

ROUNDTABLE | The Central Role of Land in Africa’s Future | November 28 – 11:30 am to 1:30 pm EST

This session on “Land and Related Issues in Africa” focused on land and land rights as cross-cutting or preconditions to: (i) enable inclusive rural economic growth; (ii) foster household and community asset formation; (iii) improve natural resource management practices; (iv) strengthen community-based agency; and (v) shape the nature of food production and household livelihood systems. The speakers shed light on the many issues surrounding land claims, in particular the complex system of Inter-locking rights and interests relating to access to and ownership of land giving particular attention to access, inheritance and ownership by women.

PANELISTS

  • Eva Maria Anyango Okoth is currently the Africa Regional Coordinator, based in Nairobi, of the International Land Coalition.  She has extensive experience in environmental rights, climate justice, and land rights, having worked with grassroots communities impacted by large-scale projects in Africa as well as supporting networks of people’s organizations to advocate for people centered land governance.
  • Dr. Mwenda Makathimo is the Executive Director of Land Development and Governance Institute, based in Nairobi. He has wide experience in practice and research on issues relating to land and environment policy development, land management and administration, governance, assets and property valuation, real estate management, boundary delimitation and mapping.
  • Ogochukwu Udenigwe is a global health researcher and Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Australia. She completed a PhD in International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Her research focuses on maternal health inequities, gender and inclusion, knowledge use, and health policy.

MODERATOR

  • Bruce H. Moore is a civil society activist, former United Nations Diplomat and NGO Executive Director.  Most recently, he served on the Boards of Transparency International Canada; the Institute for Global Food Security at McGill University; Canadians for Tax Fairness, the Forum for Democratic Global Governance and the Huairou Commission, an international alliance of grassroots women’s organizations.  He was the first Director of the Rome-based International Land Coalition from 1998-2008, a global alliance of civil society, UN and intergovernmental organisations working to enable poor rural families to gain their land and resource rights.

On October 5, the Africa Study Group convened a conference on the importance and role of the Canadian African diaspora in trade and foreign policy. More than 75 in-person and 100 online participants attended the event. Conference participants ranged from leaders of Canadian African diaspora organizations to the Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Canada, ambassadors and senior representatives of African countries.

Honorable Robert Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Cheryl Urban, Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) for Sub-Saharan Africa represented the Canadian government. In their remarks, they acknowledged the importance of strengthening the role of the Canadian African Diaspora in international trade and foreign affairs relations between Canada and Africa.

The conference was organized in collaboration with the Conflict Research Center at Saint Paul University and brought together highly regarded academics, business people and civil society members. Two panel discussions explored the themes of trade, economic cooperation with African countries and strengthening Canadian African diaspora contributions.

Vision Paper of the Africa Study Group on the New Strategy for Canada’s Engagement with Africa | September 2022: The Africa Study Group (ASG) welcomes the Government’s recent decision to develop a new strategy for how Canada can most effectively engage with the 54 countries in Africa. Click below to download our suggestions as the Government undertakes this very important and long over-due initiative.

For more information, contact the Africa Study Group at africa.sg.gr[at]gmail.com.

Translate »