Month: 07:52 PM

China Week at Rhodes University

The Confucius Institute of Rhodes University (CIRU) is organizing from the 26th to 30th September 2011 the China Week. It’s an important occasion for scholars and students to discuss around some aspects of the relations between Africa and Cina. The growing up of these exchanges between Africa and Asia needs deep debates and mutual understanding at various levels.

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2004 passed away

Professor Maathai passed away on sunday 25th september at the Nairobi Hospital, “after a prolonged and bravely borne struggle with cancer”. Maathai’s departure is untimely and a very great loss to all who knew her in the world.

She started the Green Belt Movement in 1977, working with women to improve their livelihoods by increasing their access to resources like firewood for cooking and clean water. She became a great advocate for better management of natural resources and for sustainability, equity, and justice. That is why she has been appointed for the Nobel Peace Prize on 2004. It was the first time that the Price has been given for environmental question.

She was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964). She earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966) and pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi where she also taught veterinary anatomy.

People around the world and especially in Africa will remember her for her civic, social and human engagements.

CODRESIA’S publications on line

Since the beginning of the year 2011, all the new publications of CODESRIA are free accessible online in full text. CODESRIA is the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa is headquartered in Dakar Senegal. It was established in 1973 as an independent Pan-African research organisation with a primary focus on the social sciences, broadly defined. It is recognised not only as the pioneer African social research organisation but also as the apex non-governmental centre of social knowledge production on the continent

www.codesria.org/spip.php?rubrique53&lang=en

Solo Randrasana passed away

Ignace Solo Randrasana, dean of the Madagascan filmmakers, passed away the 26th august 2011. He was doing a lot for the promotion of cinema in Madagascar.
He founded “l’Institut Supérieur de Cinématographie de l’Océan Indien” which from this academic year has to prepare filmmakers. He won in 1973 an Award at the Festival of Cinema and Television of Ouadadougou (Fespaco) in Burkina Faso with his fiction Mad 47. The movie is about the violence made by french army against the local populations where there where claming indipendance from France in 1947.
.