The September 2018 issue of  the Research Supplement of The Australian was devoted to ‘The Stars of 2018’.

Pages 36-38 were devoted to Australia’s Australia’s Research Field Leaders and Institutions in the Humanities, Arts and Literature. Dr Ceri Shipton of the ANU was named as the Field Leader in African Studies and History, while Charles Sturt University was nominated as the Leading Institution.

Dr Shipton has worked on research projects in East Africa, Arabia, India, and Polynesia, and on periods from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Neolithic.

 He is a researcher at the School of Culture, History and Language at the ANU. In article entitled ‘Kenyan cave sheds new light on dawn of modern man’ he said that ‘the Panga ya Saidi cave sequence dates back 78,000 years and is the only known site in East Africa with an unbroken archaeological record of human habitation.’

https://chl.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/976/kenyan-cave-sheds-new-light-dawn-modern-man

Just one example of his African work is ‘Taphonomy and Behaviour at the Acheulean Site of Kariandusi, Kenya’, African Archaeological Review, 2011. Acheulean refers to a range of Paleolithic tool-making traditions spreading from Africa to the Middle East and Asian.

This is the first of the ANU’s African Discussion Series

Topic: Lighting the way? Understanding energy and development in Kenya

Date: Friday September 28, 2018

Speaker Dr Edwina Fingleton-Smith.

Edwina is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Fenner School of Environment and Society. Prior to starting her PhD at Fenner, Edwina completed a Masters of Environmental Law and Sustainable Development at SOAS (University of London) and a Bachelor of Development Studies at the Australian National University Edwina previously held a position as a research associate with international development NGO Practical Action working on the development of market-based energy access projects and the links between women’s economic empowerment and energy access.

Venue: Fenner Seminar room 1.01, Building 141, Fenner School of Environment and Society   Map  https://studentvip.com.au/anu/main/maps/83402

Time: 6pm – 7.30pm. Light refreshments will be served around 7pm.

Abstract
Of the 1.06 billion people who don’t have access to electricity globally, nearly half reside in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity and in many rural areas that number can be as high as 95%. This makes energy access one of the most critical areas for development across the continent if it wants to meet its development targets. Over the past several years, energy access has risen as a global priority, most notably evidenced in its status as a stand-alone Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7). Despite the increasing importance on energy for development we have little understanding of how to use it effectively to maximize development outcomes. Based on qualitative research conducted in Kenya, this presentation will ask if we need to reassess our assumptions about the value of energy for improving development outcomes. This includes areas such as the capacity of energy to improve productivity and economic development, the role of energy in improving women’s lives, and what theoretical models around energy use in developed countries can tell us about energy use by the billion people who don’t have access to electricity and the 2.7 billion people who still cook over traditional fuels.

The ACFID NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2018 will be held 30-31 October 2018 at USW, Sydney.

ACFID is the Australian Council for International Development and this year’s theme i is People, Planet Peace. For more details see https://conference.acfid.asn.au/

It is always a pleasant surprise when Africa gets a mention, and this year Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta , ‘Known internationally for his advocacy to defend the rights of the people of Timor-Leste’ will be joined by Professor ‘Fumni Olonisakin of King’s College London for a facilitated discussion on conflict, security and development. See https://conference.acfid.asn.au/program/

From the King’s College website  https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/alc/people/core-staff-kings/funmi-olonisakin.aspx

‘Professor ’Funmi Olonisakin is Vice-President and Vice-Principal International and Professor of Security, Leadership & Development at King’s College London. She is also founding Director of the African Leadership Centre (ALC), which aims to build the next generation of African scholars and analysts generating cutting edge knowledge for conflict, security and development in Africa. Prior to this, she was Programme Director of the ALC King’s College London MSc programmes on Security, Leadership and Society and MSc Leadership and Development as well as the Postgraduate Research Programme on Leadership Studies with Reference to Security and Development.’

‘Prior to 2013, ” ..she worked in the Office of the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict overseeing the Africa work of that Office. In this role, she facilitated the establishment of the National Commission for War Affected Children in Sierra Leone and the Child Protection Unit in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). She previously held research positions in the Centre for Defence Studies, King’s College London, where she co-directed the African Security Unit; and at the Institute for Strategic Studies in the University of Pretoria, South Africa and the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos Nigeria.” ‘

‘Trained in Political Science (Bsc. Ife, Nigeria) and War Studies (PhD, King’s College London), Olonisakin has positioned her work to serve as a bridge between academia and the world of policy and practice. Her academic research and writing has contributed to strategic thinking in post-conflict contexts and in the work of regional organizations such as ECOWAS and the African Union.’