• ANU Africa Network

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    This website was established in 2013 by David Lucas, and renovated and relaunched in 2020 as part of a project to increase awareness of Africa and African studies in the ANU and the ACT, funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    Another outcome of that project was a major research report, published in August 2021, African Studies at the Australian National University and in the Australian Capital Territory, analyzing the past, present and future of the study of Africa at the Australian National University and the wider Australian University sector.

    The major innovation on this updated website is the creation of the ACT Africa Expert Directory which lists experts on Africa from institutions around the ACT, primarily the ANU. We will continue to curate this list, offering a key resource for media, government and non-government organizations seeking expert facts and opinions on Africa. Individuals can request to be added to the list by contacting the website managers.

    Another notable addition is the expanded directory of PhD theses on Africa produced in the territory’s universities, a solid measure of the vitality of the study of Africa in the city of Canberra.

    Reviewing these directories, it is revealing to note that the vast majority of research on Africa is produced by disciplinary experts (environmental scientists, economists, demographers, etc.) rather than area studies experts. This means that the study of Africa is woven into the fabric of the research culture of the ANU and the ACT’s other universities in ways that are not necessarily apparent.


  • African Mining Conferences – Clarifying the Realities and the Cost of Omission

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    Date: 12:30-1:30pm, Thursday, 27 July, 2017
    Venue: Acton Theater, J.G. Crawford Building

    Speaker

    Margaret O’Callaghan — Visiting Fellow; Resources, Environment, and Development Program (RE&D); Crawford School of Public Policy

    Margaret O’Callaghan formerly worked for AusAID and then for the United Nations in Papua New Guinea and Zambia. In recent years she has been researching the socio-economic impact of a mining boom in North Western Province, Zambia. The subject of the role of mining conferences came up during this research.

    Abstract

    This seminar will provide an overview of the main types of mining conferences which are held about African mining, mostly in Africa, and question whether the benefits participants promote to potential investors are realistic. The speaker will then focus on the corporate Mining Indaba held in Cape Town and explain how the Alternative Indaba which is run by NGOs has influenced the social content of that major corporate conference and why that has been an important development.

    Crawford School Contact:

    ida.kubiszewski@anu.edu.au


  • Inquiry into Australia’s trade and investment relationships with the countries of Africa

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    On 13 June 2017 the Senate referred the following matter to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry and report by 14 February 2018:

    Australia’s trade and investment relationships with the countries of Africa.

    Submissions to this inquiry close on 18 August 2017.

    The committee invites individuals and organisations to send in their opinions and proposals in writing (submissions). For more information see

    https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/TradeinvestmentAfrica

    Committee Secretariat contact:

    Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
    Department of the Senate
    PO Box 6100
    Parliament House
    Canberra ACT 2600

    Phone: +61 2 6277 3535
    Fax: +61 2 6277 5818
    fadt.sen@aph.gov.au

     


  • HIGH COMMISSIONER TO MAURITIUS

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    The Foreign Minister has announced the appointment of Ms Jenny Dee as Australia’s next High Commissioner to Mauritius with non-resident accreditation to Comoros, Madagascar and Seychelles.

    Ms Dee is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and was most recently Director, External Budget Section. Her overseas experience includes a posting in Harare.

    “Australia works closely with Mauritius and its island neighbours on maritime security, economic growth and sustainable development, including through the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and the newly established Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub.”

    https://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2017/jb_mr_170626.aspx