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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.
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Opposing Tyranny: Lessons from 50 years of the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe
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A presentation and book launch by David Coltart
Former Zimbabwe Senator and human rights lawyerDate: Wednesday 9 August, 6:00pm
Refreshments served from 5:30pmVenue: AIIA Conference Centre – Stephen House
32 Thesiger Court
Deakin ACT 2600“Ever since Ian Smith unilaterally declared independence from Britain over 50 years ago on 11 November 1965, the country now known as Zimbabwe has been in turmoil. There were great hopes when Zimbabwe obtained its independence from Britain in 1980 that Robert Mugabe would steer the country down a new road of democracy and tolerance. However the last 37 years of Mugabe’s rule have been marked by violence, electoral fraud, corruption, abuse of power and the collapse of a once thriving economy.
Senator David Coltart was born in Zimbabwe in 1957 and has lived through this tumultuous period, eventually becoming Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture in the government of national unity brokered by the AU and SADC in 2009. His recently published book The Struggle Continues: 50 Years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe sheds new light on why Zimbabwe remains in such an oppressed state. The presentation will draw on the lessons learnt by Coltart from his unique insider’s perspective as a human rights lawyer and opposition politician in Zimbabwe since 1983.”
The book will be launched by Matthew Neuhaus, First Assistant Secretary, Middle East and Africa Division, DFAT and former Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe.________________________________________
This is an AIIA ACT Branch event.
Registration is encouraged through the following link:
https://aiiaact.tidyhq.com/public/schedule/events/14538-opposing-tyranny-lessons-from-50-years-of-struggle-for-democracy-in-zimbabweRegistration is also available at the door.
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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 BuildingSpeaker
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:
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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 2600Phone: +61 2 6277 3535
Fax: +61 2 6277 5818
fadt.sen@aph.gov.au