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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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Clive Williams on ‘Poaching and wildlife crime in southern Africa’
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Date & time
6–7pm Wednesday 4 December 2019Venue
Fellows Road Lecture Theatre 2, Building 6, ANU College of Law, 6 Fellows Road, Acton‘This presentation looks at wildlife crime in southern Africa, with particular focus on South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe – drawing from Professor Williams’ recent research visit to the area. The presentation also looks at why the international illegal trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth US$23 billion a year, who facilitates it, and who benefits.’
For more information see
https://law.anu.edu.au/event/seminar/poaching-and-wildlife-crime-southern-africa
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Beyongo Dynamic’s thesis on Chinese investments in Zambian copper mining
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Beyongo Dynamic’s 2018 thesis
‘Regulating foreign direct investments in resource-dependent African countries : the case of chinese investments in Zambia’s copper mining sector’ is available digitally at:
https://library.anu.edu.au/search~S1/?searchtype=Y&searcharg=Beyongo+Dynamic&searchscope=4&sortdropdown=-&SORT=DZ&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=YBeyongo+Dynamic%26SORT%3DDABSTRACT
Several studies have examined the diverse social, economic and political impacts of Chinese investments on African countries. While some studies argue that Chinese investments has positively impacted on these countries, others claim that it has led to the weakening of local regulations and local industries. Throughout many aspects of this debate, scholars and commentators tend to consider African actors and agents as passive objects shaped by Chinese investments, often neglecting the subtle ways in which local actors and institutions interact with Chinese investments to both resist and shape various outcomes. This thesis addresses this oversight in the specific context of safety and environmental regulations of Chinese investments in Zambia’s copper mining sector. The thesis adopts a political economy approach, which contends that host country actors and institutions both resist and cooperate with foreign companies to shape investments practices. In particular, some local actors have responded to Foreign Direct investments (FDI) by re-vamping domestic institutions to counter more effectively the negative impact of FDI. I use this approach to examine how local actors have responded to events and practices involving two Chinese mining companies operating in Zambia……..’
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Zambian PhD scholar: Audrey Kalindi
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ANU scholarship holder Ms Audrey Kalindi has arrived in Canberra. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Population Studies at the University of
Zambia, where she is involved in teaching and research, and is the course
convener of a new postgraduate diploma in programme monitoring and evaluation offered by the University.
Audrey’s research topic on understanding the institutional and community factors associated with maternal mortality in Zambia is important in contributing to the scarce knowledge base about maternal and childbirth outcomes in poor and developing countries.