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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211103T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211103T123000
DTSTAMP:20220921T174756Z
CREATED:20211103T150000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220921T174756Z
UID:10000792-1635937200-1635942600@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:2021 SSRC Fellow Lecture: Pratap Bhanu Mehta
DESCRIPTION:Pratap Bhanu Mehta\nLaurence S. Rockefeller Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University\nSpeaks on: \nUniversities and Intellectual Life in The Age of Populism\nWednesday\, November 3\, 2021 \n11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (ET) \nfollowed by an informal conversation with \nIra Katznelson\nFormer SSRC President\nRuggles Professor of Political Science and History\, Columbia University  \nAnna Harvey\nSSRC President\nProfessor of Politics and Director\, Public Safety Lab\, New York University \n  \nEvent Recording\n \n\nAbout the Lecture\nAcross the world\, from Hungary to India\, United States to Brazil\, universities are increasingly becoming sites for battles over populism. Although the contexts vary\, the tropes deployed by populists in their engagement with the university are uncannily similar. Most of the discussion focuses on the institutional implications of populist politics for universities: regulation of syllabi\, codes governing free speech\, funding decisions\, erosion of autonomy of the university\, and a general attack on expertise and elitism. By the same token\, universities are often thought to relate to populism not as communities of scholars pursuing a vocation\, but rather as a privileged group defending its privileges. How did the university come to be a site of populist contestation? This lecture will place the populist interest in universities in the broader context of the relationship between universities and nationalism in the twentieth century. It will offer some comparative reflections on the phenomenon\, and argue that universities will have to confront some deeper contradictions if they are to overcome the challenge of populism. \nAbout Pratap Bhanu Mehta\nPratap Bhanu Mehta is Laurence S. Rockefeller Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. He was previously vice-chancellor of Ashoka University and president of the Center for Policy Research\, Delhi. He has been a professor at Harvard University\, Jawaharlal Nehru University\, and the Global Faculty Program at the New York University School of Law. Dr. Mehta has published widely in political theory\, constitutional law\, governance and political economy\, international affairs\, and on society and politics in India. \nHis most recent publications include The Oxford Handbook to the Indian Constitution (co-edited with Madhav Khosla and Sujit Choudhary)\, Rethinking Public Institutions in India (with Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav)\, Non-Alignment 2.0 (with Srinath Raghavan\, Sunil Khilnani\, et al.)\, The Oxford Companion to Politics in India (with Niraja Jayal)\, Shaping the Emerging World: India and the Multilateral Order (with Bruce Jones and W.P.S. Sidhu)\, and The Burden of Democracy. \nDr. Mehta has also served in a number of policy roles in India\, including as a member convenor of the Prime Minister of India’s National Knowledge Commission\, member of the National Security Advisory Board\, and member of the Lyngdoh Committee. He chairs the jury for the Holberg Prize. \nDr. Mehta has engaged prolifically in public affairs. He is an editorial consultant to Indian Express\, where he writes a regular column. In addition\, he has written for the Financial Times and a number of leading national and international publications. He is on the editorial board of the American Political Science Review and Journal of Democracy. \nDr. Mehta holds a BA (first class) in Philosophy\, Politics\, and Economics from Oxford and a PhD in politics from Princeton. He received the 2010 Malcolm S. Adiseshiah Award and the 2011 Infosys Prize for Social Sciences–Political Science.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2021-ssrc-fellow-lecture/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211109T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211109T170000
DTSTAMP:20250213T195202Z
CREATED:20211029T133048Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250213T195202Z
UID:10000791-1636473600-1636477200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Arts Research with Communities of Color (ARCC) Fellowship Public Information Session 2
DESCRIPTION:The SSRC is proud to host a public information session answering your questions about the new Arts Research with Communities of Color (ARCC) Fellowship\, supporting year-long\, qualitative studies of arts organizations of color funded by the Wallace Foundation. \nThe upcoming public information session is scheduled for Tuesday\, November 9 at 4 p.m. ET. The session will cover details on application guidelines\, eligibility requirements\, and answer any questions that participants may have. Register here.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/arts-research-with-communities-of-color-arcc-fellowship-public-information-session-2/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211119T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211119T100000
DTSTAMP:20211119T170142Z
CREATED:20211119T170104Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211119T170142Z
UID:10000797-1637308800-1637316000@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Expert Brainstorming on Somalia (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:On 19 November 2021\, CPPF convened an expert briefing on Somalia with Amb. James Swan\, the UN Secretary-General’s Representative in Somalia.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/expert-brainstorming-on-somalia-vtc/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211122T073000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211122T104500
DTSTAMP:20211122T153143Z
CREATED:20211122T153143Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211122T153143Z
UID:10000798-1637566200-1637577900@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Workshop on International Community Engagement and Support to the P-DDRCS (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:On 22 November 2021\, CPPF held a preparatory workshop to unpack definitions and generate a shared understanding amongst the international community in DRC of ‘community-based’ approaches to DDR\, reintegration\, CVR\, and stabilization\, based on evidence and lesson learned.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/workshop-on-international-community-engagement-and-support-to-the-p-ddrcs-vtc/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211130T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211130T170000
DTSTAMP:20250213T195148Z
CREATED:20211119T162022Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250213T195148Z
UID:10000796-1638288000-1638291600@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Arts Research with Communities of Color (ARCC) Fellowship Public Information Session 3
DESCRIPTION:The SSRC is proud to host a public information session answering your questions about the new Arts Research with Communities of Color (ARCC) Fellowship\, supporting year-long\, qualitative studies of arts organizations of color funded by the Wallace Foundation. \nThe upcoming public information session is scheduled for Tuesday\, November 30 at 4 p.m. ET. The session will cover details on application guidelines\, eligibility requirements\, and answer any questions that participants may have. Register here.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/arts-research-with-communities-of-color-arcc-fellowship-public-information-session-3/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211201T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211201T163000
DTSTAMP:20211109T165215Z
CREATED:20211109T155152Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211109T165215Z
UID:10000793-1638370800-1638376200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Just Tech Fellowship Public Information Session 1
DESCRIPTION:The SSRC’s Just Tech program is proud to host a public information session answering your questions about the new Just Tech Fellowship\, a two-year\, full-time\, $100\,000 per year (plus supplementary funding) remote fellowship supporting a diverse community of researchers and practitioners investigating the intersection of technology and social justice. \nThe upcoming public information session is scheduled for Monday\, December 1\, 3:00–4:30 p.m. ET. The session will cover details on application guidelines\, eligibility requirements\, and answer any questions that participants may have. Register here. \nThe Just Tech program is funded by a broad range of philanthropic foundations committed to cultivating critical work on the intersection of technology and social justice\, including the Ford Foundation\, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation\, the Surdna Foundation\, and Democracy Fund.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/just-tech-fellowship-public-information-session-1/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/just_tech_fellowship_banner.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211203T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211203T130000
DTSTAMP:20211203T183346Z
CREATED:20211203T183346Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211203T183346Z
UID:10000799-1638525600-1638536400@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Expert Brainstorming on Iraq (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:On 3 December 2021\, at the request of the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs\, CPPF held an expert brainstorming on Iraq’s national and regional dynamics in its post-electoral period.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/expert-brainstorming-on-iraq-vtc/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20211209T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20211209T233000
DTSTAMP:20211109T165124Z
CREATED:20211109T155036Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211109T165124Z
UID:10000794-1639044000-1639092600@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Just Tech Fellowship Public Information Session 2
DESCRIPTION:The SSRC’s Just Tech program is proud to host a public information session answering your questions about the new Just Tech Fellowship\, a two-year\, full-time\, $100\,000 per year (plus supplementary funding) remote fellowship supporting a diverse community of researchers and practitioners investigating the intersection of technology and social justice. \nThe upcoming public information session is scheduled for Thursday\, December 9\, 10:00-11:30 a.m. ET. The session will cover details on application guidelines\, eligibility requirements\, and answer any questions that participants may have. Register here. \nThe Just Tech program is funded by a broad range of philanthropic foundations committed to cultivating critical work on the intersection of technology and social justice\, including the Ford Foundation\, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation\, the Surdna Foundation\, and Democracy Fund.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/just-tech-fellowship-public-information-session-2/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220110
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220112
DTSTAMP:20220111T194855Z
CREATED:20220111T194724Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220111T194855Z
UID:10000800-1641772800-1641945599@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:7th Annual MENA RC Forum (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:On 10-11 January 2022\, CPPF held the 7th Annual MENA RC Forum in collaboration with the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. This forum will brought together UN resident coordinators\, UN officials from across the MENA region\, and external experts to discuss regional trends and developments ten years after the Arab Spring.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/7th-annual-mena-rc-forum-vtc/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220120T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220120T100000
DTSTAMP:20241213T152824Z
CREATED:20220120T130000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241213T152824Z
UID:10000801-1642665600-1642672800@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Virtual Book Launch: The Failure and Feasibility of Capitalism in Africa
DESCRIPTION:The event started with opening remarks and an introduction of the author\, Kenneth Omeje\, and two discussants\, Ndongo Samba Sylla and Toni Haastrup\, by the moderator and director of the SSRC’s APN and NextGen program\, Cyril Obi. This was followed by an overview of the book by the author. He identified the main objectives of the book as providing a critical assessment of capitalism in Africa\, providing explanations for the failure of capitalism to lead to Africa’s development\, and exploring options of transforming African political systems in ways that could lift millions of Africans out of poverty. \nOmeje noted that the book is provocatively titled partly to sensitize African leaders to their responsibility to change the unsustainable status quo. He made connections between the failure of capitalism\, poverty\, vulnerability to violence and conflict\, forced migration\, and the lack of socio-economic progress. In terms of its perspective\, the book argues that there were indigenous forms of capitalism in Africa that preceded colonialism and that their evolution was disrupted by European imperialism to develop Europe at Africa’s expense. The author posits that\, at independence\, African power elites and leaders inherited an aberrant form of capitalism into which they inserted their private accumulation interests that resulted in a dysfunctional form of capitalism bereft of robust domestic economies and economic sovereignty. \nIn his discussion of the book\, Ndongo Samba Sylla noted that it was didactic\, provocative\, cogent\, and intellectually stimulating. He identified chapters one and three for special mention and reflected on eight issues raised in the book. These ranged from its historical analysis\, use of economic indicators\, Africa’s over-integration into the global market\, the definitions of capitalism\, and its use of a neo-Weberian lens to explain Africa’s underdevelopment relative to Asia’s developmental states. Ndongo also spoke to the oversight in not reflecting on similar works by African development economists such as Thandika Mkandawire and Samir Amin and not exploring developmental options beyond capitalism. \nToni Haastrup noted that the book is extremely well-researched and was a tour de force in the political economy of development. She identified chapters three and six for special mention\, interrogated the definition of capitalism based on its failure\, and raised questions about alternatives. Toni also spoke on capitalism in Africa in relation to the coloniality of power and the continent’s security\, asking if the situation was redeemable. In addition\, she interrogated the agency of Africans and asked how issues of emancipation and justice could fit into the quest for workable alternatives or developmental transformation. \nBoth discussants commended the book for its analysis of the negative impact of French colonialism and neocolonialism in terms of the loss of monetary and economic sovereignty in Francophone Africa. They observed that France-Afrique had peaked and was beginning to wane. In their view\, the COVID-19 pandemic was creating new issues related to Africa’s place in the world and the prospects for transforming global power hierarchies. Participants raised questions about theoretical perspectives to capitalist development in Africa\, the scope of the book\, and the nature of Africa-China relations. In wrapping up\, the discussants recognized the need for greater reflection on how data is interpreted and used and how Africa could be better placed in the global value chain.  They agreed on the need for the continent to develop on its own terms\, after which the author thanked the discussants and participants for their incisive insights and contributions to the robust scholarly debate generated by the book. \n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/virtual-book-launch-the-failure-and-feasibility-of-capitalism-in-africa/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220128T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220128T150000
DTSTAMP:20220308T155725Z
CREATED:20220128T183000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220308T155725Z
UID:10000802-1643376600-1643382000@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Abe Global 2022 | Polishing Japan's Silver: Aging Sustainably in the 21st Century
DESCRIPTION:Across the world\, societies are struggling to design sustainable policies for their aging populations. In much of the developed world\, an increasing share of the population is over 60. In Japan\, which has long been viewed as the pioneer “super-aging” society\, nearly 30% of the population is now over 65. Individuals are living much longer lives due to improvements in nutrition and health care\, while evolving lifestyles and shifting socio-economic conditions have kept birth rates at historic lows. The combination has produced a crisis in the social welfare systems which provide financial and care support for older citizens. The result has been increased unpaid labor for carers\, elder work-force participation\, and healthcare spending. A roundtable of five Abe Fellows will discuss these issues\, share stories from their research\, and examine potential policies for end-of-life care and an aging global society. \nThe event was held January 28\, 2022 from 1:30pm-3:00pm EST. \n \nA version of the video with Japanese subtitles is available here. \nAbe Global 2022 is held in partnership with the Reischauer Institute of Japan Studies\, the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies\, and the Oxford Brookes Healthy Ageing and Care Network. \nAn initiative of the Abe Fellowship Program\, the Abe Fellows Global Forum (Abe Global) brings Abe Fellow research and expertise on pressing issues of global concern to broader audiences. Abe Global hosts events each year in partnership with academic and civic organizations. The Abe Fellowship Program is a partnership between the Social Science Research Council and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/abe-global-2022-polishing-japans-silver-aging-sustainably-in-the-21st-century/
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LOCATION:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBsJqgU1G2U
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220202T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220202T150000
DTSTAMP:20220203T150019Z
CREATED:20220202T194808Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220203T150019Z
UID:10000803-1643810400-1643814000@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Presentation of the CPPF Study on Climate\, Transboundary Water\, Peace\, and Security in the Andean Region (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:CPPF presented the results of its study on climate\, transboundary waters\, peace\, and security in the Andean region conducted for UNDP\, in an event with UN agencies\, government officials\, and civil society members from Bolivia\, Colombia\, Ecuador\, and Peru.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/presentation-of-the-cppf-study-on-climate-transboundary-water-peace-and-security-in-the-andean-region/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220203T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220203T110000
DTSTAMP:20220203T140831Z
CREATED:20220203T140831Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220203T140831Z
UID:10000804-1643878800-1643886000@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Guatemala Series No. 2 (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:CPPF convened its fourteenth virtual meeting among Guatemalan civil society members to brainstorm opportunities to address rule of law and corruption issues in Guatemala.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/guatemala-series-no-2-vtc-2/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220209
DTSTAMP:20220208T144337Z
CREATED:20220208T144140Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220208T144337Z
UID:10000806-1644192000-1644364799@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Workshop on Enhancing IOM’s Partnership with the UN Peace and Security Pillar
DESCRIPTION:On 7-8 February 2022\, CPPF convened a two-day workshop on forced migration in Africa\, the Middle East\, and Latin America in support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN’s Peace and Security Pillar.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/workshop-on-enhancing-ioms-partnership-with-the-un-peace-and-security-pillar/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220208T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220209T120000
DTSTAMP:20241213T152816Z
CREATED:20220208T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241213T152816Z
UID:10000805-1644310800-1644408000@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Conference on Conflict and Peacebuilding in North Africa and the Sahel
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC’s) African Peacebuilding Network (APN)\, in collaboration with the African Leadership Center (ALC) of Kings College London\, and Wilton Park held a two-day virtual conference on “Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sahel and North Africa.” The conference was the latest in the “Peacebuilding in Africa” series launched in 2015 aimed towards “moving peacebuilding beyond state and elite-centered approaches to encompass the wider communities involved in conflict\, including\, youth and women’s networks on the continent.” The event explored the connections between peacebuilding and the “historical and extensive socio-cultural\, economic\, and strategic connections between North Africa and the Sahel (NASAH). Participants included high-level practitioners\, scholars\, activists\, and staff and fellows of the SSRC and ALC. \nThe virtual conference commenced with an introduction and welcome remarks by Robert Grant\, program director at Wilton Park\, followed by a town hall discussion on “Conflict and Peacebuilding in North Africa and the Sahel.” The panel of speakers included the keynote speaker\, Abdoulaye Bathily\, visiting professor at the African Leadership Center (ALC)\, and panelists Radwa Saad\, a researcher and PhD candidate at Cornell University\, and Mohammed Gain of the African Institute for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (AIPECT). The panel was moderated by Funmi Olonisakin\, Vice President (International) of Kings College\, London. The keynote speaker focused on the challenging and ever more complex dimensions of conflict and instability in the Sahel and North Africa\, including the interconnections between the various flashpoints of conflict. This included how the unfinished business of decolonization in Western Sahara has strained relations between Morocco and Algeria\, and practically crippled the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). The presenter also provided critical insights into the role of various actors\, including transnational criminal networks\, in the conflicts in Libya\, Mali\, the Lake Chad region\, Chad\, and Sudan and the impact of extremist groups on instability and disorder in neighboring regions. He also shed light on the role of irredentist movements\, communal uprisings\, governance deficits\, climate change\, and geopolitical rivalries between international actors—France\, the EU\, Russia\, China\, Gulf states\, Israel\, Turkey\, etc.—in posing complex challenges to peacebuilding in the region. He was critical of the militarization of the region by state actors and international parties while noting that peacebuilders were becoming part of the conflict. Drawing attention to the limitations of Peace Support Operations and the loss of credibility of the UN and ECOWAS\, he made a case for reviewing traditional approaches to peacebuilding and reorganizing the democratic system to address complex challenges. \nIn her presentation\, Radwa Saad analyzed the role of the youth in conflict and peace in North Africa and the Sahel. She cautioned against the romanticization of youth as agents of change or disruptive actors and called attention to the structural constraints in the region\, particularly the trend towards the depoliticization and pacification of politics. Other issues addressed included how the youth were changing the narratives of peace through non-violent protest\, transcending sectarian divisions\, and struggling for democracy and social justice. Citing examples from Sudan\, Algeria\, Tunisia\, and Egypt\, Radwa explained how youth and women are engaging the state\, learning from each other\, and building connections across borders. Noting that North Africa is the least integrated region in Africa\, she was of the view that youth were well poised to seize the many opportunities being thrown up by developments at the societal level across both regions. \nIn his presentation\, Mohammed Gain of AIPECT spoke to the disconnections of Maghreb-Sahel relations\, the implications of migration flows for relations between North Africa and Southern Europe\, rivalries between external powers\, including France\, residual identity discontent linked to historical grievances\, perceived injustices and inter-communal conflict\, the rise of the Islamic State in the Maghreb\, and the securitization of the region at the expense of local concerns. Mohammed noted how hegemonic security visions were dominated by the global war on extremist groups\, access to the region’s vast natural resources\, climate change vulnerability\, and the divergence between the pursuit of global strategies and local concerns of people living in North and West Africa. In his view\, the crux of the security challenge in North Africa and the Sahel lay in the crisis of governance facing states and the need to change the global narrative of the two regions. He also identified the deadlock in Morocco-Algeria tensions over Western Sahara as a major factor in the instability in the Maghreb\, which is further worsened by the EU’s patronizing attitude to the region with the effect of undermining peace and integration. \nThe discussions that followed emphasized the need to humanize peacebuilding and security. Contributors also argued that the state is losing trust in the peripheries\, in a context where Africa is continuously being viewed as a source of economic opportunities\, markets\, raw materials\, and competition between established and emerging global powers. There was an emerging consensus that military options cannot solve the security problems facing the region and that civil society\, including the youth\, need to be at the forefront of conflict transformation and building a new African security paradigm centered on the people. \nThe second day featured a town hall discussion (closed session) on conflict and peacebuilding in North Africa and the Sahel\, which afforded presenters the opportunity to fully explore the ramifications of existing frameworks for networks and dialogues at the center of peacebuilding and the possibilities for reorganizing them along more inclusive and cooperative lines. The session commenced with opening remarks by Robert Grant and Cyril Obi\, program director of SSRC’s APN. Their remarks were followed by a session on the “Role of states and cross-border networks in conflict and peacebuilding\,” followed by breakout sessions on\, “Fostering transregional links and cooperation.” These were organized along the lines of the following questions: How can states across the regions strengthen their cooperation to successfully adjust to the challenges posed by the impacts of climate change? In what ways are youth innovatively shaping peacebuilding efforts in both regions? What opportunities are being created and how can such opportunities be consolidated? What factors have inhabited a cohesive trans-regional organizational approach to peacebuilding\, and what can be done to address them? What is the role of civil society actors and what strategies are likely to connect them to ongoing regional approaches to peacebuilding in a more participatory and comprehensive manner? \nThe speakers at the first session were Salem Mezhoud\, Associate Senior Fellow at ALC\, Kings College London\, Njoya Tikum of the UNDP\, Osai Ojigbo of Amnesty International Nigeria and Eka Ikpe of ALC Kings College London. The first presentation focused on the role of transnational actors and networks in conflict and peacebuilding in the region\, including countries such as Denmark\, Norway\, Estonia\, Turkey\, Russia\, the Arab Gulf States\, Israel\, and private military actors\, including Russia’s Wagner group. Other developments identified as critical to the peace and security trends in both regions were the failings of diplomacy in a region marked by the paradox of plenty (rich in minerals\, but immersed in high levels of poverty)\, the high levels of militarism in Algeria\, and the failure of the Tunisian revolution. Other points touched on the struggles of youth in Algeria and Tunisia in their demand for a total overhaul of the political system\, and the potential advantages of closer North Africa–West Africa (NAWA) regional cooperation. The emerging peace and security challenges in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic were explored\, including the transnational nature of the challenges in the Sahel and how they were complicating the efficacy of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) due to the inability to address conflicts in the Sahelian countries. The second presentation also interrogated the assumptions underpinning the Sahel and North Africa nexus\, noting that most Sahelians see threats as emanating from Libya\, rendering assumptions of shared interests and connections with North Africa problematic. Echoing the point made by earlier presentations about the delegitimization of ECOWAS\, the distrust of states by citizens was reaffirmed and a case was made for regional networking led by citizens of the region. Another presentation interrogated the effectiveness of AU and ECOWAS sanctions on military governments in Africa\, noting that such interventions had failed to end human rights violations. It also spoke to the disruptive aspects of climate fragility\, farmer-herder conflicts\, external extractive actors\, and the struggles over national resources. While noting that it was not possible to have peace without justice\, questions were raised about the place of women\, ties between people across borders\, and opportunities being explored by youth who are refusing “to do things the old way.” In concluding the presentation\, there was a call for the identification of alternative conveners for peace in the region and the building of trust and inclusiveness in governance systems. The discussions that followed focused on the breakdown of trust and legitimacy and how states across both regions can strengthen cooperation and respond to emerging challenges. \nFeedback from the thematic breakout sessions focused on the role of local and international conflict and peace actors\, conflict prevention\, the potential of the Sahel as a source of alternative and renewable energy\, addressing the nexus between the environment and climate security\, strategies for strengthening democratic governance\, and the rise of youth movements as the next generation of peacebuilders in the region. Also noted was the problem of harmonization of policies leading to the total neglect of certain aspects of regions\, weaknesses of states and RECS in relation to peacebuilding\, and the need for civil society to play a key role in community building\, capacity building\, and communications. The closing and wrap-up session provided a succinct summary of the discussions over the two days\, pointing to the epistemic issues underpinning the geography of Africa and the borders versus integration debate\, particularly in relation to issues such as racism and xenophobia. The overview also underscored the importance of critiquing formalistic structures\, including the heterogeneity of external actors\, emphasizing the point of documenting and marketing successes\, while recognizing the significant role of civil society and its potential to do more. Other issues highlighted included the possibilities of innovative responses to climate change as well as how regional projects such as AfCTA could contribute towards building inclusive and sustainable peace and development through transregional cooperation in Africa.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/conference-on-conflict-and-peacebuilding-in-north-africa-and-the-sahel/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220218T084500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220218T124500
DTSTAMP:20220218T174413Z
CREATED:20220218T174350Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220218T174413Z
UID:10000807-1645173900-1645188300@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:CPPF Haiti Workshop (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:CPPF convened a workshop on Haiti to help inform the review of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). This workshop provided a deep-dive into current political\, governance\, and socioeconomic dynamics\, as well as the role and impact of the UN in Haiti.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/cppf-haiti-workshop-vtc/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220301T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220301T141500
DTSTAMP:20220324T190416Z
CREATED:20220301T180000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220324T190416Z
UID:10000808-1646139600-1646144100@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Launch Event: Just Tech Platform
DESCRIPTION:On March 1\, the Social Science Research Council will launch the Just Tech platform\, a new website dedicated to mapping research and showcasing scholars and practitioners leading the field of social justice and emergent technology. The platform is a project of the Council’s Just Tech program\, which investigates questions of power\, justice\, and the public impact of new technologies while imagining and creating more just and equitable futures. \nJoin us at 1:00 p.m. on March 1 to celebrate the Just Tech platform launch with a live demo and Q&A session\, featuring remarks from Ruha Benjamin\, Timnit Gebru\, Alondra Nelson\, and Safiya U. Noble.  \nThe platform will feature an extensive set of resources that will be valuable to anyone interested in a synoptic view of this emergent field of research and practice: \n\nfield reviews about the state of research on discrete subjects at the intersection of novel technology and social justice\, written and reviewed by experts \nessays and interviews from leading researchers and practitioners\nprofiles of Just Tech’s network of researchers and practitioners\, including fellows\, grantees\, and contributors to the platform\na free-to-use database of citations that leverages Zotero\, an open-source citation library\na regularly updated calendar of public events\n\nRegister to learn more about the forthcoming Just Tech platform. \nClosed captioning will be provided.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/launch-event-just-tech-platform/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220317T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220317T123000
DTSTAMP:20220419T183514Z
CREATED:20220318T150000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220419T183514Z
UID:10000809-1647514800-1647520200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:The Future of the (non) Maghreb Peace and Integration
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA) held a webinar on “The Future of (non)Maghreb Peace ad Integration.” The webinar provided an opportunity to brainstorm the implication of the persistent paralysis in North African integration and its implication for peace and security in the region. Participants included experts and activists\, APN fellows and alumni\, scholars\, and practitioners in the field. The event commenced with welcome remarks by the Director of the SSRC’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program\, Cyril Obi\, who chaired and moderated the event. His remarks were followed by presentations by two experts. In his presentation\, Hamza Meddeb\, a nonresidential scholar at Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center\, spoke to the issues underpinning the paralysis in Maghreb integration. He identified the issues as a lack of political will among political elites and leaders of member-states of the Arab Maghreb Union\, strained relations between Algeria and Morocco\, and the failure of top-down approaches to integration. He pointed out that\, while the top-down approach to integration had failed\, a lot was happening in terms of people-to-people integration\, drawing on successful initiatives in the following areas: education\, joint infrastructure development\, and renewable energies. Hamza\, however\, reiterated the importance of reactivating Maghreb integration against the background of its strategic relations with Europe and neighboring African regions and the need to build on cross-border flows and informal integration between Libya and Tunisia. However\, in advancing his case for renewing Maghreb integration\, the presenter observed that security would be a major factor in determining success or failure. Of note in his view was the obstacle posed by the deadlock in Algeria-Morocco relations\, the competition for influence between both countries\, the instability in Libya\, and the absence of a cohesive regional approach to peacebuilding in Libya. In his presentation\, Mohammed Masbah\, the director of MIPA and a 2018 APN fellow\, identified the competition between Algeria and Morocco as the main driver of the paralysis afflicting the non-Maghreb integration. Drawing on the history of the ruptured relations between both countries\, he underlined the centrality of political causes to the rivalry between the two regional giants. Reflecting on MIPA’s 2020 Maghreb Integration Report\,  Mohammed demonstrated that\, despite a low level of integration and the close of the borders between the two countries\, there was ample evidence of interest among local people to interact and engage with those on the other side. Noting the serious challenges posed to economic integration in the Maghreb by the political nature of the problem\, including the role of political elites\, he also pointed out that civil society was constrained in its ability to act. In his view\, the situation of non-integration of the Maghreb was a serious one\, given the militarization of the region and growing neglect of socio-economic challenges facing the people of the region. He\, therefore\, argued that a more realistic approach would be to seek to focus on mitigating risk and ameliorating the current situation to avoid escalation and military confrontation. Commenting further on the situation\, Hamza identified three critical issues to consider. These included the absence of regional strategic thinking and the lack of drivers and incentives for regional integration. Examining potential areas of growth\, he noted complementarities between Libya and Algeria as oil-producing countries\, Tunisia and Morocco in the context of an evolving Free Trade framework with Mercosur\, and Mauritia’s fisheries industry. He also spoke to the key role of the private sector in the area of such economic activities and relations with Europe. \nIn the discussions that followed\, questions were raised about the implications of overlapping membership of regional organizations\, the gaps between competing national and regional interests\, the crisis in Libya\, the role of China in the Maghreb\, and the implications of the Abraham Accord for Algeria-Morocco relations. Participants agreed that\, although the formal regional integration in the Maghreb was virtually non-existent and faced complex threats\, strategic thinking was required to reactivate the process by carefully designing initiatives to change the mindsets of decision-makers to better connect national to regional interests\, beyond this resetting the region’s relations with Europe\, Africa\, and the Middle East.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/the-future-of-the-non-maghreb-peace-and-integration/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220414T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220414T120000
DTSTAMP:20220415T132440Z
CREATED:20220415T131841Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220415T132440Z
UID:10000810-1649934000-1649937600@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:CPPF-Project Canopy Presentation on Central Africa
DESCRIPTION:On 14 April 2022\, CPPF held a brownbag meeting for the UN in partnership with Project Canopy on the geospatial mapping of deforestation and conflict in Central Africa. The meeting brought together UN officials of the Climate Security Mechanism and UN officials from the geospatial team to discuss an online environmental conflict platform for Central Africa.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/cppf-project-canopy-presentation-on-central-africa/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220414T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220414T173000
DTSTAMP:20220415T132157Z
CREATED:20220415T132157Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220415T132157Z
UID:10000811-1649952000-1649957400@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Book Talk - Roadblock Politics: The Origins of Violence in Central Africa
DESCRIPTION:On 14 April 2022\, UVC\, in partnership with the New School Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs\, organized a book talk on Peer Schouten’s recently published book Roadblock Politics: The Origins of Violence in Central Africa. The talk featured Tatiana Carayannis and Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja\, Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/book-talk-roadblock-politics-the-origins-of-violence-in-central-africa/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220608
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220610
DTSTAMP:20220609T181349Z
CREATED:20220609T181349Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220609T181349Z
UID:10000812-1654646400-1654819199@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:CPPF Expert Brainstorming on Syria (VTC)
DESCRIPTION:At the request of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic\, CPPF held an expert workshop on Syria. This meeting aimed to reflect on national and regional trends and developments eleven years after the start of the Syrian war\, and on the role of the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/cppf-expert-brainstorming-on-syria-vtc/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220627
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220630
DTSTAMP:20220629T071632Z
CREATED:20220629T071632Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220629T071632Z
UID:10000813-1656288000-1656547199@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:CPPF-DPPA RC MENA Forum
DESCRIPTION:CPPF hosted its 8th annual Forum for UN Resident Coordinators in the Middle East and North Africa Region in Geneva\, Switzerland on 27-29 June 2022. The Forum covered regional political trends and cross-cutting topics such as human rights; drugs\, crime and corruption; climate change and water politics; media and new technologies; migration; and risks and opportunities for the UN in the MENA region.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/cppf-dppa-rc-mena-forum/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220630T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220630T123000
DTSTAMP:20220711T193704Z
CREATED:20220711T193704Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220711T193704Z
UID:10000814-1656581400-1656592200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:CPPF Meeting on Climate Change\, Peace\, and Security in Central Africa
DESCRIPTION:On June 30\, the SSRC’s Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum held a virtual workshop on climate change\, peace\, and security in Central Africa with key partners\, including ECCAS\, DPPA-DPO\, and UNOCA. The workshop presented UNOCA’s recent report on climate change and its adverse impact on peace and security in the region while also looking at initiatives\, capacities and opportunities for regional resilience.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/cppf-meeting-on-climate-change-peace-and-security-in-central-africa/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220906T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220910T170000
DTSTAMP:20230203T163925Z
CREATED:20230104T161652Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230203T163925Z
UID:10000738-1662451200-1662829200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Religion\, Spirituality\, and Democratic Renewal Grantee Workshop 2022
DESCRIPTION:From September 6-10\, 2022\, Religion\, Spirituality\, and Democratic Renewal (RSDR) Grantees across the 2020\, 2021\, and 2022 cohorts gathered at the Fetzer Institute Seasons Retreat Center for a grantee workshop. The convening was designed as an opportunity for grantee to reflect on their multidisciplinary research experience and encouraged grantees to connect their projects to issues that transcend their disciplines and research specialties. It was also designed in support of the program’s goal of forming a tightly connected intellectual community that would untangle age-old questions around democracy and religion and learn to bring those questions into public conversation. Thirteen grantees with disciplinary backgrounds from religion studies to criminology participated in the workshop. \nParticipants were welcomed in the practice of the Fetzer Institute’s sacred hospitality\, which included integrating spiritual practices into each day and drew on diverse global practices of contemplation. Workshop components included topical sessions and small group project workshops. Each topical session was led by a faculty facilitator whose work focuses on religion and spirituality as it relates to politics\, democracy\, and civic society. Ruth Braunstein (University of Connecticut) facilitated a conversation on religion and civic life\, particularly the normative categories we create for “good” and “bad” civic actions. Shreena Gandhi (Michigan State University) posed important questions about religious studies in the context of race and power dynamics. David Campbell (University of Notre Dame) drew on his work in non-religiosity and secularism to discuss using a mixed method approach to research. Diane Winston (University of Southern California) led a discussion regarding religion and media\, and academia’s relationship with social media. These topical sessions were interspersed with small group workshopping times during which grantees shared and received feedback on their research projects. Throughout the convening\, grantees and faculty connected during writing/break times\, over meals\, and through after-dinner conversations. These more informal conversations as well as the small group project convenings were not only productive but helped foster community and fellowship amongst all participants. \nConvenings of this kind contribute to the RSDR Program’s goal of building sustained research and collegial cohorts\, as well as challenge and shift vital questions surrounding the role of spirituality and religion to the renewal of democratic life and institutions that the program seeks to address. \n  \nPhoto credit: Fetzer Institute
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/religion-spirituality-and-democratic-renewal-fellows-workshop-2022/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20220923T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20220923T143000
DTSTAMP:20220923T183500Z
CREATED:20220923T170000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220923T183500Z
UID:10000815-1663938000-1663943400@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:2022 SSRC Katznelson Fellow Lecture: Mario Small
DESCRIPTION:Live Stream  ▼ \nMario Small \nQuetelet Professor of Social Science at Columbia University \nwho will speak on \nWhy Big Data Science Will Need Qualitative Research:\nA Case on Racial Inequality in Financial Access \nfollowed by a response from \nSandra Susan Smith \nDaniel & Florence Guggenheim Professor of Criminal Justice\, Harvard Kennedy School\nDirector\, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy \n––––––––––––– \nFriday\, September 23\, 2022\n1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern \n\nAbout the Lecture The data revolution in social science has inspired researchers to use massive\, newly available datasets from private and public sources to understand social phenomena. The trend may suggest to some that small-scale qualitative networks will eventually become obsolete. Dr. Mario Small\, Quetelet Professor of Social Science at Columbia University\, argues\, however\, that the data revolution has made qualitative research more essential\, in order to ensure that “big data” result in real science. In this lecture\, Professor Small will illustrate this point\, based on a study using Google Maps data and running more than 6 million queries\, in order to understand racial inequality in access to financial services across US cities. The study makes clear\, as noted in this article\, that fully unlocking the potential of large-scale data will require qualitative methods. The SSRC Katznelson Fellowship is part of the SSRC Fellow Initiative\, which invites distinguished scholars to the Council to share their work. About Mario Small \nMario L. Small\, PhD.\, is Quetelet Professor of Social Science at Columbia University. A University of Bremen Excellence Chair\, and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences\, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences\, the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences\, and the Sociological Research Association\, Small has published award-winning articles and books on urban inequality\, personal networks\, and the relationship between qualitative and quantitative methods. His books include Villa Victoria: The Transformation of Social Capital in a Boston Barrio\, Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in Everyday Life — both of which received the C. Wright Mills Award for Best Book — and Someone To Talk To: How Networks Matter in Practice\, which received the James Coleman Best Book Award among other honors. His most recent edited book\, Personal Networks: Classic Readings and New Directions in Egocentric Analysis\, with 50 contributors\, is a comprehensive guide to person-centered social network analysis. Small is currently studying the relationship between networks and decision-making\, the ability of large-scale data to answer critical questions about urban inequality\, and the relation between qualitative and quantitative methods. \n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2022-ssrc-fellow-lecture-mario-small/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Africa/Casablanca:20220926T080000
DTEND;TZID=Africa/Casablanca:20220929T170000
DTSTAMP:20241213T152802Z
CREATED:20220926T120000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241213T152802Z
UID:10000816-1664179200-1664470800@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:APN-Next Gen Joint Research Methods Workshop in Partnership with AIPECT
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC’s) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) programs held their joint Research Methods Workshop in Casablanca\, Morocco in partnership with the African Institute for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (AIPECT) on Sept 26-29\, 2022. \nThe event commenced with opening remarks by Dr. Fred Palm\, the vice president of the SSRC\, and Dr. Cyril Obi\, the program director of APN and Next Gen. This was followed by the introduction of SSRC fellows and workshop facilitators by Dr. Duncan Omanga\, the senior program officer of APN and Next Gen. Dr. Mohammed Gain\, the president of the African Institute for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (AIPECT)\, introduced the guest of honor and president of the Moroccan Economic\, Social and Environmental Council (ESEC) Ahmed Reda Chami\, who made his welcome remarks. \nThe workshop marked the program’s resumption of in-person convenings after the pandemic. It brought together the 2022 cohort of 18 APN fellows and 42 Next Gen fellows from over 15 African countries. Participants benefited from keynote lectures\, small working groups\, one-on-one sessions\, and a joint panel discussion\, as well as a day trip to research and policy institutions in Rabat. The three-day workshop provided fellows with the opportunity to present their proposals\, chapters\, and projects in small workshop groups facilitated by experienced facilitators who were senior and experienced scholars. They also received feedback from and provided feedback to other fellows’ work. The facilitators also held one-on-one sessions during which they provided each fellow with detailed comments and further guidance on refining their research questions\, strengthening their research methods\, and fleshing out the theoretical frameworks of their proposals before heading out to the field to collect data for their projects. \nProf. Mwenda Ntarangwi\, provost in charge of academics\, students\, and research at NIRUC\, a constituent college of the NDU-Kenya\, delivered the first keynote lecture on “Social Science Research in Africa in an Age of Disruptions.” The lecture was guided by the key question\, “who are you writing for?” while urging participants to “tell the African story.”  He outlined disruptions\, related to history\, economics\, politics\, culture\, digital technologies\, and biology\, which have shaped social science research in Africa. Recounting his personal experience\, Prof. Ntarangwi advised fellows to work hard on their research\, scholarly writing\, and dissemination of their findings to “change the overwhelming reality of Africans as objects to be studied and represented by others to subjects who study and represent themselves.” He concluded by inviting fellows to consider two approaches to research; the first one being an “Afrocentric framing of research questions and practices” which begins with the “assertion that Africans are subjects and agents of their own lived realities as opposed to being objects within a Western frame of reference.” The second approach pertains to in-depth qualitative research “that allows for a more nuanced un­derstanding of social realities that are lived out and expressed by the people [fellows] study.” \nOn Day 2\, Dr. Thomas Molony\, senior lecturer in African Studies at the Centre of African Studies\, University of Edinburgh\, gave the second keynote lecture titled: “Observations on Observation.” He explored what it means to observe in the context of positionality\, that is\, the effect of who the researcher is\, in terms of identity and background\, in relation to the group being studied. He used the example of his participation as an international election observer in the recent Kenyan elections to guide the discussions and research questions\, methods of data collection\, and the impact of one’s research on knowledge production. \nThis was followed by a trip to places of interest and two institutions in Rabat: the Economic\, Social and Environmental Council (ESEC) and the Rabita Mohammadia of Oulamas (Mohammadia League of Scholars). It was a great opportunity to learn more about Morocco\, particularly the work and activities of some institutions in the areas of African development\, solidarity\, integration\, and peacebuilding. At the ESEC\, we listened to informative presentations by Younes Benakki\, secretary-general of ESEC\, and Hashim El Ayoubi\, a senior expert in charge of international cooperation\, on the institution’s advisory missions for the adoption of a development charter for Africa\, including a road map for sustainability\, economic cooperation\, and regional integration\, and the ESEC’s role in exploring the opportunities and challenges facing climate action on the continent. The group also visited the Rabita Mohammadia of Oulamas (Mohammadia League of Scholars) where Yassin Ben Larab\, a member of the secretariat general of the Rabita Mohammadia\, gave an address on the role of the institution in promoting a tolerant and open form of Islam\, organizing conferences and outreach activities\, and supporting the research and publications of Islamic scholars. Other aspects of his presentation focused on the promotion of Islamic education and sensitization programs for advancing moderate Islamic values such as tolerance\, peaceful co-existence\, and reconciliation among young people. He also spoke to the work of the Rabita on the design and implementation of a program directed at the deradicalization\, rehabilitation\, and reintegration of extremists and returning ex-fighters in Moroccan prisons. Workshop participants also took time off to visit other local attractions and markets in Rabat before having dinner at a traditional Moroccan restaurant. \nOn the third and final day\, the workshop rounded off the one-on-one sessions and held an engaging panel discussion on “Navigating Academic Research and Scholarly Traditions in a Changing World\,” moderated by Dr. Duncan Omanga. The panelists were Prof. Ismail Rashid\, Kafui Tsekpo\, Prof. Nana Akua Anyidoho\, Prof. Eunice Kamara\, Haydee Bangerezako\, and Prof. Gilbert Khadiagala. The panelists critically interrogated what “good research methods” mean in a knowledge economy that is transnational\, collaborative\, and competitive from an African perspective. They emphasized the importance of history\, the politics of knowledge production\, and the positionality of African researchers in shaping methodologies that are relevant\, valid\, and locally rooted in African epistemologies and how to make such Africa-focused research globally competitive and visible.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/apn-joint-research-methods-workshop-in-partnership-with-the-aipect/
LOCATION:Casablanca\, Morocco
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20221021T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20221021T170000
DTSTAMP:20241213T152754Z
CREATED:20221021T143402Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241213T152754Z
UID:10000817-1666339200-1666371600@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:APN-Next Gen Outreach to Kenya: Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST)
DESCRIPTION:The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program\, which are part of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC)\, have been engaged in outreach to African universities with the goal of reaching graduate schools in African countries whose students have not received fellowship awards from either program. Specifically\, the university outreach program amplifies the reach of ongoing competitions by providing information and advice on navigating the fellowship application process\, including testimonials from former APN and Next Gen fellows on their experiences with the fellowships and the opportunities provided. Ultimately\, the overall objective is to diversify the application pool of the APN and Next Gen fellowships and awards. \nThe program held its first in-person outreach event in Kenya on October 21\, 2022. The outreach program was co-organized with and held at the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) main campus in Kakamega County. \nThe SSRC was represented by APN/Next Gen Senior Program Officer\, Dr. Duncan Omanga\, who also presented the opening remarks of Dr. Cyril Obi\, the APN/Next Gen Program Director. He led a delegation that included Dr. John Mwangi (Next Gen alumnus & 2021 IRF APN fellow)\, Dr. Linnet Hamasi (2019 APN IRF fellow)\, Moses Osiro (2019 Next Gen Proposal fellow)\, Graham Amakanji (2021 Next Gen research & 2022 Next Gen completion fellow)\, and Dr. Steve Akoth (chair of the Next Gen selections and advisory board). \nAt the university\, the team was received by acting Vice Chancellor\, Dr. Rose Auma\, who formally opened the event\, and Prof. Stephen Odebero\, the director of graduate studies\, who also led the local organizing committee. Other senior faculty who graced the event were Prof. Judah Mwaluko\, the acting deputy Vice Chancellor of Academics and Student Affairs\, as well as Prof. Pontian Godfrey Okoth\, the chair of the MMUST board of graduate studies. The meeting was attended by over 200 graduate students\, most of whom were early career faculty members\, drawn from the main campus and the three other MMUST campuses (Kaimosi University College\, Kibabii University College\, and Turkana University College). The students came from a diversity of disciplines such as history\, peace and conflict studies\, communication studies\, economics\, education\, linguistics\, agriculture\, public health\, and nursing. \nDr. John Mwangi explained to the audience how\, despite being a Next Gen alumnus\, he eventually won an APN fellowship after trying three times. Dr. Hamasi\, a former graduate student at MMUST\, urged the graduate students to read widely and prepare well-thought-out proposals as the APN and NextGen fellowships are highly competitive. Mr. Osiro gave insights into how the two workshops he attended in Ghana (Research Methods Workshop) and Tanzania (Writing Workshop) helped him complete and produce a robust PhD proposal in 2019/2020. For his part\, Mr. Amakanji shared his experience of how he came to know about the fellowship and how attending the various workshops expanded his academic networks\, as well as how these networks shaped how he thinks about his ongoing PhD project. Dr. Akoth gave insights into the goals of the program\, and further explained the role of the advisory and selections committee in facilitating the process of nominating fellows for each cohort. Dr. Omanga shared program data explaining trends in applications\, as well as funded proposals across disciplines\, universities\, and individual African countries. He also drew from summarized reviewer reports to give insights into what makes a proposal competitive. \nThanks to the outstanding team at MMUST led by Prof. Odebero. The meeting was extraordinarily successful and enthusiastically attended.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/african-peacebuilding-network-and-next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa-outreach-to-kenya-masinde-muliro-university-of-science-and-technology-mmust/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/MMUST-Photo-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20221027T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20221027T113000
DTSTAMP:20221028T142632Z
CREATED:20221028T142632Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221028T142632Z
UID:10000818-1666863000-1666870200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:CPPF Meeting on Ethiopia
DESCRIPTION:On 27 October CPPF convened a meeting on Ethiopia at the request of the UN Eastern Africa Division of DPPA\, the meeting aimed to discuss the current conflict in northern Ethiopia and its implications\, as well as the likely scenarios to unfold.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/cppf-meeting-on-ethiopia/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221103
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221105
DTSTAMP:20221114T203223Z
CREATED:20221107T161442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221114T203223Z
UID:10000819-1667433600-1667606399@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:China and the Global South Workshop
DESCRIPTION:On 3-4 November 2022\, the China and the Global South workshop was held at the Penn Club\, the workshop brought together scholars from different parts of the world to discuss the preliminary findings of the China and the Global South Project and strategies for building sustainable research capacity on China’s engagement with the Global South
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/china-and-the-global-workshop/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221110
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221112
DTSTAMP:20221114T204516Z
CREATED:20221114T204054Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221114T204516Z
UID:10000820-1668038400-1668211199@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Great Lakes Stakeholders and Experts Retreat
DESCRIPTION:On 10-11 November 2022\, CPPF held the 5th Great Lakes Stakeholders and Experts Retreat in Nairobi\, Kenya. This retreat brought together Special Envoys and international decision makers representing regional institutions\, member states\, and peace operations\, together with scholars and expert practitioners on and from the Great Lakes.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/great-lakes-stakeholders-and-experts-retreat/
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR