BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Social Science Research Council (SSRC) - ECPv6.17.0//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.ssrc.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Social Science Research Council (SSRC)
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20210314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20211107T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20220313T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20221106T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20230312T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20231105T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Africa/Casablanca
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:+00
DTSTART:20210411T020000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:+01
DTSTART:20210516T020000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:+00
DTSTART:20220327T020000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:+01
DTSTART:20220508T020000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:+00
DTSTART:20230319T020000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:+01
DTSTART:20230423T020000
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250114
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250115
DTSTAMP:20250129T201349Z
CREATED:20250128T213148Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250129T201349Z
UID:10000885-1736812800-1736899199@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations\, Part 2
DESCRIPTION:January 14\, 2025 | Washington DC  \nThe second session of the Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations series took place on January 14th\, 2025\, at the Wilson Center in Washington\, DC. This collaborative effort between the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen)\, and the Wilson Center’s Africa Program brought together experts to discuss the geopolitical shifts and increasing prominence of middle and emerging powers on the African continent\, particularly its implications for democratic governance\, security issues\, and Africa-US relations.   \nCyril Obi\, Program Director of the APN and Next Gen Program\, emphasized the program’s focus on supporting high-quality policy-relevant research by African scholars based in Africa\, aligning this with the activities of the Wilson Center’s Africa Program to contextualize the organizations’ partnership. He summarized the output from the inaugural session: a set of recommendations for the incoming US administration to have a bold approach towards democratic engagement on the African continent. He asked the panelists to reflect on how Africa’s shifting alliances might impact its democratic governance and relations with the US\, and how Western powers should respond to maintain influence\, build trust\, and demonstrate reliability in their engagements with Africa.   \nOge Onubogu\, Director of the Wilson Center’s Africa Program\, highlighted the importance of timing the conversation to coincide with the incoming Trump administration in the US\, the emergence of new leadership at the African Union\, and South Africa’s assumption of the presidency of the G20. She invited the speakers to reflect on how the incoming US administration and African institutions can position themselves to collaborate effectively.  \nFonteh Akum\, Executive Director of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Africa\, outlined four pillars for engagement between the US and specific African countries: security cooperation\, consolidating democratic governance\, supporting economic development\, and the crystalizing of African agency by tapping into Africa’s demographic power (underlining the potential of Africa’s youthful population)\, and by bolstering investments in education and capacity building.   \nShifting the conversation to the mixed outcomes of elections in Southern Africa last year\, Director Onubogu asked for insights on the current situation in Mozambique and the potential role the incoming US administration can play in addressing the country’s post-election crisis.   \nSiphokazi Magadla\,  Associate Professor of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University\, South Africa\, discussed the lack of democratic norms in Southern Africa—a region historically held together by its legacies of national liberation but witnessing shifts in democratic trends with the election of new governments. She explained that young people were showing liberation movements turned ruling parties that they could be voted out if they failed to deliver on improving the quality of lives of citizens. On the election of Namibia’s first female president\, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah\, Professor Magadla suggested she be part of a movement to re-energize global women’s movements in Africa and beyond. Professor Magadla also urged the US to exert greater pressure on the SADC to become more active and strengthen democratic governance in the region.   \nhttps://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Siphokazi.mp4\nOge Onubogu invited questions from members of the panel\, including concrete recommendations on how the incoming US government can partner with African citizens and institutions to address the concern of democracy being perceived as elite-driven and disconnected from the people.  \n \nIbrahim Bangura\, Associate Professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Fourah Bay College\, University of Sierra Leone\, pointed to the weakness of democratic culture across the continent by observing that its principles have not been upheld by leaders\, most of whom ignore the rights of their citizens. He attributed the resurgence of military coup d’états to political disenfranchisement and corruption. He suggested that the US support African voices fighting for democracy\, engage with regional African institutions\, and help strengthen democratic institutions that put power in the people’s hands. He also suggested the US invest in socio-economic development by fostering democratic culture in regional organizations\, civil society\, and education\, while leveraging the African diaspora.   \nhttps://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ibrahim.mp4\n\nFinally\, Oge Onubogu raised the issue of Africa’s reassessment of its security partnerships\, prompting the panel to discuss how the incoming US administration can establish itself as a dependable democratic partner despite growing competition from regional\, middle\, and emerging powers.   \nJoseph Siegle\, Director for Research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies\, National Defense University\, highlighted Africa’s diverse security environment\, noting key areas such as the Sahel\, Lake Chad Basin\, Somalia\, and Northern Mozambique\, where violent extremism is often linked to transnational criminal networks. He discussed the recent coups in countries like Somalia\, Niger\, and Burkina Faso\, which have led to alternative security arrangements for regime survival\, particularly with Russia\, and emphasized the growing challenges of building trust and security capacity in a region increasingly affected by instability and conflict. He cautioned against US competition with Russia for influence\, recommending that the US work to build African capacity by strengthening security institutions\, military professionalism\, civil-military relations\, and regional coalitions.   \nDuring the Q&A portion of the event\, members of the audience posed questions concerning Africa’s security\, democratic governance\, and options for the use of soft power in US-Africa engagements. There were also questions about the challenges in rebuilding the continent in the context of the geopolitical changes\, which some suggested necessitates the US to assess the role of higher education institutions in fostering political engagement and people-to-people integration\, empowering Africa’s young population while centering African agency.   \nA live stream of the event can be found here.  \n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/trendlines-and-transformations-in-african-democratic-governance-lessons-for-21st-century-us-africa-relations-part-2/
CATEGORIES:Africa
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/553A0038-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230724
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230728
DTSTAMP:20241213T152716Z
CREATED:20230830T160627Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241213T152716Z
UID:10000839-1690156800-1690502399@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:APN-Next Gen Research Methods Workshop
DESCRIPTION:From July 24-27\, 2023\, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN)-Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) Program hosted its Research Methods Workshop for the 2023-24 cohort of APN Individual Research fellows and the Next Gen Doctoral Dissertation Proposal\, Research\, and Completion fellows. The workshop was hosted in collaboration with the University of Botswana at the Grand Palm Hotel and Convention Center in Gaborone\, Botswana. \nOn Monday\, July 24th\, the workshop began with opening remarks from the APN-Next Gen Program Director\, Dr. Cyril Obi\, and Prof. Gabriel Faimau\, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Botswana and the head of the University of Botswana’s local organizing committee. This was followed by remarks from the guests of honor: the deputy vice chancellor for research and enterprise at the University of Botswana Prof. Doreen Ramogola-Masire and Prof. Emmanuel Botlhale\, professor in public administration in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Botswana. \nFollowing the opening of the workshop\, Dr. Jacinta Mwende Maweu of the University of Nairobi (APN IRG 2015; APN CWG 2022-24) gave a keynote lecture titled “Challenges Facing African Women Engaged in Research: Reflections on Managing the Work-Life Balance.” The first day concluded with fellows and mentors engaging in their working groups. APN IRF fellows met with their mentors and Next Gen fellows met within their Thematic Working Groups to discuss current and emerging debates in the literature on themes related to their respective doctoral research projects. \nTuesday began with a keynote lecture titled “Critical Research Methods for Making Sense of Climate Change-Related Conflict and Peace in Africa” by Prof. Joram Tarusarira of the University of Groningen. The rest of the morning was dedicated to working groups\, and Next Gen fellows switched groups to work with members of their specific fellowship cohorts. \nOn Tuesday afternoon\, participants took a break from their working groups for an excursion into Gaborone. First\, participants visited the Three Dikgosi Monument (Three Chiefs Monument) to learn about the history of Botswana\, particularly the role of the founding fathers. Following this\, participants visited the Botswana National Museum and Art Gallery and the “Main Mall” market area in downtown Gaborone. The day concluded with a driving tour of the University of Botswana’s beautiful campus\, a game drive at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve\, cultural dances\, and a lively group dinner. \nOn Wednesday\, fellows and mentors worked throughout the day in group sessions and one-on-one sessions. Thursday morning saw the conclusion of one-on-one sessions and a final round of group sessions to enable mentors and fellows to reflect on their discussions and set research\, writing\, and personal goals for the period of the fellowship and beyond. \nThe workshop concluded on Thursday afternoon with a panel that brought together APN and Next Gen fellows and mentors to discuss the topic\, “Developing and Applying Research Methods and Analytical Lens Across Disciplines: Challenges and Opportunities.” Following the panel\, closing remarks were made by Dr. Obi and Prof. Faimau and gifts were given to the APN-Next Gen board members in attendance. \nThe APN-Next Gen would like to thank all of the fellows\, mentors\, keynote lecturers\, guests of honor\, and the members of the local organizing committee from the University of Botswana for their participation\, enthusiasm\, support\, and commitment to the program.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/apn-next-gen-research-methods-workshop/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/0G1A9228-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
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=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
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0269.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR