Lafayette Campus News (www.lafayette.edu), February 1, 2008 — Africans Creating African Consciousness and Interest Abroad (ACACIA) will host its third annual conference from Feb. 15-17 in Kirby Hall of Civil Rights room 104. The theme is “Urbanization: The Modern Face of Africa” and it will focus on issues which Africa is currently facing, including technology, public health, population and land policy, urban art, gender issues, and economics. The conference is open to the public.
Nganga Muchiri ’09 (Nairobi, Kenya), who is pursuing a B.S. in chemical engineering and an A.B. in English, serves as the president of ACACIA and has been working with other board members to plan the event.
“We started by looking for a suitable theme for the conference. We decided on urbanization because all African countries have experienced a big increase in the size of their urban population and we wished to explore the dynamics involved,” says Muchiri.
The conference is taking place in conjunction with the College’s celebration of Black History Month Feb. 1–March 5, which includes lectures, art exhibits, films, performances, and a benefit dance.
Other students serving on the board include George Armah ’08 (Accra, Ghana), who is pursuing a B.S. in mathematics and an A.B. in computer science; Catherine Munyua ’10 (Kanjuku-Thika, Kenya), who is pursuing a B.S. in biochemistry and an A.B. in economics & business; Clive Ntuli ’09 (Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe), who is majoring in electrical and computer engineering; and Chiquita Palha De Sousa ’08 (Harare, Zimbabwe), who is pursuing a B.S. in biology and an A.B. in art.
The Association of Black Collegians (ABC), Lafayette African and Caribbean Students Association (LACSA), Minority Scientists & Engineers (MSE), International Students Association (ISA), Institute of Electronics & Electrical Engineers (IEEE), and the McKelvy Scholars are among the organizations who have also given their support to the conference.
The conference will open at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb.15, with a panel by Dan Bauer, professor of anthropology & sociology, and John McCartney, professor of government & law and chair of Africana studies. Bauer and McCartney will examine the history of urbanization in Africa before, during, and after colonialism.
On Saturday, Feb. 16, several speakers will share their expertise as a part of the conference. At 9 a.m., Susan Averett, Dana Professor and head of economics & business, will discuss women in Africa, the economy, and the issue of micro-credit or small loan banks that give exclusively to the lower economic strata. At 1 p.m., David Stifel, assistant professor of economics & business, will discuss his work in Madagascar on the urban workforce.
At 5 p.m., keynote speaker Victor Mbarika, professor of information technology at Southern University and A&M College, will discuss Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and its effects on societies in Africa. Mbarika is the founding director of the university’s international Center for Information Technology and Development and serves as an ICT consultant with various governmental and private agencies.
At 7 p.m., a dinner of traditional Ghanaian food will be served.
At 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17, a panel made up of students who have had different experiences in Africa will discuss “Youth Contribution to the Continent.” The students on the panel have either traveled to Africa, studied abroad for a semester or an interim session there, or are from different parts of the continent. They will examine how, when, and why youth, especially students studying abroad, can contribute to the development of the continent.
