African Leadership Challenges and Other Issues

Africa's fluid and complex challenges include leadership and institutional failures, underdevelopment, resource underutilization, election malpractices, gender inequality, and other definig issues. These issues are not only interconnected, they are widespread across Africa with only slight degrees of differences between countries. The high hopes that were heralded by independence in most African countries have long been replaced by disenchantment and cynicism. The pointed question many ask is; "When will independence be over?" In view of the enormous challenges faced by, and changes required in Africa, MediateamIT Education Center, Berlin, in collaboration with Humboldt University, Berlin, invite papers for a conference to be held on August 23rd - 27th, 2010, at Humboldt University, 42 Invalidenstr. Berlin. Papers are welcome from all subject-oriented areas and disciplinary perpectives to analyze, illuminate and draw attention to questions and concerns Africa is faced with, in order to suggest a path for progress fo Africa. Among the issues to be examined are:

1. Leadership Challenges and Institutional Failures. Pathologies, Realities and Prospects

Focus area:
African problematic elections: Lessons learned, problems and future outlook, Ghana on the path to sustainable democratization: Implications for other African countries, Zimbabwe and the Western World: What went wrong?, Nigeria at fifty: Problems and prospects of statehood, The socio-political and economic roles of women in Africa.


2. Indigenous technology and transfer of technology: What is the future of African technological advancement?

Focus includes:
Is the knowledge base of science and technology in Africa stagnant or viable?   On the emergence of Africa as a knowledge society, The African states and Western strategic Interests: Any alignment?, Strategic operations of multinational corporations: In Whose Interest? The role of women in Africa's technological drive.


3. External players and the African condition

Focus areas:
Globalization and the question of African development, The question of fairness in WTO trade arbitration, Bio-Energy as fuel of hunger in Africa, Climate Change: Winners and losers, Is biotechnology really going to hurt African agriculture? Who determines which technical innovation is good for Africa?

Invitation is open to scholars from all disciplines and from all nationalities. Submission of abstract (maximum of 250 words) is open till April 30th 2010. This should include the title, the author's name, address, telephone number, email address, institutional affiliation and about 5 key words. Authors are allowed to select one or two subject areas where their papers fit in. Full length papers must be submitted by July 30th, 2010. Abstracts and full papers must be submitted by electronic mail to: africaberlin-conference@mediateamit.com

Submitted papers will be reviewed by panels according to similarities in theme, topic, or
discipline. Selected papers will be published in book form.

Contact Persons:
Tony Agwuele, Ph.D.
Email: africaberlin-conference@mediateamit.com

Bianca Goelz-Ngwu
Mediateam IT Educational Center
Lahnstr. 23
12055, Berlin, Germany
Phone: ++ 49-30-68083073
Fax: ++49-30-68224864
Email: bngwu@mediateamit.com

 

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