Africa Conference Research Articles

A critical systems approach to conference organisation: Hosting an international conference in South Africa

AbstractAnnual meetings have the potential to be used to promote the objectives of a society in a unique setting. A carefully selected venue will not only enhance the experience but also promote the very essence of the society. However, conference organisation can also be a minefield of unexpected problems caused by the involvement of diverse service providers. The cost to members can easily exceed the benefits they experience.Critical systems thinking provides a framework of understanding for promoting holistic thinking and sensitivity to underlying assumptions, guiding the organiser to include multiple perspectives. In this paper, the systems approach, along with elements of critical systems heuristics, Ubuntu, and servant‐leadership, are used to reflect on the organisation of the annual meeting of an international systems organisation. The choice of venue provided both opportunities and challenges.The reflection on the process focuses on the fluidity of boundaries and the interplay between systemic planning and systematic implementation.

First FASEB conference in Africa-The 2023 FASEB conference on Imaging Cellular and Chromosome Dynamics held on August 27-30, 2023 in Accra, Ghana.

Access to scientific meetings and conferences is limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Efforts are being implemented to rectify this issue through short workshops, seminars, and conferences. Sena Institute of Technology (SIT), a nonprofit research institute based in Ghana, is one such organization championing this initiative. Through a partnership with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), SIT hosted the first FASEB conference in Africa from August 27-30, 2023 in Ghana. The 3-day conference brought together scientists specialized in imaging, genetics, and cell biology from across the globe to discuss the theme "Imaging Cellular and Chromosome Dynamics." The Ghanaian Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) provided local support to the meeting. At the end of the conference, participants recommended continuing engagement and the organization of more such meetings on the African continent.

Pelayanan Pengunjung Disabilitas pada Museum Geologi dan Museum Konferensi Asia Afrika di Kota Bandung

This study is entitled "Disability Visitor Service at the Museum of Geology and Museum of the Asia Africa Conference in the Bandung City". This study seeks to find a discussion of museum services for persons with disabilities that substantively refer to the service quality concept revealed by Zeinthaml in 2006 consisting of (1) Tangibles, (2) Empathy, (3) Responsiveness, (4) Reliable and (5) Assurance, and performed at the Museum of Geology and the Museum of Asia Africa. This research uses a qualitative method approach. A qualitative approach is considered by researchers to be very appropriate in providing a holistic picture of the existing reality data. Data collection was performed using observation techniques, in- depth interviews, and documentation. Data analyzed was using the stages described by Miles and Huberman (1992: 16). Based on research, a conclusion can be drawn that both museums have all aspect studied for disabilities tourists. Broadly speaking, the Museum of Geology already has infrastructure and services that prepared for disabilities tourists, meanwhile the Museum of Asia Africa still has a variety of obstacles and minimal infrastructure will be aimed for disabilities tourists with some rules procedure and condition.

“Is this the promised end?”; Travels with/in <i>King Lear</i>

This article began as a paper for the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa conference, “Shakespeare Towards an End” at Spier, Western Cape, South Africa in May 2023. In its revised form it still seeks to connect to the conference title. There are three types of journeys in King Lear: journeys away from (like Lear’s from Goneril to Regan); journeys towards (like almost everyone’s towards Dover); and journeys without destination (Gloucester’s “I have no way”). From the chaotic, imprecise, unmappable travels within the play, there is the possibility of charting the ways in which the play itself travels and what the ends (as aims) as well as end (as terminal) are that those charts might show, whether it be to Hull (Ben Benison’s Jack Lear), to Korea (Kim Myung-Gon’s King Uru) or to the United States (Theatre of War’s King Lear Project), or by tracking the journeys into our awareness of characters Shakespeare excluded but whose rethought inclusion serves to show what the play resists and how we might – even must – resist it.

The Effects of the 1877-1878 Otoman-Russian War on the African Continent: The Case of the Berlin Africa Conference

Tarihi olayları etkileyen en önemli süreçlerden biri imparatorlukların kurulmuş olmasıdır; çünkü imparatorluk sistemiyle sınırları genişletme politikası uygulanmış ve birçok imparatorluğun birbirleriyle savaşmasına sebebiyet vermiştir. Bu doğrultuda Osmanlı-Rusya imparatorlukları zikredilebilir. Osmanlı’nın kuzeyinde etkili olan Rusya, güneye doğru sınırlarını genişletme politikasını uygulayarak Osmanlı ile birçok savaş gerçekleştirdi. Kafkaslardan Balkanlara, Orta Doğu’dan Afrika’ya kadar büyük bir güç haline gelen Osmanlı, Rusya’nın bu politikasını büyük oranda engelleyebildi. Bu bölgeler arasında Balkanlar, Rusya’nın egemen olmak istediği en başat bölgeler arasında yer almıştır; çünkü bu bölgede Rusya Panslavizm politikasını tamamlamayı hedeflemiştir. Bu nedenle Rusya’nın en büyük imtihanı güçlü bir Osmanlı’nın Balkanlar’daki varlığı olmuştur. Bununla birlikte Avrupalılar tarafından sömürgeciliğin yayılıyor olması da önemli bir süreç olarak gözlemlenmiştir. Bu nedenle Osmanlı sadece Rusya ile değil, sömürgeci Avrupa imparatorluklarıyla da savaşmıştır. Afrika’nın kuzey bölgesinin büyük bir kısmı başta olmak üzere, Afrika’nın birçok bölgesinde etkili olan Osmanlı, sömürgecilerin bu kıtaya girmesini uzun yıllar boyunca engelleyebilmiştir. Fakat 1877-1878 Osmanlı-Rus Savaşı, hem Balkanlar’daki hem de Afrika’daki dengelerin değişmesine sebebiyet verdi. Savaşı fırsat gören sömürgeci Avrupalılar 1884-1885 yıllarında Berlin’de Afrika Konferansı düzenleyerek kıtayı paylaşmaya başladılar. Bu bağlamda makale 1877-1878 Osmanlı-Rus Savaşı’nda zayıf düşen Osmanlı’yı gözlemleyen sömürgecilerin Afrika kıtasını nasıl paylaştıklarını ve sömürgeleştirdiklerini kaleme almaktadır.

Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Barbara Petchenik Children’s Map Competition and exploring directions for the future

Abstract. The thirty-year anniversary of the Barbara Petchenik Children’s Map Competition, created by the International Cartographic Association (ICA) in 1993, will be celebrated at the 31st International Cartographic Conference (ICC 2023) in South Africa. It was initiated under the leadership of Professor D. R. Fraser Taylor, then ICA President, and its aim was to promote creative graphic cartographic representation of the world by children. A commemorative UNICEF poster was produced to support the initiative, and over past decades, Brazil has engaged in intensive school mapping work with children and researchers, some of this presented in commemorate books, including Dra. Carla de Sena’s new book “Children’s Maps: The History of the Lívia de Oliveira Competition” (2021). From 2005, ICA in collaboration with prestigious publishers (Esri Press, SinoMaps, National Geographic Institute of Spain) produced the "Children Map the World" series, which currently counts with six volumes. Submitted drawings are also used in other periodical publications as journals and books published by international and national organizations in different countries. The competition maps are sent to Carleton University Library where they are processed for digital and physical archiving and all the entries are then made publicly available at - https://childrensmaps.library.carleton.ca/. This special anniversary presents as a pivotal moment to commemorate, advance and expand the reach and import of children mapping their worlds. This presentation will review the developments in the Barbara Petchenik Childrens Map Competition over the years, and discuss some exciting new developments and directions for the future.

Highlights from the Second Choosing Wisely Africa conference: a roadmap to value-based cancer care in East Africa (9-10 February 2023, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania).

The ecancer Choosing Wisely conference was held for the second time in Africa in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from the 9th to 10th of February 2023. ecancer in collaboration with the Tanzania Oncology Society organised this conference which was attended by more than 150 local and international delegates. During the 2 days of the conference, more than ten speakers from different specialties in the field of oncology gave insights into Choosing Wisely in oncology. Topics from all fields linked to cancer care such as radiation oncology, medical oncology, prevention, oncological surgery, palliative care, patient advocacy, pathology, radiology, clinical trials, research and training were presented to share and bring awareness to professionals in oncology, on how to choose wisely in their approach to their daily practice, based on the available resources, while trying to offer the maximum benefit to the patient. This report, therefore, shares the highlights of this conference.

The first Choosing Wisely Africa conference: a roadmap to value-based cancer care in Africa (16th December 2022, Senegal)

The first Choosing Wisely Africa conference: a roadmap to value-based cancer care in Africa (16th December 2022, Senegal)

The first Choosing Wisely Africa conference: a roadmap to value-based cancer care in Africa (16th December 2022, Senegal).

The Choosing Wisely campaign was formally launched in 2012 and a decade later, the inaugural Choosing Wisely Africa conference was held in Dakar, Senegal on 16 December 2022 supported by ecancer. Academic partners included Ministere de la Sante et de I'Action Sociale, Senegalese Association of Palliative Care, Federation Internationale des Soins Palliatifs, Universite Cheikh Anta diop de Dakar, Societe Senegalaise de Cancerologie and King's College London. There were around 70 delegates attending in person mostly from Senegal and a further 30 joining virtually. Ten speakers gave insight into Choosing Wisely from an African perspective and Dr's Fabio Moraes and Frederic Ivan Ting shared the Choosing Wisely experience from Brazil and the Philippines, respectively. This report therefore shares the highlights of the first Choosing Wisely Africa conference guided by topics discussed.

1 - On Resuscitating the Aborted National Project: A Retrospective and Prospective View (Notes from my Last Conversation with Thandika Mkandawire)

Text of the Inaugural Thandika Mkandawire Annual Memorial Lecture presented at the 3rd edition of the Social Policy in Africa Conference convened virtually from 22–24 November 2021. Fantu Cheru, Emeritus Professor of International Political Economy, American University, Washington, DC. Email: cherufantu@gmail.com

A Truly African Christianity

Abstract John Gachango Gatũ (1925–2017) was one of the most prominent and important Kenyan church leaders of his generation. He was the first African to serve as general secretary of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, and then went on to be moderator. He also held influential positions in numerous Christian organizations, including the All Africa Conference of Churches and the World Council of Churches. He is best remembered for his call, first issued in 1971, for a moratorium on Western missionaries and resources in the developing world. At the time, this controversial proposal also led to some discussion about whether or not he was a still an Evangelical. Gatũ published three books in the twenty-first century, including a substantial autobiography, and in the light of these it is now possible to assess his thought and his entire life and ministry on their own terms. When that is done it become apparent that he emphasized three distinctives of his churchmanship: he was a revivalist who was deeply committed to the East African Revival Movement; an ecumenist who worked tirelessly for Christian cooperation and unity; and, perhaps most of all, an Africanist who continually sought to inhabit and commend a truly African Christianity.

Note from the Guest Editor

“You’re going to make a difference. A lot of times it won’t be huge, it won’t be visible even. But it will matter just the same. Don’t do it for praise or money, that’s what I want to tell you. Do it because it needs to be done. Do it to make your world better.” - James Gordon, in Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka’s Gotham Central Book One: In the line of duty. This annual Special Edition once again combines outstanding papers from two conferences: The 33rd annual conference of the Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering (SAIIE33), held from 3 to 5 October 2022 in Zimbali, South Africa, and The 23rd annual Rapid Product Development Association of South Africa (RAPDASA) conference, joined by the 15th Robotics and Mechatronics (RobMech), the 33rd Pattern Recognition Association of South Africa (PRASA), and the 3rd South African Advanced Materials Initiative (CoSAAMI) conferences. This joint conference was held from 9 to 11 November 2022 in Somerset West, South Africa. This Special Edition presents the best work presented at these conferences. Papers undergo the same double-blind peer review process, using the journal’s criteria. They are selected on the basis of reviewer rankings and a final check of quality and suitability by the journal editors. The theme of this year’s SAIIE conference introduced us to The marvellous world of industrial engineering, comparing the work done by industrial engineering professionals with that of superheroes, while the RAPDASA conference showcased the wonders of Digital technology in production development. These themes highlighted the industrial engineering profession’s versatile nature and far-reaching impact. The papers in this Special Edition are, without a doubt, excellent, and they contribute both visibly and invisibly to making the world a better place. I encourage you to explore the papers, and I trust that you, too, will be able to see our industrial engineering professionals as the superheroes of the future. Teresa Hattingh Guest Editor

Proverbs and African Modernity: Defining an Ethics of Becoming

African proverbs have, for good reason, attracted considerable attention from scholars, both African and non-African. One notable testimony to such attention is the international conference in South Africa from which came a monumental collection of scholarly articles now available on CD and in print. Another evidence of the interest the subject has enjoyed among African scholars is the wealth of publications they have produced in recent years, for example, Adeleke Adeeko’s monograph Proverbs, Textuality, and Nativism in African Literature; Ambrose Adikamkwu Monye’s Proverbs in African Orature: The Aniocha-Igbo Experience; Kwesi Yankah’s The Proverb in the Context of Akan Rhetoric: A Theory of Proverb Praxis; and my Yoruba Proverbs. In addition, there have been influential articles by Ayo Bamgbose, Lawrence. A. Boadi, Romanus N. Egudu, Kwame Gyekye, Yisa Yusuf, and a host of others whose omission from this rather abbreviated list is not meant as a slight. In a recent conversation, the preeminent paremiologist, Wolfgang Mieder, called my attention to the lineup of articles in the most recent issue of Proverbium [23: 2006], in which four of the five lead articles are by Nigerian scholars (Abimbola Adesoji, Bode Agbaje, George Olusola Ajibade, and Akinola Akintunde Asinyanbola) and on African proverbs, an indication, he said of the present effervescence of, and future potential for, proverb studies and publications on them on African soil. Because of these efforts we now know a good deal about proverbs as a cultural resource, their functionality and the protocols for their usage, but also their artistry-structure, wordplay, imagery, and so forth, especially after calls such as Isidore Okpewho’s (1992) that scholars pay due attention to the aesthetic dimensions of traditional oral forms.

Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation Program. (2019). TAAT in 2018: Preparing for African agricultural transformation. 65 pp. TAAT programme, IITA. Ibadan, Nigeria.

This report provides information on the establishment of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation ( TAAT ) Program and its first several months of operation during 2018. TAAT is one of the flagship programs that arose from the High-Level Feed Africa Conference held in Dakar in October 2015 at the initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB). This report describes the framework of TAAT implementation to meet its role within the Feed Africa Strategy, and some of its early successes.

Trust Africa Conference on Illicit Financial Flows

Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical SeriesVolume 57, Issue 10 p. 23196B-23196C Policy and Practice Trust Africa Conference on Illicit Financial Flows First published: 08 December 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2020.09776.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume57, Issue10December 2020Pages 23196B-23196C RelatedInformation

Genotype by Environment interactions for egg number and egg weight of five dual-purpose chicken breeds in different zones of Oromia region in Ethiopia

The African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) project (https://africacgg.net/) aims at backyard poultry optimization by commercial dual-purpose breeds introduction into Africa. To measure benefits, genotype by environment interaction (GxE) analysis provides guidance while predicting environmental effects on production traits of breeds. A survey among Ethiopian poultry smallholders showed egg sale being the most important purpose of keeping village chickens in Oromia. Data was available about laying of 894 ACGG chickens in Oromia. Hence current research questions were: 1) Does GxE take place? 2) Which breed performs best regarding laying and in which environment within Oromia? Traits investigated were egg number and egg weight of five breeds (S-RIR, Sasso, Horro, Kuroiler and Koekoek) located in three zones (East Hararge, East and West Shoa) and 5 districts (Adami Tulu, Bako Tibe, Dano, Dugda and Haromaya) in Oromia. Observations were taken as group measure performing weighted analyses. GxE was only present for egg number with magnitude strongest for zone. S-RIR performed best for both traits in both environments, except Kuroiler performing better in East Shoa for egg number and Koekoek for egg weight. This indicates success of crossbreed S-RIR. Sasso and Horro performed worst supported by previous research for Horro but not Sasso. Low precipitation in East Shoa caused bigger distance in egg number predictions, being higher for S-RIR and lower for Horro and Sasso compared to West Shoa. Apart from these final conclusions, social context of breeding and data collection difficulties should not be forgotten. Just like relevance of other performance trait analyses.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Life and Work of Desmond Tutu

AbstractThis article explores how mission, forgiveness, and reconciliation have shaped the ministry and work of Desmond Tutu. As much as space permits, it tries to glean the ways in which Tutu has lived out his understanding of mission, forgiveness, and reconciliation in his various roles as lecturer of theology, as Africa director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches, as the general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, as president of the All Africa Conference of Churches, as archbishop of Cape Town, and more recently as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Through a close reading of seminal publications, the article will attempt to draw as complete a picture as possible of his views on forgiveness and reconciliation. To conclude, the essay shall refer to the work of Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice.

Reframing African Ecumenical Discourse on Development

T
 This research explores the contribution of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) to ecumenical discourse regarding development against the background of contemporary debates on the role of religion in development. It focuses on the period 2000–2008. Through a critical review of the AACC’s engagement in development, the article offers an appraisal of the AACC’s socio-economic justice approach to development. It also highlights the AACC’s most recent appropriation of diakonia in its programmatic thrust on development. While such appropriation holds promise for an approach to development rooted in theological ideas, it begs further reflection on the place of local epistemologies of development in African ecumenical discourse. Arguing for the translation of diakonia, this research proposes the decolonial reframing of African churches’ engagement in development.

Which Surgical Operations Should be Performed in District Hospitals in East, Central and Southern Africa? Results of a Survey of Regional Clinicians

BackgroundIn East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA), district hospitals (DH) are the main source of surgical care for 80% of the population. DHs in Africa must provide basic life-saving procedures, but the extent to which they can offer other general and emergency surgery is debated. Our paper contributes to this debate through analysis and discussion of regional surgical care providers' perspectives.MethodsWe conducted a survey at the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa Conference in Kigali in December 2018. The survey presented the participants with 59 surgical and anaesthesia procedures and asked them if they thought the procedure should be done in a district level hospital in their region. We then measured the level of positive agreement (LPA) for each procedure and conducted sub-analysis by cadre and level of experience.ResultsWe had 100 respondents of which 94 were from ECSA. Eighteen procedures had an LPA of 80% or above, among which appendicectomy (98%), caesarean section (97%) and spinal anaesthesia (97%). Twenty-one procedures had an LPA between 31 and 79%. The surgical procedures that fell in this category were a mix of obstetrics, general surgery and orthopaedics. Twenty procedures had an LPA below 30% among which paediatric anaesthesia and surgery.ConclusionOur study offers the perspectives of almost 100 surgical care providers from ECSA on which surgical and anaesthesia procedures should be provided in district hospitals. This might help in planning surgical care training and delivery in these hospitals.

Fides in parenthesis: A spirituality of leadership for a (post-)secular(ising) world

From the viral social media feeds showing Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng in fervent prayer for the nation, to professed Christian Thuli Madonsela’s careful expression of the separation between religion and state, faith identity in the public sphere emerges as anything but a straightforward matter. By placing ‘Christian’ in parenthesis, the 2019 theme of the Theological Society of South Africa conference acknowledged that leaders operate in negotiated spaces and confirmed the complexity of the context in which we attempt to conceptualise leadership from a theological perspective. This raises the question of the role that personal faith convictions play and may be allowed to play in public life. While conceptualising leadership from a faith perspective in a context that is at once secular(ising) and post-secular(ising) may be complex, evidence emerging from leadership studies of the importance of spirituality in leadership necessitates such a reflection. This article considers the problem from a theological point of view, drawing on Schleiermacher and Bonhoeffer’s later letters from prison to provide a theological foundation for a public spirituality of leadership.