Chatham House Africa Programme

News & Events November 2008

·Ending Aid Dependence 4 November

·The Voices of African Women 7 November

·The Diamond Development Initiative 11 November

·Crude Continent : The Struggle for Africa’s Oil Prize 14 November

·‘Gulliver’s Troubles’ Nigerian Foreign Policy 19 November

·An African Green Revolution? 20 November


Publications:

Piracy in Somalia : Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Local Wars

Roger Middleton, October ‘08

http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/665/


Angola: Looking beyond Elections

Alex Vines, October ‘08

http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/Angola_looking_beyond_elections.pdf


News:

Earlier in October the Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala addressed a roundtable on the emerging impacts of the financial crisis on African countries. A principal conclusion was that while the direct impacts of the financial crisis may be limited, the cumulative impact in combination with high food, fuel and fertilizer prices will be significant, and made worse if aid and investment levels drop further. A grave danger comes from the scramble by rich countries to reform the global financial system if it takes place in such a way as to further sideline the interests of African countries. Yet the move to reform, if grasped correctly, is also an opportunity for African states to be given more say over decisions that so directly impact the lives of their citizens.

Ghana’s President John Kufuor recently received the Chatham House Prize from His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh at a colourful ceremony in the presence of His Majesty Osei Tutu II and other dignitaries from Ghana and the UK . The President accepted the award in his last such public occasion in the UK as President, stating that he wished to share it with “the people of Ghana who first gave me the mandate to lead them, and in the process, afforded me the opportunity to serve not only my country, but also Africa and indeed mankind at large." President Kufuor received the award in recognition for his tireless and selfless mediation in multiple crises across the continent during his chairmanship of the African Union in 2007 and for his positive role in mediating conflicts with Ghana 's closest neighbours including Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire .


November sees the start of a new partnership between the UK & Mozambique as Chatham House and the Centre for International Studies in Maputo commence a joint series of events to explore Mozambique ’s growing regional and global role. Funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the first joint event will take place on November 13th in Maputo where the Director of the South African Institute of International Affairs, Elizabeth Sidiropoulos will address a joint meeting on South Africa ’s foreign Policy.

Meetings:

Entry to these expert meetings is restricted. Experts and interested individuals should apply via the email address below. Only receipt of a confirmation email from Chatham House allows entry to meetings.

Places are limited & Chatham House reserves the right to restrict access to any of its meetings without notice or explanation. Attendees may be required to present photo identification at any time.

If you would like to apply to attend any meeting please email Donald Temple at dtemple@chathamhouse.org.uk stating your name and affiliation.

Tuesday 4 November 2008 1700-1800

Book Launch: ‘Ending Aid Dependence’ by Yash Tandon

Reception to follow

Speaker: Yash Tandon, Author, and Executive Director, South Centre

Yash Tandon explores the possibilities for change in the architecture of aid in his new book ‘Ending Aid Dependence’. Developing countries reliant on aid want to escape dependence, and yet appear unable to do so. This book proposes ways developing countries can free themselves from aid that has had varying degrees of success. Tandon argues in his book that exiting aid dependence should be at the top of the political agenda of all developing countries.

Friday 7th November 2008 1330 – 1500

Voices of African Women

Key speakers include:

Pauline Dempers; Namibia, NGO Forum and IANSA Women’s Network

Miriam Machaya; Zimbabwe, Family Support Trust, and Christian Aid

Alice Ukoko; Nigeria, Women of Africa

Jeanine Ngungu; D.R. Congo, CAUSE COMMUNE RDC & WILPF DRC Group

Co hosted with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, this will be an opportunity to hear the perspectives of grass-roots African Women campaigners on vital issues for Peace, Human Rights and Development in Africa . The event will be echoing many of the issues that were raised by women during the Accra International Women Forum on Aid Effectiveness and the recent 22nd September UN General Assembly-backed Forum on the development needs of African women. Women are a vital part of efforts to achieve the global anti-poverty targets but millions of them are experiencing violence, exclusion and discrimination as everyday realities.

Tuesday 11th November 2008 1400 – 1530

The Diamond Development Initiative

Speaker: Mrs. Dorothée Gizenga, Executive Director, Diamond Development Initiative

Chair: Dr. Muzong Kodi, Associate Fellow, Chatham House

The Diamond Development Initiative seeks to gather all interested parties into a process that will address, in a comprehensive way, the political, social and economic challenges facing the artisanal diamond mining sector. Mrs Gizenga will offer an update of the work of DDI and her perspectives on the state of the Kimberly process.

Friday 14th November 2008 1700 – 1745

Book launch - Crude Continent: the Struggle for Africa’s Oil Prize

Reception to follow

Speaker:

Duncan Clarke, Author, Global Pacific & Partners

Respondent:

Barry Morgan, Upstream Oil and Gas Newspaper

Based on thirty years in the global oil game, intimate knowledge of African history and direct experience of over forty countries, this comprehensive book shows that Africa ’s flaws are not the whole story, when it comes to the continent’s history. A definitive yet original perspective on the rush for Africa’s oil, this is also a guide to the hidden face of Africa . Duncan Clarke begins by placing African oil issues in their historical context before tackling the issues of power, nationalism and different parties’ strategies for control that have led to today’s oil scene.

Wednesday 19th November 2008 1630 – 1730

Book Launch: ‘Gulliver’s Troubles’ Nigerian Foreign Policy

Speaker:

Dr Adekeye Adebajo, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Editor

This new book offers the first comprehensive assessment of the post-Cold War foreign policy of Nigeria — one of Africa 's most important states. Expert contributors, comprising academics and scholar-diplomats, analyse Nigeria 's most vital domestic challenges and critical regional issues from historical and contemporary perspectives. Nigeria 's relations with its neighbours and other significant states and regional and international bodies are also examined.

Thursday 20th November 2008 1730 – 1830

Opening Session of Africa’s Agriculture Series

An African Green Revolution?

Speakers:

Ousmane Badiane, African Union & World Bank

Akinwumi Adesina, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

Chair:

Michael Lipton, Sussex University & Convenor of Chatham House series


This meeting will launch a series of events to explore both the political and economic constraints on African agriculture and the scientific and ecological pre-conditions for transforming it. Amongst other things covered will be the issue of rising food prices, and the use of genetically modified seeds and inorganic fertilizers that some oppose but others argue are essential to redress land degradation, including loss of essential soil nutrients, in much of Africa.

For more on this project visit

http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/research/africa/current_projects/agriculture

This project is being undertaken with the generous support of SABMiller.