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| UG host International Congress of Africanists in Globalized World |
African Studies has certainly come a long way since
the establishment of the Institute of African Studies at the University
of Ghana in 1961; it was at the time one of a few such institutes on
the African continent. At its formal opening by Ghana's first president,
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, in October 1963, the President defined the mandate
for Africanists in his the African Genius. In that speech he exhorted
the distinguished guests, the fellowship of the Institute, and
Africanists as a whole, inter alia, as follows:
One essential function of this Institute must surely be to study the history, culture and institutions, languages and arts of Ghana and of Africa in new African centred ways ... By the work of this Institute, we must re-assess and assert the glories and achievements of our African past and inspire our generation, and succeeding generations, with a vision of a better future.
The year 1962 saw the University of Ghana host the
first International Congress of Africanists. The roll call of the
invited guests and participants is a reflection of the status of the
discipline and the importance of the congress agenda. The congress was
chaired by the late Prof. Onwuka Dike, the first African Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Ibadan. It can be recalled that Dike noted two
important strands for Africana scholars that retain salience half a
century later. At the 1962 congress he remarked as follows:
[...] But the African continent stands for [...] particular ways of life, particular solutions to the problems of human survival ... particular responses to the human dilemma. ... African Studies will be the means to the achievement for the African of a greater self-respect, the means to the creation of a surer African personality in the face of the modern world.
Dike's foremost concern, however, was how scholars
on the continent, primarily, but also those in the Diaspora, would
mobilise themselves into a team to coordinate resources towards the
study of the continent and its peoples, and we might add, its Diasporas.
He considered the task to be urgent. Sadly, the place of that meeting
in helping to define the discipline of African Studies in Africa,
especially, but also in her Diasporas and beyond, has largely been
neglected. And so it is that the 2013 conference seeks to assess and
also celebrate the journey travelled so far, including the academic
achievements of some of our foremothers and forefathers, and in the
process chart a course for the future.
The IAS is thus hosting an international conference
that will bring together scholars, practitioners and activists to
revisit the 1962 congress, reflect on the largely unfinished business
that lies before us, and strategise on the way forward and in so doing
bring our diverse strengths and experiences together for a new Africa.
DATE: Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th October, 2013.
VENUE: University of Ghana, Legon Campus
THEME: Revisiting the First International Congress of Africanists in a Globalised World
ORGANISERS: The Conference is being organised and hosted by the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon
PARTNERS:
- Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Ghana
- National Commission on Culture, Ghana
- Ghana Culture Forum
- etc
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