Dakar Workshop re-evaluates Pan-Africanism

GSDPP’s Building Bridges programme is hosting a two-day workshop (16 and 17 October) in the Senegalese capital, Dakar on “Culture, History and Ideas: Re-evaluating Pan-Africanism”. The workshop will be co-hosted with the Dakar-based Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). 

“History, culture and identity are the ideational backbone of the Pan-Africanist project. These ideas matter in terms of building trust and solidarity,” said Prof Mkandawire. The Dakar meeting forms part of a series of discussions on the theme of African economic integration, facilitated by the Building Bridges programme. 

GSDPP Senior Fellow, Prof Thandika Mkandawire along with CODESRIA’s Executive Director, Dr Ebrima Sall, will be moderating several panel discussions with participants who include: Mamadou Diouf, Rokhaya Fall, Fongot Kini-Yen Kinni, Djeneba Traore and Mshai Mwangola, amongst others. Issues under discussion include examining the role of Afropolitan identities, re-evaluating ideas about the African Renaissance, popular culture and nationalism, the role of literature in shaping African identity and a session on Culture, Continuity and Change. 

In August 2015 Building Bridges co-hosted a regional workshop in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, with the UONGOZI Institute on “Developing National Business Communities and Regional Integration”, and in November, the programme will co-host the third and final regional workshop focused on “Accounting for Regional Integration: Evidence and Accountability” with the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA) in Lusaka.