africa

The Africa Initiatives Group

Expertise Bank (doc)

The Africa Initiatives Group possesses expertise in diverse and numerous fields of specialization.  There is representation from six departments of the university as well as representation from the Patel Center for Global Solutions.  Among the fields of expertise of our members include: anthropology, economics, environment, governance, and health. 

More information about the expertise of the Africa Initiatives Group can be found on the following link

Download Expertise Bank

USF’s partners with the two Ghanaian universities

In May 2009, representing USF in a delegation traveling to the Universities of Ghana and Cape Coast were Betty Castor, Linda Whiteford, associate vice president for global strategies and international affairs; and Kofi Glover, Associate Provost who is from Ghana. The group spent a week in Ghana meeting with university officials and exploring potential collaborations for the Global Exchange Program. On May 11, 2009, USF officials signed the final of two Memoranda of Understanding that formalizes the academic relationship between the universities.

The Vice-Chancellor from the University of Ghana announced to the press that USF was clearly the leader in the new movement to change higher education in Africa and brought considerable national press to the MOU signing on May 11 which was covered in the two biggest national daily newspapers and on television. To hear WUSF’s University Beat radio report on USF’s partnership with the two Ghanaian universities go to www.wusf.org/university_beat.

Agreement With MUHAS

Congratulations to Dr. Dawood Sultan and his Colleagues!

USF has countersigned the International Agreement with Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS).  As many of you know this opens a much-needed Public Health/Medicine and Development research and exchange door to East Africa.

Invitation: The Challenge for Africa - A Conversation with Wangari Maathai

Please join the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and Africa Program for a book launch of The Challenge for Africa featuring Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Founder, Green Belt Movement

Monday, April 13, 2009
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Atrium Hall, Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

Webcast live at www.wilsoncenter.org

Please RSVP to ecsp@wilsoncenter.org with your name and affiliation.

Africa faces severe and wide-ranging challenges, from Darfur to HIV/AIDS, massive debt to election fraud, cross-border conflicts to environmental degradation. Yet the portrait of Africa painted in the media-poverty-stricken, desolate, and desperate-frequently ignores the intricacies of the issues. In The Challenge for Africa, Wangari Maathai analyzes roadblocks to development, including: population pressures and enduring hunger; the absence of peace and security; the lack of technological development; and the dearth of genuine political and economic leadership.

Maathai stresses the need for Africans to invent and implement their own solutions, rather than relying on foreign aid and Western visions of change. As she writes, “At both the top and the bottom, all Africans must believe in themselves again; that they are capable of walking their own path and forging their own identity, that they have a right to be governed with justice, accountability and transparency, that they can honor and practice their cultures and make them relevant to today’s needs, and that they no longer need to be indebted-financially, intellectually, and spiritually-to those who once governed them. They must rise up and walk.”

Wangari Muta Maathai is the founder of the Green Belt Movement, which, through networks of rural women, has planted more than 30 million trees across Kenya since 1977. In 2002, she was elected to Kenya’s parliament in the first free elections in a generation, and in 2003 was appointed Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources, and Wildlife. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2004, she is the author of Unbowed: A Memoir. She lives in Nairobi, Kenya.

On April 14, PBS will air the acclaimed documentary Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, an Independent Lens presentation. For more information, visit http://takingrootfilm.com

If you are interested, but unable to attend the event, please tune into the live or archived webcast at www.wilsoncenter.org. The webcast will begin approximately 10 minutes after the posted meeting time. You will need Windows Media Player to watch the webcast. To download the free player, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download.

Location: Ronald Reagan Building: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW ("Federal Triangle" stop on Blue/Orange Line), Atrium Hall. A map to the venue is available at http://itcdc.com/interactiveMap.html. Note: Due to heightened security, entrance to the building will be restricted and photo identification is required. Please allow additional time to pass through security.

ASA African Week April 6-11, 2009: Experience Africa at USF

Africa's New Crisis: a Dearth of Professors

As universities expand too quickly for struggling doctoral programs to keep pace, international partnerships offer help... to read more  Click Here!

AIG Participant Partners with PeerCorps

USF Africa Initiative Group Participant, Dawood Sultan partners with Peercoprs and is making a difference in the lives of Tanzanian youths, women and children. He is currently involved in designing 3 projects for the organization; a Mobile Health Unit, a Mobile Library and a business enterprise to sustain the mobile health projects. 

Peercorps  strives to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable youth, children and women in grassroots and at national levels. We are a non-profit, non-politically aligned, non-governmental organisation registered in the United Republic of Tanzania under the Trustees Incorporation Ordinance, Cap 375 of the laws of Tanzania.

Initiative Planning Grants RFA Released Today

Higher Education for Development (HED), in cooperation with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Anticipates making up to 20 awards of $50,000 to plan for long-term higher education partnerships between and US institution. For details about applying for this competitive award, please click the link below:

Africa -U.S. Higher Education Initiative
Applications due: February 2, 2009, 5:00 p.m. ET

 

These awards are intended to support planning for long-term partnerships to strengthen the capacity of African higher education institutions in the areas of (1) agriculture, environment and natural resources, (2) health, (3) science and technology, (4) engineering, (5) education and teacher training/preparation, and (6) business, management and economics. They are also intended to increase the engagement of U.S. higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 This competition grew out of a broad, collaborative effort between a number of higher education associations and other organizations involved in the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative. For more information, visit the Initiative Online.

 For questions regarding this RFA, please contact program officer Dr. Teshome Y. Alemneh at (202) 243-7684 or talemneh@HEDprogram.org. To receive future e-mail updates about HED funding opportunities for international higher education partnerships, send your name, job title, organization name, department, and e-mail address to HED@HEDprogram.org.  More information about HED is available online at http://www.hedprogram.org.

 

 

 

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: How to help Africa!

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Doing Business in Africa 
This is an insightful and informative video clip from a TED conference of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala talking about " Doing Business in Africa"

Doing Business with Africa: Challenges, Practice and Potential

( L to R)  Dr. María Crummett, Dr. Karanta Kalley, Dr. Carol West, Dr. Leonardo Villalón, Dr. Linda Lucas, Dr. Betty Castor

The Doing Business with Africa Conference: Practice, Issues and Potential was held on October 29, 2008 at the Dr. Blaise F. Alfano Conference Center in Tampa Florida. There was a platform of eclectic speakers, panelists and workshop presenters who shared their experiences and success in doing business with Africa. The program was informative and inspired ideas of partnerships in areas of Education, Real Estate, Financial Services, Agriculture, Construction and much more. The proponents of this effort included interest organizations from the University of Florida,The University of South Florida and Enterprise Florida who recognized the importance and value of attracting local businesses and encouraging Florida-Africa partnerships, that will strengthen the economy and build sustainable communities. There is no doubt Florida's location and diverse resources produce great advantages to international trade and Investment opportunities. The message is very clear - "Africa is Open for Business."

Africa- US Higher Education Partnership Initiative

FAQ about the the Partnership Initiative.

Download FAQ-Oct.pdf