EVENTS

PAST IAFS EVENTS

 

  April 24, 2023: Expanding Commercial Engagement in Africa: The 2023 David H. Miller Memorial Lecture with Reta Jo Lewis, President and Chair of the Board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.  Co-sponsored by the Onero Institute, Young Black Professionals in International Affairs, and Delta Phi Epsilon Foreign Service Fraternity. More Information
  April 23, 2023: Overshadowed: Armed Conflicts in Africa. With former assistant secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy; Victor Marsai, Director, Migration Institute of Hungary; and Klaudia Toth, Migration Institute. Moderated by Elliott School Prof. Paul Williams. In partnership with the Security Policy Studies Program.
  April 13, 2023: Renewing the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act: What Comes Next? With keynote address by H.E. Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry. In partnership with the AGOA Civil Society Network. Full Agenda
  March 29, 2023: Africa Career Talk: With recent Elliott School alumni Jayde Lyon, U.S. State Department; Max Bone, International Republican Institute; Tomas Husted, Congressional Research Service.
  March 28, 2023: “Rethinking Development: Foreign Aid Localization in Africa” co-hosted with the GW Africa Development Initiative (GWADI). With Chimue Effrong, Global Giving; Mohyel Omer, USAID; Phiwokuhle Mnyundo, Howard University; James Winker, Creative Associates.
  March 27, 2023: Africa’s Future: Trade and Investment, with Geoffrey Garrett, Dean of the USC Marshall School of Business; Afua Hirsch, University of Southern California; Caesar Mwangi, Executive Dean, Strathmore University Business School, Nairobi; Laird Treiber, professorial lecturer, Elliott School and Senior Adviser, Corporate Council on Africa.
  February 28, 2023: “Africa’s Future: Democracy and Human Rights,” with Ambassador Salah S. Hammad, Head of the African Governance, Peace and Security Architecture (AGA-APSA) Secretariat; Commissioner Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo and Peoples’ Rights; Dr. Nikiwe Kaunda, Policy Manager for Africa, Open Society Foundations.
  January 30, 2023: “The 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: Review and Looking Forward,” co-hosted by the Elliott School’s Institute for African Studies; Howard University’s Center for African Studies; the African Center for the Study of the United States at the University of Witwatersrand; and the Annenberg Center for Communication Leadership and Policy. With IAfS Director Jennifer Cooke; Krista Johnson, Howard University; Gilbert Khadiagala, Witwatersrand University; Gifty Obeng, Good Governance Africa, Ghana; Adam Clayton Powell III, USC.
  December 16, 2022: “Africa’s Future: University Partnerships, Business, Tech and Diplomacy,” co-hosted by the GW Institute for African Studies; Howard University’s Center for African Studies; the African Center for the Study of the United States at the University of Witwatersrand; and the USC Annenberg Center for Communication Leadership & Policy. Keynote address by Judd Devermont, Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council.

December 12, 2022: “Peace, Trade, and Youth: Highlighting Youth Perspectives on U.S.-Africa Collaboration,” in partnership with Search for Common Ground, the Social Science Research Council’s Africa Peace Network, USIP, and the African Union. Speakers included Desirée Cormier Smith, U.S. Special Representative for Racial Equity & Justice; Dr. Rhuks Ako, African Union Youth for Peace Coordinator; Christian Achaleke, African Union Youth for Peace Ambassador for Central Africa.    Video Available

 

December 11, 2022: “Visionary African Leaders Summit,” in partnership with the Senegal-based GE7. Featured speakers included world-renowned Chef Pierre Tham; Sidi Ould Tah, chair of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa; Don Stephens, founder of Mercy Ships, representatives from the African Development Bank, the African Export-Import Bank and a conversation with Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, moderated by IAfS director Jennifer Cooke.

 

November 17, 22: “Building Resilient Generations: Lessons from Uganda,” a discussion with development practitioners: Christine Gottshalk, director, center for Resilience, Bureau for Food Security, USAID; Kelly Saldana, Abt Associates; Dorothy Muroki, Chief of Party, Integrated Community Agriculture and Nutrition (ICAN), Abt Associates Uganda; Roslyn Brock, Abt Associates.

 

November 16, 2022: Discussion: The IMF’s Africa Regional Economic Outlook, in partnership with the Institute for International Economic Policy.

 

September 22, 2022: “South Africa in Crisis? Charting a Course Toward Democratic Renewal,” a discussion on political, economic and social developments with South African media leaders: Mondli Makhanya, Editor, City Press Newspaper; Pule Molebelde, Managing Director for News and Media at Arena Holdings; Ranjeni Munusami, journalist; and Branko Brkic, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Maverick.

 

September 11, 2022: IAfS Research Talk with Dr. Lassane Ouedraogo of the  Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo in Ougadougou, on “Understanding the Sahel’s Slide Toward Authoritarianism: Regional Dynamics and Prospects.”

 

May 2, 2022: The David H. Miller Memorial Lecture: “Supporting African-Led Development, with Travis Adkins, President and CEO, African Development Foundation.

 

April 5, 2022: The Islamic State in Africa. Dr. Jason Warner, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at West Point, discussed his new book on the emergence, evolution, and likely trajectory of nine ISIS affiliate groups in Africa.

 

April 4, 2022: African Peacekeeping: A Discussion with Nina Wilén. Dr. Wilén presented on her recent book (co-authored with Jonathan Fisher) on African soldiers in peacekeeping operations and how deployment of peacekeepers has shaped African state building and  international relations.

 

March 22, 2022: A Discussion with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi. President Bihi discussed his country’s economic and political progress and its quest for deeper international engagement and recognition.

 

March 8, 2022: IAfS Africa Career Chat.  With Pierre Tantchou and Jonathan Eigege, respectively director and analyst in the Albright Stonebridge Group’s Africa Practice.

 

February 28, 2022: Somaliland: Inside and Out. Elliott School alumnus Max Webb led discussion with Omar Mahmood,  senior analyst for Somalia with the International Crisis Group, and Mohamed Farah Hersi, director of the Somaliland-based Academy for Peace and Development, on political developments in Somaliland and how geopolitical dynamics in the Red Sea region are affecting its prospects for international recognition.  (In partnership with the Onero Institute.)

 

January 12, 2022: The Political Economy of Belonging to Liberia. A book talk with Dr. Robel Neajai Pailey, assistant professor in international social and public policy at LSE and author of Development (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa: The Political Economy of Belonging in Liberia.  Video Available

 

November 22, 2021: Autocratic Adaptability in Uganda: Coercion, Clientelism, and Control.  With Dr. Moses Khisa, Assistant Professor of Political Science, North Carolina State University, discussed his research on how institutions, resources, and coalitions have been used to propel autocratization and assure regime resilience during Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s 35-year tenure. Video Available.

 

October 29, 2021: The Idea of Immunity: West African Medicine in the Age of Enlightenment. Distinguished Visiting Scholar Dr. Ike Achebe, presented on the little-known therapeutic systems, medical societies, and surgical guilds that were in operation in the kingdoms and states of West Africa during the late 17th century, and how they contributed to ending the smallpox pandemic in Boston in 1721. 

 

October 15, 2021: Defending Democracy: The Vital Role of Africa’s Free Press.  Branko Brkic, founder and editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Daily Maverick, and Dapo Olorunyomi, founder and publisher of Nigeria’s Premium Timesdiscussed the vital role of independent media in holding the powerful to account and the challenges that independent journalists and media houses confront in Africa today.

 

October 14, 2021: U.S. Army in Africa: Partnering for Security in Challenging Times. Major General Andrew M. Rohling, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa Commander, discussed the U.S. Army’s perspective on Africa’s changing security landscape and the challenges and opportunities of partnering with African counterparts on shared priorities.

August 26, 2021: A Conversation with Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Liberata Mulamula. Former IAfS Asssociate Director and Visiting Scholar Ambassador Liberata Mulamula returned to the Elliott School for a conversation on her time at GW and the challenges of her new job as Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

 

April 23, 2021: Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad.  Author Michela Wrong discussed her book on the assassination of a former head of Rwandan intelligence and the nature of the Rwandan regime.

 

March 26, 2021: Campaigns to End Violence against Women: Lessons from Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia.  Dr. Peace Medie, author of Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa.

 

March 12, 2021: Do Endorsements by Traditional Leaders Affect Voter Attitudes? Lessons from Ghana’s 2020 Presidential Election.  A research talk with Dr. George Ofosu, Assistant Professor of Comparative Government, London School of Economics.

 

March 9, 2021: Africa after COVID-19: Charting a New Course for Economic Growth and Development. Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa; Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of the African Union Development Agency/NEPAD; and Khaled Sherif, Vice President for Regional Development with the African Development Bank, discussed the need to “building back better” in the midst of the global pandemic.

 

February 13, 2021: Converging Crises in the Sahel: Situation Update and the Path Forward.  With Mohammed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative to West Africa and the Sahel, and El-Ghassim Wane, Elliott School Visiting Shapiro Professor of International Affairs.

 

January 6, 2021: How Insurgency Begins: Rebel Group Formation in Uganda and Beyond.  A book talk with Dr. Janet Lewis, GW Assistant Professor of Political Science.

 

December 4, 2020: Ethiopia’s Tigray Crisis: Humanitarian and Political Dimensions of the Crisis. A discussion with Patrick Youssef, Regional Director for Africa, ICRC; Beza Tesfaye, MercyCorps; Hardin Lang, Vice President for Programs and Policy, Refugees International; Elizabeth Hume, Vice President, Alliance for Peacebuilding on the unfolding Tigray crisis and its impacts on the surrounding region. Video Available.

 

November 3, 2020: Science Diplomacy & Partnership in Africa: Research Partnerships and Capacity Building in the Time of COVID-19, featuring a keynote address by Africa CDC Director Dr. John Nkengasong.  See event page for details.

 

October 23, 2020: The African Continental Free Trade Agreement: Trading Up in the Era of COVID-19. Albert Machanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry; Florizelle Liser, President and CEO, Corporate Council on Africa; and Tony Carroll, Vice President, Manchester Trade, discussed the progress and prospects of the ACFTA, which if successful could lift some 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty.

 

YALI EXPO

The IAfS team took part in the 2019 Young African Leader Initiative.  The YALI Network, a state department initiative, provides free tools and resources to help young African leaders develop the skills and connections they need to become a positive force for change in...

How Women Saved Rwanda

On January 29, 2020, the Elliott School of International Affairs Gender Equality Initiative (GEIA), Institute of African Studies (IAfS), and Leadership, Ethics, and Practice (LEAP) in International Affairs along with Inclusive Security held a presentation on How Women...

#INTO Africa: Live @ IAfS

On February 14, 2020, the Institute for African Studies with the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) Africa Program held an exciting and insightful, Into Africa Live session at GWU.The Into Africa podcasts seeks to shatter the narratives that dominate...

Remembering Biafra

On March 9, 2020, The Institute for African Studies held a panel discussion to celebrate the public launch of a web resource for students, teachers, and scholars that provides background information and a broad range of primary documents for teaching about the...

EVENTS ARCHIVE

2018 EVENTS

November 19, 2018: “Human Rights Narratives: A Pathway Toward Integrating Ethics in International Affairs” with Dr. Noam Schimmel

November 8, 2018: Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al-Qaeda’s Most Powerful Ally

November 2, 2018: Confronting a Post-Genocide Society: iDebate Rwanda

October 29, 2018: The Political Situation in Congo: An Evening with Tom Perriello

October 24, 2018: “Film Screening & Discussion: In the Name of Your Daughter”

October 18, 2018: Book Launch: The Kingdom of God Has No Borders

October 17, 2018: Global Ethics Day 2018 – Terrorism, Betrayal & Resilience: My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings with Amb. Prudence Bushnell

October 11, 2018: Book Launch – “Fighting for Peace in Somalia: A History and Analysis of the African Union Mission (AMISOM), 2007-2017”

October 1, 2018: ICWA Fellow Onyinye Edeh on Enablers and Barriers to Girls’ Education in Nigeria

September 27, 2018: Brown Bag Lunch: Use of Evidence to Promote Inclusiveness in the NASSP

September 25, 2018: Book Talk: “Africanistan: Development or Jihad?”

September 19, 2018: The Changing Nature of Work, Economic Growth and Talent Management in Nigeria

September 10, 2018: Book Talk: “Extremisms in Africa”

September 7, 2018: 5th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference

Aug. 24, 2018: A Conversation with Kenya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Monica Juma

Aug. 22, 2018: “Equality: It’s All in the Family” – Film Screening & Discussion

May 23, 2018: How to Rig an Election: Talk & U.S. Book Launch

May 8, 2018: World Without Borders: “And Women Rise”

April 30, 2018: Beautiful Africa: East to West (Photo Exhibit Reception by Photographer Johnette Iris Stubbs)

April 25, 2018: FGM/C in Sudan with Dr. Samira Amin

Apr. 19, 2018: “When Elephants Fight” Film Screening

April 19, 2018: Foreign Aid in Africa with Hervé Berville, Deputy French National Assembly

Apr. 4, 2018: Book Launch: Money for Votes: The Causes and Consequences of Electoral Clientelism in Africa, by Professor Eric Kramon

Mar. 30, 2018: Does Stakeholder Engagement Benefit Communities? The Case of Oil in Western Uganda

Mar. 29, 2018: Africa Speaker Series: Grounding Global Health Work in African Knowledge: Lessons Learned

Mar. 27, 2018: A Resilient Africa and the Role of Higher Education Institutions

Mar. 22, 2018: Nelson Mandela: The Aristocrat and the Revolution – A Historical Biography

Mar. 9, 2018: A Conversation with Kennedy Odede, CEO of SHOFCO

Mar. 8, 2018: International Women’s Day Celebration at Howard University, featuring Feminist Scholar Amina Mama

Feb. 15, 2018: Africa Speaker Series: Sub-Saharan Africa-Latin America in New South-South Relations

Feb. 14, 2018: IAfS Black History Month Celebration – Film Screening

Feb. 1, 2018: #TheConversation – Fostering Unity in the African Diaspora

Jan. 30, 2018: Towards an ‘Inclusive’ Agriculture-Driven Prosperity for Africa: The Potential, Promise and Challenges in Deploying a Gender Lens

Jan. 24, 2018: The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa

2017 EVENTS

Dec. 14, 2017: A Conversation with Zimbabwe’s MDC Alliance

Nov. 28, 2017: Strengthen Partnerships in Africa, Featuring Ambassador Yamamoto

Nov. 27, 2017: From the Margins to the Mainstream: Burundian Women’s Launch into Formal Politics from the Arusha Peace Talks (2000-2005)

Nov. 16, 2017: A Talk with H.E., Moussa Faki Mahamat, African Union Commission Chair

Nov. 14, 2017: A Conversation with Former Congressman Dellums

Nov. 7-8, 2017: Transnational Networks in Post-Conflict Stabilization and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nov. 6, 2017: Working with the Interagency: Your Role

Oct. 28-29, 2017: 6th Annual International Symposium on Women & Genocide: The Case of Darfur

Oct. 26, 2017: African Leadership & Gender: Tanzania

Oct. 23, 2017: The Role of Liberalism in Africa

Oct. 13, 2017: Barclays African Group Financial Markets Index

Oct. 12, 2017: Women Feed the World: Perspectives from a Nigerian Female Small-scale Farmer

Sept. 28, 2017: Education and Economic Empowerment in South Sudan

Sept. 28, 2017: “Go Africa” Workshop

Sept. 18-22, 2017: Constituency for Africa (CFA) Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series

Apr. 26, 2017: A “Fireside Chat” with Ambassador Liberata Mulamula

Apr. 20-21, 2017: Remembering Biafra 

Apr. 5, 2017: The Containment Chronotrope with Loren Landau

Mar. 28, 2017: Political Transition in Africa II: Contemporary Perspectives

Mar. 9, 2017: Political Transition in Africa I: Historical Perspectives

Feb. 27, 2017: Black History Month Discussion: Soul Jackets with Tanisha Ford

Feb. 23, 2017: Book Discussion: Evaluating Transitional Justice in Sierra Leone

Feb. 17, 2017: The New Green Revolution for Africa and Female Farmers

Feb. 16, 2017: Book Discussion: Love, Money and HIV with Dr. Sanyu Mojala

Feb. 14, 2017: Book Discussion: Warfare in Central Africa with Ledio Cakaj