Issues in African Development Seminar Series examines critical concerns in contemporary Africa using a different theme each semester. The seminars provide a forum for participants to explore alternative perspectives and exchange ideas. They are also a focal activity for students and faculty interested in African development. In addition, prepares students for higher level courses on African economic, social and political development. The presentations are designed for students who are interested in development, Africa’s place in global studies, want to know about the peoples, cultures and societies that call Africa home, and explore development theories and alternate viewpoints on development. -

The Lingua Mater competition invites students to translate Cornell's Alma Mater into a different language and submit a video of the performed translation. The inaugural Lingua Mater student competition took place in 2018 as part of Cornell's Global Grand Challenges Symposium. The top three videos received cash prizes.

2021 competition details

Can you translate Cornell’s Alma Mater into your mother tongue (or a language you are learning/have learned at Cornell) and sing it? We invite you to translate “Far Above Cayuga’s Waters” and submit a video of you (and your friends!) performing it somewhere on any of Cornell’s campuses.

Translations do not need to be exact or perfectly in meter but should capture the feel and tune of our university’s Alma Mater. As is customary, include the first verse, refrain, second verse, and refrain in your video submission (for guidance, listen to a performance and read the lyrics).

Video submissions need to be MP4 files at 1920 x 1080 (1080p), in landscape mode with an aspect ratio of 16:9. Please ensure that you have copyright permission for any images/videos you use.

Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges. Submissions will be judged equally on the translation, the musical quality, and the creativity in visual presentation.

The top three entries will win cash prizes.

Winners will be announced during International Education Week (November 15-19, 2021) and the top three videos will be posted online that week.

Entries may be submitted by any registered Cornell student or group of students.

Submission deadline: Monday, November 8, 2021 at 5 pm ET

SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO AND LYRICS HERE

Please contact Angelika Kraemer, Director of the Language Resource Center, if you have any questions.

The Lingua Mater competition is co-sponsored by the Language Resource Center and the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs.

In 2019, during Ghana’s “Year of the Return”, a national program of Diaspora Engagement, bearing a letter of recommendation from the Deputy Chair of the African Union, endorsing my work on the “RMDI Project”, I obtained an appointment to meet with HE President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo – with the objective of assessing how the RMDI might integrate into the “Year of the Return” framework and objectives.

The RMDI (Retirement Migration Development Intervention) is an Enterprise Systems Engineering construct designed to channel the knowledge, human, and social capital of inbound cohorts of retirees into an agenda of high-leverage development focused entrepreneurial network partnership.

This presentation will provide a high-level walkthrough of the RMDI Enterprise Architecture and provide an overview of my experiences and interactions at the African Union HQ and at the Jubilee House in Ghana. The intention is to share the challenges associated with communicating the design and nuances of a novel and complex development intervention architecture and to share lessons learned and future research.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsd-GtqTwiE90v8J_jtnaK3bS9aN…

The Africana Studies & Research Center (ASRC) at Cornell University will host a lecture by Meagan Sylvester: People Power Movements in Caribbean Festival Culture

Meagan Sylvester, - Senior Lecturer, Music Sociologist, Author, Researcher.

Meagan Sylvester is a published author from the Caribbean twin island of Trinidad and Tobago. She is a UWI, St. Augustine graduate and a Caribbean scholar whose doctoral research focused on Narratives of Resistance in Calypso and Ragga Soca music. Her continuing interrogation within the academy centers on Music, Gender, and National Identity in Calypso and Soca, Music of Diasporic Carnivals, Narratives of Resistance in Calypso and Ragga Soca music, Steelpan and kaisoJazz musical identities. Teaching and research interests are Caribbean Music Cultures and African Diaspora Popular Culture.

Registration is required:

https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvf--hrjwuG9UNU8OxHGrUUBkjqH…