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. -

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…

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. -

"Arise! Ye Who Refuse to be Bond Slaves:" Paul Robeson, "The Black King of Songs, " and China

Professor Gao Yunxiang, History, Ryerson University

This lecture is adapted from a chapter in Gao Yunxiang’s new book Arise, Africa! Roar, China! Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century (UNC Press, December 2021). In this lecture, Gao unpacks the dynamic yet scarcely noted relations between Paul Robeson (1898-1976), the world famous African American singer, actor, athlete, lawyer, and political activist, and China throughout most of the twentieth century.

Sponsored by the East Asia Program, EAP Graduate Student Steering Committee, The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and the Global Racial Justice initiative.

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.

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. -

This event is live and virtual -
https://cornell.zoom.us/j/98197275921?pwd=a3lqNGZ2QnNCSVRHS1BGMG5HRFdaZ…

Meeting ID: 981 9727 5921
Passcode: 055857

The Cornell Institute for African Development (IAD) hosts a monthly webinar on contemporary African issues. This webinar series features diverse voices from the African continent and the Diaspora on a wide range of themes, challenges, breakthroughs in cutting-edge research outcomes, innovations, and discoveries across all disciplines and area studies.

Friday, September 24, 2021 / 11:00am – 1:00pm EST / 3:00pm – 5:00pm GMT/UTC/ 5:00pm – 7:00pm CEST

Discussants: Rokhaya Diallo, Journalist, author, filmmaker, and activist for racial, gender and religious equality based in Paris, France.

Dr. Gregory S. Jenkins, Professor of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, Geography, and African Studies, Penn State University.

The interview will be followed by Q & A

Languages: English and French with simultaneous translation