School of Social and Political Science

Description

Join Edinburgh University and the Royal African Society for a wide-ranging look at the Prospects and Forecasts for Africa in 2023. An expert panel will examine the political, economic, climatic and cultural outlook for Africa in the year ahead, at SOAS, London (24 January) and Edinburgh University (25 January).

1. Will the outcomes of COP27 help Africa manage the impact of climate change? How are relations to land and migration transforming in changing climates?

2. How will Africa be affected by the global economic slowdown? Can it sustain its own growth, and how will Africans respond to the rising cost of living?

3. What will happen in the Nigerian elections? There and elsewhere, can new political forces effectively challenge established elites? What are the prospects for peace in the Sahel and Horn of Africa?

4. What is next for Africa’s filmmakers, musicians, artists, and writers? How will the continent’s abundant creativity continue to influence the world?

And that’s not all! Come and join us for the liveliest of debates.

MODERATOR:

Albert Sharra, PhD Affiliate, Centre for Data, Culture & Society, University of Edinburgh

SPEAKERS:

Dr Dineo Skosana, Senior researcher and project leader for the Nature and Society cluster

Dr Rama Dieng, Lecturer in Africa and International Development at the Centre of African Studies, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh

Ms Amaku Anku – Practice Head Africa, Euroasia Group

Mr Tosin Durodola, Doctoral Researcher at the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh

This will be a hybrid event and registration is mandatory.

BIOGRAPHIES

Dr Dineo Skosana

Dr Dineo Skosana is a senior researcher and project leader for the Nature and Society cluster and coordinates the coal project which investigates South Africa’s transition from coal to renewable energy at Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP). Her specific focus on the project is on mining-induced dispossession, which is central to rationalising amongst other reasons, why the transition from coal is necessary. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of the Witwatersrand. Her doctorate research explored the contestations over coal mining and African grave exhumations in Mpumalanga province. She has previously worked and published extensively on the continued salience of traditional leadership in post-apartheid South Africa. She has an interest in indigenous politics, rural struggles, as well as politics over land, sacred sites, heritage and belonging.

Dr Rama Dieng

Dr Rama Salla Dieng is a Lecturer in Africa and International Development at the Centre of African Studies, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. Before the University of Edinburgh, she worked for five years in Policy Research at the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and before that she worked at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mauritius. She also taught at the Department of Development Studies, SOAS. Rama’s research focuses on agrarian change, feminist political economy of development, labour care and social reproduction, politics of development in Africa (Senegal and Mauritius), and social movements. Rama serves on the board of the African Studies Association UK, holds a PhD in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London and a Double Masters in International Cooperation & Development and Risks Management in Developing Countries, from Science Po Bordeaux- IEP, France. She is is the co-editor of a Special Issue on Agrarian Change, Food Security, Sustainable Development in Senegal and Zimbabwe.

Ms Amaku Anku

As head of the firm's Africa practice, Amaka helps clients understand the interaction of politics, policy, and markets across sub-Saharan Africa. She is a member of the firm's Global Macro practice, where she focuses on comparative global politics. Amaka is an adjunct professor at Georgetown's Walsh School of Foreign Service, and she teaches a graduate course on political risk analysis. She is also a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. Amaka often appears on major TV networks and is frequently quoted in the world's leading newspapers. Prior to Eurasia Group, Amaka worked with various organizations across sub-saharan Africa. She also practiced law in the international arbitration and litigation group of global law firm Shearman & Sterling, LLP, where she represented multinational corporations in multimillion-dollar, cross-border disputes. She grew up in Enugu, Nigeria, and speaks Igbo and French. Amaka holds a bachelor's degree from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a doctor of law degree from Harvard Law School.

Tosin Durodola

Tosin, a Doctoral Researcher at the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh, is currently investigating the idea of the impermanence to marginality or precarity and post-refugee status experiences in host communities. This project explores discourse of post-conflict building, durable solutions, and protracted displacements. He holds an M.A in Diaspora and Transnational Studies with distinction from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and jointly won the Border Thesis Prize from Routledge and the Border Criminologies Network at Oxford University. He is also a Research Fellow of the French Institute for Research in Nigeria, a member of the Centre for Security Research SPS, and a Research Associate at Reformers of Africa. Previously, he worked as a development practitioner and served as Special Assistant on Digital Communications to the Governor of Ekiti state, and currently works with other organizations involved in research on conflict, development, and migration.