The Africa Institute of Sharjah Offers Modern Nation – Ancient Roots Event in Ethiopia
Press Release (ePRNews.com) - Sharjah, UAE - Dec 17, 2019 - Established in 1976, The AI is an interdisciplinary academic research institute dedicated to the study, research, and documentation of Africa, and its manifold connections with the broader world. The educational research institute is a globally oriented institution with a focus on the humanities and social sciences that will have a postgraduate studies program offering both masters and PhD degrees to train a new generation of critical thinkers in African and African diaspora studies. It operates from Sharjah’s Africa Hall, which reopened on September 25, 2018.
Speaking during the launch of the Africa Hall, Hoor Al Qasimi, the institute spokesperson said, “Sharjah has always been at the crossroads of various cultures, with great influence from Africa due to geographic proximity and economic exchange. The establishment of The Africa Institute, the first research and archival institution of its kind in the region, pays tribute to this rich history.’ Al Qasimi went on to say, “we are also pleased to re-launch Africa Hall, which, since its founding in Sharjah in 1976, created a lasting legacy of cross-cultural connection and artistic expression.”
From October 2019 to May 2020, The Africa Institute is hosting an event themed: Ethiopia: Modern Nation-African Roots. As part of its annual public programing, The Africa Institute has organized a season of scholarly, cultural and artistic activities in various media and genres that will focus on one country from the African continent, or one of the African diaspora communities worldwide. The AI will focus on Ethiopia as the first in this series of seasons. To accomplish such objective, The AI has commissioned three leading Ethiopian scholars, Elizabeth W. Giorgis (Addis Ababa University); SurafelWondemu (Addis Ababa University), among others to draft a detailed program for the season on Ethiopia. The international conference is free of charge and open to anyone willing to attend.
Explaining the Institute’s mission, the institute spokesperson said, “The conception of The Africa Institute emanates from a basic premise that African Studies is a global enterprise. He further added that “The Africa Institute is uniquely positioned to further analysis of these linkages by illuminating larger African and Gulf ties, like those powerfully demonstrated in the historiography of the Indian Ocean Rim. At once, the Institute envisions larger global processes and knowledge circuits concerning Africa and its diaspora.”
One of the events held by the Institute was Global Africa. The theme of the conference was African and African Diaspora Studies in the 21st Century. The three-day meeting was the first to take place in the newly rebuilt Africa Hall, a first-class venue for showcasing African cultures, theatre, dance, and musical performances. The conference also saw scholars in African and African Diaspora studies from across the globe present papers in their respective disciplines and specializations towards the shared goal of appraising their fields in their past, present, and future iterations.
About The Africa Institute
The AI is a model center of excellence in research, teaching, and documentation that is expected to match in quality and breadth of coverage, existing peer of African and African Diaspora Studies in Africa.
Contact Information
The Africa Institute
Africa Hall, Al Manakh
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Phone: 06 5112410
Email: info@theafricainstitute.org
Website: http://theafricainstitute.org/
