Old and New Diaspora | Center for African Studies

May 12, 2021

10:00 - 11:30 AM EDT | 16h00 – 17h30 SAST

This webinar is a follow up to the Symposium on “Re-Shaping US-Africa Policy and the Role of HBCUs” on February 19, 2021. This will be a discussion among expert voices around the role that the African diaspora plays in implementing and popularizing the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa and the Diaspora, particularly the U.S.

Presented in partnership with:

If you missed the Symposium in February you can watch the recording below.

DID YOU MISS THE WEBINAR? HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO VIEW THE RECORDING.

Speakers

Dr. Djibril Diallo

President & Chief-Executive-Officer, African Renaissance and Diaspora Network

With over 30 years’ experience in international relations and diplomacy, Djibril Diallo has spearheaded initiatives for global advocacy of HIV. Dr. Diallo has helped to advance the corporate policy on shared responsibility and global solidarity and UNAIDS’ vision of getting to zero and has worked closely with senior management to provide support in the political mobilization of prominent personalities, political leaders, civil society organizations and the media. Prior to joining UNAIDS, he served as the Director of the United Nations New York Office of Sports for Development and Peace, as the Director of the Communications Office of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and as a Special Adviser to the Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Dr. Diallo will be the Keynote Speaker for this webinar and will discuss the role of diaspora in shaping Africa-US and United Nations policies.

Dr. Krista Johnson

Director, Center for African Studies, Howard University

Prior to becoming the Director of Center for African Studies at Howard, Dr. Johnson served as the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of African Studies.

Dr. Johnson will discuss the perspectives from the February 2021 Howard University Symposium on the role of HBCUs in the development of African American diaspora policies towards Africa.

Dr. Cyril Obi

Program Director, The Africa Initiatives, Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

Dr. Obi leads the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa programs at SSRC. He has received numerous prestigious international academic awards and fellowships. Dr. Obi is currently a research associate of the Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa. He has published extensively in international publications and edited several books. His most recent book is, Developmental Regionalism and Economic Transformation in Southern Africa, (London and New York: Routledge, 2020), with Said Adejumobi.

He will discuss the role of contemporary diaspora in shaping Africa-US policy from the point of view of knowledge production.

Ms. Lily Sanya

Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM), South Africa Office

Ms. Sanya is a humanitarian at heart and has worked for the past 22 years in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. She has vast experience working on migration programs which aim to stimulate social economic development, regional cooperation as well as the protection of human rights. Ms. Sanya joined the IOM in 1995 and has served in Kenya, Afghanistan, Syria, Liberia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Mali, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

Dr. Bob Wekesa

Acting Director and Partnerships and Research Coordinator, African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Dr. Wekesa is a senior lecturer in the department of journalism and media studies where he supervises masters and doctoral projects in international communications. He holds a doctoral degree in international communications from the Communication University of China, Beijing. His work on African diasporas includes African Diaspora: before and after COVID-19 (ed.) (Johannesburg: Africa in Fact, 2018), The age of digital diaspora diplomacy (Johannesburg: Africa in Fact, 2018). He is currently co-editing a volume on African Americans and Africans. He is well published in academic and popular platforms on the intersection of communications and diplomacy.

Dr. Wekesa will be the Moderator for this webinar.

Center for African Studies at Howard University

African Centre for the Study of the United States at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

African Renaissance and Diaspora Network