Date and Time: March 6, 2021 (Saturday), 14:00 – 16:30
Venue: held as a video conference

Program:

14:00～14:05: Business announcement

14:05～14:15: Purpose of this meeting: Motoji Mastuda (project leader, Kyoto University)

14:15～15:25: Report on the publication of each Research Unit (1)

Volume 1: African Politics of Survival: Extraversion and Informality in the Contemporary World
Mitsugi Endo (Leader of the Nation and Citizenship Unit, the University of Tokyo)
Volume 2: Knowledge, Education and Social Structure in Africa
Shoko Yamada (Leader of the Education and Human Development Unit, Nagoya University)
Volume 3: People, Predicaments and Potentials in Africa
Takehiko Ochiai (Leader of the Conflict and Conviviality Unit, Ryukoku University)
Volume 4: Development and Subsistence in Globalising Africa: Beyond the Dichotomy
Motoki Takahashi (Leader of the Development and Livelihood Unit, Kyoto University)
Volume 5: Dynamism in African Languages and Literature: Towards Conceptualisation of African Potentials
Keiko Takemura (Leader of the Language and Literature Unit, Osaka University)

15:25～15:35：Coffee break

15:35～15:55：Report on the publication of each Research Unit (2)

Volume 6: ‘African Potentials’ for Wildlife Conservation and Natural Resource Management: Against the Images of ‘Deficiency’ and Tyranny of ‘Fortress’
Toshio Meguro (Leader of the Environment and Ecology Unit, Hiroshima City University)
Volume 7: Contemporary Gender and Sexuality in Africa: African-Japanese Anthropological Approach
Wakana Shiino (Leader of the Gender and Sexuality Unit, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)

15:55～16:30：General Discussion (Chaired by Misa Hirano-Nomoto, Kyoto University)

Volume 1 – 5 are published in March 2021, and Volume 6 and 7 will be published in July 2021. All of them are published by the Langaa RPCIG, based in Cameroon.

Title and editors of seven volumes are as follows:

Volume 1
Title: African Politics of Survival: Extraversion and Informality in the Contemporary World
Editors: Mitsugi Endo (The University of Tokyo), Ato Kwamena Onoma (CODESRIA) and Michael Neocosmos (Rhodes University)

Volume 2
Title: Knowledge, Education and Social Structure in Africa
Editors: Shoko Yamada (Nagoya University), Akira Takada (Kyoto University) and Shose Kessi (University of Cape Town)

Volume 3
Title: People, Predicaments and Potentials in Africa
Editors: Takehiko Ochiai (Ryukoku University), Misa Hirano-Nomoto (Kyoto University) and Daniel E. Agbiboa (Harvard University)

Volume 4
Title: Development and Subsistence in Globalising Africa: Beyond the Dichotomy
Editors: Motoki Takahashi (Kyoto University), Shuichi Oyama (Kyoto University) and Herinjatovo Aimé Ramiarison (University of Antananarivo)

Volume 5
Title: Dynamism in African Languages and Literature: Towards Conceptualisation of African Potentials
Editors: Keiko Takemura (Osaka University) and Francis B. Nyamnjoh (University of Cape Town)

Volume 6
Title: ‘African Potentials’ for Wildlife Conservation and Natural Resource Management: Against the Images of ‘Deficiency’ and Tyranny of ‘Fortress’
Editors: Toshio Meguro (Hiroshima City University), Chihiro Ito (Fukuoka University) and Kariuki Kirigia (McGill University)

Volume 7
Title: Contemporary Gender and Sexuality in Africa: African-Japanese Anthropological Approach
Editors: Wakana Shiino (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) and Christine Mbabazi Mpyangu (Makerere University)

Date and Time: January 30, 2021 (Saturday), 15:10 – 17:00
Venue: held as a video conference

Before the meeting, all members offered a silent prayer for the repose of the soul of Professor Samson Wasara (Juba University), who passed away suddenly in Khartoum on December 29, 2020. Eisei Kurimoto (Osaka University) delivered a condolence message. Professor Wasara was a key member of this project and has made significant contributions since the first Africa Forum held in Nairobi in December 2011.

This plenary session was held according to the following program.

Opening Remarks: Motoji Matsuda (Kyoto University, Japan)
Comments

1.Kennedy Mkutu (United States International University, Kenya)

2.Francis B. Nyamnjoh (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

3.Itaru Ohta (Kyoto University, Japan)

4.Edward Kirumira (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, South Africa)

5.Yaw Ofosu-Kusi (University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana)

6.Eisei Kurimoto (Osaka University, Japan)

7.Michael Neocosmos (Rhodes University, South Africa)

8.Motoji Matsuda (Kyoto University, Japan)

General Discussion: Itaru Ohta (Chair person)

Closing Remarks: Misa Hirano-Nomoto

First, the project leader, Motoji Matsuda (Kyoto University), summarized the project’s objectives and activities over the past ten years, from the first phase (2011–2015) to the second phase (2016–2020). This project has focused on indigenous ways of thinking and techniques used by African people to solve various challenges. It has also examined how they are transforming in the contexts of post-colonialism and globalization, what we can learn from them to renew the humanities and social sciences, and what kind of knowledge we can produce.

We have made various efforts in this process. Among them are the nine African Forums held annually in various African cities, which have been particularly effective in refining the idea of “African Potentials” and building a network between African and Japanese researchers.

Matsuda also discussed the characteristics of African potential, dividing it into three categories: “Fluidity and Flexibility,” “Incompleteness and Multiplicity,” and “Bricolage (Conviviality).”

Some of the project’s results will be published in the following seven volumes of English papers. Volumes 1–5 are scheduled for publication in March 2021, and volumes 6–7 in July 2021.

Volume 1
Title: African Politics of Survival: Extraversion and Informality in the Contemporary World
Editors: Mitsugi Endo (The University of Tokyo), Ato Kwamena Onoma (CODESRIA) and Michael Neocosmos (Rhodes University)

Volume 2
Title: Knowledge, Education and Social Structure in Africa
Editors: Shoko Yamada (Nagoya University), Akira Takada (Kyoto University) and Shose Kessi (University of Cape Town)

Volume 3
Title: People, Predicaments and Potentials in Africa
Editors: Takehiko Ochiai (Ryukoku University), Misa Hirano-Nomoto (Kyoto University) and Daniel E. Agbiboa (Harvard University)

Volume 4
Title: Development and Subsistence in Globalising Africa: Beyond the Dichotomy
Editors: Motoki Takahashi (Kyoto University), Shuichi Oyama (Kyoto University) and Herinjatovo Aimé Ramiarison (University of Antananarivo)

Volume 5
Title: Dynamism in African Languages and Literature: Towards Conceptualisation of African Potentials
Editors: Keiko Takemura (Osaka University) and Francis B. Nyamnjoh (University of Cape Town)

Volume 6
Title: ‘African Potentials’ for Wildlife Conservation and Natural Resource Management: Against the Images of ‘Deficiency’ and Tyranny of ‘Fortress’
Editors: Toshio Meguro (Hiroshima City University), Chihiro Ito (Fukuoka University) and Kariuki Kirigia (McGill University)

Volume 7
Title: Contemporary Gender and Sexuality in Africa: African-Japanese Anthropological Approach
Editors: Wakana Shiino (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) and Christine Mbabazi Mpyangu (Makerere University)

Date and Time: October 17, 2020 (Saturday), 15:10 – 17:00
Venue: held as a video conference

In the beginning, the secretariat shared updates of publication of the project outcome and future schedule of the project.

This was followed by a presentation from the Environment and Ecology Unit. The Unit leader, Toshio Meguro (Hiroshima City University), chaired the session and explained its purpose. Two research presentations were delivered, and Toshihiro Abe (Otani University) and Gen Yamakoshi (Kyoto University) made comments, respectively. A general discussion followed their comments.

The presenter, title, and contents of the presentation are as follows.

Presenter 1: Shinichiro Ichino (Kyoto University)
Title: African Potential for Biodiversity Conservation: Relationships between Tamarinds, Humans, and Lemurs in a Riparian Forest, Southern Madagascar

Abstract: The presenter discussed the African potential for biodiversity conservation using the relationship between tamarinds, local people, and lemurs in a riparian forest in southern Madagascar as a case study. Riparian forests dominated by tamarinds have developed in the river valleys of southern Madagascar, but they are highly fragmented. The few remaining forests have been protected by the local population (the Tandroy people). Tamarind is a tree species that is economically and culturally important to local people, especially as a relief food.
Tamarind is also important for ring-tailed lemurs as a food source and resting place. The ring-tailed lemur, which local people have protected, contributes to forest renewal as a seed disperser for tamarind. As described above, the relationship between the three parties includes mutually beneficial ecological interactions and cultural values for the local population. He argued that it is important to comprehensively understand such relationships.

Presenter 2: Yuichiro Fujioka (Kyushu University)
Title: The Potential of the Anthropogenic Natural Environment: A Case Study of the Commercialization of Marula in the Phalaborwa Region, South Africa

Abstract: The presenter examined the use of non-timber forest products and the function of the anthropogenic natural environment from the perspective of African potential, using the commercialization of non-timber forest products in South Africa as a case study. In the Phalaborwa region, the marula tree, a deciduous tree of the lacquer tree family, naturally increases throughout the region, and its fruits have traditionally been used to brew an alcoholic beverage. Since the 1980s, a company has been successfully producing and commercializing spirits from the marula fruit. The company buys the main ingredient, marula fruits, from the local population. While some view this as empowering for low-income people, others view it as structural exploitation. The presenter also argued that marula was protected because it is unsuitable for firewood and, consequently, served as a sustainable local resource.

Date and Time: June 20, 2020 (Saturday), 15:10 – 17:00
Venue: held as a video conference

First, the secretariat provided information about the progress made toward publishing the project outcome and future project schedule.

This was followed by a workshop reporting on the activities of the Gender and Sexuality Unit. Wakana Shiino (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies), the leader of the Gender and Sexuality Unit, acted as the moderator. After she explained the purpose of the session, two participants presented their research. Eri Hashimoto (Rikkyo University) commented on the first presentation, and Kaori Miyachi (Saga University) commented on the second. After the final discussion, project leader Motoji Matsuda (Kyoto University) made a general comment.

The presenters, titles, and contents of the presentations are as follows.

Presenter 1: Yumi Kamuro (Kumamoto University)
Title: Potential in the Clothing Behaviour of the Namibian Herero People: A Case Study of Colonial Encounters and Fashionable Refinement

Abstract: The presenter analyzed how Namibian Herero women adopted the long dresses of German settlers, who tried to massacre the Herero, and continue to refine the style. In their daily lives, these women have never asked why they wear the dresses of German immigrants but have pursued the Herero-like beauty of “how they wear them,” i.e., the types of long dresses, how to get them, how to choose the cloth, how to make them, and how to wear them. To become a Herero woman, one must embody the different ways of wearing long dresses. Herero women have not continued to choose and wear German dress out of inertia but have continued to modify it to suit the times, exercising flexible creativity as “Herero style.”

Presenter 2: Yukio Miyawaki (Osaka Prefecture University)
Title: Recent Research Trends on Female Genital Mutilation: What Are the Issues and How Are They Discussed?

Abstract: The presenter discussed Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) in recent years and clarified its problems. FGM/C has been discussed as a health and human rights issue. There is a lack of medical research on FGM/C as a health problem, suggesting that some types of FGM/C do not significantly impact health. FGM/C as a human rights issue has been criticized from the standpoint of cultural relativism. Moreover, in recent years, WHO’s double standards have been pointed out, such as the widespread acceptance of male circumcision and female genital cosmetic surgery, which are closely related to FGM/C. The presenter also argued that, while WHO places all FGM/C in a single category, researchers should dismantle this categorization and situate FGM/C within their local contexts, then propose measures such as the medicalization of FGM/C and alternative values.

Date and Time: January 26, 2020 (Saturday), 15:00 – 17:15
Venue: Large Meeting Room, 3rd Floor, Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall, Kyoto University

・Lecturer: Oussouby Sacko (Seika University)
・Commentator: Haruka Wazaki (Chubu University)
・Moderator: Motoji Matsuda (Kyoto University)

First, the moderator, Motoji Matsuda (the leader of the African Potentials project), outlined this project and the purpose of this lecture. This was followed by a lecture by Oussouby Sacko, the first African president of a Japanese university.

Title: Cooperation between Africa and Japan: How to Make the Most of the Potential of Both
Abstract:
Africa is expected to account for about a quarter of the world’s total population by 2050. It is also attracting economic attention as the “final frontier.” Japanese interest in Africa is also growing. However, Japan does not seem to have a deep understanding of the current state of African society. The speaker presented various ideas and ongoing projects to deepen the relationship between Africa and Japan, using examples, including cases from his home country, the Republic of Mali. He also discussed various potential resources in contemporary Africa other than minerals, including architecture, youth, and education. In conclusion, the speaker shared his vision of a future in which cooperation between Africa and Japan will deepen, and the countries will reach their potentials mutually.

Then, commentator Haruka Wazaki gave a thought-provoking presentation entitled “Africa–Asia Relations from the Perspective of Africans in Japan and China,” using many photographs to illustrate the dynamism of Africans living in Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, China, and other Asian countries and their relationships with Asia.

Finally, both speakers answered questions from the floor to conclude the lecture. This plenary session was held as a lecture open to the general public and was very successful with more than 100 participants.

Date and Time: November 2, 2019 (Saturday), 15:00 – 17:15
Venue: Large Meeting Room, 3rd Floor, Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall, Kyoto University

First, the project leader Motoji Matsuda (Kyoto University) explained the purpose of the Lusaka Forum, which will be held from December 6 to December 8. Four people who will present at the forum made presentations. Shuichi Oyama (Kyoto University) served as a moderator.

The presenter, title, and contents of the presentation are as follows.

Speaker 1: Nagisa Nakawa (Kanto Gakuin University)
Title: Guided Participation as a Means of Classroom Interaction in Zambia: Observing Children’s Play

Abstract: In Zambia, children are not as proactive in primary education as early childhood education. If this is true, then how do children play outside of school? The presenter analyzed children’s out-of-school play and learning and observed their interactions. The children’s games were multi-lingual, including English, the local language (Tongan), and other ethnic languages. Sometimes, the children “coined” new words. Commonly observed types of play included hand play, stone play, and digging holes in the ground. In addition, children (and sometimes adults) of various ages played together, and the speaker observed them helping, cooperating, and sharing their roles during the play. Finally, the presenter discussed how the creativity and positivity of this out-of-school play could be utilized in school education.

Speaker 2: Yuji Matsuhira (University of Hyogo)
Title: Potentials of African Music: A Case of Zimbabwean Music in Japan

Abstract: The presenter discussed the influence of the mbira (thumb piano), a Zimbabwean musical instrument, on the religious views of the Japanese. In Japan, the mbira is strongly associated with entertainment, including personal enjoyment, entertainment, and performance in the music business. In Zimbabwe, however, the mbira is not only a form of entertainment, but also has a religious aspect, as it is indispensable in the possession rituals of the Mzuzimu (ancestor) rituals. More than 30 years have passed since the introduction of the mbira to Japan, and some say syncretism is occurring with the indigenous beliefs of Japan. For example, audience members are entering trances at concerts, and performers are being invited to a religious experience. Thus, the presenter explained how the religious ideology of Zimbabwe (Shona society) and the mbira music that embodies it have the potential to change the religious views of the Japanese.

Speaker 3: Yuko Sugiyama (Hirosaki University)
Title: “We Have Already Tried It, Only Politicians Just Don’t Know It”: Making Innovation Socially Inclusive Among the Bemba of Northern Zambia

Abstract: The presenter analyzed the characteristics of innovation among the Bemba of Northern Province, Zambia, from the perspective of folk/local innovation history. In Bemba society, people choose livelihood strategies focused on long-term food security. The Bemba principle of “the haves sharing with the have-nots” creates an extensive mutual support network. This livelihood strategy has led to a preference for “more food options” and increased the variety of cultivated plants as farming systems have changed throughout history. Every villager practiced small-scale experimental trials in their livelihood activities, which ensured stability and created possibilities for diverse innovations. Furthermore, the penetration of the cash economy led to the localization of employed labor and liquor sales. The process of spreading new technologies granted access to productive resources and led to their spread throughout Bemba society, including the “have-nots.”

Speaker 4: Tetsu Sato (Ehime University and Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)
Title: Potentials of Sustainability Transformations Emerging from Community-based Innovative Practices: Case Studies in Lake Malawi Riparian Villages

Abstract: By introducing Future Earth’s project “Trans-disciplinary Research with Vulnerable Populations for Natural Resource Management under Poverty Conditions,” the presenter demonstrated the usefulness of trans-disciplinary research with ordinary, vulnerable villagers as research partners. First, the researchers and villagers decided together what issues would be studied. Through dialogue and careful consideration with the villagers, the researchers uncovered the constraints they face. In addition, the research unit discovered a new trans-disciplinary methodology by organizing an international forum of villagers. Finally, he introduced a future research aim of identifying leverage points that can trigger significant changes to solve problems by network analysis of causal chains.

AFRICAN FORUM

9th African Forum: Lusaka
Dates: November 29 – December 1, 2019
Venue: Cresta Golfview Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia

Summary of the Forum

The ninth African Potential Forum was held in Lusaka, the capital of the Republic of Zambia, from November 29 to December 1, 2019. Over 30 people, including presenters from Japan, Zambia, and other southern African countries; students from the University of Zambia; and Japanese researchers and practitioners living in Zambia, participated in the forum. They reported on their research from diverse disciplines, offering various angles to expand Africa’s potential while taking movement (and mobility) as a starting point. Lively and in-depth discussion followed the presentations.

Matsuda, the project leader, first explained the project’s outcomes over the past nine years. The explanation divided the achievements and challenges of the African Forums, held in various locations, into theoretical and conceptual difficulties and outcomes and the accumulation of empirical knowledge. At the same time, he suggested that this project is becoming a model for a new type of academic exchange and collaboration between Japan and Africa. Then, Professor Godfrey Hampwaye of the University of Zambia, representing the Zambian constituency, made a welcome speech, focusing on the African constituents’ expectations for this project.

Professor Hampwaye came to Japan for six months in 2019 and served as a visiting professor at the African Studies Center of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. During his stay in Japan, he also visited Kyoto University to report at a seminar where he discussed the project and shared the results with project members. Based on such exchanges, his welcome remarks outlined pertinent requests and expectations.

The keynote speaker at this year’s Lusaka Forum was Professor Owen Sichone, former Director of the Hammarskjold Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Copperbelt University, a historic national university with a campus in the Copperbelt region of northern Zambia. Professor Sichone is a highly respected researcher specializing in political science and political sociology who incisively analyzes the current state of southern African societies through the lens of coloniality and post-coloniality. In a prior consultation with the project secretariat (August 2019), the parties agreed to interpret social fluidity and reorganization using “movement (and mobility)” as a keyword. Along this line, Professor Sichone brilliantly captured not only geographical movement but also various types of movement in the context of post-colonial Africa.

In the second phase of the project, different topics have been set as guides to help theorizing African potential: indigeneity in Kampala in 2016, universalities in Graham’s Town in 2017, and futurity and informality in Accra in 2018. Movement (and mobility) elucidated a complex overall picture of African potential during this forum. This was a step forward from the somewhat formal attempts to define the characteristics of African potential in the first phase.

After the impressive keynote speech by Professor Sichone, fourteen oral presentations (eight from Africa and six from Japan) were presented in five sessions: Education and Knowledge Production, Rural Transformation and Development, Wisdom from Below, Gap and Integration, and Culture and Humanity. After the presentations, all participants engaged in focused discussions. The participants came not only from Japan and Zambia but also from Zimbabwe and Malawi. Their specializations included political science, law, anthropology, environmental studies, geography, and sociology, and they collaborated to facilitate a discussion of Africa’s potential. Specifically, in this forum, the flexibility and resilience of African customary law as “lived law” was raised by a female researcher who is engaged in both academic and social practice from the standpoint of feminist jurisprudence, which opened up new possibilities for the discussion of African potential.

Each of the five sessions had a commentator from the Japanese and African constituencies who provided creative positioning and recommendations from the perspective of continuity with previous forums.

The African core members, who have been participating in the Africa Forum since the project’s first phase began in 2011, and Japanese co-researchers played central roles in the sessions. The core membership has been strengthened with each iteration of the Africa Forum and now includes leading researchers from Kenya, South Africa, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Ghana.

In the general discussion at the end, Professors Eisei Kurimoto and Itaru Ohta from the Japanese constituency, who have participated in all the forums since the first Nairobi Forum, and other core members from the African constituency summarized the accomplished horizons. Then, all participants engaged in freeform discussion.

Some of these results will be included in the series “African Potentials,” which will be published by Langaa RPCIG Inc. in the final year of the project.

PROGRAM

Program Timetable

November 29, Friday

18:00 – 18:30 Registration

18:30 – 20:30 Reception

November 30, Saturday

8:40 – 9:00 Opening Remarks

Motoji Matsuda (Project leader, Kyoto University)

9:00 – 9:20 Greeting Address

Godfrey Hampwaye (University of Zambia)

9:20 – 10:40 Keynote Address (Chair: Itaru Ohta)

Owen Sichone (Copperbelt University)

Mobility as Freedom, and Strangers as Potential Kin: Reflections on the African Potential for Managing Social Conflict

10:40 – 12:40 Session 1: Education and Knowledge Production (Chair: Itaru Ohta)

Commentators: Edward Kirumira & Yaw Ofosu-Kusi

1-1. John Mweshi (University of Zambia)
A Critique of the Dilemmas of Education in Africa from the Perspective of “African Potentials.”

1-2. Godfrey Hampwaye & Gilbert Siame (University of Zambia)
Championing Innovations in Urban Planning Discourses in Africa: Insights from the Master of Science in Spatial Planning Programme at the University of Zambia

1-3. Nagisa Nakawa (Kanto Gakuin University)
Guided Participation as a Means of Classroom Interaction in Zambia: Observing Children’s Play

12:40 – 13:40 Lunch Break

 

13:40 – 15:40 Session 2: Rural Transformation and Development (Chair: Yaw Ofosu-Kusi)

Commentators: Michael Neocosmos & Eisei Kurimoto

2-1. Tetsu Sato (Ehime University)
Potentials of Sustainability Transformations Emerging from Community-Based Innovative Practices: Case Studies in Lake Malawi Riparian Villages

2-2. Rangarirai G. Muchetu (Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies)
Land Reform and Then What? Post-Reform Community Development Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa; Lessons from Zimbabwe

2-3. Yumi Sakata (Embassy of Japan in Zimbabwe)
African Potentials in Peasant Tobacco Farmers: A Case Study from the State-Led Capitalism and the Expansion of Tobacco Contract Farming in Zimbabwe

15:40 – 15:50 Coffee Break

 

15:50 – 17:50 Session 3: Wisdom from Below (Chair: Motoji Matsuda)

Commentators: Francis B. Nyamnjoh & Toshio Meguro

3-1. Bosco Rusuwa (University of Malawi)
Africa’s Potential: Historical Perspectives, Local Initiatives and the Wider Macro-Economic Environment as Drivers of Progress

3-2. Yuko Sugiyama (Hirosaki University)
“We Have Already Tried It, Only Politicians Just Don’t Know It”: Making Innovation Socially Inclusive among the Bemba of Northern Zambia

3-3. Shuichi Oyama (Kyoto University)
Willingness to Make a Profit While Being Fearful of Jealousy: The Role of “Piecework” in Bemba Society in Northern Zambia

December 1, Sunday

9:30 – 11:30 Session 4: Gap and Integration (Chair: Eisei Kurimoto）

Commentators: Michael Neocosmos & Francis Nyamnjoh

4-1. Chuma Himonga & Tinenenji Banda (University of Zambia)
The Regulatory Potential of Living Customary Law in Southern African Contexts

4-2. Chidongo Phiri (University of Zambia)
The African Potential on Reduction of Corruption “Nichekeleko” and “Ndishamo” in the Transport Sector in Zambia

4-3. Horman Chitonge (University of Cape Town)
The African Union Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in Africa: Implications for Labour Mobility and the Skills Gap

11:30 – 13:00 Lunch Break

 

13:00 – 15:00 Session 5: Culture and Humanity (Chair: Itaru Ohta)

Commentators: Edward K. Kirumira & Motoji Matsuda

5-1. Yuji Matsuhira (University of Hyogo)
Potentials of African Music: A Case of Zimbabwean Music in Japan

5-2. Francis Nyamnjoh (University of Cape Town)
Ubuntuism and Africa

15:00 – 15:45 Coffee Break

 

15:45 – 16:45 General Discussion

Convener: Eisei Kurimoto (Osaka University)

Convivial Dinner

AFRICAN FORUM

8th African Forum: Accra
Dates: December 7–9, 2018
Venue: Erata Hotel, Accra, Ghana

Summary of the African Forum

The eighth African Potential Forum was held in Accra, Ghana, from December 7–9, 2018. We had a lively and in-depth discussion of Africa’s potential with the 40 participants, who included Japanese and Ghanaian researchers and officials from international organizations.

Dr. Joseph Oduro-Frimpong (Ashesi University, Accra), a media researcher and artist known for creating posters of African celebrities’ faces, displayed his wonderful work at the forum. He also created and donated two new posters for this project and the Accra Forum.

Professor Ato Sekyi-Otu (York University, Canada), a renowned researcher on Frantz Fanon, and his wife also made a special appearance and offered insightful comments.

At the opening of the forum, the project representative summarized the progress and challenges of the “African Potential” study over the past eight years and emphasized that the key objectives of this Accra Forum are looking to Africa’s future and connecting it to African potential.

Then, on behalf of the Ghanaian constituency, Professor Agyei-Mensah, the Head Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, made a speech on the possibility of intellectual exchange between Africa, Japan, and Asia. This was followed by the forum’s keynote speech by Professor Yaw Ofosu-Kusi (University of Energy and Natural Resources).

Professor Ofosu-Kusi’s talk was titled, “The Future African Economy: Informality as Alternative Potential for Development and Progress.” During the speech, he focused on informality, which has been attracting attention in discussions related to African society and economy. Informality will inevitably be constantly formalized by the state and the international community. This persuasive speech described Professor Ofosu-Kusi’s survey-based observation of how informality is created and functions in specific social situations while freely changing form.

Previous forums featured sub-themes that contribute to the conceptualization of African potential, such as indigeneity (Kampala Forum, 2016) and universality (Grahamstown, Forum, 2017). Futurity was selected as the sub-theme for the Accra Forum at the behest of Professor Ofosu-Kusi. Indeed, his keynote address was a perfect fit for this theme and guided the overall forum discussion.

After the keynote speech, fifteen oral presentations (nine from Africa and six from Japan) were delivered in five sessions: Illness and Everyday Life; Democracies; Thought, Knowledge and Power; Urban Spaces; and Education and Social Consciousness, which were followed by discussion by all participants.

The core project members in Africa, who had been involved in the project since its first phase launched in 2011, participated from South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and South Sudan. These members offered valuable commentary on the forum’s discussions to date, linking each presentation to “African Potential.” The poster session by the next generation of researchers, which began in the second phase, was also very successful. Three researchers from Ghana and two from Japan presented their research reports.

In the final general discussion, Professor Eisei Kurimoto of Osaka University, who has participated in every forum since the first Nairobi Forum; Professor Itaru Ohta, the project leader of the first phase; Professor Michael Neocosmos, a keynote speaker at the last forum; and Professor Sekyi-Otu, a special participant, offered panoptic comments and presented a platform for discussion that would lead to the participants’ discussion.

These outcomes will be published in English as a collection of papers co-edited by Ofosu-Kusi and Motoji Matsuda.

PROGRAM

December 7, Friday‘SOHOS RESTAURANT’

17:30-18:30 Registration

18:30-20:30 Reception

December 8, Saturday‘AKITA HALL’

Facilitator: Motoki TAKAHASHI

8:40-9:00 Opening Remarks

Motoji MATSUDA (Project leader, Kyoto University)

9:00-9:20 Greeting Address

Samuel AGYEI-MENSAH (University of Ghana)

9:20-10:40 Keynote Address (Chair: Eisei KURIMOTO)

Yaw OFOSU-KUSI (University of Energy and Natural Resources)
The Future African Economy: Informality as Alternative Potential for Development and Progress

10:40-12:40 Session 1: Illness and Everyday Life (Chair: Gen YAMAKOSHI)

Commentators:
Edward KIRUMIRA (Makerere University)
Itaru OHTA (Kyoto University)

1-1. Kodjo Amedjorteh SENAH (University of Ghana)
Traditional Medicine in Ghana: Which Way?

1-2. Akinori HAMADA (Kansai University)
Collecting Money through Play: A Preliminary Analysis of Celebratory Parties in a Rural Town in Southern Ghana

1-3. Ato Kwamena ONOMA
(Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa)
Ebola, Negotiability and Futurity in Africa and Beyond

12:40-13:40 Lunch Break

 

13:40-15:40 Session 2: Democracies (Chair: Kodjo Amedjorteh SENAH)

Commentators:
Samson Samuel WASSARA (University of Bahr El Ghazal)
Eisei KURIMOTO (Osaka University)

2-1. Adebayo OLUKOSHI
(International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)
Africa Rising? A Counter-Narrative

2-2. Takuo IWATA (Ritsumeikan University)
Political Satire and Comedy in Africa

2-3. Joseph Kofi TEYE (University of Ghana)
The Drivers of Migration from Africa to Europe

15:40-15:50 Coffee Break

 

15:50-17:50 Session 3: Thought, Knowledge and Power (Chair: Shoko YAMADA)

Commentators:
Francis B. NYAMNJOH (University of Cape Town)
Motoji MATSUDA (Kyoto University)

3-1. Ibrahim YAHAYA (Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey)
Place of African Languages in the Continent Potentials

3-2. Yutaka SAKUMA (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
The Potential of Debts That Cannot Be Paid

3-3. Akosua Keseboa DARKWAH (University of Ghana)
The Local Meets the Global: The Changing Character of Ghanaian Women’s Work

Dinner

December 9, Sunday‘AKITA HALL’

9:00-11:00 Session 4: Urban Spaces (Chair: Adebayo OLUKOSHI)

Commentators:
Michael John NEOCOSMOS (Rhodes University)
Takuo IWATA (Ritsumeikan University)

4-1. George OWUSU (University of Ghana)
Africa’s Urban Future: The Prospects and Challenges for Sustainable Urban Development

4-2. Charlotte WRIGLEY-ASANTE (University of Ghana)
Reflections on Gender and Security Issues in Urban Spaces of Ghana

4-3. Michihiro KITA (Osaka University), Seth Asare OKYERE (Osaka University) and Miwa SUGITA (Osaka University)
Towards a New Understanding of Informal Settlements in Accra: An Adaptation of the Theory of Place and Life in Abese Indigenous Quarter of La

11:00-11:10 Coffee Break

11:10-12:20 Poster Session

Special Exhibition
Joseph ODURO-FRIMPONG (Ashesi University College)
Futurity and African Popular Cultural Studies

P-1. Maxima MISSODEY (University of Ghana)
Commodification of Herbal Medicine in Ghana: Intersection of Interests of Producers, Distributors, Consumers and Regulators in the Industry

P-2. Phyllis Bernice OPARE (University of Energy and Natural Resources)
Strategising Institutions to Promote Female Success and Persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Courses and Professions

P-3. Mary ANTWI (University of Energy and Natural Resources)
Advancement of Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Ghana: The Geospatial Approach

P-4. Eri KODA (Ritsumeikan University)
Chopping Love and Money? The Case of Young Women’s Relationship with “Sugar Daddy” in Urban Ghana

P-5. Miwa SUGITA (Osaka University), Seth Asare OKYERE (Osaka University) and Hiroshi TSUJI (Osaka University)
An Analysis of the Socio-spatial Structure in Abese and Kowe Indigenous Informal Quarters of La Dadekotopon District

12:20-13:30 Lunch Break

13:30-15:30 Session 5: Education and Social Consciousness

(Chair: Charlotte WRIGLEY-ASANTE)
Commentators:
Kennedy Mkutu AGADE (United States International University)
Motoki TAKAHASHI (Kyoto University)

5-1. Shoko YAMADA (Nagoya University)
Elite Education in Achimota School of Colonial Ghana and the Surge of Students’ Agencies: At the Intersection of Class, Westernization, and Gender

5-2. Doris Akyere BOATENG (University of Ghana)
Resilience as a Key to Women’s Empowerment: Evidence from Three Studies

5-3. Gen YAMAKOSHI (Kyoto University)
Conservation of the Bush of Ghosts: Conviviality in Guinean Anthropogenic Landscape

15:30-15:40 Coffee Break

15:40-16:30 General Discussion

Moderators: Motoji MATSUDA and Itaru OHTA

Farewell Party

Date: December 20, 2020 18:00-19:30
Venue: Online

Title：The mental health of the Republic of Guinea: Report on local medical conditions and psychiatric medical support activities
Speaker：Shinsaku Inomata (Nirasaki Higashigaoka Hospital)

Date: August 28, 2020 17:00-18:15
Venue: Online

Title：Traditional medicine and the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa: the case of Cameroon
Speaker： Fongnzossie Fedoung Evariste（University of Douala, Cameroon）