PRESS RELEASE Contact: Fiona
Dunne
April 10, 2001 Phone: (212) 949-5666
E-mail: fdunne@aaionline.org
SIX AFRICAN SCHOLAR/ACTIVISTS
AWARDED U.S. FELLOWSHIPS
NEW YORK, NY, April 10, 2001 – The Africa-America Institute (AAI) today announced its first round of Claude Ake Memorial Award fellows, commemorating one of Africa’s leading voices for democracy by supporting six African scholar/activists in their efforts to address the continent’s developmental challenges. AAI administers the Ford Foundation funded program in conjunction with the African Studies Association (ASA).
The fellows – three women, three men – will each receive one-year, $5,000 stipends to further their innovative and practical research into resolving Africa’s developmental problems. Fellows will travel to the United States to participate in study tours tailored to their specific research interests, then present their findings at the annual meeting of the ASA in Houston, Texas in November, 2001. AAI will publish their research and distribute it to academic and other audiences.
“Claude Ake’s intellectually inspired advocacy for democracy and economic development in Africa finds its descendants in this first round of Ake Scholars. Concerned with a range of modern-day challenges, from managing the oil rich resources of the Nigerian Delta to the impact of new technologies on African political institutions, each scholar is dedicated to finding thoughtful solutions to critical problems facing the African continent,” said AAI president Mora McLean.
Ake, a Nigerian scholar of global standing and activist for democracy, established the Centre for Advanced Social Studies in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Throughout his professional life, he was at the forefront of scholarship that championed social justice, economic development and democracy. He challenged African intellectuals to help construct an African conception of development that would facilitate African solutions to African problems.
THE 2001 AKE SCHOLARS ARE:
Mr. Wale Adebanwi – Nigeria
Assistant lecturer, University
of Ibadan
Research topic: Impact of
Technology on Socio-Political Structures
Mr. Mumed Abdurahman Ame –
Ethiopia
Field monitor, USAID, Addis
Ababa
Research topic: Afar Pastoralism
and Land Management Policies in Ethiopia
Mr. Adeniyi Sulaiman Gbadegesin
– Nigeria
Associate professor, University
of Ibadan
Research topic: Resource
Management in the Nigerian Delta
Ms. Josephine Hombarume –
Zimbabwe
Research consultant, M&N
Startouts, Harare
Research topic: Needs of
Unaccompanied Refugee Children
Ms. Ifeoma Stella Madueme
– Nigeria
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Research topic: Conflict
Resolution in Traditional Igbo Society
Ms. Rebecca Njoki Wanjiku
– Kenya
Reporter, The People Daily,
Nairobi
Research topic: Coping Strategies
of Women Refugees and Disrupted Communities
An award committee comprised of noted Africanists from ASA and senior AAI and ASA staff members selected the fellows from a pool of more than 100 applicants.
Catharine Newbury, ASA president, noted, “The ASA is committed to strengthening linkages with colleagues and institutions in Africa and this program contributes significantly to that goal. The ASA is delighted to collaborate with AAI in this important initiative, and we look forward to welcoming the Ake award winners to our 44th Annual Meeting in November."
The African Studies Association was founded in 1957 as a nonprofit organization open to all individuals and institutions interested in African affairs. With over 3000 individual and institutional members worldwide, ASA is the leading North American organization that promotes African studies. Its mission is to bring together people with a scholarly and professional interest in Africa. ASA is hosted by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
The mission of The Africa-America Institute is to promote enlightened engagement between Africa and America through education, training and dialogue. For almost 50 years, AAI has mobilized resources and administered programs that have enabled over 20,000 Africans to pursue advanced degrees and technical training. The Institute conducts informational programs that seek to shape and inform the debate over U.S. policy toward Africa in ways that highlight African perspectives and promote American engagement. Founded in 1953, AAI is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, nonprofit organization with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., and a presence in 17 African countries.