EXPLORE AFRICA Program (20th of Feb - 20th of March)
All throughout the Month: Story-Telling Walls in the Hub (next to Tiki Café)
Week 1
Saturday 20 th of Feb
Day of Workhops (Drumming, Dancing and Food!) 11am Drumming, 12am Dancing, 2pm Food – All £2.50 each, NK11
We would like to invite you all to a jam-packed DAY OF WORKSHOPS to kick start our Explore Africa Month. The day will begin by learning the beats of Africa in a djembe drumming workshop and getting you in the mood for some traditional dancing for the second workshop, all taught to you by Pierre, member of Drummin' A Boot who has a real passion for West Africa . The day will end with traditional recipes from East & West Africa, giving you a chance to get a taste of this beautiful continent.
Drumming Workshop: 11.00-12.00 £2.50
Dance Workshop: 12.00-13.00 £2.50
Food Workshop: 14.00-15.00 £2.50
You are welcome to join as many workshops as you like.
And if you're really keen you can join all 3 for £6!!
Monday 22 nd of Feb
Movie: La Maison Jaune (The Yellow House), Amor Hakkar | Algeria/France 2007 | 1h22m, NK1 6pm
The Aures Mountains , Algeria . Alya, a young girl of twelve years old, is working in the desolate fields. A police officer hands her a letter and tells her that her older brother, who was doing his military service, has passed away in a car accident. She hands the letter bearing the terrible news to her father, Mouloud. Without hesitation he braves all obstacles to go to the city in his small Lambretta tricycle to fetch his son's body. Fatima, his wife, cannot bear the terrible grief. Will Mouloud, with the help of Alya, succeed in giving his wife some solace?
Tuesday 23 rd of Feb
Panel Debate: Current Political Situation in Zimbabwe , 5pm, NK14.
We are hosting a panel discussion on the current situation in Zimbabwe , with experts speaking on the land reform, the political situation, and the experience of Zimbabwean immigrants.
FT Hillhead Café quiz night , 7.30 - 10.00pm, Hillhead Halls central bldg
Wednesday 24 th of Feb
Maroccan Fairy Tales , NK10, 6pm
Morocco has a long history in storytelling. Have you ever wandered what's it like to sit in a market in Marakesh and listen to the centuries old stories of snake charmer? Join us in for the night of colourful, adventurous and exciting fairy tales!
FT Shared Planet Fairtrade café , 12 – 2pm, 25 High Street (Chaplaincy), £1.50 for soup + toastie
Thursday 25 th of Feb
Talk: Out of Africa : A journey through African Art and Architecture , Debbie Donde, NK1, 6pm
Out of Africa come precedents of some of the worlds most efficient, sustainable and creative civilisation. Our earth's resources are rapidly exhausting for the greed and selfishness of individuals. Architects have assumed responsibility and taken their stand to produce low carbon, sustainable developments. This presentation introduces you to the purest, natural methods of construction that is practiced in this continent. Take what you can from it. THE WORLD NEEDS TO GET DOWN TO EARTH!
Week 2
Monday 1 st of March
Movie: Bamako , Abderrahmane Sissako | Mali/USA/France 2007 |1h55m, NK1 6pm
Abderrahmane Sissako wrote and directed this offbeat, satiric comedy which imagines how the powers that be in the West might be forced to answer for the damage they've done in the Third World . Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up. In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court has been set up. African civil society spokesmen have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF whom they blame for Africa 's woes. Amidst the pleas and the testimonies, life goes on in the courtyard.
Tuesday 2nd of March
FT Hillhead Café games night , 7.30 - 10.00pm, Hillhead Halls central bldg
Wednesday 3 rd of March
FT Shared Planet Fairtrade café , 12 – 2pm, 25 High Street (Chaplaincy), £1.50 for soup + toastie
Panel Debate. African Student Voice , 6pm, NK10
Are you an African student in the university and want to share your experience? Are there issues that you feel Equal Opportunities should know about? Come along to this open event and share, learn and discuss what it is like to be an African Student at the University of Aberdeen .
Thursday 4 th of March
Talk: The Charter of Kurukan Kuga: Short Story of Democracy in West Africa , Pierre Souquet, NK1 6pm
"Kurukan Fuga" is a small village in Mali where Sundiata Keita aka Nare Maghan Diatta, son of lion, emperor of the Mande enouced a text of law which was to "officialise" social rules accross this empire. The Charter of the Mandeng is a very good instrument to understand more of West African history, culture and social life, and this talk will try to be a brief account of all this.
FT Concert: “Big Swap”, 8pm, Tunnels, £4 students, £5 non-students
Saturday 6 th of March
Zawadi African Women Choir Performance , 6pm, King's College Chapel, £4 students, £5 non-students
A wonderful group of women from Edinburgh that promote African culture in Scotland will come to the university to perform their songs and teach them to the audience in an interactive session.
Over these two weeks there will also be loads of exciting events to do with
Fair Trade Fortnight 22 nd of Feb – 7 th of March
Fairtrade info boot - 2 weeks in i-hub
Fairtrade cafe 24/2, 3/3 @ 12 - 2 pm, 25 High St
Free trade or Fair Trade by Debater - 25th of February at 7pm and it will be held Old Senate Room
Big Swap in Tunnels 4th March door open @8pm
Week 3
Monday 8 th of March
Movie: Terra Sonâmbula ( Sleepwalking Land ) , Teresa Prata | Mozambique/Portugal 2007 | 1h36m |, NK1, 6pm
Mozambique , civil war. Muidinga, a boy with big dreamy eyes, finds a diary beside a corpse and begins reading it. It is the story of Farida who lives in an old ship anchored out at sea, and who is searching for her own son. Muidinga convinces himself that he is the boy in the diary and decides to search for her. He sets off with his wise guardian Tuahir, a tough old storyteller, who finds it difficult to show his growing affection for the boy. Amongst the devastation of the Mozambican civil war, Sleepwalking Land depicts through magical storytelling the importance of dreams, friendship and hope.
Wednesday 10 th of March
Amnesty Letter Writing Session. Congo : Send the message of hope , NK10, 6pm
Justine Masika Bihamba and her family have been attacked because of her work for a women's rights organisation. In September 2007, soldiers forced their way into Justine's home while she was out, and tied up her six children, aged between five and 24, at gunpoint. One of the soldiers kicked her eldest daughter in the face, breaking her tooth. He then attempted to rape Justine's 21-year-old daughter. Having failed to do so, he sexually assaulted her with a knife. Although Justine and her children were able to identify the soldiers, they have not been arrested or brought to trial. Workers at Justine's organisation have regularly been threatened and attacked because of their peaceful work against sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. and Show your support by sending a message of hope to Justine.
Thursday 11 th of March
Panel Debate: Shell in Nigeria - Globally operating companies and their influence in the development of African countries , 7pm, NK1
The University of Aberdeen, being situated in an oil city, naturally benefits from the investment and financial support of international companies such as Shell through, among other things, scholarships for students as well as a number of job opportunities. Acknowledging that Shell is the biggest oil company operating in Nigeria and is a significant contributor to the development of Nigeria, we are interested in getting Shell's perspective on the issues mentioned above in developing countries, especially in Nigeria. Among the questions which we hope to address at the roundtable are the following: In what ways does the local community profit from companies such as Shell (employment, investment, etc.)? How do companies such as Shell contribute to the development of, e.g., Nigeria (education, healthcare, etc.)? Based on the first hand experience of Shell, what has and has not worked in aiding development?
Week 4
Monday 15 th of March
Presentation on African Cinema by the curators of Africa in Motion Film Festival from Edinburgh , +Movie: The Great Dance: A Hunter's Story . Craig Foster and Damon Foster | South Africa/US 2000 | 1h30m KCF7, 6pm
The Great Dance is a fascinating documentary by the award-winning Foster brothers. Filmed through the eyes of !Nqate, a hunter, the documentary follows the life of !Nqate as a hunter and tracker. The film is the raw and poignant story of !Nqate's survival, as told in his own words. The never-before-seen footage of the death-defying ‘chasing hunt', for which the Kalahari Bushmen are famous, makes this a unique and remarkable cinematic experience.
Tuesday 16 th of March
Talk: The Wretched of the Earth? Algerian Women, the State and Religion , Dr Julia Droeber, UoA, , 4.30pm, NK1
Wednesday 17 th of March
Somali Poetry: Between War and Piracy , NK10 6pm
Thursday 18 th of March
Documentary: Invisible Children of Uganda – Rough Cut , 52min, NK10, 6pm
As the sun sets, fear rises. Fear of being abducted. Fear of losing friends and family. Fear of being forced to kill. Fear of innocence lost, and childhood taken away. These are the fears of the children in Northern Uganda, and it drives them nightly to leave their homes, go to a town, and sleep wherever they can find room in large groups for protection from their fears. These are Invisible Children, whose plight and story went unseen by the world until three students from Southern California happened upon it.
Friday 19 th of March
Talk: Soccer, tobacco, and multinational politics in Malawi , Prof H. Geist, UoA, 5pm NK1
Have you ever wondered where the tobacco in your (or your friends) cigarettes comes from? Who grows it and what impacts the tobacco plantations have on the people working on them and living in close proximity? What is a link between deforestation in Malawi and a cigarette?
Come to this talk, preceded by the showing of 15min movie: ‘ Thangata: Social Bondage and Big Tobacco in Malawi, Africa ', to find answers to your questions!
Saturday 20 th of March
Great African Music night + Fashion Show ! 8pm Blue Lamp, £4
First: Fashion Show to put us into a mood of the colors, patterns and cuts of African Fabrics and outfits.
Then, the Music:
An Ultrar-Exciting mix of musicians: Kajamor Family Band and Drummin' Aboot, topped up with African Mix by Dj Nekrout
Kajamor Family is a 5-persons band comprised of Senegalees and Gambian artists, who currently live in Manchester . They perform traditional Serouba, a three-drum ensemble from The Mandinka people of The Gambia and the Casamance region of Senegal . They will be accompanied by a Drooming Aboot, an Aberdeen-based djembe group, that we all know and enjoy partying to. We will finish the party off with some African Mix by DJ Nekrout.
Not to be missed!
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