Global Africa: Profiles in courage, creativity, and cruelty
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
- Venue
- SOAS Library
- Room
- E17
- Event type
- Lecture
About this event
Author and academic Professor Adekeye Adebajo will present a short film profiling a selection of writers, thinkers, commentators and other important figures from Africa and the African-diaspora.
Professor Adebajo draws material from his book over 100 essays written over the last three, post-apartheid decades. This book provides profiles of pan-African figures, mostly from Africa and its diaspora in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean. It covers the most important figures of “Global Africa” — and some important non-African personalities — encompassing diverse historical and political figures, technocrats, activists, writers, public intellectuals, musical and film artists, and sporting figures.
The screening will be followed by a discussion of the personalities involved and issues raised. The discussion will be chaired by Nigel Stewart, the Founder and CEO of the School of Pan African Thought, who will be joined by Dawn Wright, Africa Librarian at SOAS Library.
Image credit: Kyle Glenn via Unsplash
About the speakers
Professor Adekeye Adebajo is a senior research fellow at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship (CAS).
He was director of the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) for five years, and executive director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR) in Cape Town between 2003 and 2016. He is the author of nine books including Global Africa: Profiles in Courage, Creativity, and Cruelty; The Curse of Berlin: Africa after the Cold War; and Thabo Mbeki: Africa’s Philosopher-King.
He is the editor/co-editor of 10 books including The Pan-African Pantheon: Prophets, Poets, and Philosophers; and Africa’s Peacemakers: Nobel Peace Laureates of African Descent. Professor Adebajo holds a doctorate from Oxford University in England where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and is a columnist for Business Day (South Africa), the Guardian (Nigeria), the Gleaner (Jamaica), and Project Syndicate (United States).
Nigel Stewart is the founder and principal of award-winning education and research institute the School of Pan African Thought; whose mission and focus is on developing the human and intellectual capital for better leadership on the African continent. The institute operates within the context of the African Union’s Continental Education Strategy for Africa; a key part of agenda 2063, the strategic framework to bring peace, security, and sustainable development to underdeveloped nations.
Alongside a small team in London and Tanzania, he is responsible for shaping its education service and research output. His role encompasses corporate strategy, procurement, management training, and sales.
Dawn Wright is the Africa Librarian, SOAS Library, University of London
