DSU TO HOST A PAN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE APRIL 10-12, 2019
DOVER, Del. – Delaware State University (DSU) and its Center for Global Africa (CGA) will host its first annual “Pan African Development Conference” April 10-12, 2019 on DSU campus in Dover. The conference is free and open to the public.
In conjunction with DSU’s strategic partner, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of the African Union, top academic, economic, political and media stakeholders of the Diaspora will gather to create and strengthen functional ties with Africa through HBCU expertise and U.S. corporate partnerships.
The APRM is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily accepted by the member states of the African Union – consisting of 55 member states located on the continent – as a self-monitoring mechanism.
The conference will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 10 with a VIP reception with the APRM and DSU officials, as well as community members in the Barros Room on the 4th floor of the Claibourne Smith Administration Building. The donation is $50.
On April 11 the conference will continue beginning at 11 a.m. with the announcement of the establishment of the Center for Global Africa at DSU and the DSU-APRM partnership, to be held in the second floor parlors of the MLK Jr. Student Center.
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That same day there will be a series of panel discussions that will include the following topics:
- 1:15 p.m. – “HBCU Students and Reshaping African and Diaspora Images, Narratives and Relationships,” in the Education & Humanities Theatre.
- 2:30 p.m. – “Development Opportunities for U.S. Businesses with APRM Member Countries,” in the Education & Humanities Theatre.
- 3:30 p.m. – “The Role of the APRM and the Mobilization of the 6th Region of Africa through HBCU Expertise,” in the Education & Humanities Theatre.
- 7 p.m. – A discussion of the 6th Region of the African Union with ambassadors and dignitaries, in the Longwood Auditorium, Bank of America Building.
Among the diverse guests attending the conference will be Robert “Kool” Bell of the legendary R&B group Kool & the Gang, and Dusty Baker, former major league baseball manager and all-star player. The two men recently formed Kool-Baker Global Inc. to bring renewable energy projects to Africa.
Also attending the conference will be Professor Ibrahim Gambari, APRM Chair of Eminent Persons; Minister Khayar Defallah, APRM Chair of Focal Points; Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed, African Union Ambassador to the United Nations; Professor Eddy Maloka, APRM CEO; Tumi Dlamini, APRM attorney and senior advisor; as well as U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (Calif.) of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The conference and vision of the CGA coincides with recognition of the 400-year period (1619-2019) of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the subsequent 21st-century need to structurally combine and apply our resources and expertise towards common ideals and institutional collaborations for mutual progress in Africa.
For more information about the Pan African Development Conference, contact Prof. Ezrah Aharone, at (732) 648-9778 eaharone@desu.edu; Akwasi Osei, at (302) 382-4052 or at aosei@desu.edu; Prof. Leandra Casson Marshall, (302) 612-2052; lcasson@desu.edu
