Dear All: I thought you might find this of interest. It's cross-posted from femisa--sorry about any duplications! Stefanie ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Sat, 2 May 1998 10:57:13 -0700 From: "Catia C. Confortini" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fwd: 2nd International Conference on Women in Africa & the African For more information, see email address and www page below. >2nd International Conference on Women in Africa & the African Diaspora >(WAAD) > > THEME: WOMEN IN AFRICA & THE AFRICAN DIASPORA: HEALTH & HUMAN RIGHTS > > INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, USA > > OCTOBER 22-27, 1998 > > >BACKGROUND > >In July 1992, over 700 researchers, activists, policy makers, and students >from all continents assembled in Nsukka--a rural town in southeastern >Nigeria--for the first international conference on "Women in Africa and >the African Diaspora: Bridges across Activism and the Academy" (WAAD). >Committed to building bridges across racial, gender, ethnic, class, >locational, national, and disciplinary boundaries, the organizers extended >an invitation to researchers, activists, policy makers, and students >irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin. The first >WAAD conference accomplished its goals and put in place forward-looking >strategies for continuing its work. The networking that prevailed at >Nsukka laid the foundation for collaboration between Africa and the >African Diaspora as well as the formation of NGOs--on gender and the >media, and widowhood--in Africa. In addition to the ongoing activist work, >the conference generated a ten-volume proceedings of over 200 original >papers on women in Africa and the African Diaspora. WAAD '92 was also the >impetus for the formation of the Association of African Women Scholars >(AAWS)--a co-sponsor of the second WAAD conference. > >Locally and internationally, 1998 provides an appropriate context for the >WAAD conference. The city of Indianapolis plans a year-long series of >events, "Africa Celebration '98," which will showcase the complexity, >diversity, and rich cultures of Africa. Besides being a World Health >Organization (WHO) city, Indianapolis is the site of the world's largest >School of Nursing and a Women's Studies Program (IUPUI) that is strongly >committed to the study of black women in general and women's health and >Africa/African American related issues. Also, 1998 marks the 50th >anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The WAAD >conference will be one of the events organized worldwide to celebrate this >important anniversary and set in motion forward-looking strategies for >promoting universal human rights. > > >THE CONFERENCE (focus/sub-themes) > >At the second WAAD conference, health will be discussed not only as a >physical and medical question but, in a broader sense, as a social issue, >thus allowing participants to debate health issues in their relatedness to >the economy, education, human rights, militarization, cultural practices, >the environment, the arts, ethnic conflicts, refugee problems, etc., in >the context of global interdependence and international politics. The >presentations will include recent trends in morbidity and mortality in >women of African descent, sociocultural factors which impact on the health >of women of African descent, and the impact of changing focus of medical >research. In addition to the focus on the urgent need to facilitate >appropriate medical research for women of African descent, discussions >will also address the ways in which health issues are imagined in the arts >or how dramatic changes in climatic conditions with resultant dislocations >and food shortages, changes in economic and social policies (the welfare >system in the US and the immigration question in Europe, for example) and >the escalation of ethnic politics and armed conflicts on the African >continent impact the health and human rights of women of African descent. >Human rights questions will be discussed in a holistic way by linking >socio-economic rights to civil and political rights. > DEADLINE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF A ONE-PAGE PROPOSAL: MARCH 15, 1998 > >(Handwritten, faxed or e-mailed abstracts will not be accepted. Faxed or >e-mailed abstracts must be followed by a hard copy posted via first class >or air mail) > >CONTACT: Obioma Nnaemeka, Convenor, Second WAAD Conference, French >& Women's Studies, Indiana University, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, >IN 46202. Phone: (317) 278-2038 or (317) 274-0062 (messages),fax:(317) >274-2347, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web site http://www.iupui.edu/~aaws/ > >ORGANIZERS: Association of African Women Scholars (AAWS), Women's Studies >Pogram (IUPUI), Program in International Human Rights Law (IU, Indianapolis), >African American Studies Program (IUPUI), African Studies Program >(IU, Bloomington), the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. > ************************************ Dr. Stefanie S. Rixecker Division of Environmental Management & Design Lincoln University, Canterbury PO Box 56 Aotearoa New Zealand E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax: 64-03-325-3841 ************************************
