Workshop call for ‘Africa Works! Creating New Partnerships’ Conference
A call has gone out for workshops for the ‘Africa Works! Creating New Partnerships’ International Conference which will take place in Leiden, The Netherlands, on 16 and 17 October 2014. Organised by the African Studies Centre, Leiden, and the Netherlands African Business Council, the conference aims to explore the challenges and opportunities which Africa poses to governments, businesses, NGOs and knowledge centres and will enable new partnerships to be forged. Around 500 participants are expected. See http://www.africaworks.nl/en for further information.
In their latest report in the Curbing Violence in Nigeria series, International Crisis Group looks at the Boko Haram insurgency.In the past 4 years the Boko Haram (real name: Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad) insurgency has claimed approximately 4,000 lives. Targeting the Hausa elite and government infrastructure such as schools and military bases, the insurgency is devastating an already debilitated region.The new ICG report highlights the socio-political origins of the conflict, the transformation from peaceful movement to underground insurgency, and its current impact on regional security and stability.This roundtable meeting will discuss the conditions in Northern Nigeria that incubated the militant group, the development of Boko Haram’s agenda & targets, and the ongoing efforts disarm the fragmented movement.Comfort Ero has been Crisis Group’s Nairobi-based Africa Program Director since January 2011. She previously worked with Crisis Group as West Africa Project Director. As Program Director, Comfort oversees projects covering South, West, Central and the Horn of Africa. She has a PhD from the London School of Economics, University of London.