News

The Britain Zimbabwe Society’s Annual Research Day 2012 ‘Zimbabwe and the Region’

The Britain Zimbabwe Society’s annual research day will be held on the 16th June at St. Antony’s College, Oxford

This year participants will explore the historical and contemporary connections between Zimbabwe and her neighbours.

We are pleased to announce our keynote speakers this year will be Professor Jack Spence, OBE (King’s College London) and Professor Welshman Ncube (Zimbabwe Minister for Commerce and Trade – tbc). Other speakers include: Timothy Scarnecchia; Joseph Mujere; Francis Musoni; Maxim Bolt; Miles Tendi; Andrew Mutandwa; Jocelyn Alexander; Hugh Macmillan; JoAnn McGregor; Tinashe Nyamunda and Ushehwedu Kufakurinani. Publishers Zed Books (Africa Now, African Arguments and Africa in the New Millennium Series) and James Currey will be selling a selection of their books throughout the day and the event will conclude with a book launch and drinks reception.

see    http://britainzimbabwesociety.wordpress.com/events/

Registration fees (for attendance only): £30 standard; £20 BZS members; £15 students and unwaged.

To register in advance please contact Marieke Clarke: mariekefclarke@pop3.poptel.org.uk

Appeal for Bulawayo Public Library

c Book Aid International

Bulawayo Public Library (Zimbabwe) is currently in dire financial straits. For more info on the situation and the Library’s appeal for help, see http://www.zddt.org/appeal-for-bulawayo-library-0306.html.

Petition to spare libraries/manuscripts of Timbuktu

The situation in Mali,  is increasingly volatile. The conflict has spread to Timbuktu, home of thousands of manuscripts documenting the rich heritage of West Africa through the ages.

The scholarly community is concerned for the safety of this cultural and intellectual heritage housed in the many libraries and private collections in Timbuktu. Its loss would be very detrimental to the development of African historiography.

Our West African colleagues, Drs. Habib Sy and Ibrahima Lo prepared a petition, urging the parties to the conflict to be mindful of the value of the heritage in these manuscripts and to spare them. You can  find a copy of this petition on the WARA ( West African Research Association) website  (www.bu.edu/wara)