| 10/24/08 |
| Topic: 2008 Presidential Elections in Africa |
Summary:
Brief presentation on elections that have taken place and will take place in 2008
- Cote D'ivoire
- Ghana
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Discussion
- Role of Tribalism in politics:
- Hard for a lot of communities to get rid of tribal ties
- Do you still feel connected to politics at home?
- most countries don’t recognize US citizenship to be able to vote, only if you have your national passport.
- young people still feel a bit disconnected from home politics
- voting drives done by political party: issues of honesty
- some of the African diaspora still active with at home politics
- not much respect or welcoming of outside influence on at home politics because they really aren’t directly involved .
- In Ghana’s case, there is campaign awareness globally.
- Example of Power share-Kenya:
- both parties accused each other of rigging; electoral commission head forced to announce results; intertribal violence; President changed members of electoral commission: supporter of candidate (Kibaki)
- -Kibaki: current president; said to have won, even though there was really no verification, Odinga supporters angry: the same evening violence started (it was already planned!); felt that the vote had been stolen for them opposition, no transparency in vote counting process; country infrastructure came to a halt.
- Britain: supported the opposition
- US leadership: split on the support, putting pressure on government to end the violence because of ties to US fight on terrorism
- changed Constitution to accommodate both parties: to have peace
- Look at Zimbabwe: also doing a power share
- *is power sharing viable: are you substituting democracy for peace? Or should African leaders learn how to accept defeat?
- Power-sharing may not be undemocratic; more people may feel represented.
- Does power sharing really work?
- -Opposition is going to point out the faults of the other no matter what
- In the US: it used to be that the winner got prez, and loser got vice president.
- -how can African implement checks and balances: one office branch makes sure policy is implemented.
- also, leaders should have checks and balances on themselves
*What can we in SASA do from here?
- give long distance support: vocal/ monetary
- form a pressure group: to get action do quicker instead of sitting and watching from afar
- lobby politicians to get action done back home (the Jews do it a lot, we should follow suit)
- Keep informed: weekly news
- Al-Jazeera english.net
- All-Africa.com
- Change is affecting the lower levels but it not reaching the higher levels of government
- We shouldn’t give up and think that our actions are not affecting change in the nation. Change may be slow but consistent pressure helps over time.
- ie. Mugabe slowly losing power
- We should celebrate the things we have done
- Africa Think tank: lobby on behalf of Africa to us lawmakers ( Lady who spoke Thursday evening: Akwe Amosu) (note: please provide more info on this if you attended the event)
- lobbied with office of secretary of state: should approach it non-unilaterally: UN + EU
- What role can ex-presidents play in their country? Can the play an honest legitimate role?
- Rwandan president: proposed a Obula African court (Maryam, can you provide more details on this please?)
- ROPLA: Representation of People Living Abroad bill in Ghana
- Remember our alums already abroad in Africa: get support/lobby with them-Sam and Eugene
- How can we communicate with students in Africa: connect with African high schools and universities?
- *SASA chat list/forum: to communicate with each other, post ideas, maybe use FACEBOOK
- -mailman at stanford.edu to set up a chat mail list.
- Let others in SASA pick a topic to follow through on: distribute the tasks
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| 10/10/08 |
| Topic: Summer research presentations by Maryam Garba and Ditha Medupe |
Summary:
- Maryam presented on her research on Malaria in Uganda
- Ditha presented on her research at a hospital in Botswana
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| 10/2/08 |
| Topic: Meet and Greet |
Summary:
- Exec Board Introductions
- Ditha - President
- Okai - Vice President
- Betselot - Organizing Secretary
- Ade - Grad Liason
- Woubzi - Publicity Secretary
- Hiyabel - Fundraising Chair
- Peter - Financial Chair (not present)
- Abby - General Secretary (not present)
- Get to know eachother
- Events for the year
- General Body Meetings
- Trivia Afrique
- Film Festival
- Africa Unplugged
- Africa Week
- Announcements
- Maryam: Initiative Against Malaria is a new group raising awareness about malaria. Their first meeting is Thurs, Oct 9
- Ade: SABF(Stanford African Business Forum is looking for anyone who is willing to help organize the conference in the spring
- Thomas: BCG will be on campus Thurs, Oct 9
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