USA Africa Dialogue Series - FW: Call for Paper proposals

The African Studies Program at Penn State invites proposals for papers to be presented at a small symposium on extractive industries in Africa.  Please send abstracts to Kidane Mengisteab (kim3@psu.edu).  All costs for the selected participants will be covered by the African Studies Program.  Brief details are below. 

Thank you

Title: Extractive Industries for African Development: A Paradigm Shift

Date: October 18, 2013

Venue: Foster Auditorium

Brief description of the objectives of the Symposium:

Extractive industries have led to notable economic growth in a number of African countries.  In most cases, however, these industries have not been managed effectively to serve as engines for economic diversification, poverty reduction, or sustained growth.   Instead, extractive industries have often contributed to a host of problems, including poverty, environmental degradation and conflicts. The African Studies Program at Penn State is organizing a symposium.  The main aim is to use the present state of affairs in the industry as a point of departure to move towards new paradigms and policy framework.  Towards these ends, the symposium will explore ways of resolving the various socioeconomic problems associated with the extractive industry in Africa. The overriding question with which the symposium seeks to grapple is how African countries can transform the management of their extractive industries so that they can become engines for sustainable socioeconomic development.  Panelists will explore a number of interrelated questions, including the following:

·         Do African countries receive industry standard terms from transnational corporations engaged in extractive industries?  If not what specific measures can be undertaken to rectify this problem?

·         Do extractive industries contribute to poverty creation or poverty reduction in African countries?  What innovative arrangements can be devised to make the industry instrumental in poverty alleviation?

·         What industry codes and regulations would alleviate the environmental disasters that characterize much of the industry in Africa?

·         What problems are associated with artisanal mining in Africa and what specific innovative policy measures can address such problems?

·         Does the industry contribute to social unrest and conflicts in Africa and why?  What policies would effectively address such problems?