African
Universidad Externado de ColombiaStudies |
II INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
PEACE PROCESSES IN AFRICA, AN
EXPERIENCE FOR COLOMBIA
Universidad Externado de Colombia
Bogotá, D.C. – Colombia
Noviembre 8 - 9, 2004
JUSTIFICATION
1994 was a fateful year for Africa. On April 6, the Rwandan genocide was unleashed. Three months later, nearly a million Rwandans had perished. This event, in turn, set off the removal of the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) and a civil war that continues even today.
On April 27, the first democratic elections were held in South Africa, thereby bringing to an end the system of apartheid. The election of Nelson Mandela was a great moment of triumph not only for the many South Africans who sacrificed their lives but also for the many more who had campaigned against the apartheid system in all corners of the world.
2004, a decade after, marks the tenth anniversary of these two events, the first causing so much anguish and despair, the second radiating hope and promise. Therefore, Rwanda and South Africa question the common imaginaries of Africa and the balance in the International System. They also become a point of reference for the world, and more specifically, for Colombia.
The academy, and particularly, the Universidad Externado de Colombia considers the necessity to make an approach to Africa’s recent history to analyse its experiences and results in the implementation of peace processes, the construction of a new post-conflict society, its challenges for economic reorganisation and its regional and international implications. Thus, South – South Cooperation and the exchange of experiences allow seeing Africa as a valid point of reference for Conflict Resolution and peacebuilding in Colombia
PRESENTATION
African Studies at the Centre for Research and Special Projects - CIPE – at the Faculty of Finance, Government and International Relations at the Universidad Externado de Colombia has the honour to invite you to participate in the II International Symposium "Peace Processes in Africa, an experience for Colombia" which will take place at the University campus on November 8th and 9th 2004.
This Symposium is part of the research projects “South – South Cooperation” and “Conflict Resolution in Africa, an Experience for Colombia” undertaken by African Studies at the Universidad Externado de Colombia since 2000. These projects pretend to inform and to strengthen cooperation links between Colombia and African countries.
OBJECTIVES
For more information, programme and registration, please visit the event’s webpage:
http://cursos.uexternado.edu.co/africa/procesosdepazII_ing.htm