2011 Newsletter - African Studies Centre - University of Oxford

Opening ceremonyThe highlight of the 2010-11 academiccalendar for us was the formal opening of theAfrican Studies Centre's refurbished building onSunday, 13 February by Mr Kofi Annan, UnitedNations Secretary-General (1997-2006).We were also honoured to be joined by theUniversity’s Vice-chancellor, Professor AndrewHamilton, and the former president of Ghana,Mr John Kufuor, as our distinguished guests atthe small ceremony held in the Centre’s newhome at 13 Bevington Road.Throughout his distinguished career in international affairsMr Annan demonstrated a profound commitment toaddressing Africa’s most intractable challenges – hungerand human rights, accountability and development,insecurity and inequality. As Secretary-General of theUnited Nations he brought a strong moral imperative todemocratic transition, conflict resolution, peace-buildingand to the international community’s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Indeed, it was for ‘reinvigorating’ thework of the United Nations, that Mr Annan was awardedthe Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. Through the Kofi AnnanFoundation he continues to promote good governanceand security in Africa, and remains engaged in the peaceprocess he brokered in Kenya, for example, in the wake ofthe post-election violence two years ago.During the opening Mr Annan said that the African StudiesCentre is ‘a little corner of Africa’ where scholars gather todevelop skills. He stressed the importance of taking theseskills back to the African continent.A new scholarship initiative for African students wasannounced during the opening ceremony. The Eni ScholarsProgramme enables students from Angola, Nigeria andGhana to take up postgraduate courses at St Antony’sCollege from October 2011. The Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Oxford, Professor Andrew Hamilton, said:‘I am very grateful to Eni for creating this scholarshipprogramme with St Antony's. Oxford has a proud traditionof undertaking scholarship on Africa, and encouragingscholars from Africa.’During the ceremony Mr Annan was presented with acollection of the books published by Oxford's Africanists,which were donated to the library of the University ofGhana where Mr Annan is Chancellor. Later in the day MrAnnan gave a lecture on ‘The Future of Africa’ to celebratethe lead up to the 700th anniversary of Exeter College atthe Sheldonian Theatre.With our new teaching facilities, and with new opportunities to promotescholarship and leadership in Africa we can be optimistic that the African StudiesCentre is well-prepared to face its future challenges. As we do so we will look backon Mr Annan’s visit and be reminded and inspired by the values and achievementsthat he represents.1Left to Right: Senyo Dotsey, Eugene Adogla, Kofi Annan, Nelson Oppong, Khumisho Moguerane and Kingwa Kamencu.(Photo courtesy of Rob Judges)