They Go Out to be Seen

Presentation: They Go Out To Be Seen – Recognition and Place-Making in Johannesburg Nightclubs, Jul. 19 2016 @ BIEA

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They Go Out to be Seen
Presentation by Beth Vale:They Go Out To Be Seen – Recognition and Place-Making in Johannesburg Nightclubs

Date: 19 July 2016
Venue: BIEA Seminar Room, Laikipia Road, Kileleshwa
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Urban studies have given increasing attention to the everyday life of cities – the daily activities that constitute and re-imagine urban space. Yet surprisingly little consideration has been given to their every night life: the spatial tactics and creative insurgencies of urban residents after dark. Where authors have attended to the nocturnal city, those focused on ‘pleasure’ have often negated the subtle politics of nigh-time play, embedded in expressions of identity, attachment and resistance.

This paper investigates Johannesburg nightclubs as sites of quotidian political activity, through which young people contest social space and their place in it, thereby contributing to the city’s affective and socio-political cartography…

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State of the Economy

State, Economy & Society: Reflections on Constitutions in Africa By Professor Yash Pal Ghai, Nov. 5 2015 @ BIEA

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State of the Economy
Date: 5 November 2015
Venue: BIEA Seminar room, Laikipia road, Kileleshwa
Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm

Since the beginning of colonialism in the early 19th century, African states have experienced a large number of constitutions, in both the colonial and post-independence periods. Each constitution has expressed the exigencies and expectations of the moment; some have been imposed, others the decisions of the people. If we regard the primary purpose of a constitution to promote constitutionalism, most constitutions have been failures. Using social science concepts of state, economy and society, Ghai explains the causes of the failure of constitutionalism…

RVF Oct. 2015

Rift Valley Forum (former Nairobi Forum) Event: Extractives Development & Violence in Eastern Africa, Oct. 13 2015 @ RVI Office

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RVF Oct. 2015
Extractives Development and Violence in Eastern Africa

Date: October 13, 2015
Venue: Seminar Room, Rift Valley Institute Office
Location: Laikipia Road, Kileleshwa
Entry: Prior RSVP ONLY

About
It is boom time in eastern Africa. In 2016, its economies will be the continent’s fastest growing, as investors pour money into burgeoning oil, gas and minerals industries. In response, regional governments are planning massive networks of roads, rails and pipelines that will span East Africa, the Horn, the Great Lakes, and South Sudan. These will benefit many of the region’s citizens by creating jobs, delivering new services, and opening the region to further development. But these projects will also impact areas that are perennially insecure, where competition for control of natural resources, economic assets, and political power drive recurrent violence. In these areas, there is a risk that these rapid and disruptive developments will aggravate and complicate existing conflicts and create new patterns of violence.

On 13 October 2015, the Rift Valley Institute’s Rift Valley Forum (formerly the Nairobi Forum), the Institute for Development Studies and the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies will host a panel discussion to explore how extractive development may affect the dynamics of violence in eastern African and examine policy and legal options to prevent violence. Refreshments will be served after the discussion.

Moderator
Melba Wasunna
Strathmore Extractives Industries Centre

Panellists
Mohamed Bakari
University of Dar es Salaam

Ngala Chome
British Institute in Eastern Africa

Eric Ndushabandi
University of St. Louis

Roba Sharamo
George Mason University

Pauline Skaper
International Alert

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