Dr. Mohau Pheko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Republic of South Africa, Embassy of South Africa, Tokyo, Japan
Mohau Pheko is a rare breed of person. Throughout her career, she has shown a strong commitment to all facets of equitable global relationships, enlightened governance, gender equity and engagement with issues of global regimes involving international trade, globalisation, human rights, climate change and democracy. Ambassador Pheko joined the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in August 2010 and served as The Republic of South Africa’s High Commissioner to Canada in 2010-2011. Her tenure as The Republic of South Africa’s Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to Japan started in 2011. She has worked in Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, United States of America, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Prof. Liu Haifang, Peking University, China
Associate Professor in School of International Studies, Peking University. She serves as Deputy Director & Secretary General of the Centre for African Studies, Peking University, and the Vice President of the Chinese Society of African Historical Studies as well. Liu ‘s current research topics are China in Africa/ Africa in China, China’s foreign aid (historical & development perspectives and Tan-Zam Railway as a case), Angola and its international relationships, etc. She is teaching Introduction of African (for undergraduates), and Comprehensive African Study (English version for international MA students). Dr Liu has authored numerous publications in English and Mandarin, including books (such as the only book on Angola in China) and academic essays, such as RAILWAY TIME: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND THE ROLE OF CHINESE EXPERTS IN THE HISTORY OF TAZARA (African Engagements, Ton Dietz ed., Brill Publishing, 2011), “China’s development cooperation with Africa: Historical and cultural perspectives” (The Rise of China and India in Africa, Cheru & Obi (eds.)，Zed Book, 2010), “China-Africa Relations through the Prism of Culture– The Dynamics of China’s Culture Diplomacy with Africa” (China Aktuelle, Vol.3, 2008), etc.
Prof. Kweku Ampiah, Leeds University, UK
Associate Professor in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Leeds. He is a political economist with expertise in Japanese diplomacy and foreign policy. His research interests include Japan's relations with Africa and Japanese diplomacy in the 1950s. Currently he is researching Japanese approaches to International Development, and the extent to which Japan may be contributing to Africa’s development initiatives through the TICAD process. His latest publications includes the edited Special Issue, ‘The Evolving Relations between Japan and Africa: The Discourse of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development’ (Japanese Studies, vol. 32, No. 2, 2012)
Shamil Jeppie, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Director of the Institute for Humanities in Africa (Huma) at the University of Cape Town. He was previously Associate Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at the same university. He has been active in many humanities and social sciences organizations in his home country, in Africa, and elsewhere in the South. Among his recent publications are edited volumes, Muslim Family law in sub-Saharan Africa: colonial legacies and post-collonial challenges (Amsterdam University Press, 2010), The meanings of Timbuktu (HSRC Press, 2008) (translated into French and Japanese translation in progress), a solely authored book, Language, identity, modernity (HSRC Press, 2007), and articles in History in Africa (2011), and History and Theory (2014).
Dr. Cobus Van Staden, University of Witwaterstrand, South Africa
A lecturer in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. He completed his PhD in 2008 at the University of Nagoya in Japan. He then worked as an investigative journalist for Special Assignment at the SABC, before starting postdoctoral fellowships at Stellenbosch University and the University of Johannesburg. He specializes in the study of media flows from East Asia to Africa, and the use of media in diplomacy, focusing on China and Japan.
A lecturer in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. He completed his PhD in 2008 at the University of Nagoya in Japan. He then worked as an investigative journalist for Special Assignment at the SABC, before starting postdoctoral fellowships at Stellenbosch University and the University of Johannesburg. He specializes in the study of media flows from East Asia to Africa, and the use of media in diplomacy, focusing on China and Japan.
Prof. Seifudein Adem, State University of New York at Binghamton, USA
Associate Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies and Associate Research Professor of Political Science at Binghamton University, New York, USA. Previously, he has taught at Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) and University of Tsukuba (Japan). Dr. Adem was President of the New York African Studies Association (2010-2011). He is also a founding member of International Association for Asia Pacific Studies. Dr. Adem is the editor, among other books, of China’s Diplomacy in Eastern and Southern Africa (Ashgate, 2013).
Associate Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies and Associate Research Professor of Political Science at Binghamton University, New York, USA. Previously, he has taught at Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) and University of Tsukuba (Japan). Dr. Adem was President of the New York African Studies Association (2010-2011). He is also a founding member of International Association for Asia Pacific Studies. Dr. Adem is the editor, among other books, of China’s Diplomacy in Eastern and Southern Africa (Ashgate, 2013).
Prof. Junko Maruyama, Tsuda College, Japan
Associate Professor at Department of International and Cultural Studies, Tsuda College. Her major research fields are Anthropology and African Area Studies. She has done extensive field research on social changes, livelihood strategies, and indigeneity among the San hunter-gatherers in Botswana,and more recently in South Africa. Her major publication is San Living in a Changing World: Between Development Program and Indigenous Peoples' Movement (in Japanese) ( Sekaishisosha Publishing 2010).
Associate Professor at Department of International and Cultural Studies, Tsuda College. Her major research fields are Anthropology and African Area Studies. She has done extensive field research on social changes, livelihood strategies, and indigeneity among the San hunter-gatherers in Botswana,and more recently in South Africa. Her major publication is San Living in a Changing World: Between Development Program and Indigenous Peoples' Movement (in Japanese) ( Sekaishisosha Publishing 2010).
Dr. Lloyd Amoah, Ashesi University College, Ghana
Assistant professor at Ashesi University College (Berekuso, Ghana) and the founder and Lead Strategist of the think-pad Strategy3 (Accra, Ghana). His research interests which are diverse and multi-disciplinary focus on public policy formation and development in developing polities; Africa-Asia relations; Africa-China relations; public administration and philosophy;e-governance and ICT policy in developing countries and the political-economy of urbanization in developing polities among others. A freelance journalist and photographer he has published and provided commentary on a variety of contemporary issues in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Focus on Africa magazine, Jeune Afrique’s The Africa Report, Third World Network’s African Agenda magazine, Business World magazine and other local and international publications. Lloyd’s views have also been sought by the BBC World Service(World Today, Newsday, Network Africa and Mandarin Service), Japan Broadcasting Corp. and other local and international media outlets. His latest book, Impacts of the Knowledge Society on Economic and Social Growth in Africa has just been published . Dr. Amoah is a fellow of the International Institute for Advanced Studies(IIAS), Accra, Ghana and the African Studies Centre, Leiden, Netherlands and the International Institute of Asian Studies, the University of Leiden, Leiden, the Netherlands .
Assistant professor at Ashesi University College (Berekuso, Ghana) and the founder and Lead Strategist of the think-pad Strategy3 (Accra, Ghana). His research interests which are diverse and multi-disciplinary focus on public policy formation and development in developing polities; Africa-Asia relations; Africa-China relations; public administration and philosophy;e-governance and ICT policy in developing countries and the political-economy of urbanization in developing polities among others. A freelance journalist and photographer he has published and provided commentary on a variety of contemporary issues in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Focus on Africa magazine, Jeune Afrique’s The Africa Report, Third World Network’s African Agenda magazine, Business World magazine and other local and international publications. Lloyd’s views have also been sought by the BBC World Service(World Today, Newsday, Network Africa and Mandarin Service), Japan Broadcasting Corp. and other local and international media outlets. His latest book, Impacts of the Knowledge Society on Economic and Social Growth in Africa has just been published . Dr. Amoah is a fellow of the International Institute for Advanced Studies(IIAS), Accra, Ghana and the African Studies Centre, Leiden, Netherlands and the International Institute of Asian Studies, the University of Leiden, Leiden, the Netherlands .
Ms. Kumiko Makino, Institute of Developing Economies (IDE–JETRO), Japan
Associate Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO). Her publications include Protest and Social Movements in the Developing World (co-editor with Shinichi Shigetomi, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 2009), Public Policy and Transformation in South Africa after Democratisation (co-editor with Chizuko Sato, IDE Spot Survey 33, Chiba: IDE-JETRO, 2013), and Anti-apartheid Movement in Japan: An Overview (IDE Discussion Papers No.440, Chiba: IDE-JETRO, 2014).
Associate Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO). Her publications include Protest and Social Movements in the Developing World (co-editor with Shinichi Shigetomi, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 2009), Public Policy and Transformation in South Africa after Democratisation (co-editor with Chizuko Sato, IDE Spot Survey 33, Chiba: IDE-JETRO, 2013), and Anti-apartheid Movement in Japan: An Overview (IDE Discussion Papers No.440, Chiba: IDE-JETRO, 2014).
Prof. Yoon Jung Park, Georgetown University, USA
Currently a freelance researcher. She is affiliated as a non-resident Senior Research Associate of the Sociology Department at Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa) and as a research associate with the African Studies Program at Georgetown University; and serves as the convener/ coordinator of the Chinese in Africa/Africans in China (CA/AC) Research Network, an international network of scholars, researchers, graduate students, journalists, filmmakers and practitioners, which she helped to establish in 2007. Her research interests include race/ethnicity and identity construction, migration, racism/xenophobia and race relations, China and Chinese in Africa with a focus on southern Africa. Dr Park is the author of A Matter of Honour: Being Chinese in South Africa (Jacana/Lexington Books), and she is currently working on a book on Chinese migrants in Africa.
Currently a freelance researcher. She is affiliated as a non-resident Senior Research Associate of the Sociology Department at Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa) and as a research associate with the African Studies Program at Georgetown University; and serves as the convener/ coordinator of the Chinese in Africa/Africans in China (CA/AC) Research Network, an international network of scholars, researchers, graduate students, journalists, filmmakers and practitioners, which she helped to establish in 2007. Her research interests include race/ethnicity and identity construction, migration, racism/xenophobia and race relations, China and Chinese in Africa with a focus on southern Africa. Dr Park is the author of A Matter of Honour: Being Chinese in South Africa (Jacana/Lexington Books), and she is currently working on a book on Chinese migrants in Africa.
Ms. Saarah Jappie, Princeton University, USA
Doctoral candidate in the History Department at Princeton University. Her main research areas are popular Islam, cultural history and trans-regional connections. Geographically, her work focuses on insular Southeast Asia and Africa, with an emphasis on trans-Indian Ocean connections between the two regions. Originally from South Africa, Saarah holds a Master of Arts in Historical Studies from the University of Cape Town (2011), and a Bachelor of International Studies from The University of New South Wales (2008). Her most recent publications, based on research into the Arabic-Afrikaans and Arabic-Malay written traditions of Cape Town include: “Jawi dari jauh: “Malays” in South Africa through text” Indonesia and the Malay World 40 (Special Issue 117) (2012): 143-159 and “From the madrasah to the museum: The social life of the kietaabs of Cape Town” History in Africa 38 (2011): 369-399.
Doctoral candidate in the History Department at Princeton University. Her main research areas are popular Islam, cultural history and trans-regional connections. Geographically, her work focuses on insular Southeast Asia and Africa, with an emphasis on trans-Indian Ocean connections between the two regions. Originally from South Africa, Saarah holds a Master of Arts in Historical Studies from the University of Cape Town (2011), and a Bachelor of International Studies from The University of New South Wales (2008). Her most recent publications, based on research into the Arabic-Afrikaans and Arabic-Malay written traditions of Cape Town include: “Jawi dari jauh: “Malays” in South Africa through text” Indonesia and the Malay World 40 (Special Issue 117) (2012): 143-159 and “From the madrasah to the museum: The social life of the kietaabs of Cape Town” History in Africa 38 (2011): 369-399.
Dr. Daouda Cissé, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He works on China/China-Africa relations. His research focuses on economic aspects of China/China-Africa relations at the macro as well as the micro-economic level with topics exploring trade and investments, Chinese multinational companies in Africa, trade/migration/development. His latest publication (2014) is: ‘FDI in Africa: Chinese enterprises’ business strategies in Africa’, In Nwankwo, S. and Ibeh, K. (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Business in Africa, London: Routledge
Postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He works on China/China-Africa relations. His research focuses on economic aspects of China/China-Africa relations at the macro as well as the micro-economic level with topics exploring trade and investments, Chinese multinational companies in Africa, trade/migration/development. His latest publication (2014) is: ‘FDI in Africa: Chinese enterprises’ business strategies in Africa’, In Nwankwo, S. and Ibeh, K. (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Business in Africa, London: Routledge
Prof. Han Geon Soo, Kangwon National University, Korea
Professor in the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Kangwon National University in Korea. His research fields are international migration, refugee and diaspora, human trafficking, multicultural policies, and African studies (focusing on Nigeria and Ghana). He is member of Refugee Committee of Korean government. He publishes many articles on the issue of migrant workers, marriage-based migrant women and their families, human trafficking victims, and multicultural policies in Korea, including "African migrant views on Korean people and culture." "Multicultural Korea: Celebration or challenge of multiethnic shift in contemporary Korea?"
Professor in the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Kangwon National University in Korea. His research fields are international migration, refugee and diaspora, human trafficking, multicultural policies, and African studies (focusing on Nigeria and Ghana). He is member of Refugee Committee of Korean government. He publishes many articles on the issue of migrant workers, marriage-based migrant women and their families, human trafficking victims, and multicultural policies in Korea, including "African migrant views on Korean people and culture." "Multicultural Korea: Celebration or challenge of multiethnic shift in contemporary Korea?"
Prof. Rohit Negi, Ambedkar University, India
Assistant Professor in the School of Human Ecology at Ambedkar University Delhi. He has a PhD in Geography from the Ohio State University and MA in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His previous work has been an ethnographic study of a new mining town in North Western Zambia, and ongoing research concerns urban change in Delhi. Negi has published in journals including Geoforum, Review of African Political Economy, and African Geographical Review. Negi jointly convenes Africa Forum-Delhi, a platform for discussion and debate on African and India-Africa issues based in the Indian capital.
Assistant Professor in the School of Human Ecology at Ambedkar University Delhi. He has a PhD in Geography from the Ohio State University and MA in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His previous work has been an ethnographic study of a new mining town in North Western Zambia, and ongoing research concerns urban change in Delhi. Negi has published in journals including Geoforum, Review of African Political Economy, and African Geographical Review. Negi jointly convenes Africa Forum-Delhi, a platform for discussion and debate on African and India-Africa issues based in the Indian capital.
Prof. Toshihiro Abe, Otani University, Japan
Associate Professor of the Department of Literature at Otani University. His research interests focus on reconciliation in transitional justice projects with specific reference to the cases in South Africa and Cambodia and community level mediation in multi-national urban milieu. His recent work appears in South East Asia Research (‘Perceptions of the Khmer Rouge tribunal among Cambodians: Implications of the proceedings of public forums held by a local NGO’, 2013) and Comparative Sociology (‘Reconciliation as Process or Catalyst: Understanding the Concept in a Post-conflict Society,’ 2012).
Associate Professor of the Department of Literature at Otani University. His research interests focus on reconciliation in transitional justice projects with specific reference to the cases in South Africa and Cambodia and community level mediation in multi-national urban milieu. His recent work appears in South East Asia Research (‘Perceptions of the Khmer Rouge tribunal among Cambodians: Implications of the proceedings of public forums held by a local NGO’, 2013) and Comparative Sociology (‘Reconciliation as Process or Catalyst: Understanding the Concept in a Post-conflict Society,’ 2012).
Prof. Scarlett Cornelissen, Kyoto University and Stellenbosch University
Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University, where she lectures International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. Her research interests relate to Japan's aid, diplomatic and corporate ties with Africa as well as emerging relationships between Africa and other Asian powers. She spent part of 2014 as visiting professor at the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies at the University of Kyoto, Japan. In previous years she also held affiliations with the Universities of Kansai, Hitotsubashi, Tsuda and Ritsumeikan in Japan. Her most recent book publications include Africa and International Relations in the 21st Century (Palgrave, 2012, co-edited with Fantu Cheru and Timothy M. Shaw - due for paperback publication shortly); and Research Companion to Regionalisms (Ashgate, 2011, co-edited with Timothy M. Shaw and Andrew J. Grant).
Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University, where she lectures International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. Her research interests relate to Japan's aid, diplomatic and corporate ties with Africa as well as emerging relationships between Africa and other Asian powers. She spent part of 2014 as visiting professor at the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies at the University of Kyoto, Japan. In previous years she also held affiliations with the Universities of Kansai, Hitotsubashi, Tsuda and Ritsumeikan in Japan. Her most recent book publications include Africa and International Relations in the 21st Century (Palgrave, 2012, co-edited with Fantu Cheru and Timothy M. Shaw - due for paperback publication shortly); and Research Companion to Regionalisms (Ashgate, 2011, co-edited with Timothy M. Shaw and Andrew J. Grant).
Prof. Yoichi Mine, Doshisha University, Japan
Yoichi Mine is Professor at Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University. His major research fields are human security, development economics, comparative politics and African area study. From 1998 to 2000, he was Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University. He is currently Secretary General of the Japan Association for Human Security Studies and Visiting Fellow at JICA Research Institute. His latest works on Africa include: Preventing Violent Conflict in Africa: Inequalities, Perceptions and Institutions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, co-edited with Frances Stewart, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and Thandika Mkandawire). He has also published several award-winning books in Japanese on economic development and conflict prevention in Africa.
Yoichi Mine is Professor at Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University. His major research fields are human security, development economics, comparative politics and African area study. From 1998 to 2000, he was Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University. He is currently Secretary General of the Japan Association for Human Security Studies and Visiting Fellow at JICA Research Institute. His latest works on Africa include: Preventing Violent Conflict in Africa: Inequalities, Perceptions and Institutions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, co-edited with Frances Stewart, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and Thandika Mkandawire). He has also published several award-winning books in Japanese on economic development and conflict prevention in Africa.