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©2012 NCSU Student Media
Sharlene Simon, assistant director for research proposal development, looks over information about pine saplings that were being given away at the Africa Regional Reception, Tuesday, Jan. 31 The reception was held by the Office of International Affairs, and featured free pine saplings faculty and students visited the event. "My daughter is in a wheelchair, so I think [the plant] will be a good project to work on together," said Simon of her tree. Photo by Jordan Moore
With so many students and faculty congregating in the same place with the same goal, many connections and networks developed. These relationships that were developed hold promise for greater awareness and greater response to the struggles of Africa.
N.C . State students and faculty participated in several programs that are focused on innovation and development in Africa. These efforts were showcased for the public at last week’s Africa Reception event.
Chantell LaPan , program coordinator with the office of international affairs, helped organize the event.
“The Reception was developed as way to get faculty, staff, graduate students and advanced undergraduate students who are working and engaged regionally in work and research in Africa together,” LaPan said.
With so many students and faculty congregating in the same place with the same goal, many connections and networks developed. These relationships that were developed hold promise for greater awareness and greater response to the struggles of Africa.
“I am passionate about Africa because it is a huge continent with so much diversity and history that I feel like the rest of the world sometimes forgets about or puts on the back burner. It is an amazing continent,” Julia Maurer, senior in international studies, said.
The relationships are a natural extension of an event like the Africa Reception but it is also one of the ongoing missions of the Office of International Affairs.
“It is the goal of the Office of International Affairs to locate some strategic partners in areas across the globe to have more meaningful partnerships in certain locations,” LaPan said. “The goal is to get people from across campus together so that they know what other people around campus are doing in Africa so that they can possibly collaborate in the future.”
The University has ties to several academic programs in Africa, as well as several study abroad programs. In South Africa the University of Pretoria is one of the University’s most engaged partners. N.C . State also has international partnerships with IMAGINE South Africa, Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria and Kwame Nkrumah University.
Sharon Joffe , an English professor, is a native of South Africa and contributed to the African reception by reading a poem she wrote for the occasion. The poem was a tribute to Nobel Peace Prize winners Wangari Maathai and Nelson Mandela. She also teaches an honors course in South African literature.
Joffe said a few of her students have been inspired to do work in South Africa because of her class.
“Some have gone to South Africa and done outreach work. One of my students did a research project on South Africa and has visited twice for her research,” Joffe said.
Joffe said the ties the University has to Africa are very important and should be valued.
“I think that we have a lot to contribute and African universities have a lot to contribute to us, so I think it is wonderful that we can form these partnerships with different universities in different places in Africa,” Joffe said. “We can learn from them and they can learn from us.”
Maurer does work concentrated in Africa and agrees the ties the University has to the continent are very significant.
Maurer has studied abroad in Ghana and is currently working on research concerning the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to LaPan , if students want to get more involved in programs that were presented at the reception, the doors to the Office of International Affairs are always open.