Afrika Nå

Mange norske bedrifter ønsker å ta del i de raskt voksende økonomiene på det afrikanske kontinentet. Fra 2000 er antallet norske selskaper i Afrika sør for Sahara mangedoblet. Tall fra SSB viser at investeringer i afrikanske land er svært lønnsomme for Norge, i tillegg til at mange afrikanske land ønsker flere investorer velkommen. Regjeringen mener at økte private investeringer reduserer fattigdommen på kontinentet. Men hvilket ansvar har norske selskaper som etablerer seg på kontinentet? Og hvordan kan både de og regjeringen forsikre seg om at de bidrar til utvikling?

Female sanitary pads, reproductive health, and menstruation in particular, is a topic deemed taboo in many African countries. Menstruation is often associated with uncleanliness and impurity, and there is little awareness about the importance of adequate sanitary facilities. What role does the language surrounding female sanitation play in stigmatizing women and their bodies? And what role does wider society play in directly or indirectly restricting the access women have to sanitary products? Due to the social stigma surrounding menstruation and the high cost of sanitary products, many girls are forced to either drop out of school or even sell sex to afford sanitary products. This again has widely negative impacts on African communities. What can be done on a policy level to ensure free sanitary pads and proper facilities? And how can we start a dialogue to get rid of the taboo? Panelists: Denis Nzioka, Kenyan activist and journalist. Nzioka made international headlines due to carrying around pads for w

The successive oil spills in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria over the last decades have destroyed the local fishery, the drinking water and the opportunity to cultivate land. But who is responsible? Is it solely the Nigerian government? What about oil companies operating in the area? The Norwegian pension fund (Oljefondet) has shares in Shell that is operating in the Delta - should they be held responsible? And what about the local groups sabotaging the oil infrastructure? The cleanup process is estimated to take at least 30 years before all the swamps, fishing grounds and mangroves are restored. An agreement on the cleanup was signed in Nigeria in 2015, but to date nothing much has happened. If different parties are responsible for the oil spills, should they also be held responsible for the oil spill cleanup process?

Den nyvalgte presidenten i Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmaajo), henvendte seg til Al-Shabab, Al-Qaida og IS i sin innvielsestale i 2017 med ordene: "Til de av dere som arbeider med militante ekstremister, vit at deres tid er over." Likevel opplevde landet det blodigste terrorangrepet i landets historie bare måneder senere. Har Farmaajo levd opp til forventningene, og hvordan er situasjonen i landet nå? Vi har invitert et ekspertpanel for å diskutere de utfordringene Somalia står overfor i dag. Landet har hatt enorme utfordringer siden borgerkrigen i 1991, med konflikt og klanmilitser. Hvor langt har landet kommet i en nasjonal forsoningsprosess? Hvordan blir politiske bekymringer adressert? Hva er diasporaens rolle i gjenoppbyggingen av landet? Og hva er rollen til somaliske kvinner?

A report published by the International Labour Organization and International Organization for Migration last year estimated that more than 40 million people are living in slavery. Probably the number is higher. And the situation in African countries is the most serious. What does slavery in our time entail and which structures in the international society allow this to continue? The whole world has been witnessing how African migrants have been sold as slaves in Libya, where slave trade moves hand in hand with human trafficking. According to the UN, the situation for the migrants has worsened after the alliance between the EU and the Libyan coast guard. Why is this happening?

It is estimated that African countries, relative to the size of their economies, lose more in corporate tax evasion than countries anywhere else in the world. What is the role of taxation in creating development in Africa? Is stopping illicit financial flows a silver bullet to increase the financing for development? Or are we putting too little emphasis on domestic challenges of building national institutions for taxation?

On 17th December, Tunisia marked seven years since the start of the protests that spread across the region and came to be known as the Arab Spring. The country has been praised for its relatively peaceful transition to democracy. However, seven years after the revolution, the country remains a fragile democracy facing economic challenges, widespread corruption and terrorist threats. Has the revolution commonly known as the “Jasmine Revolution” improved the lives of ordinary Tunisians? And what does it take to succeed with long-term stability and economic reform in Tunisia?

For decades, Tanzania has been one of the most important countries for Norwegian development cooperation. Today's president Jon Magufuli is often referred to as a new Nyerere. What then are the implications for how we can see the present in the light of the past? Tanzania has, in line with many socialist one-party states, opened up for market economy and multi-party elections. How can we understand the major pathways of conflict and cooperation during more than fifty years of relationship between Norway and Tanzania? What are the traces of Nyerere and ujamaa in Tanzania today? What is currently at stake in the country? The Norwegian Council for Africa in cooperation with the Norway-Tanzania Association invites to a seminar in Oslo with the theme "Tanzania - from Nyerere to Magufuli". This event is a part of the Council for Africa´s 50th anniversary celebrations and will take place in English. In the panel: Jon Lomøy, Norad's director and former ambassador to Tanzania (2007-2010). Tale Hungnes, former co

While ECOWAS was on the short-list for the Nobel Peace Prize for its intervention in the Gambia, the East African Community (EAC) struggles to produce meaningful progress and results in Burundi. The African Union (AU) has peace and security at the core of its mandate. However, much of the handling of conflict is usually delegated to one of the various regional blocks on the continent. What are the opportunities and pitfalls of such an approach? Should the AU be more forward leaning when there is a danger of inaction or when strategic regional interest hinders rather than helps conflict resolution? Researchers from the prominent think-tank Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Oslo Governance Center (UNDP) give us their thoughts in this breakfast seminar. In the panel: Yann Bedzigui, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Jide Okeke, Oslo Governance Center, UNDP

I 38 år har José Eduardo dos Santos vært president i Angola. Det gjør ham til verdens nest lengstsittende president. Nå har han meldt at han trer av ved høstens valg. Hva skjer da? For 40 år siden endret det regjerende MPLA-partiet grunnleggende angolansk politikk gjennom omfattende massakrer og politisk opprensing internt i eget parti. 27. mai 1977 har blitt et arr i den angolanske kollektive hukommelsen, midt i en lang borgerkrig der MPLA var en av partene. Edgar Valles er bror av Sita Valles, en av de sentrale lederne i det påståtte kuppet 27. mai 1977 som igangsatte utrenskningene. Han har siden skrevet bok om hendelsene som fulgte, da opp mot 1 % av Angolas befolkning ble ofre for myndighetenes vold. Valles forteller sterke historier om hendelser som den dag i dag er tabu både i Angola og i Portugal. Vi drar linjer fra hendelsene for 40 år siden til dagens politiske landskap i Angola, nå når president dos Santos etterlater seg et maktvakum etter 38 år i stolen. CMI-forsker og Angola-ekspert Aslak Orr

Pierre Nkurunziza´s unconstitutional decision to run for a third period as president led to a two-year conflict in Burundi. Why is the international society seemingly paralyzed when it comes to dealing with the crisis in the relatively small country? East African leaders like Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and John Magufuli (Tanzania) have used their positions to protect the Burundian president. Burundian soldiers that have committed documented human rights violations are parts of peace keeping forces in CAR and Somalia, financed by the EU and the UN. Norway is seemingly taking a passive stand towards the crisis in a historical important country to Norwegian aid on the African continent. In addition to this, Burundi has already started the process of withdrawal from The International Criminal Court (ICC), with a final exit taking place this fall. This provides the ICC with a small window of opportunity to prosecute war criminals in the country, but it is not evident whether the ICC will take advantage of th

In the Norwegian political public space a number of identity and ethnicity based questions are ignored or unknown. Prominent writers and feminists like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Chibundu Onuzo, to mention a few, write about how hair is a core issue connected to identity and status for Nigerian women, and in general, the African woman. The ideal of the Western hair style makes African women go through great amounts of work to fit into the understanding of what is considered beautiful and worthy. Could this be connected to the understanding of the Western as being something superior to the African? To racist undertones? To a history that is contrary to black pride? How does the status of the afro influence a woman with an African background and how she views herself and her role in the society? The discussion about the Western hair norm recently peaked in South Africa, where girls at a school were forced to chemically straighten their hair or they would be expelled, as afros were considered unruly and aga

How does the great number of Somalis in Kenya influence Kenyan politics and policy? Kenya hosts over 550 000 officially registered refugees, with only six countries in the world surpassing that according to the UN. While Western states talk of lack of capacity to handle their refugee influx, the Kenyan numbers have been consistently high. Why is there no talk of a refugee “crisis” leading up to the Kenyan elections in august? A large proportion of refugees in Kenya are Somali. However, being a Somali in Kenya can mean much more than that you are a refugee. The North Eastern Province is inhabited by approximately two million ethnic Somalis that are Kenyan citizens, and Eastleigh in Nairobi is often called Little Mogadishu for its Somali influence. However terrorism has struck Kenya on several occasions, notably in Nairobi and Garissa. This has given way for operations like Operation Ussalama, which targeted Somalis in discriminatory ways. Has the fear of al Shabaab in Kenya resulted in a worseing of the t

Gjennom bryggerier i elleve afrikanske land har Heineken introdusert nederlandsk øl for et nytt og stadig større marked, men til hvilken pris? Journalisten Olivier van Beemen avslørte i 2015 hvordan selskapet har samarbeidet med totalitære regimer, diktatorer og minst én krigsforbryter. Heineken har dessuten unndratt skatt og vært delaktig i korrupsjon i landene der de opererer. Van Beemens avsløringer har skapt debatt både i den nederlandske nasjonalforsamlingen og i Europaparlamentet. Etter planen vil boken hans, «Heineken in Africa», foreligge på engelsk i år. Men i kveld gjester han Kulturhuset for å diskutere hva Heineken kan lære oss om de multinasjonale selskapenes fremferd på det afrikanske kontintentet: Er disse selskapene de nye kolonimaktene? I panelet: Olivier van Beemen, gravejournalist og forfatter av «Heineken in Africa». Emeka Dumbili, postdoc ved Brunel University London med forskningsinteresse for alkohol og folkehelse i Nigeria Øystein Bakke, seniorrådgiver i FORUT - Solidaritetsaksjon

Afrika.no fylte ett år i mars 2017. Asta Busingye Lydersen, norsk-ugandisk journalist og skuespiller, kjent fra gruppa Queendom, ledet paneldebatt. Vi spør: Afrikanere som ressurs i norsk Afrikadebatt - hvor langt har vi kommet? Vi ønsker at afrikansk tilhørighet og bakgrunn i sterkere grad blir tatt i bruk som ressurs i norsk debatt om Afrika. Hvordan kan Afrika.no bidra til dette? I panelet: Birame Diouf, samfunnsdebattant, direktør for Centre Fagaru i Senegal, fagdirektør i IMDi. Haboon Hashi, student og samfunnsdebattant. Omar Drammeh, medgrunnlegger av Africa Center for Information and Development (ACID), Gambia-kjenner, rådgiver i IMDi og skribent på Afrika.no Afrika.no har opplevd stor interesse i sitt første år. Nye venner og følgere strømmer på hver dag, både fra Norge og fra afrikanske land. Veldig mange har lyst til å skrive for oss, og flotte skribenter kommer stadig til.

I fjor varslet Gambia, Sør-Afrika og Burundi at de ville trekke seg ut fra Den internasjonale straffedomstolen (ICC). Daværende informasjonsminister i Gambia, Sheriff Bojang, begrunnet tilbaketrekkingen med at domstolen har blitt et instrument til forfølgelse av afrikanere og deres ledere. «International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour», slo han fast. Denne typen kritikk har blitt veldig vanlig blant noen av de mest toneangivende lederne på det afrikanske kontinentet. ICCs rolle sto i sentrum for begivenhetene da president Yahya Jammeh i desember først aksepterte valgtapet i Gambia, for så å snu etter at valgvinneren erklærte at Gambia ville beholde sitt ICC-medlemskap. Jammeh reiste senere til ikke-ICC-medlemmet Ekvatorial-Guinea. Hvordan preger ICC politikken i afrikanske land? Finnes det bedre alternativ til å straffeforfølge krigsforbrytere og ledere som driver med omfattende menneskerettighetsbrudd? Er kritikken av doms

(In collaboration with the Norwegian Council for Africa and the Rafto Foundation) Screening of Nowhere to Run + debate: Oil production has caused devastating environmental damages in Nigeria, while the industry has made trillions of dollars. How can oil companies be held accountable for the damages they have caused? How can further environmental destruction be avoided and how can we work better towards ensuring that multinational companies respect human rights? The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) were endorsed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2011. Do they have an impact on how big companies conduct their business or is the world in dire need of more binding regulations for international business? The British law firm Leigh Day has brought forward cases against Shell in the UK on behalf of thousands of Nigerians, for environmental damages that has destroyed their livelihood. Will cases like this change the behaviour of big corporations? Daniel Leader is

Report launch and panel discussion: Boko Haram beyond the headlines – understanding the origins and future of islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria Join renowned experts in understanding Boko Haram beyond the day-to-day headlines. Under what circumstances came Boko Haram to be and what has ushered the organisation to the center of attention in international coverage of terror organisations? Not least, from today onwards – what can we expect from Boko Haram in the future? Boko Haram – or Jam’aat Ahl as-Sunnah lidDa’wah wa’l-Jihad, as the group calls itself – is only the latest in a series of radical Islamist groups to emerge in the north and northeast of Nigeria. In April 2014, however, the group rose to international notoriety when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria. In Hate Speech International’s report Boko Haram - the islamist insurgency in Nigeria, Maren Sæbø outlines the history and evolution of Boko Haram, explores its organization and aspirations and concludes by looki

Tronsmo bookshop and The Norwegian Council for Africa invites you to the launch of Chibundu Onuzo's new book, "Welcome to Lagos". Chibundu will be reading an extract from her book, and through conversation with Andreas Delset, program chief at Litteraturhuset. The event will be open for questions from the audience, and her book will be available in the bookshop. Born in 1991 in Lagos, Nigeria, Chibundu Onuzo started writing novels and short stories at the age of 10. Less than a decade later, she became the youngest woman ever to be signed by Faber and Faber, Her debut novel, "The Spiderking's Daughter" was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Etisalat Prize, shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and Commonwealth Book Prize and won a Betty Trask Award. Her second novel, "Welcome to LAgos", is out in January. She writes opinion pieces for the Guardian, with a special interest in Nigeria. Chibundu is a History graduate and she is currently pursuing a PhD in History at King's College. The book la

How can the population boom in African cities be harvested in sustainable growth and development? With an estimated current population of 21 million, Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos is Africa’s premier megacity. Its population is expected to double by 2050 making it (by then) the world’s third largest city. The challenges of sustainable urbanization are brought to the fore in the context of a megacity such as Lagos. Prominent Nigerian representatives are coming to Afrika Nå to discuss what is needed from civil society, business and government in order to grow African mega cities such as Lagos in an inclusive manner. THE PANEL - Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri (Executive Director of the Lagos-based NGO Spaces for Change) She will talk about the ways urban infrastructure projects cause large-scale displacement of the urban poor. Victoria will further help us understand how engagement between civil society groups and planners in Nigerian cities can protect the interests of the poor in the context of urban infrastru