Perceptions of Africa: A Dialogue

Three evenings of talks, discussion, and reflection relating to Africa, AIDS, and Representation of Africa by the West

Thursday, March 8 – Saturday, March 10, 2007
UBC Museum of Anthropology
6393 N.W. Marine Drive, Vancouver, B.C.

Distinguished speakers include:
Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Michael Gondwe and Aaron Maluwa, AIDS Educators from Malawi
Dr. Handel Wright, Canada Research Chair in Comparative Cultural Studies

Tickets $9 per evening or $20 for the 3-evening series; students $7 per evening or $15 for series.

To pre-register call 604.822.5087. For details (including speakers’ profiles) call 604.822.5978 or visit www.moa.ubc.ca.

The African continent, rich in diversity, culture, and complexity, is often viewed in a context of despair and desperation that excludes the other multifaceted realities that exist in a continent of over fifty countries. Through this Dialogue, we will review some of the ways in which African countries are represented in the west, look at ways in which African countries are finding their own solutions in addressing AIDS, and create a forum where the public can participate in reviewing, responding to, and reflecting on these themes.

"Perceptions of Africa" is the second in the Museum's annual Global Dialogue series, and is presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Village is Tilting: Dancing AIDS in Malawi," opening on February 6, 2007.

Thursday, March 8, 7:00-9:00 pm – Representations of Africa
Keynote address: Dr. Handel Wright - Is This An African I See Before Me?; Speakers: Manu Kabahizi (Africa: the Continent); Towela Magai (The Problem with Compassion: Searching for African Solutions); Maureen Mogambi (Africa versus ‘Africa’: A Challenge to Perceptions of Africa); Sanya Pleshakov (Coming into Focus: A Canadian's Personal Perspective on Malawi).

Friday, March 9, 7:00-9:00 pm – African Agency, Local Initiatives, and AIDS
Keynote address: Michael Gondwe and Aaron Maluwa (Museums as Agents of Change: HIV/AIDS and Malaria education in Malawi); Juliet Tembe (Countering stigmatizing discourses on HIV/AIDS in Uganda); Douglas Curran (Other Reasons for Dying).

Saturday March 10, 3:00 -5:00 pm – Canada Responds, Reflects, Engages
Keynote address: Dr. Julio Montaner (Expanding AIDS Treatment as a Strategy to Curb the Growth of the HIV Epidemic Here and Abroad); Ishi Dinim (Filming Canadian AIDS Initiatives in Malawi). A reception will follow the discussion.