SAASUM First Annual Conference

Conclusion: we need an African Studies program at St Andrews

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This past Saturday, Lower College Hall housed the first annual St Andrews Africa Summit Conference. SAASUM is a student led initiative that promotes a versatile discussion about Africa, Africans and African affairs. The primary objective of SAASUM is to provide a platform which stimulates a critical dialogue about the common discourses concerning Africa by bringing together the professional, the academic and the student. They truly succeed in their aim to provide participants with an all-encompassing understanding of the trends currently shaping African affairs. Guests entered to find a beautifully crafted art exhibit featuring student collages, photography, cartoons, and writings about different areas of Africa.

The master of ceremonies and first speaker of the day was Prue Clarke, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of New Narratives, a publication centred upon Africans reporting Africa. Introducing the theme of the conference, she discussed topics revolving around the role of the media in Africa, as a puppet to governments, as it is seen by Africans, and how Western media depicts Africa. Discussions focused on politics, culture, and commerce, allowing the speakers to cover a wide range of information, from economics and technology to international relations and anthropology. Setting the tone for the day, Clarke emphasised that there are indeed some stories that can only be told by Africans.

The day was full of notable speakers, such as Edward Boateng, CEO of Global Media Alliance, and Vijaya Ramachandran, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Global Development. Covering the importance of information to development, which is vital to the growing global presence of Africa, Boateng provided the perfect beginning, despite some minor technical difficulties, to a more investment-focused talk led by Ramachandran. Together, these two noteworthy speakers emphasised how lacking information and technology can negatively affect business and growth. SAASUM’s message was truly expressed as the audience learned that, as a young country, it is important to address how current trends shape matters throughout Africa.

After such interesting speeches – and many questions by a rather inquisitive audience, we were all given a break for lunch, before reconvening for what turned out to be a very controversial afternoon. As I sat in the audience and watched Ralph Simon, CEO of Mobilium Global Group, walk up on stage, the last thing I expected was an insane dance party to popular African artist D’banji’s award-winning hit “Oliver Twist”. A few brave souls took to the stage with the encouragement of Simon, and they had the entire audience clapping along with renewed invigoration.

Dancing proved to be one of Ralph Simon’s many talents, as he shared his knowledge about the role of social media and the creativity industry in Africa, emphasising that “Africa always invents the impossible!”. From discussing the mobile money revolution to the innovative new health apps, and even something called iCow – an app that tracks the breeding potential of your livestock! – Simon kept guests wide awake and showed us that there truly is a bright, shining future in Africa. And if his speech wasn’t convincing enough, he literally had a trick up his sleeve at the end as he pulled yards of colourful scarf out of his suit jacket sleeve.

With a quick change of pace, Dr. Stan Frankland, a Professor of Anthropology at St Andrews, took to the stage; conversation of technological advancements halted, and instead shifted to what he refers to as “pygmy zombies in hyperspace”. Dr Frankland addressed the misleading photographs media utilises, and used various examples to show how anthropological perspectives negate the information relegated by media. Rather than focus on technology and advancements on the West Coast of Africa, Dr Frankland looked at the traditional lifestyles of less modernised areas. Audiences laughed at the blunt – and somewhat cheeky – comments the favourite Social Anthropology lecturer is known for. The controversy of his talk was summed up nicely as he stated: “the only life it [Africa] has is the life we particularly want it to have”.

Dr Robtel Neajai Pailey finally took to the stage and showed the audience why it is important to debunk the myths of “saving” Africa. By addressing romanticised notions and illusions of grandeur, she reiterated previous statements that show we should indeed be learning about Africa from the source. As someone who was not sure what to expect, I found the entire conference to be a great experience, and I truly felt I learned a lot. As 4th year student Renée Horster stated: “I’m actually not that interested in Africa, but this Summit definitely made me want to learn more”.

The Summit thus proved to provide guests with a vast range of speakers who gave critical dialogues of issues in Africa about Africans. I was thoroughly convinced by the end that it is vital for St Andrews to consider founding an African Studies program, as such a vast continent needs to be explored beyond the surface. The speakers joined in a panel discussion at the end, and did an excellent job of providing different perspectives, allowing the audience to consider the effects of change in Africa through the lenses of various disciplines. For anyone who missed this phenomenal conference put on by the incredibly hard-working SAASUM committee, I hope to see you all at their future events.

Pictures courtesy of Lightbox Creative St Andrews.