Debatmøde: Civilsamfundets rolle i politisk og social udvikling i Afrika

TIME: Wednesday, 16th. November, 16 – 18

VENUE: Danish Institute for Human Rights, Nordskov conference room, 3rd floor, entrance: Wilders Plads 8 H, Christianshavn, 1401 København K

TIME: Wednesday, 16th. November, 16 – 18

VENUE: Danish Institute for Human Rights, Nordskov conference room, 3rd floor, entrance: Wilders Plads 8 H, Christianshavn, 1401 København K

External and internal trends influence the scenes in which political and social processes are being formed in contemporary Africa: Globalization processes have attempted to spread uniform cultures reflecting a global understanding of democracy, economic liberalization and civil society participation, often reflecting Western perspectives.

Alongside these global processes, a need to reaffirm local identities and cultures has emerged in the past 20 years in many African countries, reflected on the “turn to tradition”.

This challenges the uniform understanding of democracy, civil society and political participation. It also has consequences for how civil society can contribute to social-, political- and democratic transformations and ultimately for how African democracies will develop in the future.

At the afternoon debate meeting Victor Igreja, Rose Nakayi and Desmond Mudala Kaunda will shed light on the current political and social processes that affect the development of contemporary African societies and democracies.

The focus will be on the complexities that shape the political, social and democratic contexts which civil society, donors and development organizations from the North and South operate in.

Programme:

16.00-16.15: Welcome by facilitator: Flemming Alsbjørn

16.15- 16.35: Victor Igreja (Mozambique) Institutional Pluralism and the Limits of State and Civil Society Relations in Contemporary Africa

16.35-16.55: Rose Nakayi (Uganda): The Dilemma of Access to Land Justice in Post conflict Northern Uganda. What Role for Civil Society?

16.55-17.15: Desmond Mudala Kaunda (Malawi) How Genuine is the change of attitude among key justice stakeholders towards engagement with informal justice systems?

17.15-17.50: Questions and debate

17.50-18.00: End note and wrap-up by facilitator Flemming Alsbjørn

Read more about the meeting and registration here.