FAO Quotables

"But being right, even morally right, isn't everything. It is also important to be competent, to be consistent, and to be knowledgeable. It's important for your soldiers and diplomats to speak the language of the people you want to influence. It's important to understand the ethnic and tribal divisions of the place you hope to assist."
-Anne Applebaum

Thursday, September 8, 2011

What Does Africa Need From the US and China?

What Does Africa Need From the US and China?

I read about this conference today on Ambassador Shinn's excellent blog.  He's speaking at an upcoming 2- day conference hosted by VMI (I will try not to hold this against them) entitled: The Eagle & the Dragon in Africa: Stability and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

I wish I could find a way to get to this conference because it looks great!  They have a ton of heavy hitters as speakers!

www.vmi.edu/africa.

Thursday, 3 November
1 p.m. - Opening Session
· Welcoming Remarks - GEN J. H. Binford Peay III, U.S. Army (Ret.), VMI Superintendent
· Keynote - Ambassador Jendayi E. Frazer, Ph.D., Distinguished Public Service Professor and Director, Center for International Policy and Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University

2:25 p.m. - Africa’s Interest: What the U.S. and China mean for Africa’s Development
· Kwesi Aning, Ph. D., Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana
· Soji Adelaja, Ph. D., Professor, Land Policy, Director of the Land Policy Institute, Michigan State University

4 p.m. - U.S. and Chinese Interest in Africa: Competitors or Collaborators?
Chair: Charles Horner, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
· Raymond Gilpin, Ph. D., Associate Vice President, Sustainable Economies Centers of Innovation, United States Institute of Peace
· Howard Sanborn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, International Studies and Political Science, VMI

5:30 p.m. - Reception - Festival of Sub-Saharan music and food

7:30 p.m. - Keynote Remarks (TBA)

Friday, 4 November

9 a.m. - U.S. Approaches to Sustainable Development in Africa
Chair: Paul Hebert, Ph. D., Winner of the VMI Jonathan M. Daniels Humanitarian Award, 2011
· Christopher LaMonica, Ph. D., Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at the U. S. Coast Guard Academy
· LTC Nancy Jean-Louis, U.S. Army, USAFRICOM Military Representative to USAID