The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) invites civil society organizations (CSOs) to submit applications for projects that provide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) communities with the tools to empower local movements and communities, prevent, mitigate, and recover from violence, discrimination, stigma, and human rights abuses, promote full social inclusion, or address critical issues of justice.  Projects should be focused on one or more of the following regions: West Africa, Central Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, and East Asia. We intend for projects to be led by, or have strong support from and participation by, LGBTQI+ organizations and communities.   Successful proposals will be funded by the resources of the Global Equality Fund, a public-private partnership including the governments of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Uruguay and the United States, as well as the Arcus Foundation, the John D. Evans Foundation, FRI: the Norwegian Organization for Sexual and Gender Diversity, the M·A·C AIDS Fund, Deloitte LLP, the Royal Bank of Canada, Hilton, Bloomberg LP, Thomson Reuters Foundation TrustLaw Initiative, Human Rights Campaign, and Out Leadership.   The overall goal of these funds is to advance the human rights of persons who face discrimination, violence, or abuse on account of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics in West Africa, Central Africa, Middle East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, and East Asia.  DRL will consider proposals for regional or single country programs.  Regional programming should be conducted in multiple target countries, as it is appropriate and safe to do so.   To learn more: https://www.state.gov/drl-fy2021-global-equality-fund-lgbtqi-programs-in-west-africa-central-africa-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-south-and-central-asia-and-east-asia/ https://www.state.gov/drl-fy2021-global-equality-fund-lgbtqi-programs-in-west-africa-central-africa-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-south-and-central-asia-and-east-asia/ Read more

Scholars from any discipline, tenured or non-tenured faculty, or those otherwise affiliated with a recognized research institution, may submit proposals to present at the Fifteenth Annual ASMEA Conference. Unique proposals from senior graduate students (ABD) also are welcome. Proposals on topics related to the Middle East and Africa should consist of a one-page summary of new and unpublished research. A recent C.V. with all contact data also must be included with name, e-mail, phone number, and affiliation.   To submit a panel proposal for the Fifteenth Annual ASMEA Conference, the organizer of this panel will need to include three to four presenters as well as a discussant/moderator along with the following information for each participant: Paper title Presenter name and institution One-page proposal of the paper topic C.V. or resume the deadline to submit is May 1, 2022. The panel organizer is the point of contact and in charge of submitting all materials. Questions can be directed to Suzanne Sloan at sgk@asmeascholars.org.   To submit paper/panel proposals: Call for Papers (asmeascholars.org) Read more

The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) is offering two grant opportunities in conjunction with its Fifteenth Annual Conference taking place in Washington, D.C. on November 5 - 7, 2022.   The ASMEA Research Grant Program seeks to support research on topics in Middle Eastern and African studies that deserve greater attention. Applicants may submit paper proposals on any topic as long as it constitutes new and original research and is relevant to the five qualifying topic areas: Minorities and Women, Military History, Governance and Economy, Faith, and Iran. Grants of up to $2500 will be awarded. Successful research grant applicants are required to present their research at the Fifteenth Annual ASMEA Conference. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2022.Separately, ASMEA is offering Travel Grants of up to $750 which can be used towards the costs associated with attending the  Annual ASMEA Conference in Washington, D.C. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2022.   Additional guidelines and information can be found on our website at www.asmeascholars.org. Feel free to contact ASMEA at info@asmeascholars.org with any questions. Read more

After the great success of the last HEAd conference, with 200 participants from more than 50 countries, we are pleased to announce the Eighth International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’22), as a virtual and face-to-face conference, simultaneously. This conference is a consolidated forum for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas, experiences, opinions and research results relating to the preparation of students, teaching/learning methodologies and the organization of educational systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following topic areas: Innovative materials and new tools for teaching Teaching and learning experiences Educational technology (e.g., virtual labs, e-learning) Evaluation and assessment of student learning Emerging technologies in learning (e.g., MOOC, OER, gamification) Scientific and research education Experiences outside the classroom (e.g., practicums, mobility) New teaching/learning theories and models Globalization in education and education reforms Education economics Entrepreneurship and learning for employment Education accreditation, quality and assessment Competency-based learning and skill assessment Participants from all over the world are expected to present their latest and unpublished research findings. The program committee encourages the submission of articles that communicate applied and empirical findings of interest to higher education professionals. The HEAd’22 conference will be held on June 14-17, 2022 and hosted by the Faculty of Business Administration and Management of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), which has been recently ranked as the best technical university in Spain by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2021. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and is located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital city of the Comunitat Valenciana region, which is major tourist destination in summer, and we recommend the visit once the pandemic is over. The organizing committee looks forward to welcoming you all to a fruitful conference with open discussions and important networking to promote high quality education. In case of questions related to the conference, please contact us at headconf@upv.es Read more

CALL FOR PAPERS CLOSES FEBRUARY 15TH   SEND SUBMISSIONS TO UFAHAMU@GMAIL.COM     CALL FOR PAPERS FOR UFAHAMU DUE FEB. 15, 2022   The editors of Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies are currently accepting submissions for Volume 43, Issue 2.  In honor of the journal’s recent 50th anniversary of publication, this special retrospective issue will include republished essays from the back catalog alongside new submissions including, but not limited to:   Essays Poems Book reviews Visual arts   This call gives special consideration to those submissions which directly engage with the themes covered in the first decades of Ufahamu’s publication.  Examples include direct engagement with a previously published article in Ufahamu, a paper written through citations of past Ufahamu writings, or any submission addressing themes such as:   Anti-colonialism National liberation Consciousness Pan-Africanism Black Marxisms Diaspora Activist-intellectualism and much more!   The editors are also soliciting articles concerning contemporary political issues in Africa and the diaspora in the spirit of Ufahamu’s original activist-academic ethos.   Ufahamu’s full catalog is freely available and digitized at https://escholarship.org/uc/international_asc_ufahamu/1/1   For more information about Ufahamu, please visit https://international.ucla.edu/asc/ufahamu   ----------------   Information forwarded by the UCLA African Studies Center – www.international.ucla.edu/africa     Read more

We invite participants to this multi-location hybrid conference, ‘Remapping the feminist global’ co-convened by International Feminist Journal of Politics and Asian Center for Women’s Studies, Ewha Womans University. Read more

PAS Bamako invites proposals for projects that strengthen ties between the United States and Mali by promoting bilateral cooperation and highlighting shared values and shared interests. All programs must advance one of the key priorities listed below and must promote an element of American culture or have a connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased ties between the United States and Mali and foster understanding of U.S. policies and perspectives. The PAS Small Grants program is NOT a vehicle to fund development projects, nor can these grants be used to support for-profit entities.    Examples of PAS Small Grants Program projects include, but are not limited to: Artistic and cultural workshops, joint performances, and exhibitions Academic and professional lectures, seminars, and speaker programs Cultural heritage conservation and preservation programs Civic engagement and social activism programs Key Priority Areas and Audiences   The purpose of projects funded under the annual program statement is to strengthen ties between Americans and Malians as we work together to make progress toward the goals outlined below. Strengthening independent media and fighting disinformation through media literacy, training and other engagement; Reinforcing existing Sister City relationships or other relationships between U.S. and Malian institutions (e.g. universities or museums) Ensuring participation of citizens, especially women and youth, in the democratic process; Fostering economic growth and entrepreneurship; Advancing anti-corruption efforts and promoting transparency and good governance; Promoting inclusive social development, particularly by empowering women and girls; Engaging underserved populations, including persons with disabilities, through art, sports, culture and other creative programs; Promoting tolerance and peace; Strengthening community resilience to extremism; and Promoting English language study and acquisition.  For more information or to apply visit grants.gov Read more

Livestock as Global and Imperial Commodities: Economies, Ecologies and Knowledge Regimes, c. 1500 – present Annual Commodities of Empire International Workshop, Freie Universität Berlin, 14-15 July 2022 Livestock has played a crucial role in imperial politics, economies and societies over the past centuries. The expansion of animal raising often went hand in hand with settler colonialist land expropriation, and various animals were in many places crucial to colonial conquest and exploitation. Moreover, livestock and livestock commodities, such as meat, wool, hides and tallow were traded and consumed within and across boundaries, both imperial and non-imperial. Such commodification processes not only relied on settler livestock frontiers, but also on the transformation of indigenous livestock economies, knowledge regimes and local ecologies. They were closely tied to the global expansion of capitalism and, as such, also affected non-colonial and post-imperial spaces across the world in many similar, yet sometimes also diverging ways. However, compared to agricultural cash crops and minerals, imperial and global histories of livestock are still quite rare. This workshop addresses this important research gap. It aims to explore the different (political, economic, societal, cultural, religious, ecological and scientific) dimensions of livestock production and commodification in global and imperial history.   We broadly define livestock as domesticated animals that are raised for multiple purposes, most notably for their labour (draft, pack, riding and powering machinery); their skin, hair, horns, shells, feathers, etc. (for clothing or ornaments); their meat, milk and eggs (for nutritional purposes); their manure (as fertilizer or fuel); their body parts (for medicinal purposes); their monetary value (for barter, savings and marriage payments); or their symbolic value (for religious uses, punishments and displays of prestige). Our definition includes cattle, water buffaloes, yaks, reindeer, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, elephants, horses, mules, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, poultry and ostriches, and we would also welcome papers on (shell)fish farming. Yet, we would exclude wild animals that are hunted, exhibited and/or subjected to conservationist measures. These will be addressed in a second workshop in 2023.   Potential paper topics may relate to: ·     the politics of livestock production: colonial control over land and/or pastoralist societies, local/imperial food security, capitalist expansion, international organisations such as FAO, etc. ·     modes of livestock raising: nomadic, semi-nomadic and settled pastoralism and mixed farming, large-scale ranching, industrial animal farming, ownership by international corporations, etc. ·     social conditions and effects of livestock production: social stratification, gender, race, caste, religious, and ethnic roles, changing labour forms and relations, (legal) regimes of land and livestock ownership, etc. ·     environmental consequences: deforestation, formation of grasslands, soil erosion, (water) pollution, global warming through methane emissions, etc. ·     veterinary, agricultural and environmental knowledge and technologies: (non-)circulation of knowledge, conflicting knowledge regimes and actors, scientific institutions and practices such as experimental stations, cross-breeding and selective breeding techniques, practices of disease control, etc. ·     processing of livestock commodities: slaughterhouses, processing of hides, wool and dairy, techniques for dried, salted, canned, frozen and chilled meat, etc. ·     trading infrastructures and networks: transport technologies, ports, trade companies, credit mechanisms, etc. ·     livestock labour: transport, warfare, role in agriculture, forestry and mining for the production of other (global) commodities such as  sugar, teak or silver, etc. ·     local, imperial and global uses of livestock commodities: for food, clothing, fertilizer, medicine, payments, etc.   We are interested in cases from all geographical regions and in approaches from various disciplines. In addition to historians, we welcome papers from anthropologists, sociologists, veterinary scientists, zoologists, environmentalists and other scholars working on the global and imperial history of livestock and livestock commodities.   This two-day workshop is a collaborative venture between the Commodities of Empire British Academy Research Project and the Commodifying Cattle Research Project funded by the German Research Foundation at the Free University Berlin. Following the long-standing practice of Commodities of Empire workshops, papers will be grouped in thematic panels, pre-circulated to all workshop participants, and panel discussions will be opened by a chair or discussant. Paper-givers will then have the possibility to reply succinctly, and this will be followed by open discussion. Papers presented at the workshop may be considered for publication in the Commodities of Empire Working Papers series: https://commoditiesofempire.org.uk/publications/working-papers/. We strongly encourage graduate students and other early career scholars to propose papers. Costs of accommodation in and, within certain limits, travel to Berlin will be covered. We have special funding for scholars coming from the Global South. Please note, however, that while we aim to hold the workshop on site at the Free University Berlin, we might have to hold the workshop virtually, or in a hybrid form, depending on the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic and the (travel) restrictions it entails.   Please e-mail expressions of interest, with a title and an abstract of no more than 300 words, by 31 January 2022 to Samuël Coghe, Free University Berlin, samuel.coghe@fu-berlin.de. We will notify authors about the acceptance of their papers by 15 March 2022. They will then be asked to submit a draft paper of approx. 5,000-6,000 words (not counting footnotes and bibliography) 3 weeks prior to the event. Read more

The U.S Mission to Nigeria is accepting proposals from eligible organizations seeking project funding through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) for fiscal year 2022. The deadline for the submission of proposals is December 5, 2021 at 11:59pm.    AFCP Program Objectives:  The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) Grants Program was established in 2001 at the request of the Congress, reflected in the Conference Report on the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001 (P. L. 106-553). AFCP was launched to preserve cultural heritage and to demonstrate U.S. respect for other cultures. The aim is to preserve of major ancient archaeological sites, historic buildings and monuments, and major museum collections that have an historical or cultural significance to the cultural heritage of Nigeria.   Appropriate project activities may include:    a) Anastylosis (reassembling a site from its original parts);  b) Conservation (addressing damage or deterioration to an object or site);  c) Consolidation (connecting or reconnecting elements of an object or site);  d) Documentation (recording in analog or digital format the condition and salient features of an object, site, or tradition);  e) Inventory (listing of objects, sites, or traditions by location, feature, age, or other unifying characteristic or state);  f) Preventive Conservation (addressing conditions that threaten or damage a site, object, collection, or tradition);  g) Restoration (replacing missing elements to recreate the original appearance of an object or site, usually appropriate only with fine arts, decorative arts, and historic buildings);  h) Stabilization (reducing the physical disturbance of an object or site).    Competition Format: Both AFCP small and large grants are now combined to a single program and projects will be selected in two rounds. During Round 1, embassies will submit concept notes for both small and large projects that focus on the public diplomacy objectives that may be accomplished through the proposed project. Applicants invited to participate in Round 2 will flesh out the technical aspects of the proposed project and submit a full application. Awards will range from $10,000 to $500,000.   For more information about this opportunity or to apply, please visit grants.gov Read more

The purpose of this call for EOI is to identify projects to submit full proposals to develop open and accessible datasets for machine learning applications that will enable natural language processing for languages in sub-Saharan Africa. The ability to communicate and be understood in one’s own language is fundamental to digital and societal inclusion. Natural language processing techniques have enabled critical AI applications that facilitate digital inclusion and improvements in numerous fields, including: education, finance, healthcare, agriculture, communication, and disaster response, among others. Many advances in both fundamental and applied NLP have stemmed from openly licensed and publicly available datasets.However, such open, publicly available datasets are scarce to non-existent for many African languages, and this means the benefits of NLP are not accessible to speakers of these languages. Where relevant datasets do exist, they are often based on religious, missionary, or judiciary texts, leading to outmoded language and bias. There is a need for openly accessible text, speech, and other datasets to facilitate breakthroughs based on NLP technologies for African languages.Lacuna Fund seeks Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from qualified organizations to develop open and accessible training and evaluation datasets for ML applications for NLP in sub-Saharan Africa. The TAP recognizes the importance of datasets that would create significant impact regardless of the number of speakers of the included language, as well as the need for multi-lingual datasets.EOIs may include, but not limited to: Collecting and/or annotating new data; Annotating or releasing existing data; Augmentation of existing datasets in all areas to decrease bias (such as gender bias or other types of bias or discrimination) or increase the usability of NLP technology in low- and middle-income contexts; Creating small, higher-quality benchmark data for NLP tasks in low-resource African languages. While the focus of Lacuna Fund is primarily on dataset creation, annotation, augmentation, and maintenance, proposals may include the development of a baseline model to ensure the quality of the funded dataset and/or to facilitate the use of dataset for socially beneficial applications.   For more information about the opportunity, click here Read more

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to help Senegalese law enforcement use community policing as a tool to improve the social contract with their citizens. The primary objective is to improve partnership with citizens and enhance governance and legitimacy through helping police and communities work more closely with one another.   Transforming policing services to better serve the public is easier said than done. It is about building trust between police and citizens. Empowering them to engage with citizens to fulfill the mission of police service, which have to be equitable, transparent and effective. The cascade of changes needed to effectively develop, implement, sustain, and communicate a citizen-oriented approach that reverses decades of underperformance and memories of past abuses is vast. Changing police culture can be as difficult, if not much more difficult, than changing policies, procedures, training. In order to develop a positive public perception, police officers need to engage with the citizens of its community to build a relationship of respect and trust.   This program aims to help the law enforcement agencies, defined as the national police, gendarmerie, and a local force known in French as the Agence de Securité de Proximité (ASP), in Senegal make progress towards the goal of institutionalizing community-oriented policing. The program will focus solely on Senegal throughout its duration, however INL will permit the grantee to employ regional collaboration as a means of achieving project outcomes.   For more information, please visit the listing on grants.gov Read more

Dear Colleague,We are pleased to share with you the Call for Papers for the Twenty-second International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations, University of Curaçao, Willemstad, Curaçao, 2–4 June 2022. Founded in 2000, the Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations Research Network is brought together by a shared interest in human differences and diversity, and their varied manifestations in organizations, communities, and nations. We aim to traverse a broad terrain, sometimes technically and other times socially oriented, sometimes theoretical and other times practical in their perspective, and sometimes reflecting dispassionate analysis while at other times suggesting interested strategies for action. Our aim is to build an epistemic community where we can make linkages across disciplinary, geographic, and cultural boundaries   The Twenty-second International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations features research addressing the following annual themes and special focus: Themes and tension Scope and concerns Program   To learn more please visit: 2022 Conference | Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations Research Network (ondiversity.com) Read more