UMOJA to Host Conference

On Saturday April 13, UMOJA, Middlebury’s African Society, will host the Amka Africa Conference in collaboration with the Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship (MCSE) to discuss how business and youth entrepreneurship are changing the face of commerce within Africa and beyond its borders.

President of the UMOJA Aminata Deme ’15, a native of Senegal, Africa, explained the group’s motivation to host the event.

“We see a change in the rhetoric about Africa,” she said. “Recently business gurus and economists and entrepreneurs are talking about Africa as [the] next big thing, the next big boom, the next Asia — or the next frontier. We want Middlebury students to be part of that, we want them to be aware of that, [and we want them] to see the dynamic changes occurring in Africa,” she said.

“Amka Africa means Awake Africa in Swahili,” she said. “With this conference we wanted to highlight the growth and potential of the continent.”

Deme pointed to the College’s relatively high number of international students, and explained that she hoped that the event would expose a greater number of students to the culture of Africa. She explained that the event will include a fashion show, artistic performances, a gala and an after party co-hosted by Distinguished Men of Color (DMC).

The conference will begin with an opening note by a young entrepreneur, innovator and scientist, David Moinina Sengeh. “The many things he does in Africa, such as creating prosthetic limbs for paralyzed people in Sierra Leone, will be an inspiration for the youth. We felt it was important to have a conference that doesn’t just state facts. We also want this to be an opportunity for youth to take a proactive stance,” Deme said.

The conference will continue with a talk by Assistant Professor of Political Science Nadia Horning to “enlighten and delve into the topic of corruption and unethical leaders,” according to Deme.

“Africa is a dynamic continent, and it is important to look at it as it is, not as how we think it should be,” said Horning. “It is refreshing to see that UMOJA students have decided to highlight that the continent is one of hope and positive change, at least from the perspective of the educated youth. The initiative was not born out of frustration and despair, but simply from the desire to present the continent as it is at present: booming in all sorts of ways.”

Fred Swaniker, the CEO and co-founder of African Leadership Academy, will also participate in the conference through video messages.

“His story is the best way to go about changing Africa to educate its youth. He created a high school to unite Africa,” said Deme.

As the conference nears, Middlebury students have shown excitement for the upcoming events.

“I’m interested in entrepreneurship and finding creative solutions to community issues,” said Erin Reid ’16, a student who intends to attend the conference. “I love hearing about the amazing things that people are doing around the world. It always makes me feel like I should be doing more with my life, but also inspires me to do more around me! Also, [Fred Swaniker] is dope and I’d love to hear what he has to say! I visited the school he founded, African Leadership Academy, last year and I think the school is doing some really cool things.”

According to Deme, the primary goal of the conference is for participants to enjoy their experience while continuing to broaden their understanding of the changes occurring in Africa.

“If people want to know what kind of role as a global community they can have in changing Africa in a positive way, their answer will be at the Amka Africa Conference 2013.”

More information on the details of this event can be found at Middleburyafrica.org.