Upcoming Events
Upcoming conferences, workshops and other events around the world exploring language, literacy, communication, new technologies and more in education studies
ReN Africa Newsletter
Remember to check recent ReN Africa Newsletters for conference listings. We feature 4-6 upcoming conferences in every issue. Watch for our next issue, out in October 2010.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MULTILINGUALISM AND EDUCATION: GLOBAL PRACTICES, CHALLENGES AND THE WAY FORWARD (July 22nd & 23rd 2010)
Presented by: Kenyatta University’s Dept. of English and Linguistics (Nairobi, Kenya)
PREAMBLE: Multilingualism is a situation where three or more languages are used in a society. It is a phenomenon that is widespread in the different continents of the world, and particularly in Africa. It is estimated that there are about 6,800 languages in the world and out of these over 2000 are spoken in Africa. This linguistic diversity results into multilingual education, where different languages are found in school systems as languages of instruction, as subjects being taught, or as out-of-class languages of communication. Consequently… CLICK HERE for more information
CALL FOR PAPERS for the 5th Annual RASA Conference
1 to 3 October 2010
THEME: It all starts with literacy, at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth.
We face huge challenges in our education system: poor performance in the systemic evaluations in grades 3 and 6; high drop out rates in the FET phase; poor matric results; students unprepared for university and struggling to complete their degrees. We face these challenges in the context of, on the one hand, widespread poverty and unemployment, and on the other, a lack of skills required to participate in a democratic society.Improving levels of literacy would be an important first step in meeting these challenges. Hence our conference theme: It all starts with literacy. To bring about improvement, we need to understand why literacy levels are so low; what it means to become literate in our diverse society; the role of school, family and community; the impact of poverty and limited resources (especially in African languages); and the extent to which English is a barrier to literacy. As literacy practitioners, we also need to examine our own role: How might we contribute to the improvement of literacy in South Africa? What theories, practical knowledge and skills, critical and reflective capacities will enable us to make this contribution? The 2010 RASA Conference will be a forum in which to explore these questions, deepen our understanding of the issues and work towards some practical responses to the challenges we face. The Conference will also launch the Eastern Cape Branch of RASA.Abstracts: We welcome abstracts from people working in all spheres of literacy development: teachers at all levels (including adult education), teacher educators, librarians, university lecturers (and students), researchers, literacy specialists in the Department of Education, NGO literacy practitioners, and publishers. Abstracts are invited according to the following sub-themes: Emergent and early literacy; Primary school literacy;Secondary school literacy; Tertiary (college and university) literacy; Literacy across the curriculum;Assessment practices; Adult, family and community literacy; The role of school, public and community libraries; Multingualism and literacy; Critical literacy;Visual and digital literacies and new technologies;The professional development of literacy teachers. The deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2010. For full submission instructions and further conference details, contact m.mbelani@ru.ac.za
Check out Upcoming Social Research Workshops from CODESRIA
Sub-Regional Methodology Workshops for Social Research in Africa. Session for East and Southern Africa. Theme : Fields and Theories of Qualitative Research. 17-22 May 2010. University Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo (Mozambique). Deadline: 30 March 2010. <http://www.codesria.org/spip.php?article533&lang=en>
Sub-Regional Methodology Workshops for Social Research in Africa. Session for East and Southern Africa.
Theme: Fields and Theories of Qualitative Research 26 – 30 July, 2010, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana. Deadline: 17 May, 2010 <http://www.codesria.org/spip.php?article516&lang=en>
Sub-Regional Methodology Workshops for Social Research in Africa:
2010 session for Nigeria and other Anglophone West and Central African Countries, Fields and Theories of Qualitative Research, 23—27 August, 2010, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Deadline: 25 June, 2010 <http://www.codesria.org/spip.php?article513&lang=en>
Sub-Regional Methodology Workshops for Social Research in Africa:
Session for North Africa, Fields and Theories of Qualitative Research, 4–8 October 2010, CRASC, Oran, Algeria. Deadline: 6 August 2010. <http://www.codesria.org/spip.php?article534&lang=en>
German-African Scholarship Exchange Programme
14th August – 4th September 2010,
The Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb) is granting fellowships to students and young graduates enabling them to take part in a four-week seminar to be held from 14th August to 4th September 2010 in Germany and in March 2011 in South Africa. The fellowship holders are invited to take part in an education programme that will encompass both talks with political decision-makers, personalities from civil society and industry, academics and journalists from both countries and will give participants the opportunity to take part in political and cultural events and excursions. The participants are to contribute towards implementing the programme by assisting in organising lectures and facilitating group discussions. They will also draw up an interdisciplinary strategy paper on an academic subject that will be prepared in Germany and will be written between September 2010 and April 2011. The event is directed at students and young graduates from Germany, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Applicants should be between 21 and 28 years old and be studying or have a degree in political science, modern history, international relations, economics, business administration, African studies, cultural studies, media and communication studies or law. Full applications (essay, CV, letter of motivation, photo) are due by 15 March 2010. For more detailed information about the application process, please visit the website: www.bpb.de/goafrica.
Commonwealth of Learning: Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning
COL’s Sixth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF6) will be held from 24 to 28 November 2010 at Le Méridien Cochin Resort & Convention Centre, Kochi, Kerala, India, in partnership with India’s Indira Gandhi National Open University. The Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning has grown to become one of the world’s leading conferences on open learning and global development. PCF6 in Kochi aims to consider what open and distance learning has done and still can do in terms of success. Theme: Access & Success in Learning: Global Development Perspectives. PCF6 as an international conference will explore the contribution of open and distance learning to international development goals, by opening up access to learning at every level. The Forum brings together practitioners, researchers, planners and policy makers in the fields of open and distance learning and development from over 70 countries. It provides opportunities to share experience and expertise, and to contribute to future policy and provision. Participants will represent international institutions and agencies active in the field, including funding bodies and technology providers. Call for proposals is now closed. Visit: www.col.org/pcf6.
International Symposium: Teaching, Learning, Assessing in Second Language Contexts: Final Call for Papers
2nd-3rd December 2010, at the Zanzibar Beach Resort Hotel, Zanzibar, Tanzania. An INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM arising from the ESRC/DfID funded research collaboration between the University of Bristol and the State University of Zanzibar (RES-167-25-0263). Symposium website: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/spine/symposium/ This Symposium aims to share research findings and discuss current issues and policies related to teaching, learning and assessing through the medium of a second or foreign language across the globe. We invite submissions of individual papers and posters on any topic of relevance to the Symposium theme.
See details at: http://www.bris.ac.uk/spine/symposium/symposiumthemes/
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS (papers & posters): Aug. 7, 2010
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS (papers & posters): Aug. 7, 2010
A Reader, the Empowered Leader: THE 7TH PAN-AFRICAN READING FOR ALL CONFERENCE
11-14 July 2011 in Gabarone, Botswana. This is the First Call for Papers for this conference. The final
deadline is December 31, 2010. You can find the entire conference brochure under the ‘Files’ command
on the conference website: http://groups.google.com/group/pan-african-reading-for-all-conference/
Organised by Reading Association of Botswana (RAB), International Development Committee – Africa (IDC-A), and the International Reading Association (IRA). The purpose of the Pan-African Reading for All Conference(s) is to develop ways of translating “Education for All” into “Reading for All” and will be an opportunity for teachers, writers, librarians, publishers, and development workers from Botswana and other nations to continue developing a coordinated approach to literacy in Africa. In addition, the network of educators and other professionals across Africa for sharing best practices and research will be strengthened…. Read the full conference details at http://6thpanafricanrfa.blogspot.com/.
Did you know that February 21 is International Mother Language Day, recognized by the UN? Click here to read more
Language Conferences Worldwide:
For upcoming events in language, linguistics, speech and hearing
therapy, translation, TESOL and related fields, please visit
http://www.conferencealerts.com/language.htm
