Course Description

An inaugural workshop for teachers on Africa's beauty, wonder & Diversity" was held on October 7, 2005 at belle Sherman elementary School in upstate New York and attended by 30 teachers. The workshop was hosted by Dr. Karen Keller, Principal of the school. Responses from the participants ranged from describing the program as unique to the detailed and professional manner in which Ambassador Jalang'o presented Africa by making several references to personal wide experiences from youth to adulthood.

Other workshops are planned throughout Ithaca District schools initially and will spread to cover all schools in the Finger Lakes region. Please refer to detailed Schedules

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Course Description

Course covers history and cultures of the famous Luo tribe, President Obama’s father living around Lake Victoria of western Kenya; proud of their own egalitarian ideology, very well educated “because they eat fish from fresh water lake”, have rich culture, articulate and civil-minded, and prominent in Kenya’s independence as trade unionists and politicians. The Luo produced Kenya’s first Vice-President, many leading elites and the current Prime Minister in the first ever Kenya’s power sharing arrangement.

Course Description

The Seminar covers the contributions of major political leaders in sub-Saharan Africa since 1945 that have made important and often determinative contributions to politics and government in their countries and in the region as a whole. The seminar covers contributions of important (and notorious) African heads of state, theorists, party leaders, and politicians from a representative group of African countries. We shall review the histories of significant figures (rulers, artists, warriors, and thinkers) who had a prominent role in the development of the continent

The first generation of African political leaders (under the Organization of Africa’s Unity –OAU) was faced with many challenges, which included: the management of the inherited colonial state machinery, the economy, and the maintenance of law, order and stability. We shall examine present leaders who have embraced respect of human rights, the rule of law and accountability under African Union’s Peer Review Mechanism.

The Seminar covers the roles of leaders from Nelson Mandela of South Africa to Idi Amin Dada of Uganda.

Description

Karen Blixen’s book “Out of Africa” was first published in 1937 and recounts events of the seventeen years when she made her home in Kenya, then British East Africa. The book meditates on Blixen’s life on her coffee plantation, as well as a tribute to some of the people who touched her life there and the subsequent fire that destroyed her entire coffee warehouse. Sydney Pollack directed a film adaptation in 1985, by the same name was based on this book starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

However, this Seminar tells the detailed story of Kenya, its people, cultures and the bitter struggle for political independence from colonial era to the time of independence in 1963

Course Description

Swahili is the lingua franca of Africa, widely spoken by 170 million people in Eastern and Central Africa - from Mogadishu in Somalia to Maputo in Mozambique, and to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire). Others speak it as a second language, not only in these three countries but also in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and even Saudi Arabia. Swahili is a gateway to understanding between Africa and the rest of the world and extremely useful on your next SAFARI. Students will be introduced to the cultures and life of East African people through dialogue and stories. As a foreign learner, you will need to use Swahili for daily activities, getting about and for social contact. And perhaps when on a research field trip to Africa, your local support team will be able to communicate with you better for faster results.

Note: We offer personalized extra lessons to students taking Swahili language as a credit course at all levels.

Course Description

The Course is meant to present Africa’s rich diversity, confront stereotypes, inaccurate reporting and misrepresentations that are misleading and thus enable students from varied ethnic backgrounds to become more aware of contributions of Africa to world culture, have greater understanding of African heritage and the achievements of African people. Finally the course is meant to develop an appreciation for African peoples, their communities through out the world, and the natural riches and beauty of the Continent.