Volume 12, Issue 1,
January - March 2023
CONTENT
Chair's Foreword
Towards a Youth Science
Programme for African and African-Diaspora Schools
Earth Science Events
References and selected reading
Chair's Foreword*
In the eleven years since its
launch on 26th April 2012, the Society of African Earth Scientists has targeted
the delivery of a substantial part of its workshops and activities towards
youth. In this context, the vision and scope of the Patrice Lumumba Youth
Science Programme, due to be launched in June 2023, is explored in this issue.
Towards a Youth Science
Programme for African and African-Diaspora Schools
The Patrice Lumumba African
Youth Science Programme, due to be launched on 30th June 2023 is a natural
progression from the work of the Society since its inception. Quite
clearly, many workshops and activities delivered by the society in the
past involved youth participation. In view of the crucial importance of
realising at least some of the huge untapped potential of Africa's youth, the
Society is almost duty-bound to create some vehicle to assist this realisation,
based on its past experience of delivery.
The Patrice Lumumba African
Youth Science Programme (the PLAYS Programme) will involve several key
components that are informed by past workshops and activities of the Society.
It is instructive to review these briefly and to get a sense of how the
PLAYS Programme is inspired.
Year 2012
2012- 26th April, Launch
of the Society of African Earth Scientists
On 26th April 2012, the Society
of African Earth Scientists was launched at the Africa Centre, King Street,
London WC2. The launch included an inaugural lecture: "Earth and Land in
African Thought and Practice"[1] in context of the remit of SAES.
The meeting had an extended discussion on land grabbing and how this should be
countered. This included the proposal from the floor for the society to
purchase and restore degraded land on the continent.
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|
Launch of the Society of African Earth Scientists, at
Africa Centre, 26 April 2012 |
Year 2013
2013. March 20-21. Day of Earth Sciences in Africa -
For the first historic celebration of DESAMES (Day of
Earth Sciences in Africa & ME) established by African Association
of Women in the Geosciences,
the Society hosted an online geo-data collection challenge for schools, using Google Earth resulting in the measurement of the coastline and land area of Africa.
2013 - September. Solar Photovoltaic
Energy Installation workshop, London. UK.
All day workshop in solar photovoltaics served as initial societal fundraiser.
Year 2014
2014 - Caraf Centre
Supplementary School, Camden, London. Climate Science project - for DESAMES
2014 - Measuring the Sizes of Raindrops.
March. Measuring the sizes of raindrops - rain samples collection for flour pellet test.
June. "Measuring the Sizes of Raindrops", climate science workshops at Caraf Centre. Including collecting rain pellet samples and analysing (sieving) samples collected in March storms.
2014. June. Solar
Photovoltaic Energy Installation workshop, Owerri, Nigeria.
Three youth participants from
Anambra and Imo States in Nigeria attended a one day training session
 |
|
Owerri, Nigeria. 2014 |
in Owerri. The students intent
on a joint installation were donated a 12v solar charge controller towards
their project.
Year 2016.
2016. August. Agro-ecology Film
Show: Ethiopia Rising, Red Terror to Green Revolution, North London.
Showing of the film followed by
discussion. The film demonstrated how a Tigrayan community beset by
drought and degraded communal land, managed to create an oasis of crop
abundance and increased their water table by 15 metres, by agroecological
techniques including tree planting, check dams, FMR, planting pits, termite
mounds, nitrogen fixing, etc led by precocious local farmer/ conservationist,
Abu Hawe.
2016. September. Solar
Photovoltaic Energy workshop. Peki, Ghana.
In September 2016 in Peki Ghana,
Society of African Earth Scientists delivered a solar (photovoltaics)
energy
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|
Peki, Ghana. 2016. |
workshop to 40 young
participants. The Society donated equipment towards a solar training facility,
in form of a 12v solar inverter. In addition to a battery purchased for
the workshop this enabled the start up of a long term renewable energy training
facility in Peki.
2018. November. SAES Film
Agro-ecology Film Show.
Bernie Grant Arts Centre, North London.
Another Africa is Possible
Networking event hosted by SAES with AIP
Film show followed by
discussions led to suggestions to implement techniques/approaches in the film
as vehicle to engage inner city youth.
Year 2022.
2022. May. SAES International Conference Meeting - Climate Change in Africa: Geosciences and Sustainability
Key Components of the Patrice Lumumba African Youth Science Programme
It can be appreciated that most
past workshops were targeted at youth participants, and it is therefore a
natural progression for the Society to adopt a youth science programme in
accord with its experience in delivering past activities.
This adoption takes
place in the current year, 2023, as it symbolically marks the year of the of
the second burial of Patrice Lumumba.[2] Although Lumumba's speech at
independence did not directly mention science and technology, we know from his
emphasis on economic and social progress and social justice that
his pan African spirit supports the progress of youth science in Africa [3].
From reports on past
activities, the components of the Patrice Lumumba African Youth Science Programme are built on the Society's past experience in delivery and also
address areas of need and concern:-
a) Renewable energy -
workshops addressing African energy self-sufficiency ( solar photovoltaics,
etc) [4]
b) Soil and water
conservation - workshops addressing soil and water conservation including
indigenous technologies [5]
c) Other workshops in earth
& climate science - based on past climate workshops with African diaspora
schools [6] and including DESAMES (Day of Earth Sciences in Africa and
the Middle East) past activities [7, 8]
This completes the outline of
the vision and scope of the PLAYS Programme.
Earth Science Events
June 30, 2023
Society of African Earth Scientists
Patrice Lumumba African Youth Science Programme
Launch
August 9-10, 2023
International Conference on Tectonic
Geomorphology and Paleoseismology
VISION: https://waset.org/tectonic-geomorphology-and-paleoseismology-conference-in-august-2023-in-lagos
VENUE: Lagos, Nigeria
November 4-5, 2023
International Conference on
Agricultural Engineering
VISION: https://waset.org/agricultural-engineering-conference-in-november-2023-in-cape-town
VENUE: Cape Town, South Africa
December 13-14, 2023
International Conference on Theoretical and
Computational Seismology
VISION: https://waset.org/theoretical-and-computational-seismology-conference-in-december-2023-in-cairo
VENUE: Cairo, Egypt
REFERENCES
[1] Kamalu,
C., Person Divinity and Nature, chapter entitled "Earth and
Land in African Thought
and Practice", Karnak House, London, 1997, p. 157-174.
[2] Guardian,
London. DRC Buries Independence Hero Patrice Lumumba's Tooth, his only
Remains,
June 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/30/drc-buries-patrice-lumumba-remains-tooth-coffin
[3] De Witte,
L., The Assassination of Lumumba, Verso, London, 2001.
[4] Society of
African Earth Scientists, Workshop Notes, Solar Photovoltaics:
https://saescientists.blogspot.com/p/workshop.html
[5]
Society of African Earth Scientists, Workshop Notes,
Soil & Water Conservation in Africa:
https://saescientists.blogspot.com/p/workshop.html
[6] Society of
African Earth Scientists, Climate Science Workshop, June 2014 at Caraf
Centre - Flour Pellet
test:https://saescientists.blogspot.com/search?q=flour+pellet
[7] Society of
African Earth Scientists, Report on the SAES Contribution to the Day of
Earth Sciences in Africa and the Middle East:
https://saescientists.blogspot.com/2013/04/
[8] Errami E., Brocx, M., Semeniuk, V., From Geoheritage to Geoparks: Case Studies from Africa and Beyond, Springer International, 2015, p.7.
*Board of the Society of African
Earth Scientists: Dr Enas Ahmed (Egypt), Osmin Callis (Secretary -
Guyana/Nigeria), Mathada Humphrey (South Africa), Ndivhuwo Cecilia Mukosi
(South Africa), Damola Nadi (Nigeria), Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu (Chair - Nigeria).
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