New Africa Center Inaugurated
New Africa Center Inaugurated
December 18, 2009
Negev Development & Community Programs, Press Releases
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, December 18, 2009 –- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) recently inaugurated a new Africa Center that will focus on the political history and cultural intricacies of the continent and seek to strengthen relationships and standing within Africa and Israel. A delegation of African university presidents attended the inaugural ceremony.
Dr. Tamar Golan, head of the Center’s Steering Committee, BGU lecturer in African Studies and a former Israeli ambassador to several African nations, intends to use her extensive contacts across the continent to bring African thinkers, statesmen, dancers, soccer players, poets and activists to BGU to boost cross-cultural understanding.
BGU’s rector, Prof. Jimmy Weinblatt, will serve as the Center’s director. Weinblatt described Africa as “a magic continent, the cradle of mankind with a history of many thousands of years,” and stressed that “we are neighbors of Africa and as such we have similar values.” Thanking Dr. Golan for her initiative, he expressed his hope that BGU would become a leader in African studies.
With support from Baron Eric de Rothschild as well as Israeli entrepreneur and founder of the LR Group Eitan Stibbe, the Center will send students to volunteer on the African continent. BGU has already sent four delegations of volunteer students to Tanzania, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, each for a three-month period.
Additionally, the Faculty of Health Sciences has many research connections with African organizations and scientists, and student clerkships take place in Ethiopia and Kenya through its Medical School for International Health.
Speaking on behalf of the African University Presidents’ Delegation, Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, the vice chancellor of Makerere University, Uganda, expressed her belief that the members of the delegation were “sowing seeds of partnership and cooperation” and spoke of “the joy of witnessing the opening of the Africa Center,” hoping that it will draw people from all over Africa in the coming years.
The Center will build its base of support by nurturing activism among the 400-odd students who are already enrolled in Africa-related classes.
View photo gallery of inauguration>>
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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