Second Conference on New Research in the Great Lakes Region
The Institute of Development Policy and Management (University of Antwerp), in cooperation with the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) organized the Second Workshop for New Research on the Great Lakes Region on the 21st and 22nd of April 2005, followed by a half day seminar "Conflict and Regional Development in the Great Lakes Region" on the 22nd of April 2005.
SECOND WORKSHOP FOR NEW RESEARCH ON THE GREAT LAKES REGION
The workshop brought together some 30 doctoral researchers from all across Europe working on the Great Lakes Region (GLR) of Africa. The main goal was to exchange experiences, ideas and future directions, focusing on both the theoretic framework and practical field experiences of their research. Further, this workshop aimed to reinforce the central body of knowledge about new research in the Great Lakes Region by stimulating interactions between starting, intermediate and finishing PhD students. The occasion provided an informal but extremely vivid environment for students to ask for advice/suggestions to solve problems they are experiencing with their PhD research (mix from first to final year students) and to gain from the other students' theoretical and field experiences.
The workshop itself was organized in three main session of half a day each. In a first session, all participants had the opportunity to give a brief outline of their research project over a round table. During a second session, five researchers in an advanced stage of their research project presented their work in greater detail. They focused on how they had translated theoretical constructs into practice and explained how they undertook actual field research in the region. The other participants had the opportunity to link these experiences to their own research. During a final long session, all participants were divided into four groups according to the main research themes: 'economics and development', 'interventions, peacekeeping, and justice', 'civil society and reconstruction', 'politics, networks and conflict'. Within these smaller groups, students had the opportunity to present their research proposals or projects in a more detailed way, focusing on methodological issues, field experiences and research dilemmas. A fundamental principle of the workshop was to combine semi-formal presentations of students' own work with a maximum of discussion.
Both the more experienced researchers as those in the first stages of their PhD expressed their satisfaction with the formula of the workshop. The strongest point of this event is its informal character. Within a public of 'equals', participants felt free to express their doubts, their research dilemmas and their frustrations. The multidisciplinary character of the workshop is a second major plus point of this event. Doctoral students focusing on a specific geographical area of Africa are often the only students of that area in a given department and highly appreciate the opportunity to get together in an informal setting to thrash out their ideas with others who know the context. Also, it is surprising how fertile the exchange can be between various disciplines focusing on the same context, certainly in terms of field experience. Third, this workshop brought together a good mix of students in different stages of their research. For senior students the workshop provided an occasion to get feedback on their findings; for those just starting out, there was the opportunity to reflect on research questions and glean useful tips for fieldwork.
In 2003, a similar workshop was organized by the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh. At that occasion, a yahoo group was created for students conducting research on the history, politics, society, and economics of the countries of the Great Lakes region of Africa - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greatlakesresearch. By now, this discussion forum has become an important tool for exchange and counts over 50 members. The current workshop was a next crucial step in the establishment of a broader network of Great Lakes researchers. From this point, the initiative will be taken forward in several ways. First, a website is under construction, which will include a database of young researchers working on the Great Lakes Region, their area of specialization, contact details and a thesis abstract. As there is an increasing interest on the Great Lakes Region, not only within academic research but also within government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), this website would be a useful gathering point of current expertise on the Great Lakes. The website is in a draft form at the moment. It needs some more work before it can go live. Second, the workshop participants discussed the idea of gathering articles for a book on fieldwork experiences (nightmares and joys) from young researchers who have done intensive field research in the Great Lakes Region. It could include topics such as how to build trust in local settings, how to manage a team as a young researcher in a foreign environment, how to gather permissions to undertake research, and other real life stories. Finally, for the continuation and enlargement of this network of researchers, the most crucial challenge is the follow up of the current workshop by transforming this type of events into a regularly organized series of meetings.
SEMINAR "CONFLICT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION"
The workshop was followed by the seminar titled "Conflict and Regional Development in the Great Lakes Region". This seminar had a much more formal character and was open for the broad public, including the EADI members. The contributions of this seminar ranged from a macro-level focus on the role of the state, to a meso-level picture of the interface between state and society during a process of preparations of elections, to the presentation of a development project changing living conditions at the very micro level. During a first session, Prof. Filip Reyntjens from the Institute of Development Policy and Management - University of Antwerp (Belgium), presented his paper "Rwanda, ten years on: From Genocide to Dictatorship", published in African Affairs (2004). As the discussant of this session, Professor Henning Melber from the Nordiska afrikainstitutet - Uppsala (Sweden) placed this topic into a broader context of a world where genocides continue to occur. A second session focused on the topic of "Conflict, reconciliation and elections in DRCongo", presented by mister Eric Kennes of the Royal Museum for Central Africa - Tervuren (Belgium) and commented by discussant Prof. Isabelle Milbert from the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, Geneva (Switserland). In a final session, Prof. Lelo Nzuzi from the University of Kinshasa (RDC) presented a field project demonstrating the role of social funds in the alleviation of poverty in Kinshasa. Prof. Stefaan Marysse from the Institute of Development Policy and Management - University of Antwerp (Belgium) gave his reflection on the opportunities shaped by this project, but also of the challenges it faces.
