Martin Fayulu Lecture
Martin Fayulu is a Congolese Politician and the leader of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development Party in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
His political career began in 1991 when he attended the Sovereign National Conference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) then Zaïre, which gathered delegates from different regions and organizations to campaign for a multi-party democracy.
Martin’s full-time political career commenced in 2006. In the 2006 and 2011 general elections, he was elected as a Member of Parliament to the National Assembly. In 2009, he established the Commitment for Citizenship and Development Party. On November 11th, 2018, he was chosen by the opposition to be their joint presidential candidate in the December 2018 general election. His opponent, Félix Tshisekedi was declared the winner, despite some election observers’ belief that Martin had won the vote. Since then, Martin has been the opposition leader in the DRC. He also serves as chair of the Congo-based Commitment to Citizenship and Development.
Martin will give a lecture on September 27th, 2024, at Robertson Hall at Princeton University. The lecture will begin with a presentation by Martin, followed by a conversation with an expert on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and end with a Q&A session for the audience to ask questions.
The Inaugural Session of Princeton University's Arts and (re)Creation from Africas to the World's Seminar Series
Within museums, restoration sometimes refers to the processes of conserving, repairing, and reconstructing artworks and artifacts to preserve their original state. This virtual symposium goes beyond the physical and aesthetic engagement of material culture. It proposes a community-centered approach to re-storation that embraces participation, revitalization, and healing. Speakers engaged with the re-storation of African heritage and culture will convene in two sessions, one conducted in English and the second in French, to discuss the establishment of inclusive, equitable, and critical museum practices today. This program is the inaugural event of the second edition of the Arts and (re)Creation from Africa to the World seminar series. Arts and (re)Creation from Africa to the World is a monthly interdisciplinary seminar series that runs from September 2024 to May 2025. This event is cosponsored by the Princeton University Art Museum, the Center for Digital Humanities at Princeton, and the Africa World Initiative.
To attend the event, each participant must register via zoom.
A New Agenda for African Languages x AI: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
Vukosi Marivate(Link is external) is an Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), where he also holds the prestigious ABSA UP Chair of Data Science. His expertise lies in the fields of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a particular focus on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and the development of solutions for local or low-resource languages. As the leader of the Data Science for Social Impact(Link is external) group, Professor Marivate spearheads impactful projects across diverse sectors such as energy and public safety, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to address pressing societal challenges.
Professor Marivate is also an entrepreneur and innovator in the field of AI. He co-founded Lelapa AI(Link is external), a pioneering startup dedicated to advancing AI technologies for the African continent. He is a co-founder of the Masakhane(Link is external) NLP research foundation, which is dedicated to promoting NLP research and development in African languages. Professor Marivate is also a co-founder of the esteemed Deep Learning Indaba(Link is external), a transformative initiative aimed at fostering collaboration and skill development in the field of deep learning across the African continent and beyond.
In his talk, Professor Marivate will discuss the crucial role of community building in developing technologies for African languages in the age of AI. He will touch upon the unique challenges and opportunities in fostering collaboration for African languages, developing technologies that respects and empowers communities, and his vision for the future of technology and community engagements in African languages.
Sep 19, 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Friend Center 006, A Level
This event will be held in person at Princeton University and is free and open to the public. A recording will be posted shortly after the event.
Princeton Alumni for Africa Reunion
The University hosts one of its greatest traditions each year, bringing together the university community across generations and experiences, fostering a sense of belonging and unity. The four-day reunion is filled with events and activities including lectures, lunches, panel discussions, and tent gatherings.
In 2022, the Africa World Initiative hosted its first “Princeton Alumni for Africa” reunion event. The yearly reunion seeks to bring together generations of Princeton Alumni from the African continent.
The reunion provides opportunities to network with faculty, alumni, students, and guests. And it encourages the diaspora to be involved in the development of the African continent and contribute to its progress.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Presenting the Inaugural Africa World Lectures, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1977. She grew up on the campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where her father was a professor, and her mother was the first female registrar.She graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State University with a degree in Communication and Political Science.
She has a Master’s Degree in African Studies from Yale University, and a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University. She was awarded a Hodder fellowship at Princeton University for the 2005-2006 academic year, and a fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute of Harvard University for the 2011-2012 academic year. In 2008, she received a MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the “genius grant.”
She has received honorary doctorate degrees from Eastern Connecticut State University, Johns Hopkins University, Haverford College, Williams College, the University of Edinburgh, Duke University, Amherst College, Bowdoin College, SOAS University of London, American University, Georgetown University, Yale University, Rhode Island School of Design, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Achebe Colloquium On Africa
The Achebe Colloquium on Africa, the legacy project established by the famed Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, brings together an international cast of leading and emerging scholars, high-level representatives of African governments, international agencies, the United States, the European Union, and civil society and policy organizations and stakeholders for intense deliberation on pressing issues affecting the African continent, from good governance, economic growth, and resource management, to climate change, cultural loss, health and education.