First International Conference on Women in Africa & the African Diaspora (WAAD)
"Bridges across Activism & the Academy Nsukka, Nigeria July 13—18, 1992
From the Convenor...
In July 1992, over 700 researchers, activists, policy makers, and students from all continents assembled in Nsukka—a rural town in southeastern Nigeria—for the first international conference on "Women in Africa and the African Diaspora: Bridges across Activism and the Academy" (WAAD). Committed to building bridges across racial, gender, ethnic, class, locational, national, and disciplinary boundaries, the organizers invited researchers, activists, policy makers, and students irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin. Because the conference was held in Africa, many scholars and activists residing and working in Africa were able to attend. The choice of a rural town was both political and necessary because it encouraged the participation of the non-academic and rural communities.
The first WAAD conference accomplished its goals and put in place forward-looking strategies for continuing its work. The networking that prevailed at Nsukka laid the foundation for the formation of NGOs—on gender and the media, and widowhood—in Africa. WAAD '92 conference generated a ten-volume proceedings of over 200 original papers on women in Africa and the African Diaspora. Because the conference format did not impose any disciplinary boundaries on choice of presentation topics, the proceedings reflect a wide range of subjects—from development, literature, and feminist/womanist theories to health, religion and politics. Much of the original work about Africa/African women is done in Africa. The ten-volume WAAD proceedings is a rare collection of such important, original works.
WAAD '92 also led to the formation of the Association of African Women Scholars (AAWS) which has initiated and promoted collaborative work between researchers, activists, and policy makers in Africa and those outside the continent. AAWS has lent its voice to campaigns against human rights violations in Africa. The association administers a vibrant internet discussion group on gender issues in Africa (AFWOSCHO). Besides participating in debates on global, regional, and national dimensions of issues affecting women in African and the African Diaspora, AFWOSCHO subscribers provide information to students (college and high school) who are working on such issues. Through its newsletter, AAWS encourages information dissemination and networking within African as well as between those inside and those outside the continent. AAWS has embarked on an initiative—The African Women Bibliographies: A Global Project—that will encourage and facilitate research on women of African descent. The first volume of the biennial African Women Bibliographies: A Global Project (covering works published in 1999—2001) will be published in 2001.
Obioma Nnaemeka
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