Conversations on Europe: Yaoundé Conventions 60 Years on: Africa-EU Relations Now

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It is 60 years since the signing of the Yaoundé Convention (1963). This was a moment in the history of decolonization when the Associated African States, 12 mainly young postcolonial Western African countries, signed a trade agreement with the also young European Economic Community. The Yaoundé Convention was part of the EEC’s Eurafrica initiative, an effort to maintain a presence in the former colonies. Yaoundé initiated a series of trade and aid agreements that replaced the colonial relation with a developmental model. An era of trade and infrastructural development followed. However, many critics have suggested that this strategy of aid set off a pattern of uneven and unequal development. This Conversation on Europe and Africa takes this event as an opportunity to consider development aid in Africa historically and in its contemporary form. Our panelists bring a mix of historical and regional knowledge to the conversation, including Mounir Saidani from CERES in Tunis. Although Tunisia was not part of the Yaoundé convention, it is at the center of controversial aid discussions: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's recent visit to Tunis as part of a deal of aid for migration "control” left many critics concerned about this new turn in EU-Africa relations.

Moderators:

  • Randall Halle, Director of the European Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh
  • Catherine Koverola, Director for African Studies, University of Pittsburgh

Panelists:

  • Mounir Saidani, Centre des Etudes Economiques et Sociales (CERES)
  • Pernille Røge, Associate Professor of history, University of Pittsburgh
  • Abdou Seck, Gaston Berger University, Groupe D’Action et D’Etude Critique Africa (GAEC)

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► To view flyer, click here

► This event is free but you need to RSVP at calyc@fiu.edu and register here

► For any further information, please contact Christine I. Caly-Sanchez calyc@fiu.edu
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Hosted by European Studies Center, a Jean Monnet European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh

Co-sponsors and participating centers: The Miami-Florida Jean Monnet Center of Excellence at Florida International University, the Center for European Studies at the University of Florida, the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies at Georgia Tech, and the European Union Center at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union