April 11 AEA update – Arts and Culture in Mali 2012
Posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2012
This week, Amadou Sanogo, the leader of the military coup that overthrew elected president Amadou Toumani Touré, has bowed to international pressure and officially stepped down. Dioncounda Traoré, duly elected Member of Parliament and President of the National Assembly, will be sworn in as Interim President of the Republic of Mali on Thursday, April 12. Multi-party democratic presidential elections, originally scheduled for April 29, will be held in the shortest delay. However, the situation in the north has deteriorated: the region is occupied by a number of different armed Tuareg groups, each with its own agenda. Neither the Malian government nor the international community accepts partition of the country, despite demands for an independent Tuareg homeland. It is not likely that the impasse will be resolved in the short term.
Given the uncertain future of northern Mali, we have decided to relocate Arts and Culture in Mali 2012 to the city of Kankan, the third largest urban center in the Republic of Guinea, Mali’s neighbor to the southwest. Kankan is the heartland of Mande culture, home to a thriving Mande art and artisan community, as well as Julius Nyerere University, which will provide us with classroom facilities, guest lecturers, and access to library facilities.
Sekou Camara, our Guinean-born Mande culture lecturer and language teacher who has been with the program since 2007, will join Program Director and Lead Faculty Nick Hockin (who did extensive research in Guinea in 2007-08) in coordinating a smooth transition to our new location. All of the current courses listed for the Arts and Culture in Mali program will be offered, including French language. The African language course will be Dioula, a widely spoken language that incorporates aspects of Bamana and Malinké. Dioula, Bamana, and Malinké are mutually intelligible, and Dioula is almost identical to the Bamana spoken in Bamako. Apprenticeships and homestays will function as planned, with local artists, artisans, dancers, and musicians.
Guinea is a country recently emerged from years of single party rule. Alpha Condé was elected president in 2010, and multi-party legislative elections are due in the summer of 2012. The Peace Corps has been operating in Guinea since 1963, and currently has 31 volunteers in the country. The U.S. State Department has a travel warning in place for Guinea, last updated on Nov 4, 2011, citing political unrest surrounding the presidential elections. All indicators point to smooth elections, and we are confident in the democratic stability of the country.
We are taking all the steps necessary to ensure that our students enjoy a safe and secure study abroad experience in West Africa this fall. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Read the March 29 AEA update on Mali here.
Read the March 22 AEA update on coup in Mali here.
