Asia-Africa Relations: Its Status and Possible Trajectories

Day 1: October 12, 2023 | 3pm - 6:15pm 
Location: S020, Belfer Case Study Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA

3:00 p.m. Opening Address  
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong, Harvard University 

3:20-5:15 p.m. 
Diaspora and Identity in Asia-Africa Relations: A Conversation with Authors 
Ufrieda Ho, Journalist and Author  
Gayatri Sethi, Educator and Author 
Moderator: Duncan Yoon, New York University  

Reception
Performance by The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College
Concourse, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St. Cambridge 


Day 2: October 13, 2023 | 8:15am - 5:00pm 
Location: S010, Tsai Auditorium, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA

8:15-9:00 a.m. Breakfast

9:15-10:45 a.m. 
Panel 1: Globalization Beyond the West  
Moderator: Geoffrey Jones, Harvard Business School 
Panelists: 
Annette Skovsted Hansen, Aarhus University 
Isaac Odoom, Carleton University 
Marlous van Waijenburg, Harvard Business School   

10:45-11:00 a.m. Coffee Break

11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 
Panel 2: Africa-Asia Historical Connections 
Moderator: Emmanuel K. Akyeampong, Harvard University 
Panelists: 
Seifudein Adem, Doshisha University 
Lina Benabdallah, Wake Forest University 
Maria Adele Carrai, New York University Shanghai 
Idriss Fofana, Harvard University 

12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch 

1:30-3:00 p.m. 
Panel 3: Reconceptualizing Agency 
Moderator: Maria Adele Carrai, New York University Shanghai 
Panelists: 
Kumiko Makino, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization 
Xiaoyang Tang, Tsinghua University 
Veda Vaidyanathan, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi  

3:00-3:15 p.m. Coffee Break

3:15-4:45 p.m. 
Panel 4: The Vernacular of Everyday Infrastructures 
Moderator: Annette Lienau, Harvard University 
Panelists: 
Daniel E. Agbiboa, Harvard University 
Gaurav Desai, University of Michigan 
Pedro Machado, Indiana University Bloomington 

4:45-5:00 p.m. 
Concluding Remarks  

The conference will also be live-streamed via Asia Center's YouTube channel.

Organized by the Harvard University Asia Center and Harvard University Center for African Studies in collaboration with Maria Adele Carrai and Duncan Yoon. Co-sponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard-Yenching Institute, Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, and Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies

Harvard University's Asia-Related Resources