“We need to invest

more in our people, our scholars and students. That is Why

AASGON’s work is so strategic and

vital in our endeavour to overcome the massive difficulties that confront our continents” says Mr. Yuri Octavia Thamrin, the Indonesia Ambassador in UK.

Commending AASGON at its South East Scholars Forum and celebration of Africa Day on May 26th 2011 at the Universities at Medway in Kent, the Indonesian Ambassador made it clear that like AASGON, governments are

not mere bystanders in dealing with all those complex problems. Millions of our peoples do not have access to clean water, proper education, energy and healthcare. Environ-mental degradation is also pervasive. “With our effective partnership and with AASGON’s active participation, I’m confident that AASGON can help foster the socio-economic develop-ments of the Asia and Africa” Mr. Thamrin concluded in his address.

H.E. Yuri Thamrin

Indonesia praises AASGON

Emergence of a New Nation—South Sudan

akada

June-August ‘11 Volume 1, Issue 2

Special points of interest:

• Health & Education

• Economy & Finance

• Academic Exchange

• Heritage & Diversity

• Creative Arts

• Governance

• Civil Liberties

• Sports, Travel & Tours

• Career

• Social Networking

Inside this issue:

Social Networks 2

Victory for the Poor 4

SOAS Inaugural Lecture 6

Why China in Africa? 7

NUS Conference 2011 8

Forerunner of Bandung 9

9

AFR I CA A S I A S CHOLAR S G LOBAL N ETWORK

Volume 1, Issue 2

June-August ‘11

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We at the United Nations understand that poverty is not just a lack of income, it is also a lack of choice, voice and security —

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer

“How To Change “How To Change “How To Change The World is not a The World is not a The World is not a battle cry but an battle cry but an battle cry but an

academic academic academic exchange” exchange” exchange” --- MarxMarxMarx

AASGON

Co-Organise

Bandung Conference.

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African Youths Poor and Discontent … The Arab spring marked by the groundswell that swept across

Tunisia and Egypt has confirmed the imperious need to address the legitimate concerns and worries of our youths who are becoming increasingly poor discontented and more radical. This growing worry was expressed by Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission at the Africa Day celebration in Addis. In attendance as guest was the Indian Prime Minister.

Re-writing Africa and Asia History within the Global Village

In July leaders across Africa and the rest of the world will join the govern-ment and people of South Sudan to celebrate the newest nation in Africa and usher in the independent of a new state.

Going by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement South and North Sudan will share the oil revenues, but long after the South becomes an independent state it will need the co-operation of Khartoum to sell its oil. And Khartoum will still need oil revenues from Juba. With apprehen-sion of strange happenings and likely divide in the world’s least

advanced nation which lacks infrastructure and the very basic amenities in health and education, the willpower and determination of the people of South Sudan to succeed is stronger than mere rhetoric

.AASGON joins scholars and lead-ers across Africa and Asia to com-memorate with the people of South Sudan on the inauguration of sixty-

year-old Salva Kiir Mayardit as the firs head of state of the new nation In reality, for South Sudan the harder part of the journey to full independence has just begun.

ASEAN Rises With China 14

48th Africa Day 14

T. Tempah– Shinning Star

Social Networks— World’s major active social networking sites

Advogato, Academia.edu, AsianAvenue & Bigadda

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"Africa is beyond bemoaning the past for its

problems.

The task of undoing that past is on the shoulders of

African leaders themselves, with the

support of those willing to join in a continental

renewal. We have a new generation of leaders who know that Africa must take responsibility for its own destiny, that Africa will uplift itself only by its own efforts in partnership with those who wish her

well."

- Nelson Mandela

Elder Statesman

Wondering why you should be an exchange student? Here are a few reasons to go for it!

• Make lifelong friends from around the world

• Experience what it's really like to live in another country

• Stand out on college and job applications

• Become fluent in another language

• Gain maturity, independence and a global perspective

Advogato: An online community site dedi-cated to free software develop-ment, created by Raph Levien. It describes itself as "the free soft-ware developer's advocate."

Advogato was an early pioneer of "online diaries", which later be-came known as blogs, and one of the earliest social networking websites.

Advogato combined the most recent entries from each user's diary together into a single con-tinuous feed called the recentlog . This directly inspired the creation of the Planet aggregator some-what later.

Many high profile members of the free software and open source software movements are or have been users of the site including Richard M. Stallman, Eric Ray-mond, Alan Cox, Bruce Perens,

Because Advogato was the first website to use a robust, attack-resistant trust metric and to release the underlying code for that trust mechanism un-der a free software license, it has been the basis of numerous research papers on trust metrics and social networking (see the list below for specific exam-ples).

Advogato's early adoption of an XML-RPC interface led to its use as an exam-ple of how such interfaces could be used by web programmers.

Advogato is still used as a test bed for social network-ing and semantic web technologies. Tim Berners-Lee, who is an Advogato user himself, included Advogato in a short list of sites that should be noted for their early adoption of the FOAF as a method of exporting user RDF URIs

Academia.edu: A free social networking website and collaboration tool aimed at academics and researches from all disciplines.

Launched in September 2008, it became one of the largest social networking sites for academics in 2010. It has been called a “Geni- "portal for research-ers".

Though the site bears a ".edu" domain, it does not qualify for this status under Educause's existing poli-cies allowing only "U.S. postsecondary institutions that are institutionally ac-credited by an agency on the U.S. Department of Education's list of Nation-ally Recognized Accredit-ing Agencies."

The domain was registered in 1999 and grandfathered in. It is currently registered in Salem, Oregon, USA. http://www.academia.edu/

Asian Avenue: This site was launched on July 21, 1997 by co-founders Benjamin Sun, Peter Chen, Grace Chang, Michael Mon-tero, and Calvin Wong. By 1998, the New York Times, described it as "unusually successful" despite being "run out of an apartment", having hit five million page views from 50,000 users.

At its peak, there were over 2 million users with more than 5000 online at any time.

On October 31, 2005 the website re-launched the so-cial network features. As of April 2007, there were 1.4 million registered users with fewer than 100 online at any given time.

Partners include party pro-moters (Synergy), film festi-vals (Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Asian American International F i lm Fest iva l ) , media (AngryAsianMan.com, AZN TV) and many more. Music artists, such as Notorious MSG, Far*East Movement, and Magnetic North have gained popularity from their exposure on AsianAve.com.

In October 2007, U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama created profiles on AsianAve as well as sister sites BlackPlanet, MiGente.com and Glee.com.

Asian Avenue is a platform for Asian American community.

It is a social networking site. People share music, photos and updates there. People use this platform for professional networking too. This site has tied up with Monster.com for job search. Apart from individual network-ing there is group networking. It al-lows you to add blogs, videos and photos. You can participate in groups and create your own.

Bigadda: A social networking website belonging to the internet and new media vertical of Reliance Entertainment, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. It claims to be the largest and the fastest growing youth networking site in India.

Though BIGADDA is not in the same league of popularity as its foreign counterparts like Facebook, it still claims that top 20 cities account for 45% users from within India while 40% of the users come from Tier III cities like Tuticorin, Bhilai, Amritsar, Guwahati, Surat, Nasik. Dataquest, a popular IT journal also featured BIGADDA along with sites like IndyaRocks & BharatStudent as one of the top 25 web 2.0 start-ups in India

We provide here for you a list of some major active social networking sites.

IMF Spotlight: Sustained Growth Vital for Reducing Poverty Regional

International Scholarships 2202011/12

Canon Collins Post-graduate Scholarships for Africans

Canon Collins Trust MS/PhD Degree Deadline: around August (annual) Place of study: South Africa Next course starts 2012

Malaysian Government Scholarships for Inter-national Students

Government of Malaysia MS/PhD/Post Doc Deadline: 15 Dec 2011 Place of study: Malaysia Course starts in 2012

Kofi Annan MBA Scholarships for De-veloping Country Stu-dents

Deadline: 30 Sept 2011(Annual) Study in Germany

DST Funded Postdoctoral Fellowships Program in Cognitive Science, India Scholarship Provider: Ministry of Science and Technology, India. Scholarships can be taken in India

DAAD Masters Scholar-ships in Public Policy and Good Governance

DAAD Masters (MA/MS) Degree Deadline: 15 August ‘11 Place of study: Germany Next course start date: 2012 International Water Leader Scholarships for Interna-tional Students

International Water Centre Masters (MS) Degree Deadline: 1 August (annual) Place of study: Australia Next Course start date: Feb 2012.

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See Pages 11, 12 & 13

Oppenheimer Fund

Harry Frederick Oppen-heimer was a noted South African businessman, phi-lanthropist, and opponent of apartheid. In 1993 he en-dowed the Oppen-

heimer Fund at Oxford Uni-versity. The Fund promotes links between the University of Oxford and South African Universities, and assist

South African students wishing to pursue graduate

studies at Oxford.

For details log on: http://www.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding/oppenheimerfund/

Are you a Professional?

It’s Time to Join

League of

Professionals

Looking for International Undergraduate Scholarships, Masters Scholarships, PhD Scholarships for Developing Countries 2011-2012. Scholarships for International Students? Here are some to contact:

Source link: http://www.scholars4dev.com/

Growth in Africa has to be sustained, and there are ways to work towards producing more jobs, the head of the IMF's Africa Department, Antoinette Sayeh, tells AllAfrica. There are also things that can be done to build up the skills of the young population to be able to then take on some of the jobs that could be produced down the road, she says

Former UN Secretary-General and President of the Global Humanitarian Forum Kofi An-nan and Tanzania's President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete at a joint press conference.

- Africa should broaden its economic base and not remain so dependent on commodity exports for its growth, African finance minis-ters said during the IMF-World Bank spring meet-ings in Washington

Youth Jobs for Inclusive growth

Egyptian Internet activist Wael Ghonim, who played a key role in pro-democracy demonstrations in his country, at a panel discussion on "Youth, Jobs and Inclusive Growth in the Middle East and North Africa" at a recent IMF/World Bank Meet-ing, held at the IMF Headquarters in Wash-ington, DC. Photo credit: Stephen Jaffe

Playing with Fire? The US and Europe might plunge the world into a new

financial crisis if they held off big cuts, says the IMF. IMF Monetary Chief , John Vinals said the US currently drowning under $14 trillion of debt needed as much “homework” on its finances as GREECE. It is envisaged that there will be a breakup of the EURO with struggling Greece, Portugal and Ireland all likely to ditch the Euro. France and Germany have however resolved to find a solution to the growing crisis.

George Osborne

Your Health — Sickle Cell Disorder

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Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia are genetic conditions inherited from both parents. This means that people are born with it just as they are born with other characteristics such as eye colour, hair texture and height.

This type of condition mainly affects Africans, Afro-Caribbean, Greeks, Cypriots and other people of Mediterranean origin.

In some parts of Africa and the

Caribbean, almost half the population are carriers of Sickle Cell Anaemia and are said to have Sickle cell trait.

This means that they are usually unaffected by the condition, but may transmit to their children. In Britain, sickle Cell disease is the most common in people of African and West Indian (Caribbean) descent.

It is a genetic blood disorder that has great disabling effects on sufferers. In certain situations like severe cold condition, stress, lack of fluid, infection and pregnancy, the red blood cells containing haemoglobin (the substance which carries oxygen in the

Rota Vaccine Prices Slashed…..

Victory for the Poor Bill Gates in May, while in Geneva laid out his vision for the impact that broadening access to vaccines

can have on the world and few weeks after his inspirational speech, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) promised to cut a whopping 95% off its rotavirus vaccine for sale to the globe's poorest countries, while Merck has also said it would cut the price on its vaccine against the same illness.

Sanofi Pasteur and Johnson & Johnson have also promised cuts Several major drugs companies are announcing big cuts to the amounts they charge for their vaccines in the developing world

red blood cells from lungs to all the parts of the body and also gives them their red colour.) can change from normal disc-shape to Sickle or Crescent shaped cells which clumps together to block vessels, where its name derived from. It is caused by an abnormal con-stituent of the haemoglobin in the blood, and is incurable.

Carriers usually lead normal lives, but when they may become ill demands on the circulatory system increase. At high attitudes where the air

is thin for example, or in the case of an emergency surgery without blood transfusions.

If two carriers have off spring, one out of four of their children are likely to be entirely normal, two may be carriers that is, they may have Sickle Cell trait and the fourth may have Sickle Cell Anaemia.

Sickle Cells obstruct the smooth flow of blood through capillaries or small blood vessels, thus preventing blood from reaching the tissues.

This in turn, reduces, the concen-tration of oxygen in the blood, which may trigger more cells to become sickled. The blood clots or thrombi, which result from block-ages in the capillaries, eventually cause the death of areas of the tissue.

The problem is exacerbated by any infection that affects the body, and is known as Sickle Cell Crisis. When this occurs, pain may be-come extremely severe during the first 24 hours and there will be swelling and tenderness in the affected area of tissue.

The reduced blood flow may also cause damage to the organs, and death may result from heart or kidney failure.

To be continued…. Send in your comments

Do

you

have ... medical concerns questions or

experiences you want an answer to or like to share?

Write to Augusta

“I’ll be delighted to respond”

For your comments and queries”

Email me at:

info@aasgon.net

Sierra Leone gives humanitarian award to Mercy Ship founder.

The Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone in Washington, D.C., has announced that Don Stephens, the president/founder of Mercy Ships, is the recipient of the Diamond Award for his contribution to the development of Sierra Leone – particularly, in the field of health (source APA)

ACU Titular fellowships 2011 Opportunities for staff from member universities and

employees working in industry, commerce or public service in a Commonwealth countries to spend periods of time in other member universities or relevant institutions outside their own country.

Preference will be given to workers in the following priority subject areas: agriculture, forestry and food sciences, biotechnology, development strategies, earth and marine sciences, engineering, health and related social sciences, information technology, management for change, professional education and training, social and cultural development and university development and management.

Applications will be considered ONLY if the applicant is approved by the Executive Head (Vice-Chancellor, President or Rector) of a university in ACU membership. The ACU will also consider applications approved by the chief executive officer of a Commonwealth inter-university organisation. Fellowships will be tenable for up to a maximum of six months.

For information log on: http://www.acu.ac.uk/member_services/ fellowships_mobility/acu_titular_fellowships

Willing to explore Europe, a conti-nent of great diversity of place, cul-ture and identity? Its divergent peo-ple carry their own cultures, relig-ions, traditions and languages.

Students taking summer courses in Europe can begin to lay a solid foun-dation for their future career. In a world that has grown ever smaller in the wake of globalisation, interna-tional experience is needed more than ever.

By studying abroad students will develop their communication skills and team spirit. Gaining experience in Europe will make them expand their horizons and open up their mind academically and culturally to meet the challenges of today’s world.

For a directory of summer courses in Europe link up with Summer Schools in Europe.eu, an initiative of Utrecht University in the Nether-lands, by logging on http://www.summerschoolsineurope.eu/

Volunteering in Asia, Africa and South America?

Business Update Chinese Rubada sign energy contract with Tanzania

China`s state-owned SINOHY-DRO and Rufiji Basin Develop-ment Authority (RUBADA) have signed a contract for the production of 165 megawatts in the next two years, aimed at solving the problem of intermittent power rationing Tanzania.

The two bodies are expected

to harness water in Mpanga

River in Morogoro region for

generation of hydro-electric

power. Mpanga, a tributary of

the Kilombero River, originates

from Kipengere Mountains,

enclosing catchments of some

2,546 km with a dam site

encompassing a 2020 square-

kilometer watershed area.

India to help Ghana in developing IT sector

Inspired and aided by India, the Ghanaian government is taking

measures to make information

technology (IT) a key driver of its

economy and transform the country

into the IT hub of West Africa.

To achieve its aim, the government

says it is determined to make IT

p o p u l a r a m o n g y o u t h .

Communications Minister Haruna

Iddrisu said the government is

spending $5 million on an ICT pro-

ject to empower youth. Collabora-

tions and alliances with Chinese

financial institutions and businesses.

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What makes China unique ...

It’s Now Time... to apply for

UK Universities wide range of courses starting in September.

For guidance email info@aasgon.net

•The Great Wall of China. A symbol of ancient Chinese civilization, the Great Wall of China has stood for more than 2,000 years.

• There are about 370 million TVs in China and 457 million internet users.

• China aims to build 50,000 skyscrapers in the next two decades (that’s one New York every two years)

• The top 10 richest people in China made their fortunes from the country’s domestic market – not from exports.

• The disposable income (per head) of urban Chinese was 19,109 Yuan (US$ 2,911) in 2010 – an increase of 82.1% since 2005.

Make a change to a life and yours too….

If you are interested in volunteering but not sure how to get the process started, AASGON recommends that you log on http://www.gvnfoundation.org/ to find out which program is the best match for you and your country of choice. You can apply online and within 24 hours you will know if your application is successful.

Over the past 8 years Global Volunteer Network (GVN) has built up strong ties with grassroots organizations throughout the world, and placed 13,500+ volunteers.

GVN will provide you with all the resources, support, and information you will need to take part in a successful and rewarding volunteer program .

Bill Gates has personally recommended GVN and CNN listed the GVN as one of 10 organizations that can help you to make a positive impact on the world around you.

Academic Exchanges

Visiting Exchange Students at

Westminster University

For students wishing to study for one semester or one academic year on

exchange at the University of Westminster, before returning to their home

institution to complete their studies, you must be studying at one of the

University of Westminster's partner institutions to be eligible.

To check if your university is a partner, or to see which school / subject

areas are covered by the exchange agreement, log on to

http://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/international/exchanges/exchange-

partners

Summer Schools

The Equality Act is the most significant piece of equality legislation to be introduced for many years in the United Kingdom.

It is there to strengthen protection, advance equality and simplify the law. Ninety per cent of the act came into force on 1 October 2010.

The rest of it includes Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), came into effect in April ‘11.

The Equality Act brings together, and significantly adds to and strengthens, a number of previous

existing pieces of legislation, including race and disability.

One of the key changes is that it e x t e nds t h e p r o t e c t ed

characteristics to encompass: Age ; D i s ab i l i t y ; Gende r reassignment; Marriage and Civil partnership;

Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex and Sexual orientation.

The act also makes explicit the concept of ‘dual discrimination’, where someone may be discriminated against or treated unfairly on the basis of a combination of two or the pro-tected characteristics. For details visit:http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=5145524

Equality and Diversity

The China Africa Network

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“Inspired by the increasing partnership among scholars, the

development of business linkages and expanded trade between Africa and Asia, AASGON is established to promote beneficial South-South business partnerships, as well as enhance

economic, cultural and social development”

-Sajid Hashmi MBE AASGON 1st Vice President

Recent social, economic and political dynamics at the global level will influence the social, political and economic conditions in the Asia-Africa regions.

Most of Asia-Africa countries are still fighting with poverty alleviation issues and are left out on the periphery of the global political and economic dynamics.

There is lack of attention on institutional capacity building in the Asia-Africa region.

AANPE Founded in Bandung, Indonesia, 2002, AANPE’s mission is to establish a network among scientists, policy makers and common citizens in the Asia/Africa region to encourage constructive policy dialogue by supporting debates and discussions on alternative visions for a better living society.

Three main supporters of the Asia Africa Network on Political Economy (AAPE) are: (1). The Society for Indonesian Political Economy (SIPE), a new professional organization aim at developing the net-works among scholars who concern on recent Indonesian political-economic transition processes.

. 2). Knowledge Management Research Group (KMRG) is an Information Technology (IT) research organization specialized in the area of knowledge management through a digital library technology development. The mission in developing a knowledge-based society, through an effective management of Intellectual Capital, and using any low cost and appropriate information technology. (3). I3APS - Indonesian Institute for Integrated Assessment and Policy Studies, established in Bandung 1998 by the scholars who concern on public policy, integrated assessment, environ-mental economics and resource valua-tion, system dynamic modelling, envi-ronmental information system, and spatial database infrastructure issues.

AANPE- Advancing Political Economy

China Africa Network (CAN) is an initiative of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Business School facilitates and promote the

competitiveness of South African and African private sectors vis-a-vis their engagement with the Chi-n e s e e c o n o m y . Considering the rising investment and commercial presence of China Inc. in Africa, GIBS believes that it is imperative for local

companies to better understand these trends and improve their ability to both compete and collaborate with the Chinese business sector.

CAN will carry out teaching, research and business education work within the context of the business school as well as to its clients and stakeholders says the Director of GIBS, Dr Martyn Davies who is also full-time faculty member of the school.

As the academic hub of China Africa research and teaching CAN produces a China Africa Business Weekly.

SOAS host Bernhard Fuehrer Inaugural Lecture At this year’s SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) Inaugural Lecture ‘The Beard of the Master and Other Suppositions’, Bernhard Fuehrer on June 20, 2011 discusses some conceptual issues regarding the transmission of images and perceptions of Master Kong, aka Confucius, based on various readings of his alleged utterances as handed down in written sources for over two millennia.

Bernhard Fuehrer is Professor of Sinology at the Department of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures.

Bernhard works on the reception of the traditional Chinese canon, traditional Chinese hermeneu-tics, the history of Sinology and a number of other fields including tradi-tional philology

and Hokkien. He is a Distinguished Adjunct Researcher at Renmin University, Beijing, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Chinese Department of the Chinese University, Hong Kong.

Payal Gaglani is the lecture organiser and to register your attendance email soasevents@soas.ac.uk

Unarguably, the continents of Africa and Asia had suffered greatly from the actions of the West which had contributed im-mensely to the predicaments of Africa and much of Asia today. It is also true that Western trade and foreign policies continues to mount obstacles to the develop-ment of Africa and much of Asia today. In my opinion, it is far more important to focus on the part Africans, Asians and their govern-ments had played and continue to play in their own underdevelop-ment

For example, Nigeria just cele-brated 50 years of independence and Ghana had been independ-ent for more than 50 years with-out much to show for it. In these countries corruption and inepti-tude is rife which had contributed to unstable and chaotic political and social environments in which economic development is

practically nil.

In my opinion the political class of these countries have done far more since independence to impoverish their countries, con-demning countless souls to deprivation and poverty than can be attributed to any third hand. African leaders (and some Asian leaders) have not shown any desire to develop the conti-nent by any stride. They are without focus, completely unaccountable and notorious for using their positions to corruptly enrich themselves, their families and close associates with impunity. They have failed to adopt policies and strategies that will heal Africa of the scares o f s lavery, co lon ial ism, imperialism and servitude. Africa has no coherent strategy for taping the benefits of global-ization or deal with its negative effects. The reality is simply that Africans and a significant chunk

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer (Singapore) is the ninth and the first woman to be appointed Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) since 1947.

M r . La za r us Kapambwe was e lec ted 67th President of the Economic and Social Council on 18 January 2011.

A m b a s s a d o r Kapambwe i s cu r ren t l y t he Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Zambia to the United Nations in New York.

M r . K ap ambwe s e r v e d a s co-facilitator of the Ad-Hoc Open Ended Working Group of the General assembly on the Implementation of the Outcome of the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis in 2009-2010.

Austin Mac-Anabraba

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Li Yuanchao is currently the Head of China’s Commu-nist Party (CPC) Central Organisa-tion Department and an increasingly influential figure among China’s fifth generation of politi-cal leaders, ex-pected to come to power in 2012.

Age 61, Li introduced the now nation-wide popular practice of making lead-ing politicians spend the Chinese Spring Festival Eve with the less privileged.

COMMENT

I was at the 48th Africa Day 2011 celebration organised by the Africa Asia Scholars Global Network (AASGON) at the Universities at Medway, Kent on 26th May 2011.

AASGON is a social and economic movement which aims to work to strengthen economic, social and cultural ties that exists between the peoples of Africa and Asia using the vision of the 1955 Bandung Spirit Network of countries of Africa and Asia as a model

Talks centred mainly around under-development and poverty in Asia and Africa and how much the west had contributed to the underdevelopment of these regions of the world.

In settings such as this it was not surprising that the European trade in A f r i can s laves , co lon ia l i sm , imperialism, trade imbalance, racism, are the usual words and phrases that gets thrown around.

of Asians, are loosing out as a result of not being competitive enough; we are still in the shadows of competitors who are fittest. During slavery and colonial epochs the West held sway in the exploitation of Africa. The baton of economic exploitation seem to be changing hands from the West t o C h i n a a n d I n d i a . According to the affable guest speaker at the recent AASGON event, Marika Sherwood, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth studies, "what is China doing in Africa"?

Please send your comments to

info@aasgon.net

What is China Doing in Africa?

ASEAN goodwill caravan comforts disaster victims A ‘‘goodwill caravan’’ consisting of about 70 members from 10 Southeast Asian nations on Saturday comforted survivors of the March 11 devastating earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, as they served ethnic foods, gave music and dance performances and engaged in clean-up activities.

The volunteer workers served Thai noodles, Vietnamese coffee and ‘‘satay’’ skewered meat eaten widely in ASEAN countries to local residents and entertained them with music and dance performances by students and artists.

The group led by Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, also included Indonesian and Thai survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and tried to share the pain and loss of people in the city on the Pacific coast, which was among the areas worst affected by the calamity.

Congrats from AASGON

Education funding dominated the debate with seven amendments submitted to the main motion on higher education funding from 16 institutions.

Focus of discussion were how cuts in university funding should be handled, the cancellation of Educa-tion Maintenance Allowance, the needs for liberation groups and the impact of the rate of interest on student loans on Muslim students

NUS is mandated to explore post-graduate funding further and develop a credible alternative to the current upfront system, supporting u n i o n s t o c am p a i g n o n postgraduate fees and funding

“We now have policy in favour of equipping unions to explore on access and retention and to explore how we can ensure our movement is representative and engaging to a wide diversity of friends” says Usman Ali the re-elected vice president (Higher Edu-cation) at the April NUS National Conference.

NUS (National Union of Students) is a voluntary membership organisation which makes a real difference to the lives of students and its member students' unions. It is

a confederation of 600 students' unions, amounting to more than 95 per cent of all higher and further education unions in the UK. Through its member students' unions, NUS represent the interests of more than seven million students.

NUS Services is owned by

Students’ Unions and the National Union of Students. The mission statement is to; ‘Create, develop and sustain competitive advantages for member Students’ Unions–reducing c o s t s a n d m ax im i s i n g commercial revenues’

To this end it provides three core services: Purchasing; Commercial Development; Marketing Services.

NUS National Conference 2011

Felicitation with Africa & Asian Peoples

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The Board, Management and Members of AASGON join millions of Africa and Asian peoples whose countries independence anniversary celebration falls on

the months of July, August & September 2011. Economic Independence of devel-oping nations in the 21st Century has become paramount for world peace.

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Usman Ali re-elected Vice President (Higher Education )

Toni Pearce newly elected Vice President (Further Education).

Liam Burns, NUS 55th elected President

Big Congratulations

Become a proud

member of AASGON Log on

http://www. aasgon.net

“I see AASGON not only as the awakening of Bandung spirit intellectually, but

also as an opportunity for increasing

contact between African and Asian

scholars in respond to the challenges in the global village”

- Puguh Sadadi Second Secretary Indonesian Embassy

I had agreed to speak about the Bandung Conference at AASGON Consultative Forum: Africa Day Celebration – but, with apologies, I changed my mind.

Why? Because most accounts of that conference state that it was President Soekarno (Sukarno) who had conceived the necessity for such an event.

However, as a historian of Black and Asian activists in Britain, I want to question that.

Before I outline what I think was

the forerunner of Bandung, I want

to quote from two of the

speeches, as I think they are as

relevant today as they were in

1955. Sir John Kotewala the

Prime Minister of Ceylon said:

We, the nations of the new Asia

and Africa, whatever our

language, whatever our faiths,

whatever our form of govern-

ment, whatever the colour of

our skins-black, brown or

yellow-have one thing in

common: we are all poor and

under-developed.

Page 9

akada

Marika Sherwood

Tinie Tempah

The forerunner of Bandung:

Subject People’s Conference June 1945

Those involved were: Federation of Indian Associations in GB; Kikuyu Association of East Africa; Interna-tional African Service Bureau (IASB); Federation of Indian Associations in GB; Negro Welfare Association (London); Negro Welfare Centre Liverpool; Coloured Men’s Institute East London; United Colonial and Coloured Sea-men’s Association of Cardiff; West African Students’ Union (WASU) and ‘several other progressive associations’.

Padmore goes on to report that ‘the movement to bring about world-wide unity among the coloured communities has also been en-dorsed by the Burmese and the Ceylon Students’ associations, the Malaya and East Indies Peoples’ League, West Indian Federation Committee and a number of colo-nial trade unions in Africa and the Caribbean.’

Read the concluding part of Marika’s address in your next edition of akada.

Please send us your comments on Marika’s key note address

Late Sir John Kotewala

Centuries of servitude and

stagnation have left their mark,

a dire heritage of poverty and.

ignorance, upon the masses of

our peoples . . .

Where the wisdom of the West

has failed, is it possible that the

nations of Asia and Africa can

hope to succeed? I think it is.

Have the nations of this region

i n f a c t a n y t h i n g

to offer? I think they have. Has

the time come to offer it?

I think it has. I say, then, in all

ser iousness and in all

humility, that the peoples of this

region have it in their

power to apply to the problems

of the present-day world,

and for the first time in history, t ha t t r a d i t i o n a l r e sp e c t for the spiritual values of life and f o r t he d i gn i t y o f t he human personality which is the d is t ingu ish ing fea ture o f all their great religions.'

Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, then only a Lieutenant-Colonel, also stressed ‘the common feeling of identity born of a common heritage imposed by Western domination': In this conference, we are meeting as representatives of the Asiatic and African countries.

There is a striking similarity between the conditions prevailing in our coun-tries, a similarity that operates as a unifying force; we have emerged from a long period of foreign influ-ence, political as well as eco-nomic ... It is not surprising therefore that we should feel close together. ..'

As George Padmore explained in the Chicago Defender (28/5/1945, p.5), it was the first meeting of the United Nations that galvanised ac-tion by ‘the coloured races living under the sovereignty of various European powers’. Meetings were held to draft a manifesto and to call a conference.

Tinie Tempah—The Shinning Star

Tinie on to double and treble platinum… 22 year old Tinie Tempah ( P a t r i c k C h u kwu em ek a Okogwu) released his debut single "Pass Out" with Parlo-phone on 28 February 2010. This it hit the UK Singles Chart at number 1. Selling just over 92,000 copies, making this his first number 1 which it remained for two consecutive weeks. He went on to win his first 2 MOBO Awards in October’10

"Written in the Stars" his third single released on 19 Septem-ber 2010 charted at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart selling over 115,000 copies in its first week and making it his biggest-

selling single to date.

Tinie joined Usher on the European leg of his OMG Tour in January 2011. Tinie was also nominated for 4 Brit Awards making him the most nomi-nated artist for the awards. Tinie's single "Written in the Stars" was used for a WrestleMania XXVII countdown promo during the WWE PPV Royal Rumble on 30 January 2011.

It was later confirmed by WWE that it will be the official theme for Wrestle-mania XXVII. On 15 February 2011, he won his first ever Brit Award, for Best British Breakthrough Act. He later won a Brit for Best British Single.

The British rapper performed brilliantly as guest star at the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas on June 19, 2011

Helen— unusual perform-ance at AASGON Africa Day

Best Online Sites for Jobs Job portal where one can post and apply for jobs for free as well as review companies on various parameters such as pay, growth prospects, working conditions and more.

There are thousands of job sites (job boards) on the Web for job-seekers.

.You can search for jobs by job type, industry or location, by metro area or employer.

You can post your resume and confidential profile, create an email job alert, and find great career resources. All Free to job-seekers. For support you can log on to http://quintcareers.com/

. BilingualCareer.com -- where bilingual job-seekers (English and at least one other language) can search job listings nation's leading newspapers and job listings from the Web sites of leading employers

CareerBuilder – provides a combination of help wanted ads of the nation's leading news-papers and job listings from Web sites of leading employers.

Careercast -- a cool job por-tal offering job-seekers opportu-nities from all U.S. and Canadian newspaper, magazine, niche and TV station.

CareerSurf.com -- where job-seekers from a wide variety of industries across the U.S. and Canada can search for jobs .

Careers & Jobs

Apply Now for the BSEEN Graduate Business Start-up Programme

Graduates in the West Midlands are invited to apply to the next round of the Graduate Business Start-up Programme, which is due to commence in October 2011.

BSEEN, the West Midlands Enterprise Link organisation run by Aston University, Birmingham City University and the University of Birmingham, is seeking aspiring graduate entrepreneurs living in Birmingham, Solihull, Redditch, Tamworth, Lichfield, Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest, East Staffordshire and Cannock.

The Programme aims to ensure that entrepreneurs have the necessary skills and knowledge to make their business succeed in the long term. For details log on http:// www.b-seen.org.uk/

Page 10

akada

Here are our first seven best job posting sites (job boards) for job-seekers.

After College -- a job and internship site for college students and re-cent college grads.

Best Jobs in the USA Today -- a comprehen-sive job resource site that includes jobs databases, c o r po r a t e p r o f i l e s , resume posting, and a career resources store.

Careerjournal.com -- From The Wall Street Journal. links to other key job sites. across the U.S. and Canada.

YAHOO! HotJobs

JobCentral.com

CollegeRecruiter

CareerBuilder

Monster.com

JobFox.com

Indeed.com

Simply Hired

Jobing.com

Net-Temps.com

Job Sites

Top Jobs - Head of Gas Division—Abuja, Nigeria

The Osprey Investments Group’s vision is to drive development in Nigeria and the West African sub-region with investments and world-class consultancy services. Osprey In-vestments Group is seeking a senior manager to head its Gas Division in Nigeria.

The position is based in Abuja, Nigeria. The Manager will report directly to the Chair-man of Osprey Investments Group and will be primarily responsible for developing, maintaining and expanding the company’s gas portfolio in Nigeria. For an application contact Teresa Petschl info@ospreyinvestmentsgroup.com

Project Manager (Engineering) - Ghana

Job Ref: PMGHWT

Parcellis are currently looking for an experienced Project Manager with Water Treatment and Waste Water Treatment knowledge or major building project in Africa.

As the Project Manager you will be responsible for the Engineers, HSE and Systems on site of this new Waste Water Treatment Plant with a 10km slurry line and return water line. This position is on a rotation basis of 9/3 and all travel and accommodation is paid for. Previous experience as a Project Manager on a major building project along with exposure to Africa is essential.

Please contact daniel.joiner@parcellis.co.uk for more info

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Mech. Engr. — Singapore UON Singapore Pte Ltd - Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, University of Newcastle Singapore (UON Singapore). Interested applicants are invited to email your application including resume by 29 July 2011 to: UONSEnquiry@newcastle.edu.au

For other top jobs in Africa and Asia log on:

http://www.workcircle.com/jobs/africa/degree

http://wwwasia-employment.com

AASGON reflects on social and economic challenges and

promotes effective partnerships among scholars and relevant stakeholders to influence policy and the delivery of far reaching

positive outcomes for the regeneration and sustainability of poorer countries of Africa.& Asia.

- Dr Albert Barnes AASGON 2nd Vice-President

Is Afro-Asia Games Dead or Alive? Find out in your

next edition of akada

Africa Day

celebrated globally.

Here is an account of the celebration in Kent by AASGON

May 26th 2011

Universities @ Medway

“The strategic and complex nature of AASGON’s mission is key to Africa and

Asia’s endeavour to overcome the massive difficulties that confront

the two continents”.

- H.E. Yuri Thamrin, Indonesia Ambassador

“Where the wisdom of the West has failed, is it possible that the nations of Asia and Africa can hope to succeed?”.

- Marika Sherwood

AASGON Africa Day Event in Pictures

Photos by:

KrystynaPhotos.mogggy.org

Page 11

It was a day for reflections and the display of rich culture, arts food, fashion, music and exotic dance of

Africa and the Middle East

Africa Day Celebrated

in Style by AASGON

Photos by :mwankumi@yahoo.fr

Europe Asia Africa

Page 12

Bismillah – I begin in the name of Allah

Your excellencies, dis-tinguished guests, la-dies and Gentlemen, thank you for taking time out of your bust sched-ules to be with us today. Firstly I must congratu-late our brother Abdul Mohammed for perse-vering in getting recog-nition for professionals of the East – From Af-rica and Asia. It is im-perative that our contri-bution to improving the quality of life for our

communities is recognised. Everything else we do is to sup-port this.

We professional from AASGON are a funny old lot. We are not agents of the state but we work with them. We are not all social enter-prises but we are all enter-prising. We are not a partnership but we work in collaboration with each other. We are not a busi-ness but business like in our work. We are inde-pendent and owned by our

m e m b e r s . We aim to br ing a b o u t s o c i a l change o p p o s i n g discrimi- nation and oppres- sion. We are a move- ment not a n e t - work.

It is a fact that those of us from Af-rica and Asia have n o t done our-s e l v e s justice, as we are not very good at market-ing. As an example Japan's second-largest tourist agency was mysti-fied when it entered Eng-lish-speaking markets and began receiving requests for unusual sex tours. Upon finding out why, the owners of “Kinki Nippon T o u r i s t C om p a n y ” changed its name.

Basically we have to sharpen up our image as we are now competing on the world stage. We may not be perfect nor do we claim to be. What we are good as anyone in providing services and are innova-tive in our approach to this.

AASGON is the ideal vehicle to help you de-velop interna-tionally and take up issues at a strategic level. With the g o v e r n -ment put-ting more and more empha s i s on commu-nity in-volvement you have the oppor-tunity here to influence the decision mak-ing processes, have a say in how s e r v i c e s a r e delivered. Do not waste this o p p o r t u -nity.

F i n a l l y p r o p h e t Muhammed peace be upon him said “ it is incumbent upon every M u s l i m man and woman to seek knowledge even if you have travel to China”. I hope that we can play a role in this.

Today is not an end but the beginning of a strong net-work and the process of bringing us together for the benefit of our communities.

Once gain please can I ask you to show your apprecia-tion to Abdul Mohammed for his time and effort in setting this up

God bless

Speech by Sajid Hashmi MBE, 1st Vice President of AASGON, at AASGON 1st Consultative Forum and Celebration of Africa Day 48th Anniversary 2011

Page 13

WorldSkills London 2011

The world’s largest international skills competition with young people from across the globe compet-ing to be the best of the best in their chosen skill from bricklaying to mobile robotics comes.

This year the 41st WorldSkills Competition is be-ing hosted in London.

British Council, in partnership with WorldSkills London 2011 and WorldSkills International, is offer-ing the opportunity for senior international stake-holders to participate in a high level conference which will have as a central theme the importance of skills and technical education in global economic recovery.

The conference will be hosted during WorldSkills London 2011 and delegates will have the opportu-nity of visiting the Competitions.

England-Africa Partnerships (EAP)

EAP is a scheme for funding higher educa-tion partnerships between England and sub-Saharan Africa

UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI)

UKIERI aims to substantially improve educa-tional links between India and the UK so that in the long term we become each other's partner of choice in education.

FUNDING - ERASMUS PROGRAMM:

Through the European Commission's Erasmus programme, students can collabo-rate with higher education providers from across 30 countries in Europe and receive funding to enable UK students to experi-ence living, studying and/or working, in a foreign country.

UK Erasmus students normally receive an Erasmus grant provided by the European Commission which contributes towards the extra costs arising from studying abroad. Erasmus grants in the UK are paid through your home institution and are paid in addition to the standard grants or loans to which you are entitled.

Please remember that this is a supplemen-tary, non-repayable grant intended to offset any additional expenses you may incur while you are abroad. You should not de-pend on it to cover your essential living costs.

Bear this in mind when you are budgeting! During your Erasmus study, you continue to receive any student grant or loan to which you are entitled.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus-funding.htm

NEWS FROM BRITISH COUNCIL

Billions of people across the world are in need of and demanding a better globalisation - one that puts the economy to work for people and not the other way round. The financial crash exposed just how detached the global economy has be-come from our values - a misalignment that is most pronounced in the world's response to the global epidemic of youth unemployment.

The promise of globalisation is being betrayed as rates of joblessness climb to historic highs across the Middle East, Europe, America and sub-Saharan Africa. The window of opportunity is closing on millions of young people - yet I see little evidence that we have thought through how we can create the jobs that will deal with today's political instability and eco-nomic stagnation. Failure to do so according to Gordon Brown former British Prime Minister in his report "Education for All: Beating Poverty, Unlocking Prosperity" is not

simply a political but also a moral failure, because it cannot be right that a genera-tion's chances be stolen before their life's journey has really begun. Nor can it be right that we should stand by and let that happen when such a result is so readily avoidable.

In recent months, Gordon states, ”there have been stirrings of resistance as young people the world over show that they are no longer prepared to tolerate a global economic order that is failing them so badly. The uprisings in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East show protest wearing a very youthful face. The reasons for this are obvious when we consider the figures. Two-thirds of Egypt's population is under 30 - and young people make up roughly 90 per cent of the country's jobless total. Youth unemployment has hit 30 per cent in Tunisia. The number is even higher - 45 per cent - in Algeria. By 2020 there will be an esti- mated 50 million young Arab workers without jobs.

Across most of Africa, too, there is a youth unemployment catastrophe. The continent will soon be home to one in every four of the world's young people - but already 80 per cent of them are either out of work or on a family income of less than $1.25 a day. Yet these headline figures, however shocking, do not tell the human or societal cost of youth unemployment: the tragic waste of potential, the damage to families and communities, and the colossal financial burden on societies” Gordon Brown was prime min-ister from 2007 to 2010. Download his report "Education for All: Beating Poverty, Unlocking Prosperity" at gordonandsarahbrown.com

Globalisation betrayed…. Writes Gordon Brown

The first-ever African Presidents

Summit On Health will be held in Los Angeles, California February 13th—14th 2012 “We expect the Summit to provide each leader with an opportunity to highlight their successes and challenges, and to gain more international resources to better assist their efforts on the ground" says Mr. Ted Alemayhu, Founder & Executive Chairman of the US Doctors For Africa (USDFA), a California based non-profit organisation.

AFRICA HEALTH CRISIS

If you have comments or views as to how to achieve a more sustainable solution to solving Africa’s healthcare

crisis please write to info@aasgon.net

Page 14

48th Africa Day Celebration

akada

We are on the

Web

http://aasgon.net

linkedIn

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Landslide Victory!!! Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as Nigeria President. Goodluck begins four-year term and promise to unite the world’s most populated black nation.

India and China - new global

economic order? Watch out for akada

Indonesia Chairs ASEAN 2011

‘Concrete Outcomes well into the future’

Coming up in your next edition of akada

Advertise in

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Take advantage of our

POPULARITY !!!

Akada is a product of AASGON, its contents represent independent judgment. Akada offers a forum for free debate and will resist undue political or commercial pressures. Providing the highest quality in content services and advertising, Akada listens to its readers and responds to feedback.

Africa Asia Scholars Global Network,( AASGON), Innovation Centre, Maidstone Road, Chatham Medway, Kent ME5 9FD email: info@aasgon.net Web: http://aasgon.net

Changes in world economy have raised many questions for Africa’s survival. Today African countries need to be able to thrive in the most adverse conditions by identifying new opportuni-ties, being transparent, eschew corruption and managing risks.

In his opening address at the 48th commemora-tion of Africa Day and the 1st South East Scholars Consultative Forum, on May 26th, 2011 at the Universities at Medway, Kent, the Founder and Secretary-General of the Africa Asia Scholars Global Network (AASGON), Abdul ‘Dewale Mohammed, told the large audience “Today’s celebration reflects on social and economic challenges in Africa and the need for effective part-nerships among Africa and Asian scholars, the statutory and the organised private sector to influence policy and the delivery of far reaching positive outcomes for the regeneration and

sustainability of Africa’s poorer communities.

W i th rep resenta t i ve o f Baroness Tessa Gladstone, the Vice Chancellor University of Greenwich and Executive ACU in attendance, the guest speaker Marika Sherwood’s address was quite thought

provoking. His Excellency Mr. Yuri Thamrin, the Indonesia Ambassador’s keynote speech was stimulating and reassuring as it commended AASGON’s bold initiative.

Best wishes on AASGON’s Africa Day commemoration came from a number of dignitaries which include: Dr. M. Sayeedur Rahman Khan, the Bangladesh High Commissioner, Mr. Nalin Surie, the Indian High Commissioner, Khaled Al Duwaisan, the Ambassador of Kuwait, Mr A. Kundasamy, the Mauritius Ambassador, Mr. George Liswaniso, High Commissioner of the Republic of Namibia, Mr Michael Eng Cheng Teo, the Singapore High Commissioner and ‘Diplomat of the Year’, Mr. Edward Mohamed Turay, the Sierra Leone High Commissioner, Dr. Zola Skweyiya, the South Africa High Commissioner and Mrs. Dumsile T Sukati, the Swaziland High Commissioner.

The list of well wishers among others include Dr. Noeleen Heyzer Under-Secretary-General, the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Anne Breivik, UK National Commission for UNESCO, Mr. David Bull UNICEF UK’s Executive, Mr. Bob Dudley, Group Chief Executive, BP Plc Andrew Witty, CEO GlaxoSmithKline, Mr. Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer Shell International B.V., Mr. Marc Bolland, CEO Marks and-Spencer (M&S) and Mr. David Hodgetts, Managing Director Honda (UK). AASGON Universities of Med-way Students’ Association (UMSA) Chapter, organised the memorable event.

ASEAN Rises with China and India, Ranks 57 of 132 Countries ...

ASEAN is facing profound challenges in the world economic climate. With the growing ascend of two powerful economies, China and India, ASEAN has managed to weather the global financial crisis and placed itself on the 57th position among 132 economies.

The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, who launched the inaugural ASEAN Competitiveness Report 2010 however, cautioned against being contented with the ranking.

“ASEAN’s competitiveness, however, has been hovering around the 57th to 60th positions over the last five years – a stagnancy largely due to limited improvements in the fundamen-tals of regional competitiveness. “Clearly much remains to be done to bring actual performance closer to the rich potential for creativity and innovation inherent in our resources-rich ASEAN,” he said.

ASEAN group comprises of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Students won’t pay more for the same, and they certainly won’t pay more for less” Usman points out in his hustling speech at the National Union of Students (NUS) Conference on April 13, 2011 Go to page 8 for full story

Usman Ali Re-Elected NUS VP