Africa vs. COVID-19 — the first six months, Online conference

The Africa Research Centre and the Migration Research Institute
present their joint online conference

Date: Thursday, October 29th, 2020; 15:00−17:00

Venue: Online Zoom access after registration
Registration link: https://zoom.us/…/tJcucOmuqDIqHdP-cMOo40bj71NArcrcPRUz
Registration deadline: October 29th, 2020; 12:00

Language: English

Africa — together with the global community — has been already struggling with COVID-19 for more than six months. The novel coronavirus has many faces in Africa. Some countries and economies are heavily affected by the pandemic, while others seem to be navigating relatively smoothly amidst the pressures of the crisis. Furthermore, the lack of the necessary up-to-date information makes extremely hard to judge what is going on in the continent. Nevertheless, although Africa has still managed to avoid the worst, the political, economic, social, and security impacts of the pandemic loom significant. The purpose of our event is to analyse the symptoms of COVID-19 in and connected with Africa. Therefore, our lectures will examine different examples from the geopolitical, political, and security sphere to demonstrate the many faces and effects of the new coronavirus in Africa.

15:00-15:05 Welcome speech: Szabolcs Janik (Deputy Director, Migration Research Institute)

15:05-16:20 Lectures — Moderator: Szabolcs Janik

István Tarrósy (Associate Professor, Director, Africa Research Centre, University of Pécs): China—Africa Relations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Omar Mahmood (Senior Researcher, Somalia for International Crisis Group): Political and social effects of COVID-19 on Somalia

Wolbert Smidt (Professor, Mekelle University — Researcher, Yeha Project, Jena University): Political and Political-Cultural Debates in Ethiopia in Times of COVID-19

Viktor Marsai (Research Director, Migration Research Institute — National University of Public Service): Governing the Landscape — Violent Extremist Organisations (VEOs) and the COVID-19

16:20-17:00 Questions

17:00 Closing remarks