International Symposium
Kyoto University - EHESS

Contribution of Area Studies
to Global Challenges in Africa

An Afar settlement near the sugar factory of Aysayta, Ethiopia. © E. Ficquet, 2018.

Dates: 3 - 4 December, 2018
Venue: BULAC, Room RJ 24
65 rue des Grands Moulins 75013 Paris
Registration mandatory at ffj@ehess.fr
Building on the success of the first France-Japan Area Studies Forum held in Kyoto on 1–3 December 2017,the 2nd joint conference will be held in Paris on 3–4 December 2018.
Kyoto University and EHESS signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Academic Cooperation andExchange in May 2015. Since then, there has been an active exchange of individual scholars between thetwo institutions. The France-Japan Area Studies Forum was the first opportunity to interact with each otheron an institutional level. With common perspective on strengthening partnership, the Forum was held under
the two themes: “New Spatiality on Asian and African Area Studies” and “Voices for The Future: African Area
Studies in a Globalizing World.” The Forum aimed to re-conceptualize ideas about “spatiality” or “area,”in order to understand better the globalizing forces that shape contemporary issues in Africa. Knowledge
and insights relating to a wide range of global issues were shared at this conference attended by over 100participants.
For the 2nd joint conference, the following two themes have been selected as priority issues for bothuniversities. The discussions that will ensue as a result of this forum will not only provide opportunities toenhance academic partnership between Kyoto University and EHESS, but also encourage researchers toexplore new ways to advance African studies globally.

Program
Rethinking the Interdisciplinary Frontier ofAfrican Studies
Monday 3 December, 2018
10:10- 10:30
Opening & Introductory Speech

Eloi Ficquet, Associate Professor, EHESS
Masayoshi Shigeta, Professor, Center for African Area Studies

Workshop “Cahiers d’études africaines - Interdisciplinary and Long-term
Perspectives on African Landscapes”
10:30-12:30
Session 1: Crossing Earth Sciences and Human Sciences Studies on the Evolution and the Current
Transformations of the Lower Awash Basin, Afar Region, Ethiopia.
Eloi Ficquet, Associate Professor, EHESS
Cécile Doubre, Researcher, Strasbourg University

Session 2: Environmental Changes and Rural Dynamics in West Africa

Catherine Mering, Professor, Paris Diderot University
Tidiane Sané, Ziguinchor, Researcher-Lecturer, Ziguinchor University, Senegal
Discussant: Shuichi Oyama, Associate Professor, Kyoto University

12:30-14:30: Lunch BreakRoundtable “Urbanization and Mobility in African Cities”
14:30–16:15

Kae Amo, Researcher, Fondation France-Japon, EHESS
Yumiko Yamamoto, Associate researcher, Fondation France-Japon, EHESS
Comments: Beatriz Fernandez, Associate Professor, EHESS
Comments: Daisuke Mizoguchi, Resident Director, Nairobi Research Station, JSPS
Discussant: Motoki Takahashi, Professor, Kyoto University

16:15-16:45: Coffee BreakRoundtable on Current Trends and Debates on HumanitarianStudies in Africa
16:45-18:30
Presentation of Activities of the French Red Cross Foundation
Virginie Troit, FCRF
Vincent Léger, FCRF.

Presentation of the Journal Alternatives Humanitaires / Humanitarian Alternatives
Boris Martin, Editor in chief of the journal

Presentation of the Supplementary Issue of African Studies Monographs, 53, 2017 on“Localization of Humanitarian Assistance Frameworks for East African Pastoralists”
Akira Takada, Associate Professor, Kyoto University

Contribution of Area Studies to Global
Challenges in Africa
Tuesday 4 December, 2018
Africa is facing many serious challenges that require us to analyze multiple factors cutting across national andregional boundaries. The aim of this symposium is to grasp and examine the globalizing forces that shapecontemporary issues in Africa from the perspective of area studies. We have selected three global challenges
faced by African society today: the environmental and ecological impacts on local livelihoods by global
climate change and large-scale resource development (environmental challenges), the influence of external/international organizations and NGOs on local communities through developmental aids (developmentalchallenges ), and the influence of rapid social changes on cultural diversity in relation to inheritance ofknowledge, technologies, languages and values (cultural challenges). These challenges are seen either
as “failures” of African society in adopting to modern institutions or as necessities to return to “indigenous”
values and livelihoods. Instead of falling into extreme dualism, each presenter aims at examining culturaldynamics and social practices as constant processes of negotiations between African society and moderninterventions.

Panel 1: Environmental Challenges
10:00- 10:10
Opening Speech

Romain Huret, Vice-president, EHESS

10:10 – 12:00

Gen Yamakoshi, Associate Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Masayoshi Shigeta, Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Hiroki Sato, Assistant Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Hajanirina Rakotomanana, Professor, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar
Kaoru Kitajima, Professor, Graduate School of Agriculture
Rhett Harrison, Senior Research Fellow, World Agroforestry Centre, Zambia
Discussant: Frédéric Joulian, Associate Professor, EHESS, CNE

12:00-13:30: Lunch Break

Panel 2: Developmental Challenges
13:30 – 15:00

Motoki Takahashi, Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Shuichi Oyama, Associate Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Morie Kaneko, Associate Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Discussant: Kae Amo, Researcher, Fondation France-Japan, EHESS

15:00-15:30: Coffee Break

Panel 3: Cultural Challenges
15:30 – 17:00

Akira Takada, Associate Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Misa Hirano, Associate Professor, Center for African Area Studies
Discussant: Eloi Ficquet, Associate Professor, EHESS.