This conference was focused on the central theme- ‘India and Africa: Partnership for Capacity Building and Human Resource Development’. Among several areas of cooperation between India and Africa, one important sector is capacity building and human resource development. It was a key component in India -Africa cooperation. India emerged as a third largest skilled human resource in the world due to substantial public investment in establishing academic and professional institutions. Therefore, India is a suitable partner to contribute in the capacity building and development of human resource. Taking into account the comprehensive nature of capacity building and human resource development, various scholars touched upon the different dimensions and aspects. The papers presented in the seminar were giving light on the partnership between India and Africa for the development of human resource and capacity building.
In the inaugural session, Chairman of African Studies Association of India, Mr. Shashank while introducing ASA India, stressed on the significance of the track II, i.e. people to people, partnership in developing mutual relationship and efforts between India and Africa in the realm of capacity building. Dr. Karan Singh, President ICCR and MP, shared Mr. Shashank’s views in so far avenues of cooperation and collaboration between India and Africa is concerned. Remembering India’s deep involvement in the struggle against apartheid regime, Dr. Singh underlined the common challenges faced by both the regions. Outlining various efforts made to develop deep engagement between India and Africa, he hailed the significance of India-Africa summit 2008. He also stressed how ICCR has been at the forefront in establishing and enhancing relations between India and Africa by giving the examples of the cultural centres set up by ICCR in the African countries. He concluded by saying that this partnership between India and Africa in the field of human resource and capacity building will open new vistas of cooperation between India and Africa.
As India’s capabilities and resource base has grown in these areas it has broadened the scope of cooperation activities in capacity building with Africa. Not only the public sectors but India’s private sectors are now encouraged to build partnerships for capacity building and human resource development. The first session presented many ideas, views and suggestions on India-Africa Partnership for Developing Human and Social Resources and papers were presented on capacity building and human resource development strategies, science and technology etc. Dr. Andre Kraak presented the picture of the development of South Africa’s human resources, especially in educational sector and also pointed out some major constraints to human resource development in South Africa, like poor quality educational outcome, high drop out rate, HIV/AIDS, income inequalities etc. Focusing on the human and social resource development of Nigeria, Prof. Osita C. Eze suggested that India should go beyond the petroleum engagement with Nigeria and should provide its experience and knowledge, particularly in the sector of science, technology and pharmaceuticals to Nigeria. Dr. Suresh Kumar, in his paper, attempted to repudiate the concept of new scramble of Africa, especially by India. He argued that engagement in Africa is multi-sectoral and it is not only in petroleum or mineral resources, but also in climate conservation, agriculture development of Africa, mutual ocean security efforts and Pan-Africa e-network. CODESRIA’s contribution in human resource development by facilitating the research in the social sciences in all over the continent was pointed out by Dr. Carlos Cardoso. Dr. Bijay Pratihari emphasized on the requirement of developing the human resources, as the under-developed people can upset the growth of over-all infrastructure. It was suggested that India can help the African counties in various areas of human resource development like education, health, sanitation, poverty eradication with its experience, knowledge, and strategies like the right to education bill, mid-day meal scheme, drug manufacturing, etc.
Good governance and an empowered civil society are essential development imperatives. India is partnering with Africa to build its indigenous capacity in these areas. The key focus areas in this partnership include enhancing public and private participation in local and central government, establishing platforms to enable civil societies to play a vibrant role in promoting institutions of local self governance and establishing relevant governance training institutions in Africa. In the second session, which focused on India-Africa Cooperation for Democratizing Development, many points and ideas emerged for the India-Africa partnership on governance and the development of democracy in both sides. As is known that South-South cooperation does not mean just economic or trade co-operation, Prof. Sanjukta Bhattacharya pointed out that this partnership can be flourished through the exchange of the experience on governance and the development of civil societies. Prof. Chris de Wet delved into the negative aspects of development projects in Africa and India like the displacement of people due to the construction of dams, mining projects and he suggested the need of a training course for resettlement officers in both Africa and India, which can be established as a logical area for co-operation between India and African researchers and Non-governmental Organisations (NGO’s). Recognizing the problems of common people in both regions, Dr. J. M. Moosa emphasized that the benefits of development should reach to the grass root level and the common people. In his paper, he explored the possibilities for development through capacity building for effective monitoring through participatory governance at the grass root level. Prof. Herbert Muyinda examined the process of capacity building programmes in war-torn Northern Uganda to address effects of war among the people with disabilities. In addition to this, the characteristics of the linguistic structure of Sudan were outlined by Prof. Al- Amin Abu Manga. He reviewed the language policies in colonial and post colonial period and their negative impact on management of linguistic diversity in Sudan. For maintaining regional peace and security, effective policing, peacekeeping operations, and disaster management are areas where India could partner with Africa for capacity building. In this background, Ms. Ruchita Beri focused on the India-Africa partnership in security sector, including the internal and external security. Africa, which is facing various obstacles to the collective security, like terrorism, arms proliferation, poverty, HIV/AIDS and India is helping Africa with its human and financial resources to tackle these obstacles like the military training, establishment of defence academy and major contribution in peace keeping mission in various areas of the continent and Prof. Chit Dukhira, spoke about the society and politics of Mauritius and dealt with the development of local democracy in Mauritius.
The second day started with the third session which was on India Africa: Collaboration in Delivering Development. Partnership in this area aims at building capacity to promote development and growth. It includes capacity building in trade negotiations, dispute settlement, enhancement of competitiveness in world economy and establishing training programmes for entrepreneurship and skill development. Ms. Neuma’s paper strongly argued that aid alone will not solve Africa’s critical challenges, rather the appropriate use of aid in combination with sustainable business practices located in an enabling investment environment, is the most effective way to move Africa towards a sustainable growth path. The historical relationship between India and Egypt was traced in Prof. Mahmoud Abdul Enein’s paper. He emphasized how on one hand India is promoting technical cooperation through its ITEC program and how on the other hand Egypt is promoting it through numerous Egyptian funds. The two declarations signed during the India Africa summit in 2008, Delhi Declaration and Africa- India Framework for Cooperation were given importance in light of Africa’s immense potential for investment and India’s increasing commitment to expanding its trade and investment ties with the African region, by Prof Aparajita in her paper. Prof S. N. Malakar’s paper focused on the historicity of pre and post colonial period, changing nature of production patterns, strength of agricultural capacity building and the potentials and opportunities involved in the process of cooperation. The identification of the scope and options for strategic agri-business partnerships between India and North African countries through established backward and forward linkages by using the expertise and experience India gained in agri-business sector, was brought out in Prof. C.S. Sundaresan’s paper and Ms. Mausumi had highlighted the bilateral relations between India and North Africa and analysed their trade trends in detail thus, bringing out the problems and prospects. Other sectors that were identified for cooperation include capacity building on policy and regulatory frameworks in the financial sector, tourism development and policy planning in agricultural sector.
India- Africa partnership in the area of Diaspora and cultural resources would allow both sides to mutually gain from each other. It includes sharing experiences in harnessing Diasporic resources through building Diasporic networks and formulating engagement policies, strengthen people-to people contacts through cultural exchange programmes and by effecting cooperation for capacity building in areas of sports. In this background the fourth and the last session focused on India Africa: Partnership for Harnessing Diaspora and Cultural Resources. The paper by Prof. Chandrashekhar Bhat argued that development and Diaspora go together as most of the Diasporas are involved in building economies of their countries of domicile. How can these countries employ the Diaspora in the developmental context is a matter left to their policy orientation and politics. However, he emphasized that Education is the key towards human resource development. Prof. B. J. Phiri’s paper has examined the political establishment of Fort Jameson (Chipata) and the impact the colonial town had on the economic development of the town itself and the surrounding areas. It also examined the response of the local African population to the establishment of a settlement that African were used to in the pre-colonial times or on the eve of colonization. The policy of India and Africa both to pro-actively engage their Diaspora for increasing their sphere of influence and building effective partnerships for their socio-economic development was discussed by Dr. Nivedita in her paper. She explained how India and Africa see their Diaspora as a strategic resource available to contribute to their country’s development. On the other hand the role of Indian Diaspora was traced since colonial times and its role in promoting the partnership between India and Africa was analysed in Dr. Rajneesh’s paper. The last paper by Ms. Seraphina covered the African Union’s policy to engage its Diaspora in the development of Africa and how some countries like Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa have taken up initiatives to link its Diaspora in areas of knowledge and investment with their countries.
The cooperation between India and Africa is historical and its strong focus remains empowerment of people and institutions of the African countries through capacity building and human resource development to effect rapid development. The seminar on the whole was a successful initiative taken up by African Studies Association of India in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and India International Centre (IIC). There were various possibilities and outcomes which were discussed on India and Africa partnerships in developing human and social resources, in democratizing the process of development, in delivering development and in harnessing the cultural and Diaspora resources. Thus, the seminar was focused on the point of partnership between these two continents on these issues. The whole idea of human resource and capacity building through collaboration and cooperation was brought forth in the discussions by various scholars from Africa as well as India, in the seminar.
|
