GLOBAL PAN-AFRIKAN REPARARTIONS AND

REPATRIATION CONFERENCE (GPARRC)

21^st JULY – 2^nd AUGUST 2006

 CALL FOR PAPERS

            The GPARRC Planning Team is calling for papers to be presented at the Global Pan Afrikan Reparations and Repatriation Conference to be held 21^st July to 2^nd August 2006 at the International Conference Center in Accra, Ghana. Core conference workshop dates are 24 July to 27 July. Pre-and-post conference activities include cultural and ceremonial activities, visits to the enslavement forts in Elmina and Cape Coast, and to Benin.

The Conference theme is – Create the Future! Transformation, Reparations, Repatriation and Reconciliation.  We invite all interested persons to prepare Abstracts and Papers either on the main Conference theme or on sub-themes related to the purpose and objectives of the Conference.

The Purpose of the GPARRC is to:

1.         Gather, educate, and equip the Global Pan-African Reparations and Repatriation

(GPARR) Movement - with resources (i.e. templates, models, and examples) of

successful organizing techniques and educational tools to engage the world.

2.         Develop a programmatic framework that allows the GPARR Movement to

develop and coordinate activities for Africans and African descendants’    reconciliation.

3.         Address and seek a commitment for Dual Citizenship and/or the Right of Return from the government of Ghana and the African Union for Afrikans repatriating from the Diaspora.

 The Objectives of the GPARRC are to:

1.         Deepen African, and other Indigenous, peoples’ understanding of the “global reparations and repatriation movement” and our mutual understanding and support for Afro-descendants throughout the Diaspora seeking reparations and or repatriation;

2.       Raise the level of shared and cooperative dialogue and economic development opportunities between    Diaspora and Continental Africans as a result of securing reparations; 

3.         Shape the conversation about the significance of the 200^th Anniversary of the

Abolition of the Trans Atlantic Arab European Slave Trade by the British Empire;    

4.         Promote a dialogue within the global reparations movement about “international capital” and its origins, the demise of capitalism as we know it, and the “new world-wide movement” for a new economic order;

5.                    Share strategies and tactics related to our respective local, regional, national, and international reparations issues, demands, and approaches for mutual support;

 6.        Identify the present opportunities, prospects, and means for forging direct linkages with African grassroots organizations and diplomatic bodies; and 

 7.        Explore “concrete ways” to meaningfully participate in African initiatives that invite African descendants to return to Africa, specifically Ghana’s Joseph Project, SUCARDIF’s Tower of Return Monument Project, Fihankra International and others.

Papers may also address reparations issues arising out of the Eastern Diaspora, in places such as Arabia and North Afrika, as well as in the Borderlands, in places such as Mauritania and Sudan, where the practice of slavery continues to this day. It is known that some in the Eastern Diaspora are conscious of their Afrikan Nationality. In parts of Africa south of the Sahara evidence exists of past abuse justifying reparations, such as the genocide in South West Afrika/Namibia, and the Maji-Maji repression in Tanzania. All these are matters of concern for the Conference.

The areas outlined above are not exhaustive or mutually exclusive of each other. These are only selected to provide a guide/focus for the Abstracts and Papers to be submitted. In addition, the following “opening plenary topics” and the workshop “mini-themes” will be highlighted during the Conferences:

       Opening Plenary Topics:

·          The Basis for Reparations in International Law: Problems and

 Conflicts in Legal Strategies for Reparations            

·          The Struggle of Afro-descendants for International Human Rights 

·           Preparing for and Shaping the 2007 Discussion Regarding the

            British Empire’s Abolition of the African Slave Trade

·          The Role and Relationship of the IMF, the World Bank, and other “global

            financial institutions” in the Global Reparations Movement 

·          The Role of Transformation in the GPARR Movement

      Conference Workshop Mini-themes:

·          Strategies for Eliminating “Inter-Communal Conflict” on the African Continent

·          Obstacles to A United States Of Africa: Re-Thinking “National Boundaries” and their “Colonial Histories”

·          Exploring the Issue of Afrikan Complicity in the Past and Present Crimes of

the Maangamiz and the Continuing Afrikan Holocaust

·          Exploring and Comparing the African Slave Trade: Arab and European

·          Lessons from the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission

·          The Meaning of Repatriation Within the Context of Pan-Afrikan Reparations

for Global Justice

·          Identifying Plans and Obstacles to Dual Citizenship Issues and Establishing

Positive Repatriation Programs [The Joseph Plan]

·          Diaspora-Back-to-Afrika Resettlement Schemes

·          Exploring the Meaning, Possibilities, and Problems of the African Union’s “Diasporan Secretariats” [Art. 3 (q) of the Amended African Union’s Constitutive Act]

·          Dual Citizenship: First Stage of Repatriation Towards a Global Pan-Afrikan

Citizenship

·          The Critical Role of Pan-Afrikan Education in the Global Reparations Demand:

Strategies for Reclaiming and Redefining African History and Culture

·          Exploring the Myths and Realities of African and Afro-Descendants’ “National

Identities”

·          Confronting Afro-Phobia and Other Mental/Emotional Complexes Arising From

Enslavement and Colonialism: Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome Afflicting

Afrikans and Afro-Descendants

·          The Relationship Between The “Slave/Colonized” Mentality and “Communal

Conflict” Among Africans and Afro-Descendants

·          Religious/Spiritual Healing Within the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Movement

·          The Role of Liberation Theology and Religious Faith in the Pan-Afrikan

Demand for Reparations and Global Justice

·          Promoting Business Partnerships and Opportunities Within the African

Diaspora to Fund Economic Development and Promote The Global Reparations

Movement

·          Exploring the Impact and Relationship Of “Hip-Hop” and the Afro-

Descendant Youth Subculture on the Global Pan-Afrikan Reparations

Movement

·          National Legislative Reparations Initiatives [E.G., HR 40 and Local Reparations

Disclosure Ordinances] and Reparations Campaigns in Specific Countries

of the Continent and the Afrikan Diaspora

·          Understanding the Reparations Movement in South-West Africa [Including Ovaherero Genocide Issue]

·          Understanding the National Reparations Movement in Haiti and Other

Caribbean Island Nations

·          Strategies for Linking the Reparations Struggles ff Afro-Descendants in South

and Central America, Asia, India and The Pacific Islands

·          Ghana As A Case-Study Of The Continuing Impact of the Afrikan Holocaust,

Chattel Slavery, British Colonial and Neocolonial Exploitation

·          African Debt Relief in the Age of Multi-National Corporate Capitalism,

            Economic Globalism and International Finance

·          Zimbabwe: Exploring African Land Reform and Reclaiming Stolen Land As

Just Reparations

·          Exploring the Cuban Revolution and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela and their Significance to the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Movement

·          Advocating Pan-Afrikan Reparations in the World Social Forum and Its

New World Order Affiliates

·          Linking the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Movement With the Reparations Struggles

of Indigenous Peoples Of Color

·          Forging Direct Linkages With African and Afro-Descendant’s

            Grassroots Organizations, the UN, AU, and Other Regional Diplomatic

            Bodies

·          Formulating A Political Ideology for the Global Reparations Movement,

and Developing the Strategy and tactics For Achieving Pan-Afrikan

Reparations 

The final publication of papers will be based on what is submitted and not necessarily on the format of the Call for Papers. Please submit Abstracts, which should not be more than ten (10) lines long and final Papers to:

 Mr. B.F.Bankie, Co-coordinator, Editorial Committee for the Conference

Bankie@mweb.com.na       tel/fax  09 264 61 221279

Deadline for Abstracts is June 15, 2006

Deadline for final Papers is July 15, 2006

For further information on the submission of Abstracts and Papers e-mail:

Bankie@mweb.com.na