Winterschool 'China in Africa', Wroclaw University (Poland), 14-19 December

The Institute of International Studies (University of Wroclaw) and Fatal Transactions are pleased to announce the Winter School on "China in Africa: challenges and opportunities" for students from countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The Winterschool will take place 14-19 December, 2009. This is a second edition of the Fatal Transactions workshop.

The first “school” took place in September 2007 and has met with a huge success. It gathered 30 students from Central European universities who had an opportunity to interact with scholars and instructors from Africa, Western Europe and United States. The upcoming Winter School will also focus on contemporary problems of Africa, but this time the overarching theme will be rapidly growing engagement of China in the continent, which is particularly pronounced in the natural resources sector. The Winter School’s departure point will be the international conference "China’s quest for African resources: the new scramble or strategic partnership?" taking place in Wroclaw, December 14-15, where the key issues related to the topic will be introduced to the participants.

China’s appetite for Africa’s riches have risen many concerns among academics, NGOs and Western politicians. It has equally brought hopes for the continent’s long-awaited development and poverty alleviation. The Winter School will be designed to explore the phenomenon of China’s push into Africa, its benefits and costs, political and economic ramifications for the continent’s future.

For more information download the announcement of the Winterschool here >