UNDP Africa Bureau Professional Development Course 2023
The Center for African Studies at Howard University, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa Bureau, is offering a 4-week professional development course on Humanitarian Security for practitioners and graduate students in Summer 2023.
International humanitarian security is a contested concept that has given rise to many debates over its meaning and application. The objectives of this course are three-fold. First, students will be familiarized with the major concepts, debates and challenges that exist in the field. Secondly, students will be introduced to a standard set of guidelines used by international humanitarian organizations to manage safety and security risks. Finally, students will be exposed to the practice of security risk management through a decision based simulation exercise drawn from a real-world event.
Course Format
Tuesdays & Wednesdays: asynchronous reading materials and assignments
Thursdays at 12pm EDT: live virtual sessions (synchronous)
About the Center
The Center for African Studies (CfAS) at Howard University is a comprehensive Title VI National Resource Center and a campus-wide hub that supports and enhances Africa-related teaching and research across Howard University’s schools, academic departments and centers. In accordance with the mission and vision of Howard University, the Center works to consolidate and expand the legacy of HU as a leader for America and the global community in relation to the study of Africa. The Center promotes and supports teaching of African languages (Amharic, Arabic, Somali, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba and Zulu) in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, as well as research, instruction and training in other academic and professional fields to provide a fuller understanding of Africa.
History
Africa, Africans, and people of African descent are central to the vision and of Howard University since its inception in 1867. Howard University (HU) is a minority serving institution whose commitment to African Studies is strong and longstanding. Since the formal establishment of a graduate program in African Studies in 1953 and an undergraduate program in 1991, HU has consistently provided substantial financial, material and other support to the Department of African Studies, the core of Africans Studies at HU, as well as other academic and professional units that do Africa related teaching and research. HU scholars such as William Leo Hansberry, Carter G. Woodson, Alain Locke, Rayford Logan, Kelly Miller, Dorothy Porter, Ralph J. Bunche, E. Franklin Frazier, Melville Herskovitz, Leon Damas, Sulayman Nyang, Ronald Walters, Robert Cummings and countless others played key roles in establishing and developing Africa related interdisciplinary study at HU. In 1969, Howard University became the first university in the United States to offer a Ph.D. in African Studies. The Center for African Studies (CfAS) at Howard University, established in 2014, is heir to this glorious heritage and legacy.