Events

Once again we are on the verge of a food crisis, and still nearly a billion people do not have enough to eat. To fight this injustice, we will need everyone’s involvement. With the G-20 meeting of agriculture ministersfast approaching, Ismaïl Serageldin, holder of the Collège’s chair Knowledge against Poverty-AFD, is gathering eminent scientists, practitioners, philosophers and politicians for a exchange on solutions on how we might end this plague.

Such luminaries as Peter Doherty and Wole Soyinga, Nobel laureates in medicine and literature respectively ; Yolanda Kakabadse, Chair of WWF International ; David Beckmann, Chairman of Bread for the world and Jim Wolfensohn, former Director general of the World Bank, will be on hand to discuss their ideas for a global plan to eradicate hunger.

A variety of perspectives to support the ideas that Prof. Serageldin laid out at the end of his inaugural lecture, inviting us to become the “new abolitionists.”

19-20 May 2011

To abolish hunger 

 Collège de France, 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris

Admission free, but seating limited

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This exhibition aims to give a new vision of Southern countries and break away from the image that is too often associated with them. The photos on show highlight both the challenges and solutions for development. They feature projects, highlight the results they achieve and depict the involvement of Southern partners.

Listen to Nolwenn Bodo, the "Objectif Développement" exposition coordinator

These life stories are presented through open cubes showing the different facets of development and remind us how we are all today responsible for this fast-changing world.

Discover the "Objectif Développement" website

To mark the publication of the Working Paper The Challenges of Making Good Use of Electricity: China, India, USA and European Union, the authors will be presenting the main results, in particular:

- the description of the features that make electricity a special case and the different criteria for making a “good use” of it,

- the review of electricity consumption in China and India and how it is changing by comparing it to two major geographical areas: the USA and European Union,

- the potential for and prospects of a “good use” of electricity in China and India for each of the main socioeconomic sectors with their consequences on the environment, natural resources protection and the economies of these countries,

- the most important challenges for making a good use of electricity over the coming decades in China and India.

Electricity, a noble product that is essential to development

Electricity is a noble product and has become core to the development of societies. However, its production, transport and distribution require heavy investments whereas production yields remain low or poor.

All of the energies used to produce electricity have drawbacks to a greater or lesser extent at both the local and global level. In the near future, it will not be possible to rely on renewable energies to produce sufficient quantities of cheap electricity which are essential for development.

In the face of the social, economic and environmental importance of making a good use of this energy vehicle, particularly in emerging countries such as China and India, it appeared important to AFD to devote a specific study to electricity by intentionally devoting it to electricity demand rather than its production.

Speakers

Benjamin Dessus is an engineer and economist. He is a recognized specialist in energy issues, particularly nuclear energy (Charpin-Dessus-Pellat report relating to the Forward-looking economic study on the nuclear energy industry, 2000). He has published a number of works that are within the reach of the general public, including So Watt? Energy: a Matter for Citizens (2004); Energy: a Global Issue (1996); Energy Strategies for Sustainable Development (1993).

Bernard Laponche is a freelance consultant and an expert in energy and energy management policies. In recent years he has, for example, worked with AFD in China and Tunisia. He is the co-author of “Energy Management for a Viable World” and the author of “Managing Energy Consumption”.

Par cette saisissante allégorie François Emmanuel ouvre peu à peu le champ de la conscience dans une langue vibrante et visuelle dont les résonances ébranlent sourdement les fondements de notre rapport au monde.

François Emmanuel vit en Belgique. Il est l’auteur d’une quinzaine de romans parmi lesquels « La Passion Savinsen », « La Question Humaine » qui a récemment été portée à l’écran et « Regarde la vague » publié au Seuil en 2007.

Prix Littéraire de l’AFD (ex. Prix Tropiques) : célébrer les cultures

Le Prix Littéraire de l'Agence Française de Développement (AFD) récompense chaque année un écrivain pour l’éclairage qu’il apporte sur les pays du Sud ou les collectivités d’Outre-mer. Ce prix souligne l’attachement de l’AFD aux cultures de ces géographies dans lesquelles elle intervient et l'implication de ses collaborateurs auprès de ces populations. Ce prix exprime enfin l’importance accordée au développement dans toutes ses dimensions, y compris culturelle.

A propos de l’AFD

Etablissement public, l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD) agit depuis soixante-dix ans pour combattre la pauvreté et favoriser le développement dans les pays du Sud et dans l’Outre-mer. Elle met en œuvre la politique définie par le Gouvernement français.  

Présente sur le terrain dans plus de 50 pays et dans 9 collectivités d’Outre-mer, l’AFD finance et accompagne des projets qui améliorent les conditions de vie des populations, soutiennent la croissance économique et protègent la planète : scolarisation, santé maternelle, appui aux agriculteurs et aux petites entreprises, adduction d’eau, préservation de la forêt tropicale, lutte contre le réchauffement climatique…

En 2010, l’AFD a consacré plus de 6,8 milliards d’euros au financement d’actions dans les pays en développement et émergents et en faveur de l’Outre-mer. Ils contribueront à la scolarisation de 13 millions d’enfants, l’amélioration de l’approvisionnement en eau potable pour 33 millions de personnes et l’octroi de microcrédits bénéficiant à un peu plus de 700 000 personnes. Les projets d’efficacité énergétique sur la même année permettront d’économiser près de 5 millions de tonnes de CO₂ par an.

  www.afd.fr

Contacts presse :

Laure WEISGERBER – 01 53 44 30 57 – weisgerberl@afd.fr

Natacha DREUX – 01 58 65 01 42 – ndreux@hospcotch.fr

"Moral Economy and the changing face of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa"
The review Afrique contemporaine is pleased to invite you to a Conference-debate  

On Thursday 10 March 2011 from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm
 
At Agence Française de Développement (AFD) - Jacques Alliot Conference Room
7, rue Roland Barthes - 75012 PARIS
M° Gare de Lyon

In the presence of: Jean-Bernard Veron, Editor-in-chief of the review Afrique contemporaine, Jean-Louis Triaud, Professor Emeritus of History of Africa at Aix-en-Provence University, Leonardo A. Villalón, Director of the Center for African Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida (USA) and Abdel Wedoud Ould Cheikh, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Metz.

The Islam practiced in Africa is experiencing profound changes, on a scale similar to the economic and political transformations taking place in contemporary African societies. What are the mainsprings of these changes? Do the economic networks that are part of the globalized space allow Islam to change? How to be part of a globalized market economy and, at the same time, remain true to the principles of Islam?

Afrique contemporaine seeks to analyze the interactions between economy and religion in a special publication gathering the world’s top specialists (Triaud, Villalón, Ousmane Kane, Østebø, Ould Cheikh, Ould Bah, Guillermet) and gives the keys to understanding the new forms of organization and financing of contemporary Islam.

The conference will present and discuss the published articles, which provide an opportunity to travel between New York, Mecca, N'Djamena, Douala, Cairo, Nouakchott, Pemba, Niamey and Johannesburg, to follow the movements of preachers, pilgrims, travelling salesmen, trinkets made in China and Islamic financing. The authors encounter Muslim associations, mosque management committees, women’s organizations, academic groups and commercial networks and show that transformations in Islam are made possible by a moralization of the economy. In return, the economic and financial exchanges transform Islam and this, in turn, is taken on board by Africa’s local societies.  

Register for the Conference

Speakers at the symposium:

• Carlos BRAGA, Special Representative and Director of the World Bank
• Etienne VIARD, Chief Executive Officer of Proparco
• Lionel ZINSOU, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PAI Partners
• Michel ROY, Director of the International Lobbying and Advocacy Department at Secours Catholique
• Bénédicte HERMELIN, Vice-President of Coordination Sud
• Jean-Luc FRANCOIS, Director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Division at AFD
• Alphonse YAPI-DIAHOU, lecturer in urban geography at Paris 8 University