While conflict situations in Africa have received significant scholarly and media attention in recent decades, less attention has been paid to the long tradition of peacemaking that kept its societies in peaceful equilibrium. This conference seeks to examine successful handling of potential conflicts that have been resolved in their early stages, as well as the range of ancient, historic and contemporary tools for mediation. WARA/WARC invites proposals on traditional and contemporary methods of avoiding and resolving conflicts in the past and the present.

Migration is a rich and controversial field, relevant for current political, sociological and media debates. In a globalized world, characterized by increasing cultural diversity and societal complexity, discussions about migration, integration, assimilation and (inter)cultural identity, call for a nuanced and in-depth discussion of the way in which people with different cultural backgrounds (try to and have to) live together and shape their cultural self-understanding. A comprehensive and thorough insight in these matters asks for a study of their long term development, and thus for a multifaceted historical perspective. The acknowledgment of this necessity forms the starting point and scientific backbone of the conference.

Alors que Nouadhibou vient de vivre son premier siècle d’existence, aucun ouvrage n’est encore dédié à la ville. Les articles mêmes sont rares. Ce projet de publication ambitionne de combler cette lacune. Nous nous efforcerons de rassembler 15 à 20 articles en français, de chercheurs issus de disciplines et de pays divers sur des aspects multiples de la réalité urbaine de la seconde ville mauritanienne. Partant de travaux de recherche menés actuellement dans le cadre du programme PACOBA , Mohammed Said ould Ahmedou, historien et directeur du Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches Historiques à l’Université de Nouakchott, et Benjamin Acloque, anthropologue rattaché au Laboratoire d’Anthropologie Sociale du Collège de France, chargés de la direction de la publication, cherchent à élargir le panel des contributeurs et les sujets abordés. La sortie du livre est espérée en 2010.