Call for the General Assembly in june 2024
Dear CSA Community,
I hope this message finds you doing well and looking forward to the summer.
There are several updates that the CSA Executive Committee would like to share with you.
Over the last three months, the Executive Committee has been meeting to clarify our roles, develop our priorities, implement administrative processes, and form a CSA panel for the African Studies Conference scheduled for December 2024. As a dynamic team, we are excited to share with you the following outcomes:
–Officer roles clarified
–Quarterly objectives set
–CSA panel accepted for the ASA conference, titled Congo Global Perspectives: Establishing Truth and Agendas from the Eye of the Beholder (check the ASA website for details on the program schedule)
–Drafted our organizational website which is under design by a web designer (feel free to send pictures from past CSA conferences)
–Designed our organization logo
We are also working to strengthen our organizational capacity by applying to become a Coordinate Organization at the ASA. This institutional affiliation will support our membership functions and give us a stronger visibility.
As we brainstorm ways to strengthen engagement with scholars and communities in Congo, which is one of our key objectives, we want to take advantage of the presence of three CSA Executive Committee members in Congo in July to host a panel event to introduce the Congolese Studies Association in Kinshasa. The event will take place on Saturday, July 6th, 2024, at the Andrée Blouin Cultural Center in Kinshasa. We are excited to build on the partnership with the Center that we launched July 2023 through a women’s leadership event that we co-hosted at that time. The upcoming event — under the theme of « Consolider les connaissances, les talents, et l’unité pour un Congo fort » — will consist of a formal panel and will serve as an opportunity to mobilize scholars, activists, young people and local residents to join the Association. We are fortunate that Stella Wankamba, CSA Secretary-Treasurer, is in Kinshasa at the moment and leading the logistics. We will share a flyer on the event very soon, and invite you to attend if you will be in Kinshasa during that time, and to invite your networks.
Furthermore, we are also reaching out to you as valued members to help the Executive Committee in making this first of its kind event in Kinshasa, Congo a reality, through your generous contribution of $25.00-$50.00. This financial support will enable us to cover venue costs, materials production, refreshments, and other related expenses. Please respond to this email for details, and thank you in advance for your support.
Before we travel, we want to hold a general assembly to hear from you and have a conversation about the above initiatives as well as other ideas you might have to strengthen the Congolese Studies Association.
We plan to meet on June 23rd at 3 pm EST. Please be on the lookout for a Zoom registration announcement.
Thanks in advance for joining us on the 23rd, and we look forward to hearing your ideas.
Sincerely,
Muadi Mukenge, M.A.
President, Congolese Studies Association