This research programme is looking at the politics of xenophobic mobilisation across the continent. This comparative project runs across four countries: South Africa, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
Natural systems are suffering more and more from the increasing pressure of urbanization. Indeed, higher concentrations of people require more space and water than smaller populations. However, to meet the needs of human communities, natural systems on which they depend must be preserved. Protected areas are a common and effective strategy, although this can be particularly complex in urban areas.
For four years (2012-2015), UNPEC, an interdisciplinary program, conducts researches on Cape Town, Mumbai, Nairobi, Rio and their urban parks. In this context, the interdependence between humans and nature may seem obvious, but often, managements of parks and cities are independent activities. UNPEC will seek to understand the implications and consequences of these dynamics.
Led since 2009 by the research department of the French Development Agency (AFD), the programme “Institutions, Governance and Long Term Growth” launched in July 2011 its new South African research component which will be coordinated by IFAS Research. The aim of this programme is to rethink the criteria of “good governance” and institutional quality, by focusing on their effectiveness in economic development processes. The programme is based on the detailed analysis of institutional determinants of growth in countries that have experienced economic take-offs over several decades. It aims at developing a new country-based diagnostic tool combining both institutional and economic analysis in the elaboration of development strategies.
From 2011 to 2014, this research focuses on a topic not yet explored in Africa: the use of biotechnology in the case of medically assisted procreation (MAP). In a growing number of African cities, private clinics are now taking care of infertile couples of the middle classes. And failing to benefit from local treatments, many women and men migrate to other countries in the South or to Western countries. This health mobility is related to the intensification of international relations designated by the phenomenon of globalization, and we seek to define the place of health of reproduction within this phenomenon.
A new research programme in sociolinguistics was launched this year with funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF). It focuses on the paradigms of language teaching in the Foundation Phase. The research will be carried out in township schools in Gauteng and rural schools in Limpopo, in which an African language is the majority home language and English is an additional language / subject. The project aims at assessing the language policy implemented in these schools to see how well learners’ linguistic skills have been developed in both their home language and English by Grade 3. The programme will run for three years and will be coordinated by Michel Lafon, residing researcher in linguistics at IFAS.
Organised and presented with the support of the University of Pretoria, University of Limpopo and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).
