Monday May 19th
08.30 at AGITEL, a smart engineering and business school started in the 1990s by the man who – today – has been made Minister of Industry. This private school, with strict rules and a uniform of blue blazer and blue-yellow striped ties (for both men and women) has 1200 students in its full-time education cycle of three years for a first degree, with a possibility of a Master’s thereafter. Three years ago they switched from the French system, to adopt the international “LMD” used in the USA: Licence, Master, Doctor.In addition, AGITEL has 400 students following evening courses, which allow professionals to upgrade their qualifications while still working. They can earn credits as they go along, allowing them to take as much time as they need to graduate.
The current Director-General (replacing His Excellency the minister) is Colonel Sorry Bamba, a retired marine engineer who received us graciously in his office, and led us to the plenary hall in front of 250 students in their smart blue blazers. Each of the VCU students stood bravely in front of this massive (but very friendly) audience, and gave their name and their area of study. So each was forced both to be brave, and then also to be fluent in French. VCU was represented proudly! It became clear from the presentations (by professors, and by student leaders in the various areas of study) that the Ivoirian students were very excited by the VCU visit, and very well briefed about the university. Where does VCU excel? Well, definitely in the arts – VCU is No 1 in the USA for this; and in medicine (VCU is always in the top 50); and in other areas such as the life sciences, business and engineering.
Why, we were asked, did VCU have a campus in Qatar ! Well, you do not get that sort of question from someone who has done no prior research ! The audience was interested in the origins of VCU, with the fusion of medicine and the arts (VCU’s reputation in the latter explains why there is a VCU arts campus in Qatar).
Dr RE Poulton was then asked to give an address. He took as his theme the book by Ernst Schumacher Small is Beautiful: a study of economics as if people really mattered. Everyone, he said, has ambitions and they do not need to be huge ambitions to become important. The global economy is composed of myriads of small projects, each one following the logic of its own commercial or cultural environment. This is the true meaning of the American Dream. The individualism of US society has its strengths and weaknesses; so to does the family-community structure of West African society. President Barack Obama’s career provides s great example of improbable success into an American Dream. The smart thing for AGITEL students to do, is to seek to draw out the best from each system and culture: to create their own personal fusion of the best they can find, in order to fulfil their own personal dream. Start small, said Dr Poulton, for Small is Beautiful. But if you can articulate your ambition, and harvest your skills and energies successfully, each one of you can have a dream, and bring that dream to fruition.
The organiser of our trip, Mr Sadiku, then built on Poulton’s remarks to encourage ambition and vision among the students. He asked how many students wished to pursue heir studies in Africa (2); in the Arab lands (1); in Asia (a dozen); in Europe (a score); in American (150 hands went up immediately).
It became suddenly apparent that the cultural visit for six VCU students had become a vast public relations success for VCU and the opportunity for the university to receive and education African students. Many already come to VCU for English language training; but here we are dealing with the business and engineering children of affluent Ivoirian middle-class professionals.
The VCU students were then kidnapped by the various student associations, for one-on-three discussions about life in America and on their first (very favorable) reactions to Ivory Coast…. Before lunch in the AGITEL staff canteen where we were treated to chicken with rice of friend plantain or atieke, the coucous-like speciality of the Ivoirian coast made from manioc. And after lunch they were kidnapped again: this time to visit a clinic for a compulsory lecture on tetanus, polio and malaria ! The group is being well cared-for, and their medical vocabulary has been enriched.
In the afternoon at 4pm, a discussion was organized around the gender distribution of tasks in an Ivoirian household. Mlle Sefora Kodjo of the NGO CEFIS attended as expert witness on “l’implication des jeunes dans l’organisation du foyer.”
The question of ‘maids’ had somewhat concerned some of the VCU students, who are not used to young girls carrying their luggage and serving their food. Sefora explained that while some are simply ‘hired hands’, mostly in Abidjan you will find family members who have come from the village to earn a bit of money, and to be trained in the new ways of urban living and urban cooking (often they are girls who did not have the opportunity to attend school). The VCU students were encouraged to learn the names of the young girls in their household, and to call them by name as a sign of friendship and respect. You can also praise their cooking , and ask them to show you how they made such a delicious sauce.
Gender equality and schooling for girls is a campaign that is led, in Ivory Coast, by the president’s wife; but it also a worldwide movement.
The status of women is intimately linked to their economic contribution, and even to their capacity to attain economic independence: but the husband will always be Head of the Family. All the Ivoirian girls agreed with this statement, although some of the Americans were surprised at the insistence on a family Head.
Tuesday 20th started with visites médicales
AGITEL one time had a French student visitor who got sick with dysentery. Since then, they are determined to make sure that their visitors see a doctor so that they know him (or her) and so that their own medical advisor gives the students a good examination. The VCU students seemed quite pleased : they felt ‘looked after’ and ‘cared for’. It so happens that Minsun Kim had turned over her ankle in Paris, and so the doctor took a look at her mild sprain. He recommended an X-ray, and his patient immediately lost her prescription. Never mind, the clinic was happy to issue a duplicate.Dr Poulton was asked on what subject he would like to lecture? He asked what the audience would be… students of what age-group and studying what subjects? This question had not been considered. Later it transpired that he might have to lecture for three hours tomorrow morning (THREE HOURS ?!) on the subject of what America brings to Africa, and what Africa can bring to America.
LUNCH was spectacular. Yellow Foufou and Achiéké made respectively from banana mash and cassava mash, and cooked with palm oil (hence the color) making them both delicious and fattening. Served with fish soup (pike cooked in a sauce flavored with pounded smoked fish) it was delicious. Stil, Amanda did persuade one of the cooks to turn up with an additional plate of fried potatoes (most of which Luke downed at tremendous speed, like he was in a race… which he was, because we had been summoned to a dance party).
The Communications and Human Resource department had a graduation party.
In the afternoon we visited the arts school
Wednesday 21st
9.00h The VCU students were in various AGITEL classes, while DR RE Poulton gave a class to the 30 members of the Master’s student class (Master II) on the USA and Africa:Les différences entre l’Afrique et l’Amérique
et ce qu’il faut savoir comme jeune Africain destiné à vivre (que vous voulez ou non!) à l’ombre de l’influence des Etats Unis d’Amérique – de Macky TALL
1. Les relations des Américains avec leur famille et leur identité
2. Les relations de la personne avec la société américaine
3. Les relations de l’individu avec une économie globalisée
He has been asked to give the same talk to the undergraduates in the main lecture hall, sometime next week. So presumably it was OK.
Noon: Aminata Traoré then came in to lecture on female genital mutilation and to promote her book Le Couteau brulan (an autobiographical novel). She is author, researcher and activist who was herself excised at the age of 8. She is in a cycle of conferences in Abidjan, sponsored by the French embassy.
The first slide shows a small girl’s unhappy face, partly hidden behind a razor blade. The rest of the pictures were worse. There is no doubt that VCU has gained a new awareness of this problem and a new insight into threats to the rights of women.
Elle ne lutte pas contre une ‘tradition’ mais contre une pratique, contre une violence. Auj on fait des vaccinations, on accouche à la maternité, ce que nos ancêtres ne faisaient pas: donc arrêtons la MGF! Elle a sauvé les filles de sa famille et elle a convaincu de nombreuses exciseuses à arrêter.
C’est devenu du commerce et les parties rituelles disparaissent: le clitoris est vendu 10 000; les petites lèvres à 5000; le sang des excisées est collecté et vendu – tout cela pour les raisons occultes, réduits en poudre et exploités pour le maraboutisme.
Il y aura bientôt un long-métrage; elle étudie avec UNICEF la création d’une bande dessinée; elle attend avec la délégation VCU une traduction en anglais. (!)
As a result of this appeal, Minsun Kim and Amanda Radke announced that they would translate Aminata’s book, and Michelle Poulton will give them support. That is an exciting VCU project in prospect.
In the afternoon we visited the National Museum of Arts and Culture where we saw some spectacular masks – including those that changed the course of Western art when Picasso and Braque saw African masks and invented Cubism. There was also an amazing display of bronze weights, of every size and shape and creativity, that were used during the medieval period and afterwards for weighing gold: for the Ivory Coast in just next to the Gold Coast. We are due to visit a gold mine this weekend near Yamoussoukro.
Meanwhile “tous les enfants” as they say at AGITEL, have received African names. They may very well receive a new set of Malian names in a couple of weeks, but right now they have Ivorian (mostly Akan) names:
Taron Kwakou
Luke Kwame
Amada Coco
Lindsey Dewin
Minsun Aïssata
Samantha Ramata
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