Dear Colleagues, Greetings,
I accept my nomination by Professeur David Robinson FOR ELECTION to the H-Net Council.
I am a Researcher at the French "Centre National de la recherche Scientifique", working in Senegal since 1966. My work has concerned with the history of Senegal, particularly on the history of health during 15 last years, elong with the right to health and the issues of medical ethics for the last five years. Some of my publications on AIDS appeared in "Africa Online Digital Library" (AODL managed by MATRIX), and the majority of the others - not only those which relate to AIDS, but also on historical and anthropological subjects - will be accessible soon on the sites of the Department of history of Dakar, CODESRIA and SIDANET. I am thus very committed in projects aiming at developing Internet sites in Africa diffusing scientific content, while preserving older scientific publications and activities in traditional formats.
For three years I have been the lead editor for H-West-Africa which has experienced a noticeable expansion and counts now more than 600 members. The participation of African researchers has been strenghthened considerably, but even more efforts are essential, to support a broader participation of African colleagues. The establishment of the editorship in Africa, and the management of this forum from Dakar, in connection with the University CheikH Anta Diop and the West African Research Center have made a big difference in these advances.
For management of HWA, i have taken various initiatives during these years, reaching several major objectives: - to better disseminate information and the results of research undertaken in Africa, and especially in the Universities and the research centers established in West Africa ; - to support discussion from the African and many other perspectives, including the perspectives of political history, anthropology, sciences, human rights, demography, linguistics, sciences of religions, social sciences of health, etc. - to propose content and to initiate exchanges between anglophone and francophone researchers. - to support and encourage the participation of researchers of the continent in the current debates, by relaying information on the international manifestations, meetings, conferences and publications of the members.
As one can note by a qualitative analysis of the contents published during last years on HWA, it was possible thanks to these initiatives to promote an active policy of collaboration and exchanges of messages between the sister lists devoted to Africa, which can undoubtedly improve further. But more largely, bonds were created with several other H-Net thematic lists like H-Environment, H-History of Sexuality, H-Slavery, H-Science, Medicine & Technics, H-Atlantic, H-Migration, H-Migration, H-Law. Extremely enriching discussions were developed and made it possible to gather contributions on several topics, to constitute "collections" starting from the exchanges between members of various H-Net lists.
Following these initiatives, and in order to reinforce them, my participation in THE H-Net Council should thus help considerably to continue these efforts to disseminate more information relating to history and African societies, to develop the sharing of knowledge between researchers and to also contribute to take initiatives, in strong connection with H-Net, to create in Africa poles of creation and diffusion of knwoledge and scientific materials in electronic form.
I thus wish to take part in the Council of H-Net to make new proposals there and especially to ensure a representation of Africa in the Council, that in order to also request efficient support, and, above all, to ensure a larger and a better representation of Africa in the scientific debates and reflection on the common future of the world.
