Year 2024

Recording date: 12.06.2024. Moderator: Djouroukoro Diallo. Production: Patricia Teixidor. Music: Intro and outro: “Yadina” (xylophone duet). CD 1. MBUDI MBUDI NA MHANGA- NYMBO ZA WADODO. The Musical Universe of the Wagogo Children from Tanzania. ©PoloVallejo. Musical pauses: Ksu Leer Yi, “Youssoupha Sidibe”; LaFaena, “Primitive Ritual”; Maria de Barros, “Cabinda A Cunene”. Free Music Archive.

Margaret Owuor, Professor of Integrative Biodiversity Conservation Science at the Wyss Academy for Nature, shares in this episode of the Initiative Afrique podcast her insightful views on her role as an African scientist at the University of Bern and the challenges African researchers still face. She believes there is a need for inclusivity in job opportunities and grant processes. She feels that one of her roles as an African researcher is to promote meaningful, fair, and open collaboration. The biggest challenge for her is creating a “safe space” for interactions among African researchers at the University of Bern.

Recording date: 23.05.2024. Moderator: Djouroukoro Diallo. Production: Patricia Teixidor. Music: Intro and outro: “Yadina” (xylophone duet). CD 1. MBUDI MBUDI NA MHANGA- NYMBO ZA WADODO. The Musical Universe of the Wagogo Children from Tanzania. ©PoloVallejo. “Ibn Al andalus”, by Fatimamhedden. Tribe of Noise PRO Bronze licence.

In 2022, Nada El Makhzen arrived in Bern (Switzerland) from Fez (Morocco) to pursue a PhD at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine. In this first episode of the Initiative Afrique Podcast, Nada shared with us the challenges she faced when applying to the University of Bern. Despite the paperwork, she has some encouraging words for any African student wanting to come to Europe: “Do not lose hope, keep up!”. She feels a big responsibility upon her shoulders for being an African scientist at the University of Bern because she “must show that Africans are here, can do a lot and have a scientific mindset”.

Recording date: 06.06.2024. Moderator: Djouroukoro Diallo. Production: Patricia Teixidor. Music: Intro and outro: “Yadina” (xylophone duet). CD 1. MBUDI MBUDI NA MHANGA- NYMBO ZA WADODO. The Musical Universe of the Wagogo Children from Tanzania. ©PoloVallejo. Musical pauses: John Bartmann, “Cuban Heat”; Ugo Mbaise, “Garri Gwu”, “Ofu Iko Mmanya”; Maria de Barros, “Cabinda A Cunene”. Free Music Archive.

Jean Claude Makangara is a medical doctor and researcher from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) who is doing his PhD at the University of Bern in infectious diseases -virology and bioinformatics-. In this episode, he shares with us the multiple challenges he faced when arriving in Bern in 2023, such as the cultural clash that implies living “always close to your watch”! He thinks that studying at the University of Bern represents a huge opportunity for his career and feels like an ambassador of the Congo (the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, DRC). When he finishes his PhD, he plans to go back to his country and continue his work on Ebola and other infectious diseases.

Recording date: 08.08.2024. Moderator: Hugues Abriel. Production: Patricia Teixidor. Music: Intro and outro: "Yadina" (xylophone duet). CD 1. MBUDI MBUDI NA MHANGA- NYMBO ZA WADODO. The Musical Universe of the Wagogo Children from Tanzania. ©PoloVallejo. Musical pauses: Studio Mali - Wake Up - "It's Africa Calling"; John Bartmann, "African Bliss"; Giacomo Forte, "Nairobi"; Serge Cuadrado, "Voronkov - Arabic Action". Free Music Archive.

Djouroukoro Diallo came to Bern in 2007 thanks to a Master's scholarship from the canton for outstanding international students from Mali. He now works as an Associate Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Language and Society (CSLS) and is the coordinator of the Initiative Afrique. A few critical issues came out in this interview. He wants to contribute to showing a better image of Africa and considers himself a "minister" of the African continent. He firmly believes that Initiative Afrique is a welcome opportunity to better integrate all people of African origin into the University of Bern. He thinks we should focus on decolonisation, expanding funding opportunities and establishing partnerships for the future.

Recording date: 07.08.2024. Moderator: Djouroukoro Diallo. Production: Patricia Teixidor. Music: Intro and outro: "Yadina" (xylophone duet). CD 1. MBUDI MBUDI NA MHANGA- NYMBO ZA WADODO. The Musical Universe of the Wagogo Children from Tanzania. ©PoloVallejo. Musical pauses: Habib Koite, "Barra"; Sere Quadrado, "Brazilian"; Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Ségal, "Niadou". Free Music Archive.

Frank Mintah is a PhD Researcher at the Institute of Geography, University of Bern. He holds a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in Planning (Urban Planning and Land Governance) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. During this episode, he shared invaluable input about what activities Initiative Afrique could promote to offer extra value to African students. He mentioned career orientation programs, capacities, skills development, tailored to the African landscape and transferable skills. The most critical point for him is how Initiative Afrique could support African researchers in moving beyond publishing a paper in a scientific journal. How can policies be impacted once they return to their countries of origin?

Recording date: 07.08.2024. Moderator: Hugues Abriel. Production: Patricia Teixidor. Music: Intro and outro: "Yadina" (xylophone duet). CD 1. MBUDI MBUDI NA MHANGA- NYMBO ZA WADODO. The Musical Universe of the Wagogo Children from Tanzania. ©PoloVallejo. Musical pauses: Tim Taj, "Desert Mysteries"; John Bovey, "Desert Days on Earth"; "Ethiopia". Free Music Archive.

Prof. Zerihun Tadele is a group leader in Crop Breeding and Genomics at the Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern. He has a long history as a scientist at UniBE, 21 years! He is currently working on a HORIZON project called “Booster” involving 12 countries, among which is his country of origin, Ethiopia. It aims to improve drought tolerance in both maize and teff, while simultaneously exploring the potential for transferring species-specific drought responsive features. With this project, they are connecting Africa and Europe. For him, Initiative Afrique brings assets not only to Africans but also to friends of Africa! His advice to new African students arriving in Bern is to adapt to the working conditions and be open to integrating oneself into a team.

Recording date: 26.09.2024. Moderator: Djouroukoro Diallo. Production: Patricia Teixidor. Music: Intro and outro: "Yadina" (xylophone duet). CD 1. MBUDI MBUDI NA MHANGA- NYMBO ZA WADODO. The Musical Universe of the Wagogo Children from Tanzania. ©PoloVallejo. Musical pauses: Habib Koite, "Barra"; Sere Quadrado, "Brazilian"; Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Ségal, "Niadou". Free Music Archive.

Samuel Agyekum is a PhD student at the Institute of Geography, University of Bern. He holds an MSc in Urban Environmental Management (Land Use Planning) from Wageningen University and Research (The Netherlands). He arrived in Bern one and a half years ago after pursuing his bachelor's at Copenhagen as an Erasmus student and an MSc in the Netherlands. He was born in Kumasi, one of the largest cities in Ghana, one of the few anglophone countries in the region. He feels that as an African scientist at the University of Bern, he has an epistemic responsibility to transmit true claims about his domain of research between Africa and Europe, while at the same time, he has a social responsibility to align his research towards “desirable” ends and democratically held values. About promoting exchanges among UniBe and African institutions, he reminds us of a Ghanaian proverb: “The path paver is not always aware that his back is crooked”, so you often need people by your side or behind you to steer collaborative processes. Inviting scholars from Africa to share their knowledge about how things work in their countries is one of the steps to achieving this collaboration. He thinks that Initiative Afrique is a good starting point as a platform where African researchers can discuss common issues, always keeping in mind that “we should not be in a bubble”.