Deadline: 2 April 2012
A special academic meeting presenting a flag-ship cultural practice and celebration for University scholars, researchers and lovers of culture interested in studying and experiencing unique rural/small urban communal festivals as a part of the global conversation on cultural renaissance
Organised by the League of Ogori Professors (LOP) as a Prelude to the 2012 Annual Ovia-Osese Festival
Facilitated by the Association of African Universities (AAU) and The Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan Ogori, Kogi State of Nigeria . Friday, 20 April, 2012.
Venue: National Open University of Nigeria Community Study Centre, Ogori
TARGET PARTICIPANTS
- Scholars and researchers in African Studies, history, language and linguistics, anthropology, cultural studies, women studies, African-American studies, and sociology of rural and communal studies.
- Institutes/Centres/Faculties of African/Cultural/African-American/Afro-Caribbean history Studies.
- Federal and State Government Ministries/Departments of Tourism and Culture especially senior officials involved in internationalisation of cultural activities of rural and small urban communities.
- All those interested in cultural music, dance and folklores, socialization of women and puberty development and celebrations.
- Cultural tourists.
REGISTRATION FEES
The registration fee of USD$50 for participants from outside of Africa or Naira5,000 from within Africa includes
- Attendance at the Symposium
- Symposium bag
- Copy of the Symposium programme and book of abstracts
- Lunch and morning/afternoon coffee breaks
EXPERT SPEAKERS
Language/linguistics; cultural, African, Women Studies and other invited expert speakers from the USA, UK, Africa and the Caribbean.
SYNOPSIS
Nestled snugly at the foot of three magnificent hills which rise steeply into the sky, crested sometimes by the cool and refreshing morning mist, the sleepy town of Ogori has a long and distinguished history. It lies roughly at the intersection of longitude 6° 7” E and latitude 7° 30”N. It is located at the extreme south-west region of Kogi State and shares a border with Edo State. Its uniqueness has tripartite intersections: its culture; its language, called Oko which Ogori and Magongo are the only communities on this planet who speak and understand it and; the importance of education. The Ogori people’s precocious affinity for education has produced, in relation to its size and population, the largest number of professors by square kilometre in Nigeria. (Askari, 1969; Apata, 1986; Adegbija, 1994; Atoyebi, 2010).
One of the cultural icons of Ogori is the Ovia-Osese festival, an annual celebration of the attainment of womanhood by girls whose parents, peers, friends, clans, community and well wishers celebrate this significant cultural and moral attainment. It was a taboo for a girl to get pregnant, let alone marry before her Ovia-Osese. In the olden days, if this occurred the family is ostracized and the girl loses her respect and integrity in the community (Sofola, 1986; Adegoke, 2001). The celebration is accompanied by a week-long activities which include lessons in homemaking, motherhood, music, drumming, dancing, feasting and thanksgiving services at the various mosques and churches in Ogoriland.
Over the years, the Ovia-Osese has become the flagship of the Ogori people and a major mark of the identity of Ogoriland in the global scene. The ceremony and festival have become an international event having attracted tourists from the Unites States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany and South America. Many Nigerians have made it a tourist Mecca and the MTN has supported and participated in the Ovia-Osese festival for several years now.
As their own contributions to the Ovia-Osese festival, the League of Ogori Professors (LOP) made a pronouncement at the 2011 festival that they would add and integrate an academic dimension through an international Symposium to further expose Ogori culture to the world. The first International Symposium on Ogori Culture and People marks a part of the 2012 Ovia-Osese Festival with a view to making it an annual event for scholars, researchers and lovers of culture to form a seamless blend with the community celebrations of an identity of a people whose culture has become a household of knowledge generation, teaching and learning in many parts of the world.
SYMPOSIUM PROGRAMME
International expert speakers and researchers will address the uniqueness of culture as an identity of peoples all over the world. Researchers and teachers of Ogori culture and language will present vital information about the special nature of the Ogori community and people, in relation to the visibility of the culture and language in a global context. Emerging needs and issues of honorary citizenships for Africans in diapora and Afro American and Afro-Caribbean relatives and, their impact on cultural studies worldwide will be of interest to the Symposium.
Symposium Theme: Culture: An Indispensable and Enduring Identity of a People
- Sub-Theme1: History, Sociology and Anthropology
- Sub-Theme2: Language, Literature, Women Studies
- Sub-Theme3: Music, Dance and Folklores
Within the guidance of the above theme and sub-themes, the sessions will explore and discuss issues and trends in:
- Strategic development and use of culture an identity
- Achieving cultural renaissance through branding of unique festivals in rural and small urban communities in Africa
- Building partnerships with other researchers and workers in the field of cultural, women and African studies
- Enhancing the role of research and knowledge generation in the perpetuation of cultures whose existence and language are threatened by Western cultures and assimilation.
- Attracting international scholars, researchers, faculty and students.
Presentation of case studies will be welcome. The Symposium will conclude with a panel discussion and participation from the audience on how the One-day Symposium can achieve annual global event calendar and status; how higher education institutions can own and identify with the Ovia-Osese festival as an avenue for the contemporary academic celebration of studies in Culture, African and Women studies; and how individuals from the diaspora can identify and adopt cultural communities as honorary members.
Very limited, but excellent papers, selected by an international panel of assessors, will be invited for presentation. All those interested should send their papers, to reach the under listed, on or before Monday, 2nd of April, 2012. A turn-around time of no more than 72hrs will apply on the assessment of each paper from date of receipt. The Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria will publish a special edition of their international journal, African Notes, based on the papers presented at the Symposium.
It will be a case of first come, first accepted.
INVITATION TO ATTEND AND PRESENT PAPERS
The general public is invited to express interest in attendance and or presenting papers at the One-day Symposium. Please send your expression of interest or full paper to any of the under listed. The full Symposium programme will be sent to confirmed participants by Monday, April 9, 2012.
Participants may wish to consider attending and participating in the Ovia-Osese Festival and Dance of the Maidens on Saturday, April 21, 2012. Information on accommodation will be sent to those who are interested.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: secgen@aau.org, tellohio@yahoo.com, alexodaibo@yahoo.com
For submissions: secgen@aau.org, tellohio@yahoo.com, alexodaibo@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.aau.org