·OSSREA has continued with its tradition of producing its publications in association with well-known international publishers based in the North. For instance, two such publications were produced in association with Pluto Press and International Books in 2001.

3. WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES AND REGIONAL MEETINGS

3.1 National Workshops

3.1.1 National Workshop in South Africa

OSSREA organized two consecutive workshops from 19-20 March 2001 and from 21-22 March 2001 in Johannesburg, in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS). The first workshop focused on the theme of "Developing Sustainable Economic Capacity for Social Science Research in Africa". This workshop was attended by a number of regional networks who discussed in detail the issue of sustainability. The Executive Secretary of OSSREA and the Director of CASAS facilitated this workshop and moderated the discussions.

The second workshop focused on the theme of "The State of Social Sciences and Humanities Research in South Africa: Looking Forward". This workshop was organized by OSSREA, with logistical support from CASAS. Some eight papers were presented and discussed at the workshop. In addition, the workshop aimed at establishing and organizing an OSSREA National Chapter in South Africa. Seventeen participants who came from all over the country representing the major historically disadvantaged universities attended the workshop. In this workshop, some time was devoted to the discussion of the establishment of the OSSREA Chapter and the possible facilitation of OSSREA's activities by CASAS. Ms. Mochaki Sonti Masipa of the University of the North was elected as a Liaison Officer for the Chapter and three additional persons were nominated to serve with her as a Chapter Committee. The second workshop was also attended by Dr. Evelyn Sandra Pangeti, President of OSSREA.

3.1.2 Kenya Chapter's National Workshop

The Kenya Chapter of OSSREA held its national workshop from 28-31 March 2001 at Stem Hotel, in Nakuru, a town about 157 km away from Nairobi. The workshop was officially opened by the Vice-Chancellor of Egerton University, Prof. Ezra Marifim. The theme of the workshop was "Poverty, Literacy, Health and Environmental Issues in Kenya: Exploring Alternative Development Strategies".

In this workshop, over 30 participants took part and nine papers were presented and discussed. One very innovative aspect of the workshop was that chances were given to six OSSREA research grantees to present a progress report on their research activity. In the workshop, five campus representatives and a Liaison Officer were elected. The new Liaison Officer is Dr. Nafukho Muyia, from Moi University. Dr. Muyia was a previous OSSREA research grant competition winner. Mr. Enemanachew Yimamu, Programme Officer, attended the workshop and gave a briefing on "Accountability and Transparency in OSSREA's Finance".

3.1.3 Zambia Chapter's National Workshop

The OSSREA Zambia Chapter held its third one-day national workshop on 10^th May 2001 at the Taji Pamodzi Hotel, in Lusaka. The theme of the workshop was "Globalization and Development in Zambia". An important departure from the previous two workshops which were almost a University of Zambia affair, the 2001 workshop was attended by participants from two other colleges in Lusaka. Participants also came from the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce and from the National Institute of Public Administration. The workshop was attended by 34 of the 45 persons invited to attend, and close to 50% (16) of the former came from the two colleges. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zambia, Prof. Elizabeth Mumba, officially opened the workshop. The workshop was immediately followed by the business meeting at which the Chapter by-laws were explained to the participants and a new national executive committee was elected.

3.1.4 Zimbabwe Chapter's National Workshop

The OSSREA Zimbabwe Chapter held its national workshop on 27 August 2001 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The theme of the workshop was "Zimbabwe's Development Strategies Since 1980 and the Way Forward". Dr. Evelyn Sandra Pangeti, President of OSSREA attended the meeting. During the workshop participants were urged to strengthen OSSREA's network by attracting new members not only from academic institutions, but also from non-governmental and civil institutions.

3.1.5 Ethiopia Chapter's National Workshop

The OSSREA Ethiopia Chapter held its second national workshop from 8-9 June 2001 at the Imperial Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The theme of the workshop was "Conflict in the Horn: Prevention and Resolution". The distinguished guests who made keynote addresses and officially opened the workshop included Prof. Bahru Zewde, Resident Vice-President of OSSREA; Ambassador Konjit Sine-Ghiorgis, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia; and Dr. Abdalla Bujra, Director of the DPMF, UNECA. Fifty-five participants that came from academic and research institutions, the public sector, and the private sector attended the workshop. A total of 18 papers were presented at the workshop.

A business session was held at the end of the workshop. A relatively large number of members of the chapter (37 as compared to 25 in the first workshop) attended the session. Members deliberated on problems encountered by the liaison office and gave useful suggestions. Among the decisions of the business meeting the following are worth mentioning. First, contact persons were established in twelve institutions. Second, tentative themes were suggested for the third national workshop. Third, members recommended that a center be established for the study and documentation of conflict and its resolution.

3.2 Third Eastern and Southern Africa History Workshop

As part of its objective of promoting the study of and research in the social sciences, OSSREA had been organizing a series of discipline-focused workshops on the teaching of and research in anthropology and sociology, economics, geography, political science and public administration, management and history, especially in the 1980s. In 1987 and 1989, OSSREA had organized the first and second workshop of Eastern and Southern Africa History. OSSREA had also facilitated the formation of the Association of Eastern and Southern African Historians.

As a follow-up of the first two history workshops and with the aim of revitalizing this tradition of reviewing the state of the arts in the social sciences, OSSREA co-organized the Thirst Eastern and Southern Africa History Workshop, in collaboration with the Department of History of Addis Ababa University, from 29-31 October 2001 in Addis Ababa. A total of 19 papers were presented at the workshop by participants who came from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Though organized under the broad subject of History, the workshop turned out to be interdisciplinary by focus since topics as diverse as ethnicity, gender, environment, land ownership and production systems were also dealt with in the papers presented at the workshops.

On the occasion of the workshop, the participants also discussed various issues pertaining to the revival and sustainability of the Association of Eastern and Southern African Historians. It was then agreed to form a committee to represent the sub-regions as per the recommendations of the 3^rd Congress of the Association of African Historians. Accordingly, Dr. Eginald P. A. N. Mihanjo (Tanzania) and Mr. Fred Odoi Tanga (Uganda) were elected to represent Eastern Africa while Dr. Lilly Mafela (Botswana) was elected to represent Southern Africa.

3.3 Information-Related Regional Workshops

During the year, OSSREA was able to participate in a number of regional workshops and meetings that served the purposes of generating and disseminating knowledge and information as well as upgrading the skills of some of its publications staff. On these occasions, OSSREA's representatives took the opportunity to brief other participants on the Organization's objectives, research activities and outputs. The workshops attended by the publications staff during the year included:

· Program Design Workshop for African Policy and Research Networking (APREN)

(Sponsored by the World Bank Institute and the European Commission, DG Development, 9-10 April, Dakar, Senegal)

· Second Meeting of Committee on Development Information (CODI-II)

(Sponsored by the UNECA, 3-7 September, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

· Online Journals Workshop

(Sponsored by INASP, 15-18 October 2001, Harare, Zimbabwe)

3.4 Inaugural Meeting of the African Economic and Social Research Forum (AESRF)

The inaugural meeting of the African Economic and Social Research Forum was convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 19 March 2001 at the OAU Headquarters. The meeting was organized by the General Secretariat of the OAU. The main goal of the meeting was to establish a framework for cooperation among the African regional and sub-regional institutions dealing with economic and social research.

The meeting was officially opened by H. E. Ambassador Mohammed Doutoum, Assistant Secretary General of the OAU. He emphasized the coordination and harmonization of economic and social research activities in Africa. He also underlined the importance of rationalization and prioritization of research, with a view to bringing the intellectual resources to bear on African development by assisting Africa's decision-makers to formulate better policies based on research findings.

Participants of the meeting introduced themselves and presented research programs of their respective institutions. Then a brief historical background and objectives of the AESRF were outlined by a representative from the OAU Secretariat. The meeting discussed and commented on the objectives. The meeting also considered the Rules of Procedure, Work Program and Bureau of the AESRF for the period 2001-2002.

Apart from OSSREA, the following institutions attended the meeting: Organization of African Unity (OAU), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), African Development Bank (ADB), African Futures, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Africa Institute for Policy Analysis and Integration (AIPA), Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute (ESAMI), Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute in Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI), West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Association for African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD), Southern and Eastern African Policy Analysis Network (SEAPREN), Southern Africa Regional Institute for Policy Analysis (SARIPS), African Center for Economic Growth (ACEG), African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), Centre d' Etudes Economiques et Sociales de l'Afrique Occidentale (CESEAO), African Center for Development and Strategic Studies (ACDESS) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Mr. Alemayehu Azeze, Program Officer, represented OSSREA and participated in this meeting.

3.5 Forty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association

The 44^th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association was held from 15-18 November 2001 in Houston, Texas. The theme of the meeting was Africa and the African Diaspora: Past, Present, Future. The meeting incorporated thematic presentations, ASA business and board meetings, exhibits by publishers and producers of Africana, and the African film events.

In the business meeting, representatives of regional research organizations presented brief reports on the activities of their respective organizations. The issue of collaboration between ASA and Africa-based regional research organizations such as OSSREA was discussed in the ASA Board Meeting. In this meeting, it was suggested that ASA would provide booths free of charge in its annual meetings to promote the visibility of these research organizations. It was also suggested that some representatives of OSSREA and other similar organizations be encouraged to participate in the ASA annual meetings. Representatives of regional organizations also suggested that the ASA Board members or representatives attend the congress of the regional research organizations.

In the exhibition, OSSREA's publications were displayed and sold. The OSSREA booth was visited by a number of participants and exhibitors. OSSREA's brochure has also been distributed to some participants.

Mr Alemayehu Azeze, Program Officer, participated in the business meeting at which he presented a report on the activities of OSSREA.