As part of the partnership between the University of Guyana (UG) and the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (UCAD) and the Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal, the UG will be hosting a delegation of seven teacher-researchers from UCAD and the UGB during the week of 9 May 2022.
The delegation is made up of the following teachers:
- Madicou BA, from the Ecole Supérieure de Polytechnique (UCAD)
- Abdoulaye DIENG, Electrical Engineering Department, ESP (UCAD)
- Moussa SAGNA, Faculty of Letters and Science, FLSH Cooperation Focal Point - Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar (UCAD)
- Moussa DAFF, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Director of the ARCIV (Arts, Cultures, Civilisations) Doctoral School (UCAD)
- Babou DIENE, of the Faculty of Letters, Head of the Languages, Literatures, Arts and Cultures Doctoral Programme, Director of the CERCLA Laboratory (Research Centre for African Literary Criticism), Director of the Horizons Littéraires journal (UGB)
- Denis Assane DIOUF, Faculty of Arts and Humanities (UCAD)
- Modou Fatah THIAM, Coordinator of the Professional Degree in Trilingual Assistantship
A rich programme of exchanges
Professors DIENG and BA will be teaching in the vocational bachelor's degree courses in Computer Networks and Telecommunications (MRIT) and Energy Management, Electricity and Sustainable Development (MEED) at the Kourou IUT. Professors DAFF, DIENE and DIOUF will be teaching in 1era year of the Licence de Lettres Preparatory course for teaching in schools, in 3th year Bachelor of Arts course in French as a Foreign Language, in the DU FLE in the Department of Letters and Humanities, as part of the "French literature from the West Indies and French Guiana; Introduction to didactics, textbook analysis and evaluation" courses. They will offer INSPE a training course for trainers in comparative education. Seminars and work sessions will be organised in partnership with the Doctoral School, the MINEA Research Unit and the Language Resources Centre.
The entire delegation will attend the "Literary Encounter" planned by the Culture Commission on Monday 09 May 2022 at 4pm in amphitheatre A, at the Troubiran Campus in Cayenne. This will be the official presentation of the collective volume, Slavery in words and imagesThis project, co-directed by Babou Diène, Denis Diouf and Mylène Danglades, is the result of scientific cooperation between our three universities.
Professor Moussa DAFF will give a lecture entitled "Teaching the grammar of French as a foreign language using an action-based approach in French-speaking Africa".on Tuesday 10 March at 6 pm in the amphitheatre A.
Professor Babou DIENE will speak on " Henri Lopes and Sony Labou Tansi, cultural immersion and novel writing "On Wednesday 11 May at 6 pm in the amphitheatre A.
Denis Assane DIOUF will be giving a talk on René Maran, colonial administrator and anti-colonial writer "Thursday 12 May, 6pm, amphitheatre C, Campus Troubiran, Cayenne.
Programme
Sunday 8 MayWelcome to the delegation
Monday 9th MayWelcome to the delegation at the University of Guyana, Troubiran campus, Cayenne
9am: Meeting with the directors and teachers of the DFR LSH - Tour of the campus
11:30: Meeting with the President of the University of Guyana, his team, the directors of the laboratories and the DFR at the Espace culturel
3pm: Meeting with the director of the Language Resource Centre
15:30: Meeting with the Director of INSPE, Bureau Madame FRANCIUS
4pm to 6pm: "Les rencontres littéraires" - Official presentation of the collective volume Slavery in words and imagesco-directed by Babou Diène, Denis Diouf and Mylène Danglades, Amphithéâtre A, Campus Troubiran, Cayenne.
6pm to 8pm: DU FLE course - Introduction to didactics
Tuesday 10 Mayto Friday 13 May Teaching mission at the IUT Bois Chaudat campus for Madicou BA and Abdoulaye DIENG, from the Electrical Engineering department of the Ecole Supérieure de Polytechnique (UCAD).
Meeting with the Doctoral School, Seminar with doctoral students in Cayenne.
6pm: Lecture by Moussa DAFF for students, UG staff and the general public on the following topic: "Teaching the grammar of French as a foreign language in an action-based approach in French-speaking Africa", Amphithéâtre A, Campus Troubiran, Cayenne.
Wednesday 11th May08:00 to 12:00 - 14:00 to 18:00 French literature course in the French West Indies and French Guiana in the Bachelor of Arts, preparatory course for the teaching profession.
4pm to 6pm: DU FLE course - Textbook analysis and evaluation
6-8pm: Conference for students, UG staff and the general public: "Henri Lopes and Sony Labou Tansi, cultural immersion and novel writing", Amphithéâtre A, Campus Troubiran, Cayenne.
Thursday 12 May : 2 pm to 4 pm: Training session for trainers in comparative education at the Espace culturel de l'Inspé (Moussa Daff, Babou and Denis Assane Diouf): "Penser la recherche en éducation comparée: Les systèmes éducatifs sénégalais et guinéen".
16:00 to 18:00: Seminar with researchers in French-language literature with a view to identifying common research perspectives.
6pm: Lecture by Denis Assane DIOUF on " René Maran, colonial administrator and anti-colonial writer "Thursday 12 May, 6pm, Amphithéâtre C, Campus Troubiran, Cayenne.
- Friday 13 MayReturn to Cayenne of Madicou BA and Abdoulaye DIENG.
- Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 May Departure for Dakar via Paris.
Looking back over 5 years of cooperation
Since the signing of the framework cooperation agreement between the University of Guyana, Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar in May 2017 and Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal, several actions have been implemented. An educational trip to Senegal, under the theme "GUYANE-SENEGAL: Revisiting a shared history" was organised by the Lettres et Sciences humaines (LSH) department in March 2018. Three teacher-researchers from UCAD's Faculty of Letters and Humanities were invited to the UG in 2017 and 2018 for teaching and lectures. A research seminar on "the sustainability of tropical fisheries", co-organised by the UG's LEEISA laboratory and UCAD's Institut Universitaire de Pêche et d'Aquaculture (IUPA), was held in October 2018 in Dakar. In addition, this partnership gives UG students the opportunity to carry out internships in Senegal. Eight students have already completed their placements in Dakar (three in 2018 and five in 2019). In May 2020, 7 students from the Kourou IUT will travel to Dakar as part of their compulsory work placements. Study visits are planned for the last quarter of 2020. In March 2020, the UG welcomed four teacher-researchers from UCAD's École Supérieure Polytechnique (ESP) to give lectures at the Kourou IUT and to give a conference in Cayenne on the "energy transition in an African context". A teacher-researcher from UCAD's Faculty of Letters and Humanities lectured at the Department of Letters and Humanities (LSH) in Cayenne and, together with the MINEA laboratory, gave a talk on "Energy transition in an African context". Léopold Sédar Senghor: the legacy of a thinker, poet and politician ".
Natural tripartite cooperation
The choice of the Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) and the Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis in Senegal as institutional partners was a natural one for the University of Guyana for several reasons. First of all, the shared history of the slave trade. Departing from the Island of Gorée off the coast of Dakar, French Guiana was one of the arrival points for slave ships. More generally, the modern history of Black America, the West Indies and French Guiana in particular began on the African coast, including Gorée, Saint-Louis in Senegal and Ouidah in Benin. Next, we can talk about sharing the French language. We know the importance of the Négritude movement, founded by Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal), Léon Gontran Damas (French Guiana) and Aimé Césaire (Martinique) in Paris in 1929. There are also similarities between French Guiana and Senegal, particularly in the use of French in a multilingual context. In French Guiana, there are several ethnic groups with specific linguistic characteristics (Creole group, Amerindian group, Businenge group, Asian group (Chinese and Hmong). Finally, from a geographical point of view, Dakar, Saint-Louis and Cayenne are the three closest French-speaking geographical points between the two continents of South America and Africa (3 hours as the crow flies, 4000 km apart).
These agreements reflect a shared history and cultural proximity. These exchanges enable us to look at common issues from different angles: the dynamics of societies, migration and the construction of identities; the place of women in these societies and their cultural productions; comparative approaches to Afro-American religious and linguistic practices, but also renewable energies, tropical health, the fishing economy, etc. Our almost identical issues are an asset for pooling knowledge and practices in order to respond to our specific problems.
Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal, are major players in international university cooperation. UCAD is one of the oldest and most efficient university structures in Africa, and is sought after by the most prestigious universities. It has around 80,000 students of 86 different nationalities. The UGB is located on the outskirts of Saint-Louis, a city of hospitality and the former capital of French West Africa and Senegal. Université Gaston Berger is heir to the tradition of excellence in Senegalese education. It has a total of 11,441 students and 299 teaching staff spread over 8 UFRs and 5 Institutes.
