This year's conference of the Southern African Debt Relief and Compensation Campaign (KEESA) is entitled: "The Mining Industry in Southern Africa - 20 Years of Continuity and Change". The conference attempts to answer the question of the importance of the mining industry in building a society that will bring a better life for all. The important role of Switzerland will not be overlooked.
In South Africa, the discovery of gold and diamonds was constitutive for the emergence of the South African settler colony and the subsequent apartheid regime. The end of white autocracy in 1994 was to lead to improved working conditions. A look at the current state of the mining industry after the Marikana massacre in 2012 shows that this is not the case. In Zambia, whose copper mines were privately owned with the exception of the short period between 1970 and 1980, mining is just as dominant.
Mining raw materials for a better life?
The conference will address questions about the extractive industry in Southern Africa. How important is the extraction of raw materials in building a society that will meet people's expectations for a better life? In addition to experts from Switzerland such as Mascha Madörin, Jo Lang and Res Gehriger, the conference will be attended by directly affected activists and academics from Southern Africa: Philip Frankel, Political Scientist an Mining Sociologist, Bishop Jo Seoka, President Bench Marks Foundation and Vama Jele, activist from Swaziland.
Important role of Switzerland
The conference will also focus on the role of Switzerland. During apartheid it acted as a hub for South Africa's gold trade. Swiss companies (e.g. Marc Rich) laid the foundations for their empires by evading sanctions. Today Switzerland is home to the world's most important companies and trading firms in the commodities sector.
When: 7 to 9 November 2014
Where: Basel Africa Bibliographies (BAB), Klosterberg 23, 4051 Basel
Registration: afrika-tagung@unibas.ch, telephone +41 (0)61 267 34 82,
Centre for African Studies Basel, Petersgraben 11, 4051 Basel
Registration deadline: 06 November 2014
All further details can be found in the conference flyer provided below.
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