Open Panel IUAES 2019@Poland ‘Ethnographic Encounters on African Youth and Families: Norms, Education, Employment, and Marginalization’

======== GENERAL INFORMATION ==============

Title: Ethnographic Encounters on African Youth and Families: Norms, Education, Employment, and Marginalization    

Session type: Pa – Open panel proposal    

 

============= AUTHORS ================

Author 1:

Academic Degree: PhD

First Name(s): Wakana

Last Name(s): Shiino

Institution / affiliation: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

City: Fuchu-shi

Country: Japonia

E-mail: wakanatokyo[at]gmail.com

 

Author 2: 

Academic Degree: PhD

First Name(s): Peter

Last Name(s): Atekyereza

Institution / affiliation: Makerere University

City: Kampala

Country: Uganda

E-mail: peeki100[at]gmail.com

 

 

============ CONTENT ==============    

In contemporary Africa, there has been constant socio-economic change in different areas of social life. How have these changes shaped the positioning of youth? We shall focus on youth life courses, and associated gender, education, employment, and population growth by examining ethnographic cases.

 

Long panel abstract (up to 250 words): 

In pre-colonial traditional African societies, male young people were expected and prepared to defend and fight for the community. The “Masai Moran warriors”, for example, was a categorical regiment of the Masai society. Women on the other hand were expected and groomed to do daily domestic labour for their families until marriage when they were expected to give birth to children.

 

  With modernization and globalization, some values have been abandoned and others mixed or swallowed by a wave of the capitalist monetary economy, and the youth life course is drastically changing. In recent years, many African nations have increasingly started to have education as a pillar of modernization strategy and societal determinant. Today, there is no opportunity for gainful employment without academic background. The pressure on parents and kins to educate children is getting heavier. Despite remarkable economic growth in most African countries, economic disparities are increasing. Even with good educational background, there is a strong system, tracing to the traditional kinships, controlling employability. Between family expectations and reality, many young people are lost in systematic integration.

 

  In this panel, we share this basic overview of contemporary Africa, and we will focus on the way youth life course, as well as associated gender, norms, education, employment, population growth issues through examining ethnographic cases in Africa. We would like to analyze and discuss the relationships between the realities of youth and their families (societies) as well.

 

Keywords: Youth, Africa, family, social change, gender