MAU Association Profile

The Association Model African Union Bayreuth e.V.

The Association Model African Union Bayreuth e.V. organizes and hosts an annual MAU conference with well-grounded contents and fascinating debates on political and socio-economic challenges and opportunities in which Africa is involved. Apart from that, we arrange cultural and educational events throughout the year.

The Africa focus of the University of Bayreuth offers an especially rich background for the MAU Bayreuth: Several Africa focused studies, a large number of students and PhD candidates with African origin, a library equipped with numerous scientific publications concerning Africa and many Africa focused research projects. Additionally, the municipality of Bayreuth offers regular cultural events concerning Africa, for instance, the annual Africa Film Festival in the Cineplex cinema or the diversified events in the areas of African art, music and culture in the Iwalewahaus Bayreuth. Because of that diverse and supportive environment, Bayreuth has been the ideal location to host for the successful First German Model African Union Conference in 2016 and we have been able to organize a BAYMAU conference each year ever since.

Since its creation, the Association is active in finding and expanding its cooperation with potential partners. So far, the University of Bayreuth, the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) and the Excenllencecluster “Africa Multiple” are some of the local institutions the Association is co-working with. On the international level, the Association is working hard to be well known and has its activities valued by the African Union, the African political sphere and the European Union. The presence of Ambassador Dr Salah S. Hammad, Head of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Secretariat at the African Union (AU) and Kah Walla from the Cameroonian political arena as guest speakers as well as the visit of MAU and BIGSAS-Members to the European Union are significant signs of the international scope of the Association.

Our activities

These activities are an addition to the traditional preparation of the annual Model African Union Bayreuth Conference. They aim to energize the association and make it known to the general public. In this perspective, all the activities proposed aim to strengthen knowledge about Africa and its diaspora, as well as to stimulate debate on topics of public interest in the perspective of a common history between the different parts of the world.

MAU Academics Meetings

During the various meetings of the MAU-Researchers Meeting, students (all levels and fields combined) have the opportunity to present an aspect of their work. This series of meetings entitled entangled history aim to explore the common history between the different parts of the world which, for several years now, have been moving towards an almost irreversible intertwining movement. This intertwining of the diverse, which is at the root of our rhizomatic modernity, is important in that it makes it possible to redefine concepts such as the universal.

Thus, it becomes easy to admit that the singular experience of a single individual can engage that of all humanity. As a result, problems such as migration, global warming, and development and so on can no longer be addressed solely through the prism of methodological nationalism. In this series of meetings, it is, therefore, a question of allowing young students to expose on various subjects dealing with problems involving humanity.

Africa politicum

Africa politicum (AP) is a semi-formal arena where students and scholars from Africa and beyond, irrespective of backgrounds, meet up and debate and critically engage with up-to-date sociopolitical and economic issues related to Africa.

Beyond its primary objective, AP shall be a platform where participants can network, share experiences and indicatively reflect on current challenges faced by African countries and citizens in and outside the continent. AP counts on and values the participation of anyone interested in partaking in its sessions in French, German or English. AP get-together and debate forum unfold once a month. Participants can join AP as speakers for a topic of their choice, chair a discussion round table, or simply get involved as active discussant. Invitation of internal or external guest speakers is more than welcome! We already organized Africa Politicum Meetings on the topic of the Nigerian politics of border closure and the elections in Togo. The Meetings are held in English or French regarding the topics and participants.

MAU Movie Nights

MAU Movie Nights are  regularly proposed to allow the debate on different aspects of the African continent and its diaspora. We already organized a Movie Night with the inspiring documentary “Les Sauteurs Those Who Jump”, including an interview with the Protagonist Abou Bakar Sidibé in the Iwalewa house in Bayreuth as well as a Movie Night at Glashaus with the Cameroonian director Narcisse Wandji, who already directed 12 short films, of which he presented two. Framing the short films, Luna Simao, pop and soul singer known by the Bundesvision Song Contest, provided an outstanding musical interlude together with singer and guitarist Elias Tebroke.

Afrika@School

The aim of this project is to enable encounters between students from Africa and those involved in African Studies, and pupils at schools in Upper Franconia. The aim of this exchange is to break with the dominant negative image of Africa and the association of Africa with crises, conflicts and catastrophes, which is portrayed in many German textbooks and media. The project is implemented by students from Africa, students with an focus on African Studies and Africans living in Germany. Please find more information about the project here.

Structures and Aims

Founded in February 2015, the association MAU Bayreuth e.V. held its first elections in May 2015. As a result of rising interest, the number of members increased exponentially since the foundation of the Association. The Association has three bodies: The General Assembly, the Management Board and the Departments. The General Assembly consists of all members with the right to vote. It votes the Management Board and approves it into office. The Management Board is composed of two Presidents, two Secretaries and a Treasurer. The Departments (Education, Culture and IT) assist the Management Board in the execution of different projects. Have a look at the current members of our Management Board here.

Joining the association

MAU Bayreuth is open to everyone without any distinction and especially those who are interested in Africa or would like to attain a deeper picture of the continent and its challenges. In this regard, the questions are:

 

How can I become a part of MAU Bayreuth?

Interested persons can take part in the activities of the Association. In particular, the Association welcomes warmly people who are interested in Africa and want to get in touch with people from different backgrounds, studies, and countries. There joining MAU does not necessarily require pre-knowledge of Africa or Africa-related topics. Because through participation in the associations’ events, one acquires knowledge of Africa with a huge possibility to exchange with African members of the Association.

 

How often do you meet? And how one can join?

Meet us during our weekly meeting taking place Tuesdays starting from 7 pm via MS Teams! Please contact us to get the link. We are looking forward to seeing you!

Model African Union Bayreuth e.V.

Please contact us!