Pretoria, Monday 15 May 2017 – To mark the annual commemoration of Africa month, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in collaboration with a range of partners invites members of the media to participate in thought leadership platforms lined-up for Africa Week.
 
The Africa Week programme will run from the 21st to the 25th of May 2017 and is filled with various thought leadership and engaging activities to cater for a wide range of audiences. Among other events, the Africa Week activities include the following major proceedings:

• PhD Colloquium, 21 May 2017, 08h00, at Unisa
• 7th African Unity for Renaissance International Conference, 22 to 23 May 2017, 08h00-17h00, Freedom Park
• Africa Day Expo, 25 May 2017, 08h00-17h00, Kara Heritage Institute

Partners will include: the Department of Science and Technology (DST), National Research Foundation (NRF), Kara Heritage Institute, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI), International Council for Science – Regional Office for Africa (ICSU), BrandSA, the City of Tshwane, ProudlySA, National Heritage Foundation (NHF), University of South Africa (UNISA) and Water Research Commission (WRC).
 
PhD Colloquium
Sixty five PhD students and post-doctoral researchers will participate in the inaugural PhD colloquium on Sunday 21 May 2017. 
 
This capacity building colloquium aims to provide opportunities for PhD students to:

• Receive feedback on their research from their peers, senior scholars and other experts,
• Identify and learn how their research can achieve practical impact in the sustainable development space.
• Interact and form networks with peers, senior scholars and other experts with various perspectives and from different institutions and countries.

7th African Unity for Renaissance International Conference
Taking place at Freedom Park, the 7th African Unity for Renaissance International Conference promise will bring together more than 100 established African researchers and scholars to deliberate on emerging theories and practice in the fields of sustainable development, science and technology, green economy & renewable energy, economics, environment and systems science. 
 
The scholars from different parts of Africa and the diaspora will deliberate on Africa’s approach to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals under the theme: Placing Africa firmly in the realm of Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Since its inception seven years ago, this conference has been an important annual gathering of African scholars who use the opportunity to explore and propose ideas aimed at finding solutions for Africa’s developmental challenges.
 
The 2017 Conference will feature academics from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, Sudan, India, Australia and many more. The conference will culminate with the celebration of Africa Day.

Africa Day Expo

The 2017 Africa Day Expo to be held at Kara Heritage Institute will include a learner’s educational session, presentation on African heritage and entertainment session.
 
This is an educational support project initiated as a platform for creating access to relevant information about the entire continent.
 
The day also presents ordinary members of the African community with the networking opportunity with various African embassies, influential government departments as well as African artists and cultural groups. Included will be African art exhibition, African food tasting and live cultural performances.
 
The Africa Day Expo which forms part of the Annual African Unity for Renaissance International conference is celebrated annually on May 25th to mark the commemoration of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), represented since 2002 by the African Union (AU).