Alcinda Honwana was born in Mozambique, has traveled most parts of the continent and now lives in New York. She does not take on the simple issues. From child soldiers to the Arab Spring, Alcinda examines the increasing agitation by the youth in Africa and beyond for a better future. She has spent the last few years exploring why African youth are restless on the continent and how these energies can be channeled to create a better future for all of us. If change will come to Africa, it will probably be driven by young people, described by George Ayittey in his famous TED talk as the 'Cheetah' generation, as opposed to the 'Hippo' generation that has led the politics in Africa up to now.
Alcinda will bring a great new perspective to the debate and will be our first ever speaker from Mozambique!
Alcinda Honwana is currently a visiting professor in anthropology and international development at the Open University (OU) in the UK. Before joining the Open University, Honwana worked for the Social Science Research Council in New York where she directed the Children and Armed Conflict Program and the Africa Program. She also worked for the United Nations as research coordinator in the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Honwana was the coordinator of the International Research Network on Children and Armed Conflict from 2001 to 2005. Born in Mozambique, Alcinda Honwana has written extensively on the links between political conflict and culture and the impacts of violent conflict on young people, conducting research in Mozambique, DRC, Angola, Colombia and Sri Lanka. In 2007 she was awarded the prestigious Prince Claus Chair for Development and Equity in Holland by the Institute of Social Studies and University of Utrecht.
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