ASA 2007 Conference Report

The 50th African Studies Association Annual Conference

October 18 - 21, 2007 , New York City, NY

Matthew H. Brown and Kehinde Omosebi represented the National African Language Resource Center at the 50th African Studies Association annual conference, held in beautiful downtown New York City at the Sheraton hotel from October 18-21. This year's conference theme of "21st Century Africa: Evolving Conceptions of Human Rights" struck a chord with the NALRC's commitment to connecting the world to Africa through languages.

Matthew and Kehinde arrived in New York late Wednesday, the17th and set up the NALRC display booth early Thursday morning, the first day of the conference. The eye-catching brochures and the "Let's Speak" and "Let's Read" textbook series were on display, including the new titles: "Ngativerenge Shona," "Tusome Kiswahili," Af Soomali Aan Ku Hadalno," and the "Wolof Lexicon and Grammar." The "Learners' Reference Grammar" series and all of out organizational journals were also on hand.

The items on display included:

A Re Bueng Setswana (Let's Speak Setswana)
Af Soomaali Aan Ku Hadalno (Let's Speak Somali)
Amharic Learners' Reference Grammar
Asante-Twi Learners' Reference Grammar
Bamanakan Learners' Reference Grammar
Dardasha Egyptian Arabic and CD (Let's Speak Egyptian Arabic)
Fliers for NALRC publications
JALTA Vol. 6-7
Je Ka Ka Yoruba CDROM
Je Ka Ka Yoruba Textbook
Je Ka So Yoruba CDROM
Je Ka So Yoruba Textbook
Journal of NCOLCTL Vol. 1-3
Language Brochures - Acholi, Amharic, Arabic, Bamana, Bemba, Chichewa, Hausa, Igbo, Isixhosa, Kikongo, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Kpelle, Krio, Lingala, Luganda, Malagasy, Mende, Ndebele, Oromo, Pulaar, Sesotho, Setswana, Shona, Somali, Swahili, Temne, Tigrinya, Twi, Wolof, Yoruba, Zulu
Learn African Languages Poster
Let's Speak Amharic
Ma Yenka Akan (Twi) (Let's Speak Akan)
Masikhulume IsiZulu (Let's Speak Zulu)
Mwalimu wa Kiswahili
NALRC Brochures
NALRC T-shirts
NCOLCTL 2008 Posters
Ngatitaure Shona (Let's Speak Shona)
Ngativerenge Shona (Let's Read Shona)
Pens of different colors
Pulaar Learners' Reference Grammar
Role Play Cards
Shona Learners' Reference Grammar
The Pedagogy of African Languages
Tosolola na Lingala (Let's Speak Lingala)
Tuseme Kiswahili and CD (Let's Speak Swahili)
Tusome Kiswahili (Let's Read Swahili)
ULIMI Fall 2006 Bulletin
Zulu Learners' Reference Grammar
Each day, Matthew and Omosebi had the opportunity to speak with the hundreds of professors, researchers, and scholars that filtered through the exhibition hall. Comments ranged from astonishment at the number of language materials produced, to excitement over producing new materials for the NALRC, to welcomed critiques on how the NALRC might improve the quality of publications. Many conference goers interested in the recent activities of the NALRC took a copy of the ULIMI (the NALRC bulletin) and language brochures.

Only Matthew had the opportunity to attend a few panels throughout the conference. The conference was a huge success, and the NALRC looks forward to attending the upcoming 51st African Studies Association annual conference next year in Chicago.