Prof. Abdalla Bujra, is a Kenyan national
who
obtained his
doctoral degree in Social Anthropology at
the School of Oriental and African Studies, University London. He is a founding Director of the
Development Policy Management Forum, an Independent Pan-African Organisation based
in Nairobi, Kenya and also hosted by the
UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa) in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia DPMF was founded in 1995.
The current
Chairman of the
African Union (AU),
His Excellency, President John Kufuor of Ghana, has appointed
Abdalla Bujra as a member of the Panel of Eminent Africans, which
has been established to advise on how to improve the African Union.
The AU
Panel of Eminent Africans comprises 13 prominent African
personalities in total
Prof. Bujra
served as the Executive Secretary of the "Management
of Science and Technology for Development in Africa” (MANSCI) in
1990. In 1991 he was a visiting Professor at the Institute for
Global Cultural Studies, Directed by Professor Ali Mazrui, at
Binghamton, NY State. In 1992 he joined UNDPs African Futures
project (NLTPS) based in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, as an expert in
Sociology and Human Resources Development in a 5 member regional
team. Between 1998-2000, he was
assigned to the OAU in Addis Ababa to serve as CEO of the International Panel of Eminent Personalities
(IPEP) which was mandated to investigate the 1994 genocide in
Rwanda. IPEP produced a 300 page Report on the Rwanda genocide which
was distributed to the OAU Heads of States at their Summit in 2000.
IPEP was set up by the Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of
the OAU.
Prof. Bujra is also one of the founders of
the Dakar-based CODESRIA (Council for the
Development of Economic and Social Research in Africa). He became
the first full-time Executive Secretary of CODESRIA from 1975 to
1988. He started the now famous CODESRIA journal, Africa
Development and other CODESRIA publications – especially books.
In addition he was also involved in fund raising
activities for the research programme, conferences and publications.
In 1992, along with President Mbeki's
father and Samir Amin, Professor Bujra was honoured with the
CODESRIA award of a Distinguished African Social Scientist in
Institution Building.
Prof. Bujra is currently Chairperson of the
Board of Directors of the Nairobi based African Centre for Economic
Growth (ACEG) and is the founding Executive Director of Development
Management Policy Forum (DPMF) a pan-African NGO hosted at the UNECA in Addis Ababa with an office in Nairobi Kenya.
Presently (2006-2007) he is leading a team of researchers studying Social
Policy, Development and Governance in Kenya". He is also part of a research team
studying “Land Policy, Development and Governance in Kenya". Both these projects are funded by
the Ford Foundation, East Africa Office.
Prof. Bujra has served as a team leader
in research initiatives in Africa during the last 30 years, during
which period he has actively participated and led international
workshops, seminars and conferences in Africa, Europe, North
America, Latin America, Middle East, India and South East Asia. He
is /has been a member of various professional bodies such as the
Africa Committee of the American Social Science Research Council,
the Paris based International Social Science Council (ISSC) of
UNESCO and the Social Science Committee of the Tanzanian National
Scientific Research Council. He was elected and served for two terms
in all the three Committees.
As an academic and scholar, Prof. Bujra has taught in
various universities around the world. His teaching expertise
includes supervising senior researchers and graduate students (PhD
and MA) in academic institutions.
