OVERVIEW OF THE SEMINAR SESSIONS

OPENING REMARKS, THE PLENARY AND SESSION 1

• James Billington, The Librarian of Congress
  Timeframe: 0:00-1:56
  
  
• Carolyn Brown, Director, Collections and Services, The Library of Congress-Welcoming Remarks
  Timeframe: 2:03-7:18
  
  
• Angel Batiste, Area Specialist, The Library of Congress – Overview of the Library’s Africana Collections, the African Section and Portal Site on Reconciliation Processes in Africa
  Timeframe: 7:19-16:50 minutes

THE PLENARY

• Jennifer J. Douglas, Conference Organizer and Acting Head, African Section, The Library of Congress – Introduction of Plenary Speaker
  Timeframe: 16:52-18:22
  
  
• The Reverend Dr. Lewis M. Anthony, Senior Pastor, Metropolitan Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church of Washington, DC
  Timeframe: 18:25-27:43
  Summary: Dr. Anthony describes three major goals for convening the Seminar on Reconciliation
  

   

SESSION I:

RELIGION AND RECONCILIATION—LESSONS LEARNED

• Co-Chairs: David Smock, Director, Religion and Peacemaking Initiative, United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC; and Dr. Vincent Ahonkhai, President, Nigerian Peoples Forum (NPF)
  Timeframe: 28:32-34:56
  Summary: Dr. Smock briefly describes the roles that religion has played and continues to play in fueling conflict, resolving it, and promoting reconciliation in Africa. Dr. Ahonkhai introduces Reverend James Movel Wuye and Imam Istaz Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa.
  
  
• Reverend James Movel Wuye, Co-Founder, Muslim/Christian Youth Dialogue Forum, Kaduna, Nigeria
  Timeframe: 35:14-51:19
  Summary: Reverend Wuye describes the root causes of conflict in Africa, the role that faith plays in his reconciliation work, and various indigenous reconciliation models used in Nigeria and in other African countries to promote reconciliation and forgiveness.
  
  
• Imam Istaz Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa, Co-Founder, Muslim/Christian Youth Dialogue Forum, Kaduna, Nigeria Timeframe: 51:30-1:10:45
  Summary: Imam Ashafa shares lessons that he has learned regarding the nature of reconciliation and African approaches to it.
  

• Athanase Hagengimana, Kluge Fellow, John W. Kluge Center, The Library of Congress
  Timeframe: 1:12:44 – 1:31:56
  Summary: Dr. Hagengimana shares lessons regarding the role of spirituality in reconciliation in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.
  
  
• Q & A
  Timeframe: 1:31:56 – 1:44:34

SESSION II:

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSIONS-LESSONS LEARNED

• Chair: Carole Henderson-Tyson, President, Henderson’s Global Voices
  Timeframe: 0:00-5:40
  Summary: Dr. Henderson-Tyson provides an overview of the themes/issues associated with truth and reconciliation commissions in 20 countries and introduces panelists.
  

• H.E. Edith Ssempala, Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to the United States
  Timeframe: 5:40-17:37
  Summary: Her Excellency provides a historical sketch of the lessons learned by Uganda from its experiences with truth and reconciliation since independence.
  
  
• Paul Simo, Esq., Africa Program Director, Global Rights
  Timeframe: 18:12-24:41
  Summary: Mr. Simo describes the lessons learned from Sierra Leone’s truth and reconciliation processes and how these lessons can be used to inform truth and reconciliation approaches in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  
  
• Joseph Nzabmwita, Defense Attaché, Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda
  Timeframe: 26:40-34:43
  Summary: Mr. Nzabmwita shares lessons learned from Rwanda’s experiences with truth and reconciliation since the 1994 genocide. Special attention is given to describing the official Gachacha system and its potential contributions to reconciliation in Rwanda.
  
  
• Derek Moyo, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of South Africa
  Timeframe: 34:52-44:10
  Summary: Mr. Moyo describes issues associated with the development of South Africa’s approach to truth and reconciliation and the lessons learned from the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
  
  
  
  

SESSION III:

REFLECTIONS OF FORMER AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE ON RECONCILIATION

• Chair: Prosser Gifford, Director, Office of Scholarly Programs and the John W. Kluge Center, The Library of Congress
  Timeframe: 00:00-2:34
  Summary: Dr. Gifford introduces Sir Ketumile Masire, former President of Botswana.
  
  
• Sir Ketumile Masire, former President of Botswana, Lloyd G. Balfour African President in Residence, African Presidential Archives and Research Center, Boston University
  Timeframe: 2:35-25:44
  Summary: President Masire provides an overview of the root causes of conflict and approaches to transitional justice in Africa. Special attention is paid to the experiences of South Africa, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and to the roles that the African Union and sub-regional bodies play in conflict resolution, mediation and reconciliation.
  
  
• Prosser Gifford, Director, Office of Scholarly Programs and the John W. Kluge Center, The Library of Congress
  Timeframe: 25:58-27:39
  Summary: Dr. Gifford introduces Mr. Pierre Buyoya, former President of Burundi
  
  
• Mr. Pierre Buyoya, former President of Burundi, Visiting Senior Fellow, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
  Timeframe: 27:48-59:38
  Summary: President Buyoya speaks about the history of the culturally based institution of the Ubushingantahe (wise men councils) in Burundi and the role that these bodies play in reconciliation and in conflict resolution. Also addressed are the implications of ethnicity and religion for the resolution of conflict and the development of sustainable democratic institutions in Burundi
  
  
• Q and A
  Timeframe: 59:54-1:18:59
  
  
  
  

SESSION IV:

IMPLICATIONS OF SUB-REGIONAL ISSUES FOR RECONCILIATION

• Chair: Timothy Bork, Founder, National Summit on Africa
  Timeframe: 0:00-6:00
  Summary: Mr. Bork convenes the session by reflecting on the lessons that he learned regarding reconciliation, as a former United States Agency for International Development Agency (USAID) Mission Director, in South Africa.
  
  
• Myron Golden, Director, Francophone West and Central Africa, Africare
  Timeframe: 6:01 15:30
  Summary: Mr. Golden is a former USAID Mission Director in Burundi and Rwanda during the early to mid-nineties. He describes lessons learned from the international community’s responses to the genocide in Rwanda and to crises in Burundi.
  
  
• The Honorable David Shinn, Adjunct Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, George Washington University
  Timeframe: 15:32-16:50
  Summary: Dr. Shinn, a career diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, shares lessons learned about traditional forms of African reconciliation practices in the Horn of Africa and how these can be enhanced to contribute to reconciliation within and between groups in the region.
  
  
• Juanita Jarrett, Esq., Co-Founder, Mano River Women Peace Network
  Timeframe: 32:46-49:07
  Summary: Mrs. Jarrett describes how women from Guinea/Conakry, Liberia, and Sierra Leone came together, reconciled and formed the Mano River Women Peace Network, an organization that contributed to the resolution of conflict within the countries of the region and continue to promote reconciliation therein.
  
  
• Q & A
  Time frame: 49:08-1:13:21

SESSION V:

CULTURE AND THE MEDIA AS TOOLS FOR RECONCILIATION

• Chair: Laverne Page, Area Specialist, African Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, The Library of Congress – Session Convened
  Timeframe: 0:00-1:10
  
  
• Athanase Hagengimana, Kluge Fellow, John W. Kluge Center, The Library of Congress
  Timeframe: 1:11-4:10
  Summary: Dr. Hagengimana introduces the Samputu-Ingeli Dance Troup of Rwanda and provides a description of how the performers’ work contributes to reconciliation in Rwanda.
  
  
• The Performance of the Samputu-Ingeli Dance Troup of Rwanda
  Timeframe: 4:11-29:43 Minutes

CONCLUDING REMARKS

• Jennifer Douglas, Conference Organizer and Acting Head, African Section, Library of Congress – Acknowledgements and Introduction of Final Speaker
  Timeframe: 30:04-31:01
  
  
• The Reverend Dr. Lewis M. Anthony, Senior Pastor, Metropolitan Wesley AME Zion Church of Washington, DC
  Timeframe: 31:01-38:33
  Summary: Dr. Anthony provides an overview of the lessons shared by the reconciliation practitioners, scholars, and development experts regarding reconciliation processes in Africa.