The IRA Annual Convention will be held in Chicago, IL USA from 25-28 April 2010.

If you are planning to attend the convention, please plan to attend
the session of the Literacy Issues in Developing Countries Special
Interest Group entitled:
‘Assessing our roles in literacy work in developing countries:
opportunities, challenges and ... Focus on Africa.’
This session will be a moderated panel/audience/member discussion on
how members in the "Global North" can work for and with our colleagues
in the "Global South" in ways that take their needs and potential
seriously.

The presenters will be Beatrice Quarshie Smith; Judith Baker; Scott
Walter; Samuel Andema; Sakil Malik and they will lead a discussion of
how the IRA can work effectively in Africa. Please come and take part
in this vital discussion.

The meeting will take place on April 27 from 9 to 11:45AM in the
McCormick Lakeside Center, Room E256.

Topics for discussion include:
- Is it possible to advocate for developing regions from within IRA?
How does the SIG facilitate a higher visibility for these regions?
- What are the best ways in which the SIG can facilitate work in
developing countries beyond the often problematic voyeur “show and
tell” that has become a staple at its presentations?
- How does one reassert the political significance of the
“International” in IRA as a site for critique to open spaces for
critical engagement with other regions. For an exemplar, this year's
panel focuses on Africa.

If you cannot attend but have ideas then please email them to Beatrice
Smith at bbsmith@mtu.edu
If you are coming to the Convention, you will find all the information
you need to register, arrange accommodations and plan your program at
reading.org by clicking on the ‘Meetings and Events’ button on the
left, and then press ‘Annual Convention.’

Please pass along this information to all your colleagues who are
interested in African education and help us publicize the meetings by
posting this on your professional networks.

Hope to see you in Chicago,
Samuel Andema, Chair, International Development Committee for Africa
[IDC/A], IRA [Kyambogo University, Uganda]
Beatrice Quarshie Smith, Chair, LIDC Special Interest Group, IRA
[Michigan Technological University]