"Africa in the Rockies," a conference for K-12 teachers aimed at enhancing their teaching of Africa, will be held at the University of Colorado at Boulder April 5-6.
The conference will include workshops on Saturday and a celebration on Sunday. All events are free and open to the public.
The conference workshops will be held in rooms 245 and 247 of the University Memorial Center from noon to 5 p.m. and advance registration is encouraged. No registration is required on Sunday.
The celebration on Sunday will be held at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art at 1750 13th St. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will focus on African arts, music and food. There also will be African performances as well as numerous African-related organizations with information tables at the event.
Organized by the CU-Boulder anthropology department and the Boulder-based Africa Center, the conference is sponsored by a $10,000 grant awarded to CU and the Foundation for African Resources by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation to help support a link between the university and the community.
"The goal of this conference is to bring together diverse organizations working on Africa-related research, social issues and arts," said Laura Deluca, adjunct professor of anthropology and co-organizer of the event. "The main focus is to create a directory or resource for K-12 teachers in the community and make teachers aware of Africa-related resources."
Deluca, who has done extensive research on Africa, said the conference also will be a good opportunity to educate people on issues in Africa. The conference will feature speaker Anna Manega, from Denver and Africa Working Against AIDS, who will speak on the epidemic that currently is plaguing the continent.
For more information about the Africa in the Rockies conference, or to register for a workshop, send an e-mail to africaworkshop@yahoo.com or call (303) 442-2637.