King's faculty Dr. Thomas Tieku and UBC faculty Dr. Katharina Coleman receive two grants totaling $40,000 for African research

Dr. Thomas Tieku, a Political Science professor at King’s, along with Dr. Katharina (Katia) Coleman a professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have received a $30,000 grant from One Earth Future (OEF) – an American think tank that supports research and owns the main academic journal titled Global Governance . In addition the team has received a second grant of $10,000 from the United Nations University (UNU).

These funds are awarded to support Dr. Tieku and Dr. Coleman’s initiatives to organize a workshop and produce a book on Africa's contribution to global norms. In the development of the project, Drs. Coleman and Tieku have opted to hold the workshop on the Accra-Ghana campus of the United Nations University.

Dr. Tieku is appreciative of this major international recognition of their work as project directors, “Katia and I were shocked when the international panel of adjudicators picked this African project over many other proposals, especially from the US.  The award reflects the increasing inroads Canadian researchers have made in the field of global governance. Just a few years ago the field was mostly dominated by Americans and British; however, now the Canadian presence is visible.”

For the past two years, Dr. Tieku has traveled with current Political Science and Social Justice and Peace Studies students fromKing’s to Ethiopia to experience the role that Non-Governmental Organization’s (NGO’s) play in aiding poverty and development in Africa. Dr.Tieku is also an active faculty advisor of trips to the Munk Debates in Toronto where students watch four panelists debate on current major policy issues. Recently, Dr.Tieku has made presentations at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto – pertaining to the National Security Program and Joint Staff Command, as well as at the International Studies Association Global South Caucus Conference in Singapore.

The workshop is planned to take place in April 2016; followed by the release of the book in the fall of 2016 by Lynne Rienner.