Agência Brasil*
Brasilia – From today (12) to Saturday (15), the city of Salvador, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, will become an extension of the African continent. The city is hosting the 2nd Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora (Ciad), which is going to gather intellectuals, representatives of society and decision makers to discuss issues of interest for Africa and the afro-descendants, like health, education, religion, trade, science and technology.
The conference, whose first edition took place in Dakar, in Senegal, in October 2004, ends on Saturday (15) with the Dialogue Forum Africa-Diaspora. People like the Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, and the president of the Committee of African Union, Alpha Oumar Konare, are expected at the event.
The Diaspora – according to the Palmares Foundation, the approximately 12 million Africans spread around the Americas through slave trafficking – is another topic in the conference. Diaspora, a term originated from Greek, means in this context the dispersion of peoples due to persecution by intolerant dominating groups, according to the Brazilian Portuguese dictionary Aurélio.
*Translated by Silvia Lindsey
