LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION AND PRACTICE IN AFRICA IFLA SYMPOSIUM

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS - IFLA 

Department of Landscape Architecture,

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology

(JKUAT) Kenya

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION AND PRACTICE IN AFRICA IFLA SYMPOSIUM

IFLA AFRICA COMMITTEE and the JKUAT DEPARTMENT OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

would like to invite you to the 2^nd IFLA AFRICA symposium to be held from 5-7^th October 2011 at the Africa Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD) – JKUAT. The symposium focuses on “Landscape Architecture Education but will also address the advancement of the profession in Africa”.

Theme and Topics:

The theme is “Landscape Architecture in Africa: Status of education, practice and future challenges”.

Topics to be addressed within this theme are: 

Status of Education

·         Landscape Architecture Profession

·         Relevance and Challenges of Landscape Architecture

·         Cultural Landscapes

·         Research Techniques and Methods

·         UNESCO Landscape Charter for Africa (workshop)

·         Collaboration across the Continent (workshop) 

The organizing committee is accepting papers based on the above themes. Please email the Abstracts of proposed presentations as pdf file to iflasymp@gmail com by 15^th March 2011 for review. 

Important dates for the review process are: Abstracts due: March 15 2011.  Notification of acceptance: March 30, 2011. Full manuscript draft due: April 30, 2011 Reviewed manuscript due: July 1, 2011. Conference: October 5^th -7^th. 2011. 

There will be 1 day of pre-symposium tour to experience a variety of the Kenyan landscapes: designed and natural in and around the city of Nairobi. 

As part of this symposium we are organising a student competition. This runs between March 25^th and August 15^th 2011. More details will be available on the Department’s website soon. http://www.jkuat.ac.ke/land-arch/

Invited Keynote Speakers include:

Prof. P. Ngunjiri JKUAT | Prof. James Taylor, Africa IFLA Committee Chair | Martha Fajardo, Past President IFLA, Colombia |Hitesh Mehta, Landscape Architect, HM Design | Prof. Christian Werthmann Harvard University, USA | Prof. John Beardsley, Harvard University, USA |

The conference language is English. The symposium is organized by the IFLA Africa Committee in cooperation with Department of Landscape Architecture JKUAT. The conference proceedings will be published as fully reviewed papers by IFLA.  For further information please contact:

IFLA Africa Symposium Committee.

Department of Landscape Architecture,

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

P.O. BOX 62000-00200

Telephone: +254-(0)20-800 8490

Fax:  +254-(0)67-527 11
Abstract submission: iflasymp@gmail com

The Symposium goal is to reach a consensus on major educational issues, advancement of the profession, approaches to continential and international cooperation, identification of needs and programmes, discussion on establishing African standards and means for recognizing programmes in landscape architecture. We shall conclude with a series of recommendations on courses of action on these topics.

STATUS OF EDUCATION 

This subtheme focuses on the past and current status of education in landscape architecture, the philosophies including overviews of specific degree programs offered in the participant countries. These could include Diploma, Bachelors and Masters degree courses in Landscape Architecture. What is the future of Landscape Architecture education in Africa?

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE, RELEVANCE AND CHALLENGES OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

This subtheme looks at the professional practice, with its challenges and relevance in varied African contexts. It explores whether the current courses as offered are relevant to the practice and industry at large, offering feedback to educators. This subtheme shall also tackle issues related to practice and regulations in represented countries.

COLLABORATION ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND BEYOND

This subtheme looks at the various Landscape Architecture course available in Africa and explores credit transfer possibilities to enable mobility, collaboration and sharing of human and physical resources. It also looks at the tools available to enable collaboration such as the Le-Notre Thematic Network used by ECLAS in Europe.  What are the possibilities of professional collaborations across borders?

UNESCO LANDSCAPE CONVENTION FOR AFRICA

The Landscape Convention for Africa will seek specific and general measures to achieve landscape protection, management and planning. This is part of a larger UNESCO/IFLA initiative for a Global Landscape Charter.  These could be awareness-raising, training and education. It may further explore landscape character assessment to measure social value and monitor changes.

CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

Cultural landscapes are read as living memoirs of societal change, development and attendant interactions. How our landscapes changed and what is the future in face of rapid urbanisation?

RESEARCH TECHNIQUES AND TEACHING METHODS

This will look at the research and teaching methods are used in different schools and explore possible linkages and exchange of ideas. This may also look at case studies, critics and presentation of specific seminal projects, built and non-built.

TECHNOLOGY & MATERIALS

Sustainability defines the way we design, specify and construct our landscapes. What tools and technologies are available to users for research, education and practice?  What innovative materials are available to the design and construction teams for experiment and or actual project implementation?