Join us for a panel discussion with Nisrin Elamin, University of Toronto; Samah Salman, US Educated Sudanese Association (USESA); and Niemat Ahmadi, Darfur Women’s Action Group, as we talk about the crisis in Sudan, cosponsored by the GWU Humanitarian Action Initiative and the Arab Center Washington DC. We’ll discuss the drivers of the conflict, the militarization of politics and General Hemedti’s rise, as well as the consequences of the conflict, including implications for food security, the resulting humanitarian crisis, spillover effects on neighboring countries, and potential economic damage. Finally, we will discuss efforts to mitigate the impacts and resolve the conflict, such as the work of resistance committees and the farmers union in helping people survive, Regional and International Mechanisms to end war, and the role of other external actors, particularly the Gulf states.
This is a hybrid event. Attendees may register to watch via Zoom or attend in-person at 1957 E St NW, Room 505, Washington, DC.
Speakers
Nisrin Elamin is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and African Studies at the University of Toronto. She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Stanford University in 2020. She is currently writing a book tentatively titled: Stratified Enclosures: Land, Capital and Empire-making in central Sudan which focuses on Saudi and Emirati land grabs and community resistance to land dispossession in the Gezira region of Sudan. In addition to scholarly articles, Nisrin has also published several op-eds for Al Jazeera, the Washington Post, Okay Africa, and the Cultural Anthropology Hot Spot Series. Before pursuing her Ph.D., Nisrin spent over a decade working as an educator, community organizer and researcher in the US and Tanzania.
Samah Salman is an executive leader in Sudan’s private sector with experience in the renewable energy, agriculture, food processing, food security, livestock, oil and gas and telecom industries. Samah has led social innovation initiatives to address development challenges in the areas of food security and climate change in Sudan. Samah is also the President of diaspora civil society organization, US-Educated Sudanese Association (USESA), established to support the democratic transition of Sudan and working to find innovative ways of addressing the humanitarian crisis created by the newly emergent war in Sudan. She has provided think tanks and media houses such as the Voice of America, the Financial Times, Al Jazeera, BBC World and The Africa Report with Sudan analysis and various government agencies with policy recommendations on Sudan. Samah is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, with a degree in Finance and Management. She has won multiple awards and is also a Tutu African Leadership Fellow with the AFLI and University of Oxford.
Niemat Ahmadi A native of North Darfur, Sudan, Ms. Ahmadi is the Founder and President of Darfur Women Action Group and the Founder and CEO of Unique22 LLC Strategies. Ms. Ahmadi is a veteran human rights and genocide prevention advocate and a seasoned strategic planning & management professional. She is currently a member of the International Strategic Planning Association and the Excellence in Government team member. Ms. Ahmadi has a long track record working with international non-governmental organizations for over 23 years in various fields of emergency, development, and policy advocacy in Sudan and internationally. Ms. Ahmadi previously worked as the Director of Global Partnerships for United to End Genocide and the Save Darfur Coalition in the US and with Oxfam Great Britain, Intermediate Technology Development Group (now known as Practical Action) and the United Nation’s World Food Programme in Sudan. She served as a gender advisor at the 7th round of Inter-Sudanese peace talks on Darfur in Abuja, Nigeria.
