Some mathematics department that I visited in Africa I have visited several departments of mathematics in Africa in 1995-96 including Benin, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. By clicking on the country's name, you will find some information on each country and the names and addresses of possible mathematical contacts in these countries. Below are some suggestions for help that an individual can give to these departments.An easy way to help is to include the address of these departments on your mailing list of preprints and reprints. It is very expensive for these departments to buy subscriptions to any journals of mathematics. Some of them only regularly receive the notices and bulletins of various mathematical societies because they are sent to them free of charge by these societies. Note that resources are scarce and departments may not subscribe to online services such as Math Reviews. Even chalk for teaching is a non-trivial expense. Another way to help a specific department is to buy for this department an annual subscription to a specific journal. This is not very costly in many cases: indeed, an individual subscription (made in your name) to a journal is rather cheap if your institution already subscribes to this journal for its library. For instance, the Annals of Mathematics, or the American Journal of Mathematics cost around $70 per year for an individual subscription. Information on various countries in Africa is provided by the African Studies WWW at U. Penn. The IMSP in Benin Benin is a country of six million inhabitants in West Africa, with borders with Togo, Nigeria, and Niger. The capital is Porto-Novo, 30 km east of Cotonou, the main port and commercial center. Many languages are spoken in Benin, including Fon and Yoruba. School is taught in French, and many people can speak French.More information on Benin can be found in the African Studies WWW/Benin at U. Penn. In addition to the department of mathematics at the University of Benin near Cotonou, Benin is also the host of the Institut de mathematiques et de sciences physiques (IMSP), located in Porto-Novo. This institute was created in 1988 to foster graduate research in mathematics and physics in West Africa. It receives financial support from the Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (Italy). I taught a 3-week graduate course at the IMSP in July 1996, and had a very pleasant stay there. Visitors are housed at the Hotel BeauRivage, located on the shore of the laguna and ten minutes by foot from the Institute. The University of Addis Ababa Ethiopia is a country of over 52 million inhabitants in the Horn of Africa, with borders with Sudan, Kenya, Somalia , Djibouti, and Eritrea. The capital is Addis Ababa. The University of Addis Ababa is the main university in Ethiopia and is conveniently located is downtown Addis Ababa. Many different languages are spoken in Ethiopia. Classes at the University are taught in English.More information on Ethiopia can be found in the African Studies WWW/Ethiopia at U. Penn. I spent two weeks in Ethiopia in December 1995 and really enjoyed it. Addis and the North of the country are at a high altitude, and the weather in December was wonderful. The country is very diverse and has a great touristic potential. A beautiful book of photographs of the region is `African Ark' (Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher). For more information, see the web page of the department of mathematics. For a contact in number theory, Professor Yismaw Alemu, Department of Mathematics, Science Faculty, Box 1176, Addis Ababa. For a contact in computer science, Professor Dawit Bekele, Phone: 11.67.30, email: dawit.bekele@padis.gn.apc.org. The University of Rwanda at Butare Rwanda is a country of 7 million inhabitants in Central Africa, with borders with Uganda, Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania. The capital is Kigali. The common language of Rwandese is kinyarwanda. Secondary education is taught in French.More information on Rwanda can be found in the African Studies WWW/Rwanda at U. Penn. I spent three weeks in Rwanda in September 1995. The country is at a high altitude and the weather at this time of the year was quite nice. The University of Rwanda of located in Butare, about three hour's drive from Kigali. The road between the two cities was very good. The University reopened in April 1995, nine months after the end of the genocide. Before the genocide, the department of mathematics had a staff of 17. In September 1995, the staff was reduced to two graduate students, the other members being either dead, in exile or refugee camps, or in jail. The teaching was done by these graduate students and by temporary visitors from Universities in neighboring countries. The University was eager for academics of all countries to come teach at the University, and will accomodate any schedule. No funds are available for travel, but accomodations and salary are provided. The new government was encouraging the University to start offering courses in English in addition to French. Several faculty members that I met were taking night classes in English to be able to effectively teach courses in English in the near future. For more current information, contact Carol Shubin .
