The Great African Rift at the confluence of time. Scientific insights into the evolution of biodiversity, environments and societies
The major questions that determine the future of humanity (environment, nature-humanity relations, energy, societal and economic models, education, health, security) are posed in Africa more acutely than anywhere else. In particular, scientific work carried out in the Great Rift region (eastern part of the continent) sheds light on these issues across time, space, environments and societies. They will be the subject of the symposium " The Great African Rift - at the confluence of time ", to be held at the Collège de France in Paris on November 17 and 18 2023. CNRS, Collège de France and the " Rift " research group are pleased to invite everyone to these two days dedicated to the Great African Rift.
The symposium is coordinated by Sandrine Prat (CNRS, HNHP), Christel Tiberi (CNRS, Géosciences Montpellier) and Jean-Renaud Boisserie (CNRS, Centre français des études éthiopiennes & PALEVOPRIM), with the support of Pr François-Xavier Fauvelle (Collège de France), Honorary Professor Philippe Descola (Collège de France) and Pr Yves Coppens (Collège de France). This event is dedicated to the memory of the latter.
This symposium is the fruit of the mobilization of the CNRS and the Collège de France to approach this unique object of study, the Great African Rift, at the crossroads of all scientific disciplines. While it is first and foremost the beginning of an ocean that may one day make the Horn of Africa an island in the Indian Ocean, the Great Rift is more than just a collection of collapsing valleys and high plateaus. In fact, this exceptional territory concentrates, in the extreme, the challenges of the world's future. It is at once a model for studying the effects of climate change on intertropical environments (from ocean to high mountain, from desert to forest) ; the host of an emblematic biodiversity marked by the dynamics of its human component for millions of years ; a political space where authoritarian regimes, democracies, failed states and societies without state systems cohabit ; a region marked by both recurrent crises and rapid economic growth.
The aim of this symposium is to imagine the interdisciplinary future of research into phenomena specific to the Great Rift, illustrating the diversity of possible human responses to the global environmental crisis combined in Africa with explosive demographic expansion. It is supported by the CNRS Great African Rift research group, which brings together over forty laboratories specializing in the earth's crust, environments, biodiversity, cultures and societies of the Great Rift - and their past and present evolution.
This symposium accompanies the publication of the book Le Grand Rift africain. À la confluence des temps (CNRS/éditions du Cherche-Midi), a richly illustrated book on interdisciplinary research and recent discoveries in this region.
Webcast, it will feature some 15 lectures by scientists at the heart of current research, poster sessions and a round-table discussion on the challenges of transdisciplinarity and tomorrow's research, encouraging exchanges with the public. Admission to the event is free, subject to availability.
