Dr. Mimboabe Bakpa
Visited the IAS from September to November 2023
From 20.09.2023 to 1.11.2023, I was a guest at the Institute of African Studies (IAS) of the University of Bayreuth. During my stay, I worked on the following projects:
- the challenges for the success of mother tongue teaching/learning in Togo
- grammatical issues in the contact between Gur languages and Togo-Ghana-Mountain languages.
I really benefited from the very rich library of the University of Bayreuth, which helped me to come across good findings in my research.
Apart from the research activities, I participated in the annual conference of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence held at the University of Bayreuth from the 11th to the 14th of October 2023 on "Spatialities". I also had a presentation entitled “The challenges for the success of mother tongue teaching in Togo” during the Research Colloquium on the 24th of October 2023. It was an opportunity for me to improve the paper through observations and comments made by participants.
Besides, I had the chance to discuss with my colleagues of Afrikanistik I & II about the mobility of lecturers and students, regarding the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Bayreuth and the University of Kara (Togo).
I also discussed with the Coordinator of the IAS, Dr. Jane Ayeko-Kümmeth, about the organisation of the 20th anniversary of the University of Kara, which will take place next year. Through this organisation, many academic activities will be held. Therefore, we will be glad to welcome a member of IAS at the University of Kara, in Togo.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to IAS for having invited me for a research stay. Many thanks to Dr. Manfred von Roncador for our academic discussions and his very useful advice. I am also grateful to the IAS Academic Coordinator, Dr. Jane Ayeko-Kümmeth for the suitable discussions we had in her office. My sincere thanks to Frau Daniela Löwinger, the Secretary of IAS, who did a lot for me before my arrival and during my stay. I am also thankful to all of my colleagues, Professors of African Linguistics and literature, and those of Romanistik for all the academic exchange and sharing, during the “Kaffee Runde” and anywhere else.