WARA's overseas office, the West African Research Center (WARC) in Dakar, Senegal, provides an institutional presence and lends continuity and stability to programs sponsored by postsecondary U.S. institutions. The overseas center and its programs create a point of contact for U.S. and West African researchers, encourage the intersection of respective research traditions, and foster collaborative research efforts. WARC is administered in conjunction with the Dakar-based Association de Recherche Ouest Africaine (AROA).
The WARC site in Dakar was granted to WARA by the Government of Senegal. The Center opened its doors at an initial location in downtown Dakar in 1993, and in 1997 moved to its current location in the beautiful Fann-Residence neighborhood. In that time, WARC moved quickly to establish itself as a regional research center of excellence in West Africa.
The founding director of WARC was Dr. Eileen Julien (1993-1995). She was followed by Dr. Leigh Swigart (1995-1997), Dr. Robert Mortimer (1997-1998), Dr. Fiona McLaughlin (1998-1999), and Dr. Wendy Wilson-Fall (1999-2004). The current interim director is Dr. Ousmane Sène, Professor of African and African-American Literature at Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar.
The benefits and services provided by having a West Africa-based center include:
- Providing logistical support for American scholars
- Offering institutional affiliation and facilitating acquisition of research clearances in West Africa
- Serving as operations base for WARA/WARC projects, expeditions, summer seminars and linkage programs
- Serving as operations base for member institutions needing assistance in the planning and execution of educational exchanges in the region
- Maintaining relations with language institutes, research facilities, libraries, and specialists in the host country and the region
- Developing cordial relations with U.S. authorities and relevant officials in the host country and the region
- Creating and maintaining a documentation center and current periodicals to complement existing archival and library collections. WARC's library holdings are part of the Digital Library for International Research, and are continually being updated.
- Developing opportunities for internships with local and regional organizations
- Providing orientation and programs of joint interest at its facilities
- Making a research library, computer facilities, and a computer network capable of sustaining significant research efforts available to West African and visiting researchers
WARC promotes scholarly research on West Africa and the Diaspora and works to foster cooperation between US-based and West African researchers, students and artists. In its development from initial conception to project planning, the Center seeks the active participation and cooperation of both West African and US-based scholars in order to identify and meet the needs of both communities. WARC specifically aims to:
- Encourage collaborative research between US-based and West African researchers, universities, and relevant institutions through a program of research fellowships and the organization of colloquia, seminars, and workshops on topics of both general and scholarly interest.
- Make available to West African and visiting researchers a research library, computer facilities, and a computer network capable of sustaining significant research efforts by providing up-to-date data and information on West Africa and the Diaspora.
- Provide a forum in which both local and foreign researchers may conduct and share their work, and create a transnational community of scholars and researchers.
- Promote interdisciplinary approaches and considerations of gender in the study of West Africa and the African Diaspora.
- Gather, catalogue, and disseminate the results of research on West Africa.
Sponsorship
The Center is a project of The West African Research Association/Association de Recherche Ouest Africaine, which has members - both institutional and individual - throughout the US and West Africa, with members in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.
Funding
WARC is supported by the Government of Senegal and by grants from the US Department of Education and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, as well as through its membership.
