To browse Academia. Following the conference on "Bible and Practice" held at Bamberg, Germany, in , the idea of dedicating a volume to the same theme but with special focus on Africa was born.
And the result was not only a book, BiAS 4 1 , but a series of meetings also. This conference is jointly organized with colleagues in the fields of Theology and Biblical Studies, and other related fields in Africa. The conference has the aim of deliberating on pressing issues in the world and, more particularly, in Africa. The initiative started with the first meeting, held in Germany in at the imposing Kloster Banz cf.
BiAS 7 , with the second held in Gaborone, Botswana, in cf. BiAS 17 and the third, structured according to the regulations of a Humboldt-Kolleg, held in Windhoek, Namibia, in cf. BiAS At Windhoek, those who attended the conference on religious, social, and political issues relating to The Bible and Violence in Africa decided by a clear majority that the next BiAS-meeting should deal with The Bible and Gender Troubles in Africa.
Regarding the location, the majority favored the idea that the conference of should be held at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. It was especially Dr Obvious Vengeyi, who shouldered the burden of organizing all the necessities for the meeting.
Everyone who knows somewhat about the socioeconomic challenges experienced by Zimbabwe under the reign of the "the other son of God" during the agony of his last years, will understand that preparing an international conference under these circumstances did not mean less than what Germans call a "Herkulesaufgabe" Herculean labour.
