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| Young Kissi Dancers Near N'zerekore
-- Photo courtesy of Africa Focus |
The Republic of Guinea, an ethnically diverse
West African nation, is home to a large mixture
of customs and languages. Guinea's landscape is
also greatly varied, ranging from equatorial coastline
facing the Atlantic, to savanna in the northeast,
to the Guinea Highlands in the south. Mt. Nimba,
Guinea's highest mountain rises approximately
1,752 meters (5,748 feet) above sea level. The
sources of the Niger, Gambia, and Senegal Rivers
are all located in Guinea.
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| Downtown Conakry -- Photo courtesy of
Africa Focus |
Conakry, the capital city, is situated on Tumbo
Island connected to the mainland by a 300-meter
pier. There is a strong music tradition in Conakry,
as well as the rest of the country, with traditional,
modern, and blended styles enjoying widespread
popularity. Other major areas of Guinea include
the Fouta Djalon plateau and the town of Kankan,
the former capital of the Mali Empire. Boussou,
a village in the southeast of Guinea, is home
to a well-documented chimpanzee population known
for its use of stone tools to crack open oil palm
tree nuts.
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| Kissi Bala (Balafon) Player Near N'zerekore
-- Photo courtesy of Africa Focus |
French is the official language of Guinea and
the main language of university instruction. Numerous
other languages are spoken by various ethnic groups
throughout the country, including Malinké,
Fula, and Susu. Approximately 85 percent of Guineans
are Muslim, with the remainder practicing Christianity
or traditional indigenous religions.
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| N'zerekore -- Photo courtesy of Africa
Focus |
Since 1978, over 20 Fulbright grants have been awarded
to U.S. scholars to conduct research and/or lecture
in Guinea. One-third of grantees renewed their award
for a second year. Fulbright Scholars in Guinea
have primarily been involved in the fields of African
history, linguistics, economics, and anthropology.
The University of Conakry has hosted the majority
of these Fulbright scholars. Fulbright grant packages
for Guinea include support for tuition and fees
for accompanying children. More than one-third of
grantees have been accompanied by their spouses
and/or children.
CIES encourages interested applicants to make
use of the following links to complement their
research into potential opportunities available
in Guinea. Please also feel free to use the contact
information to get in touch with CIES program
personnel.
Contact Information for the Embassy of
the Republic of Guinea in Washington D.C.
http://www.worldrover.com/entry/guinea_embassy.html
Includes contact information for the Guinea Embassy
in Washington D.C., as well as links to statistics
and a country map.
U.S. Embassy in Conakry, Guinea
http://www.eti-bull.net/usembassy/
U.S. Embassy site with information on consular
and American citizen services and an online "Welcome
to Guinea Booklet" with useful information
for living in Guinea.
Embassy World website
http://www.embassyworld.com/maps/Maps_Of_Guinea.html
Links to a variety of standard and interactive
maps of Guinea.
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General Country
Information
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Guinea National Tourism Office
http://www.mirinet.com/ont/
In French. Includes information on tourism in
Guinea and a photo gallery.
The Africa Guide
http://www.africaguide.com/country/guinea/index.htm
Useful information for visitors to Guinea. Also
includes a number of links to books, music, and
other information pertaining to Guinea.
Mbendi - Information for Africa
http://www.mbendi.co.za/land/af/gu/p0005.htm
News reports, upcoming events, political
and economic outlooks, industry information, and
general information pertaining to Guinea.
Lonely Planet
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/guinea/
Traveler's information on Guinea, including sections
on events, activities, culture, and history.
U.S. Department of State
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/2824.htm
Background information on Guinea including political
conditions, foreign relations, relations with
the U.S., history, people, government, economy,
and business.
List of Universities and Higher Learning
Institutions
http://www.boubah.com/guineenews/annuaire/education
/universite.html
Contact information for the University of Conakry
and the University of Kankan.
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Newspapers / Current
Events
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All Africa
http://allafrica.com/guinea/
News stories pertaining to Guinea.
Africa Online
http://www.africaonline.com/site/
General news for all of Africa including business
and discussions, including country-specific information.
Listservs / Discussion Groups
Guinea List Listserv
http://www.friendsofguinea.org/listserv.shtml
Email discussion list for Guinea related
topics.
Africa Focus - Sights and Sounds of a Continent
http://africafocus.library.wisc.edu/
An Online collection of photographs and digitized
sound recordings from every country in Africa,
hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Libraries and the University of Wisconsin-Madison
African Studies Program.
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