On 5 November, Myfanwy James (London School of Economics) will give a talk about the frontline humanitarians who negotiate access with rebel groups in North Kivu, eastern DRC, to foreground the work of local aid workers who are the backbone of humanitarian operations.

Congratulations to Annachiara Raia, who has been awarded a Vidi grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). With this grant, Raia will be able to develop a research project about narratives across distant-water islands. The project studies narrative migrations that cross borders and forge intertextual-and-religious relations among islanders of Indian Ocean islands Lamu, Madagascar, and Java.

Join us on 24 November for an evening of poetry, performances and conversation, celebrating the work of Yonwaba Matshobotiyana, winner of the 2025 Africa Thesis Award! Yonwaba's thesis deals with the resurgence of Black women’s and Black queer women’s voices in South African poetry.

The ASCL Annual Report for 2025 is out now! In it, you will find highlights such as the launch of the new research programme, library acquisition trips to West Africa, and the well visited panel discussion on media attention for the wars in Sudan and the DRC. 

What does decolonisation mean today, and what can it tell us about African agency in a rapidly changing world? This year's Stephen Ellis Debate will explore decolonisation not simply as a historical process, but as an ongoing project of political, intellectual and social transformation. Keynote: Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni.

What is it like to live with the pollution from mining and oil day in day out? Through photography and poetry, Abundance/Extracted portrays scenes from everyday life in the Niger Delta, the Zambian Copperbelt, and Johannesburg. The book is the result of a long-term collaboration between academics, photographers, and poets.