On the occasion of the upcoming general and presidential elections in Nigeria (scheduled for 25 February), the ASCL, in collaboration with the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs and the ASCL Community, will organise a panel discussion on Tuesday 14 February.

Robert Okello (Development Studies, International Institute of Social Studies) is the winner of the Africa Thesis Award 2022. He wrote his thesis on the legal empowerment of rural women through digital technology in Northern Uganda. His thesis was partly inspired by the experiences of his mother with the Ugandan legal system.

This book, edited by Annachiara Raia and Clarissa Vierke, is a pioneering collection of poetry by the outstanding Kenyan poet and imam Ustadh Mahmmoud Mau from Lamu island, once an Indian Ocean hub, now on the edge of the nation state. By means of poetry in Arabic script, he raises his voice against social ills and injustices troubling his community on Lamu.

On 23 February Etienne le Rossignol (Université de Namur) will kick off the ASCL Seminar Series 2023. Le Rossignol will talk about his research on the origins of moral universalism while looking at transhumant pastoralism - a livelihood in which populations seasonally migrate and herd livestock.

The Leiden African Studies Assembly (LeidenASA) held its Annual Meeting on 12 December. LeidenASA is the network of Leiden based Africa-researchers. It has more than 170 scholars who work on Africa-related research and education. Fifteen researchers gave pitches on their projects, and sketches of Leiden University's Africa strategy were outlined.

PhD candidate Loes Oudenhuijsen has been awarded the 2022 Queer African Studies Association Prize for the Best Published Scholarly Essay by a Graduate Student. She won the prize for her article ‘Quietly Queer(ing): the Normative Value of Sutura and Its Potential for Young Women in Urban Senegal’, published in Africa in 2021. Congratulations Loes!