Last May we bid farewell to our colleague Ella Verkaik-Steenvoorden. She had worked at the Library of the ASCL for more than 40 years, and went into early retirement as she was moving to the eastern part of the Netherlands. Sadly, life took a different turn. Ella passed away in her new house in Delden, on 14 July.

Prof. Jan-Bart Gewald receives an NWO Open Competition grant to conduct research on mining history in Southern Africa. The project will investigate the environmental history of three industrial mining centres in southern Africa. It will describe and analyse the long-term impact of mining in southern Africa on more than humans alone.

In the first week of September, at the start of the academic year, we welcomed our new (Res)MA students in African Studies and minor students in African Dynamics and Frugal Innovation. A total of 59 students enrolled in these four programmes. After introductions to the ASCL and their new study programme, the students are looking forward to starting their coursework. 

Are you interested in Africa and is your master's thesis on a related subject? If so, the African Studies Centre Leiden is offering you the chance to win € 500,-. Moreover, your thesis will be published in the ASCL's African Studies Collection. Master students who have completed their thesis at a university on the African continent or in the Netherlands can apply.

On 3 July the Leiden University Dialogue in Education Network (LUDIEN) was officially launched. The network welcomes all who are interested in dialogue as a tool for connection and improved student wellbeing in higher education. The dialogue method is moreover useful to talk about sensitive issues in class.

International development mechanisms determine and dominate approaches to urban development, but what is rarely seen are the ingenious innovations that offer alternative development approaches in urban spaces. This presentation by Prof. Shuaib Lwasa (Erasmus University Rotterdam) will explore some of the levers for harnessing these opportunities.