The African Studies Centre Leiden is deeply saddened by the news that its former colleague and board member of the Netherlands Association of African Studies (NVAS) Karin Willemse passed away in Leiden on 18 March 2023. Karin was a driving force in propagating African Studies in the Netherlands. 

Registration for the two Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) minors that the ASCL co-organises will open on 3 April! It concerns the minor African Dynamics and the minor Frugal Innovation for Sustainable Global Development. The minors are accessible for third-year bachelor students from the three universities.

Studium Generale en het ASCL bieden in april en mei lezingen aan die inzicht geven in ontwikkelingen in Afrika. Thema's zijn o.a. migratie, de diversiteit van de islam, Afrikaanse talen en literatuur, de mogelijke relatie tussen diamantwinning en het uitsterven van soorten, en de link tussen Afrika en Noord-Korea.

Indy Koster, student of the Research Master African Studies, collaborates with REEFolution for her thesis research. This NGO in Shimoni, a coastal village in south eastern Kenya, aims to restore the degraded coral reefs. Indy collects data both under water, to analyse the condition of the reef, and on land, interviewing female stakeholders.

Air pollution is the second largest cause of death in Africa and air pollution-related costs are high. Vulnerable groups face higher risks and environmental injustice hampers achievement of inclusive development. Marleen Dekker and Agnieszka Kazimierczuk participated in a workshop on a pilot design for air quality in Africa. 

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.