The ASCL and the Netherlands Defence Academy are constituting parts of the Knowledge Hub Africa, which seeks to develop a research agenda on ‘African Peace and Security’. The Knowledge Hub Africa aims to highlight the agency of governmental organisations, non-state armed groups, and citizens in matters of war and peace.

On 10 September, our guest speaker An Ansoms (UCLouvain) will examine agrarian change in North Kivu, DRC, where armed conflict, environmental governance and market integration intersect. Prof. Ansoms will analyse how rural households navigate insecurity, land scarcity and competing territorial claims. Join us!

The Netherlands Association of African Studies (NVAS), in partnership with IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, will organise its annual conference in Delft on 11 and 12 September, with an online day on 10 September. Join us for an exciting event with more than 45 speakers on the urgent topic of water in Africa.

From 8 June to 31 July, the online Frugal Innovation Virtual Online International Collaborative Exchange (VOICE) brought together an international community with participants from Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. They shared different perspectives on frugal innovation.

Submit your Africa-related master’s thesis for the Africa Thesis Award 2026, have it published and win € 500! The Africa Thesis Award is an annual initiative by the African Studies Centre Leiden and Brill that recognises outstanding master’s theses.

Between 1822 and 1847, some 4,500 American ex-slaves and free-born Blacks, unwanted and ill-treated in the country of their birth, sailed to West Africa to settle in an unknown territory. While researching the history of Liberia’s origins, author Fred van der Kraaij made a remarkable discovery.