News & Events

An account of D. Elwood Dunn's triple careers in academia, and services to two distinct governments of Liberia: William R. Tolbert’s and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s (consultant). Situated between the crisis years of the True Whig Party (TWP) regime and the hopeful years of the first post-civil war government stand more than three decades of teaching, research and public intellectual engagement. The author employs a rich repertoire of unpublished documents that include his personal cabinet notes and a wide range of government papers.

On the occasion of the ASCL seminar Subaltern Metropolitan Adventure and Colonial Mediation in Nigeria by Prof. Moses E. Ochonu, that took place on 7 April, the ASCL Library has compiled a web dossier on African-authored travel writing. Read the web dossier.

In het kader van 'European City of Science' Leiden2022 heeft het African Studies Centre Leiden de wandeling 'Sporen van Afrika in Leiden' samengesteld. Tijdens de wandeling maakt u kennis met gebeurtenissen, personen en gebouwen uit de geschiedenis die Leiden met Afrika heeft. De wandeling wordt dit jaar meerdere keren georganiseerd onder begeleiding van een gids. These walks have Dutch-speaking tour guides.

ASCL researcher Lidewyde Berckmoes has been awarded an Embassy Science Fellowship. The Dutch Research Council NWO, in collaboration with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has awarded six Embassy Science Fellowships (ESF-NL) in total. For a period of one to three months, the fellows will contribute to a scientific and societal issue from a Dutch embassy or consulate somewhere in the world. Dr Berckmoes will be based in Jakarta, Indonesia, to contribute to inclusive knowledge communities.

PhD candidate Mandipa Ndlovu has been appointed to the Now Generation Network (NGN) Focus Group, which is part of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) Advisory Council of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. This group of seven young and mid-career African professionals, drawn from academia, civil society, development institutions, and private sector, will contribute their diverse expertise to strengthening the IIAG Advisory Council.

Registration for the two Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) minors that the ASCL co-organises is open! 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 Leiden University, TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam and can accomodate 40 students each. Registration will close on 14 April.

The photo exhibition 'Born Free: Mandela's Generation of Hope' by Ilvy Njiokiktjien can be seen on the first and third floor of the Pieter de la Court Building until 31 July. During her work in South Africa, photo journalist Ilvy Njiokiktjien became intrigued by the 'born-frees', born after the end of apartheid.

PhD candidate Tycho van der Hoog wrote a blog about the military ties between African ruling parties and North Korea. His paper identifies three eras in which African political elites benefited from military ties to the DPRK. The blog was written for the Africa and International Studies blog series and is a summary of the paper for which he was awarded the British International Studies Association African Affairs Postgraduate Paper Prize 2021. 

Soon after the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, warnings have been shared about the collateral damage that could soon follow in terms of disturbed food markets, particularly in Africa. A number of African countries have become major importers of wheat and corn from Russia and Ukraine. Food price increases may lead to hunger, food riots, and other disturbances, writes Ton Dietz in the ASCL Africanist Blog.

On the occasion of the Rwanda book exhibition, that was opened at the African Studies Centre Leiden on 31 March 2022, the ASCL Library has compiled a web dossier that presents all publications displayed at the exhibition. The publication titles link to the corresponding record in the online catalogue. The dossier is introduced by Elvire Eijkman and concludes with a selection of relevant websites. Read the web dossier.