News & Events

This new book, edited by Jon Abbink, explores policies and governance initiatives in Ethiopia introduced after the federal government launched its 'Reform Agenda' in 2018. It features key topics including women’s empowerment, agrarian governance, youth (un)employment, and foreign direct investment.

To mark the retirement of Jos Damen - the ASCL's former Head of the Library, Documentation, and Information Department - the Library staff and Marleen Dekker, director of the ASCL, pay tribute to Jos with the help of a book or a film they associate him with: Jos Damen in 11 books and films!

The ASCL is saying farewell to its esteemed Head of the Library, Documentation, and Information Department (LDI) Jos Damen. After having dedicated his expertise and passion to the ASCL and particularly its library (now known as the African Library) since 2006, Damen is retiring.

On 21 March 1940, South African photographer Ernest Levi Tsoloane Cole was born. In the early 1960s, he started to freelance for clients such as Drum magazine, the Rand Daily Mail, and the Sunday Express. This made him South Africa's first black freelance photographer.

The abrupt freeze of US Foreign Aid has left many communities in Africa in limbo, undermining the hard-earned trust that took years to build. In a new blog, PhD candidate Tinashe Chimbidzikai, who has actively participated in implementing USAID-programmes in Zimbabwe, observes the fragility of trust in humanitarian efforts.

From 18 to 20 March 2025 Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will go on a three-day state visit to Kenya. The visit has evoked strong criticism in Kenya and the Netherlands. In this reading list, the African Library has assembled resources on the state visit, recent protests, and Kenyan politics and human rights.