News & Events

Global histories of East Africa have often focused on economic relationships. But engagement with the wider world also took place in the domain of ideas, increasingly, from the late 19th century, through the medium of print media. On 11 November, Prof. Emma Hunter (University of Edinburgh) will explore Tanzania’s Swahili-language print media as a space in which writers reflected on their place within an increasingly unequal world, in an online ASCL Seminar.

Knowledge about religion and spirituality is essential in dealing with migrants of West African descent in the Netherlands who may be victims of human trafficking. This is the main conclusion of a study conducted by the Centre against Child and Human Trafficking (CKM), the African Studies Centre Leiden, and the University of Humanistic Studies. A culture-sensitive approach in which knowledge about religion and spirituality is included is a primary condition for communication with this target group. 

How much influence does the ambassador of the Netherlands in Mali have? How does he keep contact with a government that is constantly burdened by coups? On 21 September 2021 Amsterdam debating centre De Balie invited Marchel Gerrmann, Netherlands ambassador to Mali, and Mirjam de Bruijn, ASCL researcher and Mali expert, to reflect on current and future developments in the country. You can now watch the video.