European Conference on African Studies (ECAS) 2025 in Prague

We are excited that a large delegation of the African Studies Centre Leiden and the wider Leiden University will participate in the 10th European Conference on African Studies (ECAS). ECAS will take place from 25 to 28 June in Prague, hosted by the Czech Association for African Studies (CAAS).

 

ECAS is the flagship event of AEGIS, the European African Studies Association, and is organised every second year. Among the 2,000 participants from all over the world, some 25 researchers from the ASCL and Leiden University will convene a panel or present a paper. Moreover, the ASCL will host a book stand with the latest ASCL publications on sale.

 

Librarians in African Studies
On 24 June, the European Librarians in African Studies (ELIAS) Annual Meeting will take place, in which Liesbeth Kanis, head of the ASCL Library, will participate. In addition, information specialist Ursula Oberst will speak here about 'Opening up African literatures through Wikibase', presenting the exciting African Literary Metadata (ALMEDA) project.

Theme
This year’s conference theme is African, Afropolitan, and Afropean Belongings. The past decades have seen a resurgence of identity politics all over the world and much of it has involved diverse African forms of belonging in a world where global North paradigms continue to be socio-economically, culturally and politically dominant. Considering the countless dimensions of human diversity constructed on the continent itself and within diverse diasporas, in physical and digital spaces, this conference aims to examine regionally specific struggles and how they impact on broader societies, cultures, multispecies ecologies, politics, and economies.
Read more about the theme.

Leiden participants
Below you find an overview of ASCL participants in the conference, including paper title, time and venue. For an overview of all Leiden participants, visit the detailed programme on the conference website, go to the search field on the left, and enter ‘Leiden’.

Wednesday 25 June
 

Thursday 26 June

09:42 - 10:03, Hall 409
Nigeria’s population growth: It is not what it is
Speaker: Akinyinka Akinyoade

10:24 - 10:45, Hall 409
The political demography of revolt: age structure, youth protest, and armed conflict in Sudan and Ethiopia, 2015-2024
Speaker: Jon Abbink

10:24 - 10:45, Hall 225V
The land of a thousand troubles: imaginaries of mental health problems, care and healing in Burundi
Speaker: Lidewyde Berckmoes

Friday 27 June

09:52 - 10:18, Hall U4
The digital scramble for Africa: New ICTs and social inequalities
Speaker: Mirjam de Bruijn

15:00 - 15:21, Hall 018
‘Plagues’ and Pesticides: Slow and Sudden Horrors of an African Anthropocene
Speaker: Miriam Waltz

Saturday 28 June

09:00 - 09:21, Hall 408
Advancing Epistemic Plurality and Equitable Knowledge Exchange in Higher Education
Speaker: Madi Ditmars

11:57 - 12:18, Hall 200
The making of hydrogen landscapes in Africa: Power and geographical perspectives on an emergent field of research
Speaker: Eric Cezne

11h57 - 12h18, Hall 209, FA
Navigating Identity and Insecurity: The Evolving Relationship of the Banyamulenge Community with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo Across Generations
Speaker: Aurore Vermylen (Visiting Fellow)