On 14 May we bid farewell to our colleague Ella Verkaik-Steenvoorden. She worked at the Library of the ASCL for more than 40 years, and went into early retirement as she was moving to the eastern part of the Netherlands. Sadly, life took a different turn. Ella passed away in her new house in Delden, on 14 July.

Are you interested in Africa and is your master's thesis on a related subject? If so, the African Studies Centre Leiden is offering you the chance to win € 500,-. Moreover, your thesis will be published in the ASCL's African Studies Collection. Master students who have completed their thesis at a university on the African continent or in the Netherlands can apply.

The ASCL has moved from the Pieter de la Court building, to the Herta Mohr Building in Leiden in the last week of May. We are now located at the former P.N. van Eyckhof-Van Wijkplaats, Witte Singel 27a in Leiden. You are very welcome to come and visit us!

Leiden University is set to enhance its cooperation with African knowledge institutions. During a recent visit to Ghana, a delegation including ASCL director Marleen Dekker engaged with several African institutions to discuss strengthening their collaborative efforts.

This photo-ethnography on young people of Burundian heritage in Belgium and the Netherlands, explores the traces of war in Burundi. The book reveals how war reverberates across time and space: in people, places and through ‘war repertoires’.

International development mechanisms determine and dominate approaches to urban development, but what is rarely seen are the ingenious innovations that offer alternative development approaches in urban spaces. This presentation by Prof. Shuaib Lwasa (Erasmus University Rotterdam) will explore some of the levers for harnessing these opportunities.