News & Events

ASCL director Ton Dietz gave a closing speech at the end of the two-day international conference AfricaWorks! 2016 in Amsterdam, which was a big success. The theme of this year's conference was Innovation in Finance. In his speech, Dietz highlighted the fact that we need to look not only at matters like access to finance, finance for SMEs and finance for development, but also at finance and integrity.

On the occasion of the Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture by Prof. Muna Ndulo on Ethnicity, diversity, inclusivity and constitution making in Africa (17 November) the library has compiled a web dossier on African constitutions. It contains titles available in the library and published in the past six years. The dossier opens with a thematic introduction by Professor Nick Huls, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Law, Leiden University, followed by an overview of constitutional texts. It concludes with links to relevant websites. Visit the web dossier!

Five powerful young women, and a man have traveled all the way from Kenya and Uganda to the Netherlands, to present to you the challenges that they face when trying to promote women empowerment in the slums of East Africa. They have all set up inspiring projects using different means, such as performing arts, to support children and youngsters. Their projects, are not only unique, but also very successful in giving youngsters more confidence and a safe space where they can speak up. This workshop will be an interactive entertaining workshop with lots of dance and singing, showing you a very positive outlook on improving the complicated situations of daily life in slums. These complicated situations vary greatly; going from not being able to buy pads when a girl is on her period, to not being able to go for a run in the morning due to the risk of being harassed. 

Still a Pygmy, by Isaac Bacirongo & Michael Nest, is the memoir of Isaac Bacirongo, an ethnic BaTembo Mbuti (Pygmy) from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This recent library acquisition is thought to be the first memoir by a Pygmy author ever to be published. Bacirongo has become an advocate for fair treatment of his people and has helped establish the first indigenous rights organization for pygmies in Congo. Still a Pygmy is the subject of our latest Library Highlight!

On Friday 28 October Stephen Ellis’ last book This present Darkness: A History of Nigerian Organised Crime was launched at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, in the presence of Stephen Ellis’ widow Prof. Gerrie ter Haar and ASCL director Prof. Ton Dietz. The launch was followed by the Stephen Ellis Colloquium where papers were given about subjects as diverse as currency counterfeiting, theft in Early Colonial Lagos, crime at the University of Lagos and reporting Crime in Contemporary Lagos.

On behalf of the jury, the ASCL is pleased to announce that the winner of the Africa Thesis Award 2016 is Tanja Hendriks for her thesis ‘Home is always home’. (Former) Street Youth in Blantyre Malawi and the Fluidity of Constructing Home. Tanja completed the Research Master in African Studies at Leiden University and graduated cum laude. The prize will be presented to Tanja at the LeidenASA Annual Meeting on 8 December.