News & Events

On the 10th of May, the Cameroonian-Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh unexpectedly passed away at the age of 57. She served as executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa and was recently appointed to serve as the 2026 Venice Biennale's artistic director until her sudden death.

From 14 to 16 March 2025 the fourth edition of the Salon du Livre Africain de Paris took place. Some 120 publishers, mostly from francophone African countries and France, were represented at the fair. Cameroon was guest of honour, and Brazil special guest. Heleen Smits of the African Library visited the fair to expand our French-language collection.  

The jury of the Africa Thesis Award is delighted to announce that the 2024 prize has been awarded to Baleseng Maeneche, a graduate of the University of the Western Cape, for her thesis 'Media Representations of Male Perpetrators of Violence against Women and Children: A Decolonial Feminist Analysis'.

To further new insights and conversations, Eric Cezne will be organising a South-South dialogue ‘from below’ on green hydrogen. The workshop will be held in Namibia in March 2026 and will bring together hydrogen-affected populations, grassroots groups, and academics from Namibia, South Africa, and Brazil. 

The ASCL hosted the highly inspiring two-day workshop Ruptures and Riches: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of African Mineral Resource Extraction on 20 and 21 March. The workshop was organised by African Studies Research Master students.

This week the papal conclave is convened to appoint the new pope to succeed Francis who died on 21 April 2025. One of the possible successors is the Congolese archbishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungo (born 24 January 1960). 

Are you looking for a master's that offers in-depth knowledge of African realities? Read about research master student Ivan Anderegg's experiences. He did fascinating fieldwork in Ghana, where he explored the gaming culture. 'I help build an understanding of Ghana's role in the digital media ecosystem.'