News & Events

The Netherlands Association of African Studies dedicates its 25th anniversary conference to spoken mediation. Fighting with words can be as harmful as fighting with swords. Similarly, in reconciliation and cooperation, speech is an essential resource. Submit your papers before 31 August!

We are deeply saddened by the news that Professor Kassahun Berhanu Alemu of Addis Ababa University (AAU) passed away on 22 February 2022. Prof. Kassahun was a visiting fellow at the African Studies Centre Leiden twice (in 1999 and 2009) and a fellow of the ASCL Community. He was well-known among the wider Ethiopian public for his many appearances in the media and his thoughtful contributions to public debates on Ethiopian affairs.

The ASCL is deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Kofi Dorvlo in February 2022. Dr Dorvlo was a LeidenASA visiting fellow at Leiden University in 2019, the same university where he had obtained his PhD in 2008. His doctoral research, funded by the Endangered Languages Programme of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), focused on the documentation of Logba, one of the fourteen Ghana-Togo Mountain (GTM) languages spoken by approximately 7,500 speakers on the Southeastern frontier of the Ghana-Togo border.

Staff of the ASCL Library undertake yearly acquisition trips to African countries. These trips are very important for ensuring the diversity of the collection. In September 2021, the ASCL team was able to travel to Rwanda, a country that had not been visited before. A selection of the items that were collected then, will be on display in the ASCL Library. The exhibition will be opened on 31 March by ASCL researcher and Associate Professor Lidewyde Berckmoes.

It is with profound sadness that the African Studies Centre Leiden has learned that Prof. Dr Bert Ingelaere passed away on 4 February 2022. Bert, Associate Professor at Antwerp University, was a highly respected member of our academic community, a collaborator on many occasions, and a dear friend. He will be remembered for his profound knowledge of the long-term effects of conflict in the African Great Lakes region.