10th Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture: Season of Rains, Africa in the World Today, by Koert Lindijer
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On 4 December 2024, the 10th edition of the Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture will be celebrated with a special programme. Koert Lindijer, well-known journalist and author of African affairs, and Africa correspondent for the Dutch news platforms NRC and NOS, will be this year’s keynote speaker.
On the occasion of the tenth edition of the Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture, this year’s lecture will revolve around a reflection on Stephen Ellis’ book Season of Rains: Africa in the World (2011). In this book Stephen Ellis maintained that many emerging features of Africa’s new place in the world are neither surprising nor alarming, and that Africa is heading neither to perdition nor to redemption. Today, thirteen years after publication, twists and turns in the trajectory of democratic governance in Africa appear to give little room for optimism, judging by media reports.
On this special occasion, based on his experience of 40 years of reporting from Africa, Koert Lindijer will present a keynote speech on the issues facing African governance today. In his view, African leaders walk with their heads in the clouds. Political and economic indicators have turned negative. A huge debt burden has built up. The many military coups in the Sahel raise the spectre of a serious democratic setback. Civilian rule has led to bad governance. The ready-made solution of military rule is once more attractive to some. Elections do not offer a solution for development problems.
See also the web dossier the African Library has created to coincide with this event.
Preliminary programme:
16:00 Opening by Prof. Marleen Dekker, Director of the ASCL.
16:05 Introduction by Dr. Akinyinka Akinyoade, Chair of the ASCL Researcher's Assembly.
16:10 Keynote speech by Koert Lindijer.
16:45 Reflections by Dr Rahmane Idrissa (ASCL), Jelte van Wieren (Director DAF/BZ) and Mandipa Ndlovu (ASCL).
17:15 Q&A.
18:00 Closing followed by drinks.
Please note:
- the Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture will be held in the former location of the ASCL: Pieter de la Court Building, first floor, room 1A.20
- due to the high level of interest, in-person registration for the event is now closed. However, interested individuals can still register to attend the event online.
Speaker
Koert Lindijer is journalist, author, and Africa correspondent for NRC and NOS. In 2023 his book Een wolkenkrabber op de savanne. Veertig jaar correspondentschap in Afrika, about forty years of reporting from Africa, was published by Atlas Contact.
Date, time and location
04 December 2024
16:00 - 18:00
Pieter de la Courtgebouw / Faculty of Social Sciences, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden
1A.20
Registration
Posted on 15 October 2024, last modified on 5 December 2024