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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250623
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250626
DTSTAMP:20250808T152548Z
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SUMMARY:Emerging Threats to Environmental Justice in Africa: Insights from SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Panel
DESCRIPTION:Held as part of the 2025 Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Annual Meeting in Nairobi\, Kenya (June 23-25)\, the SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Program brought together six fellows to explore how environmental injustice is shaped by inequality\, climate change\, and conflict in various African contexts on a program-sponsored panel titled ‘Inequality\, Climate Change and Conflict: Emerging Challenges for Environmental Justice in Africa’. Framed within the broader ACUNS theme of “Environmental Multilateralism and Human Development\,” the panel session spotlighted African-led scholarship and grounded research findings across Uganda\, Zimbabwe\, Mozambique\, and Ghana\, highlighting the continent’s disproportionate vulnerability to climate-induced crises and offering pathways for more equitable and effective global\, regional\, and local responses. \nThe APN and Next Gen panel was chaired by Dr. Lilian Kong’ani (University of Cape Town\, South Africa) and featured presentations by: Dr. Alice Wabule (Cavendish University\, Uganda)\, Dr. Fadzai Chipato (Great Zimbabwe University\, Zimbabwe)\, Clemente Ntauzi (University of the Western Cape\, South Africa)\, Dr. Issah Suhyini Alhassan (University for Development Studies\, Ghana)\, and Dr. Louis Kusi Frimpong (University of Environment and Sustainable Development\, Ghana)\, who served as a panel discussant. \n \nThe panelists raised key themes bordering on environmental degradation\, vulnerable communities\, governance\, and social justice. \nPresentations and Reflections\n1. Resource Extraction and Community Vulnerability\nDr. Fadzai Chipato’s case study illustrated the intersection between lithium mining\, climate change mitigation\, inequality\, and conflict in the Bikita district\, Zimbabwe\, and how “strategic partnerships” with foreign firms often marginalize communities\, exacerbate environmental degradation\, and deepen social inequalities—especially for women. She asked\, “Can we call it a just transition if those at the helm of extraction are untouched by its harms?” Dr. Chipato’s study emphasized the need for meaningful inclusion of community voices in decision-making processes and holding organizations like the African Union accountable to avoid reproducing historical patterns of extractivism\, which reinforce the “resource curse” narrative and deepen local injustices. \nDr. Alice Wabule explored complex dimensions of devastation in Uganda\, including the loss of lives\, farmland\, and other properties\, internal displacement\, and distortions in social order\, while emphasizing the exacerbating social and economic inequalities caused by these occurrences. Dr. Wabule shared insights on the political exploitation of environmental disasters. In highland areas\, aid has been distributed not based on need\, but as political patronage. She called for a collaborative interrogation of short-term versus long-term responses to climate crises\, innovative research\, environmental justice\, and equity. \n2. Gendered Dimensions of Climate Adaptation\nClemente Ntauzi’s presentation on carbon sequestration in Mozambique revealed how “green” interventions can reinforce patriarchal structures. Women face land dispossession and exclusion from income-generating activities linked to carbon programs\, while local leaders are co-opted to enforce these changes. Ntauzi underscored the “importance of inclusive and context-specific interventions and strategies to ensure climate mitigation through carbon sequestration projects\, as well as the need to address socio-economic inequality in rural Mozambique by supporting people-centered strategies and resource governance practices and projects designed to foster food security\, higher incomes\, climate justice\, and sustainable development.” \nUsing a newly developed community-weighted vulnerability index and Tobit regression analysis\, Dr. Issah Suhyini Alhassan’s study found that environmental factors—more than institutional or socio-demographic ones—are the primary drivers of vulnerability. Through his research\, Dr. Alhassan examined livelihood vulnerability among households affected by the growing incidence of farmer-herder conflicts in Africa and highlighted that sedentary farmers and herders are the most exposed\, while transhumant herders are the most sensitive to conflict. The analysis also shows that conflict exposure and sensitivity contribute more to vulnerability than a lack of adaptive capacity. To promote environmental justice and peaceful coexistence\, he recommends policies that address exposure and sensitivity\, such as fair resource allocation\, stronger community resilience\, inclusive governance\, and improved trust in conflict-resolution institutions. \n3. Governance\, Participation\, and Justice\nAcross presentations\, the lack of proactive governance and accountability mechanisms emerged as a critical concern. Dr. Louis Kusi Frimpong emphasized the absence of disaster preparedness and meaningful stakeholder engagement as root causes of exploitation and marginalization. “Who is protecting the rights of local communities?” he asked while calling for a dismantling of current social structures and weak local leadership. \nDr. Lilian Kong’ani posed a closing question to the group: How can we better integrate local participation in environmental governance? Panelists advised that many communities are unaware of their right to engage\, highlighting a crucial gap in civic awareness and institutional responsiveness. \n  \nRecommendations: Advancing Environmental Justice Through Inclusive Governance\, Local Empowerment\, and Regional Accountability\n\nStrengthen Regulatory and Accountability Mechanisms\nGovernments and regional institutions must develop clear frameworks to monitor corporate practices\, particularly in resource extraction.\nPrioritize Community Engagement\nLocal voices must be included from the design to the implementation stage of environmental and adaptation projects.\nInvest in Civic Education\nExpand awareness at the community level about rights\, environmental governance\, and how to engage with local and national institutions.\nLeverage African Institutions\nInstitutions like the African Union and ECOWAS must be held accountable to ensure equity in environmental transitions.\nSupport Contextual\, Interdisciplinary Research\nContinued funding for African scholars is critical to understanding and solving region-specific environmental justice issues.\n\n \nWhen the panelists were asked to reflect on reforms that are most urgently needed within the United Nations and the broader international community to remain relevant and responsive to challenges of violent conflict\, poverty\, and climate change\, especially from an African perspective and in connection to your research\, they proposed the following calls to action. \nA Call for Action to the United Nations and International Community \n\nAmplify African Representation in Global Governance\nPush for African leadership and participation in the UN and global institutions\, ensuring African voices shape international policies and decisions.\n\n\nReform Global Frameworks for Equity and Inclusion\nDemocratize climate and peacebuilding systems to reflect local contexts\, with strong inclusion of women\, youth\, and marginalized communities.\n\n\nCenter for Indigenous and Community-Based Solutions\nElevate traditional knowledge and locally rooted practices to tackle conflict\, poverty\, and climate issues effectively.\n\n\nAdopt Integrated\, Systems-Based Approaches\nAddress the interconnectedness of global challenges\, such as climate\, conflict\, and poverty\, by breaking down policy silos (e.g.\, SDGs\, Agenda 2063).\n\n\nSupport Locally Led\, Co-Designed Solutions\nPromote participatory approaches that treat local actors as partners\, with investment in local capacity and alignment with African realities.\n\n\nThe APN and Next Gen program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.\n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/emerging-threats-to-environmental-justice-in-africa-insights-from-ssrcs-apn-and-next-gen-panel/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Africa
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ACUNS.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250625
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250629
DTSTAMP:20250723T220552Z
CREATED:20250723T152102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250723T220552Z
UID:10000898-1750809600-1751155199@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:APN and Next Gen-Sponsored Panel at the 2025 ECAS Conference: Prague\, Czech Republic
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program sponsored a panel of current and former fellows\, on the topic\, “Changing Geopolitics\, Violence\, and Conflict Resolution in Africa: Emerging Challenges and Prospects for Peace\,” featuring presentations based on the fellows’ program-supported projects. The panel was held during the European Conference on African Studies (ECAS)\, Prague\, Czech Republic\, from June 25 to 28\, 2025. \nThe panel addressed how changing global and regional geopolitics\, involving the complex interplay of domestic and external actors\, is impacting and shaping the trajectories of violent conflict in Africa\, including its ramifications for conflict resolution and peacebuilding on the continent. The paper presenters each used specific thematic case studies to identify and analyze how the activities of established Western Powers and Russia\, and emerging ones like China\, India\, Turkey\, Russia\, Saudi Arabia\, among others\, are redefining the geographies and trajectories of violent conflict in Africa\, including the emergence of new non-state and trans-state and trans-regional conflict actors. The papers address how the geopolitical trends pose formidable challenges to conflict resolution and peacebuilding norms and mechanisms in Africa. They also unpack how changing geopolitics and conflict dynamics are undermining democratic and welfare gains of the people\, regional peace and security architectures in Africa. \nIn the first presentation\, “Division and Uncertainty in West Africa: The Alliance of Sahel States and the Implications for Regional Security and Peacebuilding\,” Dr. Ibrahim Bangura (Associate Professor\, Fourth Bay College\, University of Sierra Leone\, Freetown\, Sierra Leone / APN IRG 2016) explored the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) by Burkina Faso\, Mali\, and Niger\, in September 2023\, followed by the exit of the three states from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)\, the termination of military cooperation with France and the US\, and the forging of a closer military partnership with Russia. Dr. Bangura theorized that the AES\, established as a mutual defense pact against perceived external aggression and internal threats\, represented a major geopolitical shift in West Africa. This realignment\, he argued\, posed fundamental challenges to the legitimacy of ECOWAS and regional stability in West Africa. \nDr. Sebastian Paalo (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology\, Kumasi\, Ghana / APN IRF 2024)\, in the second presentation\, “Changing geopolitics\, multipolarity\, and local ownership of peacebuilding in Africa\,” examined how global power shifts impact peacebuilding on the continent. Dr. Paalo asserted that a “local turn” in peacebuilding involves local leadership and resources\, which have gained prominence since the 1990s. He noted that Africa’s geopolitical landscape\, shaped by colonialism and post-Cold War era dynamics\, continues to drive conflicts defined by proxy wars and instability driven by a lack of resources. Dr. Paalo also critiqued the limitations of the “liberal peace” paradigm; instead\, he advocated for a hybrid peace that combines customary practices and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms\, including key roles for women and youth. \n \nThe third presentation\, “The Securitisation of Migration: Consequences of EU Externalization Policies on Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in Africa\,” saw Silindile Nanzile Mlilo (Project Manager and Doctoral Researcher\, African Centre for Migration & Society\, University of Witwatersrand\, Johannesburg\, South Africa / Next Gen Completion 2024) analyzing how the European Union’s (EU) externalization policies continues to impact conflict resolution and peacebuilding across Africa. Mlilo argued that EU policies\, which prioritize preventing migration while neglecting its root causes (conflict\, poverty\, poor governance\, etc.)\, often worsen the local tensions between migrants and the host communities. She critiqued dominant Eurocentric narratives of migration that tend to securitize the concept of mobility. She instead proposed prioritizing African perspectives\, highlighting the unintended consequences of these policies\, including human rights violations\, corruption\, and the destabilization of regional mobility frameworks such as ECOWAS. \nContinuing the theme of Africa’s relations with emerging powers\, Kgomotso Komane (Assistant Lecturer\, University of Pretoria\, Pretoria\, South Africa / Next Gen Research 2024) delivered the fourth presentation\, on “Africa-China Relations: Commitments and Complexities to Peace and Development in Southern Africa.” Her presentation explored the dynamics of China’s engagement with Southern Africa\, through a decolonial lens\, and against the background of the impact of Western colonial legacies on regional development and stability in Southern Africa. Komane discussed how China’s economic growth and cooperation\, while supposedly contributing towards peace and poverty relief\, were heavily contributing to conflict in the region\, especially in countries like Lesotho\, Mozambique\, and Zambia. She further emphasized that Africa’s challenges with positive development—economic\, social\, infrastructure\, etc—are rooted in historical “overlapping epochs” of global imperialism and colonial power structures\, which continue to lead to political instability\, human rights violations\, and a lack of development on the continent. She challenged traditional\, Western-based narratives of international relations in Africa by drawing on a case study of the ongoing insurgency in Cabo Delgado\, Mozambique\, and Lesotho’s constant political turmoil. \nThe fifth and last presentation at the panel was by Tamia Botes (PhD Candidate\, University of Witwatersrand\, Johannesburg\, South Africa / Next Gen Research 2024) on “Geographies of Resistance: Eldorado Park and the Quest for Peace and Justice in African Urban Conflicts.” Botes explored Eldorado Park\, a “Colored” township on the outskirts of Johannesburg\, as a prominent example of how local violence is not necessarily separated from larger geopolitical forces caught up in African urban conflicts. She explained how the apartheid state’s spatial and racial engineering of Eldorado Park\, a site of systemic neglect and exclusion\, was linked to global and ideological currents\, along with Cold War geopolitics that either implicitly condoned or actively supported racial segregation in Southern Africa. Botes further asserted that post-apartheid South Africa’s transition to democracy\, dominated by neoliberal economic policies\, worsened the existing socio-economic divide and exacerbated inequality not just locally but also by integrating the continent into global capitalist structures\, marginalizing communities like Eldorado Park\, and feeding the cycle of structural violence. As a contrast to these neoliberal ideas of what peacebuilding on the continent should look like\, Botes introduced the huis-hospitaal (house hospital) as a framework for genuine care\, examining how local acts of resistance challenge systemic violence by providing alternative avenues for peacebuilding. She highlighted how these informal birthing centers\, run by generations of Black women midwives\, embodied a form of feminist peacebuilding rooted in collective care\, knowledge\, and a refusal to abandon one another amidst racial-sexual violence and state neglect. \nAfter the conclusion of the panel presentations\, a Question-and-Answer session followed between the panelists and the audience. Audience members raised questions about the concepts of ownership and local peacebuilding\, the dependent nature of certain geopolitical relations\, and peacebuilding and reintegration efforts within ECOWAS. \nOne participant asked Dr. Paalo his thoughts on the possibly problematic\, continuous focus on “ownership” as a concept when discussing local peacebuilding in Africa\, comparing it to outdated frameworks such as the 2005 Paris Agenda. In response\, Dr. Paalo acknowledged the need to reconceptualize ownership in a multipolar world and shifting toward questions of “access” and “entry points.” \nAnother participant also asked Komane if Chinese-funded infrastructure projects\, focused on economic involvement and progress\, could be seen as a form of peacebuilding due to their contribution to development. While Silindile acknowledged this point\, she challenged this notion by pointing out the dependent nature of this type of engagement creates between Africa and China\, particularly when local firms become reliant on Chinese financing; noting essentially\, such a power dynamic complicated any notion of peacebuilding. \nFinally\, Dr. Bangura was asked his thoughts on the potential for the reintegration of countries like Mali\, Burkina Faso\, and Niger into ECOWAS. Dr. Bangura stressed that any reintegration would depend on democratic transitions and that the present instability in the region is ultimately rooted in longstanding struggles over power and resources. He also linked this to the presence of violent extremist groups in the region. Still\, he expressed confidence that a renewed momentum for democracy would soon emerge and believed that Mali and Niger would lead such a democratic transition. Prof. Bangura also asserted that when these countries successfully democratize\, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) would be unsustainable. \nThe panel presentations and the discussions that followed them inspired thought-provoking ideas on the changing geopolitics in Africa and the challenges to\, as well as the potential for\, peace. It demonstrated how the APN and Next Gen-sponsored panel of African scholars engaged with essential research questions and facilitated a meaningful conversation on emerging challenges to African peacebuilding.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/apn-and-next-gen-sponsored-panel-at-the-2025-ecas-conference-prague-czech-republic/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Africa
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1060548-Edited-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250627
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250629
DTSTAMP:20250808T152600Z
CREATED:20250805T190327Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250808T152600Z
UID:10000900-1750982400-1751155199@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Charting a Path to Stability: SSRC–IPSS Dialogue on Political Transitions in the Horn of Africa
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (APN and Next Gen) program\, in collaboration with the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of Addis Ababa University\, co-hosted a high-level policy dialogue titled “Challenges to Political Transitions and Strategies for Regional Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa\,” held in Addis Ababa\, Ethiopia from June 27–28\, 2025. \nThe dialogue convened senior policymakers\, African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) representatives\, including H.E. Amb. Mohamed Ibn Chambas\, civil society actors\, scholars (including SSRC’s APN and Next Gen fellows)\, and diplomats for timely discussions on political transitions\, governance\, peace\, and regional cooperation in the Horn of Africa\, including Djibouti\, Ethiopia\, Eritrea\, Kenya\, Somalia\, South Sudan\, Sudan\, and Uganda. \n  \nThe convening commenced with opening remarks from the APN and Next Gen Program Director\, Dr. Cyril Obi\, and Addis Ababa University’s Interim Head of the Center for Peace and Security Studies\, Dr. Fana Gebresenbet\, urging scholars and participants to approach the challenges facing the region through collaboration aimed at producing research-driven policy options. \n \nH.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas (AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns) delivered a keynote address exploring the political challenges in the Horn of Africa and their similarities to the broader continent. H.E. Chambas spotlighted Sudan’s political unraveling—driven by militarization\, exclusionary governance\, and identity-based fractures—as emblematic of the broader instability in the Horn of Africa. He emphasized that these issues are not unique to Sudan but are reflected across the region\, including Eritrea\, where militarized politics and external influences remain key destabilizing forces. He urged participants to think through and adopt African-led\, inclusive approaches that prioritize learning from past experiences\, empowering civilian institutions\, and addressing emerging challenges through initiatives like Silencing the Guns. \n  \nDiscussion themes and outcomes \n\nPolitical Transitions\, Identity\, and Governance Deficits\nSpeakers explored the persistence of authoritarianism\, elite capture of political processes\, and structural marginalization. Discussions emphasized that identity politics continue to fuel ethno-regional tensions across Sudan\, South Sudan\, Somalia\, and Ethiopia. Participants argued that transitions should be viewed as ongoing movements rather than single events\, and underscored the need for inclusive\, civilian-led democratic institutions.\nRegional and Transnational Drivers of Conflict\nPanelists noted that many conflicts in the Horn of Africa are interlinked\, with insurgent movements and governance failures crossing borders. Examples from Somalia\, South Sudan\, and Eritrea illustrated how militarization and historically colonial-era frameworks deepened instability. Several speakers warned of the complicity of external actors and called for coordinated regional frameworks to manage transnational influences.\nCommunity-Level Reconciliation and the Role of Grassroots Actors\nLocal leaders\, traditional authorities\, and women play critical but under-supported roles in peacebuilding. Participants highlighted the need to embed grassroots actors in decision-making\, not just implementation. Climate change\, resource scarcity\, and shifting gender roles were identified as new drivers of local conflict and opportunities for innovation.\nRegional Organizations and the Silencing the Guns Agenda\nThis session addressed the institutional strengths and weaknesses of the AU\, IGAD\, and other sub-regional bodies. Panelists stressed that the AU’s effectiveness is limited by the political will of its member states. There was a call for moving beyond norm-setting towards enforcement and implementation. Practical recommendations included enhancing civic education\, expanding the “Silencing the Guns” framework to vulnerable populations\, and increasing coordination among regional blocs.\n\n   \n\nKey Takeaways \n\nEstablish inclusive governance and address structural inequalities in the Horn of Africa. Political transitions require sustained and inclusive engagement\, not episodic reforms.\nEthnic and identity-based contestations must be addressed through national dialogue and constitutional reform.\nCivil Society Organizations (CSOs)\, grassroots actors\, and youth networks must be integrated into formal peace mechanisms.\nThe AU and IGAD need to strengthen implementation\, not just develop policy.\nExternal interventions should be aligned with African-led priorities and avoid entrenching power imbalances.\n\nFrom Dialogue to Action\nThe policy dialogue highlighted the urgency of reimagining governance and regional cooperation. Scholars advocated for a shift toward transnational frameworks and knowledge-based policymaking. Reflections underscored systemic challenges\, including a lack of legitimacy\, the militarization of the state\, elite domination\, and fragmented civic spaces. \nThere was consensus on the need to anchor peace in grassroots realities\, use localized approaches to Silencing the Guns\, and foster long-term regional integration. The importance of pragmatic institutional design\, civic education\, and inclusive data frameworks was repeatedly underscored. \nThe APN and Next Gen program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/charting-a-path-to-stability-ssrc-ipss-dialogue-on-political-transitions-in-the-horn-of-africa/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Africa
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/image001.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250707
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250711
DTSTAMP:20250814T193435Z
CREATED:20250814T161944Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250814T193435Z
UID:10000901-1751846400-1752191999@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:July 2025 APN and Next Gen Research Methods Workshop: Ébène\, Mauritius
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation (Next Gen) Social Sciences in Africa Program\, in collaboration with the University of Mauritius\, held the 2025 July Research Methods Workshop in Ébène\, Mauritius\, from July 7 to July 10\, 2025. The workshop brought together fifty-six (56) fellows from fourteen (14)  African countries\, along with facilitators\, guests of honor\, and keynote speakers\, for four days of field-based research methods development\, peer-to-peer engagements and networking\, and mentorship by highly experienced senior scholars drawn from North America\, Europe\, and African countries. The workshop also served as an opportunity for the immersion of participants into diverse topics and issues of relevance in African scholarship and exploration of the social and academic cultures of Mauritius. \nThe opening ceremony of the workshop commenced with introductory statements by Mrs. Christina Chan Meetoo and Dr. Nicolas Ragodoo\, co-Chairs of the University of Mauritius Local Organizing Committee (LOC). They welcomed participants and expressed gratitude to Prof. Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur\, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities\, and Professor Sanjeev Sobhee\, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mauritius. Furthermore\, the co-Chairs stressed the importance of the event\, citing its potential in helping early career researchers sharpen their research ideas and proposals\, while contributing to peacebuilding efforts rooted in local realities and shaped by African scholarship and perspectives. \nInterview with Nicholas Ragodoo \nInterview with Christina Chan Metoo \n  \nDr. Cyril Obi\, Program Director of the SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Program\, in his opening remarks expressed gratitude to key dignitaries\, including the Honorable (Dr) Kaviraj Sharma Sukon\, Minister of Tertiary Education\, Science and Research\, Mauritius\, and \, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mauritius. Dr. Obi highlighted the importance of the Program in fostering a robust pan-African scholarly network\, acknowledging the partnership with the University of Mauritius as an intentional step towards deepening collaboration between scholars and institutions across mainland and island African countries. Enthusiastically welcoming the new cohort of APN and Next Gen fellows\, he encouraged them to form lasting research collaborations and connections throughout the workshop and afterwards. \nProfessor Sobhee\, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mauritius\, followed by commending the collaboration between the University of Mauritius and the SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Program\, which he noted marked the beginning of a promising\, formal long-term relationship. He emphasized the importance given to research methodology at the University\, underscoring the significance of context-specific research methods tailored to the unique challenges of both continental and island Africa. Acknowledging Africa’s growing youth population as its future\, Professor Sobhee reinforced the value of internationalization in higher education and the role of rigorous research in contributing to global academic excellence. \nThe Honorable (Dr) Sukon began by affirming the importance of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches and raised concerns about the gap in articulating the epistemological or ontological foundations of most research. Noting the recent move by the Mauritian government to begin its budget with a focus on research\, he emphasized the growing recognition of research as a national priority. Dr. Sukon welcomed the presence of APN and Next Gen scholars as a valuable opportunity for mutual learning and expressed the importance of local and regional research collaboration that improves the lives of African citizens. He concluded by thanking the University of Mauritius and the SSRC for co-organizing the international research workshop. \nThe opening session was followed by the first keynote lecture entitled “Reimagining Doctoral Supervision as Transformative Capacity Building in African Contexts”\, delivered by Professor Michael Anthony Samuel from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Critiquing dominant externally imposed or adopted research models in Africa\, he encouraged constant interrogation of the origin and stakeholders of research methodology and advocated for a relational and reflexive approach centered on African contexts\, questions\, and knowledge systems. Acknowledging systemic inequalities in postgraduate education\, he proposed capacity-building networks and partnerships across African institutions. Research\, Professor Samuel argued\, should be activist\, collaborative\, and disruptive of elitism\, domination\, and power imbalances. He called for a re-conceptualization of the supervisor and supervisee relationship: one that is centered on co-learning and co-production\, as opposed to imitation and a hierarchical master and apprentice relationship. \nThe keynote plenary session was followed by working group sessions where APN Individual Research fellows met with their mentors and peers\, while Next Gen Doctoral Dissertation Fellows met in their thematic groups–each structured according to the relevance of the mentors’ scholarly backgrounds to the thematic foci of fellows’ proposals. \nContinuing the discussions initiated on the first day\, Professor Tandrayen-Ragoobur emphasized the importance of research rooted in African contexts and appropriate methodologies. She encouraged fellows to embrace the initial confusion as part of the research journey\, remain resilient\, and allow their research endeavors to be guided by curiosity and methodological rigor. Professor Tandrayen-Ragoobur described the pursuit of a PhD as a journey whose significance exceeds the receipt of a degree\, framing it as a process of continuous growth\, learning\, and discovery. \n  \nProfessor Amy Niang from The African Institute\, Sharjah\, UAE\, delivered the second keynote lecture on “The Foundational Principles of Social Research for Knowledge Production in Africa.” She asserted that foundational principles of African research emerge from lived experience\, memory\, land\, language\, and community\, as opposed to just textbooks and archives. She expanded on this perspective by drawing on the lives of several prominent African thinkers\, each embodying a core principle of African scholarship. She expanded on these principles\, which posit that reclaiming history is both a political and epistemological act\, true liberation requires linguistic sovereignty\, and scholars must dismantle inherited\, marginalizing categories and build knowledge from the margins. Professor Niang also noted that liberation is both the purpose and method of African research. She reminded participants that African knowledge traditions have survived centuries of rupture\, affirming knowledge as a lifeline\, a vessel of memory\, and its production as an act of determining what will be remembered or forgotten. \nFollowing the keynote plenary session\, APN and Next Gen fellows and their mentors reconvened for the second day of full-day working group sessions\, after which the evening culminated in a welcome dinner for all workshop participants. \nOn July 9th\, the third day of the workshop\, fellows continued with their working group sessions in the morning\, which were supplemented by afternoon one-on-one meetings during which each fellow consulted with their group mentor\, who provided individualized feedback and guidance on proposals and draft chapters. Following the completion of the mentorship roundtables\, fellows visited historical and cultural sites in Ébène\, Mauritius\, and neighboring cities\, notably the Intercontinental Slavery Museum\, Aapravasi\, Ghat World Heritage Site\, and the Marie Reine de la Paix monument. The first two sites serve as significant landmarks for Mauritius’s history of enslavement and indentured servitude\, while the monument—erected in the wake of World War II—serves as a symbol of spiritual resilience and collective hope in the country. \nOn July 10th\, following the conclusion of working groups and one-on-one sessions\, the fellows’ panel discussion\, “Navigating Reflexivity in Conducting Field-Based Research in Africa\,” was moderated by Dr. Cyril Obi. \nProfessor Heidi Hudson\, from the University of the Free State\, Bloemfontein\, South Africa\, opened with a reflection on positionality. Drawing from feminist theory\, she advocated for humility\, continuous reflexivity\, and self-awareness of one’s positionality throughout research. \nDr. Nelson Oppong\, from the University of Edinburgh\, continued by emphasizing the value—and difficulty—of deep reflexivity in research. He highlighted the importance of archival reflexivity and attunement to subtle\, unspoken cues during fieldwork\, which has the potential to yield unique and critical insights. \nDr. Marion Ouma (APN IRF 2025)\, from the South Africa Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) on Social Policy at the University of South Africa (UNISA)\, reflected on her experience working with an international peacemaking organization. Dr. Ouma discussed how COVID-19\, especially in her research involving marginalized groups\, challenged her assumptions and pushed her to rethink ethical engagement with Gen Z activists confronting power structures. \nDr. Yunana Ahmed (APN IRF 2025)\, from Gombe State University\, Nigeria\, emphasized the need to decolonize research through reflexivity. He critiqued the homogenization of Africa’s experiences and knowledge systems and the dominance of Western paradigms in African scholarship. \nDesmond Farai Ncube (Next Gen Proposal 2025)\, PhD from the University of the Western Cape\, addressed the ethical and political complexities of conducting fieldwork in Africa. He stressed the importance of acknowledging researcher positionality and maintaining integrity when engaging with communities. \nAphiwe Mhlangulana (Next Gen Research 2025)\, from the University of Cape Town\, shared her work on online gender-based violence against Black African women. She advocated for deeply immersive\, self-reflexive research and discussed alternative\, decolonial forms of knowledge dissemination\, such as narrative and comics. The panel discussion included an interactive Question-and-Answer session\, which was followed by the closing ceremony of the workshop. \nThe University of Mauritius LOC extended its gratitude to attendees and expressed hope that the workshop has and would continue to inspire their research and foster meaningful connections in the future. Dr. Obi conveyed his thanks to the LOC\, Vice Chancellor\, Dean\, and faculty for their support in realizing the 2025 Research Methods Workshop. He concluded by congratulating the 2025 APN and Next Gen fellows on joining a vibrant and growing scholarly Pan-African community. \n  \nInterview with Eugenia Anderson \nInterview with Daniel Lifuka Sichinga \n  \nThe APN and Next Gen program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York. \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/july-2025-research-methods-workshop-ebene-mauritius/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Africa
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250711
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250713
DTSTAMP:20250814T162925Z
CREATED:20250814T162749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250814T162925Z
UID:10000902-1752192000-1752364799@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:July 2025 APN and Next Gen Research Proposal Development Workshop: Ébène\, Mauritius
DESCRIPTION:The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation (Next Gen) Social Sciences in Africa Program\, in collaboration with the University of Mauritius\, held a Regional Proposal Development (RPD) Workshop from July 11 to July 12\, 2025. Over a dozen participants from universities in Mauritius and neighboring Madagascar attended the two-day workshop\, which was designed to provide opportunities for producing high-quality\, internationally competitive research proposals and improve their chances of winning grants and fellowship award\, while expanding opportunities for professional development through mentorship by highly experienced mentors from different parts of the world. \nMrs. Christina Chan Meetoo\, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication at the University of Mauritius and Chair of the University of Mauritius Local Organizing Committee (LOC)\, joined by Dr. Nicolas Ragodoo\, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and a workshop session facilitator\, delivered the opening remarks. They expressed gratitude to Professor Françoise Driver\, SSR Chair of African Studies\, Dr. Vidushi Neergheen\, Director of the Doctoral School at the University of Mauritius\, representatives from the Mauritius Higher Education Commission\, the workshop’s mentors\, and the members of the SSRC team. They also commended the diversity and quality of the research proposals submitted by workshop participants. The proposals covered critical themes such as peacebuilding\, climate resilience\, digital innovation\, and gender justice\, reflecting the dynamism of African scholarship. \nDr. Cyril Obi\, Program Director of the APN and Next Gen Program\, followed with welcoming remarks\, firstly acknowledging the distinguished guests\, the University of Mauritius\, and local partners for hosting the workshop and welcoming scholars from Mauritius and Madagascar. He introduced the SSRC’s century-long mission of promoting interdisciplinary social research globally and highlighted its long-standing commitment to African scholarship and research excellence through initiatives like the APN and Next Gen program. He likened a research proposal to a personal statement of intent\, iterating the goals of the Research Proposal Development Workshop: to guide scholars in the process of refining and strengthening their research proposals\, making them more compelling and internationally competitive. Mauritius\, he noted\, presents a unique opportunity for the SSRC to bridge connections between mainland and island Africa\, while offering important lessons in conflict prevention and social cohesion. He concluded by encouraging participants to use the workshop as a space for professional growth\, collaboration\, networking and deeper engagement with mentors and peers. \nDr. Neergheen expressed deep appreciation to the program and workshop organizers for their commitment towards nurturing the next generation of African scholars\, deeply resonant with the mission of the University of Mauritius Doctoral School. She noted the timeliness of the workshop as the region and the world continue to face issues related to sustainability\, climate change\, and development challenges. Dr. Neergheen affirmed that the time of relegating capacity-building to a non-essential pursuit is over\, asserting that it is of utmost importance to encourage and equip scholars with the tools to take advantage of the wide landscape of academic and research funding. \nSubsequently\, Professor Driver\, SSR Chair of African Studies and co-architect of the Research Proposal Development Workshop\, delivered her keynote address\, “Advancing Interdisciplinary Research Excellence in the Indian Ocean Region: Methods and Strategies”. Professor Driver argued that advancing interdisciplinary research excellence in the Indian Ocean region requires a collective commitment to rigorous\, ethical\, impactful\, and inclusive research. She presented four themes central to advancing this agenda: embedding research excellence through ethics and integrity\, breaking silos to encourage interdisciplinary research\, reclaiming narratives through the decolonization of knowledge production\, and strengthening the research-policy-diplomacy-peace nexus. \nProfessor Driver identified institutional-level investment in international partnerships\, research access and resources\, strong doctoral infrastructure\, and post-doctoral pathways as pivotal to this process. Furthermore\, she argued that institutions must be more invested in creating and sustaining a culture of integrity and responsible stewardship in research\, along with platforms for engagement between scholars\, policymakers\, practitioners\, and civil society for the co-creation of impactful policies. \nThe plenary was followed by three lectures\, each presented by facilitators and mentors of the workshop. Professor Kenneth Omeje from the Management International University\, United Kingdom\, began with a lecture on “Framing research ideas and formulating research questions for producing internationally competitive proposals.” Professor Omeje introduced two fundamental branches of philosophy\, ontology and epistemology\, explaining how they serve as the foundation that guides the process in peacebuilding research\, which is concerned with research ideas in the social world. \nThe lecture further guided scholars on generating innovative research ideas by engaging with current events and formulating research questions that are focused\, conceptually grounded\, and reflective of the researcher’s understanding of knowledge and reality. \nThe second lecture\, “Conducting Literature Reviews and Developing Budgets” was presented by Dr. Henrietta Nyamnjoh from the University of Cape Town\, South Africa. The lecture emphasized the literature review as a critical process where researchers engage with existing scholarship to identify gaps\, challenge dominant narratives\, and position their work. Rather than a summary\, Dr. Nyamnjoh posited that it should be a strategic and reflexive exercise that shapes the research question and methodology. She encouraged instrumental reading\, ethical citation\, and attention to primary sources. \n  \nProfessor Ismail Rashid from Vassar College\, New York\, USA\, presented the final lecture\, entitled “Research Methods and Ethics”\, in which he underscored the importance of ethics in research\, which requires ongoing responsibility\, transparency\, and respect throughout the research process. Professor Rashid highlighted that ethics form the essential foundation of responsible research\, especially when working with vulnerable or less powerful populations. He maintained that researchers must foster reflexivity\, an ethical and accountable mindset\, as well as sensitivity to relationships\, emotions\, and power dynamics in the field. \nFollowing the last lecture\, participants of the workshop joined their respective working group sessions for the remainder of the day to work on the development and refinement of their research proposals. \nThe second and last day of the workshop began with individualized sessions between participants and facilitators\, offering space for tailored feedback\, mentorship\, and in-depth discussion of research proposals. \nAfter the conclusion of the one-on-one sessions\, a feedback session was held\, followed by closing remarks by Dr. Obi. Special thanks were extended to facilitators\, organizers\, the University of Mauritius leadership\, and student assistants for their dedication\, energy\, and support. Dr. Obi highlighted the importance of mentorship\, collaboration\, and inspiring the next generation of scholars. The workshop was lauded as transformative\, bridging Africa’s mainland and island regions and building lasting academic networks\, with the hope expressed that participants leave empowered\, with stronger research skills and renewed commitment to high quality and impactful work. \n \n  \nThe APN and Next Gen program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York. \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/july-2025-apn-and-next-gen-research-proposal-development-workshop-ebene-mauritius/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Africa
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250730T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250730T160000
DTSTAMP:20250825T151901Z
CREATED:20250116T154313Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250825T151901Z
UID:10000883-1753887600-1753891200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:A Cognitive View of Policing: Leveraging Behavioral Science to Improve Officer Training
DESCRIPTION:About the Lecture\nWhat if the key to police reform isn’t changing policies or removing “bad actors\,” but understanding how good officers make decisions under pressure? Professor Dube argues that prevailing approaches to police reform overlook a fundamental reality: officers must make decisions under intense stress and time pressure—cognitive conditions that lead even well-intentioned officers to rely on mental shortcuts and default assumptions. Drawing on insights from behavioral economics\, Professor Dube designed a new training approach that addresses these cognitive realities. Through a sustained partnership with the Chicago Police Department\, she tested whether changing how officers think could transform how they act. This seminar will present the results from this collaboration\, demonstrating how behavioral science offers a promising new pathway for police reform that works with\, rather than against\, human psychology. \nEvent Recording\n \nAbout the Speaker\nProfessor Dube studies poverty\, violence and crime in countries around the world. \nOne strand of her research analyzes how economic shocks shape conflict dynamics. Another strand examines how cognitive factors give rise to violence. \nShe uses both quasi-experimental and experimental research designs\, and draws on a wide variety of sources\, including original surveys\, hand collected records\, and big data to study these questions. \nHer work has appeared in leading journals including the Quarterly Journal of Economics\, Science\, the Journal of Political Economy\, the Review of Economic Studies\, and the American Political Science Review. \nDube holds a number of research affiliations and appointments. She is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)\, a fellow at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD)\, a fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) and an affiliate of the University of Chicago Crime Lab. She co-leads the Crime and Violence Initiative at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)\, and the Socio-economic Inequalities Initiative at the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute. \nDirectly preceding her appointment at the Harris School\, Dube was an assistant professor of politics and economics at New York University. Prior to that\, she worked at the World Bank\, Oxfam International\, and the Brookings Institution. \nDube received her PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University\, her M Phil in Economics from Oxford University\, and her BA in Public Policy from Stanford University. She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship in 2002.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/a-cognitive-view-of-policing-leveraging-behavioral-science-to-improve-officer-training/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AdobeStock_121167714-scaled.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250918
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250920
DTSTAMP:20251020T194354Z
CREATED:20251009T194438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251020T194354Z
UID:10000905-1758153600-1758326399@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:September 2025 African University Seminar Series\, South Africa (AUSS-SA)
DESCRIPTION:The African University Seminar Series\, South Africa (AUSS-SA)\, was hosted from September 18 to 19\, 2025\, at the University of the Witwatersrand\, in partnership with the University of Johannesburg. Under the theme “South Africa at the Crossroads: Reflections on Inequality\, Peacebuilding\, Security\, and Development\,” conveners invited current and former APN and Next Gen fellows based in South Africa to showcase their research and collaborate. \nCo-Chairs of the Local Organizing Committee of the AUSS-SA\, Ms. Kgomotso Komane (Next Gen 2024 & 2025) and Dr. Anselmo Matusse (Next Gen 2020)\, welcomed attendees to the inaugural national seminar of the AUSS-SA\, highlighting that the event would be a space “to share knowledge\, sharpen ideas\, and build a community that can pave the way towards conviviality and endurable peacebuilding in the country and beyond.” \n \nRemarks delivered on behalf of Dr. Cyril Obi\, Program Director of the APN and Next Gen\, expressed his expectation that the seminar would be a highly productive exchange of ideas and would shape the future of building an integrated knowledge community in South Africa. \nWelcoming remarks were made by Dr. Ekeminiabasi Eyita-Okon\, representative of the Head of the Wits School of Governance\, University of Witwatersrand\, and Prof. Thulisile Mphambukeli (APN 2018)\, Head of Department and Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Johannesburg\, who spoke on behalf of Prof. Trynos Gumbo\, Head of the School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg. \nProf. Shose Kessi\, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Professor in the Department of Psychology\, University of Cape Town\, delivered the Day One Keynote Address\, “The Role of African University in Advancing Social Justice.” By considering the post-independence geopolitical landscape within which African communities imagine themselves\, she argued that Pan-African identity is most often defined and shaped by the nation-state and African elite\, rather than by all Africans. She demonstrated how African scholars can utilize participatory action research methods to challenge epistemic violence and mobilize people to contribute to the imagination of the national community. In particular\, she presented her utilization of the photovoice method\, which involves marginalized community members photographing their communities\, discussing their own ideas of unity and solidarity\, and embracing Pan-African ideas; thereby\, participating in shaping their futures. She concluded that contributing to social justice requires multiple approaches\, methodologies\, and contributions to institutional building\, as well as viewing academia as a potential space of resistance and healing. \nPanel 1\, Governance\, Violence\, and the Criminalised State\, was moderated by Dr. Garikai Chaunza (Next Gen 2023). With presentations by Dr. Tapiwa Madimu (APN 2020)\, Dr. Sisanda Mguzulwa (Next Gen 2016 & 2018)\, Ms. Kimberley Usher (Next Gen 2019)\, Mr. Mpumezo Ralo (Next Gen 2019)\, Dr. Carina Bruwer (Next Gen 2017)\, and Prof. Anthony C. Diala (Next Gen 2014 & 2015)\, the panel displayed various gaps within the existing South African government policies related to informal economies in mining and native plant harvesting\, community participation in criminal justice systems\, and legitimacy and uneven development of healthcare\, economies\, and security being experienced at the margins.  Consequently\, these policy and theoretical lapses have furthered the experiences of inequality and precarity for those most vulnerable. \nPanel 2\, Identity\, Belonging\, and the Afterlives of Apartheid\, included presentations from Dr. Sifiso Ndlovu (Next Gen 2015)\, Dr. Tamuka Chekero (Next Gen 2019\, 2020\, & 2021)\, Mr. Bambo Miti (Next Gen 2022)\, and Dr. Keneuoe Thibello-Maphosa (Next Gen 2023)\, and was moderated by Dr. Silindile Mlilo (Next Gen 2024). The panel highlighted diverse experiences of migrant\, racial\, and gendered identities\, their interactions with the state\, and the creation of their own places of belonging within communities\, including the establishment of their own support networks and involvement in religious spaces\, as well as how they contest notions of the state and nationhood in South Africa. \nThe film “Inkululeko: Queering democracy and inequality in the everyday afterlives of apartheid\,” by Prof. Hlengiwe Ndlovu (Next Gen 2016 & 2019 & APN 2025)\, documents her interviews with people in Duncan Village about how they define and conceptualize Democracy. The documentary and interviews revealed the consequences of post-Apartheid uneven development and reconciliation processes that have not involved African ontologies and epistemologies in the governance systems built in the wake of the Apartheid state: “South Africans didn’t fight for democracy\, they fought for Inkululeko\, for freedom.” \nIn Panel 3\, Memory\, Resistance\, and Youth Struggles\, presentations were made by Mr. Kagiso Nko (Next Gen 2024)\, Dr. Stephen Temitope David (Next Gen 2017)\, Dr. Thatshisiwe Ndlovu (Next Gen 2017\, 2021\, & 2023 & APN 2024)\, Ms. Gorata Chengeta (Next Gen 2025)\, and Ms. Medina Moosa (Next Gen 2023 & 2024). Moderated by Prof. Hlengiwe Ndlovu\, the panel focused on recent and historic movements\, including online hashtag movements with lasting impact on the experiences of Black students at historically white South African universities\, the need to reconsider the carceral strategies to address sexual violence with a feminist abolitionist approach\, and the influence of international Mujahadeen movements for their contributions to the South African Apartheid struggle. Additionally\, the everyday resistance of work and hustle culture for survival\, as well as the unfinished business of Apartheid memory. \nTo conclude the activities of Day One\, a discussion was facilitated in which attendees reflected on how this knowledge community should organize moving forward\, as well as on their shared research focus and experiences in academic spaces. While attendees recognized the frustrations and ongoing challenges faced by scholars\, there was also an acknowledgement of the gains that have been made\, as well as what needs to change further. \nResuming on Day Two\, Prof. Cori Wielenga (APN 2013)\, Head of Centre for Mediation in Africa and Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science\, University of Pretoria\, gave the Keynote Address\, “A relational approach to peacebuilding\, security and development in Africa\,” Prof. Wielenga problematized the ongoing and cyclical nature of conflicts addressed through the existing mediation toolkit\, recognizing that individuals and communities are not typically taught to mediate conflicts. She argued for the need to radically rethink peace mediation\, centering on the critical importance of relationships\, to disrupt the current peacebuilding market. To do so\, she advocated for the collective political act of resistance through anti-hegemonic and anti-imperial love\, which fosters radical self-love\, community care\, and a commitment to building ethical relations between people and with the land\, thereby dismantling oppressive systems and affirming a shared\, humanized existence beyond colonial power structures. \nPanel 4\, Peacebuilding\, Traditional Authority\, and Religion\, moderated by Prof. Thulisile Mphambukeli\, included presentations from Mr. Gerald Mandisodza (Next Gen 2023)\, Ms. Kgomotso Komane\, Dr. Tyne Williams (Next Gen 2024)\, Ms. Pretty Abraham (Next Gen 2025)\, Dr. Edmore Chitukutuku (Next Gen 2013 & 2015 & APN 2018)\, and Dr. Garikai Chaunza. The panel of scholars presented cases that highlighted the need for Indigenous knowledge and religion\, traditional authority\, and women’s leadership in peacebuilding processes\, acknowledging where these important facets of African knowledge have been historically excluded from peacebuilding. The panel concluded with an important reflection and a caution to scholars to maintain a “responsibility to understand South African historiography” when conducting work. \nPanel 5\, Environmental Justice\, Space\, and Everyday Violence\, was moderated by Dr. Anselmo Matusse\, with presentations made by Dr. Margaret Monyani (Next Gen 2017\, 2018\, & 2019 & APN 2025)\, Prof. Thulisile Mphambukeli\, Mrs. Safiyya Goga (Next Gen 2017)\, Dr. Samson Faboye (Next Gen 2023)\, and Ms. Tamia Botes (Next Gen 2024). This final panel encompassed diverse everyday interactions within communities\, particularly South African communities in Black townships\, those proximate to national borders\, or within large urban centers\, which take on roles of social ordering and justice from the state by reproducing and contesting migrant communities\, crime\, or foreign identities. Through various processes\, they negotiate the making and remaking of place in the post-Apartheid context of South Africa. \nThe inaugural AUSS-SA event concluded with messages of gratitude for the attendees\, Keynote speakers\, Local Organizing Committee\, and University administrators. The event was supported by the African Peacebuilding Network and Next Generation Social Sciences and Africa (APN and Next Gen)\, with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY).
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/september-2025-african-university-seminar-series-south-africa-auss-sa/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Africa
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250925
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250926
DTSTAMP:20251113T181422Z
CREATED:20251113T181240Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251113T181422Z
UID:10000908-1758758400-1758844799@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Event Report: ASAA 2025 — Developing African Frameworks for Navigating Peace Vulnerabilities in an Emerging Post-COVID World Order
DESCRIPTION:The African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) sponsored a panel at the African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) 2025 Conference\, held on September 25\, 2025\, at the University of Cape Verde. Under the theme “Developing African Frameworks for Navigating Peace Vulnerabilities in an Emerging Post-COVID World Order\,” the panel brought together fellows to examine how African actors are re-imagining resilience and peacebuilding in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. \n \nDr. Titilope F. Ajayi (Institute for Security Studies / Next Gen 2017 & 2019\, APN IRF 2018) who moderated the session welcomed participants and introduced the APN and Next Gen’s mission of strengthening African scholarship on peace and development\, and underscored the panel’s goal of exploring self-determined approaches to recovery and transformation. \nDr. Johannes John-Langba (University of KwaZulu-Natal . APN IRF 2015) presented his paper\, “Beyond Dependency: Reclaiming Public Health Sovereignty in Post-COVID Africa.” Drawing on the WHO Health Systems Performance Assessment Framework\, he examined Africa-led efforts to achieve public health autonomy\, highlighting local vaccine manufacturing\, investment in national health systems\, and policy ownership. “COVID-19 was a wake-up call for all of us\,” he noted\, underscoring that the pandemic revealed both the vulnerabilities of African health systems and the need to move beyond dependency. \nDr. Rosette Sifa Vuninga (University of Cape Town\, APN IRF 2024) followed with “How Does Being Part of the SADC Help Us? Interrogating the Economic and Political Benefits of DR Congo’s Southern African Development Community Membership from the Perspectives of Congolese Immigrants in South Africa.” Her presentation explored the disconnect between South Africa’s regional peacebuilding role in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its domestic treatment of Congolese refugees. Using digital ethnography and interviews with community leaders\, she demonstrated that post-COVID regional security responses often remain detached from humanitarian realities\, highlighting the need for inclusive\, refugee-sensitive domestic policies to complement African-led peace initiatives. \nIn her own presentation\, “Whose Recovery? Centering Gender Justice in Africa’s Post-COVID Reconstruction\,” Dr. Ajayi examined the gendered dimensions of the pandemic’s aftermath. She argued that recovery frameworks are often skewed against women\, citing increases in gender-based violence\, child marriages\, and unpaid care burdens. Dr. Ajayi called for African feminist frameworks that foreground care\, accountability\, and collective well-being to ensure recovery that is not only inclusive\, but transformative. \n \nDr. Sean Maliehe (National University of Lesotho / APN IRF 2024) presented his paper on “Transnational Mobilities\, Post-COVID Responses\, and Peace in Southern Africa: Case Study of Mobile Money in Diepsloot\, South Africa.” Reflecting on fieldwork conducted between 2016 and 2023\, he analyzed how migrant networks developed transnational systems of trust\, remittance\, and economic exchange under precarious conditions. His analysis highlighted how economic pluralism and solidarity are critical for building inclusive African futures\, particularly in contexts where state responses remain exclusionary. \n  \nDr. Sokfa John (University of Pretoria / APN IRF 2024 & APN RPF 2025) concluded the panel with a paper titled\, “Post-Digital Praxis\, Local Power: Reimagining African Governance through Digital Transformation.” He demonstrated how rapid digitalization during the pandemic both enabled and constrained civic participation\, emphasizing the importance of grounding digital innovations in local epistemologies\, trust-building\, and conflict-sensitive design. \nDuring the discussion\, Dr. Rosette Sifa Vuninga asked about the role of traditional medicine in post-COVID recovery. In response\, Dr. Johannes John-Langba emphasized the importance of integrating mental health and community-based care into national health systems\, noting that traditional medicine can complement formal health services. The conversation eventually highlighted a shared commitment among panelists to centering African agency in post-pandemic recovery frameworks. \nIn his closing remarks\, Dr. Sofka John expressed gratitude to APN and Next Gen for creating spaces that “allow African researchers to pursue the work they believe in” and underscored the irreplaceable value of “meeting in person to build intellectual and social capital.” The session concluded with appreciation to the African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) program\, whose support made the panel possible\, and to the ASAA 2025 organizers and participants.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/event-report-asaa-2025-developing-african-frameworks-for-navigating-peace-vulnerabilities-in-an-emerging-post-covid-world-order/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/image001-e1762979466805.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250925T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250925T160000
DTSTAMP:20250926T181629Z
CREATED:20250822T170327Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250926T181629Z
UID:10000903-1758812400-1758816000@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Creating Moves to Opportunity: Mixed Methods Evidence on Barriers to Neighborhood Choice
DESCRIPTION:About The Lecture\nLow-income families often live in neighborhoods with fewer opportunities to get ahead\, even when they have housing vouchers that would allow them to move to neighborhoods with more potential for upward mobility. In this SSRC lecture\, Johns Hopkins sociologist Stefanie DeLuca will explore why through two randomized interventions. In these experiments\, housing voucher recipients were given varying levels of information\, financial support\, and customized search assistance to move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods. The treatment increased the share of those moving to high-upward-mobility areas from 15% to 53%. Qualitative interviews with participants in the program showed that the intervention increased families’ optimism about new neighborhoods and housing\, eased demands on families’ time and attention and addressed their specific needs. The combination of the two experiments and the qualitative data reveal that the customized support and search assistance provided by the program navigator staff was the necessary driver of the experimental impacts\, not financial assistance or information alone. These findings imply that many low-income families do not necessarily prefer to stay in low-opportunity areas and that barriers to housing searches significantly increase residential segregation by income. \nEvent Recording\n \n\nAbout Stefanie Deluca\nStefanie DeLuca is the James Coleman Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the Johns Hopkins University\, where she directs the Poverty and Inequality Research Lab. \nDr. DeLuca uses sociological perspectives to inform education and housing policy\, and conducts mixed-methods studies that combine qualitative research with experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Some of her work focuses on the effects of programs to help low-income families relocate to safer neighborhoods and better schools through housing vouchers. Based on some of this work with young adults in the Baltimore site of the Moving to Opportunity program\, Professor DeLuca wrote a book\, Coming of Age in the Other America (with Susan Clampet-Lundquist and Kathryn Edin)\, which was named an Outstanding Academic Title from the American Library Association\, and won the William F. Goode Award from the American Sociological Association. Additional research examines how young adults make postsecondary decisions. Her work has been funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development\, National Science Foundation\, Russell Sage Foundation\, William T. Grant Foundation\, Annie E. Casey Foundation\, Spencer Foundation\, MacArthur Foundation\, Abell Foundation\, Smith Richardson Foundation\, National Academy of Education\, Gates Foundation and the Department of Education. \nIn 2021\, Dr. DeLuca received the ASA Publicly Engaged Scholar award and is an elected member of the Sociological Research Association. She currently serves on a NASEM consensus study on economic and social mobility in the U.S. \nDr. DeLuca earned a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Chicago\, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/creating-moves-to-opportunity-mixed-methods-evidence-on-barriers-to-neighborhood-choice/
LOCATION:NY
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250928
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250930
DTSTAMP:20251121T170347Z
CREATED:20251121T170323Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251121T170347Z
UID:10000909-1759017600-1759190399@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:African University Seminar Series Nigeria (AUSS-NG) Event Summary
DESCRIPTION:The African University Seminar Series Nigeria (AUSS-NG) held its inaugural seminar at the University of Abuja in Abuja\, Nigeria\, from September 27 to 28\, 2025. Funded by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC)’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation (Next Gen) Social Sciences in Africa Program and hosted by the Department of History & Diplomatic Studies\, University of Abuja\, the seminar assembled 26 APN and Next Gen fellows and alumni for a one-and-a-half-day convening on contemplating and “Reimagining Peace in Nigeria: Resilience\, Reconciliation\, Social Justice and Everyday Politics.” \nAn initiative by the APN and Next Gen Program to fund and support the self-organizing capabilities of APN and Next Gen fellows and alums in countries with critical numbers of fellows and alumni\, the African University Seminar Series is rooted in the principles of fostering a distinct APN and Next Gen community of fellowship award recipients that advance the goals of the Program by organizing a set of scholarly convenings that center on peacebuilding\, security\, and development within country-specific contexts while facilitating networking and mentorship activities for early\, mid and senior career scholars. The Program launched the first AUSS community in Kenya in 2023 and since launched others in South Africa and Nigeria. \nThe seminar opened with welcome remarks from Dr. Cyril Obi\, Program Director of the APN and Next Gen Program\, delivered by Program Assistant Ms. Maimouna Cherif. He acknowledged the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) and the SSRC\, noting the Program’s impact: 840 fellowships awarded across Africa since 2012\, including 563 Next Gen and 277 APN awards. Dr. Obi emphasized the AUSS’s role in fostering a community of knowledge and practice\, highlighting the significance of launching the Nigerian chapter due to the strong contributions of fellows in Nigerian institutions. He concluded by thanking the University of Abuja’s Department of History and Diplomatic Studies\, the Faculty of Arts\, and the Local Organizing Committee for their support\, and he wished participants productive discussions. \nProfessor Muhammad Sani Umar\, representative for the Head of Department\, History and Diplomatic Studies\, University of Abuja\, followed with his own remarks. He commended the collaboration between the department and the program\, highlighting the SSRC’s impact since its inception\, and noting that it embraces the humanistic tradition of social sciences\, with a very high respect for the scholarly community. Addressing the timeliness of the seminar’s theme\, he emphasized the importance of “going back to the drawing board” in addressing the violence in the country. \nFollowing these remarks was a goodwill message from Professor Amuche U. Madu\, Dean of Arts. She is at the University of Abuja and expressed her gratitude for the SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Program’s collaboration with the university\, highlighting the importance of scholarly contributions to the topic of reimagining peace in Nigeria. LOC co-Chairs\, Dr. Joyce Agofure (APN IRF 2022)\, Senior Lecturer and Researcher\, Ahmadu Bello University\, and Dr. Sani Y Adam (APN IRF 2024 and Next Gen 2018\, 2\,019\, 2020)\, Lecturer\, Bayero University\, closed the opening session with a message of gratitude to the Program\, the AUSS-NG co-advisors\, the Department of History & Diplomatic Studies\, University of Abuja\, the keynote speaker\, and the fellows and alums for their astounding scholarship and the breadth and quality of the papers submitted for the seminar. \nProfessor Abosede Babatunde\, Professor at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies\, University of Ilorin\, delivered the keynote lecture\, “Reenvisioning the Local Turn in Peacebuilding: Traditional Leadership\, Community Resilience and the Management of Resource Conflicts in Nigeria.” Using Nigeria’s resource conflicts as an example\, Prof. Babatunde highlighted that although the idea of localizing peacebuilding sounds empowering in theory\, in practice\, it does not automatically\, “by itself\, lead to emancipation and can often promote exclusionary and divisive politics that contribute to violence.” Local contexts are often shaped by unequal power dynamics\, where traditional authorities and certain groups dominate access to resources and decision-making. “New approaches to managing resource conflicts must consider how interventions feed into the ‘politics of the local\,’” she urged. \nFollowing this\, panel sessions commenced. The first panel\, “Resource Conflicts\, Governance\, and Resistance\,” emphasized that conflicts over land\, forests\, and natural resources stem less from scarcity and more from corruption and poor governance. Presentations highlighted how marginalized actors resist state control and negotiate survival through resilience and local peacebuilding. Case studies from the Niger Delta and northern Nigeria showed how environmental degradation\, exploitation\, and unequal resource distribution deepen insecurity and mistrust between communities\, corporations\, and the state.The panel also explored the limitations of current conflict early warning systems and government interventions\, noting that top-down peace initiatives often fail to address local grievances. Underscored was that sustainable peace in Nigeria requires inclusive approaches that confront structural inequality and empower those affected by resource-based violence. Panelists included Dr. Alaba F. Ogwumike (Next Gen 2018\, 2019)\, Dr. Olugbenga S. Falas (Next Gen 2014\, 2016\, 2017\, 2020)\, Dr. Joyce Agofure (APN IRF 2022)\, Dr. Chukwudi G. Njoku (APN IRF 2025)\, Dr. Imomotimi Armstrong (APN IRF 2025)\, and Prof. Justin Agheyisi (APN IRF 2022). \nPanel 2\, “Radicalization\, Security\, and Youth Activism\,” explored diverse pathways to peacebuilding\, security\, and social cohesion in Nigeria\, addressing how both state and non-state actors shape these. It began with a discussion on digital activism and its gains and inhibitors—using the #EndSARS protests as an example. Topics also included the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) as an example of community-based initiatives that could shift from combative roles to non-kinetic ones\, such as de-radicalization and post-conflict transformation. Finally\, the panel explored non-traditional avenues for cohesion\, showing how football historically bridged ethnic and regional divides. The panelists were Dr. Dare Leke Idowu (Next Gen 2023)\, Prof. Chuka Ononye (APN IRF 2021 / LOC Member)\, Dr. Peter I. Awodi (Next Gen 2017\, 2018)\, Dr. Oluwole G. Adekola (Next Gen 2018)\, Dr. Sani Y. Adam (APN IRF 2024 and Next Gen 2018\, 2019\, 2020)\, and Dr. Timothy C. Anyanwu (Next Gen 2022). \nPanel 3\, entitled “Memory\, Identity and Post-War Narratives.” The panel explored the intersections of history\, memory\, governance\, and peacebuilding in Nigeria\, focusing on how legacies of conflict and state power continue to shape education\, identity\, and security. It explored topics like Nigeria’s post–civil war education reforms\, the resurgence of Biafra activism through “sit-at-home” protests\, the government’s use of silence as a communication strategy in responding to insecurity\, and the politics of remembrance and environmental remediation in oil crises. Panelists included Kenechukwu Nwachukwu (Next Gen 2023\, 2024)\, Dr. Scholastica Atata (Next Gen 2013)\, Dr. Ifeyinwa Chukwuokoro (APN IRF 2025)\, Dr. Gloria Longbaam-Alli (APN IRF 2024 and Next Gen 2021\, 2023)\, Dr. Jimam T. Lar (APN IRG 2016)\, and Prof. Victor Okorie (APN IRG 2014). \nDay one was concluded by the fourth panel\, “Displacement\, Reintegration\, and Humanitarian Responses.” This featured discussions on challenges and innovations in peacebuilding\, reintegration\, social cohesion\, and security in Nigeria\, highlighting the roles of vulnerable populations\, women\, and community-based initiatives in mitigating conflict. Topics included the examination of The Borno State model for reintegrating former Boko Haram members\, the role of female sex workers at the Idiroko/Igolo border in navigating risks from state actors and criminal networks\, the role of Igbo women in southeastern Nigeria in traditional and everyday peacebuilding\, and the Kano Covenant interfaith dialogue\, demonstrating how religious leaders\, political elites\, and community members can transform violent conflict. The panelists were Prof. Irene D. Mngutyo (APN IRF 2023 and Next Gen 2015\, 2020)\, Dr. Adole R. Audu (Next Gen 2014)\, Dr. Oluwaseun Kugbayi (Next Gen 2022)\, Dr. Elizabeth M. Animashaun (Next Gen 2016\, 2017\, 2020)\, Dr. Ngozi U. Emeka-Nwobia (APN IRF 2020\, and Next Gen 2013\, 2014)\, and Prof. Daniel O. Iweze (APN IRF 2017). \nThe second day of the seminar was opened by Prof. Oluyemi Fayomi\, of the Nigerian Army University Biu. She presented a paper on “Navigating the Ethics of Peace Research in Nigeria: A Qualitative Approach.” Prof. Fayomi underscored how Nigeria’s complex context—ethno-religious conflicts\, political instability\, and socioeconomic disparities—creates dilemmas that conventional ethical frameworks\, often designed for stable environments\, do not fully address. She called for prioritizing the safety and security of both participants and researchers\, reflexivity about positionality\, acknowledging how ethnic\, religious\, or regional identities can shape research\, and developing a context-specific ethical framework to guide research in conflict-affected settings. She concluded that “ethical research in Nigeria requires a continuous and adaptive process.” \nThe presentation was followed by reflections on the contributions and debates of panelists from the session chairs\, and a communique presented by Prof. Mngutyo. Lastly\, the LOC co-chairs\, Dr. Agofure and Dr. Adam\, reiterated the high quality of the papers and presentations submitted and expressed their gratitude to the APN and Next Gen for its support. \n \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/african-university-seminar-series-nigeria-auss-ng-event-summary/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/image001-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251107
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251108
DTSTAMP:20260107T200519Z
CREATED:20260107T165537Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T200519Z
UID:10000910-1762473600-1762559999@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:2025 International Peace Researchers Association (IPRA) Biennial Conference
DESCRIPTION:The African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APPD) program’s sponsored panel\, “Negotiating Peace and Social Justice Through Non-Violent Pathways: Understanding African Values and Practices\,” at the 2025 Biennial International Peace Researchers Association (IPRA) conference\, featured alumni of the APPD (formerly the APN and Next Gen). During the plenary panel on Friday\, November 7\, panelists highlighted diverse traditional Indigenous spiritual\, relational\, and cultural knowledge from across the continent\, emphasizing their importance in peacebuilding. \nDr. Thembani Dube (APN IRF 2024)\, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Stellenbosch\, presented the paper\, “‘Revisiting Gukurahundi’: Ethnic marginalization\, state-led reconciliation\, and the Kalanga Perspective.” Her presentation critically examined the dominant narratives in reconciliation processes following the Gukurahundi genocide (1983-1987) and the ongoing tensions between ethnic minorities in Zimbabwe\, namely the Kalanga. Reviewing Kalanga spiritual mediation processes\, Dr. Dube argued that African Indigenous epistemologies should be integrated into transitional justice discourses to promote justice\, reconciliation\, and healing. \nMr. Hamudan Ssenoga’s (Next Gen Research 2024)\, a Ph.D. Fellow at Makerere University\, paper\,  “Understanding Social Justice through Identity and Power relations in Precolonial Buganda and Nkore (C14th – 1894)\,” examined the key debates on identity and power in precolonial African societies\, using a case study of Buganda and Nkore. This was done to illuminate traditional African concepts of justice\, rooted in group membership rather than individual rights\, in comparison to Western individualistic human rights frameworks. Ssenoga explored the concept of omuntu (personhood) and its connection to society through Ubuntu\, discussed the nature of power—whether centralized or decentralized—and addressed feminist critiques of Ubuntu/ntu that advocate for values like equality and justice. \nDr. Madinatu Bello (APN IRF 2024)\, a Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast\, presented “Indigenous rhythms and peacebuilding in Ghana: Female Indigenous master drummers driving non-violent change\,” highlighting how Indigenous female master drummers in Ghana demonstrate that the drum symbolizes inclusivity and social justice. Dr. Bello argues they are reshaping narratives\, redefining gendered roles and traditions as dynamic processes\, in the context of advancing non-violent peacebuilding. \nFollowing the presentation\, Panel Chair Dr. Jacinta Maweu (APN IRG 2015 & APN CWG 2022-24)\, a Lecturer at the University of Nairobi\, asked the panel to reflect on how researchers can translate their work for societal change. Panelists reflected on the opportunity to co-create documentaries and enable research participants to share what they wanted with audiences\, engage governments to listen to marginalized communities’ perspectives\, and recognize how scholarship can contribute to changing mindsets. \nAudience members posed questions about women’s involvement in peacebuilding and policymaking on the continent. This gave the panel the opportunity to acknowledge the structural obstacles that continue to impede women’s participation. Additionally\, panelists suggested people must make the choice “to be a deviant” and push back within scholarly and political spaces to drive change. Panelists encouraged the audience to be the change that has been discussed throughout the conference. \nThe plenary panel drew on important local insights from diverse Indigenous African traditional peacebuilding methods to highlight the growing body of knowledge on African peacebuilding approaches\, and to bring these into global dialogue with researchers\, activists\, and practitioners at the 2025 IPRA conference. \n \n 
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2025-international-peace-researchers-association-ipra-biennial-conference-november-7-2025/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5060-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251120
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251121
DTSTAMP:20260128T162940Z
CREATED:20260128T162734Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260128T162940Z
UID:10000911-1763596800-1763683199@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:2025 African Studies Association: “Decolonizing the Politics of Knowledge Production in African Peacebuilding”
DESCRIPTION:On November 20\, 2025\, the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC’s) African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) Program hosted a panel at the 68th annual meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA)\, held from November 20-22\, 2025\, in Atlanta\, Georgia. The ASA conference\, themed “Crossing Boundaries and Recovering Intellectual Traditions\,” invited participants to reflect on the politics of knowledge and structural inequalities in African studies. Entitled “Decolonizing the Politics of Knowledge Production in African Peacebuilding: Concepts\, Theories\, and Practices\,” the Program-sponsored panel questioned dominant structures of power\, historicized them\, and presented avenues for resurgent African agency as a pathway towards sustainable peacebuilding on the continent. \nThe first presentation\, entitled “African Solutions to African Problems”: Political Sloganeering or African Renaissance? A Historical-Linguistic Reflection was delivered by Dr. Zaid Sekito (Makerere University; Next Gen 2020\, APN IRF 2024). Dr. Sekito deliberated on the popular slogan\, “African Solutions for African Problems\,” which he explained is currently elite and state-driven\, without intentional consideration paid to historical linguistics\, which delineate how people use language to promote and sustain violent conflicts. He argued that\, given the importance of oral histories in communication and in providing a populace with shared memory\, operationalizing  African Solutions for African problems for sustainable peacebuilding requires that interventions pay attention to continuities and evolutions in the language styles that ‘people’ use to sustain violent conflicts. This approach\, Dr. Sekito argued\, is what can genuinely inform the development of solutions tailored to specific contexts and community needs\, effectively working to decolonize peacebuilding. \n \nSasha Claude Rai (University of the Witwatersrand; Next Gen 2024) followed with a presentation titled\, “Against Moral Empire: Racialized Sexuality and the Limits of Liberal Peace”\, stating that decolonization and deapartheidization in South Africa are far more complex than the transitioning of the country’s system of governance. Instead\, Rai argued\, both processes require reconciling with the past and reimagining the future of knowledge. Within the context of gender and sexuality\, she historicized South Africa’s colonial project’s moralization of the body\, policing of desire\, and its use of controlled intimacy as a way of ensuring a compliant citizenry\, citing the passage of laws criminalizing interracial relationships and homosexuality\, for example\, as ways to ensure that the racial\, and moral order of Apartheid society was left unthreatened. Rai’s presentation contemplated the ways that the regulation of sexuality in South Africa\, rooted in white supremacy\, patriarchy\, and heteronormativity\, has historically and continues to define belonging and knowledge in the country\, where violence against and ‘corrective’ measures taken against homosexuals persist. She also situated this within ruptures led by Black South Africans\, like the Rhodes Must Fall\, calling for epistemic disobedience in intimacy—a site of liberation. \n \nGrace Kagoyire (Stellenbosch University; APN IRG 2019 and Next Gen 2021\, 2024) presented on “Decolonizing Knowledge Production in African Peacebuilding: Concepts\, Theories and Practices”. Using Rwanda’s community-based conflict resolution mechanisms — the Gacaca Courts —as a case study to exemplify effective grassroots initiatives that foster unity and promote dispute resolution for sustainable peace\, Kagoyire asserted that the decolonization of knowledge production in peacebuilding is not just an academic exercise but a political and ethical imperative. This imperative\, she explained\, could be achieved through multistep processes. Firstly\, by re-centering African agency\, valorizing local narratives\, and employing historically informed\, culturally grounded methodologies that are termed home-grown solutions. Secondly\, by restoring dignity to African ways of knowing through consideration of African histories\, cultures\, and methodologies. Thirdly\, by engaging with theories like postcolonialism\, Afrikology\, and critical theory to reconstruct knowledge systems. Lastly\, by encouraging practices such as community-based conflict resolution models that promote healing and reconciliation. \nThe fourth presentation\, “Africanizing Democracy and Coup Prevention in Africa: Towards a Practical Approach\,” was delivered by Dr. Hakeem Onapajo (National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies; APN IRF 2023). Dr. Onapajo explored the resurgence of coups in African countries—primarily in the western region—and attributed this to bad governance\, geopolitical interests in the area\, foreign intervention\, weak institutions\, and the mismatch between a Western-style democracy and the continent’s realities. He explained the failures of liberal democracy in Africa\, including the lack of democratic dividends\, state capture\, electoral manipulation\, and the influence of Western capitalism\, concluding that forestalling coups in Africa may require Africans to develop a democratic system that appears relatable to them and their society. Dr. Onapajo argued for the need to develop more research and advocacy on the concept of an African Democracy and called for investment in civil society organizations and lobby groups to undertake this action and push the agenda at regional institutions. \nDr. Gloria Longba’am-Alli’s (University of Jos; Next Gen 2021\, 2023\, and APN IRF 2024) presentation\, “Decolonizing Impact Assessment: Centering African Communities in Evaluating Peacebuilding Effectiveness: A Study of Central Nigeria\,” focused on the metrics used to evaluate peacebuilding initiatives. Dr. Longba’am-Alli argued for the need to center local African communities in evaluating the effectiveness of peacebuilding initiatives\, stating that African peacebuilding initiatives are evaluated using Western frameworks that perpetuate colonial knowledge patterns. This process\, she argued\, begins with external\, Western\, “experts” determining evaluation questions\, acceptable evidence\, and effectiveness standards for peacebuilding initiatives. As a result\, African communities\, who may be consulted in the development of these frameworks\, are positioned as passive data sources rather than legitimate knowledge producers with the power to define the success of peacebuilding initiatives implemented in their local communities. Dr. Longba’am-Alli concluded that decolonizing impact assessment requires a fundamental shift in power: from external experts determining success criteria to African communities controlling evaluation design\, methodology\, and standards of evidence. The Program’s panel presentations–informed by linguistics\,  gender/sexuality studies\, political science\, governance\, anthropology\, and history– highlighted the importance of language\, epistemic disobedience in intimacy\, the value of community-led conflict resolution mechanisms\, and the need for Africa to define what democracy means to it—responding to the ASA’s theme of “Crossing Boundaries and Recovering Intellectual Traditions”. \nOn November 22\, Program Staff\, fellows\, and alums attended the ASA Awards Ceremony\, where five APDD Fellows received awards from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)\, including four named CCNY Outstanding Scholars and one honored with the ASA Samora Graça Machel Presidential Award. Respectively\, the fellows are as follows: Tamia Botes (Next Gen 2024)\, Kgomotso Komane (Next Gen 2024)\, Dr. Hlengiwe Ndhlovu (Next Gen 2016\, 2019\, 2021\, 2022\, and APN IRF 2025)\, Dr. Robert Ojambo (Next Gen 2012\, 2014)\, and Dr. Eugenia Anderson (APN IRF 2025).
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2025-african-studies-association-decolonizing-the-politics-of-knowledge-production-in-african-peacebuilding/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/image001-e1769617646918.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTSTAMP:20251211T162823Z
CREATED:20251105T181813Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251211T162823Z
UID:10000907-1765497600-1765583999@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:2025 College and University Fund Conference - On Earning Trust: The Case for the Social Sciences
DESCRIPTION:On Earning Trust:\nThe Case for the Social Sciences\nDecember 12\, 2025\nUniversities are under immense pressure to demonstrate their value (and their values) to constituencies including governments\, students\, parents\, and civil society. Recent changes in federal funding are symptomatic of\, and increase\, this pressure. In this context\, this conference will explore how social science can illuminate the challenge of earning and sustaining trust—in universities\, research\, leadership\, and institutions. Across disciplines and continents\, the event will examine how trust is built\, eroded\, and restored through credible action\, transparency\, and shared moral purpose. \nRSVP to Attend
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2025-cuf-conference-on-earning-trust-the-case-for-the-social-sciences/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025cuf_header1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTSTAMP:20260113T142835Z
CREATED:20251024T152759Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260113T142835Z
UID:10000906-1765497600-1765583999@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:2025 College and University Fund Conference - On Earning Trust: The Case for the Social Sciences
DESCRIPTION:On Earning Trust:\nThe Case for the Social Sciences\nDecember 12\, 2025\nUniversities are under immense pressure to demonstrate their value (and their values) to constituencies including governments\, students\, parents\, and civil society. Recent changes in federal funding are symptomatic of\, and increase\, this pressure. In this context\, this conference will explore how social science can illuminate the challenge of earning and sustaining trust—in universities\, research\, leadership\, and institutions. Across disciplines and continents\, the event will examine how trust is built\, eroded\, and restored through credible action\, transparency\, and shared moral purpose. \nRSVP to Attend
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2025-college-and-university-fund-conference-on-earning-trust-the-case-for-the-social-sciences/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025cuf_header1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTSTAMP:20250714T192917Z
CREATED:20250714T184448Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250714T192917Z
UID:10000897-1765497600-1765583999@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:2025 College and University Fund Conference:  The Case for the Social Sciences
DESCRIPTION:Event Details\nEvent Date: December 12\, 2025\nLocation: University of Southern California \nOn Friday\, December 12\, 2025\, the Social Science Research Council will convene institutional leaders from the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences\, together with leaders of philanthropic organizations and other research partners\, to discuss “The Case for the Social Sciences.” \nUniversities are under immense pressure to demonstrate their value (and their values) to constituencies including governments\, students\, parents\, and civil society. Recent changes in federal funding are symptomatic of\, and increase\, this pressure. In this context\, this meeting will focus on the following questions: \n\nHow do we\, as social scientists\, understand how universities arrived at this point of deep skepticism about their enterprise?\nHow do we understand and explain our disciplines’ contributions to the world? What have been some of their successes in research and in policy\, and what do we learn from these?\nHow can social scientists make a stronger case for themselves\, inside the university and to the broader world?\n\nThis year’s conference will be hosted by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. We will open with a reception on the evening of Thursday\, December 11\, followed by a full day on the USC campus on Friday\, December 12. The day will begin with a Deans’ Breakfast for deans overseeing the social and behavioral sciences. \nRegistration is open to attendees from the member institutions of the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences. We look forward to sharing details about the program and speakers in the coming months. For more information about the conference or the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences\, please contact Lisa Marshall\, Chief of Staff\, at marshall@ssrc.org.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2025-college-and-university-fund-conference-the-case-for-the-social-sciences/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/AdobeStock_34523939-scaled.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTSTAMP:20251030T151738Z
CREATED:20250714T152108Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251030T151738Z
UID:10000896-1765497600-1765583999@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:On Earning Trust:The Case for the Social Sciences
DESCRIPTION:Date: December 12\, 2025\nLocation: University of Southern California \nOn Friday\, December 12\, 2025\, the Social Science Research Council will convene institutional leaders from the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences\, together with leaders of philanthropic organizations and other research partners\, for a conference titled “On Earning Trust: The Case for the Social Sciences.” \nUniversities are under immense pressure to demonstrate their value (and their values) to constituencies including governments\, students\, parents\, and civil society. Recent changes in federal funding are symptomatic of\, and increase\, this pressure. In this context\, this conference will explore how social science can illuminate the challenge of earning and sustaining trust—in universities\, research\, leadership\, and institutions. Across disciplines and continents\, the event will examine how trust is built\, eroded\, and restored through credible action\, transparency\, and shared moral purpose. \nThis year’s conference will be hosted by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. We will open with a welcome reception on the evening of Thursday\, December 11\, followed by a full-day conference on the USC campus on Friday\, December 12. The conference will be preceded by a Deans’ Breakfast on the morning of December 12\, for deans overseeing the social and behavioral sciences. And on Saturday\, December 13\, William Deverell\, USC Dornsife Divisional Dean for the Social Sciences\, will lead an exclusive guided tour of the Huntington Library and Gardens (tour capacity is limited; early RSVP is encouraged). Registration is open to attendees from the member institutions of the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences. \nFor more information about the conference or the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences\, please contact Lisa Marshall\, Chief of Staff\, at marshall@ssrc.org. \nRSVP Form\n
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2025-cuf-conference-rsvp/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/AdobeStock_34523939-scaled.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTSTAMP:20251118T171021Z
CREATED:20250929T184510Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251118T171021Z
UID:10000904-1765497600-1765583999@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:On Earning Trust:The Case for the Social Sciences
DESCRIPTION:Event Details\nEvent Date: December 12\, 2025\nLocation: University of Southern California \nOn Friday\, December 12\, 2025\, the Social Science Research Council will convene institutional leaders from the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences\, together with leaders of philanthropic organizations and other research partners\, for a conference titled “On Earning Trust: The Case for the Social Sciences.” \nUniversities are under immense pressure to demonstrate their value (and their values) to constituencies including governments\, students\, parents\, and civil society. Recent changes in federal funding are symptomatic of\, and increase\, this pressure. In this context\, this conference will explore how social science can illuminate the challenge of earning and sustaining trust—in universities\, research\, leadership\, and institutions. Across disciplines and continents\, the event will examine how trust is built\, eroded\, and restored through credible action\, transparency\, and shared moral purpose. \nThis year’s conference will be hosted by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. We will open with a welcome reception on the evening of Thursday\, December 11\, followed by a full-day conference on the USC campus on Friday\, December 12. The conference will be preceded by a Deans’ Breakfast on the morning of December 12\, for deans overseeing the social and behavioral sciences. And on Saturday\, December 13\, William Deverell\, USC Dornsife Divisional Dean for the Social Sciences\, will lead an exclusive guided tour of the Huntington Library and Gardens (tour capacity is limited; early RSVP is encouraged). \nFor more information about the conference or the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences\, please contact Lisa Marshall\, Chief of Staff\, at marshall@ssrc.org. \nRSVP Form\n
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/2025-college-and-university-fund-conference-rsvp/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/AdobeStock_34523939-scaled.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260213
DTSTAMP:20260403T182011Z
CREATED:20260330T161033Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260403T182011Z
UID:10000913-1770595200-1770940799@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:February 2026 APDD Writing and Dissemination Workshop
DESCRIPTION:Abidjan\, Côte d’Ivoire \nThe Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD)\, in collaboration with the Centre for Research and Action for Peace (CERAP)/Jesuit University Abidjan\, held the 2026 Writing and Dissemination Workshop in Abidjan\, Côte d’Ivoire\, from February 9 to February 12\, 2026. The workshop brought together forty-five (45) fellows from nine (9) African countries\, along with facilitators\, guests of honor\, and keynote speakers\, for four days of refining draft dissertation proposals\, chapters\, and manuscripts based on program-supported research findings\, while engaging in peer-to-peer discussions\, networking\, and mentorship from highly experienced facilitators. \n On February 9th\, the first day\, the workshop commenced with an introductory statement by Dr. Arsène Brice Bado\, the Director of the Centre de Recherche et d’Action pour la Paix (CERAP)\, who welcomed everyone to Abidjan and CERAP. Dr. Bado emphasized that Abidjan is a fitting and meaningful setting for the workshop\, as CERAP engages many of the realities being studied across the continent. He also highlighted the importance of the APDD program for African scholars\, who\, he noted\, “must be central producers of knowledge about Africa: theoretically grounded\, empirically rich\, and ethically engaged.” \nDr. Cyril Obi\, Program Director of the SSRC’s African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD)\, in his opening remarks expressed gratitude to all participants. Dr. Obi highlighted the significance of the Social Science Research Council’s ability to nurture generations of scholars across the world. He also thanked the APDD program’s funder\, the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Dr. Obi celebrated the partnership with CERAP\, which he noted\, is groundbreaking because it marks the first time in recent years that a regional center of excellence in francophone Africa is hosting an APDD workshop. Finally\, Dr. Obi reaffirmed that African scholars must “give back” to Africa during these turbulent times. \nGuest of Honor Mr. Adama Coulibaly (representing N’Guessan Koffi\, the Minister of National Education\, Literacy\, and Technical Training) thanked Dr. Arsène Brice Bado for the invitation and commended the SSRC and CERAP for supporting African researchers\, for holding the Writing and Dissemination Workshop in Côte d’Ivoire. He also encouraged participants to use their research at the service of peace. Research\, he stressed\, is expected by educational institutions\, local authorities\, and communities to strengthen social cohesion and support inclusive development. \nProf. Leonardo Arriola\, from the University of California\, Merced\, presented the first Keynote Lecture\, “The Politics of Writing and the Writing of Politics: Making Research on African Peace and Governance Matter.” His PowerPoint presentation highlighted that a barrier to stronger African scholarly publications on peace and governance is how high the Annual Submission Rate is compared to the Acceptance Rate. There is also a lack of structure and thought put into manuscripts\, given that journals and programs are already oversaturated with them. Due to this oversaturation\, applications often need to stand out. He stated how often manuscripts are rejected for weak writing and arguments\, not for a lack of relevant data or theory; thus\, some genuinely good ideas never travel. Drawing from his experience as a journal editor\, he explained that many strong manuscripts submitted for consideration for publication are sometimes rejected because the arguments were unclear\, particularly in cases where the theory is already implicit\, and the evidence is not connected to claims. In his words\, “clarity is not neutrality.” \nThe keynote plenary session was followed by working group sessions where APDD Individual Research and Doctoral Dissertation fellows engaged with their mentors and peers\, presented their draft manuscripts/chapters\, and received feedback. The day concluded with everyone returning to the hotel. \n \nWith the launch day being a success\, we interviewed Daniel Lifuka Sichinga (Research 2025\, University of Cape Town) on how his research has evolved since the 2025 Research Methods Workshop. \n \nOn February 10\, the second day\, Opening Remarks were made by Jean Marc Hovi\, the National Coordinator of WANEP. He welcomed everyone to the workshop\, stating it is an honour to speak to those bringing together peace and democracy to the African continent. He encouraged researchers to hone their understanding of the social and political realities of modern-day democracy in Africa\, so they can truly support it. This\, he stressed\, will strengthen citizens’ trust in institutions. \nRemarks were also made by Madame Malékah MOURAD-CONDE\, the Director General of Côte d’Ivoire Tourisme\, who stated her joy at seeing many new visitors to the special city of Abidjan. She expressed hope that the intersection of research and peace would continue to be realized among the fellows\, and that this workshop happening in Abidjan\, with CERAP\, is particularly meaningful due to their own focus on peacebuilding research. \n  \nThe second Keynote Lecture\, “AI and Transformative Indigenous Knowledge: Global Disruptions\, Africa and the Challenge of Reimagining a Better World\,” was delivered by Prof. Iginio Gagliardone from the University of the Witwatersrand\, South Africa. He argued that Africa’s “digital moment” should not just be about technological advancement\, but should question who defines\, governs\, and enforces power\, sovereignty\, and knowledge in the digital age. Prof. Gagliardone argued that “Africa is not a passive recipient on the stage of global tech\,” but “an active participant who can create an alternative vision of digital governance.? He also pushed back against the narrative that “Africa lacks an X factor.” \nThe lively Q&A session engaged largely with questions around ethical dilemmas surrounding AI\, and how the continent can take ownership of technological advances while relying less on Western output. Afterward\, the keynote was followed by the workshop group sessions. \n \nOn February 11th\, the third day of the workshop\, fellows continued with their working group sessions in the morning. Following the completion of the mentorship one-on-one sessions\, fellows visited historical and cultural sites in Grand Bassam\, a town near Abidjan. Other notable sites visited included the National Costume Museum\, Grand Bassam Beach\, and some local markets in Abidjan. The day ended with a welcome dinner for all participants in Abidjan. \n \nOn February 12th\, the final day of the workshop\, six fellows engaged in a panel discussion\, “Research-Based Writing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Perspectives Toward an Ethical Framework for African Peacebuilding Scholarship\,” moderated by Dr. Cyril Obi. The panel explored both the possibilities and contradictions embedded in the central question: Is it possible to use AI effectively in African peacebuilding scholarship? \nProf. George Karekwaivanane\, from the University of Edinburgh\, Scotland\, opened with a reflection on the limits of AI for academic growth. Drawing from experience as a professor and mentor\, he argued that AI is not a substitute for originality and critical thought. However\, he recommended that AI be used to save time on some research-related activities for those getting their Master’s or PhDs. \nDr. Pamela Khanakwa\, from Makerere University\, Uganda\, reiterated the risk of AI compromising or erasing an academic’s unique voice. She noted that when reading dissertations\, she could tell where AI was used because she could tell where two different voices appeared in the writing. She advocated for researchers to take ownership of their work. “If AI doesn’t allow us to grow our own voices as scholars\, then what are we doing?” \nEugenia Anderson (IRF 2025)\, from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology\, Ghana\, reflected on how AI can be used to exacerbate existing tensions between disparate groups. She advised against wrongly using AI\, and to deeply consider “the ways we can use it correctly. ” \nDr. Dickson Okello (IRF 2025) from Egerton University\, Kenya\, spoke on issues related to ethics and transparency about AI use in writing for journals. He challenged the audience to consider how to ethically use AI as African researchers\, as AI can be a useful tool for building their capacity for efficiently producing high quality writing. \nOsasumwen Edobor (2025 APDD Doctoral Proposal Fellow) from Baze University\, Nigeria\, submitted that the question of AI use sits at the conjunction between transparency and ingenuity. Arguing that since AI was so new\, it would be impossible for African scholars to have all the answers on how it should be effectively used for research. She admitted that while African ownership was important\, AI was helpful in carrying out mundane tasks. \nIzu Sichinga (IRF 2025) from the University of Cape Town\, South Africa\, emphasized the importance of accessibility and integrity when using AI. He illustrated his position by showing how the University of Cape Town seeks to promote accessibility and integrity with AI use among students\, including the provision of strict guidelines for its usage. He argued persuasively that one can navigate ethical AI use\, without judging and ruling it out completely. \nThe panel discussion included a productive interactive Question-and-Answer session. \n \nThe workshop concluded with a closing ceremony\, during which Dr. Cyril Obi expressed gratitude to all attendees and participants\, and appreciated a workshop that\, once again\, fostered meaningful connections on the African continent. Certificates were presented to all participants\, by one of the guests of honor\, Madame Malékah MOURAD-CONDE\, the Director General of Côte d’Ivoire Tourisme (Ivory Coast Tourism Board). We also briefly interviewed a fellow\, Aphiwe Mhlangulana (Research 2026)\, on her research project\, “Black African Women Journalists and Bloggers Experiences of technology-facilitated gender-based violence.” \n \nAfterward\, we also enjoyed a discussion with Osasumwen Edobor (Proposal 2026) on how the APDD workshop has ultimately impacted her academic career and personal life. \n \nThe APDD program would like to thank all of the fellows\, mentors\, keynote lecturers\, guests of honor\, and members of CERAP for their participation\, enthusiasm\, support\, and commitment to the program. \nhttps://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/en-Ivory-Coast-Newsclip.mp4\nThe APDD program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/february-2026-apdd-writing-and-dissemination-workshop/
LOCATION:NY
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260305T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260305T213000
DTSTAMP:20260820T154105Z
CREATED:20260212T214529Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T154105Z
UID:10000912-1772740800-1772746200@www.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Guarding the Pillars of Democracy: Legislative Transparency and the Future of Governance in Asia
DESCRIPTION:In an era marked by a global democratic recession\, Asia stands at a critical juncture. The region increasingly faces executive aggrandizement\, where political leaders gradually dismantle institutional checks\, threatening the integrity of governance systems. This Abe Fellows Global Forum presents a pioneering response to this transnational challenge: the co-creation of the Asian Parliamentary Transparency Index (APTI). Spearheaded by the Asian Alliance for Parliamentary Openness\, this initiative moves beyond standard political analysis to engage in strategic democratic engineering. By operationalizing a novel assessment framework\, we are establishing a future-proof system of diagonal accountability—empowering civil society to constrain power and demand openness when traditional vertical and horizontal mechanisms fail. Drawing on Japan’s established leadership in digital governance and e-participation\, this project bridges the gap between academic scholarship and policy practice. It unites scholars and Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations (PMOs) from across Asia to design robust safety nets for legislative integrity. This forum explores how transnational civil society networks are not merely observing political decline but actively constructing the infrastructure for democratic resilience. Join us to examine how rigorous\, evidence-based transparency tools can safeguard the human condition and protect the rights of future generations against the encroachment of authoritarianism. \n\nAbout Abe Global\nThe Abe Fellows Global Forum (Abe Global) brings Abe Fellow research and expertise on pressing issues of global concern to broader audiences. Abe Global hosts events each year in partnership with academic and civic organizations throughout the United States. Abe Global is an initiative of the Abe Fellows Network\, the Social Science Research Council\, and the Japan Foundation New York. \nPast Abe Global Events
URL:https://www.ssrc.org/events/guarding-the-pillars-of-democracy-legislative-transparency-and-the-future-of-governance-in-asia/
LOCATION:NY
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://www.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/photo-1730808822974-b21a29d64055.avif
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