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 …

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 …

The SSRC is excited to announce the 2025 cohort of fellows for the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Gen Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program. This year’s cohort will conduct expert research on diverse topics including policy for localizing digital technology, the impacts of the lithium rush in Zimbabwe, and depictions of women in African cinemas of conflict. In this year’s competitive selection process, APN awarded 20 Individual Research Fellowships and 1 Research Policy Fellowship, and Next Gen awarded 37 fellowships across three categories, including 9 Dissertation Proposal Fellowships, 17 Dissertation Research Fellowships, and 11 Dissertation Completion Fellowships.

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. The dialogue convened senior policymakers, African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development …

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 …

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. The panel addressed how changing global …

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC)’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program co-hosted a high-level policy dialogue on “Understanding the Geopolitical and Strategic Changes in West Africa: Emerging Challenges and the Future of ECOWAS”, in partnership with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) and Conflict Relief Network (CORN) West Africa. The high-level policy dialogue took place in Accra, Ghana on April 15 and 16, 2025. It convened representatives from the Economic …

Blantyre, Malawi From February 28 to March 1, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), in partnership with the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), held the 2025 National Grant Writing and Proposal Development Workshop at the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre, Malawi. On Friday, the workshop began with an opening ceremony, including welcome remarks from Master of Ceremonies: Enerst Longwe (Lecturer, Language and Communication Studies …

Blantyre, Malawi From February 24 to February 27, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), in partnership with the Malawi Institute of Science and Technology (MUST), hosted the 2025 APN and Next Gen | MUST Writing and Dissemination Workshop from at the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre, Malawi. The workshop brought together the 2024 APN and Next Gen fellows’ cohorts, esteemed facilitators, and distinguished keynote speakers …

January 14, 2025 | Washington DC  The second session of the Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations series took place on January 14th, 2025, at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC. This collaborative effort between the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen), and the Wilson Center’s Africa Program brought together experts to discuss the geopolitical shifts and increasing prominence of middle and …