19 February 2026#4
UGent
afrika Platform
"

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world

Nelson Mandela
 

NEWS

UGent research project in Tanzania covered in newspaper

The UGent Short Initiative Project funded by VLIR-UOS titled ‘From Monitoring to Managing Soil and Water Degradation in Tanzanian Gullies’ got covered in the Conversation newspaper.

Great illustration of the social impact of our research. Congratulations!

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Read about Joseph's journey from DR Congo to tropical forest research at Ghent University

My name is Joseph Lokana Mande, born and raised in the North-Eastern region of DR Congo (Ituri Province), a region shaped by recurrent conflict but also deep resilience. Growing up in such conditions taught me an early and lasting lesson: adversity does not determine your future; it presents a choice. You can surrender to it or rise through it. I chose to rise...

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Special issue of Gender Questions (UNISA press): "Horizons of Political/Poetical Contestation: South African Intersectional Perspectives across Disciplines and Languages"

Gender Questions is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed research journal that publishes high-quality articles on all aspects of gender studies, including feminist research, masculinity studies and studies into alternative sexualities.

This special issue is based on the 2024 colloquium on Afrikaans organised at Ghent University.

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VLIR-UOS Community Talks: "Exploring PhD initiatives: Ethiopia’s Superstars Project and South Africa’s Presidential Programme" - 25/2/2026

Ethiopia and South-Africa are strengthening their PhD programmes. In this Community Talk Ethiopian partners will present their international training programme designed to strengthen the PhD supervision across universities. South African colleagues will explore possible links, overlaps, and differences with their initiative.

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Lectures series in Global and Regional History - "Worlds of Islam: A Global History", by James McDougall - 26/2/2026
 

Both “Islamic history” and “global history” have been critiqued as categories of historical analysis in recent years; might bringing them together help put both to work in more productive ways?

As anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies are ramped up in our public spheres, and as the academy –and historical scholarship in particular—are subject to sustained ideological attack, what are the responsibilities of historians in Europe and America writing about Muslim history as global history? 

 
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Groepszakenreis Groene Economie - Ivoorkust - aanmelden tot 27/2/2026
 

Van 30 mei tot 6 juni 2026 organiseert Flanders Investment & Trade, samen met AWEX en hub.brussels, een economische missie naar Abidjan (Ivoorkust) met focus op de groene economie.

Deze missie biedt Vlaamse bedrijven (en eventueel onderzoeksgroepen) unieke kansen om toegang te krijgen tot internationale financieringskanalen en zich te positioneren voor toekomstige projecten in deze snelgroeiende markt in West-Afrika.

 
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BantUGent research seminar: Marcos Leitão de Almeida on "Reading African Intellectual History in Atlantic Archives: The Mpongwe Vocabulary of the Santa Jago (1829)" - 6/3/2026
 

Marcos Leitão de Almeida is a Professor of African History at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He is a historian of Africa specializing in the long history of slavery in Central Africa, with a focus on the Lower Congo.

 
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Specialist course: "How does what get where? Typology, language contact, and language change" - 16-17/3/2026
 

Interested members of the BantUGent community are invited to register for a Doctoral School specialist course taught by professor Pattie Epps in March.

This course focuses on exploring the how: How have languages been structured, maintained, and lost over time, as molded by the movements and interactions of peoples, aspects of human communication and cognition, sociocultural dynamics, and the interplay between synchronic structural features and diachronic processes?

 
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Workshop "Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa" - 16-18/3/2026
 

We are pleased to invite you to the joint workshop Rethinking Legal Research in and with Africa: Legal Methods, Critical Perspectives, and Decolonial Approaches in the Context of Human Rights and Sustainable Development, which will take place in collaboration with the Chair of African Legal Studies at the University of Bayreuth.

 
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Transferable skills seminar - "From Theory to Practice: Positionality & Active Reflexivity in Research" - 25/3/2026
 

In this seminar we will explore and critically reflect on the concept of positionality in research—that is, who we are, the contexts we work in, the relationships we build, and the methodological choices we make together to shape the research process and its outcomes.

We are honored to welcome Prof. Sarojini Nadar, a renowned critical feminist scholar from the University of the Western Cape, whose work on social justice, reflexivity, and research methodology has inspired scholars across disciplines

 
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Lectures series in Global and Regional History - "Madagascar rice in the 19th century Western Indian Ocean: Production, trade and Political stakes", by Samuel Sanchez - 2/4/2026
 

Rice has played an important role in Madagascar’s political economy and historical trade within the western Indian Ocean. This subject has been recently explored in historiography, covering both ancient and early modern periods.

Dr. Sanchez's work is based on the administrative archives of the Merina monarchy, written in the Malagasy language, and allows new approaches to the rice economy in the nineteenth century.

 
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ANSER Conference 2026 "Leveraging evidence to safeguard sexual and reproductive health and rights on the policy agenda" – Registration now open - 6-8/5/2026

In a time of growing global instability, from climate-related disasters to political polarisation and humanitarian crises, the urgency to protect and promote Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) has never been greater.

The ANSER 2026 Conference brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, CSO representatives and private sector actors to foster collaborative action toward safeguarding SRHR as a policy priority.

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Lectures series in Global and Regional History: "Writing colonial history in commission : the Cameroon war for decolonization", by Karine Ramondy - 7/5/2026
 

Karine Ramondy is a historian and associate researcher at UMR SIRICE, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Her research focuses on the history of Europe-Africa relations in the 20th century, the history of decolonization/independence in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Central Africa, war violence and the circulation of combatants.

In this presentation she will address the many acts of repressive violence perpetrated by colonial authorities and the French army before and after independence of Cameroon in 1960.

 
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CBL-ACP business forum Ethiopia - 19-20/5/2026

This event will bring together +100 business leaders, institutional stakeholders, and entrepreneurs to explore concrete opportunities for cooperation between 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧, with a strong focus on trade, investment, and partnerships.

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ANSER Summer School on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights - 6-10/7/2026

We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the ANSER Summer School on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, which will take place online from July 6 to 10, 2026. The call for applications is open to all students currently following a Bachelor's, Master’s or Graduate programme and interested in SRHR.

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Save the date: CBL-ACP business forum Nigeria - 28-30/10/2026
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CALLS & COMPETITIONS

SGroup InterContinental Academic Exchange Programme Scholarships - submission deadline: 23/2/2026
 

The InterContinental Academic Exchange Programme (ICON) finds its origin in long-lasting collaborative links between the SGroup network, its members, and institutions located in strategic regions linked to the SGroup Think Tank Academy.

As part of this mobility programme, the academic/administrative staff and PhD Candidates of full-member European Universities of the SGroup (like Ghent University) can apply for a SGroup scholarship for a short mobility period in a partner institution of their choice outside Europe and belonging to one of the Think Tank Academy regions (also Africa).

 
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VLIR-UOS TEAM 2026 - Call for project proposals - submission deadline: 3/3/2026
 

TEAM projects are medium-term (5 years), impactful projects designed to explore, build, and deepen academic/scientific collaborations among diverse teams of academics and researchers focusing on sustainable development challenges.

 
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Announcement of the science awards of the Foundation fiat panis - application deadline: 30/4/2026
 

In 2026, the Foundation fiat panis will once again announce its two science awards dealing with problems of food security in the Global South.

The Hermann Eiselen Science Award is awarded for excellent dissertations and is endowed with 30,000 €.

The Hans Hartwig Ruthenberg-Graduate-Award is awarded for outstanding Master's theses and is endowed with 7,500 €.

 
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AFRICA PLATFORM INITIATIVES AND EVENTS

Ghent University South African alumni networking event - 20/3/2026
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Africa Film Festival Ghent 2026 - 24-28/3/2026
 

We warmly invite you to the 10th edition of Africa Film Festival Ghent. We will be screening short films, movies and documentaries from countries such as Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Burkina Faso.

For this 10th edition we offer you a 5-day festival programme with, in addition to the film screenings, two concerts, a number of special guests, panel discussions, a Kizomba workshop and lots of good vibes and networking opportunities.

 

 
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Want to learn more about the six Regional Platforms? Take a look at www.ugent.be/regionalplatforms
to find all the information you need.



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