|
They were small in number, but for decades these women wielded enormous influence over the politics of Togo (population 9 million) in west Africa. Traders in African print textiles, they were known as Nana-Benz because of the expensive cars they drove. But their numbers have been decimated (down from 50 to an estimated 20) over the past two decades following the influx of ‘made in China’ cloth which is substantially cheaper than the Vlisco fabric that had traditionally held sway. Fidele B. Ebia and Rory Horner tell the story.
The Bosumtwi Impact Crater, found in Ghana, represents a geological treasure. It is one of the world’s best-preserved young meteorite impact craters. The crater offers opportunities for studying impact processes, climate history, and planetary evolution, making it an irreplaceable natural laboratory for researchers and educators. However, there is a looming danger. Illegal small-scale mining activities are encroaching on and around the crater. Earth scientist Marian Selorm Sapah explains the threat facing this geographical marvel.
|
|
Caroline Southey
Founding Editor, Africa
|
|
Fidele B. Ebia, Duke University; Rory Horner, University of Manchester
Chinese manufactured cloth has undermined the monopoly on the trade of Dutch African print textiles that Togolese traders once enjoyed.
|
Marian Selorm Sapah, University of Ghana
The activities of illegal miners are a threat to the sustainability of the crater.
|
Arts, Culture + Society
|
Chuka Onwumechili, Howard University
Whatever the outcome of the Wafcon final, Nigeria’s sole dominance of women’s football in Africa has ended.
|
|
|
Mariapaola McGurk, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Johannesburg’s inner city has seen a surge in creative hub development, driven by artists with an entrepreneurial spirit.
| |
Gibson Ncube, Stellenbosch University
Even as Chido Muchemwa’s characters move between countries, generations and identities, they are tied by their desire for care.
|
Todd Pezzuti, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez
Coolness has changed. Today it’s about being extroverted, hedonistic, adventurous, open, powerful and autonomous.
| |
Carl Death, University of Manchester
In his new book, Carl Death weighs up climate policies in African countries with each country’s stories and films about climate change.
|
|
|
Business + Economy
|
Alan Hirsch, University of Cape Town
The East African Community has been ambitious in creating a regional common market. This includes making it easy for people to move between countries.
|
Environment + Energy
|
Katrina Kosec, Johns Hopkins University; Amanda Clayton, University of California, Berkeley; Amanda Lea Robinson, The Ohio State University; Boniface Dulani, University of Cape Town
In rural Malawi, women influence discussions on how to combat climate change in communities that depend on forests for survival.
|
|
|
-
Krystal Tolley, South African National Biodiversity Institute
Researchers in South Africa have rediscovered a lost lizard, uncovered new localities of species and found that some are in danger of extinction.
|
|
Politics
|
Hanri Mostert, University of Cape Town; Tracy-Lynn Field, University of the Witwatersrand
African nations need to negotiate contracts that ensure they hold on to the power their resources bring.
|
|
|
Fisayo Ajala, Stellenbosch University
The Nigerian army is not doing enough to help widows of its soldiers who died fighting Boko Haram.
| |
Hayes Mabweazara, University of Glasgow; Bethia Pearson, University of Glasgow
A new book explores how media outlets are controlled by powerful forces, from governments to corporations, in Africa and Latin America.
|
Ivor Chipkin, University of Pretoria
Since around 2000 the South African Police Service has been used to manage internal political dynamics in the ANC.
| |
Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah, Dublin City University; Timothy Chanimbe, Hong Kong Baptist University
Ghana stands out in west Africa as a nation that hasn’t experienced terrorist attacks. Its proactive, multi-faceted strategies offer a blueprint for neighbours.
|
|
|
Climate
|
Piers Forster, University of Leeds; Debbie Rosen, University of Leeds
Planet Earth is living on borrowed time, a new global report reveals. The world must stop burning fossil fuels now and take urgent steps to reduce global warming.
|
Science + Technology
|
Jonathan Salerno, Colorado State University; Amy Dickman, University of Oxford; Kevin Crooks, Colorado State University; Rekha Warrier, Colorado State University; Stewart Breck, Colorado State University
Management and protection of livestock is fundamental for reducing conflict with wildlife.
|
|
|
-
Songbo Hu, University of Cambridge; Anna Barford, University of Cambridge; Anna Korhonen
Language technologies are being adapted for health across Africa. But most of these tools never make it beyond the lab or they are limited in their language options.
|
|
Education
|
-
Anthea Adams, Rhodes University; Charlene Geduld- Van Wyk, Central University of Technology; Patricia Muhuro, University of Fort Hare; Sandra Williams, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Why isn’t academic development working effectively enough in South African higher education?
-
Johan Ferreira, University of the Witwatersrand
Students created sci-fi and fantasy stories with characters that represented ideas in statistics.
|
|
| |
|
|
29 July 2025
•
Johannesburg
|
|
29 July - 29 September 2025
•
Cape Town
|
|
18 August - 8 September 2025
•
Cape Town
|
|
19 August - 4 September 2025
•
Cape Town
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Would you like to republish any of these articles?
|
|
It’s free to republish, here are the guidelines.
Contact us on africa-republish@theconversation.com in case you need assistance.
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
