Agenda 2025

In this lecture Grâce Ndjako will explore the impact of African anti-colonial critique. As Martinican philosopher Franz Fanon concludes ‘Les Damnés de la Terre' by arguing for a ‘Pensée neuve' and ‘faire peau neuve,’ urging colonised people to think anew. In contemporary philosophy René Descartes’ radical doubt is often regarded as the starting point of modern Western Philosophy, and this radical doubt is then presented as being universal. Ndjako in turn questions the degree to which this radical doubt is actually being upheld as a universal principle.

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Full title: "Examining the ethnic dimension of the jihadist insurgency in Northern Mozambique & My neighbor matters: Forgiveness in post-genocide Rwanda". 

In this keynote, Adio speaks about how Artificial intelligence is neither artificial nor intelligent—it is built from human hands, planetary resources, and histories of exploitation disguised as innovation. Adio-Adet Dinika is a political scientist specializing in platform labour and platform governance. He received his PhD from the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS) in Germany, focusing on critiquing techno-optimistic narratives of platform labour in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Full title: "CRG Seminar: The Economic Community of West African States at fifty: Edward Blyden and the road towards a people centered regional body".Edward Blyden, the father of Pan-Africanism and African unification placed individuals at the entre of his ideas. He sought the unification of West Africa through, initially, the interaction of peoples across the region. He saw unification being fostered in West African schools, social settings, churches and mosques. Cultural interaction would produce the consciousness of a West African community, and this consciousness would be the bedrock of his hoped for West African state.

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The 11th edition of the Stephen Ellis annual event, organised by the African Studies Centre Leiden on 4 December 2025, will take a fresh look at African philosophy and its relevance for conflict resolution, peace, and security issues on the continent.

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