New publication 📖 This chapter explores how international initiatives like the Balkan Silk Road (BRI) & SAGCOT reshape territorial governance. How do foreign-led infrastructure & private strategies affect state sovereignty? Can strong sovereignty coexist with weak governance? More ⬇️⬇️⬇️

EU's Global Gateway study on 11 transport corridors: "All scenarios presume stable political and security situation. [...] No field visits have been performed, but the EU Delegations in Africa provided extremely useful local insights." Get serious. publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/h...

Join the 3rd lecture of our Climate Lecture Series! 📅 9 Sept 2025 | 🕚 11:00–12:15 CEST / 09:00–10:15 UTC | Speaker: Lucy Waruingi, African Conservation Centre (Kenya) on community-based rangeland #reforestation for #sustainable livelihoods. Free & open to all: ➡️ static.daad.de/media/daad_d... #DAAD

New publication: Annapia Debarry & Valentine Opanga explore urban research through feminist & decolonial lenses, highlighting invisibility of marginalized communities in Nairobi & Addis Ababa. Read it here:

Vacancy: Professorship in Economic Geography and Global South (W1) with tenure track (W3) (f/m/d) @unicologne.bsky.social. More:

New Publication: Chrispinus Mutsami, Martin C. Parlasca & Matin Qaim (Project C08 & @zefbonn.bsky.social) examine livelihoods in rural Africa. Findings show: - Poorest rely most on farming - Self-employment dominates off-farm work - Education & infrastructure boost access Read full study here:

Der @daadworldwide.bsky.social vermittelt nordamerikanische, britische und irische Bachelorstudierende in den Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften sowie Informatik in Forschungspraktika an deutsche Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen. Infos zur Teilnahme: ➡️ crc-trr228.de/rise-germany...

Congratulations to Frankline Ndi (project C02 "Energy Futures") for receiving the @giubresearch.bsky.social International Paper Award! His article examines land acquisition and displacement in the context of the Kipeto wind energy project in Kenya. More ➡️ crc-trr228.de/frankline-nd...

Congratulations to Thomas Widlok (Project C05 Framing Futures) for receiving the Leo-Spitzer Prize for outstanding academic work in the humanities! More ➡️ crc-trr228.de/thomas-widlo...

📣 Call for Papers Join us at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies for a workshop on the Global History of the Plantation (Nov 2025)! 🌍 Open to PhD & early-career researchers 🗓️ Submit abstract by August 15, 2025 More info:https://ow.ly/iU2u50WpR1n @unibonn.bsky.social @dfg.de

We recently visited the Global Heritage Lab @unibonn.bsky.social, exploring the exhibition "Dressing Resistance" with Prof. Julia Binter. A timely exchange on decolonizing heritage—especially as we plan our own exhibition with @futuriumd.bsky.social in 2026. ‪More:

🐘 👩🏾‍🌾 Why do many #conservation approaches find it hard to do justice to people and integrate ‘living with’ #biodiversity rather than separating people and nature? We deal with this and much more in our #LivingLandscapesInAction short course. Apply by 21 July. plaas.org.za/call-for-app...

Youjin B. Chung, Marjorie Mbilinyi & Emmanuel Sulle trace how sugar & plantations shaped state-building in Tanzania—not just for exports, but as strategic staples. Colonial & postcolonial policies transformed land, labor & livelihoods, reinforcing race, gender & class hierarchies. Full article 👇👇👇

Congratulations! 🎉👏🎊

🟢 How does spatial planning shape the green hydrogen boom? In a new study, Benedikt Walker, Britta Klagge & Ravn Haid explore how Chile, Namibia & South Africa plan for export-oriented green hydrogen projects. Read it here ➡️ crc-trr228.de/planning-the...

📖 New IDOS #PolicyBrief on #DigitalFinancialServices - Lessons from #Kenya- by Christoph Sommer (IDOS), Albert Nsengu-Muremyi, Anna Mader & @musshoff.bsky.social @uni-goettingen.de. 🔗 www.idos-research.de/en/policy-br...

Scholarships available for PhD students from Africa, Asia & Latin America (enrolled at a German university) to join the RLC Workshop on Rural Development & Smallholder Agriculture @zefbonn.bsky.social, Sept 29–Oct 2, 2025. 📅 Apply by July 15, 2025 More info 👉 crc-trr228.de/call-for-wor...

Up next week

New research by Eric Kioko & Winnie Changwony explores how megaprojects like Kenya’s LAPSSET corridor disrupt land tenure & power in rural Africa. Study highlights land privatization, conflict & the overlooked impacts on community-managed conservation areas. Read it here: ⬇️⬇️⬇️

📱 Planning Smart, Working Hard Gideon Tups & Astrid Matejcek uncover the hidden labor behind "smart" digital connectivity in rural Tanzanian agriculture. Two case studies reveal the gap between tech promises and the hard work that powers them. 📰 ➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

🎬 Mtu ni Watu premieres June 23, 2025 @ Off-Broadway Cinema, Cologne! Part of the Tandem Project by Hauke-Peter Vehrs & Richard Kiaka, film spotlights vital but often overlooked role of research assistants in ethnographic research. 🎟️ : Glaskasten, @unicologne.bsky.social More info & trailer 👇

Linus Kalvelage & Benedikt Walker have received the Journal of Economic Geography Best Early Career Paper Prize! Their award-winning paper explores Germany’s strategic role in Namibia’s green hydrogen sector. Read it here👇👇👇

🌍🌿 Klimaschutz vs. Naturschutz? Liana Kindermann erörtert in ihrem Essay die Zielkonflikte zwischen Klimaschutz und Naturschutz in afrikanischen Savannen & zeigt jene komplexen Zusammenhänge auf, die das lokale Ökosystem in globale Debatten einbetten. 📰 👇👇👇

Thank you for for sharing your insights with us in the Future Rural Africa Lecture Series, Franklin Obeng-Odoom! Stay tuned for more lectures: ➡️ crc-trr228.de/crc-lecture-...

++Would you like to conduct your PhD?🎓++ Scholarships available - We are searching for young talents for doctoral research in sustainable development Apply now! Deadline August 31, 2025 ➡️https://bit.ly/ZEF-PhD-2025 #phd #promotion #academia @daadworldwide.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social

Congratulations to Mfundo Mlilo for receiving the 2024 Geoforum Best Student Paper Award for his publication "Coloniality of power and the imaginaries of tourism in Victoria Falls" co-authored with Javier Revilla Diez and Michael Bollig 🎉👏 Read it here: ➡️ crc-trr228.de/mfundo-mlilo...

Congrats to Thomas Widlok (Project C05 Framing Futures) on receiving the Leo-Spitzer Prize from @unicologne.bsky.social for outstanding work in the humanities! 🎉👏👏 📸 Widlok (3rd from right) with Rector Mukherjee (centre) & fellow 2025 prize winners. More: ➡️ crc-trr228.de/thomas-widlo...

Can solar panels and farming work together?🌾☀️ New study reveals surprising public support for agrivoltaics. Less impact on landscapes, more willingness to pay! ➡️Read the full article here: bit.ly/3FbJk6e

More ➡️https://crc-trr228.de/new-publication-how-land-use-change-shapes-carbon-storage-in-african-savannas/

We co-hosted a dissemination workshop in Dodoma together with @idos-research.bsky.social, SUA, Mzumbe, @bicc.de, JOOUST & JKUAT. Event brought together scholars, ministries & policymakers to discuss rural development futures. 🎥 Watch the recap here: ➡️ crc-trr228.de/disseminatio...

Director of @idos-research.bsky.social and researcher in our subproject B05 Science Futures @akhornidge.bsky.social shares insights from AITEC, a medium scale farm in Dodoma, Tanzania, where research, training, and value chain development come together to strengthen local agriculture.

"Is green hydrogen really colonial? A commentary on Tunn et al. 2025" by Benedikt Walker & Linus Kalvelage, discussing the question of whether hydrogen projects in the Global South, particularly in Namibia, can be regarded as (neo-)colonial www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #geosky

New Publication: Kenya’s push for renewable energy is powering progress — but what about the unseen impacts? This paper dives into the Menengai geothermal project to uncover how clean energy is reshaping land, livelihoods, and local communities. 📰➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

Call for Applications: HIAS Summer School 2025 “Eating together. Food, Ecology, and Convivality“, Hamburg, 7-12 July 2025, at HIAS. An interdisciplinary menu, put together by Frédéric Vandenberghe and Frank Adloff. Deadline 15 May; Application information here: hias-hamburg.de/en/events/su...

How have West African states tried to break free from colonial economic legacies? @kaikodden.bsky.social takes us for a deep dive into earnest struggles for structural transformation in Senegal, Ghana, Guinea & Nigeria—spanning independence, SAPs, & beyond! ➡️ crc-trr228.de/crc-trr-publ...

From the Rift Valley to Vienna, Kampala, and Nairobi. In a new blog post, researcher Tasneem Osman @zefbonn.bsky.social reflects on fieldwork, interdisciplinary science, and the power of global networks. ➡️ crc-trr228.de/bridging-sci...

New Publication: How Kenya's SGR affected land tenure and dispossession in Voi town. Group tenure—especially through Community Land Trusts—provides stronger protection against dispossession than private land titles. More: 📰➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

Celebrate the launch of the special issue "Framing Difference in Age and Generation in Africa" @njas.fi with us! Issue edited by Project C05 Framing Futures. 📅 9 April 2025 I 10-11:30 (CEST) 📍 Department of African Studies @unicologne.bsky.social & online via Zoom ➡️ crc-trr228.de/hybrid-event...

New post on our Rewilding Blog! In this one, Pierre du Plessis and I explore Botswana and its foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) 'red zone' as two layers of a European shadow ecology: rewilding.de/shadows-with...

This one has been a long time coming, but it’s finally here: my first academic paper as first author. @annetpauwelussen.bsky.social, @estherturnhout.bsky.social and I explore how conservation-tourism partnerships are neither win-win nor win-lose situations: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Future Rural Africa Public Lecture: How does wealth accumulate in African cities & beyond? Who owns what, who gets what, and why? @econgeo.bsky.social unpacks these questions, linking local & global economies. 📅 7 April 2025 🕓 16:00 - 17:30 (CEST) More ➡️ crc-trr228.de/crc-trr-publ...

📝 New blog post! Researcher Victoria Luxen joined the "Writing about Platformization from Africa" workshop at UCT, exploring digital platforms, data power & academic publishing. Insights on agri-digitalization, platform labor & more! Read about her experience: ➡️ crc-trr228.de/exploring-pl...

New Publication! Jonathan M. Jackson expands on his doctoral work in "Visions for an African Valley: Histories of Development in Kilombero, Tanzania since 1877." A deep dive into past development plans & their unrealized futures. More ➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-monograp...

🌍🌱 Apply for the Youth AgriChampions workshop on climate adaptation by the Ban Ki-moon Centre! 🌱🌍 🌟 Represent farmers at COP29, Get a certificate signed by Ban Ki-moon & Join the BKMC Alumni Network 🕛 Apply by March 24, 2025 (Deadline: 23:59 CET) Apply now! 🌍👇 bankimooncentre.org/youth-agri-c...

New Publication! @arnerieber.bsky.social, Eric Kioko & @theobromin.bsky.social examine how stalled infrastructure projects shape local economies & aspirations. They explore the non-economy of anticipation & infrastructural violence in the case of the Thwake Dam. 📰 ➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

Celebrate the launch of the special issue "Framing Difference in Age and Generation in Africa" @njas.fi with us! Issue edited by Project C05 Framing Futures. 📅 9 April 2025 I 10-11:30 (CEST) 📍 Department of African Studies @unicologne.bsky.social & online via Zoom ➡️ crc-trr228.de/hybrid-event...

New Publication! @theobromin.bsky.social & Detlef Müller-Mahn explore how labor shapes future-making in East African infrastructure projects. 📰➡️https://crc-trr228.de/new-publication-how-labour-has-the-potential-to-make-marginalised-futures-visible-and-real/

New Publication! Our researchers Emilie Köhler and Michael Bollig analyze wildlife corridors in KAZA TFCA. They conclude that human-elephant conflict occurs more frequently near roads than within wildlife corridors. @unicologne.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social 📰➡️ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

"Science needs facts, not emotions" - Geography professor @lisaschipper.bsky.social in the Hypothese Podcast @unibonn.bsky.social Lisa ist head of the Development Geography research group at our department. 🎧🎵 Listen to the podcast here: www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/scie... or on your own postcast app

📢 New research! @astoecker.bsky.social explores barriers to women’s employment in SSA & how education, motherhood & norms shape outcomes. More job variety can widen gender gaps—see how context matters! #InternationalWomensDay #GenderEquality Read more in: www.idos-research.de/discussion-p...