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The beginnings...

The Forum for Africa Studies was created by the Disiciplinary Domain of the Humanities and Social Sciences in September 2011. From the beginning, the Forum was located at the Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology with Professor Sten Hagberg as its Chair. The Board was constituted by representatives of the six faculties in the Humanities and Social Sciences. In March 2012, the Forum was publicly launched in conjunction with an international meeting of the Pan African University.

Founding Board-Members of the Forum for Africa Studies:
Chair/Director: Sten Hagberg
Faculty of Languages: Ashleigh Harris
Faculty of Social Sciences: Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs
Faculty of Theology: Kajsa Ahlstrand
Faculty of Law: Inger Österdahl
Faculty of Arts: Paul Sinclair
Faculty of Education: Peter Waara
PhD Student Representative: Vera Wilhelmsen
Student Representative: Jenny Ekström

Between 2012 and 2015, several coordinators and assistants worked with Forum on part-time basis: Gabriella Körling (2012-15), Jesper Bjarnesen (2012), and Eren Zink (2015-17). Rosalie Post, then Master Student in Cultural Anthropology, was intern in August-September 2015.

Expanding in many directions

In 2015, the Forum was granted funding from Vice-Chancellor's strategic funds to develop a project called Health, Politics, and Culture in Africa. The idea was to bring together researchers and perspectives from the Humanities & Social Sciences with the Medicine and Pharmacy. The project kickstarted in the Fall of 2015 under the leadership of Eren Zink.

Simultaneously, the Forum engaged actively in the research collaboration with Mozambique, which in turn led to three projects: Strengthen Municipal Democracy, Biocultural Heritage, and Wellbeing.

The project on socio-political transformations in Burkina Faso 2014-2016 was launched with led to a series of publications and collaborative acitvities.

And in September 2016, the Forum took the lead to practically host the SANORD Conference in Uppsala with Sten Hagberg chairing the organization committtee. More information in the conference report Pdf, 2 MB..

Turning into a centre

The next milestone of the Forum's development took place in 2017 when it was turned into a centre. From 1 July 2017, Sten Hagberg became the Director and Ashleigh Harris the Chair-person of the Board. The consolidation of the loosely defined network now meant that projects were applied for and obtained "in the name of" Forum for Africa Studies.

In 2017, the online publication series Uppsala Papers in Africa Studies was launched with the collaborative books on Security from below in Mali, and Socio-political transformations in Burkina Faso.

Pursuing collaborative endeavours

In 2018, the Forum obtained a three year project entitled Burkina Faso seen from below. It led to major activities around two important collaborative research activites on Security from below and Women leadership in Burkina Faso.

The Mocambican projects started finally after years of planning and contractualisation.

The English version of the book on socio-political transformations in Burkina Faso was published as "Nothing will be as before," in Uppsala Papers in Africa Studies.

Between 2018 and 2022, Véronique Simon was the chair-person of Forum's board.

Building research environments

In 2019, the creation of the research lab Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Comparative, Engagée et Transnationale (LACET) marked a new dimension of Forum's collaborative engagements with West African partners. Together with the Institut des Sciens des Sociétés (Burkina Faso) and the Institut des Sciences Humaines (Mali), the Forum founded a transnational research environment. Another important work included the engagement and planning of the International Conference on Mande Studies.

Two issues of the Uppsala Papers in Africa Studies were published: Démocratie par le bas et politique municipale au Sahel, and Securité par le bas au Burkina Faso.

Developing the virtual

In 2020 just before the outbreak of the world-wide corona pandemic, the Forum launched its second virtual seminar series - Séminaire virtuel du LACET - as to complement the UU/UEM Virtual Seminars in Africa Studies. That meant that we were relatively well prepared to face the global challenge. We hosted lots of virtual seminars during the corona crisis.

And yet the West Africa Conference was postponed twice and was finally organized online in June 2021. Still, In December 2020, the Forum co-hosted the AIM-day in collaboration with the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD).

Engaged collective research on citizen struggle in Mali took place June-September 2020. The published results are forthcoming in late 2023 in Uppsala Papers on Africa Studies.

In November 2020, a book launch of Securité par le bas was hosted in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, drawing strong media attention.

The Forum co-hosted with the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy, an online AIMDay on local democracy in conjunction with the Local Democracy Academy.

In the midst of the pandemic, the Forum engaged in collaborative engaged research on political struggles in Mali, which led to the Fall of President Keïta. Another important initiative was the Skin-lightening project driven by Ulrika Trovalla, Oulia Makkonen, Clementina Amankwaah, and Véronique Simon.

Consolidating a strong international centre

In June 2021, the Forum hosted the International Conference on Mande Studies on the theme Beyond Crisis and Insecurity: Cultural Creativity, Popular Struggle, and Social Change in West Africa. The conference was online with 150 participants who presented in 40 panels over four days. The organization committee did a tremendous job and participants felt that there was intimate and friendly relationships despite the online format.

In Sept. 2021, the European Summer School for the Anthropology of Development and Social Dynamics was hosted in Uppsala; this school brings together PhD Students and Faculty from Europe and Africa. The book on Women leadership in Burkina Faso was published in Uppsala Papers in Africa Studies.

Despite the turbulent years, the Mozambican PhD Students were able to carry out field research, albeit under very complicated circumstances. Forum's role as a home and and as safe haven was confirmed during the pandemic. The Walk and Talk Supervision is only one of the innovative strategies.

New perspectives, new projects

In 2022, the Forum took the giant step in consolidating its activities and relevance within and outside Uppsala University. The research school project Decolonizing Research Methodologies was granted funding by Swedish Research Council; a launching seminar took place with PhD Students from Burkina Faso, Mali, Tanzania, South-Sudan, Rwanda, Comores Islands, and Mozambique.

The Citizen Perspectives in Mali was granted funding for a five-year-period as to conduct engaged research, organize citizen debates, and develop partnerships.

Forum co-hosted the Local Democracy Academy with Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy at Uppsala University's Campus Gotland.

And, finally, the Forum for Africa Studies was refounded as to become a centre and a resource for the whole University and with a somewhat new mission. Vice-Chancellor's strategic funding supported the "new" centre called "Uppsala University's Forum for Africa Studies."

Refounding Forum

Since January 2023, Uppsala University's Forum for Africa Studies has been refounded and turned into a full-fledged strategic centre for research and higher education in, on, and with Africa. The recruitment of new research coordinators (Kajsa Hallberg Adu and Jecinta Okumu) alongside with long-time Coordinator Oulia Makkonen has substantionally strengthened the Coordination. Forum's Director is continuously Sten Hagberg.

A new board has been appointed with full representation of the whole University under the leadership of Professor Kajsa Ahlstrand (Humanities and Social Sciences), Chairperson. Other Board-members are Associate Professor Anders Themnér (Humanities and Social Sciences); Professor Ashleigh Harris (Humanities and Social Sciences); Professor Birgitta Essén (Medicine and Pharmacy); Associate Professor Meena Daivadanam (Medicine and Pharmacy); Professor Carla Puglia (Science and Technology); and Dr. Bengt-Ove Turesson (Science and Technology). Professor Sten Hagberg attends the Board in his capacity as Director.

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