Africa Days at Uppsala University

The Forum for Africa Studies organizes a two day event celebrating Africa Days with a diverse program and participants including: update from UU's Africa Initiatives with Vice-Chancellor, an early career scholars session, a keynote, research presentations from the three disciplinare domain (Humanities & Social Sciences, Medecine and Pharmacology, and Science and Technology, as well as the much anticipated screening of the awarded film Katanga – the dance of the scorpions by the Burkinabe film-maker Dani Kouyaté, Uppsala resident and affiliated teacher to the Forum.

Access the flyer Pdf, 451 kB. or the full programme programme Pdf, 631 kB..

Monday 9 June 2025, Lecture-Hall IX

13.15-14.30 Opening Session, chaired by Prof. Kajsa Ahlstrand, with Vice-Chancellor Professor Anders Hagfeldt, Prof. Sten Hagberg, Dr. Kajsa Hallberg Adu, and Dr. Jecinta Okumu

14.30-15.00 Coffee

15.00-15.45 Collaborative Research Presentation: Humanities and Social Sciences: Towards an anthropology of social and political transformations in Mali: Ethnography, training, and engagement, Prof. Yaouaga Félix Koné, Institut des Sciences Humaines, Mali; and Prof. Sten Hagberg, Uppsala University

15.45-16.30 Collaborative Research Presentation: Science and Technology: Designing collaborative hybrid learning: The case of the Kujenga course developed to onboard PhD students in seven African countries. Panel: Prof. David J Sumpter, Department of Information Technology, Otema Yirenkyi and Kweakyie Afi Blebo, co-founders of the Because She Can organisation, Dr. Titilope F Ajayi, Founder & Co-Director, Higher Education Leadership. Moderator: Dr. Kajsa Hallberg Adu, Forum for Africa Studies.

16.30-17.00 Refreshments: light food and soft drinks

17.00-20.00 Swedish Premiere: Katanga – the dance of the scorpions, by and with Dani Kouyaté, followed by a conversation with the audience

10 June 2025, Lecture-Hall IX

9.30-10.15 Collaborative Research Presentation: Medicine and Pharmacology: Transdisciplinary frameworks of collaboration across disciplines, institutions and countries: Examples from GUILD-ARUA clusters of excellence, Dr. Jecinta Okumu, Forum for Africa Studies

10.15-10.45 Coffee

10.45-12.00 Research project presentations by early career scholars

Obstetric uncertainties: navigating perinatal and maternal technologies in Mozambique, Márcia Manhique, Dept. of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology

Navigating continents and disciplines: Doing transdisciplinary PhD work on Gender, Health and Sustainability within Sweden, Uganda and Kenya, Jasmine Arcilla, Centre for Gender Research, and Dept. of Women’s and Children’s Health

Development of New Cathode Materials for organic batteries, Jean Bosco Nkuranga, Dept. of Physics

Tracing Performance through Audiovisual Archives: A case study on West African Koteba theatre Dr. Oulia Makkonen, Dept. of English

Wordalisation: Represent data into words, Amandine Caut, Dept. of Mathematics

Handwritten Text Recognition for Ajami Manuscripts, Oreen Yousuf, Dept. of Linguistics and Philology

12.00-13.00 Lunch

13.00-13.30 International Science Programme

Dr. Bengt-Ove Turesson, and Prof. Carla Puglia

13.30-14.30 Other Opportunities for strengthened collaborations

SLU Global, Dr. Sara Gräslund

The Nordic Africa Institute, Dr. Eleanor Fisher

Swedish-South African University Forum (SASUF), Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM), Helin Bäckman Kartal, Research and Partnership Support

Southern Africa-Nordic University Centre (SANORD), Sten Hagberg

African Student Association in Uppsala, Tendai Abiola Dhodho

14.30-15.20 Key Note Lecture: Democracy and Academic Spaces: Political Parties’ Invasion of Higher Education in Africa, George Bob-Milliar, Associate Prof. in African Studies (Politics & History) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana; Adjunct Prof. at the Centre for Africa Studies, Copenhagen University; and Visiting Fellow at Nordic Africa Institute

15.20-15.30 Closing Remarks

15.30-16.00 Farewell Fika