Key conversations at the 2026 Sahel Symposium

Between 24 March and 25 March 2026, Uppsala University's Forum for Africa Studies and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) co-hosted the Fourth Sahel Symposium on Academic collaborations and civic liberties. The Symposium brought together some twenty scholars from Burkina Faso, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Mali, Norway, Senegal, Sweden, Tunisia, and USA, who presented current research in and on the Sahel. In total, around 85 participants - including 25 online at the Launching of the CRG Sahel/PAX - attended the Symposium that opened for key conversations, and critical discussions on research collaborations in the Sahel region.

The opening session included Professor Erik Lindberg, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Uppsala University, Dr. Luc van de Goor, Director of Studies in Conflict, Peace and Security, SIPRI, and the Forum's Director Professor Sten Hagberg.

The Sahel Symposium was divided into six sessions:

• When the global meets the local – and the other way around chaired by Rosa De Jorio with presentations by Ibrahima Poudiougou, Tongnoma Zongo, and Bintou Koné

• Gendered and Feminist perspectives on Politics and Culture chaired by Paulina Schaber with presentations by Rosa De Jorio, Sten Hagberg, and Asma Ben Hadj Hassen

• Table-Ronde des jeunes chercheures : Enquête des terrains minés chaired by Muriel Côte with presentations by Asma Ben Hadj Hassen, Bintou Koné, Marie Riquier, and Cyrielle Trebosc

• Round-Table on Disinformation in Africa – How social media shapes political mobilization? chaired by Virginie Baudais with presentations by Rosa De Jorio, Dan Sanaren, Cheickna Yaranangore, and Ousmane Diallo
• Round-Table on collaborations and spaces – How shrinking civic and political space can be turned into enhanced North/South collaboration? chaired by Gabriella Körling with presentations by Virginie Baudais, Alice Judell, Ibrahima Poudiougou, and Éric Hahonou
• Launching the CRG Le monde du Sahel/Promoting Academic Collaborations and Spaces (Sahel/PAX) with the CRG Coordination Team (Sten Hagberg, Muriel Côte, Éric Hahonou, Bintou Koné, and Tongnoma Zongo). More about the Sahel/PAX here

Access the detailed programme of the Fourth Sahel Symposium here pdf, 476 kB.

Please find some highlights from the two-day Symposium here below.

The organization of the Fourth Sahel Symposium was generously supported by the Royal Society of the Humanities in Uppsala.