In November 2022 the Cluster Project "Black Atlantic revisited - African and South American UNESCO-world heritage sites and "shadowed spaces" of performative memory" presented this poetry performance by Ashanti Dinah Orozco. The performance was titled "Muntú: palabras liberadas del cepo y el latigo" (Muntú: words freed from whip and clam). The event was moderated by Gilbert Shang Ndi. Ashanti Dinah Orozco is a doctoral student in the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, with a primary field in Romance Languages & Literatures. Her research has focused on investigating and analyzing the literary works of Afro-Latin American authors. She is the author of the collection of poems Las Semillas del Muntu (The seeds of Muntu).

Under the theme “Global Learning Crises and the Role of International Organisations,” Dr. Iris Santos (Tampere University, Finland) and Professor Aaron Benavot (University at Albany-SUNY, USA) delivered two lectures on 22nd January 2025. Dr. Santos shared her research on “The Global Learning Crisis: Perspectives from Finnish Education Experts in UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank.” She critically examines how international development agencies, led by the Global North, construct and perpetuate the learning crisis narrative. Based on interviews with 23 Finnish education experts, her study highlights systemic challenges and power dynamics shaping global education governance. It reveals how international organisations often rely on narrow, technical, and short-term solutions that overlook local socio-economic and cultural contexts, reinforcing dependency and inequality in the Global South. Professor Aaron Benavot, in his lecture ‘The ‘Global Learning Crisis’ and Ready-Made Policy Solutions’, explored the long history of educational crises and the growing focus on a ‘global learning crisis’ among international organisations and aid agencies. He highlighted how this narrative has spurred interest in ‘effective’ interventions such as accelerated learning to combat the crisis. Find out more about the Postdoc Working Group here: https://www.bayreuth-academy.uni-bayreuth.de/en/postdoc-working-groups/Rethinking-Accelerated-Learning/index.html

Under the theme ‘Accelerated Education Programmes for Out-of-School Young People in Africa’, on 28th November 2024, Ms. Miriam Tusiimire from War Child Canada and Ms. Fatu Yumkella from Dalan Development Consultants (Sierra Leone) presented various models of accelerated literacy programmes. Find out more about the Postdoc Working Group here: https://www.bayreuth-academy.uni-bayreuth.de/en/postdoc-working-groups/Rethinking-Accelerated-Learning/index.html

For the opening of its second international conference the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence invited the distinguished Senegalese sociologist, Prof. Dr. Fatou Sow, to speak about "Relating Women in African Studies: A Critical View". Fatou Sow was introduced by Prof. Dr. Akosua Adomako Ampofo. The event was chaired by Prof. Dr. Ute Fendler, the Cluster's Vice Dean of Internationalisation and Public Engagement. After Sow’s keynote, the Dean of the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), Prof. Dr. Martina Drescher, solemnly announced that the distinguished Senegalese scholar, a veritable pioneer of African feminist studies, has been selected as the recipient of the BIGSAS honorary doctorate, making her the second person to be awarded this title to date To find out more about Prof. Sow receiving the BIGSAS honorary award: https://www.africamultiple.uni-bayreuth.de/en/news/2021/2021-07-14_Fatou_Sow/index.html

Just like previous editions, the BIGSAS Journalist Award 2024 honoured high-quality journalism in German-speaking media that deals with topics relating to the African continent beyond stereotypes. The submitted articles were reviewed by a jury consisting of BIGSAS alumni and researchers of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence. The journalists who submitted their articles do not necessarily have an academic background or special knowledge in an Africa related field of research, nor are researchers in African studies trained in journalism or methods of public outreach of their research results. The roundtable on the morning after the BIGSAS Journalist Award ceremony featured the 2024 winners Birte Mensing and Ruona Meyer and aimed to encourage a discussion on how academia and journalism are entangled, can benefit from each other. What kinds of stereotypes need to be tackled? Where do we need more public engagement? Do we need to share more data? The discussion was led by Dr. Bilian Otundo and Dr. Joschka Philips both members of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence.

Project Presentation: "Multiplicity in Decision-Making of Africa’s Interacting Markets: The Functioning of Community Law, the Role of Market Participants and the Power of Regional Judges (MuDAIMa)" Many African States are members of more than one regional community whose objectives and declared aims are economic, legal and/or political integration. Tanzania, for instance, is both member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and of the East African Community (EAC), but not of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), whereas other EAC and SADC members are equally COMESA members. Thus, it is commonplace that multiple, overlapping and potentially competing economic, legal and political affiliations influence the status quo of regional integration. Due to the nature of regional integration, the MuDAIMa project aims at a truly transdisciplinary analysis of the entangled integration situations and its relational implications by combining economics, law and political science. Prof. Dr. Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg, Diana Kisaye and Dr. Raymond Frempong present the project that is part of the research profile of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence. To find more about the project: https://www.africamultiple.uni-bayreuth.de/en/Projects/Affiliations/Affiliations_MuDAIMa/index.html

From January 21 to 24, 2024, the "Cinema Africa" film festival of the Cluster of Excellence "Africa Multiple" invites film and Africa aficionados alike to embark on a four-day trip through African narratives. The journey leads from south to north, from Tunisia to Lesotho, with stops in Burkina Faso, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and shows the broad spectrum of modern African cinema. All five films presented during the festival in Bayreuth impress with their unique cinematic aesthetics and extraordinary storytelling and have already attracted a lot of attention at international film festivals and received various awards. From Sunday, January 21 to Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the screenings will take place at Cineplex Bayreuth (always starting at 8 pm, on January 22 also at 6 pm). Each screening will be followed by an audience discussion.

From January 21 to 24, 2024, the "Cinema Africa" film festival of the Cluster of Excellence "Africa Multiple" invites film and Africa aficionados alike to embark on a four-day trip through African narratives. The journey leads from south to north, from Tunisia to Lesotho, with stops in Burkina Faso, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and shows the broad spectrum of modern African cinema. All five films presented during the festival in Bayreuth impress with their unique cinematic aesthetics and extraordinary storytelling and have already attracted a lot of attention at international film festivals and received various awards. From Sunday, January 21 to Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the screenings will take place at Cineplex Bayreuth (always starting at 8 pm, on January 22 also at 6 pm). Each screening will be followed by an audience discussion.

Please note: THIS TRAILER CONTAINS FLASHING LIGHTS THAT MAY AFFECT PHOTOSENSITIVE VIEWERS From January 21 to 24, 2024, the "Cinema Africa" film festival of the Cluster of Excellence "Africa Multiple" invites film and Africa aficionados alike to embark on a four-day trip through African narratives. The journey leads from south to north, from Tunisia to Lesotho, with stops in Burkina Faso, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and shows the broad spectrum of modern African cinema. All five films presented during the festival in Bayreuth impress with their unique cinematic aesthetics and extraordinary storytelling and have already attracted a lot of attention at international film festivals and received various awards. From Sunday, January 21 to Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the screenings will take place at Cineplex Bayreuth (always starting at 8 pm, on January 22 also at 6 pm). Each screening will be followed by an audience discussion.

In May 2023 the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence presented a concert and reading with Jean Luc Raharimanana from Madagascar and Alexandre Vieira from Brazil at @kunst-undkulturhausneunein8931. Jean Luc Raharimanana is a writer from Madagascar who combines writing, theatre, music and photography in his works. Through lyrical, sensuous language influenced by oral tradition, the author portrays not only the beauty of nature but poverty and squalor. In his work, legends and old superstitions are juxtaposed with contemporary political events. Alexandre Vieira is Brazilian bass player and singer that melts his playing with his singing and vice versa, creating, improvising or just playing songs. His music is the sound of his hometown Salvador da Bahia navigating through other cultures, from classical to jazz.

Enocent Msindo and Muyiwa Falaye give their presentations at the Panel Discussion of "What do we mean by 'Reconfiguring Africa'?" in Iwalewahaus, Bayreuth, October 28, 2019. - Follow us on Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pg/AfricaMultiple Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/exc2052/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ClusterAfrica https://www.africamultiple.uni-bayreuth.de/

Kangni Alem is a writer, translator and literary critic, playwright, art collector and exhibiton curator, director of the "Atelier Théâtre de Lomé" founded by him in 1989. He has received numerous awards, including the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire for his book Cola Cola jazz. He was part of the workshop "slave trade memories at the crossroads of literature, performance and history".

Wilfried N’Sondé is a prolific writer, musician, author and composer. He has won several renowned awards, including the Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie and the Prix Senghor de la création littéraire for Le Cœur des enfants léopards (2007), the Prix Ahmadou Kourouma for Le silence des esprits. He was part of the workshop "slave trade memories at the crossroads of literature, performance and history".

The Africa Mulitple Cluster of Excellence's kick-off conference held between 30 and 31 October 2019 came to a festive close with a concert featuring musicians from three continents. The renowned musicians EunKyung Kim and JaeHyo Chang from Korea, Childo Tomas and Matchume Zango from Mozambique and Tao Ravao from Madagascar came together for the sole purpose of this concert creating songs especially for that occasion. The Baroque stage of the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth – named a UNESCO world heritage site in 2012 – provided the unique and extraordinary stetting for this once in a lifetime event. - Follow us on Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pg/AfricaMultiple Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/exc2052/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ClusterAfrica https://www.africamultiple.uni-bayreuth.de/

As part of its international online conference "Africa*n Relations: Modalities Reflected" that took place from 14 to 17 July 2021 the Cluster of Excellence presented Nairobian creative writer Yvonne A. Owuor with a lecture on "Imagination, Thesholds and Ennui: Summons to Alt. Decoloniality?". She was introduced by Joschka Philipps, Junior Research Group Leader at the Cluster of Excellence. For more information: https://www.africamultiple.uni-bayreuth.de/en/news/2021/2021-08-05_conference_report/index.html