Past events

We are very excited to inform you about the public lecture "Hey, weren't they the good guys? - A critical look into conservation in Africa" with prize winning investigative Journalist Olivier van Beemen on 12. May at 18:15 at the Walter Benjamin Kolleg, Unitobler.

The event is co-organized by SAKS, WBKolleg, Initiative Afrique and THoR, moderated by Prof. Dr. Tobias Haller and Prof. Dr. Stefan Leins. 

Please find further details in the attached flyer.

On 9^th April, 2025, the University of Bern, The Guild, and SwissCore jointly organised a Research and Innovation Briefing,

The African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) adopted in July 2023 the joint AU-EU Innovation Agenda to enhance cooperation in science, technology and innovation. At the same time, universities have been engaged and contributing to the priority areas of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda. Research, innovation, education and universities as networked actors can be a key part of a competitive, 360-degree approach for Europe’s international partnerships with colleagues in Africa and across the wider global stage. One of them is the Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence (CoRE) launched by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. Twenty-one CoREs have been established, demonstrating a new form of widespread collaboration involving the best researchers from both continents. This collaboration is enabled by resources committed by universities, the private sector and civil society. They have ambitious long-term plans at the cutting edge of excellent science and socio-economic challenges to produce outcomes of mutual, strategic benefit for Africa and Europe. CoREs offer an opportunity for sound investment to enhance cooperation between the continents by scaling up, consolidating existing efforts and building an ecosystem between different actors on both continents. In this R&I Briefing, hosted by the Swiss Mission to the EU and co-organised by the University of Bern, The Guild and SwissCore, we invite representatives from several CoREs to present their initiatives, achievements and challenges faced while engaging in international cooperation. Thus, we will gain insights into topics such as Genomics for Health, or Sustainable Water and Land Resource Management for Human Well-Being. Speakers included representatives from the Africa-Europe CoREs, European Commission, EEAS and more:

• Rita Adam, Head of the Swiss Mission to the European Union
• Prof. Dr. Hugues Abriel, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, University of Bern
• Prof. Dr. Carmen Faso, Multidisciplinary Centre for Infectious Diseases (MCID), University of Bern
• Prof. Dr. Shahida Moosa, Head of Medical Genetics, Tygerberg Hospital (South Africa)
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Breu, Director Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern
• Jean Claude Makangara, Phd Candidate, University of Bern
• Dr. Djouroukoro Diallo, Head and Coordination, Member of the Executive Board of Initiative Afrique, University of Bern
• Agnieszka Skuratowicz, Head of Unit, Human Development, Migration,  Governance and Peace - Youth, Education and Research, Culture, DG INTPA
• Eudy Mabuza, Senior Science and Innovation Representative, South African Mission to the EU 
• Nienke Buisman, Head of Unit, International Cooperation, DG RTD
• Prof. Dr. Jan Palmowski, Secretary-General, Lead on Africa-Europe CoRe, The Guild

Sustainability: The public and the acceptable face of prejudice,” by Dr. Mordecai Ogada and co-organized with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution

• Date: Monday 17 March 
• Time: 13:00
• Place: Haller Auditorium, Baltzerstrasse 1

Please find further details in the attached flyer.

Photography in Senegal, 1840-1960. Guest lecture and reading seminar with Giulia Paoletti (University of Virgina). Public Lecture: Thursday, 13.03.2025, 17:00 pm - 18:30 pm, room F-105, Lerchenweg 36. Reading seminar: Friday, 14.03.2025, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, room 220, Mittelstrasse 43,
organized by the Global Studies Doctoral Program (GSAH) and World Art History (IKG), in partnership with Initiative Afrique.

Please find further details in the attached flyer.

Collegium generale. Afrika, Africa, Afrique

«Africa» may be the only term that represents the enormous diversity and contrasts of this continent. The lecture series will sharpen the perception of this diversity with brief but concise insights from various research fields and disciplines.