Sahel seminars

The Sahel Research Group organizes regular seminars open to everyone interested in discussing current events and issues in the region. They are intended as informal open conversations and sharing about the region, and not as formal presentations or talks. The seminars take place in the  SRG office, 109 Rolfs Hall  from 11:45 to 12:45. 

Past seminars and guest interviews:

2025 |2024 |2023 |2022 |2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017

2025

– 20 May. Dr. Amalie Ravn Weinrich, University of Copenhagen. Alliance of Sahel States and the fragmentation of the ECOWAS free movement protocol
– 25 April. Dr. Adib Bencherif, University of Sherbrooke. Tuareg of Algeria
– 18 April. Mr. Azizou Garba. Military coup in Niger
– 4 April. Dr. Olivier Walther, UF, and Dr. Jean-Hervé Jezequel, ICG. France and the ‘sovereigntist turn’ in the Sahel.
– 14 March. Mr. Baba Adou, UF. Migration in Mauritania.
– 7 March. Recent political events in the Sahel.
– 28 March.  Russian-Ukraine War: Impact on the Sahel and Implications for China-Africa Relations.
– 21 February. Dr. Olivier Walther, UF. Regional cooperation in the Sahel.

2024

– 6 December. Dr. Mamadou Bodian, IFAN. Current events in Senegal.
– 1 November. Ms. Karen Awura-Adjoa Ronke Coker, UF. Mental health in the Sahel.
– 25 October. Dr. Bruce Whitehouse, Lehigh University. Marriage and women’s rights in Mali.
– 6 September. Mr. Alex Orenstein. Mapping transhumance in the Sahel.
– 30 August. Ms. Sokhna Ndiaye, Danish Refugee Council. Civil society and radicalization prevention in West Africa.
– 26 April. Ms. Tatiana Avignone, Universidad Loyola Andalucia. Youth migration to the south of Spain.
– 13 April. Dr. Aboul Karim Sango, Ecole National d’Administration et Magistrature, Ouagadougou.
– 28 February. Ms. Giovanna Santagati, University of Palermo.
– 9 February. Dr. Abdoulaye Kane, UF. Political crisis in Senegal.
– 2 February. Dr. Olivier Walther, UF. Sahel and ECOWAS.

2023

– 27 October. Dr. Alioune Touré, University of Sine Saloum El Hadji Ibrahima Niass, Senegal.
– 13 October. Dr. Cheick Ouedraogo, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo. Education reforms.
– 22 September. Dr. Olivier Walther, UF. Integrated Border Stability Mechanism.
– 8 September. Dr. Beatriz Mesa.
17 February. Mr. Rhoumour Ahmet Tchilouta, University of Grenoble. Saharan migration.
– 16 February. Dr. Amadou Alpha Sall, Institut Pasteur. Health issues in Senegal.

2022

– April 11, 2022. Dr. Peer Schouten, Danish Institute for International Studies. Roadblock politics
– April 22, 2022. Dr. Ibrahim Yahya, International Crisis Group, Islam and political contestation in the Sahel.
– June 10, 2022. Ousmane Bocoum. Security situation in central Mali.
– June 13, 2022. Dr. Jean-Hervé Jezequel, UF and International Crisis Group.
– September 9, 2022. Mr. Baba Adou, UF. Recent political dynamics in Mauritania.
– September 16, 2022. Discussion on recent developments in Mali.
– October 14, 2022. Dr. Francois-Xavier Lalèyê. Pastoralist groups in Senegal.
– October 21, 2022. Dr. Dan Eizenga, Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Political transitions in Chad and Burkina Faso.
– October 28, 2022. Senegalese politics

2021

– March 2. Dr. Amalia Dragani. Tuaregs in Niger.
– March 17. Dr. Brian Valente Quinn, University of Colorado Boulder and Mr. Macodou Fall, UF. Bamba, The Taste of Knowledge.
– April 20. Dr. Dan Eizenga, Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Chad’s political instability.
– May 20. Dr. Leonardo A. Villalón, Dr. Olivier Walther, UF, David Russell,  Princeton University, Dr. Steve Radil, USAFA, Dr. Alexander Thurston, University of Cincinnati, Dr. Marie Trémolières, OECD. Conflict Networks in North and West Africa.
-September 17, October 1, 15, 29. Mr. Azizou Garba, Centre National d’Etudes Stratégiques et de Securité (CNESS). Counter-terrorism in the Sahel.
-November 12. Dr. Olivier Walther, UF. Political violence and borderlands.

2020

– January 10, 2020. Update on the Sahel
– January 17, 2020. Discussion on Fulani and Tuareg communities
– January 24, 2020. Workshop on Media and “Public” Islam in Africa Elsewhere.
– July 24, 2020. Virtual Sahel Seminar. Malian Protests.

2019

– February 22, 2019. Dr Dinah Hanaford, Texas A&M University. Race, gender, and development.
– March 15, 2019. Dr Mathews Paret, UF, and WASCAL visitors Mr. Willi Adzawala and Mr. Mamane Bello Garba Hima. Climate change economics and social dynamics.
– April 19, 2019. Judd Devermont, Center for Strategic and International Studies.
– March 29, 2019. Dr Clionadh Raleigh, University of Sussex. Elite networks in Africa.
– September 13, 2019.  Dr. Robyn D’Avignon, New York University.
– September 27, 2019. Eric Silla, National War College.
– November 1, 2019. Peter Tinti, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and independent journalist.
– November 8, 2019.  Cheikh Babou, University of Pennsylvania.

2018

– February 16, 2018. Dr Matt Kirwin, Elliott School of International Affairs. Insecurity and migration in the Sahel.
– March 2, 2018. Dr Fallou Ngom, Boston University and Dr Fiona McLaughlin, UF. Ajami and other writing systems in the Sahel.
– March 30, 2018. Dr Alex Thurston, Georgetown University. Iyad and Alghabass: The Shifting Boundaries of Jihadism in Northern Mali.
– April 20, 2018. Ambassador Alexander M. Laskaris, U.S. Department of State, AFRICOM. AFRICOM’s current activities in the Sahel.
– September 28, 2018. Dr Kelley Sams, UF. Public health initiatives and the circulation of medications in sub-Saharan Africa.
– October 12, 2018. Dr Olivier Walther, UF. Mapping women’s trade networks in West Africa.
– October 26, 2018. Joe Penney, independent journalist and photographer; cofounder of Sahelien.com.
– November 16, 2018. Dr Frédérick Madore, UF. Current dynamics of Islam in Burkina Faso

2017

– September 15, 2017. Dr. Olivier Walther, UF. Cities and borders in West Africa.
– October 13, 2017. Ms. Awa Doucouré, Gaston Berger University. Higher education reforms in Senegal.
– October 20, 2017. Mr. Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, UF. Pastoralism and Jihadism in the Sahel.
– December 15, 2017. Lt Col. Yssouf Traoré, Malian army and US Army War College. Perspectives on the Malian army and the G5 Sahel.