The IGU Commission on African Studies was formed in May 2017. It is headquartered in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa, with members, associates and affiliates located in major centres and institutions of research and learning across Africa and other parts of the world.
Members of the Steering Committee of the Commission are, for instance, currently drawn from Benin, Ivory Coast, Namibia, New Zealand, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and the United Kingdom (UK).
The Commission is a research and scientific body composed of and dedicated to African and Africanist scholars researching on issues around and in Africa, ranging from social sciences to natural sciences, but informed in the main by geographical, multi and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Therefore, the overarching aim of the African Studies Commission is to promote and provide a platform for African geographies.
This aim is achievable through the establishment of Commission sessions. The sessions are organized under the auspices of the International Geographical Congress meetings and IGU regional congresses.
The IGU Commission on African Studies also organizes and runs thematic sessions under the guidance and endorsement of the IGU. These are complimented by initiatives such as symposia, workshops, fairs, etc. which are held in between IGU major events, in institutions across the continent’s major regions.
For these reasons, the following is an indicative but not exhaustive list of sessions that are organized under and/for IGC and IGU meetings:
✔Africa and the global imaginary
✔African population geographies
✔African cities
✔African geopolitics
✔African borders and borderlands
✔Africa and climate change
✔Conflict, war and development
✔African development challenges and trajectories
✔Environmental issues and problems in Africa
✔Migration in Africa
✔Water resources management and governance
✔Africa and natural resource use/management
a)Provide a platform for academic and scientific debate for scholars in Africa and abroad on Africa-specific issues, challenges and problems
b)Establish a channel for the international showcasing of African geographies
c)Establish a channel for the international showcasing of geographical research and scholarship in Africa
d)Achieve adequate representation of Africa in the IGU
e)Stimulate, improve and/or increase participation in IGU scientific activities by Africa-based scholars and researchers
f)Grow, nature and expand IGU scientific and other activities in Africa
.
The Commission is a research and scientific body composed of and dedicated to African and Africanist scholars researching on issues around and in Africa, ranging from social sciences to natural sciences, but informed in the main by geographical, multi and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Prof Inocent Moyo
CHAIR PERSON
Department of Geography & Environmental Studies
University of Zululand
Prof Christopher Changwe Nshimbe
SECRETARY
DST-NRF RCA Research Fellow & Deputy Director: Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn)
Prof Alain François LOUKOU
VICE CHAIRPERSON
Enseignant - Chercheur, Géographie des TIC / Lecturer, Geography of ICT
UFR "Communication Milieu & Société"
Université de Bouaké (Côte d'Ivoire / Ivory Coast)
Prof. Kenneth Matengu
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Vice Chancellor
University of Namibia
Tel: +264 (0) 61 206 3944
E-mail: kmatengu@unam.na
Web: http://www.unam.edu.na
Our Sustainable Advisor specializes in sustainable energy solutions, guiding clients toward eco-friendly and successful practices.
Prof. Yazidhi Bamutaze
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Head of Department
Department of Geography, Geoinformatics & Climatic Sciences
P.O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 414 531 261
Fax: +256 414 531 641
Email: geog@caes.mak.ac.ug
Dr. Ibrahima Sylla
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Département de Géographie de l'Université Cheick Anta Diop
Dakar, Sénégal
Spécialité : Géographie des TIC et de la Société de l'information.
Professor A.I. Tanko, PhD, FRGS
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Dean, Faculty of Earth & Environmental Sciences,
Bayero University,
PMB 3011, Kano, Nigeria
Tel: +234 803 263 8229
(2nd Vice President, Association of Nigerian Geographers - ANG)
Email: aitanko.geog@buk.edu.ng
Professor J.A.(Tony) Binns
COMMITTEE MEMBER
FRGS, FNZGS, FHEA
Ron Lister Chair of Geography
President, Commonwealth Geographical Bureau
Past President, New Zealand Geographical Society
Past President, The Geographical Association (UK)
Professor Hazel Barrett
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Département de Géographie de l'Université Cheick Anta Diop
Dakar, Sénégal
Spécialité : Géographie des TIC et de la Société de l'information.
28-31 MAY 2025
Theme: Mobilising geographical knowledge in response to increased
and intensified pandemics
and risks.
21 NOV 2017
International Colloquium on Smart Cities – 1st Edition
MAY 2018
Africa`s response to global challenges (Thematic Conference and Inaugural launch of the Commission)
JUNE 2019
Africa in the global imaginary (Thematic Conference)
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