We are pleased to announce the International Qwaqwa Interdisciplinary Conference (IQIC2024), which will be held at the University of the Free State‘s (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus from 20 to 21 November 2024.  The conference is jointly convened by the Department of Sociology and the Centre for Gender and African Studies (CGAS) within the Faculty of Humanities, Qwaqwa campus and the CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security team at the Alliance of Biodiversity International and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (ABC). The theme of the conference is  “Global Crises and Population Shocks in Africa: In Search of Decolonial Recoveries in the Face of Rising Insecurity, Pandemics, Climate Shocks and Emergencies, and Financial Subordination.”

This interdisciplinary conference will provide a platform for policymakers, civil society, diplomats, students, scholars, researchers, donors and financial institutions to share research insights into the theoretical and practical challenges posed by the interconnected crises of climate devastation, digital colonialism, pandemics, wars, and debt distress in Africa and the rest of the global South. The conference aims to explore sustainable policy responses and recovery strategies that align with the principles of decolonisation and reimagining Africa’s role in the evolving global (dis)order.