Program

• 14:45  Doors open

• 15:00 Welcome and intro by Phaedra Haringsma

• 15:05  Introductions by Africadelic (Otiniel ‘Mano) da Silva) about their events, the University of Colour (Amandla Awethu!) about their teach-ins, and Nederland Wordt Beter (Jerry Afriyie) about their learning package

• 15:30 Lecture by Zeinab Badawi

• 16:00 Musical intermezzo by Bahghi

• 16:05 Panel discussion with Zeinab Badawi and Vamba Sherif, moderated by Phaedra Haringsma

• 16:30 Q&A

• 16:50 Closing by Phaedra Haringsma

• 17:00 Book signing at BuzzHouse (next door from room D0.08 in the same building; the Dutch edition of the Book, Afrika: Een Afrikaanse geschiedenis, will be available on location)

In her new book An African History of Africa (2024), Sudanese-British journalist and broadcaster Zeinab Badawi traces the sprawling history of the African continent through the voices of Africans themselves – of countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers from across more than 30 countries. ‘The history of Africa is the story of the origins of human civilisation’, states Badawi, yet little of its early and modern history is widely known. The continent has been neglected, overlooked and dominated by Western narratives of poverty, slavery and colonialism. In this lecture, Badawi will reveal the engrossing tales of warrior queens, mighty civilisations, lavish buildings, and bustling markets that show how Africa’s history is so much more than the story we think we know.

Join Badawi and Vamba Sherif, author of The Emperor’s Son (2023), as they discuss the significance of books like theirs, in a conversation moderated by research journalist and program maker Phaedra Haringsma. From the origins of ancient civilisations and medieval empires, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence, you will leave with a deeper understanding of the epic and sweeping history of the planet’s oldest inhabited continent.

About An African History of Africa

Everyone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone. For too long, Africa’s history has been dominated by western narratives of slavery and colonialism, or simply ignored. Now, Zeinab Badawi sets the record straight. In this fascinating book, Badawi guides us through Africa’s spectacular history – from the very origins of our species, through ancient civilisations and medieval empires with remarkable queens and kings, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence. Visiting more than thirty African countries to interview countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, she unearths buried histories from across the continent and gives Africa its rightful place in our global story. The result is a gripping new account of Africa: an epic, sweeping history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves.

About Zeinab Badawi

Zeinab Badawi is a Sudanese-British television personality and award-winning broadcaster, journalist, and filmmaker. She is the President of SOAS, University of London, and an honorary fellow of her alma mater St. Hilda’s College, Oxford. Born in Sudan, she has worked in the British media for several decades and among many other things, transformed UNESCO’s General History of Africa into a nine-part series for the BBC. Zeinab is a recipient of the President’s Medal of the British Academy, a Patron of the United Nations Association UK, and on the boards of the Arts, Humanities and Research Council, MINDS (the Mandela Institute for Development Studies), the International Crisis Group and Afrobarometer. She was previously Chair of the Royal African Society. An African History of Africa / Afrika: Een Afrikaanse geschiedenis is her first book.

About Vamba Sherif

Vamba Sherif is a novelist, journalist, film critic, curator and motivational speaker. He was born in Liberia and raised partly in Kuwait and Syria. He has written several novels, such as The Emperor's Son (2023), The Witness (2011), Bound to Secrecy (2007), The Kingdom of Sebah (2003), and Land of My Fathers (1999). His work, which has been translated in many languages, deals with themes such as migration, belonging, love, the history of slavery, colonialism, and the tension between moderate and radical Islam. About his work, the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung wrote: 'Vamba Sherif creates vortexes of Shakespearean intensity.'

About Phaedra Haringsma

Phaedra Haringsma is a freelance journalist, program maker and photographer based in Amsterdam. She received her master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics in 2022. For De Correspondent she investigates how colonial history keeps shaping today’s societies. She is also involved in the research project Decolonial Futures at the University of Amsterdam, and gives tours at The Black Archives.

About Africadelic

Africadelic is a platform and festival operating from Paradiso Amsterdam that is committed to the programming and promotion of African and African diasporic cultural creativity, diversity and activism through talks, music, film and other performing arts.

About Nederland Wordt Beter

Nederland Wordt Beter (NLWB) focuses on a future without (anti-black) racism and exclusion, and believes this can only be achieved by acknowledging the impact that the history of colonialism and slavery has on today’s society and all Dutch people. They provide guest lectures on anti-black racism and exclusion, and create awareness about the Dutch colonial past and its legacies, from primary schools to universities. In addition, NLWB offers teaching packages to schools, for example on the history of Sinterklaas and Black Pete and the Dutch history of slavery.

About University of Colour

The University of Colour aims to decolonize the university beyond the metaphoric sense. The collective aspires to create a more balanced university at both curricular and demographic level, which includes non-Eurocentric perspectives and ideas. The lecture with Zeinab Badawi adds to that aim, as it is part of the Teach-in Series on Decolonial Scholarly Self-Critique. During these teach-ins they reflect on what the academic practice does, covering the themes of positionality, invisibilised hierarchies (in academic research and discourses), erased epistemologies (erased through academic practice) and academic freedom.

About Omniboek

Omniboek publishes history books from both Dutch and international authors, such as Zeinab Badawi, Dan Jones and Dick Harrison. They aim to share the knowledge of renowned historians and other researchers with a broad public. To them, it is important to publish in-depth books that make you contemplate both the past and today.