Africa Reimagined - 140 Years Beyond the Berlin Conference

February 2025 is the 140th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Conference. This Conference in 1884 -1885 was the seminal meeting where 14 European nations and the USA met to formalise the ‘Scramble for Africa’, which directly ushered in a new era of European imperialism, resulting in the carving up of Africa into the national boundaries that by and large, we still have today. Bismarck organized the conference, the First Chancellor of Germany, at the request of King Leopold of Belgium. The ensuing age of imperialism was formalised by the General Act which was the main output of this conference, which paved the way for formal colonisation, the expansion of private concession companies, European financial institutions and the colonial violence that came with it.

This talk and panel discussion will reflect on the impact of the Berlin Conference through two elements:

(1) Contemporary ways African politics is being reimagined, with a focus on the Sahel;

(2) historical legacies of the Berlin Conference.

Agenda

18:00 – 18:10 - Welcome & Introduction – Olu Alake, CEO, The Africa Centre 

Reimagining African Agency & Organisation: The Case of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)

18:10 – 18:30 – Talk: Fiona Lali, Campaigns Coordinator, Revolutionary Communist Party
18:30 – 18:50 – Audience Q&A

Panel Discussion: Legacies of Berlin Conference & Reimagining Africa

18:50 – 19:00 – Remarks: Professor Alan Lester, University of Sussex (TBC)
19:00 – 19:10 – Remarks: Dele Ogun, Fatherland Group
19:10 – 19:40 – Audience Q&A
19:40 – Panel & Talk End

20:00 – Spoken Word Performance – P.O.E.T.I.C Temple (in the Bar)