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Center for Development Research
The Center for Development Research (ZEF) is an institute of the University of Bonn, Germany. It started its research activities in 1997. ZEF researchers aim to find science-based solutions to promote sustainable development and planetary health. ZEF’s research divisions and groups conduct inter- and trans-disciplinary research in, for and with emerging economies and on global issues with its collaborating research partners around the world. ZEF educates and trains international doctoral students in its Doctoral Studies Program. ZEF is guided by an International Advisory Board.
Latest News
ZEF photo exhibition about the Konso people in Ethiopia
NEW: Photo exhibition in ZEF’s lobby (Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn). ZEF senior researcher Asrat Gella takes you on a visual journey to the people of Konso, living in the mountainous highlands of southwestern Ethiopia. The cultural landscape of Konso has been a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2011.
The photo exhibition shares impressions and information about the Kara ritual of the Konso. Learn more in the flyer (on display in the lobby too) or in the recording of the ZEF public lecture titled "Sacred Ecologies: The Kara Ritual of the Konso – Enacting Memory, Traditions and Power through the Generations" by Asrat Gella on June 11, 2026.
You can watch the recording of the ZEF public lecture on our youtube channel here.
Moving forward: ZEF junior-professor Lisa Biber-Freudenberger appointed full professor at Bonn University
On June 2, 2026 ZEF Junior-Professor Lisa Biber-Freudenberger received the official certificate of appointment from Bonn University's Rector Prof. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch (see photo below). She was accompanied by her husband and son (see the photo at the bottom of the page).
Lisa's full professorship in "Biodiversity and Environmental Change" will take effect on July 1, 2026.
ZEF part of two new DFG-funded Research Training Groups (RTGs) at the University of Bonn
What is the best way to shape the future of waterfront cities in the Global South in the face of challenges like climate change? How are conflicts overcome in various different cultures? These key questions are now to be explored by two new Research Training Groups (RTGs) at the University of Bonn. Alongside the University Hospital Bonn as a partner, the proposal was submitted together with the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS). The German Research Foundation (DFG) is providing with millions of euros in funding to train doctoral students. Across Germany, the DFG will be supporting 10 new RTGs in all from fall 2026 onward.
New ZEF-led Collaborative Research Center (CRC) on Food System Diversification
Whether it’s malnutrition, diet-related diseases, or negative environmental impacts, our food systems are neither sustainable nor sufficiently resilient. A promising approach to changing this is to diversify food systems.
ZEF Research Projects
ZEF is running interdisciplinary research projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Upcoming Events
ZEF CPC Colloquium: Tensions among Farmers in Benin
ZEF, Genscherallee 3, ...
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Locally-led Adaptation views community-based organizations as a key delivery mechanism for redressing climate injustice by shifting power over climate ...
ZEF/CSG Expert Talk: The implications of complexity
Center for Development ...
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Join us for this open session as we discuss "The Implications of Complexity" and explore how self-organization, AI, and systems science are reshaping ...