The German government has resorted to a number of austerity measures affecting various areas of society, including higher education and development cooperation. ZEF is among the institutions severely affected by government cuts in development-related training programs and university partnerships. Roughly half of ZEF's doctoral alumni have received funding over the past 30 years through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD EPOS), one of the programs affected by the cuts. Many of these alumni have taken on leading positions in government administration or universities in their home countries or in international development or research organizations. Therefore, ZEF is part of a growing network-driven movement protesting against these cuts.

On July 10, 2026, together with Prof. Andreas Schlitzer (Immunology-Bonn University) and Dr. Marius Bartmann (Ethics- Bonn University), Prof. Ina Danquah, Hertz-Chair for Innovation for Planetary Health at Bonn University and ZEF-Director, participated in a panel discussion on the ship MS Wissenschaft (MS Science)  The event on "Rethinking Prevention – A Dialogue on the Future of Health" was organized in cooperation with Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, represented by Collaborative Research Center 1454 “Metaflammation and Cellular Programming”, the enaCom Transfer Center, and the Transdisciplinary Research Area “Life and Health.”

KIGALI, July 8, 2026 – The Panel’s 18th report argues that agrifood systems are central to Africa’s employment challenge yet also offer a major pathway to its solution. Launched on July 8, 2026 at the Malabo Montpellier Forum, the publication demonstrates that agrifood systems can generate the productive jobs needed for Africa’s rapidly growing youth population, provided the right policies are in place to accelerate transformation and ensure these jobs are productive, resilient, and accessible to all. 

On 8 July, ZEF senior researcher Dr. Tina Beuchelt, was awarded the Certification of the Ability (Venia Legendi) to Teach (Lehrbefähigung) in Sustainable Food and Land Use Systems by the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. 

The one-week Summer School was organized by ZEF and the Staff Unit for the Bonn Research Alliance (BORA) at the University of Bonn in collaboration with the St Andrews Centre for Critical Sustainabilities (StACCS) at the University of St Andrews, UK.

The Society for Caribbean Research (SOCARE) 2026 Early-Career Symposium brought together scholars from across the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean to explore the region's complex histories, cultures, and futures. 

The recently initiated Iakumama project set off with flying start in Bonn. During their one-week visit to Bonn, members of the Yachaikury School, an indigenous knowledge center located in the Amazon rainforest, in Caquetá and partners in the Iakumama project, conducted a ritual on the riverside of the Rhine near Bonn. The ritual was performed under the guidance of Waira Jacanamijoy, who is leading the Yachaikury School.

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.