Past events
- 2026-03-25T11:00:00+01:00
- 2026-03-25T12:00:00+01:00
25
WednesdayZEF CPC Colloquium: Care work in Ghana's urban informal sector
This proposal investigates, across four panel waves tracking the same households, how unpaid care and gendered time poverty constrain livelihoods in Ghana's urban informal sector. Using the ISSER–Yale longitudinal dataset with interviews and focus groups in Accra and Kumasi, it will analyse effects on income, working hours, assets and mobility, and inform debates on urban labour markets, social protection and economic constraints shaped by unpaid care.
- 2026-03-24T17:00:00+01:00
- 2026-03-24T18:30:00+01:00
24
TuesdayWorld Water Day Webinar
In line with the UN’s 2026 World Water Day campaign ‘Where water flows, equality grows’, the Bonn Water Network invites you to its debate on changing roles of women in water management and governance. Two key questions are at the center of our debate: 1. How does water access affect men and women differently? and 2. Which opportunities for inclusive water governance emerge, and which approaches have proven useful? Following input by our four experts on the two key questions, the floor will be open for discussion. The event will be moderated by Annabelle Houdret, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
- 2026-03-19T13:30:00+01:00
- 2026-03-19T14:30:00+01:00
19
ThursdayZEF public lecture: poverty and livelihood choices
Aspirations - the forward-looking goals individuals set for their lives - have been increasingly considered as a concept for understanding poverty persistence and livelihood decisions in developing countries. This presentation asks what we have learned from employing this concept and what further potential it has for better understanding poverty mechanisms and for designing relevant interventions. Drawing on the literature and my group’s research, I review the conceptual foundations of the aspirations framework, discuss how aspirations are formed (and possibly eroded), and examine their role in productive efforts and livelihood choices. Evidence shows that moderately ambitious aspirations motivate effort to improve livelihoods, while aspirations far removed from current reality can lead to frustration and inaction. Consequences for designing helpful interventions, however, are not immediately clear or seem to differ little from what has been suggested based on other types of analysis.
- 2026-03-11T11:00:00+01:00
- 2026-03-11T12:00:00+01:00
11
WednesdayZEF CPC Colloquium: iakumama 2050
This presentation will introduce “Iakumama 2050”, a new ZEF-CPC research project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Iakumama 2050 explores how “environmental peace”–a concept that reconciles humans with nature–can be collectively imagined and enacted in the Colombian department of Caquetá, a region profoundly impacted by armed conflict, extractivism, and deforestation. Developed in partnership with an Inga community, the project integrates digital humanities, environmental peace research, and indigenous epistemologies. It combines three experimental components: (1) the co-creation of an AI-based chatbot on environmental futures; (2) a collaborative podcast on local environmental conflicts and long-term imaginaries; and (3) the revitalization of an Inga women’s ritual (Atunpumsha) as a form of eco-political dialogue. This talk will discuss the conceptual foundations, methodological risks, and epistemological implications of this radical transdisciplinary approach.
- 2026-02-26T15:00:00+01:00
- 2026-02-26T16:00:00+01:00
26
ThursdayINTERFACES Colloquium: Integrated Soil Fertility Management
Rainfed cereal production in northern Ghana is highly variable due to rainfall uncertainty, soil constraints, and low-input fertility management. Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) can improve productivity, but outcomes depend on climate and site conditions. Using the SIMPLACE model, this study evaluated interactions among ISFM practices, sowing dates, soil depth, and climate risk at a representative site. Simulations combined four fertility treatments (control, inorganic, organic, combined), contrasting soils, multiple sowing dates, historical climate, and +2.0 °C warming across >300 GCM-based ensembles. Kernel density estimates of yield and biomass showed that control and organic treatments had low yield potential but high stability. Inorganic fertilization maximized yields but was most unstable, while combined organic–inorganic management improved biomass stability and yield distributions, supporting ISFM as a climate-resilient adaptation strategy in northern Ghana.
- 2026-02-26T13:30:00+01:00
- 2026-02-26T14:30:00+01:00
26
ThursdayZEF public lecture: Women’s Water Resources in India
Based on the lessons from the Women’s Water Resources Council in India a women collective in the Trilateral Wadden Sea Research has been planned for 2025-2028. Out of 110 people involved in the ongoing research, there are 40 women researchers: Two (out of 12 ) as Principal Investigators and more women PhD candidates than men. The women collective is intended to build a network; Women of Wadden, aiming to increase the presence and participation of women professionals in the Wadden science, technology, engineering, arts and allied fields. The objective of Women of Wadden is to acknowledge the women’s participation by documenting and disseminating their activities, ideas, and thoughts. The idea is to amplify the role and responsibilities women carry in Wadden Sea science and societal activities in order to create an environment for more acceptance of women leadership among the policy and funding and leaving a legacy for the future women professionals in the Wadden as well as in general.
- 2026-02-11T14:00:00+01:00
- 2026-02-11T15:00:00+01:00
11
WednesdayOnline communication throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
This dissertation research titled "Online communication and mobilization throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of the Colombian non-governmental sector" examines Colombia as a distinctive case in Latin America and the Caribbean, marked by overlapping economic, social, and political crises and a recent shift toward a progressive government. The escalation of these crises, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, culminated in mass protests in 2020–2021 that combined street demonstrations with the growing use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
- 2026-02-05T13:30:00+01:00
- 2026-02-05T14:30:00+01:00
5
ThursdayZEF public lecture: Deforestation in Bolivia's Amazon
Bolivia is among the countries with the highest per-capita deforestation rates globally. This environmental degradation persists despite Bolivia’s internationally recognized frameworks on the rights of Mother Earth and Indigenous Peoples. Understanding the drivers of deforestation in the Bolivian Amazon requires examining a complex interplay of social, political, and ecological factors, many of which have deep historical roots in global extractivist dynamics. This lecture explores the context, dynamics, and impacts of deforestation in Bolivia, as well as resilience strategies that civil society—including Indigenous communities and academic institutions—are advancing to safeguard the forest. You can join online (see link below under additional information)
- 2026-01-29T13:30:00+01:00
- 2026-01-29T14:30:00+01:00
29
ThursdayZEF public lecture: The Kartarpur Corridor
This research examines the Kartarpur Corridor as a transformative model of trans-local and sub-national diplomacy between India and Pakistan. Connecting shared religious and cultural heritage, it fosters peace through people-to-people contact, emotional healing, and spiritual engagement. Despite structural challenges like political volatility, restricted access, and administrative barriers, the Corridor offers a counter-narrative to hostility. With institutional support and integration into broader cultural diplomacy frameworks, it holds the potential to become a lasting symbol and mechanism of cross-border peace, unity, and reconciliation in South Asia.
- 2026-01-21T11:00:00+01:00
- 2026-01-21T12:00:00+01:00
21
WednesdayZEF CPC Colloquium: Statelessness in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Judgment 168-13 retroactively revoked citizenship for over 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent, mainly from bateyes, disregarding jus soli to redefine them as foreigners. Law 169-14 further institutionalized this exclusion by categorizing individuals into groups with restricted rights, ensuring multi-generational statelessness and socioeconomic vulnerability. This presentation examines how citizenship is weaponized as a tool of exclusion, masking xenophobia under national sovereignty. By limiting access to healthcare and legal protections, these laws legitimize discrimination and facilitate labor exploitation, fundamentally altering the social and political landscape for this marginalized population.