Collaborative Research Centre TRR 228

Future Rural Africa: Future-making and social-ecological transformation

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Spotlight On: Interview with Doctoral Student Tasneem Osman

Tasneem Osman, doctoral researcher in our sub-project B02 “Future Infection”, recently gave an interview about her research on invasive plants, mosquito habitats and disease risks ...
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Group photograph taken at Langley Lodge, Oxford. From left to right: unknown; Sikota Ishee Kwandu (aide); Lewanika; Colin Harding (standing); Amba (aide); Philip Lyttelton Gell; Edith Mary Gell. Source: Matlock, Derbyshire Record Office,

King Lewanika’s 1902 Visit to London: African Diplomacy, Sovereignty and Imperial Power

In this study, Jonathan M. Jackson (Project A02 “Past Futures”) examines King Lewanika of Barotseland’s 1902 visit to London for the coronation of King Edward ...
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Indigenous Rights and Forest Conservation in Kenya

In this paper, Léa Lacan (Project A04 “Future Conservation), Marie Müller-Koné (Project B03 “Violent Futures) and King’asia Mamatia (University of Cologne) examine how indigenous communities ...
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a village in rural eastern Africa

Beyond Economic Growth: Development and Life Satisfaction among Tanzanian Smallholder Farmers

This article by Victoria Luxen, Moses Ndunguru and Peter Dannenberg from our sub-project C01 “Future in Chains” examines how agricultural development affects the life satisfaction ...
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Gideon Tups, Richard Mbunda, Moses Ndunguru & Peter Dannenberg Receive Best Paper Award

Gideon Tups, Richard Mbunda, Moses Ndunguru and Peter Dannenberg (Project C01 “Future in Chains”) have recently been awarded the Best Paper Award by the Standort ...
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photo taken during a workshop

“Navigating Power Relations and Intersectional Dynamics in Empirical Research”: Reflections on a Workshop on Positionality, Diversity and Intersectionality

By Marie Müller-Koné, Project B03 “Violent Futures” In June 2025, the workshop “Navigating Power Relations and Intersectional Dynamics in Empirical Research”, led by antidiscrimination expert ...
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cattle walking down a dirt road in the zambezi region

New Publication: Rift Valley Fever Exposure Identified in Namibia’s Zambezi Region

This study, conducted by scientists from the University of Namibia in cooperation with researchers of our sub-project B02 “Future Infections”, investigates overlooked causes of febrile ...
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Public Lecture: Antifeminism in Academia – With Laura Sasse

November 18th, 2026 I 18:00 (CEST) Public Lecture: Antifeminism in Academia – With Laura Sasse Anti-feminist movements are increasingly influencing public discourse and expanding the ...
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Call for Papers: Edited Volume on Regional Resilience in the Global South

Abstract deadline: 1 October 2026Manuscript deadline: 30 March 2027 Javier Revilla Diez, Mfundo Mlilo & Peter Dannenberg, researchers in our sub-project C01 “Future in Chains”, ...
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picture shows a semi demolished fence next to some bushes

Elephants, Fences and the Making of Infrastructure

What if infrastructure does not simply fail, but changes through its interactions with the more-than-human world? In their new paper, Wisse Van Engelen and Michael ...
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Online Seminar: Navigating the Green Energy Dilemma – a Case Study of Geothermal Development in Kenya

Thu, 27 August 2026 | 13:00 – 14:00 (SAST) Clemens Greiner is a researcher in our sub-project “C02: Energy Futures“. He focuses on the political ecology ...
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Apply Now: Mentoring Programmes for Female Doctoral Candidates and Postdoctoral Researchers at the University of Cologne

Are you planning your next career steps in academia or considering career prospects outside of the university? The University of Cologne’s mentoring programmes in HR ...
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Call for Applications: Two PhD Scholarships in our Project B06 “Digital Agrarian Futures”

Our sub-project B06 “Digital Agrarian Futures” is currently seeking applicants for two PhD scholarships. The project’s purpose is to understand the current unfolding of digital ...
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cattle in southern Africa

New Publication: Rethinking Rewilding – From the “Three C’s” to the “Three B’s”

Wisse Van Engelen, Paula Alexiou, Manuel Bollmann, Julia Brekl, Emilie Köhler, Léa Lacan, Hauke-Peter Vehrs and Michael Bollig from our sub-project A04 “Future Conservation” argue ...
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From Savanna to Cropland: How Land-Use Change Impacts Soil Carbon Storage in Southern Africa

This paper, based on research from our sub-project A01 “Future Carbon Storage”, shows that converting Southern African savanna woodlands into cropland causes substantial losses of ...
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Picture: Nairobi, Kenya © wollwerth, Envato Elements

“Future-making refers to the way how ideas, expectations and imaginations of the future inform action in the present”

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