Our Members
AFROSPECTIVES is led by researchers, creators and professionals from different backgrounds, chosen on the basis of their experience and expertise, their intellectual or creative productions and their willingness to contribute voluntarily to the renewal of knowledge about Africa and its diasporas.
Co-Founder and Chair | Political anthropologist
Dr. Ali MOUSSA IYE
Writer and researcher, he holds a PhD in political science from the Institute of Political Science (Grenoble, France). Within UNESCO, he was coordinator of the Culture of Peace Programme in the Horn of Africa, and was in charge of the UNESCO programme against Racism and Discrimination. He then was the Head of the History and Memory for Dialogue Department from, where he directed in particular the General History of Africa, the Slave Route and the Silk Roads programmes. He published several books on the history and cultural heritage of the peoples of the Horn of Africa and on intercultural dialogue, and is currently pursuing his personal research in the field of political anthropology.
Co-Founder and Vice-Chair | Archeologist
Prof. Augustin F.C. HOLL
Distinguished Professor of archeology and Director of the Africa Research Center at Xiamen University, China. He was successively professor of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, Curator at the Museum of Anthropology, Professor of Anthropology and Professor of Afro-American and African studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA), Professor and Vice-President for International Relations at Paris-Nanterre University (France), and Deputy-Director at the Institute of Humanities and Social Science (CNRS, Paris, France).
Co-founder | Economist and sociologist
Martial ZE BELINGA
Independent researcher in history, culture and epistemology of Global Africa. He has published dozens of papers in major african newspapers and websites (Le Soleil, Fraternité Matin, ...) on decolonial perspectives regarding history, economics, and contemporary issues. In the recent years he has been involved in different research and educational international projects, member of the scientific committee of the Forum for the Humanities in Africa (Bamako founding edition, 2021), chairman of the first international and multidisciplinary colloquium on the Awale game, associated member of the international scientific committee for the General History of Africa, Volume 9.
Member | Writer
Nuruddin FARAH
M. Farah has garnered acclaim as one of the greatest contemporary writers in the world, his prose having earned him accolades including the Premio Cavour in Italy, the Kurt Tucholsky Prize in Germany, the Lettre Ulysses Award in Berlin, and in 1998, the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In the same year, the French edition of his novel Gifts won the St Malo Literature Festival's prize. In addition, Farah is a perennial nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Member | Historian
Prof. Lissell QUIROZ
Prof. Lissell Quiroz has a doctorate in history and is Professor of Latin American Studies at CY Cergy Paris Université. She Deputy Director of the AGORA EA 7392 laboratory.) Her research focuses on the history of women, feminism and health in the Americas between the 19th and 20th centuries, and on decolonial thought in South America. Her latest book is Pensées décoloniales - Une introduction aux théories critiques d'Amérique latine (La Découverte, 2023). She is also co-creator of the podcast N'Autre Histoire, which looks at historical events from a decolonial perspective.
Member | Education Expert
Mamadou Ndoye
Mr. Ndoye has worked for over 55 years in the education sector. As a primary school teacher, then in secondary and higher education, he
successively became education inspector, education researcher, Minister of Literacy and National Languages and Minister of Basic Education and Languages National in Senegal. Mr. Ndoye has also been actively involved in the field of education for
African and international levels where he served as a member of the board of directors of several international institutions, including the World Bank Institute in Washington (WBI), the UNESCO Institute for Education in Hamburg (UIE) and the International Bureau of Education (IBE).
Member | Sociologist
Prof. Claudia MOSQUERA ROSERO-LABBÉ
Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the National University of Colombia, Bogotá. Former member of the consultative group for cultural diversity and health issues of the Pan American Health Organisation in Washington. Currently completing an important research project on processes of ethnic-racial self-recognition in the Caribbean processes of ethno-racial self-recognition in the Colombian continental and insular Caribbean.
Member | Researcher
Izmira Violet AITCH
Senior advisor in the U.S. Congress. She previously lived and studied in Germany, and spoke to the FES DC about the impact of COVID-19 in the United States especially in communities of African descent, and the political importance of the present-day Black human rights movement.
Member | Sociologist
Dr. Ebrima SALL
Prior to this position as Executive Director of TrustAfrica, he was the Executive Secretary of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Africa's leading social research institution (2009 to 2017). He has also held senior positions in other institutions, including as Managing Director of the Center for the Promotion of Village Savings and Credit Associations (VISACA) in BrikamaBa, The Gambia,(1992-1994); and Senior Research Fellow and Programme Coordinator at the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, Sweden (2001-2004). He is the (co-)author/editor of several publications on higher education, academic freedom, the social sciences, social movements, citizenship, governance, and post-conflict transitions in Africa.
Member | Oraturist & Performance Scholar
Dr. Mshai Mwangola
Researcher in oral literature and she holds a PhD in Performance Studies from North Western University (USA) and an MA in Creative Arts from the University of Melbourne (Australia). Until June 2016, she was a member of the research and teaching faculty at the African Leadership Centre, where she continues to hold an adjunct faculty position. Previously, Mwangola worked as an academic planning strategist in the academic planning unit of the (proposed) Faculty of Arts and Sciences (East Africa) at Aga Khan University.
Mwangola's intellectual work is characterised by her practice of performance as a means of making meaning for advocacy, research and pedagogy. She is committed to using the creative arts, particularly embodied storytelling, as a means of intellectual and collective work. She is also a theatre director and a fan of oral literature and storytelling as a genre. Mwangola focuses on culture, arts, theatre and performance in her research, teaching and policy engagement.
Member | Senior Lecturer in History
Prof. Salah Trabelsi
Lecturer in history and civilisation of the Arab and Muslim world at the Lumière Lyon University. He is a researcher at the CIHAM-UMR 5648 Laboratory (CNRS-Université Lumière Lyon 2). He was a consultant at W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research (Trans-Saharan Slave Route Project), Harvard University. He is a member of the scientific Council of the Centre International de Recherches sur l'Esclavage (EHESS-CNRS). He has also worked on the Eastern and Trans-Saharan slave trades and slavery in the societies of the Maghreb and the Near East. He has collaborated with several research networks on the slave trade and slavery in the Arab-Muslim world and has published widely on this issue.
Member | History and History Education Expert
Prof.Lily Mafela
Professor of History and History Education, and is currently serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Botswana. Mafela studied history and history education at universities in the UK and the USA. Her research focused on gender analysis of the history of education in pre-colonial and colonial Botswana. She has published widely in the fields of history and education, with a particular focus on issues of social inclusion in education delivery, and in historical writing.
Member | Archaeometrist
Prof. Epossi Zoila
Holder of a Master II degree in Inorganic Chemistry (University of Yaounde 1, 2006) and a PhD degree in Archaeometry (University of Leipzig/Germany, 2012). She is currently Senior Lecturer at the Department of Arts and Archaeology / University of Yaounde 1 in Cameroon. Her lectures are mainly based on the application of natural sciences for the understanding of the cultural heritage.
Member | Psycho-sociologist, specialist in French coloniality and Activist
Cathy Liminana-Dembélé
She is a Psycho-sociologist, specialist in French coloniality and Activist. She is currently editor of the “Memories of Colonialism” edition of the French investigative newspaper MEDIAPART. She is president of REMNÉSIE – European Routes of Black Memory. French Chapter, which contributes to the European project resulting from the 2nd conference on anti-Black racism held in Geneva in 2016 organised by the Popular African University of Switzerland – UPAF, in the framework of the Durban Plan of Action and the Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). She has contributed to the work produced by the European Commission of the UNESCO Chair on the Violence, and organised in 2006 in Guadeloupe, the 1st international conference on Reparations for Slavery, in collaboration with the Centre for Geopolitical and International Analysis of the Antilles-Guyane University. She is currently preparing a New History of French Slavery, the Slave Trade and Black Enslavement - 1364-1848 – in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Haiti, Reunion and Africa.
Member | Dental Surgeon
Dr. Pesson Delon Muller
Finalized his training in Nantes School of Dentistry, in France, with the acquisition of the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Degree. He also obtained the Certificate in advanced education program in Science of Dental Materials and Prosthodontics in France successively. Back in Cote d’ivoire, he enrolled in the third cycle of Odontology studies where he obtained a PhD Degree in Odontological Sciences. In the same year, he joined the Department of Prosthodontics as Research Assistant, afterwards as Instructor in March 2000. Since 2019, he is professor of universities in Cote d’Ivoire, at the Department of Prosthodontics.
Member | Teacher in Modern Literature & Artist
Colette Césaire
She is a certified teacher in modern literature, speaker, comedian, artist and is a specialist of Aimé Césaire's work, whose multiple aspects she has been exploring for many years. She has meticulously analyzed Césaire's writing and voiced and staged many of his works. She considers Césaire, the poet, the playwright and the politician to be one of the most eminent writers and thinkers of the twentieth century. She is the author of a collection of web-series. Her latest creation is a performance entitled "Balade poétique. Une voix pour un texte." (A Poetic Stroll. A Voice for a Text.), both outdoors and indoors. In 2021, she was named Best Actress in a Short at the Las Vegas Black Film Festival for her role in "Project H", a film by the Martinican filmaker MAHARAKI.
Member | Researcher in innovation studies and energy policy
Prof. Diran Soumonni
Senior Lecturer in Innovation Policy and Management, and Programme Director of the Master of Management in Innovation Studies at the Wits Business School. He obtained his PhD in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, where he focused on both innovation studies and energy policy.
Some of his previous publications span subject matter on electricity policy, biofuels policy, nanotechnology policy, and innovation policy and management.
Member | Political Scientist
Dr. Adebayo Olukoshi
He holds a PhD in politics from the University of Leeds. He is currently a distinguished Professor at the Wits School of Governance. Before assuming his present position, he was the Regional Director for Africa and West Asia of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and Director of the UN African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP). Earlier, he has was also Research Professor and Director of research and studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, and General Secretary of CODESRIA. He also previously served as Director of the UN African Institute for Economic Development and Planning, as Executive Director of the Africa Governance Institute, as Executive Secretary of the Council for Development of Social Science Research in Africa, as Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs; Senior Research Fellow/Research Programme Coordinator of the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala, and Senior Programme Staff at the South Centre in Geneva.
Member | Diplomat, Author
Annick THÉBIA MELSAN
International civil servant, she has worked for UNESCO, the United Nations and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, among others. She is a specialist in the work of Aimé Césaire. She has directed two essays on Césaire and several documentaries.
Member | Architect
Dr. Edouard Din
Researcher and editor/publisher of Papyrus. He holds a Diploma of Architect from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, as well as an MA in Math (UNC-Chapel Hill) and a PhD in Architecture (Design Computing) at Georgia Institute of Technology. He worked at Atelier de Montrouge in Paris under the supervision of R. Riboulet and P.Veret - former interns of Le Corbusier. In order to master the ingredients needed for in-depth analysis of African art and architecture, he achieved a Masters degree in Mathematics at University of North Carolina.
Member | Intercultural Studies & Art Critic
Prof. Maguèye Kassé
Full Professor of Universities, specialist in Intercultural Studies, Art Critic. He is the Former General Commissioner of the Biennial of Contemporary African Arts, Dak'Art 2008. Curator of exhibitions. Fulbright Scholar 2012 Howard University Washington DC, Presence of Africans and African-Americans in Germany (18th century, National Socialism and contemporary period) Conference at the Library of Congress Washington DC. He is also a literary critic, specialist in German-African relations, the reception of African literature in Germany, the literary and cinematographic work of Sembene Ousmane, the first African filmmaker. He is also President of the Sembene Ousmane Association, and President of the Jazz Festival Association: 'Memory and Resilience'.
President of the International Cinematographic Meetings of Dakar (RECIDAK). Specialist of Jazz in Negritude, of the African origin of Jazz, he wrote several publications on these subjects.
Member | Cultural Studies
Dr. Sonjah Stanley Niaah
Jamaican scholar, cultural activist, writer, and international speaker. She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies graduate from the University of the West Indies (UWI). She was Director of the Institute of Caribbean Studies and the Reggae Studies Unit at the UWI from 2015 -2021 and currently holds international appointments.She has served as Vice Chair of the international Association for Cultural Studies for which she coordinated the first conference held in the Global South at the UWI (2008). She is a leading author, teacher and researcher on Black Atlantic performance geographies, popular music, culture and the sacred, and Caribbean Cultural Studies more broadly.
Member | Engineer
Rosmy Porter
Engineer from the Polytechnic School of Havana and holds also a MBA from Mexico. He is a consultant in Cultural Affairs and Cultural entrepreneur. He organizes international art exhibitions with museums, art galleries, cultural centres, Ministries of Cultures in different countries. He has founded the cultural platform “Fait a Cuba” and within this framework curated two important exhibitions on the creation of Afro descendant artists facing the history of slavery and discrimination, in partnership with UNESCO. Rosmy is a promoter of contemporary art produced in Africa and the African Diaspora.
Member | Researcher & Teacher in Geography
Dr. Anne Marilyse KOUADIO
Lecturer (CAMES) in Population Geography at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Abidjan. She actively participates in scientific reflection on the development of Africa within several transdisciplinary platforms and scientific research laboratories. Member of CODESRIA since 2004, the research work of this activist for gender equity focuses on major contemporary issues related to gender, the participation of women in socio-economic development, the feminization of migration, the education of girls and women, territorial identities and sustainable development in Côte d'Ivoire, in the West African sub-region and in sub-Saharan Africa.
Member | Researcher in Philosophy
Dr. Leon Nkolo
His research focuses on Hegel’s philosophy of law and cultural consequences of globalization. He questions the philosophical, epistemological and aesthetic mutations at the base of the postmodern and postcolonial turn of contemporary societies. He holds a master’s degree in comparative education from Zhejiang Normal University in China. He is a member of the Nkrumah-Towa Research Center (CRTN), of the World Social Sciences and Humanities Network (WSSHN) and of the Francophone African Countries Research Center (CEPAF) at the Institute of African Studies of Zhejiang Normal University. He is the promoter of the Paul Robson Center on the New Silk Roads (PRCNSR).
Member | Researcher in Comparative Literature
Dr. Luana Antunes Costa
Teaches Literature in the Portuguese Language and Epistemologies of Counter-Hegemonic Feminisms at the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (Brazil) and coordinator of the Interinstitutional Group for Research and University Extension "On the Female Body - African Literature and Afro-Brazilian Literature". Her research focuses on the fields: comparative literature; Afro-Brazilian literature; African literatures in Portuguese language; black feminisms and other women's movements; education for ethno-racial relations.
Member | Professor of Chemistry
Prof. Sarra Gaspard
She is Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of the West Indies and Deputy Director of the COVACHIM M2E laboratory. She obtained her doctorate in chemistry at the University of Orsay, Paris XI. She then worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Pavia in Italy and at the Federal Institute of Water Science and Technology and at the Polytechnic School of Zurich in Switzerland. The research work she conducts at the University of the West Indies concerns the valorization of biomass (terrestrial or marine) through the manufacture of new materials, more specifically the preparation and characterization of activated carbon for water pollution control and retention pollutants in the soil. She is the author of around fifty articles and book chapters in A-ranked journals, a book on the valorization of biomass, published by the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry. In 2018, she was awarded the prize of the Cuban Academy of Sciences for her work on the treatment of pollution by pesticides with activated bagasse carbons.
Member | Researcher
Dr. Émile Moselly BATAMACK
He is Philosopher, epistemologist, music theorist, film director & multidisciplinary researcher. He is the President of the Board of Directors and a founding member of the Méroë-Africa Popular University (MAPU) in Paris where he teaches. He is a member of the African Music Council (CAM - AU) and a researcher at the Institut Afrique Monde, (IAM) Paris.
Emile Moselly Batamack conducts research on the history of ideas and representations, governmentality, intellectual and religious phenomena, knowledge, skills and know-how in Africa. He is the author of four films (Music, Arts, Vodun, Duke Ellington) and numerous scientific articles, notably the book ''Acteurs religieux et société civile dans la formation de l'espace public au Bénin''.
Member | Researcher on Curriculum Studies
Dr. Ruth ACHIENG OUMA
She holds a PhD in Education and Curriculum Studies from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is Currently working with a Director, under the Teachers Service Commission, under the larger umbrella of the Ministry of Education in Kenya in charge of the supervision and monitoring of teachers’ performance and the management of educational activities
Member | Expert in Political Science and Activist
Dr. Afia S. ZAKIYA
She holds a doctorate in Political Science from HBCU Clark Atlanta University and is a globally recognized African centered Political Scientist/Ecologist, Africana Studies scholar-activist, International Affairs and Public Policy, WASH and Health, and Organizational Development expert. She has worked for over 20 years in communities researching Black/Africana thought and experiences in the US, Brazil, UK, and in 22 African countries. Her Pan African activism and scholarship challenge dominant knowledges produced about Africa and seeks the liberation of all African peoples. She has held executive positions, and developed, managed, evaluated and/or consulted on programs and projects on national and global scales. She was Sr. Fellow (Water) Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc., in Washington, DC.
Dr. Zakiya has just been nominated as the first Executive Director of the AfricaTown Historic Preservation Foundation (AHPF).
Member | Professor of African History
Prof. Jean-Michel MABEKO-TALI
He is Full Professor of African History at Howard University, in Washington, DC since 2002. He was born and raised in the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville, and holds a PhD Degree in History from the University Paris VII Denis-Diderot, France and MA in History and African Studies from the University of Bordeaux, France. Essayist, specialist of Angolan and Congolese Social and Political modern History, he is author of numerous publications on contemporary Angola and Congo. From 2009 to 2017, he was member of UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Pedagogical Use of General History of Africa, and contributor to the Volume IX of UNESCO General History of Africa. He is also author of two novels, edited in France.
Member | Infectious Diseases Physician & Researcher
Dr. Philip C. ONYEBUJOH
He is a senior level international health expert and diplomat with experience in health systems delivery; clinical, operational, and basic science research; and health policy development and advocacy. His background is in internal medicine (MD), infectious diseases (FRCP, MSc, and DTM&H), and clinical immunology of mycobacterial diseases (PhD). He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Lond) and a Legend of the Academy of Science of South Africa. He was Director for Clinical and Biomedical TB Research at the South African Medical Research Council, Coordinatorof TB/HIV research for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases at WHO Geneva,Regional Laboratories Focal Point for TB, HIV, and Hepatitis laboratory strengtheningfor WHO Africa in Zimbabwe, and Senior Technical and Policy Adviser at the AfricaCDC. He championed the creation of the Global Laboratory Initiative for Africa (GLI-Africa) and the Pathogen Genomics Intelligence Institute. His current work focuses onthe cross-cutting field of Applied Health Technologies for infectious diseases outbreakpreparedness, mitigation, and control.
Member | Associate Professor of African & African-American Studies and Political Science
Dr. Lisa Aubrey
Dr. Aubrey’s current research focuses on forced diasporization from Africa in general, and Cameroon in particular, during the period of transatlantic slavery. Dr. Aubrey has served in leadership positions in various organizations including the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, and the African Heritage Studies Association. She has founded Roots and Reconnection, a research-driven and action-oriented non-profit organization to assist historic African slavery Diasporans trace their roots, and to help Diaspora and Africa re-member and reconnect. She is the author of, among others works, The Politics of Development Cooperation: NGOs, Gender, and Partnership in Kenya; In Search of Bimbia: Transatlantic Slavery & African Diasporan Rememory in Cameroon; and Bimbia Devoilee: Diaspora Africaine et Memoire de la Traite negriere Transatlantique au Cameroun.