Basler Afrika Bibliographien

29/08/2026

If you are in Windhoek next Thursday join the Book Launch
"Towards Humansing the Future. Justice in the Shadow of Colonialism – A Transformative Learning Approach".

A volume by Namibian and German academics and activists, offering a wide range of perspectives and addressing an array of current social and political justice issues.

Edited by Charmaine B. Villet, Reinhart Kößler, Uwe H. Bittlingmayer.

Date: Thursday 3 September
Time: 11:00
Place: School of Education Staff Boardroom, University of Namibia, Khomasdal Campus

27/08/2026

If you are in Bloemfontein tomorrow join the Book Launch „Cultural Relations Between Switzerland and Apartheid South Africa“

Held during the 20th anniversary conference of the Musicological Society of Southern Africa

Time and Place: Friday 28 August, University of the Free State,Bloemfontein, Odeion Foyer

26/08/2026

Check out the new Open Access publication:
"Embracing African Q***r Life in Namibia and Angola in the Early Twentieth Century: Kurt Falk’s Colonial Archive and German Sexology" by BAB's Dag Henrichsen.

The essay discusses critically the q***r colonial archive of the German settler Kurt Falk who lived in Namibia and Angola in the early twentieth century.

This essay discusses the q***r colonial archive of the German settler Kurt Falk who lived in Namibia and Angola in the early twentieth century. It reconstructs Falk’s unknown, elusive biography and...

24/08/2026

Dear Friends of the Basler Afrika Bibliographien,
We are delighted to share a major milestone for the future of our organisation: as of 1st of September 2026, Reto Ulrich will take over as the new Managing Director, guiding the affairs of the Carl Schlettwein Foundation and, with it, the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.

Reto Ulrich has been closely connected with the Carl Schlettwein Foundation and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien for many years. He enjoys the full trust of the whole team and brings excellent specialist credentials to further develop our academic work and extensively expand professional collaboration with our partner organisations.

"I am convinced that the Basler Afrika Bibliographien holds great potential for a bright and exciting future." — Reto Ulrich, Managing Director Designate

Solid Expertise and a Versatile Background
With his combination of a background in the humanities and a specialisation in information science, Reto Ulrich forms the ideal bridge between research, archive and library practice, and modern management.

Through his deep understanding of the holdings, processes, and digital infrastructure—coupled with his high level of technical expertise—Reto Ulrich is exceptionally well equipped to take co-operation with partner institutions to a new level and further strengthen the position of the Basler Afrika Bibliographien as a reliable repository of knowledge.

Thanks to the Outgoing Managing Director
A change in leadership is also a moment for reflection and gratitude: a very heartfelt thank you goes to our outgoing Managing Director, Christian Vandersee, for his years of great commitment and extraordinary dedication to our organisation. He laid the tracks upon which we can now continue to build with full confidence.

Contact & Personal Exchange
Reto Ulrich looks forward to nurturing existing partnerships and initiating new joint projects. You can contact him with immediate effect on:
• Telephone: +41 61 228 93 33
• E-Mail: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: Reto Ulrich @ LinkedIn

23/08/2026

Register now for the BAB Curatorial Workshop "Carrying the Message - Shopping Bags, Posters and Histories of Activism" offered during the upcoming African Studies Conference "African Perspectives on Global Transformations" (University of Basel, 26–28 August 2026).

The workshop "Carrying the Message" is a curatorial and teaching project which links two collections of the Basler Afrika Bibliographien: shopping bags and posters, both originating primarily from southern Africa and Western Europe.

The workshop introduces the collections and engages participants in working groups to explore questions of curation, ethics and educational relevance. As such, materiality, design, conservation, accessibility, thematic contexts and much more is touched on. Examples range from posters and bags produced by Swiss-anti-apartheid, anti-colonial and anti-racism organisations to those produced by southern African environmental activism, political parties or companies.

Date & Time: Friday, 29 August 2026 | 09:00 – 12:00

Location: Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB), Basel

Curators: Dag Henrichsen, Antonio Uribe and Benedict Wyss

Registration: [email protected] 👈

22/08/2026

We warmly invite you next Tuesday to a Project Showcase & Apéro
"Carrying the message – Shopping Bags, Posters and Histories of Activism"

Shopping bags as activistic messaging? Join us for "Carrying the message – Shopping Bags, Posters and Histories of Activism", a curatorial and teaching project by the Basler Afrika Bibliographien. We are hosting an apéro paired with experimental stagings of iconic bags and posters from southern Africa and western Europe. Drop by, enjoy a drink, and experience how design, plastic and paper meets activism.

Date & Time: Tuesday, 25 August, 17:00–19:30
Place: Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Klosterberg 23, 4051 Basel

21/08/2026

Carl Schlettwein Lecture 2026:

The Zentrum für Afrikastudien Basel / Centre for African Studies Basel cordially invites you to its distinguished Carl Schlettwein Lecture and the subsequent reception.

"Your Heart on Your Sleeve: Live Art, Entrapment, and Civic Freedom" by Nomusa Makhubu (University of Cape Town)

Time: Thursday, 27th August 2026
19:00 - 20:00 p.m. (followed by an Apéro)

Place: Universität Basel, Kollegienhaus, Aula
Petersplatz 1, 4051 Basel

15/08/2026

If you are in Zurich next Thursday join the Performance of Tuli Mekondjo in conjunction with the exhibition “A Kind of Paradise – Colonial-Era Photography in Contemporary Art”

In this performance, Tuli Mekondjo transcends the collapsed time inherent to photography and delves into a deeper time, carried by the ancestral waves of death, memory, emergence, and rebirth.

Time: 6 pm
Place: Forecourt (in front of the museum’s main entrance)
Museum Rietberg
Gablerstrasse 15
8002 Zürich

10/08/2026

If you are in Windhoek this Wednesday go and see the film: GO THEREFORE AND LEARN

📅 Date: 12 August
⏰ Time: 7pm
📍 Venue: Goethe Institut

Directed by Daniela Fritz, Co written by Laudika yaNdangii Hamutenya, Produced by Tangeni Amweelo.

GO THEREFORE AND LEARN is a documentary that takes a critical look at German and Finnish missionary work in Namibia. Laudika yaNdangii and Daniela Fritz set out to trace this history, scouring archives and speaking with people across Namibia about the missionaries' impact—an impact that persists to this day.

For more information follow their instagram page below:

https://www.instagram.com/gothereforeandlearn_film/

Bring a friend!

29/07/2026

NEW: Open Access Special Issue: "Conservation and land in Namibia: A palimpsestic reading of an underexplored nexus", Namibian Journal of Environment.

A fascinating collection of essays which consider land a parchment, on which conservation, in its many forms, has inscriptive agency. They demonstrate expertly to what extent the conservation–land nexus in Namibia has been layered, inscribed and obscured.

Access the essays here: https://nje.org.na/index.php/nje/issue/view/12

Our special issue on conservation and land is officially out! Co-edited by Frowin Becker, Romie Nghitevelekwa and Luregn Lenggenhager, this issue exhibits diverse perspectives on how conservation and land interrelate in Namibia. You can access the issue in full on our homepage: https://nje.org.na/index.php/nje/index