The African Studies Association (ASA) held its annual conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from November 17–19, 2022. The 65th edition of the conference was focused on the theme of “African Urbanities: Mobility, Creativity, and Challenges.”

The first in-person conference since the pandemic, this edition of the conference hosted about 1400 attendees from around the world and across diverse disciplines.

Established in 1957, the African Studies Association is the flagship membership organization devoted to the production and dissemination of historical and contemporary knowledge about Africa. Members include scholars, students, teachers, activists, development professionals, policymakers and donors.

Some of the innovative events from the 2022 conference included a plenary on African Perspectives on the Russian-Ukraine War, a panel on building environmentally sustainable futures, a book signing with Ohio University Press authors, editors and staff, and a film screening of When a Farm Goes Aflame.

The 2022 Presidential Lecture was facilitated by Ousseina Alidou who presented “African Studies, Present/Futures, and Forging Common Grounds: Languages, Scripts, and Translation.” The 2022 Hormuud Lecture featured Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili. Yale University Professor of English Cajetan Iheka won the Best Book Award for his latest scholarly book African Ecomedia: Network Forms, Planetary Politics. Congrats to him!

See some highlights from this year’s conference below:

ASA 2022 was a huge success based on the amount of engagement on Twitter and other social media platforms. A big thanks to the organizers and participants. Stay tuned for next year’s conference!