UCLA African Studies Center

Film Screening Announcement: MAKA (2023)

Please join us for a screening of MAKA (2023), a powerful documentary about Geneviève Makaping — an anthropologist, journalist, and the first Black woman to serve as editor-in-chief of an Italian newspaper.

Tracing Makaping’s migration from Cameroon across the desert and the Mediterranean Sea to her life in Italy, the film highlights both her personal resilience and her reflections on race, migration, and representation. Through a compelling blend of interviews, archival images, and reflective storytelling, MAKA offers a moving meditation on visibility, identity, and belonging.

Thursday, April 9, 2026
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Darren Star Theater, Melnitz Hall
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Simone Brioni (Stony Brook University).

Sponsored by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Co-sponsored by the UCLA African Studies Center

Film details:
Italy, 2023, 52 minutes
Italian/English with subtitles
Directed by Elia Moutamid

Now recruiting student researchers for a multidisciplinary project in Puerto Rico! 🌍📚

Students are invited to join a research project focused on environmental justice, climate resilience, and Afro-Boricua women’s leadership and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.

Supported by the Racial and Social Justice Seed Grant and aligned with UCLA’s Rising to the Challenge initiative, this project centers community-based, data-driven research addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate disasters on Afro-Boricua communities.

Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to apply, especially those with connections to the community. Participants will receive research mentorship, academic credit, and may have the opportunity for fully funded fieldwork in Puerto Rico.

The mixed-methods project includes interviews, oral histories, community-engaged research, archival work, policy and quantitative analysis, and GIS mapping.

🔗 Click the link below for more information and to apply
🗓 Applications reviewed weekly on a rolling basis
⭐ Priority deadline: April 1, 2026

Now accepting applications for the Dr. Elizabeth Woldemussie Centennial Global Health Fellowship! 🌍✨

Open to UCLA undergraduate and graduate students, this fellowship supports meaningful engagement in public health and global citizenship through summer study, work, and cultural immersion in Africa.

Recipients may receive up to $4,000 for travel and approved expenses to participate in an established program or design an original project with a UCLA faculty mentor and an Africa-based organization.

Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to public health and/or public service and plan to spend at least 45 days in-country. Preference will be given to students pursuing work or study in Eritrea or Ethiopia.

🔗 Click the link below to apply
🗓 Deadline: 5 PM PST, Wednesday, May 1, 2026

Now accepting applications for the Judith Boyajian Travel Fellowship! 🌍✈️

The UCLA African Studies Center invites undergraduate and graduate students to apply for this exciting opportunity supporting summer study, work, and cultural immersion in Africa.

Recipients may receive up to $4,000 for travel and related expenses to join an existing program or design an original project in partnership with a UCLA faculty mentor and an Africa-based organization.

Applicants should demonstrate a strong commitment to public service and plan to spend at least 45 days in-country. Preference will be given to students pursuing work or study in Morocco.

🔗 Click the link below to apply
🗓 Deadline: 5 PM PST, Wednesday, May 1, 2026

Get ready for Africa Day 2025, a vibrant celebration of music, dance, art, and food!

Don’t miss the powerful performance by Francis Akotuah & the Music and Dance of Ghana Ensemble at 4 PM in the Amphitheater!

Free and open to the public!

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/africa-day-a-festival-of-music-dance-art-and-food-tickets-1281459091639?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join us for a vibrant celebration of African culture, community, and creativity!

Africa Day is an annual festival featuring live music, dance performances, hands-on art activities, delicious food, and more.

All are welcome to experience the rich cultural traditions of the African continent in a joyful and inclusive atmosphere.

Africa Day Program Schedule

1pm: Welcome Remarks
Location: Amphitheater

1:15pm: Nigerian Student Association Dance Team
Location: Amphitheater

1:30pm: Children’s Village: All Day Art-Making Activities
Location: Courtyard

2pm: Henna with a Heart at UCLA
Location: Courtyard

2pm: Food, Poetry, and AfroBeats with DJ Selassie Ahorlu Jr.
Location: Amphitheater

3pm: Exhibition Tour: Intersections
Location: Joss Gallery

4pm: Francis Akotuah & the Music and Dance of Ghana Ensemble
Location: Amphitheater

Free and open to the public
Directions and parking - https://fowler.ucla.edu/visit/
RSVP requested for catering purposes

RSVP here: https://fowler.ucla.edu/events/africa-day-a-festival-of-music-dance-art-and-food/?occurrence=2025-05-25

Sarah Maldoror: Through a Lens of Resistance and Rebellion
May 10, 2025 · 7:30 PM
Billy Wilder Theater
Free admission · No reservations · First come, first served

Celebrate the revolutionary spirit and visionary artistry of Sarah Maldoror, a trailblazing filmmaker whose works brought African liberation, diasporic identity, and anti-colonial struggle to the screen with unparalleled power and grace. This special screening honors her life and legacy through three strikingly different films that together showcase her fearless storytelling and unflinching political vision.

FEATURED FILMS

➤ Et les chiens se taisaient (And the Dogs Kept Silent, 1978)
A mother’s haunting plea to save her rebellious son unfolds in the storerooms of the Musée de l'Homme, surrounded by looted African art. A poetic and visually daring adaptation of Aimé Césaire’s play.
13 min | French with English subtitles | Restored DCP

➤ Un dessert pour Constance (Dessert for Constance, 1981)
A bold comedy where a discarded cookbook leads Parisian trash workers on a subversive quest to reclaim agency and rewrite their own narratives.
52 min | French with English subtitles | Restored DCP

➤ Carnaval dans le Sahel (Carnival in Sahel, 1979)
An intimate, vibrant glimpse into Cape Verde’s Carnival. With no narration, this visual poem celebrates cultural pride and resistance.
15 min | Color | Restored DCP

Sarah Maldoror’s work continues to inspire new generations of artists, activists, and audiences. Join us in rediscovering her cinematic legacy—through resistance, through rebellion, through film.

Hosted by the Archive at the Billy Wilder Theater
In partnership with Another Gaze and the family of Sarah Maldoror.

Q&A with producer and distributor Annouchka de Andrade,
daughter of Maldoror, and UCLA Associate Professor Ellen C. Scott.

Click this link for more info: https://international.ucla.edu/asc/article/287111

Recent college & grad school alumni: Work for 6 to 9 months with one of over 2 dozen NGOs in DC on international peace & security issues, including nuclear arms control, peacebuilding, & diplomacy. Apply by Jan. 6 for the fall ‘25 semester. http://scoville.org

Join us for an enchanting evening celebrating Chevalier de Saint-Georges' musical legacy, featuring Juilliard-trained violinist Ashley Horne, at UCLA's Fowler Museum on April 21, 2024, presented by the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra.

Tickets: $10–$15

For more information, visit: https://international.ucla.edu/asc/article/275521

African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC)
Joint project of James S. Coleman African Studies Center and Global Public Affairs at Luskin

Urban Planning 297: Current Issues in Urban Planning African Cities

The course will offer UCLA students the opportunity to engage directly with young African scholars on a number of key themes (political settlements, city systems, land and connectivity, safety, and security, youth) that are the focus of the ACRC.

Schedule for African Cities Lectures Fall 2023

October 11: Land and Connectivity
Abubakar Monguno, University of Maiduguri
October 18: Healthy Diets and the Politics of African Cities: The Case of Kampala
Gloria Seruwagi, Lecturer and Researcher, Makerere University, Uganda
October 25: Garbage and Taking Out the Trash
Garth Myers, Professor of Urban International Studies, Trinity College
November 1: On the Police as Urban Infrastructure and Managers in the African City
Wangui Kimari, Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA), University of Cape Town
November 8: tbd
November 15: Beyond Boko Haram’s Bombs and Bullets: the Activism, Dreams, and Aspirations of Maiduguri’s Youth
Imrana Buba, Youth Coalition Against Terrorism
(Note: No lecture on November 22 due to Thanksgiving Holiday week)
November 29: Structural Transformation in African Cities
Michael Danquah, United Nations University-WIDER
December 6: The Politics of Development in Ghana’s Capital City Abdulai Abdul-Gafaru, Department of Public Administration, University of Ghana Business School
ADMISSION IS OPEN NOW FOR FALL QUARTER 2023

URBN PL 297 - Current Issues in Urban Planning
Seminar: Sem 1
Class ID: 725582200

For PTE numbers, please contact Professor Steve Commins at [email protected]

Anyone interested in the lectures can join via Zoom at:

https://ucla.zoom.us/j/92902609684?pwd=RTF0NlFPWDNYUVZMMzcxb0cwUS8wZz09

[TODAY]

Tahrir's Youth

A book talk presented by Rusha Latif.

Monday, May 22, 2023
4:00 PM (Pacific Time)
West Classroom, Charles E. Young Research Library
UCLA Campus

Zoom link to the event:
HTTPS://UCLA.ZOOM.US/J/96205773895

Book sale and author signing after the event!