A two-day series of lectures was held in Juba on 2 and 3 June 2011, in the run-up to the independence celebrations in South Sudan. The theme of the lectures – the second in an annual series – was culture and nationhood. The event was organised by the Rift Valley Institute in collaboration with the Centre for Peace and Development Studies at the University of Juba. Speakers included HE Priscilla Kuc Joseph, HE Peter Adwok Nyaba, Dr Jok Madut Jok, Dr John Akec, Joanna Oyediran, Alfred Lokuji, Leben Moro, Youssef Onyalla, Dr Cherry Leonardi and Derik Alfred. Transcriptions can be found at newsudanvision.com.