The Rift Valley Forum for Research, Policy and Local Knowledge, previously the Nairobi Forum, was established in 2012 to provide a new space for critical discussion of political, economic and social issues in Eastern and Central Africa. The Forum is a venue for dispassionate examination of contested terrain, where researchers, practitioners, officials and activists–from the region and beyond–can meet on equal terms. The Forum programme includes the Horn, East Africa, Central Africa and the Sudans. Besides the Nairobi programme, Forum meetings have been held in Juba, Mogadishu and Hargeysa.
Details of upcoming and past Forum events can be seen below:
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Recent Publications

Women in the Social Sciences and Humanities in Ethiopia: The case of Addis Ababa University
This preliminary assessment is part of the launch exercise of the Ethiopian Women Researchers’ Network (EWNET). Focusing on Addis Ababa University as a pioneering higher
Iddir in Contemporary Social Science and Humanities Research in Ethiopia: Historicizing and theorizing local infrastructures of care
The second Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) seminar was delivered by Desalegn Amsalu, Anteneh Tesfaye, Yasmin Bushra and Helen Zeru on 3 July 2025 at

The Role of Culture in Conflict and Peacebuilding among the Balanda and Jurchol Communities in Western Bahr el Ghazal
The aim of this ethnographic study is to explore the role played by cultural expressions in conflict and peacebuilding in South Sudan, with specific reference