The Ethiopian Women Researchers Network brought together authors, reviewers and researchers at Addis Ababa University to critically engage with books and research by women scholars, and to reflect on the wider journey from research and writing to publication. On…
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Research from a Rift Valley Institute project features in the latest issue of Africa Spectrum—Volume 61, Issue 2 (August 2026)—as part of a special issue on ‘Giving in Somali diaspora humanitarianism in Africa’. Guest edited by DIIS Senior Researcher…
Research from a Rift Valley Institute project features in the latest issue of the Journal of Eastern African Studies—Volume 20, Issue 2 (May 2026)—as part of a special collection on ‘Religion and Politics in Post-EPRDF Ethiopia’. This collection—guest edited…
Rift Valley Institute’s Somali Dialogue Platform (SDP) worked closely with Somali Public Agenda (SPA), a leading Somali think tank, to produce a new study: Navigating Political Transition: Citizens’ Views on Elections, Legitimacy, and Governance in Somalia. SPA’s strong local…
The Ethiopian Women Researchers Network brought together scholars from across Ethiopia to examine how gender, power and knowledge production are shaping contemporary research and public debate. On 26 March 2026, researchers, practitioners and academics gathered in Addis Ababa for…
On 4–5 November 2025, civil society leaders, community groups, researchers, women’s networks and humanitarian practitioners from Sudan and South Sudan gathered in Kampala for a landmark workshop on Rethinking Aid in both countries. Convened by Norwegian People’s Aid–Sudan, Detcro,…
On 5 July 2025, the Rift Valley Forum brought together scholars, authors, activists and politicians to celebrate Ngũgĩ’s literary brilliance, political courage and enduring influence: A tribute to a towering figure whose voice empowered generations. The session drew more…
By John Ryle Wendy James, who died in Oxford on 27 April, was one of the outstanding anthropologists of her generation. In a trilogy of immaculate field-work based monographs she chronicled the culture and history of the Uduk people…
CONFERENCE | KENYA | 1-5 SEPTEMBER 2024 The Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises (D-Hum) research project is organizing a small international conference in Kenya on vernacular humanitarianism in a global perspective – and we have just a few spots…
We, the staff of the Rift Valley Institute, are extremely concerned about current events in Sudan, and for the lives of those affected by the conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which…
Recent Publications

Writing Ethiopia into the World, Writing the World from Ethiopia
October 7, 2026
The Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) hosted an online scholarly webinar on Friday, 30 January 2026, titled ‘Writing Ethiopia into the World and Writing the World from Ethiopia’. The webinar examined how Ethiopia has been represented within global knowledge production

The Political Economy of Coffee in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka Belt, Southwest Ethiopia Region
October 6, 2026
This study provides a critical political economy analysis of the coffee sector in the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka belt in Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’ Regional State, the genetic and cultural heartland of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica). Based on 47 key respondent interviews, the study

The Political Economy of Coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele Belt, Oromia Region
October 5, 2026
The findings of this study reveal a number of critical insights about the political economy of coffee in the Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele coffee belt. The coffee economy is shaped by a small number of influential actors, including state institutions,