The life of the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) was celebrated on 6 May 2014 at Bard College, New York, where Achebe taught for many years. There were spoken tributes from Nigerian author and art historian Teju Cole, from…
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More than two years after Sudan’s southerners voted for a country of their own, some people in lands along the new border with the old rump Sudan remain in limbo. Acuil Akol comes from Abyei, a triangle of contested…
Fellows and associates of the Institute responded in online and broadcast media to the attack by al-Shabaab on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall. RVI trustee Lindsey Hilsum reported from Westgate for Channel 4 News, where she is International Affairs Editor. In an article…
The government archive in Juba suffered badly during the civil war in Southern Sudan. Tens of thousands of documents were removed from the Records Office, disordered, and stored in sacks in damp basements. Many have been damaged by termites,…
On 18-19 February 2013, RVI and the Somalia NGO Consortium co-hosted a two-day 'Introduction to Somalia' course at the Lukenya Getaway in Kenya. RVI managed the first day's event, providing a brief introduction to the history, politics, and culture of…
A story in the Guardian about southern Sudan's dilapidated archives and the restoration effort spear-headed by the Rift Valley Institute This is our archive," Youssef Fulgensio Onyalla says wistfully as he pulls back the tarp covering the metal door and opens…
Liz Hodgkin, RVI Fellow and former Amnesty International Sudan researcher, is teaching at St Augustine’s School in the village of Isoke, in Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan. This is her second letter from Isoke. Other letters: No 1 July…
RVI in Local and Global Media July to December 2012 is a cumulative record of references to the Rift Valley Institute in local and international news media and academic literature from July to December 2012. Included in the document are…
Since becoming Africa's newest country in 2011, South Sudan continues to remain locked in a land dispute with Sudan over the Abyei region which covers 10,000 square kilometres of farmland, desert and oil fields. People in the contested border…
Recent Publications
Political Economy of Cash and Markets in Sudan
February 27, 2026
The research provides a snapshot of the war in Sudan in the period from February to April 2025. However, the war is dynamic, with political alliances and territorial control changing. The April 2023 conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF)
Rethinking Ethiopia II: Youth and politics
February 26, 2026
Seminar report Rethinking Ethiopia, a collaborative essay competition initiative between Addis Ababa University’s Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) and the Rift Valley Institute’s (RVI) Peace Research Facility (PRF), offers a platform for Ethiopian youth to express their ideas
2025 Year in Review
February 16, 2026
The 2025 Year in Review provides an overview of the Rift Valley Institute’s work over the past year across eastern and central Africa. The report highlights RVI’s research and publication outputs, education and training activities, and public forums and convenings,