The Nordic Africa Institute is a knowledge centre focused on Africa. It is jointly financed by the governments of Finland, Iceland and Sweden.

Protecting a research archive from being lost

Library. Old paper glue is destroying thousands of documents in a large research archive. In order to preserve the collection, the Nordic Africa Institute’s library is now scanning each and every document.

Weak government presence in slum areas

Urban development. Almost half of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa live in informal settlements. For the some 85 000 people living in Makoko in Lagos, Nigeria, government intervention is almost nil.

Creative knowledge – Life in the zongo

Cultural identity. In Ghana, stereotypes flourish about people who live in zongo settlements. However, according to guest researcher Ann Cassiman, as West Africans with the ambivalent status of ‘strangers’ they have developed specialist knowledge and skills to survive.

Archiving – for today and for the future

Administration. As a public authority, most documents at NAI must be archived in order to meet demands of the public, for the sake of research in the future, and to secure the institute´s daily work, according to the Archives Act.

Women victims when Karamojong abandon pastoralism

Uganda. After a change in livelihood from livestock pastoralism to farming, the situation for Karamojong women in northeast Uganda has drastically deteriorated. According to anthropologist and NAI guest researcher Tabitha Naisiko, projects to help have shown...

Farmers need to learn the practice of irrigation

Food security. Ethiopia has a lot of water, but so far, very little is used to irrigate farmland. However, it is not enough to build dams and infrastructure. Farmers also need more skills and knowledge of water management. This is one of the points in a Policy Note...

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