The Marian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), in partnership with ZIAF/University of Frankfurt, Germany, recently concluded its fourth Writing School focused on the theme of "Governance, Democracy and Green Energy."
This five-day workshop, held at the University of Ghana from April 22nd to 26th, served as a writing retreat to provide early career researchers based in Africa with opportunities to contribute to knowledge production in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The workshop included daily seminars and writing sessions. The seminars offered practical guidance on academic writing and publishing in high-quality journals, while the daily writing sessions were supported by academic mentors and editors with research interests in governance, democracy and green energy.
During the opening session of the workshop, Prof. Grace Diabah, Ghanaian Director of MIASA, stated the institute's commitment to reducing global knowledge asymmetries and fostering stronger collaboration among researchers in Anglophone and Francophone Africa.
Prof. Grace Diabah, Ghanaian Director of MIASA
“The Institute takes delight in ensuring that early career scholars in Africa are supported in terms of publishing. The theme for the workshop is not any coincidence because MIASA is dedicated to the topic of Sustainable Governance and organises a range of events like international conferences, workshops, summer and writing schools to create an international, innovative hub for intellectual scientific debate and exchange in Africa,” she added
On his part, Prof. Mamadou Diawara, German Director of MIASA, highlighted the workshop's objective of building a network of African scholars to mutually influence each other's work across various themes.
He also mentioned upcoming workshops, such as the Female Academic Careers in Africa workshop, aimed at further fostering networking opportunities. He encouraged participants to explore the broad range of events organised by MIASA.
Prof. Mamadou Diawara, German Director of MIASA
Prof. Diawara encouraged participants to shift away from a deficit approach and focus on leveraging their existing strengths to become world-class scholars.
The event was moderated by Prof. Akosua Keseboa Darkwah, Dean of the University of Ghana's School of Information and Communication Studies. She is a Professor at the Development of Sociology and an expert in Gender Studies, with extensive publications in renowned academic journals.
Prof. Akosua Keseboa Darkwah, Dean of the University of Ghana's School of Information and Communication Studies
Other mentors and editors for the workshop included Prof. Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai, UGBS; Prof. Seidu Alidu, Head, Department of Political Science, UG: Prof. Simon Bawakyillenuo, Snr. Research Fellow, ISSER; Prof. George Bob-Milliar, Director, Centre for Cultural and African Studies, KNUST and Dr. Marie Boka, Associate Professor, Political Science, Universitè Fèlix Houphout Boigny, Abidjan, Cóte d’Ivoire.
The writing school, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), aimed to improve the success rate of early-career African scholars' submissions to top-tier journals while enhancing their academic writing skills. With a focus on supporting female scholars, the programme brought together eighteen participants, each with unique research topics addressing diverse issues across Africa. Mentors provided guidance throughout the five-day workshop, assisting mentees in developing their papers from abstracts to referencing.
