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How do grassroots movements resist state collapse in Sudan? Raga Makawi, Co-Director of Studies for the 2025 Sudan & South Sudan Course, shares reflections on civic politics and community resilience. Watch full video: youtu.be/YK4IhRGtC8U More info: courses.riftvalley.net

The outline and teaching team for the 2025 Horn of Africa Course are now out. Join leading experts to explore conflict, politics, and climate challenges in the region. The course runs from 26 to 29 May. Register now: courses.riftvalley.net

The 2025 Sudan and South Sudan Course outline and teaching team are now available. Gain in-depth insights into the region’s history, politics and society. The course runs 9-11 June. Learn more and register here: courses.riftvalley.net

NEW REPORT | MINOR DEMARCATIONS MICRO-DAMS—MAJOR DRAMA? Jonah Wedekind @ jowedekind.bsky.social & Kedir Jamal examine how admin changes, micro-dams and regional rivalries in the Oromia–Somali borderlands risk reigniting conflict and unsettling fragile peace. Read more: bit.ly/4mm7WtI #Ethiopia

NEW REPORT | EFFECTIVENESS OF WOMEN IN POLITICS & IMPROVING GENDER EQUALITY IN SOUTH SUDAN Santa J. Justin Ali highlights barriers to women’s political participation & calls for bold reforms, quotas & investment in leadership. Read more : bit.ly/4jFdyxv #SouthSudan

Highlights from the Consortium Partners Learning and Project Closeout Convening in Naivasha, where partners reflected on 6 years of XCEPT Research and engaged with insights from the X-Border Local Research Network Review. Watch now: youtu.be/pZ7TYD4akkg

What does it take to shift how conflict in borderlands is understood? hannah stogdon reflects on how XCEPT Research brought credibility, complexity and real-time insight into policy spaces. More in Ep. 1 of the Beyond Series: bit.ly/BeyondXCEPT

How can Africa’s Regional Economic Communities support a shift to agroecology? RVI Head of Programmes Michael Odhiambo co-authored this review of current policies, gaps and opportunities. Read the full report: bit.ly/REC-agroAfrica

Through its local research network, XCEPT Research centered local voices, reaching hard-to-access areas and challenging dominant narratives. Joel Otieno explains how this shaped grounded research and policy in Ep. 1 of 6 of the Beyond Series. Listen: bit.ly/BeyondXCEPT

The Ethiopia Conflict Sensitivity Hub has officially launched. Led by RVI, @MercyCorps Ethiopia and Adapt Peacebuilding, the Hub promotes conflict-sensitive practice to support effective peacebuilding and development across #Ethiopia.

Important update: The Sudan and South Sudan course has been postponed. New dates will be confirmed and shared soon. For more information, visit courses.riftvalley.net

The 2025 Horn of Africa Course was held in Kenya from 26–29 May. The course brought together a diverse group of participants from the region and beyond for four days of in-depth discussion and analysis, led by an experienced teaching team of regional and international scholars.

Canada is proud to support the launch of the Ethiopia Conflict Sensitivity Hub - a joint effort of Mercy Corps, Rift Valley Institute, and Adapt Peacebuilding. To build sustainable peace and prosperity in Ethiopia, we must all put conflict prevention at the centre of our work.