The African Leadership Ce ntre \;(A LC)\, is pleased to invite you to the ALC \;Re search \;seminar series event titled &ldquo\;< b>Beyond the Usual Suspects: New Voices for Women\ , Peace and Security&rdquo\; happening on Tues day\, 27 October 2026\, from 11:00 AM GM T/14:00 EAT.
\n \nAbstract< /span>
\n \nThis Research seminar examines why the UN Wome n\, Peace and Security agenda must move beyond its established community of policymakers\, gender ex perts and activists&mdash\;the agenda&rsquo\;s &ld quo\;usual suspects&rdquo\;&mdash\;and become a br oader societal movement. \; Over the past 25 y ears\, the WPS agenda has increased recognition of women&rsquo\;s roles in conflict prevention and p eacebuilding\, strengthened accountability for con flict-related sexual violence\, and established ge nder as an important analytical tool in internatio nal peace and security. However\, implementation r emains slow\, top-down and insufficiently connecte d to the people and institutions that influence ev eryday attitudes\, behaviour and security. The lec ture will briefly examine the WPS agenda&rsquo\;s African roots and the substantial role of African states\, regional institutions and civil-society o rganisations in its development.
\n \nIt will then consider why formal mechanisms&mdas h\;including national action plans\, mediation net works\, gender advisers and gender focal points&md ash\;have not yet generated sufficiently broad or transformative change. The central argument is tha t WPS must engage &ldquo\;everyday influencers&rdq uo\;: people whose professional\, cultural\, relig ious or social authority allows them to shape atti tudes and practices at community level. These incl ude teachers\, youth mentors\, police officers\, j udges\, health workers\, artists\, musicians\, soc ial-media influencers\, religious leaders\, tradit ional leaders and customary authorities.
\n \nVenue:
\n \nSpeaker:
\n \nDr Angela Muvumba S
ellströ\;m\, Senior Researcher\,
The Nordic Africa Institute (NAI).
Dr Angela Muvumba Sellströ\;m&rsquo\ ;s work focuses on the determinants of Africa&rsqu o\;s security policies and the gendered dimensions of conflict and peace processes. She is Senior Re searcher at the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI). Wit h over 25 years of experience\, she has led multiy ear projects on sexual violence and armed groups&r squo\; wartime behaviour\, and the role of elected members of the UN Security Council. She is curren tly exploring how global governance and geopolitic al competition shape peace and security dynamics.& nbsp\;
\n \nSUBJECT EXPE RTISE
\n \nUN Security Council\;
non-permanent members of the Security Council\; Af
rican Union (AU)\; women\, peace and security (WPS
) agenda\; conflict-related sexual violence\; Arme
d actors\; conflict mediation\; amnesties.<
/span>
REGIONAL EXPERTISE
\n \nDiscussant:
\n \n< span style="font-family:Aptos\,sans-serif">Vicky Karimi is a human rights lawyer with expertise in Women\, Peace and Security and Gender Justice. She has considerable experience in legal and policy work and has worked on gender equality\, constitution-making\, develo pment of legal frameworks and human rights issues in Kenya\, Liberia\, Northern Uganda\, Sudan\, Sou th Sudan and Sierra Leone among other countries. V icky has a demonstrated commitment to gender equal ity\, good governance\, constitutionalism\, democr acy and human rights. She is an alumnus of the Wom en\, Peace and Security Fellowship of the African Leadership Centre/King&rsquo\;s College\, London ( 2009/2010).
\n \n < p style="text-align:justify\; margin-bottom:11px"> Chair: \n \n\;
DESCRIPTION:\n \n \n \n \n The African Leadership Centre (ALC) \, is pleased to invite you to the ALC Research se minar series event titled “Beyond the Usual Suspec ts: New Voices for Women\, Peace and Security” hap pening on Tuesday\, 27 October 2026\, from 11:00 A M GMT/14:00 EAT.\n \n \n \n Abstract\n \n \n \n Th is Research seminar examines why the UN Women\, Pe ace and Security agenda must move beyond its estab lished community of policymakers\, gender experts and activists—the agenda’s “usual suspects”—and be come a broader societal movement. Over the past 2 5 years\, the WPS agenda has increased recognition of women’s roles in conflict prevention and peace building\, strengthened accountability for conflic t-related sexual violence\, and established gender as an important analytical tool in international peace and security. However\, implementation remai ns slow\, top-down and insufficiently connected to the people and institutions that influence everyd ay attitudes\, behaviour and security. The lecture will briefly examine the WPS agenda’s African roo ts and the substantial role of African states\, re gional institutions and civil-society organisation s in its development. \n \n \n \n It will then con sider why formal mechanisms—including national act ion plans\, mediation networks\, gender advisers a nd gender focal points—have not yet generated suff iciently broad or transformative change. The centr al argument is that WPS must engage “everyday infl uencers”: people whose professional\, cultural\, r eligious or social authority allows them to shape attitudes and practices at community level. These include teachers\, youth mentors\, police officers \, judges\, health workers\, artists\, musicians\, social-media influencers\, religious leaders\, tr aditional leaders and customary authorities.\n \n \n \n Venue:\n \n \n \n Virtual- Zoom\n \n \n \n S peaker: \n \n \n \n Dr Angela Muvumba Sellström\, Senior Researcher\, The Nordic Africa Institute (N AI).\n \n \n \n Dr Angela Muvumba Sellström’s work focuses on the determinants of Africa’s security policies and the gendered dimensions of conflict a nd peace processes. She is Senior Researcher at th e Nordic Africa Institute (NAI). With over 25 year s of experience\, she has led multiyear projects o n sexual violence and armed groups’ wartime behavi our\, and the role of elected members of the UN Se curity Council. She is currently exploring how glo bal governance and geopolitical competition shape peace and security dynamics. \n \n \n \n Dr Muvum ba Sellström is also a Visiting Researcher at Upps ala University’s Department of Peace and Conflict Research\, Vice President of the Board of Director s of the Life and Peace Institute (LPI)\, a Non-re sident Fellow at the International Peace Institute (IPI)\, an Associate Senior Researcher of the Sto ckholm International Peace Research Institute (SIP RI). \n \n \n \n SUBJECT EXPERTISE\n \n \n \n UN Security Council\; non-permanent members of the S ecurity Council\; African Union (AU)\; women\, pea ce and security (WPS) agenda\; conflict-related se xual violence\; Armed actors\; conflict mediation\ ; amnesties.\n \n \n \n REGIONAL EXPERTISE\n \n \n \n Africa\, Great Lakes\; South Africa. \n \n \n \n Discussant: \n \n \n \n Ms. Vicky Karimi\n \n \ n \n Vicky Karimi is a human rights lawyer with ex pertise in Women\, Peace and Security and Gender J ustice. She has considerable experience in legal a nd policy work and has worked on gender equality\, constitution-making\, development of legal framew orks and human rights issues in Kenya\, Liberia\, Northern Uganda\, Sudan\, South Sudan and Sierra L eone among other countries. Vicky has a demonstrat ed commitment to gender equality\, good governance \, constitutionalism\, democracy and human rights. She is an alumnus of the Women\, Peace and Securi ty Fellowship of the African Leadership Centre/Kin g’s College\, London (2009/2010).\n \n \n \n Chair : \n \n \n \n Dr Shuvai Nyoni\, Executive Director \, African Leadership Centre\n \n \n \n \n \n \n CATEGORIES:Conference CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/London:20261027T110000 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261027T110000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261027T110000 URL:https://alcoffice.systems/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=34 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:CiviCRM_EventID_35_a2bc4f5368ad2c002b2010a5a489b3b9@alcoffice.systems SUMMARY:Black History Month Event X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
The African
\;Leadership \;Centre (ALC) \;invites you to our hybri
d student-led eve
nt of the year&nb
sp\;commemorating \;Black \;History \;
Month \;at King&rsquo\;s College London \;
on \;<
span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"\;Times
New Roman"\;\,serif">Thursday\, 29th October \;2026\, at \;16.00 \;-&
nbsp\;17:45 \
;GMT/ 19:00
\;- 20:45 EAT.<
/span>
In alignment with the UK Blac k History Month theme\, Honouring Our Communiti es\, this event explores Blackness as an inher itance: the histories\, identities\, knowledge\, c reativity\, resistance\, leadership and community values passed from one generation to another.
\n \nThe event asks three central questi ons:
\n \nWhat did we inherit?
\n \nHow do we honour it?
What will others inherit from
us?
Venues:
Opening Remarks:< /b>
\n \nProfessor Eka Ikpe\,< span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"\;Times New Roman"\;\,serif"> Director\, African Leade rship Centre and Professor in Development Economics in Africa\, Kin g&rsquo\;s College London.
\n \nProfe ssor Ikpe will formally welcome participants\, int roduce the African Leadership Centre and situate t he event within the wider Black History Month prog ramme and the ALC&rsquo\;s commitment to African l eadership\, knowledge and transformation. < /span>
\n \nFellows& rsquo\; Welcome: < /span>
\n \nHe will also serve as the Master of Ceremon ies for the entire event\, guiding transitions between each segment\, introducing speakers and a ctivities\, and ensuring the programme flows smoot hly from start to finish.
\n \nOpening Video &ndash\; B
HM Crazy Sally
The e vent will open with a short video highlighting Bla ck achievement\, creativity\, contribution and inn ovation across different fields.
\n \nIts purpose is to move the audience from what has often been overlooked to what deserves to be remembered and honored\, setting up the tone f or the conversations that follow.
\n \nYoung African Re flection &ndash\; Rooted: Inheriting Blackness\, D efining Myself
\n \nEna ss Abdallah & ndash\; Peace and Security Fellowship for Sudanese Women
\n \n< span lang="en-KE" style="font-family:"\;Times New Roman"\;\,serif">Enass will bring the conv ersation from theory into lived experience by refl ecting on what it means to inherit Blackness as a young African today.\n \n
The focus w ill be:
\n \n< span style="line-height:115%"> The central question is:
\n \nHow does what we inherited shape who we become\, and h ow do we carry it into spaces that were not built with us in mind?\n \n
London ×\; Nairobi Conver sation&ndash\; Across the Inheritance
\n \n< span lang="en-KE" style="font-family:"\;Times New Roman"\;\,serif">Kadidja Ibrahim Seyni&ndash\; D egree-Awarding Fellowship for African Scholars in Peace\, Security &\; Development< /span>
\n \nDiscussants:
\n \nThis conversati on will bring together Fellows across London and N airobi to reflect on Black and African inheritance from different contexts.
\n \nGuidin g questions:
\n \n\;
DESCRIPTION:\n \n \n \n \n The African Leadership Centre (ALC) invites you to our hybrid student-led event of th e year commemorating Black History Month at King’s College London on Thursday\, 29th October 2026\, at 16.00 - 17:45 GMT/ 19:00 - 20:45 EAT.\n \n \n \ n Event Concept\n \n \n \n In alignment with the U K Black History Month theme\, Honouring Our Commun ities\, this event explores Blackness as an inheri tance: the histories\, identities\, knowledge\, cr eativity\, resistance\, leadership and community v alues passed from one generation to another. \n \n \n \n The event asks three central questions: \n \n \n \n What did we inherit? \n \n \n \n How do w e honour it? \n \n \n \n What will others inherit from us? \n \n \n \n Venues:\n \n \n \n \n In pe rson- King’s College London\, Bush House\, SE 1.04 Strand Campus \n Online – Zoom\n \n \n Opening Remarks:\n \n \n \n Professor Eka Ikpe\, Director\ , African Leadership Centre and Professor in Devel opment Economics in Africa\, King’s College London .\n \n \n \n Professor Ikpe will formally welcome participants\, introduce the African Leadership Ce ntre and situate the event within the wider Black History Month programme and the ALC’s commitment t o African leadership\, knowledge and transformatio n. \n \n \n \n Fellows’ Welcome: \n \n \n \n Event MC: Selby Abraham\, Associate Fellow in Peace\, S ecurity and Development for African Students\n \n \n \n Selby will introduce the Fellows’ vision beh ind Honouring the Blackness We Inherited\, explain the central questions guiding the event\, and bri efly introduce the programme and interactive eleme nts. \n \n \n \n He will also serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the entire event\, guiding trans itions between each segment\, introducing speakers and activities\, and ensuring the programme flows smoothly from start to finish. \n \n \n \n Openin g Video – BHM Crazy Sally \n \n \n \n The event wi ll open with a short video highlighting Black achi evement\, creativity\, contribution and innovation across different fields. \n \n \n \n Its purpose is to move the audience from what has often been o verlooked to what deserves to be remembered and ho nored\, setting up the tone for the conversations that follow. \n \n \n \n Young African Reflection – Rooted: Inheriting Blackness\, Defining Myself\n \n \n \n Enass Abdallah – Peace and Security Fell owship for Sudanese Women\n \n \n \n Enass will br ing the conversation from theory into lived experi ence by reflecting on what it means to inherit Bla ckness as a young African today.\n \n \n \n The fo cus will be:\n \n \n \n \n Which part of her inhe ritance (a value\, a story\, a person\, a communit y) gives her strength when she walks into spaces w here assumptions arrive before she does?\n How do es she honor where she comes from while still givi ng yourself the freedom to define who she is becom ing?\n How do we challenge assumptions about Afri ca and Blackness while creating new stories on our own terms?\n Which stories about Africans does s he refuse to accept\, and what does she put in the ir place?\n \n \n Her reflections explore how inhe ritance and self-definition work together. The his tories\, values and resilience passed down by prev ious generations are not a weight to be shed. They are the foundation from which young Africans defi ne themselves\, challenge the stereotypes imposed on them from outside\, and write their own stories .\n \n \n \n The central question is:\n \n \n \n H ow does what we inherited shape who we become\, an d how do we carry it into spaces that were not bui lt with us in mind?\n \n \n \n London × Nairobi Co nversation– Across the Inheritance\n \n \n \n Mode rator: \n \n \n \n Kadidja Ibrahim Seyni– Degree-A warding Fellowship for African Scholars in Peace\, Security & Development\n \n \n \n Discussants: \n \n \n \n \n Ezekiel Ephraim – Degree-Awarding Fe llowship for African Scholars in Peace\, Security & Development\n Isra Elkhalil – Peace and Securit y Fellowship for Sudanese Women\n Eman Ahmed – Pe ace and Security Fellowship for Sudanese Women\n \ n \n This conversation will bring together Fellows across London and Nairobi to reflect on Black and African inheritance from different contexts.\n \n \n \n Guiding questions: \n \n \n \n \n What doe s it mean to inherit Blackness today?\n Which par ts of our histories\, identities and community leg acies continue to shape us most strongly?\n What part of that inheritance does our generation need to challenge or reimagine?\n What are we at risk of losing if we do not consciously protect and pas s it forward?\n \n \n \n \n \n CATEGORIES:Conference CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/London:20261029T161500 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261029T161500 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261029T161500 LOCATION:Bush House Room SE 1.04\n King’s College London \n London\, WC2B 4BG\n United Kingdom\n URL:https://alcoffice.systems/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=35 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR