Zeppelin University/University of Cape Coast: Reframing Colonial Legacies Training Project (Gha[...]

Zeppelin University/University of Cape Coast: Reframing Colonial Legacies Training Project (Ghana, Germany, Online)

Zeppelin University (Germany) and the University of Cape Coast (Ghana) are organising the international project ‘Reframing Colonial Legacies’ funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) from 2025 to 2026. They invite international Germany alumni from countries in Africa and Europe (not based in Germany) to apply for 22 places.

The return of the Benin Bronzes by Germany to Nigeria in 2022 marked a symbolic step towards decolonisation and sparked debates about ownership and cultural responsibility. The calls for the restitution of stolen artefacts, such as those made by Ghana’s Asantehene, highlight the urgent necessity of reassessing colonial legacies.

The academic training project ‘Reframing Colonial Legacies’ explicitly addresses colonial legacies and their lasting impacts as a current debate in foreign cultural policy. The project provides participants with skills to critically examine and reframe colonial legacies, decolonial memory culture, and power-critical international collaboration. It also promotes the transfer of knowledge between academia and practice.

The programme includes:

• Online training course (5, 12, 19 and 26 September 2025)
• Study trip on colonial legacies to Cape Coast and Elmina slave castles, Ghana (2 to 9 November 2025, including travel days)
• International hybrid conference, Zeppelin University, Germany (April 2026)

The project targets international Germany alumni who are professionals and academics who carried out research or have studied in Germany for at least three months and who are currently living and working in their home countries outside Germany. Alumni from countries in Africa and Europe can apply.

DAAD will cover costs for international travel, accommodation and meals during the study trip in Ghana and the final conference in Germany, transport during field trips in Ghana and visa fees.