ACADÉMIE DES TRACES

The 2025 edition of the Académie des Traces is structured around a series of online seminars. It takes colonial heritage as its point of departure to discuss key contemporary social issues.

The online seminar sessions will take place every Thursday in April 2025. The Académie des Traces brings together international researchers and professionals to encourage exchange between participants from Europe and Africa.The four sessions will successively address the following themes through the prism of colonial heritage:

• (Re)Mediate / Participate. Médiation et participation (3 April 2025, 10h-12h CET) – register here
• Preserve/Adjust. Environment, climate and sustainability (10 avril 2025, 10h-12h CET) – register here
• Render (in)visible/Reactivate. Digitisation, new media and technologies (17 April 2025, 10h-12h CET) – register here
• Diagnose/ (De)toxify. Health, mental health and well-being (24 April 2025, 10h-12h CET) – register here

In 2024, we have built up a network of over 500 people. In 2025, we want to continue this momentum, with a seminar open to all, with the ambition of not only expanding, but also consolidating and perpetuating this network. Our aim is to create a long term infrastructure for exchange and sharing. You can join the network here. 

The seminar sessions are open to everyone. The seminars are held in English and French, and the plenary sessions are simultaneously translated into both languages. Registration is required for each session.

The aim of the seminar is to shed a plural light on colonial heritage and its multiple relations to the contemporary world. We offer several opportunities for discussion and exchange as part of the seminar, both in plenary sessions and in small groups.

Each session will begin with a brief introduction from the Académie des Traces team. The moderator(s) will present key issues related to the session’s theme Two short presentations by external experts will set the stage for in-depth discussions in smaller groups. Designed to be interactive, each session encourages active participation, meaningful exchanges, and opportunities for participants to connect with one another.