Institute for African Development
N’Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba
Professor, African and African Diaspora
Additional Information
Program
Role
- Faculty
- IAD Core Faculty
- IAD Advisory Council
Contact
Email: n.assie-lumumba@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-7839
Muna Ndulo Recognized for Service to Zambia
Ndulo (former director of IAD) was recognized by president Hakainde Hichilema for his contributions to education in Zambia.
Additional Information
Institute for African Development Colloquium Series
IAD Colloquium Series is an academic platform designed for scholars and practitioners to share research, insights, and points of view on subjects related to African development. The series goes beyond the conventional definition to examine unexplored, innovative, and current topics relevant to Africa.
Additional Information
Urban Form and Residential Energy Consumption in Accra, Ghana
Cities consume significant amounts of energy and contribute substantially to global carbon emissions. However, they also have the potential to mitigate these impacts, as the built environment profoundly influences behaviors and decision-making related to energy use and consumption. Rapidly urbanizing cities in Sub-Saharan Africa face unique challenges, including the prevalence of informal settlements and an energy sector primarily driven by residential consumption, compounded by issues of energy justice. Despite this, these contexts remain largely understudied. This research aims to address this empirical gap while enhancing the theoretical understanding of the relationship between the built environment and energy consumption in African cities. Using Accra, Ghana, as a case study, we employ a mixed-methods approach that includes spatial analysis and a quantitative survey of households. Our expected outcomes are to deepen the understanding of energy consumption within the context of informal settlements and energy justice concerns, ultimately contributing to the development of more equitable and energy-efficient built environments.
Cornell PI: Stephan Schmidt, City and Regional Planning, AAP, Cornell
Ghana PI: Isaac Arthur, Center for Urban Management Studies
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Addressing and Eradicating Xenophobia
Recent decades have seen a surge in extreme anti-immigrant rhetoric in many countries and regions, including Southern Africa, despite the African Union's emphasis on continental mobility as a key aspect of sustainable development. We propose a collaboration to assess and promote research on anti-xenophobia policies in Southern Africa. The deliverables will include a fall 2025 Workshop, a Report or Symposium with recommendations, and an article on the international, regional and comparative normative framework. We will also launch the first collaboration between the co-PIs. Our work will be informed by UNZA’s expertise in African regional comparative law and human rights, and Cornell’s research on anti-xenophobia policy. We will also assess the utility of collaborating to test our online xenophobia ML model in the context of Southern Africa, using nation-states with historical challenges in addressing xenophobia as a case study. Cornell PI: Beth Lyon, Cornell Law School Zambia PI: O'Brien Kaaba, Department of Law, University of Zambia
Information Session: Undergraduate Global Scholars Program
September 4, 2025
5:00 pm
Uris Hall, G08
Undergraduate Global Scholars are student leaders in the campus community. This competitive fellowship program is open to students from all colleges and majors with a passion for big global questions and speaking across differences. The Global Scholars program provides a toolkit of resources for weighing challenging questions and builds your practical skills in public debates. For the 2025-26 school year, scholars will bring their skills as writers, scholars, activists and artists, poets, hands-on practitioners, and more to study and promote the impacts of international aid. By the end of the program, you'll be an active global citizen and champion for social impact.
Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.
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The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies hosts info sessions for graduate and for undergraduate students to learn more about funding opportunities, international travel, research, and internships. View the full calendar of fall semester sessions.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Comparative Muslim Societies Program
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Migrations Program
International Research Matters for the U.S.
How Cornell Research Makes People's Lives Better
This digital magazine features research led by numerous Einaudi faculty. Their groundbreaking international work turns bold ideas into solutions and improves lives at home and abroad.
Additional Information
Topic
- World in Focus
Program
International Studies Summer Institute: Global Media Literacy
July 1, 2025
9:00 am
Africana Studies and Research Center
Please join the Cornell University Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and the South Asia Center at Syracuse University for the 2025 International Studies Summer Institute (ISSI)! ISSI is a professional development workshop for practicing and pre-service K-12 educators. This year we will explore the theme of global media literacy.
Participants will engage in sessions that explore both the challenges that new media technologies and practice have enabled globally, as well as how to assist students in the US to understand and analyze information from around the world. Scholars from Cornell University and Syracuse University will share their research and expertise from across different regions of the world, including Africa, East Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Sessions will include a workshop that will introduce K -12 educators to the key principles and practices related to media literacy education from a global perspective, connecting it to questions of power structures, global flows of media, and democratic practices. Another session will focus on the role of artificial intelligence and cultural bias in social media content moderation in international contexts. This year’s ISSI will also feature presentations by staff from the Johnson Museum of Art and the Cornell University Library, sharing resources for teachers.
Speakers include:
Wunpini Mohammed, Assistant Professor of Comunication, Cornell Univesity
Srivi Ramasubramanian, Newhouse Professor and Endowed Chair, Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University
Hannah Toombs, Engaged Learning Librarian and Librarian for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Olin Library, Cornell University
Farhana Shahid, PhD Candidate, Information Science, Cornell University
Carol Hockett, Hintsa Family Manager of School and Family Programs, & Krystyna Piccorossi, Post-Baccalaureate Fellow in Pre-K–12 Museum Education, Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
Brian Sengdala, PhD Candidate, Performing & Media Arts, Cornell University
Registration required by June 10
(photo credit: Adam Cohn)
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Politics, Markets, and Governance in Africa
Conference on May 8-9
In honor of our colleague Nicolas van de Walle (1957-2024), the Institute for African Development is cohosting a conference on African politics.
Additional Information
African Integration within the Imperatives of Neo-liberal Globalism, Multipolarity, and the African Union Agenda 2063: can it be feasible?
Thursday, May 1, 2025 11:15am 115 Sibley Hall Tukumbi Lumumba Kasongo, Chair and Professor, Political Science, Wells College and IAD Regional Affiliate Scholar, Cornell