The Lagos Study Association has celebrated a decade of scholarly work with a tenth anniversary conference that brought together academics, researchers, and participants from across African Studies for a series of panels, debates, and discussions.
The Association was founded by Bosede George, Saheed Aderinto, and Ademide Adelusi Adesuyi, who set out to build a lasting intellectual home for African Studies beyond occasional conferences, one rooted in inclusivity and scholarly fellowship. A decade on, LSA has grown into one of the continent's most respected scholarly gatherings while remaining grounded in the founders' original principles.
Professor Saheed Aderinto led the team responsible for coordinating the conference, overseeing planning, troubleshooting, and preparation behind the scenes. Several other organisers played key roles in delivering the event. Olukayode Adegoke coordinated the conference's social and cultural elements, including aso ebi arrangements, while Oluwaseun Williams supervised the technical equipment supporting both physical and hybrid presentations. Kehinde Olukayode coordinated volunteers to ensure logistics ran smoothly, alongside numerous other contributors.
Participants described the conference in glowing terms, with one calling it an accessible and inclusive intellectual hub for African Studies, while another described it as a gathering of a family united in a common cause to support lives, challenge minds, and build connections.
Accommodation for participants attending under competitive grants, research workshop awards, and women's mentorship laureate programmes was coordinated as part of structured academic support schemes designed to enable deeper engagement with conference activities.
Organisers noted that the Association's original vision continues to shape its direction, with greater digital access, deeper Pan African engagement, and stronger links between generations of scholars remaining central goals. The structure built by its founders is designed to allow emerging scholars to access mentorship while giving established academics exposure to new perspectives.
The tenth anniversary conference has been described by those involved as evidence that sustained vision and consistent work can shape the future of African scholarship, with founders, organisers, presenters, and participants all credited with contributing to a decade of growth for the Association.
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