Final Projects

​Africa in the Face of Global Climate Change: The Effect of Temperature on Economic Growth

Odunola Alexander Oladeji

supervised by Prof. Dr. David Stadelmann & Dr. Raymond Frempong

​Ecotourism Certification for Accommodation Facilities: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Eco-Rating Scheme by Ecotourism Kenya

Silvia Diazzi

​Femininity and Faith: The Media Construction of Gender in Pentecostal Charismatic Churches in Kenya

Edidiong Charles Ibanga

supervised by Prof. Dr. Eva Spies & Prof. Dr. Benjamin Kirby

​Forgotten Histories, Misguided Policies and the dying Prospects for Full integration: Unpacking South Africa’s Nationalist approach towards migration governance

Keneuoe Leballo

supervised by Dr. Jochen Lingelbach & Prof. Dr. Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg

​Intraparty Governance in Tanzania's Ruling Party

Lawrence Edward Katunga

supervised by Prof. Dr. Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg & Prof. Dr. Céline Thiriot

​Readapting To Resist: The Case of Brazil’s Urban Quilombo Aparelha Luzia

Lucas da Silva Ferreira de Novais

​Sports Tourism in Kenya. The Kalenjin Runners as a Source of Development for the Rift Valley

Konstantinos Loukianos Maragkos

The dominance of Kenya's "running tribe," the Kalenjin runners, has been well established during the last decades at a global level. Their international recognition and impressive track records attracted further interest in research. The majority of scholars investigated this phenomenon mostly from anatomical, physiological, and genetic perspectives. Social scientists tried to provide an alternative view by researching socio-cultural determinants to understand athletes' abilities better. However, little research has been conducted on the runners' success, recognition, and reputation as sources of development for the sports tourism industry of the Kenyan North Rift. Running became the second touristic attraction after safaris in Kenya, and Iten and Eldoret are the must-visit places for sports tourism. Sports tourism has been marketed and identified as a niche product in Kenya. The research aims to answer the following question: What are the key determinants for the Kalenjin runners' contribution to the sports tourism industry in Iten and Eldoret?

Keywords: Sports tourism; Kenya; Kalenjin; Iten; Eldoret

​Sweet Are the Waters: Ogiek Rights to Land and Development and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights Court Ruling

Diana Takacsova

​The Literary Turn in African Studies: The Contribution of the Three Generations of African Writers to Decoloniality and the Advancement of African Studies

Kelvin Acheampong

supervised by Prof. Dr. Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni & Dr. Gilbert Shang Ndi

​Towards a Curriculum for Global Education Integration and Implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Analysis of Rwanda’s Secondary School Curriculum

Abiud Maosa Bosire

Urban Risk Management and Building Resilience: Integration of Disaster Risk Management Strategies into Development Planning for the Urban Poor in Narok County, Kenya

Timothy Earl Mateo Castillon

​African Alliances of Subversion: Collaboration and Solidarity amongst Artists from Africa and the Diasporas in the perfocraZe International Artist Residency (pIAR), Kumasi, Ghana

Susan Elizabeth Attafuah-Callender

supervised by Dr. Joschka Philipps & Dr. Serawit Bekele Debele

​Coalition Formation and Shifting Alliances: An Analysis of Editorial Cartoons in Selected Kenyan Newspapers

Saimum Rahman Prattay

supervised by Dr. Franz Kogelmann & Prof. Dr. Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg

​Expert Knowledge Local Intelligence: Building a Hybrid Early Warning and Early Response System in Farmer-Herders Conflict in Nigeria

Oluwayemisi Elizabeth Ojo

supervised by Dr. Joschka Philipps & Dr. Elisabeth Hofmann

​Framing Youth Climate Activism in Uganda on Social Media

Laura Joana Krehbiel

Since 2018, climate activism in the form of mass protests and digital activism has been on the rise globally. This phenomenon has mostly been studied in the Global North, while the activism of youths from the Global South and how they use social media for their activism has largely been understudied. To contribute towards filling this gap, this research analyses how the youth climate activism movement in Uganda, where the activism has been particularly loud despite adverse political conditions, uses social media for their activism. To this end, the youth climate activism movement in Uganda is first characterised and then a digital content analysis of the climate change, emotional and collective action framings the activists use on the social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is undertaken. The findings bring forward that both, activists from Uganda and the Global North, frame their activism in similar ways on social media, with some notable differences, including the injustice framing. These findings enable a discussion that contributes to the literature on social movements in Africa, how they use social media, and how this intersects with the restricted public space in Uganda.

Keywords: digital youth climate activism, social media, social movements, framing analysis

supervsied by Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke & Dr. Jan Sändig

​How Chinese Cultural Project Affect Perceptions of China as a Global Actor: A Case Study of the Mozambique-China Cultural Centre in Maputo

Pondsinee Charoenwong

China has emerged as a significant global actor, wielding economic and political influence on a global scale. With its growing economy, expanding military capabilities, and active diplomatic engagement, China's role in shaping international affairs has become increasingly prominent. At the same time, its involvement in Africa has increased. The cooperation between China and African countries has been promoted for decades. While its success has brought concerns for the West, African governments prefer working with China, although it may bring them some difficulties, such as debt-trap diplomacy. This is because China promotes a non-interference policy, and most projects can be done within one political term. Mozambique is one of the essential African partners for China. Both countries established a comprehensive strategic relationship under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative over the coming years. There is a significant success of bilateral collaboration in various sectors. However, criticism over China’s evolution in Mozambique also exists, such as exploitation and lack of transparency. Soft power – especially cultural projects – has become one of the most popular ways to build a positive image. This research, thus, will explore and analyse the effects of a Chinese-built cultural project on Mozambicans’ perceptions of China as a global actor focusing on the Mozambique-China Cultural Centre and the analysis will be based on the cultural area of soft power concept by Joseph Nye. The result shows that younger generations have developed more positive perspectives of China.

Keywords: China as a global actor, Cultural project, Mozambique-China Cultural Centre, Soft power, Perceptions of China

supervised by Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke & Dr. Elisabeth Hofmann

​How Do Nigerian Medical Practitioners Debunk Health Misinformation on TikTok? A Multimodal Social Semiotic Study

Roseline Chioma Amete

Research has portrayed TikTok’s misinformation-amplifying qualities, despite its massive potential for health edutainment evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring urgent attention. As credible sources, healthcare practitioners are well-positioned to debunk such misinformation, but must do so correctly to prevent backfire effects and reinforcing misconceptions. This study analysed six TikTok videos using recommended debunking best practices and the social semiotics theory as frameworks. It ascertained how they incorporated essential elements for correcting health misinformation and audience-tailored these for greater efficacy, while maximising TikTok’s multimodal affordances. Results obtained are instructive for better misinformation debunking practices, mainly through audiovisual media.

supervised by Prof. Dr. Laura König & Prof. Dr. Tina Bartelmeß

​Integration of Women into the Job Market in Rural Burundi: The Case of PROMOST Project

Joyce Kasoni

Faced with the youth unemployment crisis, many countries and the global community are now turning to Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) as a means to develop youths' skills to increase their employability. However, studies show that many TVET graduates especially women end up not being employed despite having acquired skills. Through studying the PROMOST Project case in Burundi, this study wanted to find out what factors influence the entry of women into the labour market after graduating from TVET. Additionally, the study looked into the quality and the sustainability of the activities of those who succeeded to enter the labour market. The study employed a case study design to give a detailed description of the experiences of PROMOST project participants. It employed the use of mixed methods, where qualitative methods were used for data collection and some elements of a quantitative approach were used in presenting some of the findings in tables and graphs. The main data collection methods used include key informant interviews with participants and some officials who were purposively sampled, document analysis, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and observation. Data analysis was done using qualitative methods i.e. thematic analysis and used the women empowerment theoretical framework to interpret the findings. The study found that entry of women in the labour market in Rural Burundi is influenced by poverty and family financial situation, cultural and gender norms, and level of education. The way the empowerment project is designed and implemented was also found to be influential in determining what type of job in the market, the women had access to. Additionally, the study found that the quality of employment was relatively low and casual, while self-employment was found to be labour intensive microenterprise with small financial capital and resources. 

Keywords: Youth Unemployment, TVET, labor market, women empowerment, female participation

​Kenya Off-Grid Access Project and Energy Justice Dilemmas

Tafadzwa Makara

In recent years off-rid electrification has grown exponentially, becoming a third-way option for most communities in Kenya living on the edge of state-controlled electricity systems. The energy transitions are occurring on the backdrop of political histories engulfed in uneven geographies of marginalities producing and reproducing uncertain energy futures. The ‘energyscapes’ in the post-colonial realities of Kenya have emerged as social spaces of exclusions, leaving people in some counties, mainly in remote geographies, out of the energy transitions. Years of state-led marginalisation of other counties have necessitated massive private-sector investments. The transitions have assumed a pathway with a neo-liberal character, raising spatial justice concerns for people in alienated geographies. The dilemma is how a market-oriented private sector-embedded electrification regime like the Kenya Off-Gird Solar Access Project (hereafter KOSAP) secures pro-poor energy justice interests and aspirations. Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project is embroiled in many justice conundrums, including what and whose futures (private, community, or state) it is advancing. Another predicament from KOSAP is the understanding and meaning of justice, an elusive concept that takes on meaning depending on who defines it. The transitions exist in politically charged spaces with competing political and economic interests; hence this study has used the political economy theoretical perspective to understand this relationship. The need to contextualise justice, the study also adopted the energy justice theorisations.  These questions were engaged with understanding the need to depart from Western-oriented epistemologies. This thesis uses a qualitative technique in which key informants’ interviews and document reviews were used to grapple with these KOSAP emerging dichotomies of energy justice, off-grid electrification, and their attendant contradictions. Thus, this study concludes that various factors, including monopolisation, cost implications, governance issues, and absence of off-grid oriented policies, make KOSAP short in delivering energy capability and justice.

Keywords: Energy Justice; Kenya; Off-Grid Electrification, Energy Futures; Uneven Geographies; KOSAP

supervised by Prof. Dr. Festus Boamah & Prof. Dr. Jana Hönke

​Religiosity in Somali Immigrants in Germany

Khaula Nazir

supervised by Dr. Tom Kaden & Prof. Dr. Benjamin Kirby

​State Violence and Prospects of Transitional Justice in the Somali Region of Ethiopia

Abdifatah Mohamed Abdi

supervised by Dr. Jane Ayeko-Kümmeth & Prof. Dr. Thokozani Kaime

​The Cadence of Life: A Study of the Effects of the Seventh Day Adventist Religion on the Everyday Life of the Massai People of Manyara and Arusha, Tanzania

Sheila Aketch Orero

supervised by Prof. Dr. Benjamin Kirby & Dr. Tom Kaden

​The Continuing Presence of Trauma: Namibian Artists Dealing with the Genocide of OvaHerero and Nama

Laura Sophie Mahler

The genocide of OvaHerero and Nama by the German colonial power in present-day Namibia has not been sufficiently dealt with in Germany as well as in Namibia. Some Namibian artists have taken it upon themselves to address the genocide in their art. Fifteen of them were interviewed for this thesis and some of their artworks were analysed. The most important motivation for dealing with this topic is the trauma caused by the genocide, which continues to influence many people today. The research question is therefore which aspects of trauma are the main motives for the artists to deal with the genocide. Various aspects emerged from the research, namely the struggle for identity, the responsibility for ancestors, and the need for healing the historical trauma that has remained untreated until now. Through healing, not only the past should be processed, but also current problems in Namibia can be dealt with. To heal, communication about the issue, also through art, turned out to be essential. With these findings, this thesis can make a valuable contribution to the discourse on the genocide by examining the topic from an artistic as well as psychological perspective and placing it in the context of trauma.

supervsied by Nicole Klug & Dr. Jochen Lingelbach

​The Uptake of Clean Energy Technologies A Case Study of Nairobi City County, Kenya

Gerald Tagoe

supervised by Prof. Dr. Festus Boamah & Prof. Dr. Stefan Ouma

​Transmission, Preservation and Meaningmaking of Traditional Musical Heritage in the Rwandan Diaspora in Belgium (2023)

Manishimwe Giselle Musabimana

supervised by Dr. Markus Coester & Dr. Artemis Ignatidou

​Unveiling the Diverse Perspectives on Women´s Rights in Tunisia: A Comparative Study of Secular and Islamic Women´s Rights Associations

FatimaElmardiya OmerElfaroug Ahmed

supervised by Prof. Dr. Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg & Eva Spies

​Youth political participation within the framework of East African integration processes

Rachael Amanda

supervised by Prof. Dr. Alexander Stroh-Steckelberg & Dr. Chloé Buire