Conferences, Seminars, Memorial Readings and Schools

Conferences are an integral part of the Institute's academic activity and occupy a prominent place in its international and public affairs. They provide new impetus to research, open up new directions of study and expand the horizons of science.






Traditionally the IAS holds:

  • The International African Studies Conference, which was first held in 1969, takes place triennially and is usually timed to the celebration of Africa Day in the last week of May. The event is attended by a broad spectrum of scholars from Africa, Europe, America, and Asia. The conference covers a wide range of urgent African problems and generates forecasts for the future. The 14th edition of the conference was held in 2017.

  • The School of Young Africanists is an annual forum which brings together aspiring researchers, ranging from students to PhD-level scientists, and addresses all areas of African Studies. The event, which is organised in cooperation with universities from various Russian cities, is usually scheduled during October or November.




  • D.A. Olderogge Memorial Readings are traditionally held at St. Petersburg State University and are co-organised by the RAS Scientific Council for the Problems of Africa, the IAS and other academic organisations. This scientific event, which has been held for several decades, is widely considered one of the most important forums of Russian and foreign Africanists on a comprehensive discussion of African problems.

  • The permanent seminar “Culture and Society”, which has been established by the Centre for History and Cultural Anthropology, aims at contributing to further development of methods of civilisational and cultural-anthropological approach to academic studies.

The papers presented at these events are traditionally published in collections of the Institute’s works.

The Institute’s research fellows regularly take part in conferences both in Russia and abroad held by institutes of the RAS, Russian and foreign universities, and research centres for African and Arabic studies.