On Thursday, November 20, 2025, Dr. Henrietta, an invited professor, will give a lecture at Kyoto University. Title is "Lost in the madding crowd: Accelerated adulthood of Ethiopian migrant children in South Africa" More Info：https://www.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/archives/info/140th-kuass-kyoto-university-african-studies-seminar Speaker：Dr. Henrietta M. Nyamnjoh Date&Venue：November 20,2025（Thu）10:00a.m.～12:00a.m. Small Meeting Room 2, 3rd Floor, Inamori Foundation Memorial Building, Kyoto University Langiage：English ◆Keywords:Ethiopian Migrant children, Accelerated adulthood, children as luggage and children as agents, migrant agency, South Africa. ◆Organized by: CASS◆Co-Organized by: ASC

On Tuesday, November 25, 2025, Dr. Henrietta, an invited professor, will give a lecture at Kobe University. Title is "Hope and Hardship:Hometown Associations, Religion, and the Paradoxes of Migrant Optimism in Cape Town". SeminarFlyerNov25th.pdf Please come and join us. More Info：https://african-studies.com/activities/kansai/kansai-20251125/ ??Date：November 25,2025（Tue）5:00p.m.～6:30p.m.??Venue：Kobe University,TsurukabutoDaiichi Campus,Build E-4F,Gakujyutsu-Koryu-Room ??Title：Hope and Hardship:Hometown Associations, Religion, and the Paradoxes of Migrant Optimism in Cape Town ??Speaker：Dr Henrietta M. Nyamnjoh, Department of Sociology, University of Cape Town, TUFS ASC Visiting Proffessor ??Language：English ??Abstract：This presentation offers an in-depth exploration of how Hometown Associations (HTAs) and Pentecostal religion function as vital wellsprings of hope, resilience, and optimism for Cameroonian and Ethiopian migrants navigating the complex realities of building new lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Drawing on the theoretical lens of incompleteness and conviviality, the study argues that these institutions foster crucial social connection, interdependence, and collective flourishing, enabling migrants to bridge divides and find meaning amidst displacement and precarity. While providing robust support and a sense of belonging, the chapter simultaneously critically examines the paradoxes of migrant optimism, particularly the phenomenon of "cruel optimism". Through compelling narratives such as that of George, Helen, Ernest, Sam, Emelda, and Eunice, the chapter illustrates how idealised expectations of a better life can lead to profound disappointment, suffering, and even tragic outcomes when confronted by systemic marginalization, xenophobia, and unattainable desires. Ultimately, this research illuminates the dual nature of optimism in the migrant experience, showcasing both its profound power in fostering agency and resilience and its potential to exacerbate inequalities when not grounded in shared well-being and a critical understanding of power dynamics. ??Key words:Hope, Resilience, Optimism, Hometown Association, Incompleteness & conviviality, Cameroonian and Ethiopian migrants.

108thASCSeminarEng.Ver.pdf The 108th ASC Seminar will feature a talk by Dr. Henrietta Nyamnjoh, at our center, on "Waithood in Motion:Imagined futures, (im)mobilities and waiting among Cameroonian and Ethiopian migrants" The seminar will be held in a hybrid format, allowing participation via Zoom as well. Please be sure to register in advance. Title: "Waithood in Motion:Imagined futures, (im)mobilities and waiting among Cameroonian and Ethiopian migrants" Abstract:　This paper examines "waithood" - the prolonged period of waiting and uncertainty experienced by young people - among Cameroonian and Ethiopian migrants in Cape Town, South Africa. Drawing on multi-stage research conducted in both home and host countries, I trace how waithood manifests across the entire migration journey, from the aspirations of youth in Cameroon and Ethiopia to the realities faced by those already established in South Africa. Challenging the idea of waithood as a static, pre-migration phase, this analysis reveals it as a dynamic process characterized by motion and change. I argue that waithood extends throughout the migration journey, encompassing various forms of waiting and uncertainty that are actively navigated by young migrants. By adopting a gendered and long-term perspective, I show how young men and women strategically adapt their planning and leverage factors like imagined futures and migration networks in pursuit of their goals. Ultimately, this research sheds light on the complex nature of waithood, demonstrating that it is not simply a period of stagnation but one of significant productivity. It fosters resilience, collective action, and strategic planning as young migrants maintain hope, resilience and actively shape their lives in the face of challenging circumstances. Keywords: Waithood in motion, migration, aspiration, imagined futures, gender, South Africa, Cameroon, Ethiopia. ◆Speaker: Dr. Henrietta NYAMNJOH (Resercher at University of Cape Town, Visiting Professor at African Studies Center, TUFS) ◆Date：Thursday, November 14th, 2025/ 5:40p.m.～7:10p.m.（JST） 8:40a.m.～10:10a.m.（GMT)◆Venue：Hybrid?Onsite Room102（1F Research and lecture bldg.,TUFS Fuchu Campus）＆ Online（ZoomMeeting）?Access：https://www.tufs.ac.jp/abouttufs/contactus/access.html◆Language：English◆Addmission fee：FREEPlease pre-register in advence from here. Or Use QR Code. Registration deadline: Noon November 6th, 2025 (Thu)The Zoom link will be sent after you pre-registerd. ◆Jointly organized by African Studies Center - TUFS and Kanto Branch of Japan Association for African Studies

107thASCSeminarEng.Ver.pdf The 107th ASC Seminar will feature a talk by Dr.KINYUA Laban Kithinji, Visiting Researcher, at our center, on "Kenya's 2024 Gen Z Protests and the Aftermath: Waithood and Digital Storytelling in an Ethnic-Patronage Democracy" The seminar will be held in a hybrid format, allowing participation via Zoom as well. Please be sure to register in advance. Title: "Kenya's 2024 Gen Z Protests and the Aftermath: Waithood and Digital Storytelling in an Ethnic-Patronage Democracy" Abstract:　 The 2024 Gen Z-led protests in Kenya marked a rupture in the country's political history,challenging entrenched ethnopolitical structures and state-controlled narratives. While the immediate withdrawal of the Finance Bill and the dissolution of the cabinet represented important victories, the aftermath revealed the structural fragility of sustaining a decentralised, leaderless, and tribeless movement in a system still shaped by patronage politics and ethnic alignments. This paper situates the Gen Z protests within Alcinda Honwana's concept of waithood, which captures the prolonged socio-economic limbo in which many African youth find themselves due to unemployment, precarity, and exclusion. For Kenyan youth, the punitive tax regime of the 2024 Finance Bill crystallised this condition, galvanising a generation that has "waited" too long for economic and political inclusion. The protests thus became a collective refusal of waithood, signalling a demand for recognition and accountability from the state. At the same time, the study highlights digital storytelling as the strategy that has both mobilised and sustained the protests. Through TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, and memes, young Kenyans narrated personal struggles, reframed civic identity, and built a moral community of resistance that transcended ethnic boundaries. And this continues todate. Digital storytelling--ranging from testimonies to satire and even rumours--has kept the protests alive online, ensuring their memory and urgency persist beyond the streets. By foregrounding waithood and digital storytelling, this paper argues that the Gen Z protests represent more than episodic dissent. They reveal emerging forms of youth political mobilisation that challenge Kenya's ethnopolitical order and hold the promise of redefining democratic participation through digitally mediated forms of civic belonging. Keywords: Gen Z protests; Waithood; Digital Storytelling; Digital Activism; Ethnic Mobilisation;Collective Action Problem; Youth Political Mobilisation; Kenya ◆Speaker: Dr.KINYUA Laban Kithinji（Visiting Researcher, African Studies Center - TUFS） ◆Date：Thursday, November 6th, 2025/ 5:40p.m.～7:10p.m.（JST） 8:40a.m.～10:10a.m.（GMT)◆Venue：Hybrid?Onsite Room109（1F Research and lecture bldg.,TUFS Fuchu Campus）＆ Online（ZoomMeeting）?Access：https://www.tufs.ac.jp/abouttufs/contactus/access.html◆Language：English◆Addmission fee：FREEPlease pre-register in advence from here. Or Use QR Code. Registration deadline: Noon November 6th, 2025 (Thu)The Zoom link will be sent after you pre-registerd. ◆Jointly organized by African Studies Center - TUFS and Kanto Branch of Japan Association for African Studies