iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Lauren Brown @laurencochrane.bsky.social · 16h

I'll be presenting some of my research next Tuesday - it's a hybrid event so anyone interested can sign up via the link.

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 17h

Please join the Northeast Africa Forum on 20 October for our next seminar. Lauren Brown (Nottingham) will present: 'Visualising Violence: Atrocity, Counterinsurgency and the Spectacle of the Lari Massacre' *Hybrid event* Details & webinar registration: events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event...

Event flyer including abstract and speaker bio

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 17h

The Michaelmas 2026 term card for the Northeast Africa Forum is ready. We hope to see you at the seminar. Details and webinar registration will be online at: events.ox.ac.uk/events/searc...

List of speakers and presentation titles for Michaelmas term 2026, and contact info for conveners.

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Southwest Ethiopia hosts some of the country’s most iconic wild forest coffee, yet its coffee sector has struggled to grow. Our new report on the Kaffa–Bench-Sheko–Sheka belt traces the problem to how coffee has been governed since Menelik II. Read the report: tinyurl.com/mrvsutbx

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M.Woldemariam @mikewoldemariam.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

I sat down with ICG's Horn podcast to discuss developments in northern Ethiopia and on the Eritrea-Ethiopia front. We cover the calculations that led to this round of conflict; military and political developments thus far; risks of wider regional hostilities; and how to avert more war and suffering.

crisisgroup.org

Ethiopia and Eritrea, On the Cusp of War | International Crisis Group

This week on The Horn, Alan speaks with Michael Woldemariam, associate professor at the University of Maryland, about the renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia and whether it could draw Ethiopia and E...

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Please do join us this afternoon. Full details & webinar registration info 👇

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Please join us on 13 Oct for the Northeast Africa Forum seminar: 'Digital sovereignty & virtual state-making in conflict in Sudan & the Somali Horn' w/Peter Chonka (KCL), Harry Cross (IAI) & Ahmed Musa (Independent) *Hybrid event* Details & webinar registration: events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event...

Event flyer including abstract and speaker bios. Included below:

How are historically weak and conflict-affected state authorities leveraging digital infrastructure and platforms to express and contest sovereignty in new ways? Drawing from recent comparative research on the Sudanese and Somali contexts, this paper highlights how conflict can produce opportunities for both the development of digital financial technologies and the weaponisation of such platforms. States that have had highly constrained physical presence across fragmented territories are now using technologies such as mobile money, ID and visa platforms to extend ‘digital reach’ that has tangible impacts on citizens and competing claims to sovereignty. Tech is not necessarily providing quick fixes for long-standing state-reconstruction problems, but digital infrastructures are creating new arenas for regional/geopolitical competition, with cyber-security increasing in salience in such conflict-affected settings. The diversity of cases in the Horn of Africa shows that local context matters for how these dynamics play out. Important variables are linked to the geography of digital infrastructure, the position of the private sector, and the timing of developments in digital finance in relation to conflict histories.

Dr Peter Chonka is a Senior Lecturer in Global Digital Cultures at King’s College London. His recent research has focused on the political economy of digital finance in the Horn of Africa, as well as the emerging implications of AI in Somali-language digital publics.

Dr Harry Cross is Managing Editor for African Arguments at the International Africa Institute. He is an author and researcher specialising in the political economy of Sudan and the Middle East.

Dr Ahmed M Musa is a scholar-practitioner working at the intersection of governance, peacebuilding, development and applied social research in the Horn of Africa. He is a Fellow of the Rift Valley Institute.

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

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Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The splendid Sarah Derbew has a new article in AJP on "From Aksum to Athens." It explores literary understanding of Aksum (modern Ethiopia) via Greek & Ge'ez (ግእዝ, aka Classical Ethiopic): She "examine[s] various descriptions of the 6th-century ce Aksumite ruler Kaleb." muse.jhu.edu/article/1002...

Museum number
1910,1207.1
Description
Gold coin. (whole)
Half-length bust of Kaleb right, crowned, holding stick, flanked by two wheat-stalks, in beaded inner circle.
Half-length bust of Kaleb right, wearing headcloth, holding stick, flanked by two wheat-stalks, in beaded inner circle.
State
Associated with: Aksumite Kingdom Africa: Aksumite Kingdom
Authority
Ruler: Kaleb
Cultures/periods
Aksumite
Production date
500-525 (circa)
Production place
Minted in: Aksum (town)
Africa: sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia: Tigray: Aksum (town)
Materials
gold
Dimensions
Die-axis: 12 o'clock
Weight: 1.60 grammes
Inscriptions
Inscription type: inscription
Inscription position: obverse
Inscription language: Greek
Inscription script: Greek
Inscription translation: King Khaleb
Inscription type: inscription
Inscription position: reverse
Inscription language: Greek
Inscription script: Greek
Inscription translation: Son of Thezenas
Bibliographic references
BMCAK / Catalogue of the Aksumite Coins in the British Museum (409, p.40)
Anzani 1926 / Numismatica Axumita (142)
Akbarnia et al 2018 / The Islamic World: a History in Objects (p.21, fig.3)
Location
Not on display
Subjects
royal/imperial
plant
Associated names
Named in inscription & portrayed: Kaleb
Named in inscription: Tazena
Ruler: Kaleb
Acquisition name
Purchased from: Messrs W S Lincoln & Son
Acquisition date
1910
Department
Money and Medals
Registration number
1910,1207.1
C&M catalogue number
BMCAK (BMC Aksumite)(40)(409)(40) now at the British Museum

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Reposted by Jason Mosley

Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

EWNET Review of Books Seminar, new work on pluralism in Sudan and Kenya, research on Ethiopia’s coffee economy, RVI@25 and more from our network. Catch up on the latest from RVI in our October newsletter: Read: tinyurl.com/RVINewslette... Subscribe: tinyurl.com/RVINewsletter

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Smallholders grow the coffee. A small number of others decide what it's worth. Our new report on Oromia's Jimma–Ilu Aba Bora–Buno Bedele belt asks why reforms since 2017 have left farmers on the margins. Read the report: tinyurl.com/2a44a3pm

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Yes! And for streaming platforms.

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

On 6–7 October, #EWNET hosts a Regional Writing Workshop & Research Seminar at Dire Dawa University. Day 1: Writing Workshop · Invitation only · 8:30–17:00 Day 2: Public Seminar · Open to all · 8:30–12:30 Details: tinyurl.com/mtkju62j

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 05/10/2026

The SPEAKER implies. The LISTENER infers. The DUDE abides.

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Is 'local' always positive? Can a poem be historical evidence? What stands between women researchers and publication? These questions shaped the EWNET Review of Books Seminar, where authors traced the road from fieldwork to print, from access to slow reviews. Event summary: tinyurl.com/3u9kkebx

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Coffee earns Ethiopia billions and supports more than 15 million people. Yet smallholder farmers still see little benefit. Beyond the Beans follows the power behind that gap, from land and licences to patronage and illicit trade. Read the report: tinyurl.com/bdhwurzf

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Very strange, worrying development: a couple of loud explosions were heard in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last night. It came a day after Ethiopian authorities announced a ban on any and all drone use in the capital, although they provided no explanation. Uncertainty as fighting rages on.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Updates: the Ethiopian army is in control of the city of Alamata, after 3 days of fierce fighting on the city's outskirts. At least 50 people in the city died, many from artillery strikes, per medical sources reached by the BBC. A strike that targeted the city's marketplace killed a dozen people.

bbc.com

Ethiopia fighting escalates in Tigray killing 52 civilians in Alamata, medic tells the BBC

The deadly fighting has also spread to neighbouring regions, stranding tourists in Lalibela.

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Biruk Terrefe @terrefebiruk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"More than 3,000 Ethiopian troops are expected to begin pulling out in the coming days or weeks, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak to the media." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

bloomberg.com

Ethiopia Plans Somalia Troop Pullout to Fight Rebels Back Home

Ethiopia is planning to withdraw thousands of troops from neighboring Somalia as escalating fighting at home forces Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government to redirect military resources toward a widen...

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The Shipman Agency @shipmanagency.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Our client, the brilliant novelist Maaza Mengiste, has been named a MacArthur fellow! She joins our three other fellows: Reginald Dwayne Betts, Natalie Diaz, and Keeanga-Yamhatta Taylor. We are so proud of all of them!! www.macfound.org/fellows/clas...

macfound.org

Maaza Mengiste

Revealing the human costs of political violence through a compelling blend of history, memory, and imagination.

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Shipping disrupted. Hormuz closed. Sudan's war widening. What kind of order is emerging around the Red Sea, and at whose expense? A Region in Flux, with @arabreforminit.bsky.social, the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Rift Valley Institute. Thu 1 Oct, 16:00 EAT Register: tinyurl.com/msp38msj

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Biruk Terrefe @terrefebiruk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The digital war was pretty bad in 2020, but what is happening now clouds the information landscape even more. (1) Old footage from the 2020 war is being recycled (2) AI generated videos (3) sober analysts have all left the major platforms (X). www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfe...

aljazeera.com

Al Jazeera reports from near front line in Ethiopia’s Afar region

Al Jazeera reports from Ethiopia’s Afar region, where fighting has spread amid efforts to oust PM Abiy Ahmed.

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Implications for the catalogue of published work (and its authors) are already being considered - see link. But if AI-publisher deals include access/integration for online submission systems, how do authors avoid having their submitted manuscripts processed? 2/2 theconversation.com/an-academic-...

theconversation.com

An academic publisher has struck an AI data deal with Microsoft – without their authors’ knowledge

After news, art and music, generative AI has found a new resource to mine: academia

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The insinuation of AI into scholarly publishing from so many angles - can authors avoid their unpublished work being processed by LLMs? Even if reviewers behave ethically & editors refrain from using AI detection tools (also AI), some publishers are giving AI platforms access to their back end. 1/2

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Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Journals should now probably be requiring peer reviewers to sign statements that they will not upload submissions they're reviewing into any external AI platform; wondering if any editorial boards are discussing this currently

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Adanedhel🌹 @danielwaweru.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Conceding the right's premiss that the presence of non-Whites is a problem, then conceding that it's fine to hold non-White citizens hostage to enforce policy preferences against a multiracial society *and* doing it explicitly for those reasons is just base and self-defeating. And yet here we are.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

RE: AIRSTRIKES Two reports highlighting aerial crimes vis a vis the new conflict in Ethiopia were published today. First, @hrw.org looked at visual evidence into the Aug 20th Ethiopian airstrike that injured a dozen civilians in the city of Mekele and found no valid military targets.

hrw.org

Ethiopia: Indiscriminate Airstrike in Tigray

An apparent Ethiopian government airstrike on a residential compound in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region on August 20, 2026, should be investigated as a possible war crime, Human Rights Watch said to...

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Comfort Ero @comfortero.crisisgroup.org · 25/09/2026

🚨Latest on Ethiopia: Beyond the risk of setting off an unpredictable spiral, a major escalation could push fighting close to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border, creating the potential for interstate conflict. www.crisisgroup.org/stm/africa/e...

crisisgroup.org

Arresting the Dangerous Descent Back into War in Northern Ethiopia | International Crisis Group

Long-simmering tensions have turned to large-scale fighting after armed opposition groups in Tigray, Amhara and Afar launched a multi-pronged offensive against Ethiopian government forces. It is not t...

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

25 years after RVI was founded, knowledge grounded in the experiences, perspectives and realities of people in the region remains as important as ever. As we mark #RVI25, we reflect on why locally grounded knowledge matters for the future. Read: tinyurl.com/RVI25Narrative

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Laura Seay @texasinafrica.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026

Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵

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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

🗞️"The Red Sea is one of the key areas where Emirati ambitions collide with regional rivals, including increasingly Saudi Arabia", writes @cinziabianco.bsky.social in her @ecfr.eu policy brief on UAE's strategic shift after the Iran war. Read the policy brief here 👉️ buff.ly/GDCU22X

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Justin Pearce @justinpearce.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

More here on the disappearance of Micah Reddy. Good to read here that the South African government is on the case. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

dailymaverick.co.za

Top SA investigative journalist goes missing in Djibouti

South African investigative journalist Micah Reddy has not been heard from since midday on Saturday.…

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Chatham House Africa @africaprog.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

📌 | Exciting opportunity for a researcher with expertise in #WestAfrica to join @chathamhouse.org’s Africa Programme team! Learn more and apply: careers.chathamhouse.org/jobs/8389579...

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Why does good policy fail to translate into change on the ground for pastoralists? RVI's Head of Programmes, Michael Odhiambo, explores this in a presentation for the Centre for Research and Development in Drylands on the gap between policy and practice. Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qduNVzAPZZs

youtube.com

Pastoralism and Policy; Is Good Policy Enough? | CRDD Plenary discussion by Michael Odhiambo.

YouTube video by Centre for Research and Development in Drylands

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

25 years of making local knowledge work, new research on Ethiopia’s coffee economy, Somali diaspora humanitarianism & analysis across RVI’s network. Catch up on the latest from RVI in our September newsletter: Read: tinyurl.com/RVINewslette... Subscribe: tinyurl.com/RVINewsletter

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Nanjala @nanjala.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Sishuwa’s own government has cancelled his passport because of his work as an academic critical of the state. If it’s available to you please consider signing this petition demanding that the Hichilema administration restore Sishuwa’s passport. c.org/sQv8rKMMFM

c.org

Sign the Petition

Overturn the cancellation of the passports of Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa and other Zambians

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

RVI began in the middle of a war. Co-founders John Ryle and Jok Madut Jok encountered a crisis few outsiders could reach or document. Their decision to investigate helped set RVI in motion. Listen to the full story: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWYH... Explore RVI@25: rvi25.riftvalley.net #RVI25

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

OK, I know it's Sunday, and it's not really the salient thing about this (good news) story, but *that's* the photo of Rayner they chose? What's going on @FT? Genuinely good news: Angela Rayner suggests political donations cap on table after Reform’s £72mn boost - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This atmospheric watercolour is by John Sell Cotman who was born in Norwich in 1782. Although largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Cotman is now considered to be one of the most distinctive British 19th-century watercolourists and the leading artist of the ‘Norwich School’.

A watercolour of a ruined house by John Sell Cotman.

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

What gets missed when we understand humanitarianism mainly through formal aid systems? A special issue of @AfricaSpectrum explores #Somali #diaspora humanitarianism, guest edited by Nauja Kleist and RVI Executive Director Mark Bradbury. Read more: tinyurl.com/mtrenxhr 🧵 1/2

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS RVI’s Peace Research Facility invites applications from graduate students, early-career researchers and policy practitioners under 35 to explore nationalism, belonging and political community in Ethiopia. Apply: tinyurl.com/n68ehec2

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Making local knowledge work is a long-term practice. John Ryle, co-founder of the Rift Valley Institute, reflects on the ideas that shaped RVI, what has sustained its work over 25 years and why locally grounded knowledge still matters. Watch the full conversation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWYH...

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Eight books. 65+ participants. One day of lively reading, debate and exchange. On 4 September, authors, reviewers, researchers and early career scholars gathered at Addis Ababa University for the first ever #EWNET Review of Books Seminar. #Ethiopia #Research 🧵1/4

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Coffee is more than a commodity. It is deeply connected to livelihoods, markets, governance and conflict. Our latest report examines the political economy of coffee in the Sidama–Gedeo–Guji belt of southern Ethiopia. Read more: tinyurl.com/8ebtxt75

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Jason Mosley @jasonmosley.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Labour’s muddled migration policy won’t stop thuggery A government that can’t distinguish between ‘legitimate concerns’ and open racism is only making things worse Stephen Bush giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

giftarticle.ft.com

Labour’s muddled migration policy won’t stop thuggery

A government that can’t distinguish between ‘legitimate concerns’ and open racism is only making things worse

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Rift Valley Institute @rvinews.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Today we launch RVI@25. This year marks 25 years since RVI was founded in August 2001. Over the next year, we’ll reflect on 25 years of research, education and training, public dialogue, culture and heritage. rvi25.riftvalley.net #RVI25 #MakingLocalKnowledgeWork

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John Walton @thatjohn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

this second session being impossible to schedule is the most D&D thing you could possibly imagine

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