125 YEARS ON: PANAFRICANISM AND DIALOGUE ON REPARATIONS
On 9 April 2025, London will again become the centre of Pan-African thought as it hosts ‘The London Conference, 125 Years Later: Pan-Africanism and Dialogue on Reparations’ at SOAS University of London. Organised by the Republic of Togo in coordination with the African Union, the conference marks a historic return to the city where the seeds of Pan-Africanism were first sown over a century ago. Representing a landmark moment, that first gathering that took place in July 1900 convened figures including Henry Sylvester-Williams and W.E.B. Du Bois.
The African Union, having declared 2021–2031 the ‘Decade of African Roots and the African Diaspora,’ has officially adopted ‘Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations’ as the theme for 2025. The London Conference will be a central pillar of that campaign, which will feed directly into the ninth Pan-African Congress in Lomé, Togo later this year.
Structured around two panels, the half-day symposium at SOAS will feature eminent historians, civil society leaders, political actors, and legal experts. Attendees are expected to include diplomats, parliamentarians, legal scholars, students, journalists, artists, and representatives of civil society from across the globe.
Togo’s leadership in this Pan-African renaissance exemplifies a new wave of diplomatic activism by African states in confronting post-colonial inertia.
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