The Berlin Conference, also known as the Berlin ‘Congo Conference’ or the Berlin ‘Africa Conference’, took place in Berlin from 15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885 at the invitation of the then German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The final document of the conference formed the basis for the subsequent division of Africa into colonies. Despite the far-reaching consequences of this conference, knowledge of its content and significance for European-African relations was rudimentary not only among the German public but also in German politics.
Accordingly, we wanted to use this symposium, which took place as a special edition of the Ansprenger Symposium 2024/2025, to help close these knowledge gaps. It brought together German, African, and European policymakers as well as representatives from academia, business, and civil society to discuss the historical significance of the 1884/85 conference, to come to terms with colonial history, and to engage in joint learning and remembrance. Building on this, the Euro-African partnership was to be deepened and viable perspectives for a common future discussed.
Programme Day 1: 29th January 2025
11:00 – 13:00hrs
City walk on Berlin colonial history before official opening
16:00 – 17:15 hrs
Opening Ceremony (DE//EN//FR)
Welcoming address:
Dr Thomas Duve, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, KfW Development Bank
Opening speeches:
Former Federal President Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler (read out in absentia by Dr Sven Behnke)
Former President of the Republic of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Speakers:
Prof. Dr.Robert Dussey, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Togo
Programme Day 2: 30th January 2025
9:00 – 10:00
Panel 3: The foreign policy reappraisal of Germany’s colonial past (DE//EN//FR)
10:20 – 11:40, 2 parallel events
Panel 4: Political measures to come to terms with the past – the question of restitution Film screening Dahomey (DE//EN//FR)
Panel 5: Visa and migration policies as part of the colonial legacy? Perspectives on colonisation, migration and the labour question in German and British East Africa 1890 – 1960 and today’s debates (DE//EN)
11:55 – 13:15, 2 parallel sessions
Panel 6: Perspectives for the reconciliation between Germany and Namibia (DE//EN//FR)
Panel 7: Pan-Africanist aspirations under threat? Nations, borders and religious identities as obstacles or opportunities for peace and security in Africa (DE//EN)
Networking Lunch
14:15 – 15:40
Panel 8: Present and future of development policy in Africa – Towards the realisation of the Agenda 2063 (DE//EN//FR)
16:00 – 17:20, 2 parallel events
Panel 9: Africa-Europe Relations in a Changing Global Order (DE//EN//FR)
Panel 10: Africa as a strong partner for German foreign trade and investment? (in English only)
17:30 – 18:00
Closing session (DE//EN//FR)
You can find the detailed program as a download at the top right.
You can read the opening speech by former Federal President Prof. Dr Horst Köhler here.
