CUL Director Iromi Perera delivered a keynote at the 2026 @uta-do.bsky.social workshp in Addis Ababa. Iromi brought CUL's interdisciplinary work on Colombo's working class and informal sector into conversation with critical urban thinkers across the Global South.

What a wonderful week we had at #UTADo2026 in Addis Ababa, hosted by the Urban Center. Looking forward to future editions!

Urban Theory Africa- Doing Workshop (UTA-Do)@uta-do.bsky.social · 6mo ago

#UTADo2026 Biruk Terrefe gave a brilliant keynote on the politics of water through the different ontologies that crystallize its meanings from chemical properties to geopolitics. @acc-uct.bsky.social @terrefebiruk.bsky.social

We closed #UTADo2026 by watching the beautiful documentary #MadeinEthiopia at the Goethe Institut. The documentary sparked debates on capitalism and its scalar violences, geopolitics and much more @acc-uct.bsky.social

#UTADo2026 visited the Yimtubezina Museum where we learnt its history and its significance as a space that reflects public–private interaction, negotiation, and coexistence. We also caught their current exhibition @acc-uct.bsky.social

A lively discussion on Energy, Finance and Technology in African Cities between Biniyam Bekele of FCDO and Henol Assefa of Precise Ethiopia moderat d by Liza Rose Cirolia #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

#UTADo2026 writing track participants closed off the wee by discussing the peer review process: how to receive, analyse, work with and respond to reviews. They also developed the plan towards developing the papers they have been working on this week. @acc-uct.bsky.social @urbanstudiesfoundation.org

Sylvia Croese’s keynote on Gradualism as it manifests in political governance and development projects across Angola. Chaired by Biruk Terrefe #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

#UTADo2026 writing track participants discussing common paper structures before delving into drafting their paper abstracts based on discussion from previous day guided by Sylvia Croese and Liza Rose Cirolia @acc-uct.bsky.social @urbanstudiesfoundation.org

Matthew Wakhungu of #KDI interactive session on projects of repair and corrective approaches to unjust urban life. Participants discussed what urban peripheries they interact with in their work #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

Exploring #AddisAbaba through the Feeling/walking the city session of #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

#UTADo2026 participants brought in their amazing research projects into the spaces. @acc-uct.bsky.social

Wangui Kimari’s keynote on Water, Coloniality, Disobedience in which she walked us through the history of Nairobi through water. Using Flow, Foe and Folly she showed us the colonial logics of developmental urbanism. Chaired by Sylvia Croese #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

#UTADo2026 Mentoring session spiced up with practicality of how practitioners from the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) work with different data for development. @acc-uct.bsky.social

#UTADo2026 Biruk Terrefe gave a brilliant keynote on the politics of water through the different ontologies that crystallize its meanings from chemical properties to geopolitics. @acc-uct.bsky.social @terrefebiruk.bsky.social

Hugo ka Canham’s brilliant keynote on Seed ecologies and planetary Black care. He illuminated the global racial capitalism shaping seed colonialism and neoliberalism ideology of sameness dictating our diets. From Mozambique, Kenya, Brazil to the core of his mum’s plot. Chaired by Mwangi Mwaura

#UTADo2026 Archiving the city session exposed us to various ways Addis Ababa practitioners are navigating against the current of erasures. Panel: Endrias Teklu (Andimta), Salem Mekuria (Generational Perspectives), Daniel Temesgen ግምጃ. Chaired by Maheder Gebremedhin @acc-uct.bsky.social

Second day of #UTADo2026, Keynote by Iromi Perera on their work in Colombo, advocating for a Just City. Insightful lessons on Urban Food, Injustices caused by different ‘modern’ infrastructure projects and the work by communities to gap fill after @colombourbanlab.bsky.social @acc-uct.bsky.social

Grounding ourselves through Yousuf Al Bulushi’s Keynote on Fanon in the City #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

Finished the day with first session of the special week-long dedicated writing track facilitated by Sylvia Croese and Liz Rose Cirolia @urbanstudiesfoundation.org @acc-uct.bsky.social

Laying the basis for the week by discussing what is Southern Orientation? Led by Wangui Kimari #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

Let the day break! A lovely start of our 2026 UTA-Do workshop in Addis Ababa! #UTADo2026 @acc-uct.bsky.social

Black, magenta and an edge data center on the cover of my book about Nairobi, smartphones, platforms, standards, venture capital and digital China. Out in the boreal fall this year 🪩 with U California Press (and OA)

Reminder that applications for the UTA-Do 2026 workshop happening in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from February 9-13 are still open. This time round, we have 10 full scholarships available through the Wagon2Africa project. Read more here: sites.google.com/view/uta-do/... Apply by 30 September 2025!

Apply for the UTA-Do 2026 workshop happening in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from February 9-13. This time round, we have 10 full scholarships available through the Wagon2Africa project. Read more here: sites.google.com/view/uta-do/... Apply by 30 September 2025!

Calling all scholars in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and other eligible countries! 🎓 The UTA-Do African Cities Summer School 2026 has 10 full scholarships available through the Wagon2Africa project. Apply! Deadline: Sept 30, 2025. @andretwp.bsky.social sites.google.com/view/uta-do/...