The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to face challenges of poverty, poor services and weak governance. This situation is compounded by almost two decades of conflict, which has profoundly affected the functioning of the state and state-society relations.

Within this extremely complex environment, more than ever, strong social science research is required to understand what makes DRC the state it is today, where the DRC is going and what can be done to improve the lives and livelihoods of the Congolese people in the future.

Focusing on development policy and practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this conference provides an overview of recent social science research in and on the country, from both Congolese and non-Congolese researchers and academic institutions. The conference is jointly organised by and will feature research from:

• Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC) at ODI, London
• Centre de référence belge pour l’expertise sur l’Afrique centrale (CRE-AC, Bruxelles)
• Royal Museum for Central Africa (MRAC, Tervuren)
• Université de Kinshasa (UNIKIN)
• Great Lakes of Africa Center of the Institute of Development Policy (IOB, University of Antwerp).

On days one and two the conference presents the research results from a two-year UK-AID funded SLRC project on ‘Power, Politics and Poverty in the DRC’.

On day three, hosted by CRE-AC and MRAC, the new editions of 'Conjonctures congolaises', 'Conjonctures de l’Afrique centrale’ and the ‘Monographies des Provinces de la RDC’ are presented. The conference, containing sessions provided in both French and English, also offers a photo exhibition, networking opportunities and lunch for attendees across the three days.

To register please complete the online form.