All Smiles at the Certificate Ceremony for the African and Diaspora Studies Short Course of Broos Institute

Everyone was all smiles on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, as certificates of completion were awarded to the participants of the African and Diaspora Studies short course of the Broos Institute for Afrocentric Studies and Research.

The course was led by Dr. Adwoa Bobie, a lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. Bobie is a sociologist and expert in African identity and decolonial philosophy. She has published extensively on identity, ethnicity, gender, and the African diaspora. Her work underscores the importance of African perspectives within global conversations on diversity and culture.

She spent several months in the Netherlands and was, in her own words, “thrilled at the opportunity to teach this class here.”

Dr. Bobie arrived with her own distinctive teaching style. “I don’t plan to lecture much; instead, I want to engage in dialogue with you,” she said on the first class day, 21 October, during which she taught once to lay the foundation for what participants could expect. What followed was a steady stream of reading material mapping how slavery and colonial trade created the foundations for diaspora formation and the rise of Pan-Africanism. Leaders, movements, and ideologies — from Du Bois to Garvey to Nkrumah — fighting for political unity, self-determination, and cultural restoration were discussed, along with conflicts, power dynamics, and divergent visions within the Pan-African project.

Classes were held at the Broos Institute in Weesp through 11 November 2025, with the final presentations delivered on 2 December. Most participants had written extensive papers; others presented through spoken word.

All reflected on their own lives through the lens of the new knowledge gained during the course.

Together, the papers create a holistic perspective in which the African diaspora is positioned as a dynamic, multilayered system shaping identity, power, trauma, and belonging. Collectively, participants reached a single conclusion: sustainable futures require a reframing of history, shared agency, community-driven healing, and a strategic repositioning of identity as an asset rather than a legacy of oppression.

This led to emotional moments during Tuesday’s final presentations.

“I thought I knew everything about myself and my heritage, but this course and writing my presentation opened new perspectives,” one participant confided honestly as she wiped away tears.

Another indicated that the knowledge gained is indispensable in her work as a therapist, where the treatment of transgenerational trauma is central.

“This program has given me profound insight into how African and Afro-diasporic identities have been shaped by history, culture, and colonial legacies — and how these insights matter, especially in the current Dutch context. Working with academic literature, engaging in group discussions, and reflecting on contemporary societal issues around identity, ethnicity, gender, and diaspora brought depth.”

The papers will be published in 2026 in a special edition of Afro Magazine.

All participants were full of praise for Dr. Bobie and for the high level the Broos Institute delivered through her leadership.

Following the success of this African and Diaspora Studies short course, the Broos Institute will soon introduce additional short programs. Upcoming announcements will cover courses such as Entrepreneurship in the African Diaspora, Afrocentric Therapy, and Decolonized Journalistic Writing. A research program is also in development.

About the Broos Institute for African Studies and Research

The Broos Institute promotes academic and societal education at the intersection of the African diaspora, heritage, identity, and emancipation. With this new short course, the institute takes another strategic step toward fulfilling its mission: facilitating knowledge exchange through an Afrocentric lens.

Earlier this year, the institute launched an archaeological research project on a former sugar and coffee plantation in Suriname. The resulting report — which earned a Wageningen University student his bachelor’s degree — will also be published in the upcoming edition of Afro Magazine.

The Broos Institute recently launched its groundbreaking two-year Master’s program in African Culture and Development.