CODESRIA

The Council advertised a call for applications for the 17^th CODESRIA General Assembly (GA), originally scheduled for 7^th to 11^th December 2026. The deadline for submission of abstracts was 06 September 2026. By the close of the deadline, the Secretariat had received almost double the number of abstracts initially projected, and we are grateful for this strong interest from the community. Although the Council has begun processing the abstracts and will be notifying successful applicants soon, the process has been delayed partly because the number of blind peer reviewers needed for this exercise to be completed quickly is larger than anticipated. As a result, the reviews will take slightly longer than planned.

At the same time, the Council’s regular processes and planning for the 17^th General Assembly have been slowed down by the leadership transition process that is now underway. The current Executive Secretary will depart the service of the Council by the end of October 2026 and the new Executive Secretary is scheduled to report soon after. Unfortunately, the timelines are too short for the new Executive Secretary to assume the leadership of the Council and also oversee the planning of the 17^th General Assembly.

A combination of the above two developments, together with some related logistical constraints, makes it impossible to convene a successful General Assembly in December 2026. The Secretariat has consulted the Executive Committee on the proposal to postpone the 17^th General Assembly from December 2026 to 7^th to 11^th June 2027. This proposal has been unanimously approved by the Executive Committee.

On behalf of the Executive Committee, I wish to notify members that the 17^th CODESRIA General Assembly will now be held from the 7^th to 11^th June 2027 in Dakar, Senegal. To guide the process, kindly note that:

1. The Council will not re-open the process of submitting abstracts.
2. Instead, the blind peer review process of the abstracts already submitted will proceed and successful applicants will be notified by 15^th November 2026.
3. The deadline for submission of papers has now been revised to 15^th January 2027.
4. A decision on the selected papers will be communicated by 15^th March 2027.
5. The Secretariat will issue a reminder at the start of 2027 that will include additional information on the planning of the General Assembly.

We regret any inconvenience this postponement may cause and thank the CODESRIA community for its understanding and continued commitment to the Council.

Godwin Murunga,

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY.