Ubuntu Café
The Ubuntu Café was established in 2022, as a space for African students at LSE and friends of Africa to connect, converge, debate and be empowered.
The 2025 edition of the Black History Month Ubuntu Café was a powerful celebration of African identity, innovation, and artistry.
It featured a panel on 'Elevating Black Creativity', curated in collaboration with the Nigerian International Film & TV Summit, NIFS. The panel explored thought-provoking discussions on advancing Africa's film industry and the role of AI in redefining creativity.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of photo essay competition finalists for the Chude Jideonwo Prize for Creativity. Benita Manzengo was announced as the overall winner with her piece Black Men's Joy; Karabo Asala was the first runner-up with her piece, Edge of Becoming; the second runner-up was Ruth Otim with a photo essay titled Hoye Hoye.
This edition of Ubuntu Café was held in partnership with NIFS, LSESU, African Caribbean Society and LSE EmbRace, featuring an incredible lineup of performances from Perazim Singo and an audience-led fashion show.
About Ubuntu Café
The Ubuntu Café was established in 2022, as a space for African students at LSE and friends of Africa to connect, converge, debate and be empowered.
The vision for Ubuntu Café is to create an informal public space that is uniquely African - intellectually stimulating, creative, lively, vibrant, stimulating and very interactive.
PfAL has been an inspiring forum to challenge myself and other enthusiastic young Africans to learn from each other.
The objectives are to educate, entertain and network through a series of activities including talks, debates, spoken word, poetry, music, art etc. It can also be a platform to trial our PfAL showcase, where African students can share their unique ideas/dissertation findings about Africa and the world with a wider public.
The full report of the first Ubuntu Café can be read here, or scroll down to see more.
Objectives
- To foster a greater sense of engagement and community for the PfAL and African students at LSE.
- To raise the profile of PfAL within the School.
- To showcase and celebrate Africa at LSE.
- To foster engagement with the African diaspora.
- To nurture and celebrate the spirit of Ubuntu.
Previous Ubuntu Cafe Posters
Ubuntu Café is a space for Africans at LSE (and wider) to come together and celebrate our cultures and ourselves. It's a joyful space and an enriching one.
This event was exactly what I needed at LSE. It was a place where I found belonging and so much more.
Meeting, listening and actively having conversations with new African students at the LSE, like myself and those that came before us, was a reassurance that even though I might be miles away from home, I still have a family close by!
Ubuntu Cafe Photos
