A Spring school was held at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, on April 15-19, 2019, in the framework of the European project SLAFNET (https://slafnet.hypotheses.org) that has the objective of implementing dialogue between European and African researchers and students around the thematic issue of slavery in Africa. This Spring school was organised by Prof. Ahmed Hassen (IES, Université d’Addis Ababa), Alexander Meckelburg (Hiob Ludolf Center for Ethiopian Studies, Université d’Hamburg) and Giulia Bonacci (IRD, URMIS), and thirty professors and students were invited who came from the whole of Ethiopia, from Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, India, the United-Kingdom, and France. The week-long event was structured by lectures on the state of research on slavery in Africa, a round-table on slavery in Ethiopia, various sessions discussing the students’ research, a visit to the National Archives, and the screening of ‘Slavery Routes’ (co-realised by Juan Gelas, Fanny Glissant and Daniel Cattier, with historical advisor Prof. Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch). Various partners have contributed to making this Spring school a success: CEDEJ in Sudan, CFEE in Ethiopia, the French embassy in Ethiopia and in Kenya, the Alliance Ethio-française and the National Archives and Library Agency in Addis Ababa, la Compagnie des Phares et balises, the INALCO, and the European network of African Studies – AEGIS.
