The International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC), Africa region, organized over the last 3 years a series of webinars for informative, learning and discussion purposes.

The webinars were based on a competitive call for submissions and were structured around the following thematic areas: customary norms, legal formalism and property rights in the commons; conflicts of resource use; commons management institutions and sustainable development issues in the African context.

In the context of the 2025 webinar series, the IASC-Africa region is inviting resource-persons to share their experiences and interact with the IASC’s academic, research and practitioner communities on the links between their areas of expertise and the commons’ approach. This webinar offers an opportunity for preparatory and awareness conversations ahead of the biennial conference in June.

GUEST SPEAKER OF THE WEBINAR

Dr Habib AYEB is a geographer, researcher and emeritus professor at the Université Paris 8 in Saint Denis, France. A specialist in social geography, his research areas include issues such as food sovereignty, environment, peasant issues, climate change, marginality and poverty, social change and the role of the environment in the development of food security. He is the founder and the past president of OSAE (Observatory of Food Sovereignty and Environment). OSAE is a Tunis-based organization which works to foster social science research around agrarian questions. OSAE is also active in connecting small farmers and rural populations with urban populations through workshops, conferences, field trips and study sessions.

Dr Habib AYEB is also a filmmaker. His films show the struggles of rural communities facing ramping climate change and advocate for more sustainable and equitable environmental policies.

For more information and prior questions, please write to Koffi Alinon, IASC Executive Council member: koffi.alinon@cirad.fr and Everisto Mapedza, IASC-Africa Coordinator: E.Mapedza@cgiar.org