Since 2004, the VAD awards a young scholars’ prize during its biennial conferences. VAD members can nominate excellent works (master’s theses and doctoral dissertations) by graduate students. A jury composed of members of the VAD executive and advisory boards, complemented by experts on specific topics from outside these bodies, selects the winners.

In 2018, the VAD will award the following persons:

Matthew Sabbi, 2016
„Local State Institutional Reforms in Ghana“, doctoral dissertation (development sociology), Bayreuth University.

Michael Stasik, 2017
„Station Ventures. Road Transport, Roadside Economies and Urban Hustle in Ghana“, doctoral dissertation (anthropology), Bayreuth University.

Antonia Witt, 2016
„Ordering by Default. The Politics and Power of Post-Coup Interventions in Africa“, doctoral dissertation (political sciences), Frankfurt/Main University.

The award ceremony takes place on Thursday, 28 June 2018, during the conference reception at Grassi Museum.