The report concludes with a series of recommendations that I hope can structure engagements with the collections for a range of audiences - especially those from across Africa - moving forward. Please read and share!

I looked at photographs of countless unnamed African people, and learned about rare books across the libraries that could be bound in Moroccan or Nigerian leathers. These are just a few examples from what is itself an introduction to the collections.

I researched plant, animal, and mineral specimens from across the continent and the ways they were collected, with examples that offer deeper ways of thinking about colonial encounters and highlight the huge amount of African expertise and skilled labour involved.

Over 15 months I explored African and Africa-related materials at the University ranging from the Egyptian artefacts on display to lesser-known artefacts from South Africa or Uganda that are windows into rich and often complicated histories.