originally posted 3 July 2026
https://www.ecoarch-project.org/news-and-events/news/kick-off-conference-in-nairobi.html
The EcoArch project recently held its kick-off conference at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. One of the main purposes was to gather the newly established African Quaternary Human Climate Interactions (AQHCI) network.
The participants that attended the conference. Photo: Joash Kipkemei
The AQHCI network consists of researchers from all over Africa. For this conference the EcoArch project had invited teams from Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Benin and the Democratic Republic of Kong to attend. Each team is going to conduct their own projects in their home countries and they have been selected by the PI’s. They will contribute to filling the geographic gaps in the current coverage of paleoenvironmental information or provide information from complementary data sources at existing sites.
In Nairobi they got the chance to present their projects and get to know the other researchers. The participation in the network will give them a space to share knowledge, updates about their ongoing projects and hopefully create new synergies in the coming years.
Inspiring keynote presentations
During the conference the participants also got to listen to inspiring keynote presentation. Professor Rob Marchant from University of York talked about the AFRI-CAN project which is a ERC synergy grant that he is leading. While Professor Daniel Olago at the Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation at the University of Nairobi talked about adapting to climate change through a palaeoscience lens.
In addition to the keynote speakers the core members of EcoArch got to present their work and the PI’s talked about the project, their previous works and their expertise.
Visit to the National Museum of Kenya
On the last day of the conference the group got a guided tour at the National Museum of Kenya. Here they learned more about the history of the country and about the history of the early modern humans. They also got to walk around the museum and enjoy the exhibitions on their own.
If you want to read more the University of Reading have posted about the conference in Nairobi on their webpage.
The members of EcoArch is looking forward to the next meeting with the AQHCI network that will take place in Dakar in 2027.
Published July 3, 2026 1:28 PM – Last modified July 3, 2026 1:28 PM
See also
https://www.ecoarch-project.org/news-and-events/news/kick-off-conference-in-nairobi.html