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About Tshepo
The Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa (TISCA) is a university-wide research centre, with active members across multiple faculties currently involved in Afrocentric research projects. We also present a number of lecture series on Afrocentric issues of development and social justice.
TISCA’s vision is to provide scholars specializing in Africa with a platform and voice to produce and share timely interdisciplinary knowledge and discourse about issues affecting contemporary Continental Africa and its diaspora.
TISCA’ mission is to promote global awareness and excellence in knowledge development on issues in Contemporary Africa and the African Diaspora in Canada and beyond. It works to fulfil the following objectives:
- Offer a space for experts and scholars to structure research and offer analysis to generate solutions with real-world implications.
- Foster engagement among faculty, students, and local community members on issues impacting Africa and the African Diaspora.
- Empower and inform students, especially racialized students, to connect with their immediate communities, and engage in global research and debates.
Origins of the Word Tshepo
Tshepo (sheh-poh) is the Setswana word for hope.
TISCA was founded on the Laurier's Brantford campus in 2003.This was partly in response to the stereotyping and stigma to which Africa has long been subjected. Our founders felt a sense of responsibility to give back to their communities and to ensure that the African scholarly community has a voice and a platform on which to share it. They also created a space to foster discourse and reflection on international development more broadly.
The Tshepo Institute was relocated to the Waterloo campus in 2024; the office is in the Peters Building, room P2199.