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University of Bayreuth, Press release No. 117/2023 - 22 August 2023  

Nigerian philosopher researches with prestigious award of the Humboldt Foundation at the University of Bayreuth

Prof. Dr. Joseph C. A. Agbakoba, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Nigeria, has been awarded a Georg Forster Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in appreciation of his academic work to date. Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schüßler, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bayreuth, had nominated him for this prestigious science award. Recently, Prof. Agbakoba accepted the prize at a ceremony in Berlin. Until 2024 he will be researching the philosophical, ethical and intercultural foundations of development in Africa at the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Bayreuth.

Award ceremony in Berlin: Prof. Dr. C. A. Joseph Agbakoba (centre) with Prof. Dr. Robert Schlögl, President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and Dr. Ariane Hildebrandt from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

On the awardee
Prof. Dr. Joseph C. A. Agbakoba served as President of the Nigerian Philosophical Association from 2008 to 2016. From 2007 to 2010, he was Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nigeria, and from 2012 to 2013, he was Dean of the School of General Studies there. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Vice President of the Madonna University Nigeria. Professor Agbakoba is the Regional Coordinator for Africa of the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (CRVP), based in Washington DC. He is Vice-President for Africa of the Conférence Mondiale des Institutions Universitaires Catholiques de Philosophie (COMIUCAP) and a member of the Steering Committee of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP).

Prof. Agbakoba's current research interests are in the field of development philosophy and ethics with special reference to Africa and in the field of intercultural philosophy. His internationally acclaimed publications include a monograph on development and modernity in Africa from an intercultural perspective, published in 2019. In an interview for "UBT aktuell", the online magazine of the University of Bayreuth, he talks about his interests in development philosophy and his transcolonial approach to modern conceptions of Africa's future:


About the Georg Forster Research Award
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awards up to six Georg Forster Research Awards annually to internationally leading research personalities from emerging and developing countries. With this award, it honours their overall work to date. The science prize is named after the German natural scientist, ethnologist and writer Georg Forster (1754-1794). It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Prof. Dr. Joseph C. A. Agbakoba.

Prof. Dr. Joseph C. A. Agbakoba

Georg Forster Research Awardee
of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Institute of Philosophy
University of Bayreuth
E-mail: joseph.agbakoba@unn.edu.ng


Christian Wißler, Wissenschaftskommunikation

Christian Wißler

Deputy Press & PR Manager, Research Communication
University of Bayreuth

Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-5356
E-mail: christian.wissler@uni-bayreuth.de