The Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre is delighted to announce a new partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) – the United Kingdom’s national funder for arts and humanities research, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – to become a host institution within its flagship International Placement Scheme (IPS) from September 2027.
For more than two decades, IPS has enabled UK-based researchers to access internationally significant research environments that cannot be replicated in the UK, particularly where knowledge is rooted in local collections, lived histories and cultural practice. As the AHRC refreshes the scheme to meet evolving global skills needs, IPS continues to support outstanding research while placing greater emphasis on international mobility, skills development, leadership formation and engagement with diverse research and cultural ecosystems.
On 14 September 2026, Tali Nates, Founder & Executive Director of the JHGC, joined representatives from Kenya, South Africa and the United Kingdom at a partnership event hosted by the AHRC in London. The event marked an important milestone in the AHRC’s growing engagement with institutions across Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing together partners with a shared commitment to strengthening international researcher mobility, fostering more equitable and mutually beneficial research partnerships, and creating new opportunities for collaboration across the arts and humanities between the UK and the African continent. As part of the visit, the JHGC and the AHRC signed a Memorandum of Understanding and International Data Transfer Agreements.
Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the AHRC, said:
“Today, I am delighted to announce the inclusion from September 2027 of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre as a new placement hosts in the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) International Placement Scheme. This exciting development reflects our long-term commitment to building equitable, mutually beneficial international partnerships and creating new opportunities for collaboration across Sub-Saharan Africa. I look forward to seeing the new connections, insights and collaborations that emerge through this next chapter of this prestigious scheme.”
Tali Nates, Founder & Executive Director of the JHGC, added:
“On behalf of the JHGC, I am delighted to express our sincere gratitude to UKRI and AHRC for this partnership, and for welcoming us as a new placement host within the AHRC’s International Placement Scheme from September 2027. Partnerships have always been central to our work, and we stand to gain so much from this equitable partnership in research, knowledge, learning and beyond. We look forward to the new connections and collaborations this next chapter will bring across Sub-Saharan Africa.”
This new partnership is the culmination of almost two years of engagement and relationship-building between the AHRC and institutions across Sub-Saharan Africa, including through the ISPF-funded Building Equitable Partnerships Programme.
As a centre of memory, education, dialogue and lessons for humanity, the JHGC is dedicated to advancing understanding of genocide, prejudice, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of discrimination. Through exhibitions, educational programmes, public engagement and research activities, the Centre creates opportunities to examine the lessons of the past and their relevance to contemporary societies. The JHGC would warmly welcome researchers interested in placements to work with our growing archive and Resource Centre, home to an extensive collection of testimonies, books, journals, artefacts and other materials related to the Holocaust, the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and similar topics.
We are proud to join the AHRC’s international network of placement hosts, and to welcome future IPS researchers into a rich environment where scholarship, public history, education and social engagement intersect. Placements at the JHGC will provide researchers not only with access to our collections, expertise and institutional knowledge, but also with opportunities to engage with wider cultural, policy and research networks across South Africa and the region.
A key component of the programme is the AHRC’s partnership with the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), which provides IPS researchers based at African host institutions with additional support, networking opportunities and integration into wider regional research networks. Successful applicants undertaking placements at the JHGC will also benefit from this support.
Please monitor the AHRC’s funding finder, where more information about applications will be posted in due course.