2012 will be the first time that the World Economic History Congress will be held in Africa: the cradle of humankind.

The reasons for Africa's relatively slow economic progress are fertile ground for economic historians to explore: does the cause lie in African institutions, arising from its colonial and pre-colonial history, or in later political developments? What can Africa learn from the experiences of other countries and continents? These are some of the fundamental issues that economic historians investigate, and applying the knowledge and understanding gained from economic history studies to Africa, the poorest continent, has great economic, social and political significance.

While much of the agenda of the Congress will address other issues and countries, holding the World Economic History Congress in Africa is symbolically important. It will show clearly that the International Economic History Association believes that economic history holds lessons for Africa and that Africa is an important area for research in economic history. Holding the Congress in Stellenbosch would encourage involvement by the African academic community, thus increasing participation by underrepresented countries. It would also give greater impetus to recent attempts to instigate more research on economic history in the African context, linked particularly to the institutional and quantitative perspectives that have been gaining popularity in the international literature.

In Stellenbosch in 2012, Scholars from the developing and the developed world will present new hypotheses, data and analytical techniques, thus broadening our understanding of the historical evolution of societies and economies. In Africa, such understanding impacts increasingly on policymaking and on private initiative, and the 2012 congress will strengthen this trend. Most importantly, holding the 2012 World Economic History Congress in Africa will generate renewed interest in the study of economic history in Africa and will provide a fresh perspective on the relevance of economic history in the developing world.

The theme for the XVIth World Economic History Congress is "The Roots of Development". The IEHA welcomes sessions on all topics in economic history, the history of economics, demographic history, social history, urban history, cultural history, gender studies, methodological aspects of historical research, and related fields. In line with the congress theme, sessions on the period before 1800 and on countries other than those in Western Europe and North America are particularly welcome.

The academic programme of the 2012 Congress will be organised on the same principles as previous World Economic History Congresses: the 5-day congress will comprise approximately 100 sessions, with each day divided into four time blocks of 90 minutes each (two before and two after lunch).

A number of plenary sessions, in which Keynote Speakers will address all the delegates, are also scheduled and the congress will close with a lively debate between two experts in the field.

Second Call for Session Proposals
The Executive Committee of the IEHA has reviewed the sessions submitted in the first call and has chosen 59. The International Economic History Association (IEHA) is pleased to announce the second call for session proposals for WEHC 2012 in Stellenbosch. The deadline is 31 July 2011.

Sessions on all topics in economic history are welcome, and in light of the congress theme, "The Roots of Development", sessions on the period before 1800 and sessions that include regions other than Western Europe and North America are encouraged. The first call for sessions resulted in 115 submissions and an equally impressive number of submissions is expected in the second round!

Please go to our website (http://www.wehc2012.org) for the full guidelines, or email the WEHC 2012 Programme Secretariat if you have any questions.