Building upon a unique relationship with homegrown civil society organizations in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), this project attempts to create a conversation between University of Chicago academics and France-based researchers with Congolese about their own development, their worldview, and their attempt to make sense of the world today, in their own terms. Our objective is to create connections and fostering a way to engage with the continent that hinges less on the assumptions weaved by the West over 5 centuries – yet wrestles with how Congolese imagine their future institutions after the various influences from the past, from abroad, and the persistent war. After sharing the preliminary results based on our research on militias, this proposal is to create a new conversation, beyond militias, and not from the perspective of Western academics. It will aim to share Congolese stories by Congolese researchers, development experts and artists, in order to incorporate those into academic research about that neglected society, with Africans in at the center of academic and artistic conversations about Africa. Activities include the organization of the presentation of the story of Kivu Agro Pastorale and its collaboration with University of Chicago, engagement with artists from a youth association from Goma, and additional support to a Congo-conference that we have started preparing in Paris.