Any analysis of histories and cultures of remembrance, bears testimony to the witnessing of humans who have either lived through the experiences as insiders or who have not lived through the... Show moreAny analysis of histories and cultures of remembrance, bears testimony to the witnessing of humans who have either lived through the experiences as insiders or who have not lived through the experiences of the past as outsiders. The possibility of bearing witness to (remember) the horrors, trauma, and destitution of the human condition and to consider its implications for human rights education is what this anthology of essays is about. The editors, Anne Becker, Ina Ter Avest and Cornelia Roux, portrayed as insiders, cogently accentuate how human rights violations in South Africa and the Netherlands ought to be expiated through teaching and learning to justify and preserve dignity, self-respect, and freedom towards the advancement of affective life and humanity. Hopefully, through education, it is averred that degradation, inhumanity, and irresponsibility will be undermined and eradicated. The possibility that dignity and decency will remain in place and that it ought to be preserved at all costs even beyond the imagination, and rightfully so, seems to be at the centre of the editors’ concern for the cultivation of human rights education. In this way, apartheid, colonialism and other pervasive torments of human and non-human life should be distanced from genuine educational encounters. Show less
Arguably, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented new opportunities for digital transformation within the justice sectors in African countries and beyond. The LEWUTI project (Legal Empowerment of Women... Show moreArguably, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented new opportunities for digital transformation within the justice sectors in African countries and beyond. The LEWUTI project (Legal Empowerment of Women Using Technology and Innovation) predates the pandemic, and is run by BarefootLaw, a Ugandan socio-legal NGO. As the 2020 UNDP report highlights, during the pandemic many courts were adapted to digital technologies. Online justice was supposed to respond more rapidly to challenges in this unprecedented situation, creating new opportunities to reach more beneficiaries and scale up justice processes. However, it is not clear that women benefit equally from the digitisation of justice systems. The pandemic highlighted some of the risks of relying on digital means to achieve women’s legal empowerment, especially for rural women. Against this background, this study examines the opportunities and challenges entailed in the digital transformation of access to justice as a means of legal empowerment for rural women in Northern Uganda. Data for the study was collected in the rural Gulu area, through focus groups discussions with selected women. The data was then analysed through the lens of Legal Empowerment (LE) and Access to Justice frameworks, to make sense of the information generated. The findings suggest that digital technology can play a significant role in addressing the unmet legal needs of rural women in Uganda. Many women have reported being able to use digital interfaces to access legal help, evaluate their problems, and decide whether the problems have legal solutions. These technologies have also helped women to prepare evidence and to make sense of laws and legal documentation. Obstacles remain, however. These include a lack of legal knowledge and awareness, poverty, a lack of access to mobile phones, illiteracy, a lack of telecommunication infrastructure, power inequalities, and the attitudes of some lawyers. These factors continue to hinder some rural women’s use of digital technology to access justice. Some women also emphasised that introducing digital technologies to secure women’s legal empowerment may be putting the cart before the horse, so long as the corruption of Uganda’s legal and court system remains pervasive. Show less
Bertus Haverkort groeide op in een boerengezin in Slagharen. Hij genoot van modernisering op de boerderij van zijn jeugd, omdat dit het werk verlichte en de opbrengsten verbeterde. Met in zijn... Show moreBertus Haverkort groeide op in een boerengezin in Slagharen. Hij genoot van modernisering op de boerderij van zijn jeugd, omdat dit het werk verlichte en de opbrengsten verbeterde. Met in zijn bagage een dosis moderne landbouwkennis uit Wageningen, werkte hij aan programma’s in de tropen waarbij overdracht van westerse kennis het doel was. De aanpak blijkt niet te werken. Hij plaatst vraagtekens bij de toepasbaarheid van de westerse kennis in situaties waar de ecologie, economie en cultuur zoveel verschillen. In samenwerking met lokale deskundigen uit India, Bolivia en Ghana wordt onderzocht hoe lokale wereldbeelden, waarden en kennis een rol spelen. Daarvoor wordt gewerkt aan een onderwijsmethode voor endogene ontwikkeling en aan een benadering voor co-creatie van wetenschappen uit verschillende tradities en wereldstreken. De internationale ervaringen worden in verband gebracht met de huidige crisis in de landbouw in Nederland en monden uit een pleidooi voor klimaat- en natuurvriendelijke landbouw. Show less
This book honours Prof Bob Wishitemi. Commemorating his death in 2021, this book includes articles by his former colleagues and other scientists who worked with him over the years. The volume... Show moreThis book honours Prof Bob Wishitemi. Commemorating his death in 2021, this book includes articles by his former colleagues and other scientists who worked with him over the years. The volume contains 12 articles and presents a variety of approaches to address the major challenges facing sustainable tourism in sub-Saharan Africa: climate change and biodiversity loss. Show less
Guinee-Bissau was, net als Angola en Mozambique, een kolonie van Portugal dat als laatste Europese land halsstarrig vasthield aan haar Afrikaanse ‘bezittingen’. Onder leiding van Amilcar Cabral... Show moreGuinee-Bissau was, net als Angola en Mozambique, een kolonie van Portugal dat als laatste Europese land halsstarrig vasthield aan haar Afrikaanse ‘bezittingen’. Onder leiding van Amilcar Cabral ging in 1963 de Partido Africano da Independência de Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) over tot de gewapende strijd nadat vreedzaam verzet voor onafhankelijkheid op niets was uitgelopen. Tien jaar later was het grootste deel van Guinee-Bissau in handen van de PAIGC. In dit ooggetuigenverslag van zijn voetreis door die bevrijde gebieden in 1974 laat Roel Coutinho aan de hand van foto’s zien hoe het leven en de gezondheidszorg daar, ondanks de dreiging van bombardementen, doorging. En hoe in dit land, dat een hoge mate van analfabetisme kende, de scholing van kinderen en volwassenen op gang kwam. Jos Damen, bibliothecaris van het Afrika-Studiecentrum Leiden, plaatst in zijn inleiding de geschiedenis van Guinee-Bissau in de context van de jaren zeventig ‘toen alles anders moest’. Show less
The mbopo institution, popularly known as the “fattening room”, is a cultural rite of passage for young virgins, who are being prepared for marriage among the Ibibio/Efik people of southern Nigeria... Show moreThe mbopo institution, popularly known as the “fattening room”, is a cultural rite of passage for young virgins, who are being prepared for marriage among the Ibibio/Efik people of southern Nigeria. It is a complex cultural institution that marked the change of status from girlhood to nubile womanhood in Ibibio/Efik culture. This study examines the practice of mbopo ritual among the Ibibio/Efik people across the previous century. Through an engaged and detailed visual analysis, the study argues that in the first decade of the 20th century, the mbopo ritual had a degree of vibrancy with an attached sense of secrecy and spiritual mystery. But between 1920 and the present, this vibrancy and spiritual undertone has been subtly but progressively compromised. A build-up of tension surrounding the ritual as a result of modern forces, not only outside missionaries, but also indigenous converts, set in motion a process that would eventually transform the ritual from a framework of actual cultural practice into the realms of “cultural reinvention” and re-rendering. Feminist critiques of the 1980s and the 1990s led to popular awareness of the damaging impact of clitoridectomy, just one core aspect of the ritual. As a direct result, clitoridectomy was outlawed across the country, leaving mbopo to be seen as a morally suspect practice. In recent years, the once vibrant, secret, and spiritually grounded rite of seclusion for nubile women has been reimagined and reinvented through public display, in art, painting, cultural dance troupes, music, and television shows. Show less
Democracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia aims to comprehend the current dynamics of Zambia's democracy and to understand what was specific about the 2015/2016 election experience. While elections... Show moreDemocracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia aims to comprehend the current dynamics of Zambia's democracy and to understand what was specific about the 2015/2016 election experience. While elections have been central to understanding Zambian politics over the last decade, the coverage they have received in the academic literature has been sparse. This book aims to fill that gap and give a more holistic account of contemporary Zambian electoral dynamics, by providing innovative analysis of political parties, mobilization methods, the constitutional framework, the motivations behind voters' choices and the adjudication of electoral disputes by the judiciary. This book draws on insights and interviews, public opinion data and innovative surveys that aim to tell a rich and nuanced story about Zambia's recent electoral history from a variety of disciplinary approaches. Contributors include: Tinenenji Banda, Nicole Beardsworth, John Bwalya, Privilege Haang'andu, Erin Hern, Marja Hinfelaar, Dae Un Hong, O'Brien Kaaba, Robby Kapesa, Chanda Mfula, Jotham Momba, Biggie Joe Ndambwa, Muna Ndulo, Jeremy Seekings, Hangala Siachiwena, Sishuwa Sishuwa, Owen Sichone, Aaron Siwale, Michael Wahman. Show less
At the crossroads of major trade routes and characterised by intense human circulations, the area that encompasses northern Nigeria and southern Niger is a privileged space to study transnational... Show moreAt the crossroads of major trade routes and characterised by intense human circulations, the area that encompasses northern Nigeria and southern Niger is a privileged space to study transnational religious dynamics. Islam is, indeed, an essential feature of this region assuming today new forms in terms of discourses, practices, and modes of dissemination. In order to capture their changing complexity and diversity, regional Islamic dynamics need to be observed from both sides of the Niger-Nigeria border, where religious patterns echo each other but also obey different socio-political injunctions. While studying the processes of religious renewal and mutation, it is necessary to pay attention to the varied forms these processes take, to their direct and indirect effects and to the channels of transmission used. An interdisciplinary team of seven researchers from Niger, Nigeria, France and the United Kingdom was set up to conduct this transnational study; all authors carried out ethnographic fieldwork in both countries while constantly exchanging, comparing and discussing their respective findings with each other. Thus, this book provides first-hand material collected in the field, that contributes to enrich the reflexion on contemporary transformation dynamics in the Islamic landscapes of Niger and Nigeria, but also reflects the relevance of a transnational and comparative approach of these phenomena. Finally, it showcases the collaborative work of African and European scholars from Francophone and Anglophone countries - a type of scientific partnership unprecedented in this field. Show less
This book is based on Cynthia A. Olufade’s Master’s thesis ‘Oath taking and the transnationalism of silence among Edo female sex workers in Italy’, winner of the African Studies Centre, Leiden’s... Show moreThis book is based on Cynthia A. Olufade’s Master’s thesis ‘Oath taking and the transnationalism of silence among Edo female sex workers in Italy’, winner of the African Studies Centre, Leiden’s 2018 Africa Thesis Award. This annual award for Master’s students encourages student research and writing on Africa and promotes the study of African cultures and societies. This study aimed to interrogate the oath taking phenomena among Edo female sex workers in Italy. In a bid to understand how the oaths taken in Edo State, translates into an intangible aspect of the trafficking process. To achieve the aims of the study, the research utilised the qualitative method of data collection, it involved the use of in-depth interviews and observations. The study reveals that the transnational silence exhibited by different categories of actors in the Edo sex work network sustains the industry. The research also highlights that the oaths form only a part, albeit important of the construction of debt and bondage in the context of Edo transnational sex work. In light of its findings, the study concludes that the idea of transnationalism of silence is as effective as the oaths taken. Show less
Common Threads explores the ties that bind India and Africa through the material medium of cloth, from antiquity to the present. Cloth made in India has been sold across African markets for... Show moreCommon Threads explores the ties that bind India and Africa through the material medium of cloth, from antiquity to the present. Cloth made in India has been sold across African markets for millennia, by Indian, African, and European traders. The history of this trade offers perspectives into the rich stories of bi-directorial migrations of peoples, across the Indian Ocean, the exchange of visual aesthetics, and the co-production of cultures in the two geographies. Common Threads uses photographs to tell the story of the creation of these textiles in India, which today is concentrated in the small town of Jetpur in the Rajkot district of Gujarat. It sheds light on the artists and the agencies in India that are involved in the design, production, and logistics of this enterprise. Most significantly, it highlights the role of African consumers in defining the evolution of these genres of fabric, and the centrality of people-to-people connections in sustaining the continued cosmopolitanism of these transoceanic connectivities Show less
Koude Oorlog in koloniaal Afrika. De Sovjet-Unie en de VS, met bondgenoten Cuba en Zuid-Afrika,steunen strijdende partijen met geld, wapens, training en manschappen. Ideologisch gezien is het... Show moreKoude Oorlog in koloniaal Afrika. De Sovjet-Unie en de VS, met bondgenoten Cuba en Zuid-Afrika,steunen strijdende partijen met geld, wapens, training en manschappen. Ideologisch gezien is het conflict in Angola onderdeel van de Koude Oorlog, de twee grootmachten strijden hier niet alleen om geopolitieke invloed, maar ook om toegang tot een bodem vol olie, diamanten en andere mineralen. Het zijn de jaren zeventig: demonstraties in Nederland tegen onrecht, kernwapens, de oorlog in Vietnam en de staatsgreep in Chili. Vele Nederlandse comités geven steun aan wat de derde wereld genoemd wordt. In 1974 ben ik net klaar met mijn specialisatie public health en besluit als arts Angola te gaan helpen een progressief gezondheidssysteem op te bouwen. Het socialistische beleid van de MPLA biedt mogelijkheden. Na zes maanden voorbereiding word ik in december 1975 uitgezonden door het Medisch Komittee Angola (MKA). Het Angolese ministerie van gezondheid stuurt mij eerst naar de noordelijke provincie Cabinda. Samen met artsen, verpleegkundigen en een vroedvrouw, probeer ik inhoud te geven aan mijn solidariteit met de onderdrukte bevolking. Na zes maanden word ik als enige Nederlander door het ministerie overgeplaatst naar de zuidelijke provincie Huambo, net bevrijd van de bezetting door de UNITA en het Zuid-Afrikaanse apartheidsbewind. In dagboeken schrijf ik over mijn leven in die Koude Oorlog. Strijd om Angola (1975 – 1978) is een getuigenverslag van een tijdsgeest, keuzes die een betrokken mens in het leven kan maken, een gevoel van solidariteit, de wil om op te staan tegen onrecht met alle bijbehorende uitdagingen. Show less
Zuidberg, Lida; Kortbeek, Simone; Kingma, Koos; Koning, Ans 2020
In 2012 we returned to Southern Mali, where we have worked in the Women and Development programme of the Malian cotton company (CMDT) between 1987 and 1995. We were curious to find out what had... Show moreIn 2012 we returned to Southern Mali, where we have worked in the Women and Development programme of the Malian cotton company (CMDT) between 1987 and 1995. We were curious to find out what had changed for women in the cotton area since 1980. Have women been able to improve their economic position? Are the changes tangible in women’s control of their lives; their social participation; the relationship between men and women or between the generations? The book is a fabric of memories and images of our experiences of the past and our journey in 2012, coloured with perceptions and stories of the people we met. According to the review of Prof. Dr. Wouter van Beek the text does not represent a classic book, but rather a report based on information derived directly from the words of women and men who shared their views and experiences with us. In addition, the book does not only describe the changes in women's lives, but also the role of the CMDT being the largest parastatal in Southern Mali until 2003. Résumé: En 2012 nous sommes retournées au Mali-Sud, où nous avons travaillé dans le programme Femmes et Développement de la Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement des Textiles (CMDT) entre 1987 et 1995. Nous étions curieuses de découvrir ce qui avait changé pour les femmes dans la zone cotonnière depuis 1980. Les femmes ont-elles pu améliorer leur position économique ? Les changements, sont-ils tangibles dans le contrôle de leur vie ; leur participation sociale ; la relation entre hommes et femmes ou entre les générations ? Le livre est un tissu de mémoires et d’images de nos expériences du passé et de notre séjour en 2012, coloré des perceptions et des histoires des gens rencontrés. Selon la revue de Prof. Dr. Wouter van Beek le texte ne représente pas un livre classique, mais plutôt un reportage basé sur des informations dérivées directement des mots des femmes et des hommes qui ont partagé leurs vues et expériences avec nous. De plus, le livre ne traite pas seulement des changements dans la vie des femmes, mais aussi du rôle de la CMDT étant le plus grand parastatal au Mali-Sud jusqu’à 2003. Show less
‘Philosophers Beyond Borders’ covers 30 philosophers, some known and some not so known, from different parts of the world. They were chosen to show how persons from diverse cultures and different... Show more‘Philosophers Beyond Borders’ covers 30 philosophers, some known and some not so known, from different parts of the world. They were chosen to show how persons from diverse cultures and different times are driven by the same desire to question well-established truths, and to find answers to the questions humans encounter in life. Over time the questions might have changed but the answers continue to provide us with values, principles, and ideas that are a guide for living. As the world is getting smaller and smaller, we are confronted with people from different cultures, religions, and values. We need to learn to live in peace and harmony with these ‘others’. Philosophy can provide the bridge to cover the gap between different worldviews. It will show that our differences and our similarities stem from the same desire to understand our world and the place of the human within. To promote an international culture of dialogue between the different schools of philosophical thought, UNESCO introduced ‘World Philosophy Day’, in 2002, celebrated every third Thursday of November. We hope that this book will contribute to that dialogue and that we learn to realize that no ethnic group, nor gender, has a monopoly on ‘doing philosophy’. (The authors: Saskia Pfaeltzer, Maria van Enckevort) Show less
As an undergraduate in cultural anthropology at Leiden University in 1964, Hans van den Breemer was asked to participate in a research project on the most efficient distribut¡on of new water wells... Show moreAs an undergraduate in cultural anthropology at Leiden University in 1964, Hans van den Breemer was asked to participate in a research project on the most efficient distribut¡on of new water wells in rural Niger. This brought him unforgettable contact with Hausa people and to some extent also with Fula and Touareg. A second defining experience was his research, from 1972 * L974, on agr¡cultural innovation among the Aouan of lvory Coast. This resulted in his doctoral dissertation "Onze Aarde houdt niet van Rijst" (Our Earth does not like Rice). The third phase of his anthropological career began in 1986 with his role in organ¡zing and supervising the research trainings ¡n Senegal and The Gambia for cultural anthropology and development sociology studenE from Leiden University. This participation led to close contacts w¡th Mandinka people predominantly, but also with people of Diakhanke, Fula, Wolof, Soninke, Serer and other origins. This book focuses on the third and last phase of his professional career. The dual aim of his participation in the training - coaching students and doing research himself- is reflected in this book. Van den Breemer shares the training staff's ideas and his personal motivations and exper¡ences with regard to the superuision and coaching of young students embarking on the¡r first anthropological research in an unfamiliar culture. He also offers his personal reflections on rural society in Senegal, its structure, social processes and problems. In an account sure to engage anthropologists and non-anthropologists alike, Hans van den Breemer reveals the realities of anthropological fieldwork and the kinds of understandings it may lead to. Show less
This book is based on Adriaan Steyn’s Master’s thesis 'A new laager for a new South Africa: Afrikaans film and the imagined boundaries of Afrikanerdom', winner of the African Studies Centre, Leiden... Show moreThis book is based on Adriaan Steyn’s Master’s thesis 'A new laager for a new South Africa: Afrikaans film and the imagined boundaries of Afrikanerdom', winner of the African Studies Centre, Leiden’s 2017 Africa Thesis Award. This annual award for Master’s students encourages student research and writing on Africa and promotes the study of African cultures and societies. Because the Afrikaans language no longer receives preferential treatment from the state like it did under apartheid, many are concerned about the language’s possible demise. However, at the same time, the Afrikaans culture industry seems to be flourishing in all its facets. Nowhere is this better illustrated than with the burgeoning Afrikaans film industry. After entering a period of hibernation at apartheid’s end, the Afrikaans film industry was revived in 2007 and subsequently entered a period of rapid expansion. This study is an attempt to make sense of this industry’s seemingly surprising recent success and also to consider some of its consequences. It shows how Afrikaans filmmakers, by tailoring their films to white Afrikaansspeakers, continue to affirm the imagined boundaries of Afrikanerdom and allow their audience to imagine themselves as members of the same collectivity or laager. Show less
Western donor countries consider a proper functioning multiparty democracy as one of the most import conditions for achieving more legitimate governance and subsequently economic development and... Show moreWestern donor countries consider a proper functioning multiparty democracy as one of the most import conditions for achieving more legitimate governance and subsequently economic development and reduction of poverty in their partner countries. Support to free and fair elections is an integral part of the ‘good governance’ agenda of the traditional donor community. On the basis of the findings of this study, it appears however that it is not so much the acceptance of Western type political institutions or compliance with generally endorsed liberal-democratic standards that determine the possibilities for developing countries to achieve economic transformation and substantial poverty reduction, but rather the nature of the political settlement among the political elites. Show less
University of Colour in Amsterdam demonstrated against the neoliberal university and the perpetuation of coloniality in the curricula. Rhodes Must Fall in Cape Town specifically focused on the... Show moreUniversity of Colour in Amsterdam demonstrated against the neoliberal university and the perpetuation of coloniality in the curricula. Rhodes Must Fall in Cape Town specifically focused on the Fanonian concept of ‘putting the last first’. Both Rhodes Must Fall and the University of Colour centred historically marginalised voices as an aim of the decolonised university. The book argues that epistemic justice requires an unlearning and relearning of being/becoming that is the decolonised self; reimagining the relationship between pedagogy and community, theory and lived experience. It attempts to rethink theoretical frames such as Freudian psychoanalysis from a decolonial feminist perspective. This books seeks to share and encourage more dialogue towards achieving decolonised universities. Show less
In het gebied van de Boven-Nijl heette de schoolprent die aan de muur hing in de dorpsschool waar Sjoerd Zanen zijn lagere schoolopleiding genoot. Op de plaat staat een nijlpaard in het moeras van... Show moreIn het gebied van de Boven-Nijl heette de schoolprent die aan de muur hing in de dorpsschool waar Sjoerd Zanen zijn lagere schoolopleiding genoot. Op de plaat staat een nijlpaard in het moeras van de Boven-Nijl (nu Zuid-Soedan) afgebeeld. Twintig jaar later vliegt hij zelf, als pas afgestudeerd antropoloog en assistent-deskundige van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, over dat moeras, op weg naar zijn eerste standplaats in het kader van het Jonglei-kanaal project waar Nederlandse ontwikkelingshulp aan bijdraagt. Zanen’s uitzending naar Bor in Zuid-Soedan, in drie projecten, duurt uiteindelijk zes jaar. In dit boek doet de auteur verslag van de ervaringen die hij tijdens die periode opdoet: de hulpprojecten, de hulp-mentaliteit, het veranderende beleid, zijn adoptie in een Dinka familie, levenswijze en denkwereld van de bevolking, zijn antropologische werkwijze, en uiteindelijk zijn traumatische ervaringen tijdens een cattle raid , tot “de val van het paradijs” met het uitbreken van een nieuwe burgeroorlog (1983). Show less
Revisiting South Africa's land and agrarian questions / Grasian Mkodzongi and Femke Brandt -- Broadening conceptions of democracy and citizenship : the subaltern histories of rural resistance in... Show moreRevisiting South Africa's land and agrarian questions / Grasian Mkodzongi and Femke Brandt -- Broadening conceptions of democracy and citizenship : the subaltern histories of rural resistance in Mpondoland and Marikana / Sarah Bruchhausen and Camalita Naicker -- From material to cultural : historiographic approaches to the Eastern Cape's agrarian past / Elene Cloete -- South Africa's dangerous game : re-configuring power and belonging on Karoo trophy-hunting farms / Femke Brandt -- Gendered nationhood and the land question in South Africa 20 years after democracy / Kezia Batisai -- Farm worker 'development' agendas : what does sports have to do with it? / Tarminder Kaur -- Intricacies of game farming and outstanding land restitution claims in the Gongolo area of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa / Tariro Kamuti -- Inclusive business models in South African land restitution : great expectations and ambiguous outcomes explored / Nerhene Davis -- 'We won't have Zim-style land grabs' : what can South Africa learn from Zimbabwe's fast-track land reforms? / Grasian Mkodzongi -- Khoisan revivalism and land question in post-apartheid South Africa / Chizuko Sato -- The land-reform programme and its contribution to the livelihoods of poor people / Fani Ncapayi -- 'Disrupting spatial legacies' : dismantled game farms as success stories of land reform? / Mnqobi Ngubane -- Agency and state planning in South Africa's land-reform process / Femke Brandt and Grasian Mkodzongi. Abstract: "Land Reform Revisited' engages with contemporary debates on land reform and agrarian transformation in South Africa. The volume offers insights into post-apartheid transformation dynamics through the lens of agency and state making. The chapters written by emerging scholars are based on extensive qualitative research and their analysis highlights the ways in which people negotiate and contest land reform realities and politics. By focusing on the diverse meanings of land and competing interpretations of what constitutes success and failure in land reform Brandt and Mkodzongi insist on looking beyond the productivity discourses guiding research and policy making in the field towards an informed view from below". Show less
In 2050 zullen er in de Afrikaanse steden naar schatting 1,3 miljard mensen wonen, tweemaal zoveel als in heel Europa. Deze steden ontwikkelen zich vanuit een geheel eigen dynamiek. De stad Kisumu... Show moreIn 2050 zullen er in de Afrikaanse steden naar schatting 1,3 miljard mensen wonen, tweemaal zoveel als in heel Europa. Deze steden ontwikkelen zich vanuit een geheel eigen dynamiek. De stad Kisumu in Kenia telt in 2018 700.000 inwoners, waarvan er 550.000 in krottenwijken wonen. De informele straateconomie beheerst de openbare ruimte en levert de meeste werkgelegenheid. Bijna de helft van de mensen leeft onder de absolute armoedegrens. In zijn onderzoek richt Rob van Gemert zich op Obunga, een wijk van Kisumu. Hij schetst een beeld van het wonen en werken in deze krottenwijk. Samen met de bewoners zoekt hij naar mogelijkheden om de wijk te verbeteren. Terwijl hij door de wijk loopt, rondkijkt, luistert en vergadert, vormt zich een integraal plan. De eigenheid van de wijk vormt hierbij het uitgangspunt; niet als probleem, maar juist als oplossing. Dan presenteert het stadsbestuur een stedenbouwkundig plan, ontworpen door Franse adviseurs. Ze hebben een nieuw imago voor het centrum bedacht, negeren de straateconomie volledig en willen alle krottenwijken ombouwen tot woongebieden voor de middenklasse. “Niemand luistert naar ons”, zeggen de mensen in Obunga. Show less
