HOWA Research Project – CEA/CAS Workshop Highlights

In the framework of the Marie Sklodowska Curie-funded research project HOWA, hosted by the Centre for African Studies, an interdisciplinary workshop was held at the Centre for African Studies (CEA) of the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo (UEM) (1 October).

The workshop, entitled 'Displacements, identities and societies in reconstruction processes - A socio-political look at the materiality of life trajectories', brought together local and international scholars from various fields (politics, sociology, environmental studies, urbanism, history) to analyse and discuss the relationship between the materiality, sociality and temporality of the processes of displacement and post-disaster reconstruction in Mozambique, and their consequences for the spatiality and economies of life trajectories.

Presentations highlighted the links between the macro level of post-disaster policies and the micro level of family and kinship restructuring, presenting evidence such as (among others) perceptions of children in displacement camps, changes in sense of belonging and citizenship, the materiality of post-disaster housing efforts, changing power structures in post-disaster policy-making processes.

This encouraging academic networking between two African Studies Centres aims to promote an interdisciplinary and focused approach in critical African studies on the themes of migration, displacement and disruption, enriching the thematic field on a topic of growing relevance in Mozambique, characterised by increasing political attention and tension, and territorial restructuring around displacement policies.

Based on the presentations and discussions, a proposal for a UEM special issue (to be published in mid-2025) will be developed, contributing to international academic co-production.

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