Call for Workshop Papers - “Intergenerational Justice in Africa”,
Jointly hosted by the College of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Rwanda, the Department of Politics and International Studies and the Feminist Centre for Racial Justice, SOAS University of London
KIGALI (and online), 5-6 September 2024
WORKSHOP RATIONALE
This hybrid two-day workshop in Kigali, hosted by the University of Rwanda (UR) and SOAS, will examine the theme of “Intergenerational Justice in Africa”. As the world’s youngest continent, with 70% of its population aged under 35, Africa faces acute challenges affecting relations among older, younger, future and past generations. This has produced sustained calls for “intergenerational justice” in areas as diverse as youth employment, education, migration, land inheritance, adaptation to climate change and addressing the legacies of colonial and post-colonial violence.
The workshop organisers welcome proposals for 20-minute presentations that examine one or more of the following three intergenerational justice themes:
Conflict
This theme will examine justice questions in the context of intergenerational conflicts – either conflicts that continue across generations (in a temporal sense) or conflicts between or within generations (as actors). The “conflict across generations” category may include, for example, the intergenerational transmission of shame and trauma following largescale violence; the persistence of domestic violence and land disputes as intergenerational legacies of broader conflicts; intergenerational challenges after the post-conflict return of family members from combat, prison or exile; and post-colonial and post-atrocity reparations and return of artefacts. The “conflict between generations” category may include different generations’ attempts to negotiate old and new individual, collective, national and transnational (including disasporic) identities. This could involve responses by customary and other patriarchal structures to perceived ‘new’ identities and social movements around gender, sexuality, ethnicity and religion.
Care
This theme will focus on various forms of intergenerational care in African societies. Indicative issues here include the caring obligations of younger generations towards their elders (and vice versa); protection of the rights of children and youth; pensions reform and management of public debt; formal and informal modes of healthcare (including in the context of pandemics and other crises); and, socio-economic care through intergenerational remittances, the provision of youth employment and other means of youth mobility. This theme could incorporate insights from African Political Thought regarding notions of basic needs, wellbeing, sufficiency, justice, mutuality and cross-generational responsibilities. It could also explore the relative obligations of the state, donors, communities, families and households in the just provision of intergenerational care.
Climate
This theme will explore issues of intergenerational justice in the context of substantial climate and environmental change in Africa. This could include analysis of climate reparations, land custodianship
and community resilience in the face of land, water and food scarcity. This theme could also encompass issues of the energy transition and the environmental dimensions of urbanisation, housing, agriculture, land management and migration. Analysis of intergenerational climate justice in African contexts may generate examination of conservation, land restitution and the place of indigenous and other marginalised groups within these domains.
SUBMISSION AND SELECTION OF PROPOSALS
By the deadline of 19 July 2024, workshop applicants should submit a 1-page proposal, indicating how they intend to tackle one or more of the themes outlined above. The proposal should be accompanied by the presenter’s CV and an indication of whether the presenter is willing to participate in the Kigali workshop in-person or online. All proposals or any queries should be submitted to Prof. Phil Clark (SOAS): pc44@soas.ac.uk and Prof. Denis Bikesha (UR): at d.bikesha@ur.ac.rw
The organisers envisage selecting up to 15 papers to be presented across the two days of the workshop. Applicants will be informed of the organisers’ decision by 23 July 2024.
Presenters will not need to submit a draft paper before the event but must be prepared to submit a draft article by 15 December 2024, for inclusion in a special journal issue on “Intergenerational Justice in Africa”.
Some very limited funding is available to cover the travel, accommodation and subsistence costs of several participants currently based in African countries. Unfortunately, this funding cannot cover the costs of every selected presenter.
WORKSHOP ORGANISERS
Prof. Phil Clark, Professor of International Politics, SOAS University of London
Prof. Aggée Shyaka Mugabe, Associate Professor of Transitional Justice & Peacebuilding, University of Rwanda
Prof. Denis Bikesha, Associate Professor of Transitional Justice, University of Rwanda
Prof. Awino Okech, Director of the Feminist Centre for Racial Justice, SOAS University of London
The organisers wish to thank the Leverhulme Trust, the SOAS Department of Politics and International Studies, the Feminist Centre for Racial Justice and the University of Rwanda for the funding and other forms of support for this workshop.
