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Session chair : Prof. Adriana Ștefănel, University of Bucarest, Bucarest (Romania)

Individual contribution

Prof. Louis Mendy -  Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar (Senegal)

Environmental Violence and Migration in West Africa.

Environmental Violence and Migration in West Africa. By Louis Mendy, Professor of American Studies at Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal. When we talk about violence, we automatically think of physical, moral or verbal violence between individuals or groups of people. We, often, tend to overlook man’s violence on nature or on his immediate environment ; which causes people, animals and even Spirits to migrate locally or internationally. 
We all know that the quality of our lives is closely related to the environment. Unfortunately, man has been aggressing nature for such a long time. For quite a few decades, the issue of global warming has been a universal concern Environmental Violence is mostly defined as follows: ‘’The violence on the natural world as a result of human degradation of the earth and direct damage to the environment by humans that threatens their own survival. It may also include environmental policies that can be harmful to people, other living species and biodiversity’’. 
 Migration of people and other species has been quite rampant in West Africa and Africa in general, due to man’s violent agressions on nature. Deforestation, overfishing and coastal erosion are among the worst consequences of humans’ actions. 
The excessive cutting of trees, for example, has caused forests to lose their traditional importance. In Africa, they have always been known as the homes of good and bad Spirits, wild games, the reserve of medicinal plants and the sanctuaries for religious celebrations. Overfishing and coastal erosion are also wdespread in Africa. Thus, it is more than urgent for African leaders and their populations to join efforts in order to limit the environmental violence and avoid jeopardizing next generations’ living conditions. 

Collective contribution 

Dr. ​​Nereida Ripero - University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa)
Dr. Francisco Fuentes-Antrás  -  Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid (Spain)
Dr. Mirna Solic - University of Glasgow, Glasgow (UK) 

By centering refugees’ voices, we will discuss how the project fosters a transnational artistic dialogue that humanizes migration. Our presentation will share findings on specific methodological frameworks and empirical data arising from work in three different geographical and cultural urban areas – Johannesburg, Madrid, Glasgow – regarding project management and outcomes. 
Despite different asylum systems and resources, participants voiced remarkably similar themes of memory, food, tradition, safety, and identity, underscoring migration as a global human experience. 
The project’s main outcome is a collective eBook compiling 60 contributions—textual, oral, visual, and non-verbal—such as drawings, photos, textiles, and other creative forms. Beyond artworks, the project highlights both shared and contrasting contexts of refugee reception in Europe and South Africa. 
Participants reflected on “home” and “belonging” as both physical spaces and emotional experiences, expressing the trauma of displacement and the resilience of rebuilding. Activities were structured around narrative elements—character, object, plot—while allowing freedom of expression in multiple languages. 
Between May and August 2025, workshops took place in Madrid, Glasgow, and Johannesburg with refugees from various countries like Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, or Zimbabwe, now living in Spain, South Africa, and the UK. 
The CIVIS Open Lab project “Migrant Storytelling on Home and Belonging as Transformative Tools” is an international collaboration between the University of Glasgow, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, together with refugee-support organizations CEAR (Spain), Migrant Voice (UK), and Windybrow Arts Centre (South Africa). Its aim is to empower refugees and displaced people to tell their stories through participatory arts, countering stereotypes and fostering empathy. Environmental Violence and Migration in West Africa.

Questions for the audience

• In the context of migration and forced displacement, how can educational systems and institutions foster inclusive, multilingual and multicultural societies?
• In what ways may storytelling serve as a transforming tool for both host societies and refugees? 
• How are the experiences of refugees shaped differently by the local political and social situations in South Africa, Spain, and the United Kingdom?
• What challenges and opportunities arise when working with multilingual and multicultural approaches in participatory arts? 
• How do trauma and resilience coexist in narratives of forced displacement? 
• Which factors—artistic excellence, societal change, policy influence, or participant wellbeing—should be used to gauge the success of such initiatives?