Useful Resources

ILRIG is an NGO providing education, publications and research for the labour and social movements in South and Southern Africa. ILRIG have a new and informative website that contains news about events, publications and articles.

The African Centre for Cities and the Goethe-Institut are collaborating on a project entitled Imagining Impacts that explores the role of culture on the continent through a range of regionally focused, and locally specific projects related to 1) decolonisation and just transitions in Africa; 2) solidarity, support and social cohesion; 3) spaces for daring and dissent; and 4) power and agency. The project will provide events and activities in 2021 where these issues can be thought through collectively.

A special issue of the INASP Newsletter is dedicated to the "Global Review on Access to Health Information in Developing Countries", a major initiative proposed by representatives of 20 leading health organisations worldwide. The Review aims to assess progress over the last 10 years, lessons learned and ways forward to improve access to relevant healthcare information.

For 10 days in April, graffiti artists from around the world gathered in Dakar, Senegal for the fifth annual Festigraff, the Festival international de Graffiti en Afrique/Senegal. While the term “graffiti” can carry a negative connotation, spray can art is Dakar’s most ubiquitous urban art expression, ranging from vandalism to approved and encouraged art. As in many West African urban areas, in Dakar, walls are everywhere, but what’s different here is how people use them: Each wall is an opportunity, a potential canvas. One can hardly walk, stroll or drive through nearly any district or community without catching some form of graffiti or wall art, on buildings, along highways, even commissioned on personal homes. Graffiti is an essential aspect of Dakar’s colourful landscape. The festival taps into this established art culture of using spray paint to create vertical wall art and drills down deep in this mode: Through the creation of new art murals and graffiti works, street parades, training young artists, conferences, roundtables and community concerts, the festival networks artists and builds off of community acceptance and appreciation. This year at the Biscuiterie de Médina, the festival created a graffiti village, where artists painted walls, vendors set up shops and music blared, creating a creative community of artists, art lovers and art in a tightly knit space. “We must be precise in differentiating between graffiti as its done abroad and its role here in Senegal,” Ati explains. “Here, it’s a message to speak with the people: Speaking against violence, speaking for good education, speaking for good citizenry, speaking so that we know our history, speaking to listen less to politicians and seeking more to address the real problems in Senegalese life…We use our spray to speak for those who can’t.”