25 February, 1-2pm GMT
Join this REAL Centre seminar in person at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, or online, to hear from invited speaker:
Dr Noella Binda Niati, Assistant Professor of Education and International Development, Faculty of Education
Young people in West Africa are seen as a contradiction. They are either seen as optimistic and a catalyst of change on one hand and also deemed transgressive and a ticking time bomb on the other. Unlike more politically repressive post-colonial countries, in Senegal, social movements are widely recognised in the political landscape of the country. Senegal is often portrayed as a role model for a high-functioning liberal democracy with relative economic success in the region. Social movements have used political opportunities as an outlet for expression and have been used by politicians as a tactic for mobilisation.
This seminar highlights findings from a study examining how youth organisations, such as Y’en a Marre in Senegal use Hip-Hop to challenge established systems of power and knowledge. Drawing on a conceptual framework rooted in counter-narratives, this seminar interrogates the sociopolitical dynamics of Y’en a Marre, their engagement with Hip-Hop pedagogy and the contradictions in navigating their trans-African ideals while fending off or not the sociopolitical status quo. What is evidenced is that young people are struggling with and navigating the consequences of an institutionalised neoliberal script that has adversely impacted educational outcomes and engendered a system of western dependency.