Colonial history has been imprinted in the landscapes, both in the colonised South and the ruling North. We find hybrid landscapes inhabited by the ghosts of past crimes between devastated mining regions and highly developed oases of prosperity. What will we leave behind in the topography of the future? How can we imagine the restitution of habitats that are being destroyed?
Moderated by: Lorenzo Marsili
Lesson#11 Abandoning and Re-connecting Heritage – Emilio Distretti, researcher, writer and educator, London / Basel
Emilio Distretti is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the History and Theory of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Basel. His research and pedagogy take on interrelated avenues on critical re-use of colonial architectural heritage, reparative justice and decolonial politics in the Mediterranean (Italy, North Africa and the Levant) and in the Horn of Africa.
Lesson#12 Solanum Aethiopicum – Aterraterra, Artist and Farmer Collective, Palermo
Fabio Aranzulla and Luca Cinquemani of the Palermo-based collective Aterraterra have cultivated an eggplant species that arrived in Italy from Ethiopia during colonial times, now fully part of Italy’s cultural heritage. They tell a transnational story between biodiversity, neocolonialism and identitarian narrations.
Lesson#13 Who Owns the Forest? – Remy Zahiga, Climate Activist and Indigenous People Rights Advocate, Bukavu
Remy Zahiga is a Congolese youth and climate activist who has made it his mission to preserve the rainforest in the Congo Basin and fights for the rights of its indigenous communities, such as the Mbuti people. He advocates for recognising indigenous knowledge to find a climate-friendly way of dealing with nature.
Lesson#14 Past and Present Slaves – Alagie Jinkang, Researcher, Palermo
Alagie Jinkang’s research examines the exploitative conditions of the Senegambian communities who harvest olives in the Italian fields and live in the so-called ghetto of Campobello di Mazara. He makes a challenging comparison with historical forms of slavery.
Lesson#15 Natural Heritage – Evelyn Acham, Climate Activist, Kampala
Evelyn Acham is one of the most heard voices of the Fridays for Future movement in Africa and the national coordinator of the Rise Up Movement founded by Vanessa Nakate. She fights for preserving future habitats and a radical shift in economic and development policies.