A wave of youth and student-led protests have swept across the African continent the last year; from Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to Senegal, Togo and Comoros. At the same time, the state of civic space is deteriorating globally and the same is true for many African countries. Student activists and other human rights defenders who try to hold their governments accountable and demand that human rights are respected, face huge risks. In many African countries we are also seeing a proliferation of restrictive legislation used to stifle fundamental freedoms.
This trend is not something new. Students have always been one of the first to take to the streets when justice, equality and human rights are on the line. In response, students and academia are common targets for authoritarian leaders. According to SAIHs Activism under Attack 2024, student activists across the globe see delegitimization, social pressure and university lawfare as the biggest barriers to doing activism, in addition to more brutal forms of repression.
So what does student activism on the African continent look like? What types of repression are young human rights defenders facing? Why are we seeing so many protests in African countries now? Some are predicting an "African spring" with protests spilling over to neighboring countries. Is this likely? What are African activists risking while trying to better the situation in their countries? How is civil society pushing back against autocratic regimes and can activists in different countries learn from each other? Which role can Norwegian civil society and the government play? And what is the way forward?
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A wave of youth and student-led protests have swept across the African continent the last year; from Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to Senegal, Togo and Comoros. At the same time, the state of civic space is deteriorating globally and the same is true for many African countries. Student activists and other human rights defenders who try to hold their governments accountable and demand that human rights are respected, face huge risks. In many African countries we are also seeing a proliferation of restrictive legislation used to stifle fundamental freedoms.
This trend is not something new. Students have always been one of the first to take to the streets when justice, equality and human rights are on the line. In response, students and academia are common targets for authoritarian leaders. According to SAIHs Activism under Attack 2024, student activists across the globe see delegitimization, social pressure and university lawfare as the biggest barriers to doing activism, in addition to more brutal forms of repression.
So what does student activism on the African continent look like? What types of repression are young human rights defenders facing? Why are we seeing so many protests in African countries now? Some are predicting an "African spring" with protests spilling over to neighboring countries. Is this likely? What are African activists risking while trying to better the situation in their countries? How is civil society pushing back against autocratic regimes and can activists in different countries learn from each other? Which role can Norwegian civil society and the government play? And what is the way forward?
Afrika Nå - What is next for the African students who fled Ukraine?
Afrika Nå
1 hour 47 minutes 32 seconds
3 years ago
Afrika Nå - What is next for the African students who fled Ukraine?
Ukraine was home to over 76 000 foreign students when Russia invaded Ukraine. Approximately a quarter of the foreign students in the country were from Africa, with the largest numbers coming from Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt. More than 10 000 African students have managed to flee the conflict since the beginning of the war, but only after facing racism and discrimination when trying to cross the borders.
The situation is dire for the African refugees that managed to leave Ukraine and have not gone back to their home countries. EU’s temporary protection directive aimed at aiding displaced persons excludes the foreign students that were living in Ukraine. Many African students, and their families, have sacrificed a lot to study in Europe and the students now find themselves in a difficult situation where they must choose between returning home and completing their university studies.
We want to discuss: what is the status for the African students who fled Ukraine in European countries? What kind of assistance have they been receiving? What needs to be done to ensure these refugees are also granted the same rights as Ukrainian refugees and to ensure that racialised people don’t meet the same type of discriminatory and racist treatment in a war situation again?
Afrika Nå
A wave of youth and student-led protests have swept across the African continent the last year; from Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to Senegal, Togo and Comoros. At the same time, the state of civic space is deteriorating globally and the same is true for many African countries. Student activists and other human rights defenders who try to hold their governments accountable and demand that human rights are respected, face huge risks. In many African countries we are also seeing a proliferation of restrictive legislation used to stifle fundamental freedoms.
This trend is not something new. Students have always been one of the first to take to the streets when justice, equality and human rights are on the line. In response, students and academia are common targets for authoritarian leaders. According to SAIHs Activism under Attack 2024, student activists across the globe see delegitimization, social pressure and university lawfare as the biggest barriers to doing activism, in addition to more brutal forms of repression.
So what does student activism on the African continent look like? What types of repression are young human rights defenders facing? Why are we seeing so many protests in African countries now? Some are predicting an "African spring" with protests spilling over to neighboring countries. Is this likely? What are African activists risking while trying to better the situation in their countries? How is civil society pushing back against autocratic regimes and can activists in different countries learn from each other? Which role can Norwegian civil society and the government play? And what is the way forward?
