Image (from left to right): Ramesha Naika, Prince Eze, Ron Eyerman, Nnimmo Bassey, Tiemo Pokraka

From April 29 until May 3, 2019, the RLC Campus Lund organised a Civil Society and Sustainability Studies (CIVICSUS) Workshop, with RLA Laureate Nnimmo Bassey (HOMEF, Nigeria) and Sociologist Ron Eyerman (Yale University, USA). As part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers and educators they explored the question: “How can a scientific understanding of sustainability challenges contribute to social movements for sustainability?”. Bassey gave two key notes on social movements in Nigeria, outlining the causes and consequences of the country’s economic, environmental and social crisis, focusing on the exploitation of nature as a reflection of the unjust relations between people. Reflecting on Nigeria’s political transition from a military rule to democracy, he described the widespread corruption in the country’s ruling classes and radicalism caused by inequality and poverty. His environmental organisation Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) is engaged in multi-level mobilisations against environmental and social harm, such as the the Coalition for Socio-Ecological Transformation (CoSET), Sustain-Ability Academy, School of Ecology, and Community Diagnostic Dialogues.

The Global Secretariat granted two scholarships to students from RLC Campuses in Mumbai and Port Harcourt, to participate in the workshop and to present their research:

Ramesha Naika, Mumbai: “Disaster in Neo-Liberal Context – Building Farmers Resilience in Global South”.

Prince Eze, Port Harcourt: “The Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) in Nigeria: Implications for Social and Environmental Sustainability”

supported by: