CICAB_2019 |  INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM 100 YEARS OF BISSAU - Dynamics and Possibilities

PANEL 1. Production of the territory: between formal and informal practices

The papers for this panel must examine the practices of occupation and appropriation of the territory by, for example, neighbourhood associations, mandjuandadi groups, bancadas, informal vendors, markets, among other types of popular, public or private occupation.

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Territorial management in Guinea-Bissau is usually carried out at three levels of political power. It is controlled by public institutions (the state), traditional institutions (represented by Régulos) and religious actors (priests, imams and baloberus).

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The aim of this panel is to analyse the dependence, independence or interdependence of these powers and to find forms of dialogue between them. Instead of importing models unknown to the local culture, this panel encourages the presentation of models that depart from management strategies already present in the territory.

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Participants are encouraged to discuss the differences and the interactions between formal and informal planning in relation to the occupation of the territory.

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PANEL 2. Road infrastructure, traffic and mobility

The expansion of the city has direct influence on traffic and mobility. In the current age of the automobile, every city in the world is affected by problems concerning traffic and urban mobility.

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The aim of this panel is to discuss models, alternatives and strategies of urban mobility by taking into account the role of motor vehicles today and the issues of accessibility and conditioned mobility.

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PANEL 3. Ecology and urban health

The fields of urban ecology and public health lead the debate to issues like the access to safe drinking water and sanitation, waste management, seasonality and flooding, epidemics and control strategies, urban parks and recreation, etc.

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The relation between the environment and the society creates urban micro-ecologies that influence public health, well-being and the right to the city.

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PANEL 4. Cultural, intangible and built heritage: future perspectives

Exogenous cultural influences tend to shape the various fields in post-independent countries, leading to the abandonment of certain cultural practices in the search for 'modernity'. This weakens the traditional national cultural heritage. For example, in Guinea-Bissau, the last study on traditional Guinean architecture took place in 1980. The same happens with other types of heritage, such as music, dance, food, among other.

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Colonial architectural heritage is part of Guinea-Bissau’s history. Some of the buildings are abandoned and degraded, perhaps rejected by the negative aura they carry.

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It is proposed that, among other transversal issues, this panel discusses the causes for the non-rehabilitation of colonial structures and the ways the occupation and transformation of these objects could be a positive action towards appropriation.

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This panel aims to analyse how urban transformations influence traditional and cultural heritage and vice versa. Finally, it also seeks to discuss the need for museological structures for the preservation of history.

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PANEL 5. City as a space of identity (re)construction

Since the creation of the independent state and nationality, Guinea-Bissau is undergoing a process of (re)construction of national identity(ies).  Following each major episode of social change this process is reinforced due to the new configurations of power that usually go alongside it. Also, due to migration, mainly from the Francophone and the Lusophone contexts, as well as the prolonged political crisis, Guinea-Bissau is again in the process of identity (re)construction.

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Although one speaks of a "universal and unifying" identity, there is, however, a myriad of identities based on the ethnic diversity.

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This panel is proposed to analyse the issues above, their expression and effect on various aspects of social relations (political, economic, architectural, etc.).

 

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PANEL 6. Gender and the public space

The recognised heroes of the national liberation struggle are always men, except a few heroines who are publicly known but no longer celebrated. The best known of these women is the soldier Titina Silá. It is to be noted that the absence of female representation has also, accidentally or intentionally, been reproduced in the political sphere and in several other social spaces, including the academic circles.

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The aim of this panel is to discuss and analyse the position of women in Guinean society and in the production and management of the territory.

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Considering that the body is also a territory, the panel can include themes like "fanadu di mindjer" (female genital mutilation) or forced marriage, which disregard women’s dignity.

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In Guinea-Bissau, homosexuality is not formally considered as crime; however, discrimination against homosexuals is persistent. Participants are invited to submit papers on LGBTQ issues.