The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6 targets: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. But what are the challenges on the ground in rural West Africa? Lémonla Armel Otekpo, a master student in the DAAD-funded and ZEF-run project «West African Center for Sustainable Rural Transformation» (WAC-SRT) and Segbedji…
This blog post was written by Sara Velander and Niklas Wagner, both doctoral researchers at ZEF’s doctoral program BIGS-DR. They spent nearly two weeks at the COP26 in Glasgow, UK (Oct. 31- Nov. 12, 2021) and observed six negotiations sessions, attended 14 side events, and conducted 19 semi-structured interviews there. Read about their impressions, observations…
In this blog post, ZEF- and Right Livelihood College (RLC) junior researcher Irene Awino Ojuok from Kenya relates about her impressions, experiences and insights of her participation in the COP 26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom (October 31-November 13, 2021). She was invited by the Global EverGreening Alliance (GEA) whom she represented as an Ambassador. Irene…
ZEF researcher Arslan Waheed (from Pakistan) wrote his doctoral thesis on ‘Development Discourses and Urban Poor: A Comparative Study of Slums of Islamabad and Brasilia’. He defended his thesis successfully on August 27, 2021 and obtained his doctoral degree from Bonn University’s Faculty of Arts. His research was funded by the German Exchange Service DAAD)….
By Alejandro Mora Motta, Carolina Tobón Ramírez, Emilia Schmidt, & Estefanía Montoya Domínguez *) The peace agreement signed in Colombia in 2016 between the government of former president Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) was celebrated worldwide. However, five years later, Colombia is still experiencing social crises,…
Field research during pandemic times in Colombia: context and challenges By Daiana Castillo López After more than one year working on the research proposal, imagining every day how it would be developed, preparing the documents, permits, licenses, and hoping for the approval of the budget, my field research finally started on October 22, 2020. The…
By Madiha Hussain, junior researchers at ZEF During the COVID-19 pandemic, political priorities have been shifted immensely in Germany. The situation offers a good opportunity to explore how the post-pandemic political participation could look like during elections. Moreover, the case of elections 2020 highlights the future of democracy, where politicians and citizens cannot have direct…
Blog post by Katelene Delgado*) When you think of the uninhabited Islands of Cape Verde, you probably immediately imagine large sandy beaches, blue sea and sun. However, the Raso and Branco Islets, both belonging to Cape Verde, look a bit different. There is an even greater treasure in these islets: the Cape Verde giant gecko…
The weather was cold in Japan. It was rainy most of the days. However, we were lucky enough to see some cherry trees blossoming. Their magical pinky colour attracts people from all around who pose in front of them for pictures or gather at nights to eat and drink beer underneath them. We as tourists…
Interview with Professor Kae Miyazawa, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences of the University of Tokyo Ms. Miyazawa, could you tell us something about your research background? Well, I started my career (BSc) in the field of plant ecology at Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan). I was interested in conservational ecology….
