The 1st International Congress of African and Decolonial Studies organised by MAD Africa took place on 29, 30 November and 1 December 2023. Under the theme “Contributions to the deconstruction of academic thinking“, the meeting was held at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Seville (Spain) and was attended by more than 150 people, including academics and activists.

Researcher Gessica Correia Borges, a member of the MigraMediaActs team, was present with the paper “Art, fighting and quilombismo in the Epifania Collective: new political bodies and inscriptions in the landscape of Porto, Portugal”, produced in partnership with Amina Bawa and Letícia Santanna. The paper won the prize in the international communication category, awarded on the last day of the Congress.

Participants in the 1st International Congress of African and Decolonial Studies. From left to right: Amina Bawa, Hassan Sall, Jeanne Rolande Dacougna Minkette, Irma Miranda, Gessica Correia Borges and Letícia Santanna. Photo: Fernanda Monteiro

The event helped generate a space for reflection on the need to deconstruct Western academia, while at the same time making visible and bringing together theoretical concepts and practical experiences from academia in the global South that enable the deconstruction of contemporary academic thinking.