The voices of the children of Lake Chad come to the OU

A series of images and reflections from a crisis-hit region will be displayed at The Open University on 27 May. ‘Muriyan Yaran Lake Chad’, or ‘The voices of the children of Lake Chad’, is an exhibition of photography taken by children and young people living in the conflict and crisis context of the Lake Chad region.

Network partners from four nations in the Lake Chad region- Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, will showcase the locally generated outputs from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) networking project titled A ‘hidden’ crisis-in-crises: a transformative agenda ‘Boko-haram and education’ network activities to an international audience.

Dr Margaret Ebubedike, Research Associate, International Education, and UK project lead, said:

“Children and young people with experiences of protracted crisis and conflict are often not included in research about them, because they are perceived as vulnerable and needing help. The Lake Chad project will contribute to disrupt this narrative and demonstrate that the voices and lived experiences of children and young people living in regions of crisis and conflict are critical in decisions that affect their lives.”

The community based participatory research project engaged members of the community as active participants in research about them, co- designed with networked partners. Through photography and narrative storytelling, young people in the Lake Chad region were able to record and reflect their concerns. The project used visual narratives to promote critical dialogue and knowledge to reach policy makers, giving voice to participants and creating spaces for these voices to be heard. 

One child from the Lake Chad Region said:

“I hope that one day the children of the Lake Chad region will live and learn in safe spaces where they are able to fulfil their potential. For this hope to come alive, we must join our voices together. When we join our voices together, we amplify our voices and bring our leaders to action.”

The exhibition, supported by The Academy of Medical Sciences and GCRF, offers critical reflection into how participatory photography can facilitate the participation of young people living in protracted conflict and crisis settings in decision-making around the issues that directly affect their lives.

Professor Tajudeen Akanji, country project lead said:

“The aspect of ‘voice’ remains critical in research with children and young people from vulnerable communities.  Children and young people living in contexts of crisis and conflict have the right to have their voices and experiences included in decision-making that directly affects them.”

Open to all, this networking and knowledge exchange event will allow participants the opportunity to explore possible collaborations for broader and more extensive projects around educational interventions for conflict transformation. 

For further information, contact Dr Ebubedike margaret.ebubedike@open.ac.uk.

Event details

“Muriyan Yaran Lake Chad” exhibition

Date: 27 May

Time: 12:30-14:30

Venue: Hub Theatre, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA

To visit the exhibition, register on Eventbrite.

A ‘hidden’ crisis-in-crises: a transformative agenda ‘Boko-haram and education’ is a project housed within the OU’s Centre for the Study of Global Development, and is aligned to the Learners and Learning hub, which researches the learning that takes place in schools, informal and community settings and its impact on children, young people and educators.