IOWC Speaker Series: Everjoy Grace Chiimba

Everjoy Grace Chiimba (Univeristy of Bonn)

"The aftermath of Cyclone Idai (2019): Youth narratives beyond official and online discourses in Zimbabwe."

In the aftermath of Cyclone Idai (2019), disaster response in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe was characterized by limited information, politicization and exclusionary aid practices. In addition, much of the discussion about the disaster on X (formerly Twitter) was driven by distant observers. In response to being excluded and spoken for, young people in the community turned to grassroots participatory storytelling through theatre and visual art to voice grievances and reimagine recovery narratives. At the first anniversary of Cyclone Idai, a community-led theatre performance exposed issues such as the politicization and sexualization of aid, nepotism, and local exclusion. These artistic interventions provided a means of reclaiming narrative space and highlighted local perspectives. This analysis, demonstrates an alternative approach through which young people contribute to post-disaster communication and recovery, highlighting local perspectives that are frequently absent from official and digital accounts of disasters.

Light refreshments served.