Abstract:

In 2019, the Ghanaian government proclaimed the Year of Return, targeting people of African descent in the diaspora. According to the homepage “2019 was declared “the year of return” and the start of a campaign to encourage descendants of enslaved Africans to re-connect with the land of their ancestors. Thousands of African-Americans made the trip to Ghana – and many have decided to stay. They're fed up with police brutality and systemic racism in the US, ready to build new lives in Africa – and their number is growing.” The project is investigating the reasons why people of African descent and/or descendants of enslaved people followed the return campaign by the Ghanaian government and left their home countries. In order to find out more about their personal motivations, interviews were conducted with returnees, the initial results of which will be discussed during the lecture.

Isabelle Ihring is a Professor for Social Work at the Protestant University of Applied Science in Freiburg, Germany. After studying educational science, specializing in social work, at the University of Education in Freiburg (Germany), she worked for twelve years in youth welfare and anti-discrimination work. At the same time, she completed her doctorate. Her focus is on child protection, analyzing (global) inequalities, racism from a postcolonial and intersectional perspective, as well as the examination of decolonial practices. As a political activist, she works in various contexts to overcome dehumanisation, for more (global) equality and for a broader culture of remembrance.