07/10/2026
The project development workshop titled ‘Indigenous Knowledges in Focus: Repositioning Environmental Human Rights through Temporality and Relationality’ at the University of Bayreuth came to an end yesterday.
On Day 2, the focus shifted from questioning to design. After Merlin Mitschker summarised Day 1’s activities, Prof. Dr Thoko Kaime and Dr Lukiko Lukiko (LL.D [PhD]) led the Project Design Clinic, in which the regional and thematic groups drafted case studies, identified cross-cutting themes, and formulated practice-oriented elements. The groups were then guided in preparing the common guiding questions: Which temporalities are in question? Which relations are acknowledged and which are omitted? How is Indigenous knowledge treated?
At the Outputs and Collaboration Lab, Prof. John-Andrew McNeish and Dr Isabelle Zundel set up groups to address the nuances of joint publications, teaching formats and practical work, in each case asking what we could achieve together that none of us could achieve on our own; Prof. Dr Almut Schilling-Vacaflor and Prof. Dr Thoko Kaime finished by making commitments and expectations regarding the project to come.
The Chair of African Legal Studies would like to express gratitude for the collaborative support from the FAU Transforming Human Rights Cluster, FAU CHREN Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg, for making this event possible, as well as to Merlin Mitschker and Dr Isable Zundel, who developed and brought this project to life, and to Philipp Bogensperger, Grace Sitati and other members of the African Legal Team who supported behind the scenes.
We would also like to thank all the participants who travelled from Africa, the Americas, and Europe to join us in critical conversations about the development of this project.
