African Futures and Research on the Transformative Intersections of Desire,

Is it possible to imagine our freedom without thinking of the environment?

Gibson Ncube draws attention to the link between freedom and the climate crisis. He writes that a truly free society is one in which people can live in environments that sustain rather than harm them. It is one in which economic progress does not come at the expense of ecological survival.
Read the article here:

https://www.su.ac.za/en/capacity-development-africa/credentialling/news/rethinking-our-freedom-time-climate-crisis.

Rethinking our freedom in a time of climate crisis Freedom Day was celebrated on 27 April. Freedom also means that we must protect the environment. Freedom must also be about the conditions that make life possible.

And June arrives draped in colour and possibility!

Pride Month is here. It is a time to honour those who came before us, those who dared to live, love and imagine otherwise in worlds that often told them they could not. It is also a reminder that the struggle for dignity, safety and belonging is not something that happened elsewhere. It is part of our own stories here on the African continent.

As we move through Pride Month, it is worth pausing and asking; why do we celebrate? What does Pride mean in our context? How do global histories meet local realities?

Robin-Lee Francke offers a thoughtful reflection on these questions in the article below. Whether you identify as LGBTIQ+ or as an ally, it is worth a read:

https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-06-07-from-struggle-to-celebration-why-pride-month-still-matters/.

Pride is not only about waving flags. It is about making room for people to exist fully, safely and with joy.

Happy Pride Month.

Nudge Nudge!!!

A gentle reminder that the AfriTides Symposium running under the theme, “Gender, environment and narrative: Intersections across texts, landscapes and ecological thought,” takes place this August.

Abstract submissions close on 15 May. So if your ideas are still lingering in drafts, now is the time to let them breathe! You can submit your abstract via this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBFCJEsMQvTOr3r0wKyp1M7M2sf_3KuVRtIBMtugdLMp9IDg/viewform.

Today, we celebrate Dr Gibson Ncube on the publication of his latest article in the Journal of Gender Studies. Yet another beautiful addition to his rich and ever-growing archive of scholarship.
This timely contribution forms part of a special issue emerging from the rich conversations of the Singles Studies Seminar Series that was hosted by Professors Tendai Mangena and Adriaan van Klinken at the University of Leeds.

The article examines men in Ndebele and Shona communities in Zimbabwe who choose to remain unmarried and childless, and how they are constructed within heteropatriarchal discourse as failures, threats, and forms of “waste". Drawing on linguistic, literary, and digital materials, he explores how masculinity is tied to provision, productivity, procreation, and what it means to refuse these expectations.

You can read the full article here:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/09589236.2026.2662338?needAccess=true.

| Open Call for artistic productions

The project African Feminisms – Rights, Representation, Resources invites African artists, collectives, and creative practitioners to submit proposals for digital artworks to be exhibited on the House of African Feminisms website and possibly presented physically during the African Feminisms Gathering in Kigali or Germany in 2026.

Learn more including requirements and how to apply via the following link: https://shorturl.at/yLqdP

Application deadline: 30th April

House of African Feminisms (HoAF) is funded by The Goethe-Institut in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cc Goethe Institut

Every movement has its early rhythms. Its tides. And the people who shape and hold the work.
Today, we celebrate one of our own…

Our first Postdoctoral Fellow at AfriTides, Dr Frédéric Diffo!!!

Dr Frédéric Diffo is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the AfroTides research project. He is a scholar of Comparative and Francophone Literature specializing in postcolonial African and Maghreb writing. He completed his PhD at the University of Artois, with a dissertation on immigration and representations of Otherness in sub-Saharan and Maghreb novels. He has published widely in national and international journals and participated in doctoral programs supported by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.

What a trailblazer. We are richer for the depth he brings to this work!

Have a great week ahead!

This is happening today. Be there if you can!

Please join WiCDS and the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) in launching this important new book. "East African Q***r and Trans Displacements" is edited by John Marnell, B Camminga, Barbara Bompani and Kamau Wairuri, and published by Bloomsbury Academic.

On Monday, 13 April, 13.30-15.30, at the WiCDS office (in-person event). Scan the QR code on the poster to download the book.

In Stellenbosch University’s latest edition of Research for Impact, Dr Gibson Ncube explores how French literature, film, and theatre make visible lives that have long been pushed to the margins.

Not to explain them. Not to soften them.
But to let them exist - fully, fiercely and on their own terms.

Watch and Enjoy:

https://youtu.be/RNploDPsx-0.

Research for Impact - Dr Gibson Ncube How can literary, film, and theatre works from Africa give a face to marginalised communities and individuals? In the latest episode of Research for Impact, ...

SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT!!!

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that acclaimed South African author Alistair Mackay will be our keynote speaker at the AFRO-TIDES symposium in August 2026!

Mackay’s work perfectly captures the exact intersections our project seeks to investigate: the delicate, transformative dance between desire, environment, and society in contemporary Africa. If you haven't read his stunning debut novel (It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way) yet, add it to your list immediately.

Set in a dystopian, near-future Cape Town ravaged by climate collapse, it follows three q***r friends navigating a crumbling world.
It is a masterpiece of African speculative "cli-fi" (climate fiction) that asks a vital question: How do we hold onto our humanity, our connections, and our capacity to love when the physical world around us is unravelling? Mackay is an author who isn't afraid to look into the dark corners of societal upheaval and find profound moments of hope and love. We cannot wait to hear the insights he brings to our symposium!

You can read an excerpt from his debut novel here:

https://johannesburgreviewofbooks.com/2022/02/17/a-dark-vast-emptiness-within-as-boundless-as-the-universe-outside-read-an-excerpt-from-alistair-mackays-debut-novel-it-doesnt-have-to-be-this-way/

Moving on...
and taking time for restoration.

This is the last post from me on this platform. We're moving things around, and exploring other horizons.

Thank you for being part of this journey for the last three years. I feel privileged to have worked with Princess Sibanda, Bellita Banda, Thandiswa Magwaca and many of you who have come to co-created and imagined q***r trans spaces in the Eastern Cape and beyond.

It has been an absolute pleasure and joy to share in Dr. Sibanda's journey over the past two years, and I feel fortunate to have been part of the wind that helped lift her wings. As she embarks on more adventures, I wish Princess endless new paths to explore. I thank her for enriching my journey and those of the many who have contributed to the life of this Research Chair.

This page will change into something else. Watch the space.

Cheers for now.
We will meet on the ground.
zethu Matebeni