EDULIBERA
Education as an instrument for liberation in Mozambique and Timor-Leste - histories of solidarity and contemporary reflections
EDULIBERA proposes to study the ‘education as a liberation instrument’ dimension of the independence movements in Mozambique and Timor-Leste, uncovering the histories of encounters and solidarity between the two peoples from 1974 onwards. The objective is to understand how the circulation of ideas and people between these two places could potentially form the base of common principles around education and social emancipation. Also, it will analyse the role of these memories and silenced histories in education and knowledge production today, in the contexts of their post-conflict experiences, and the extent of the fulfilment of the anti-colonial movements imagined futures. In terms of training and career advancement, the objectives will be to broaden the researcher’s expertise and participation in academic networks, consolidate her research profile as one of independence and promote her longer-term integration in the academic profession. As an early career researcher who is returning to Portugal after a period conducting her PhD studies in Australia and fieldwork in Timor-Leste, this will constitute a significant support to her reintegration in the European research community. Benefiting from the supervision of an experienced academic and engagement with a research group at CES, this will improve the researcher’s capacity to produce high-impact publications, take part in international collaborations and conferences, opening new career possibilities. EDULIBERA’s innovative research significance translates into studying alternative knowledges, formed through subaltern historical processes in the global south, opening up space for more critical and democratic views of the world. It is crucial to promote these knowledges about solidarity and dignity that stem from post-conflict and transnational histories at a time when Europe is facing ethnical and religious intolerance and the revival of fascist groups in politics and society.