Development Studies Seminars 2025 | Film Screening and Debate of the documentary “Memories in Exile”

The Development Studies Seminars are an initiative that, since 1991, promotes research carried out in the areas of study of the Masters in Development and International Cooperation (MCDI) of ISEG and the PhD Programme in Development Studies of the University of Lisbon

Development Studies Seminars 2025

Film Screening and Debate of the documentary “Memories in Exile”
Speaker: Deji Akinpelu (director), Cosmas Ba-Ana-Itenebe (author and producer, CEsA/ISEG Research), Sílvia Amaral (CEsA/ISEG Research), and Jorge Malheiros (CEG/IGOT/ULisboa)
Date: 30 September 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Venue: Auditorium 2, 2nd Floor Quelhas Building, ISEG (Access by Rua do Quelhas 6 1200-731, Lisbon, Portugal)
Free admission, in person event. Film and debate in English.

Synopsis

The research documentary centers on the lives of displaced individuals from the North-east of Nigeria who, despite adversity and the challenges of displacement, have collectively pooled their knowledge, labour, and limited resources to rebuild their lives. Through collaborative efforts with host communities and by leveraging their agricultural expertise, they have established a new economic reality: a thriving beans market in Auta-Balefi, Karu, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. This effort exemplifies adaptation, resilience, and innovation.

Trailer

About the speakers

Deji Akinpelu (Filmmaker)

Deji Akinpelu is a documentary filmmaker, actor and activist. His research-based films focus on urban development and heritage. He is co-founder of the Rethinking Cities Initiative, a collaborative forum of professionals in the arts, media and urban planning. He is an Artist-In-Residence Fellow at the Lagos African Cluster Centre, IADS, University of Lagos.

Cosmas Aloyie Ba-Ana-Itenebe (author and producer, CEsA/ISEG Research/ISEG)

Ba-Ana-Itenebe has a background in Political Science, an International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance from Fordham University, USA, and a Master’s in Conflict, Governance and International Development from the University of East Anglia, UK. He is currently a PhD candidate in Development Studies at ISEG (University of Lisbon) and a researcher at CEsA (CSG/ISEG-ULisboa). His doctoral thesis explores the structural barriers and coping strategies of internally displaced persons due to the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

Sílvia Amaral (CEsA/ISEG Research/ISEG)

Sílvia Amaral is a PhD candidate in Development Studies at ISEG (University of Lisbon). Her research focuses on urbanisation in Africa, particularly its links to the causes and consequences of armed conflicts, with a special focus on Mozambique.

Jorge Malheiros (CEG/IGOT/ULisboa)

Jorge Malheiros holds a degree in Geography, a Master’s in Human Geography and Regional and Local Planning, and a PhD in Human Geography, all from the University of Lisbon. He is a researcher and co-coordinator of the ZOE Research Group at CEG – Centre for Geographical Studies, IGOT – Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, where he also serves as an Associate Professor. His research interests include urban social studies, geopolitics, demography and migration.

Note on the processing of personal data in the context of this event:

Photographs and/or audiovisual images, individual or collective, can be taken and/or broadcast live during the event. Photographs and videos can be published either on the CEsA or ISEG website, in the media and social networks, as well as on the online platforms of partner organizations. Photographs and videos can be reproduced in various media, including CEsA and ISEG publications, social networks and the press, within the scope of a specific event, or for other institutional purposes, as well as for promotional activities.

Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Images: CEsA/Reproduction