Open Lecture and Meeting with Young Activists | The Cause of Western Sahara
The Associação de Amizade Portugal-Sahara Ocidental (AAPSO), with the support of the Representation of the Frente POLISARIO in Portugal, and CEsA/ISEG Research Associate Researcher and ISEG Professor Susana Réfega, in the scope of the Social Activism and Global Change course/Masters in Development and International Cooperation (ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa), are pleased to invite you to
Open Lecture and Meeting with Young Activists
Topic: The Cause of Western Sahara
Speakers: Mamina Cheij Malanin (UESARIO – Union of Students of Saguia El Hamra and Rio de Oro) and Yaguta El-mokhtar Moulay (Saharawi Observatory for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection)
Date: 20 October 2025 (Monday)
Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Venue: Auditorium 2, 2nd floor of Quelhas Building, ISEG (Access by Rua do Quelhas 6 1200-731, Lisbon, Portugal)
Free admission, in person event. Session in English.
About the speakers
Mamina Cheij Malainin
He has lived in Sahrawi refugee camps (Algeria), as well as Mauritania, Spain and Switzerland. Since 2010, he has been dedicated to defending the Sahrawi cause, participating in demonstrations, lectures and awareness campaigns. Since the beginning of his university career as a translator and interpreter, Malainin has worked to create several student associations and platforms in support of the Sahrawi people: in 2014, a group of students created SAG (Sahara Granada Action) and, in 2017, he participated in the creation of APESORS (Association for the Support of Deaf Sahrawis). In 2020, he joined UESARIO (Union of Students of Saguia El Hamra and Rio de Oro). In 2022, he participated in the 16th Congress of the POLISARIO Front and, in the same year, he also joined the Sahrawi Ecosocial Network. Mamina Cheij Malaini has also been actively involved with Sahrawi community associations in different locations in Mauritania, Spain and Switzerland.
Yaguta El-mokhtar Moulay
Director of the Sahrawi Observatory for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, where she leads efforts to monitor, document, and defend the cause against the exploitation of natural resources in Western Sahara. International Coordinator of UJSARIO, Moulay represents the Sahrawi youth movement in global forums. In addition, she serves as Coordinator of Civil Society and International NGOs for Western Sahara at the United Nations Human Rights Council, facilitating joint advocacy and engagement with UN mechanisms. She is a member of the Geneva Working Group on Human Rights in Western Sahara, contributing to high-level strategic coordination on human rights issues related to the ongoing occupation and the rights of the Sahrawi people.
Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Images: CEsA/Reproduction
