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Join this immersive experience
Cobalt is a mineral currently high in demand due to its use in electric vehicles and other low-carbon technologies. Around 70% of global cobalt production comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), extracted through both industrial and artisanal mining practices. UAntwerp’s Institute of Development Policy (IOB) researchers and the Brussels-based Collectif Cobalt are bringing together academic and artistic work to share stories about cobalt mining in the DRC with a broader audience. As part of this collaboration, we invite you to join us on Friday October 30th for The Immersive Cobalt Experience.
About the event: The Immersive Cobalt Experience
During this experience, fiction and reality intertwine as we explore the connections between the products used in Belgium and the people and places that produce these raw materials, bringing attention to the lived experiences, diversity, and agency of mining communities in the DRC.
Through a role-play scenario, participants will immersive themselves into a community meeting and navigate the intricate dynamics of the mining sector. The experience invites participants to reflect, in a nuanced way, on the many consequences of the economic choices we make.
By incorporating a range of stories from artisanal and industrial mining sites, this experience highlights the individual and collective interests and constraints at stake. In doing so, it creates space for different stakeholders’ perspectives to be heard and explored and to collectively rethink and co-construct the future of cobalt.
Following the experience, we invite you to continue the conversation during the opening of a photo exhibition. Through photography, visitors are invited to further engage with the topics and questions introduced during the first part of the event.
About the project: The Cobalt Collaboration
At IOB, professors Sara Geenen and Bossissi Nkuba and PhD candidate Hadassah Arian conduct research on natural resource governance in the DRC. Collectively, their research covers a broad range of resources (cobalt, gold, tin, tantalum, tungsten, sand, etc.) and examines complex governance questions surrounding their extraction and supply chains. Their research addresses topics such as artisanal mining and formalization policies, water quality, access, and pollution in mining sites, responsible sourcing initiatives, and broader supply chain practices and challenges.
Collectif Cobalt was created by four individuals at the intersection of the worlds of arts and culture, journalism, mining, sustainability and international cooperation, driven by their desire to build bridges between them. In order to do so the collective develops cultural mediation activities, such as theater performances, storytelling, photography, workshops, and interactive exhibitions, which encourage audiences to explore boundaries between reality and fiction, challenge stereotypes, shift perspectives, and engage in dialogue.
Practical information
- Friday 30 October, 16-18h
- Universiteit Antwerpen – Stadscampus Building S, Klooster van de Grauwzusters Lange Sint-Annastraat 7 2000 Antwerpen