Wednesday, September 11th, 2024 - The Global Health Solidarity Project hosted their first forum titled “Solidarity – Concepts and Practices from Africa”. The forum aimed to discuss how solidarity is conceptualised and enacted, drawing on findings from workshops held in Africa, and a case study about ongoing work in the India-Nepal-Tibet region. Over 50 participants, including researchers, public health practitioners and students from mostly sub-Saharan African countries attended.
Findings from the two workshops – Anglophone (Ghana) and Francophone (Guinea) –included the shared understanding that solidarity is more a way of life than a concept. It is also an example of humanism, and it draws from feelings and motivations such as love, compassion, empathy, trust, and respect.
In the Himalayan communities, the practice of solidarity extended to non-human species, such as caring for animals, driven by beliefs of reincarnation.
“It is believed that the animal you hurt today could be a relative from past births, or that you could reincarnate as an animal in the next life, and, that the animal could reincarnate as a human,” said, Ashish Giri, project research manager Southeast Asia.
After the presentations, Dr. Caesar Atuire, Principal Investigator of the GH-Solidarity Project, delivered a talk on Deep and Responsive Solidarity, followed by a discussion session. Deep solidarity is basically a way of life that is grounded on the notion of bondedness and the understanding that the flourishing of one is linked to the whole. Responsive solidarity occurs when we react as individuals or groups to “stand up, besides, for, with or as” for others. In most cases, responsive solidarity is goal oriented, and actions are intended to improve or correct disadvantage or injustice, either present or past.
“It is true that where there is deep solidarity responsive solidarity can emerge. I mean, it can emerge more spontaneously, and it's more genuine. It can have a longer duration. But sometimes, too, there are cases where a responsive solidarity can then be the basis for going deeper in our deep solidarity,” Dr. Atuire added.
In the realm of global health, the integration of both deep and responsive solidarity offers a comprehensive approach to addressing health crises and underlying systemic issues.
This forum is the first of many— the Global Health Solidarity Project will host its third regional workshop in Brisbane in November 2024, focusing on the conceptualizations and practices of solidarity in the Australian/New Zealand contexts. Additional workshops are planned for Costa Rica, India, and South Africa.
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