Liliche!

by Iana

Good morning! Or “Lichile!” in Shangana, one of the local languages spoken in Mozambique. It has been three weeks in Maputo and, as time goes by, the taste of the unknown has become somehow familiar and enjoyable in our neighborhood. Simone, the Italian, early mornings, stops by the coffee place and updates us about the cultural activities in Maputo; José, the owner of the Café, Mozambican and son of Portuguese, talks about the most varied subjects, from pastry recipes to the Portuguese colonization. Fernando, who studies medicine and lives in the same building, is always around the residence, almost ubiquitously, unless at the end of the afternoon, when he goes to the mosque, because it is Ramadan. All the street vendors, who sell anything that you can imagine (expect for a laptop charger I really needed) are already part of our daily landscape. Greeting and recognizing people in public places are starting to be regular. Yes, we realize Maputo city is small and welcoming. Continue reading

Feeling at home in Maputo

By Jay-el

Our second week has simply been a study-filled week. The routine just goes back and forth from eating at SELF canteen or at our favorite ‘First Choice’ café, and studying at SELF study room. But of course, we still manage to discover new places, meet new people, and keep keep-up with new friends. Continue reading

First weeks in Maputo

by Jesper

Travel and arrival
On Friday 3rd of June we arrived happy and healthy after a long flight with very extensive meals served by our friends from Turkish Airlines. Our stops in Istanbul and Johannesburg had both been very smooth. We boarded our final plane and set foot on Mozambican ground for the first time. We are a group of three master students all working on our thesis. Our backgrounds however are very different. Iana recognized a lot of things from the place where she lived her childhood in Brazil and she can communicate very well with Mozambicans since she speaks Portuguese fluently. Jay-El also explained that the climate and general atmosphere reminded him of his home country the Philippines. For me, Jesper, as a Dutchman, everything about Maputo is very new and different from the cities and countries that I know. Continue reading

Attending the “International Climate Change Adaptation Conference”

by Adriano, Celma, Joaquim and Noor

Through NWO we got the possibility of attending the 4th International Climate Change Adaptation Conference (10-13 May 2016) in Rotterdam. The conference has the watchword “Adaptation Futures 2016: Practices and Solutions”. The venue with different features included plenaries, round tables, science session, practice session and science-practice session. The themes covered included cities and infrastructures; food, forestry and rural livelihoods; fresh water availability and access; public health; ecosystems based ecosystem based adaptation; disaster risk reduction and the artic. Cross-cutting issues covered topics such as, risk assessment, adaption planning and evolution; institutions and governance and; finance, investment and business. The opening speech was done by Melanie Schultz van Haegen, Minister of Infrastructure and Environment of the Netherlands; Robert-Jan Smits, Director for Research and Innovation, representative of the European Commission; and Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Continue reading