The dominant narrative about Africa evolves around poverty and armed crisis in conflict-ridden countries, presenting a one-sided image of people who are poor and need help. Such paradigms pose a threat to the cultural heritage of African and other peoples. Enikő Nagy uses photography and spoken word to challenge the dominant framework of discourse and to reclaim the narrative of Sudan. In her lecture she will present how her book, SAND IN MY EYES: Sudanese Moments, an artistic research of intangible heritage, is an example of cultural resistance. An exhibition of photography and oral literature taken from the book is currently on European tour, and on display in Budapest (National Library of Foreign Literature, 04 - 30 May 2016). In June it will be exhibited at the UN Palace of Nations in Geneva.
Enikő Nagy, a social pedagogue, was born in Romania to parents of Hungarian origin, and grew up in Germany. A former development advisor for the DED (German Development Service) and international expert for UNESCO, she is a freelance consultant on development in Sudan, where she has lived for the past nine years, and works as an editor to different publications opening up new spaces of thinking. For her literary book project Sand in My Eyes she has documented visual and spoken moments from 45 tribes and ethnic groups across 30,000 km in Sudan.
