Participatory Photography and Podcast Workshops with In-School and Out-of-School Youth in Johannesburg

From 8 to 25 January, Glenda Santana de Andrade conducted a field trip in Johannesburg as part of the Growing Up Across Borders (GRABS) project, in close collaboration with our local partners RCP – Refugee Children’s Project and Aron Tesfai. The visit focused on participatory creative workshops using photography and podcasting with young people. The objective was to create…

Photo Exhibition at KZNSA Gallery

The GRABS project organised our first photo exhibition in a public art gallery, the KZNSA Gallery in eThekwini-Durban in South Africa. The exhibition, a culmination of our photography workshops,  brought together a series of photos taken by young refugees on the theme of belonging/difference. The young people involved brought their own imagination to interpret what…

Opening of the GRABS exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery

We’re excited to announce the opening of our exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery in Durban on Saturday 31st January 2026. The exhibition showcases photographs and podcasts produced by young participants as part of our research in eThekwini/Durban, South Africa. Exhibition Opening Details:Saturday, 31 January 202611h00Park Gallery, KZNSA Gallery166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood This exhibition is funded…

When Excellence Is Not Enough: Experiences of Accessing Higher Education for Youth with forced migration backgrounds in South Africa 

By Aron Tesfai Neighbourhoods such as Yeoville, Rosettenville, and Hillbrow—dense inner-city areas in Johannesburg—are often described through a language of deficit: crime, poverty, overcrowding, and deteriorating infrastructure. Yet for thousands of migrants and refugees, these places are home. It is a place of survival, community, and aspiration, particularly for young people who have grown up…

First academic publication from the GRABS project – now online (open access)

We are pleased to share the first peer-reviewed academic publication from the ERC-funded project Growing Up Across Borders (GRABS). Authored by Glenda Santana de Andrade, Jane Freedman and Isabel Morrell, this open-access article has been published in Frontiers in Human Dynamics and reflects on the use of participatory methods with young people on the move. Drawing on early empirical and methodological insights from…