Photo by S. Sheridan/Mercy Corps

Date: 24 Apr

Time (GMT +01): 17:00 18:30

This event is both a tribute to the life and legacy of Professor Jeremy Swift and a timely discussion of the pressing challenges facing Mali and the wider Sahel. Jeremy Swift was a passionate advocate for pastoralism, sustainable agriculture, and the cultural values rooted in Sahelian communities. His groundbreaking research on pastoral livelihoods, conflict, and resilience profoundly shaped how the world understands the Sahel, pastoralism and the value of mobile livestock systems across the world. His intellectual generosity, open-mindedness and deep commitment to field-based inquiry continue to inspire.

We will also reflect on the future of pastoralism, a subject central to Jeremy’s life’s work. As pressures on land, insecurity, misleading development narratives and political marginalisation continue to undermine pastoral livelihoods, this discussion will ask how policy, research, development actions, and international engagement can evolve to support more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient futures for pastoral communities across the Sahel.

Speakers

• 

  Camilla Toulmin (Moderator)

  Senior Fellow, former Director at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

• 

  Sara Pantuliano

  Chief Executive, ODI Global

• 

  Ced Hesse

  Senior Associate, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

• 

  Annabelle Powell

  Head of Agropastoral Programmes, Acting for Life

• 

  Alex de Waal

  Executive Director, World Peace Foundation

• Ibrahim Ag Youssouf

  Former facilitator in the Malian peace process of the 1990s

• 

  Simon Maxwell

  Distinguished Fellow, ODI Global

• 

  Ian Scoones (Contributor)

  Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies

• 

  Luka Biong Deng Kuol (Contributor)

  Managing Director, The Sudd Institute

• 

  Saverio Krätli (Contributor)

  Editor in Chief, Nomadic Peoples

• 

  Tchello Kasse (Contributor)

  PhD student at NMBU, Norway