Mobility and Literature in the Arts (MobiLit)
The project promotes the mobility of African and Finnish writing students, researchers and teachers.
Introduction
MobiLit is a network development project that is part of the SAFINET, the Southern African and Finnish Higher Education Institutions’ Network for Health and Wellbeing, within the Culture and Wellbeing sub-area. SAFINET is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Education in Finland.
The goal of the project is to promote the mobility of writing students, researchers and teachers between African universities, literary actors and the Uniarts Helsinki. In addition to people, mobility also refers to the thoughts, ideas and experiences mediated by texts and their authors – the ability of literature to cross borders, create interaction and increase common understanding.
Core activities
- In the spring of 2024, the award-winning Zimbabwean writer, scholar, and filmmaker Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu served as a visiting professor in the Master’s Programme in Writing at the University of the Arts Helsinki. Among other topics, she taught perspectives on character development, as well as reading and writing across genres.
- MobiLit enabled participation in the SANORD 2022 conference at the University of Limpopo and the SANORD 2024 conference at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
List of participants:
Dr Elina Renko, postdoctoral researcher
Dr Sonja Sulkava, research collaborator, group facilitator
Dr Anastasia Ugwuanyi, research collaborator
Dr Jussi Valtonen, Professor, author
Read more: SANORD – The Southern African-Nordic Centre
- MobiLit facilitated a two-month teaching internship at the Dzikwa Center in Harare, Zimbabwe, for a student in the Bachelor’s Programme in Writing at the University of the Arts.
Read more: The Children of Zimbabwe Society - MobiLit also facilitated dialogue between Finnish and African researchers in the fields of writing and medicine, in collaboration with the Health, Narrative, and the Arts (HNA) project. HNA is a teaching and research collaboration involving University of the Arts Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine in University of Helsinki and the University of the Witwatersrand. Its aim is to promote patient-centred, ethical healthcare through fiction, to develop arts-based teaching methods tailored to healthcare, and to explore their relevance and usability among healthcare professionals. The Health, Narrative and the Arts is located at the Theatre Academy under the Master’s programme in Writing.
Read more: Health, Narrative, and the Arts
Project name
Mobility and Literature in the Arts (MobiLit) – Promoting the Mobility of African and Finnish Writing Students, Researchers and Teachers
Time
01/2022-12/2024
Funder
Ministry of Culture and Education in Finland
Team
Mikael Brygger
Professor, Master’s Programme in Writing, Theatre Academy
mikael.brygger@uniarts.fi
Jusa Peltoniemi
Lecturer, Master’s Programme in Writing, Theatre Academy
jusa.peltoniemi@uniarts.fi
Jussi Valtonen
Professor, Master’s Programme in Writing, Theatre Academy
jussi.valtonen@uniarts.fi
Find out more
Introduction
MobiLit is a network development project that is part of the SAFINET, the Southern African and Finnish Higher Education Institutions’ Network for Health and Wellbeing, within the Culture and Wellbeing sub-area. SAFINET is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Education in Finland.
The goal of the project is to promote the mobility of writing students, researchers and teachers between African universities, literary actors and the Uniarts Helsinki. In addition to people, mobility also refers to the thoughts, ideas and experiences mediated by texts and their authors – the ability of literature to cross borders, create interaction and increase common understanding.
Core activities
- In the spring of 2024, the award-winning Zimbabwean writer, scholar, and filmmaker Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu served as a visiting professor in the Master’s Programme in Writing at the University of the Arts Helsinki. Among other topics, she taught perspectives on character development, as well as reading and writing across genres.
- MobiLit enabled participation in the SANORD 2022 conference at the University of Limpopo and the SANORD 2024 conference at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
List of participants:
Dr Elina Renko, postdoctoral researcher
Dr Sonja Sulkava, research collaborator, group facilitator
Dr Anastasia Ugwuanyi, research collaborator
Dr Jussi Valtonen, Professor, author
Read more: SANORD – The Southern African-Nordic Centre
- MobiLit facilitated a two-month teaching internship at the Dzikwa Center in Harare, Zimbabwe, for a student in the Bachelor’s Programme in Writing at the University of the Arts.
Read more: The Children of Zimbabwe Society - MobiLit also facilitated dialogue between Finnish and African researchers in the fields of writing and medicine, in collaboration with the Health, Narrative, and the Arts (HNA) project. HNA is a teaching and research collaboration involving University of the Arts Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine in University of Helsinki and the University of the Witwatersrand. Its aim is to promote patient-centred, ethical healthcare through fiction, to develop arts-based teaching methods tailored to healthcare, and to explore their relevance and usability among healthcare professionals. The Health, Narrative and the Arts is located at the Theatre Academy under the Master’s programme in Writing.
Read more: Health, Narrative, and the Arts