In March, UWC hosted a visit by group of postgraduate students and team members from the International Planning Studies Research Group at TU Dortmund, Germany. The visit formed part of a workshop for the “ICOLMA” project- The Impact of COVID -19 on Livelihoods, Mobility and Accessibility of Marginalized Groups.

The ICOLMA project  is a collaboration of universities –University of the Western Cape (led by Prof Bradley Rink in the Dept of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism), the University of Cape Town, TU Dortmund, and the Federal University of ABC (São Paulo). The aim of the study is to develop a more holistic understanding of how the cities of Dortmund, São Paulo and Cape Town have been affected differently by the pandemic, as well as examine government policies and the diverse coping mechanisms that have been adopted particularly by marginalized groups. Funded through a collaboration between the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) under the ‘Transatlantic Platform Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in a Post Pandemic World’ research body, the overall objective of the research is to advance knowledge on mitigation of negative societal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to support recovery and renewal.

Prof Bradley Rink from the Dept of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism and Dr Leah Koskimaki and Prof Razack Karriem hosted a visit at the Institute for Social Development, where Prof Karriem presented on the impact of COVID- 19 on marginalised groups in Cape Town. Mr Ngonidzashe Thom also shared his MA thesis research findings on the vulnerabilities and coping capacities of undocumented Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to a group of masters students from TU Dortmund, members of the ICOLMA project team including Prof Wolfgang Scholz and Ms Dorcas Nthoki Nyamai also attended.