Day 1

No More Ivory Towers: Global Majority Women in Academia

For far too long universities and research institutes have seemingly existed with an agenda of exclusion. The representation of female academics in positions of esteem remains disappointing and for Global Majority women in academia climbing the ladder to professorship is an even more extreme challenge. Questions of access, resilience and comradeship are all discussed in this panel.

Panellists: Dr Yvonne Battle-Felton (Sheffield Hallam University) and Nur Shkembi (University of Melbourne)

Event time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Auto-captioning available

https://youtu.be/ypigTAQ6KpY

We Want to Dream: In Conversation with Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

The #BWC21 headline event is an inspiring and mind-broadening conversation with former Cultureword writer Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, winner of the 2021 Jhalak Prize. 

Persistent in resisting the demands to cater to a Western readership, Jennifer shares how she garnered confidence in her singular storytelling.

An essential watch for emerging writers & discerning readers alike!

Event time: 1 hour
BSL-Interpreter & Auto-captioning available

https://youtu.be/lfQuKCvxP5I

A View from Berlin: In Conversation with Divya Ghelani

What does community and opportunity look like for Global Majority writers in Germany’s capital?
Writer Divya Ghelani, who  has published short stories in BareLit, BBC Radio 4 and Comma Press, shares her experience of moving from the UK to Germany, finding her feet as a creative & discovering a thriving community for artists in Berlin.

Event time: 1 hour
Auto-captioning available

https://youtu.be/UhrF6NUbJ2U

Queer Stories: Today and Yesterday

Queer Stories Today and Yesterday brings together two award-winning and award-nominated writers, Seni Seneviratne and Afshan D’souza Lodhi, for an intergenerational look at what the stories we tell reveal about queer lives both then and now. They are joined by emerging writer & playwright Susan Kerr who reads her short story ‘Remember This’.

Event time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Auto-captioning available

https://youtu.be/-Bh_nr9ut2o

Dreaming on Screen

The Black Writers Conference 2021 Film Night features a searing new commission ‘anamnesis’ from mandla rae (As British as a Watermelon) and Yandass (Little Amal). 

‘Intoxicated Expectations’ a short film using poetry and movement to explore intimacy, race and colonialism is also featured in this showcase, as well as entries to Cultureword’s ‘We Want to Dream’ competition.

Event time: 1 hour
Auto-captioning available

https://youtu.be/EEJjSiJL2BA