When Abraham Solomon talks about his research, his passion really shines through. “I’m interested in how cultural festivals can serve as platforms for inclusive development, ecological preservation and cultural identity reinforcement,” says the master’s student from Nigeria. He studies these dynamics as a scholarship holder at the SDG Graduate School “Performing Sustainability – Cultures and Development in West Africa”, an alliance of the University of Hildesheim, the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria. Supported by the DAAD with funding from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, the seven SDG Graduate Schools link universities in Germany and higher education institutions in the Global South and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
Solomon initially studied business education at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. He then served as programme lead for the organisation YouthHubAfrica and worked in a variety of projects focusing on youth participation, civic engagement and environmental education. The Agatu Fishing Festival, a historic celebration of fishing in Nigeria, is the subject of his current research. After decades of bloody conflict over the Ochulo fish pond, the festival was finally revived by the local population in 2022 and is now viewed as a symbol of peace and reconciliation.