Angola in Movement
Angola in Movement
Over the last three decades, the global economy and society have undergone profound changes that have resulted in a complex process of political, economic and socio-cultural transformation. The cumulative effects and the context within which such dynamics have taken place have led to substantial changes in the levels and patterns of mobility of peoples and goods within, to and from Angola. This has had important repercussions on the nature, structure and organisation of spatial interrelations and geographical trading patterns, both internally and externally. The issue of the informal trade becomes critical within a context in which this activity has grown exponentially: informal and illegal trading activities have become spatially diverse, occurring at the local, regional, trans-border and international levels; they involve a variety of actors; differently organized transnational trade networks; cross-border trade, associated as it is with competitive advantages; and the flourishing of certain trade routes, which constitute geographical expressions of such activities. In addition, these economic phenomena bear implications upon identity processes, given that both the physical exchange (of goods) and the symbolic (cultural) exchange result in the movement of values across personal and collective identity frontiers. Finally, this study seeks to understand the way in which transformations in the mobility patterns of people and goods reflect upon Angolan society and economy. The informal trading activities will be broadly understood as an issue of governance, their study requiring that one pays special attention to the differences between local, culturally embedded-forms of know-how and the mainstream economic model. Such an approach will bear an important impact upon choices regarding the most appropriate economic and social policies. Theoretically, in order to better grasp the problem in hands, a multidisciplinary approach will be favoured, taking into account the views and contributions of different disciplines: economics, anthropology, demography, and sociology. Methodologically, documentary analysis will be complemented with the interpretation of empirical data generated by both quantitative techniques (surveys) and qualitative ones (interviews and life and family histories). Comparative analysis will focus on several case studies - to be conducted in Namibe, Cabinda, the Luanda-Huambo-Benguela route, the Moxico-Zâmbia route, and the Angola-Lisbon route), enabling the discovery of patterns in the informal trading sector across the region. The project team will be composed of three researchers whose work has dealt with Angola, and, in most cases, with the informal sector. The project will also draw upon the consultant research work of experts about the specific contexts in which data will be collected.
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International Seminar “ Confidence and Social Networks in Contemporary Angola”
The seminar is held under the auspices of the “Angola in movement: sociability and informal economic exchange” project (PPCDT/AFR/59446/2004) Coord.: Marzia Grassi
Marzia Grassi (ICS-UL) “Confidence and Social Networks in Contemporary Angola: a comparative analysis”
Carlos Lopes (ISCTE) “Confidence and inter-help in trading networks: a perspective gathered from the markets of Luanda and Huambo”
Samuel Aço (Univ. Agostinho Neto, Luanda) “A case study from Namibe: extending solidarity networks”
Cristina Rodrigues (ISCTE)“Learning to trust only in our family. Trans-frontier strategies in Cunene”
Joao Milando (ISCTR) Commentator
ALICE SINDZINGRE (CNRS, Paris & Soas, Londres) CONFERÊNCIA- The Relevance of the Concepts of Formality and Informality: A Theoretical Appraisal
Over the last three decades, the global economy and society have undergone profound changes that have resulted in a complex process of political, economic and socio-cultural transformation. The cumulative effects and the context within which such dynamics have taken place have led to substantial changes in the levels and patterns of mobility of peoples and goods within, to and from Angola. This has had important repercussions on the nature, structure and organisation of spatial interrelations and geographical trading patterns, both internally and externally. The issue of the informal trade becomes critical within a context in which this activity has grown exponentially: informal and illegal trading activities have become spatially diverse, occurring at the local, regional, trans-border and international levels; they involve a variety of actors; differently organized transnational trade networks; cross-border trade, associated as it is with competitive advantages; and the flourishing of certain trade routes, which constitute geographical expressions of such activities. In addition, these economic phenomena bear implications upon identity processes, given that both the physical exchange (of goods) and the symbolic (cultural) exchange result in the movement of values across personal and collective identity frontiers. Finally, this study seeks to understand the way in which transformations in the mobility patterns of people and goods reflect upon Angolan society and economy. The informal trading activities will be broadly understood as an issue of governance, their study requiring that one pays special attention to the differences between local, culturally embedded-forms of know-how and the mainstream economic model. Such an approach will bear an important impact upon choices regarding the most appropriate economic and social policies. Theoretically, in order to better grasp the problem in hands, a multidisciplinary approach will be favoured, taking into account the views and contributions of different disciplines: economics, anthropology, demography, and sociology. Methodologically, documentary analysis will be complemented with the interpretation of empirical data generated by both quantitative techniques (surveys) and qualitative ones (interviews and life and family histories). Comparative analysis will focus on several case studies - to be conducted in Namibe, Cabinda, the Luanda-Huambo-Benguela route, the Moxico-Zâmbia route, and the Angola-Lisbon route), enabling the discovery of patterns in the informal trading sector across the region. The project team will be composed of three researchers whose work has dealt with Angola, and, in most cases, with the informal sector. The project will also draw upon the consultant research work of experts about the specific contexts in which data will be collected.
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International Seminar “ Confidence and Social Networks in Contemporary Angola”
The seminar is held under the auspices of the “Angola in movement: sociability and informal economic exchange” project (PPCDT/AFR/59446/2004) Coord.: Marzia Grassi
Marzia Grassi (ICS-UL) “Confidence and Social Networks in Contemporary Angola: a comparative analysis”
Carlos Lopes (ISCTE) “Confidence and inter-help in trading networks: a perspective gathered from the markets of Luanda and Huambo”
Samuel Aço (Univ. Agostinho Neto, Luanda) “A case study from Namibe: extending solidarity networks”
Cristina Rodrigues (ISCTE)“Learning to trust only in our family. Trans-frontier strategies in Cunene”
Joao Milando (ISCTR) Commentator
ALICE SINDZINGRE (CNRS, Paris & Soas, Londres) CONFERÊNCIA- The Relevance of the Concepts of Formality and Informality: A Theoretical Appraisal
