Inaugural Symposium of Professor Nafisa Bedri, British Academy Global Professorship AEGIS University of Portsmouth : 21 January 2026
Wow what a memorable and wonderful afternoon!
I want to tell you about what it was like being there in person in the audience.
Extraordinary and Powerful Presentations!
At an academic meeting quite often there will be someone reading an anonymised case study but to have a real person in real time telling their own story as the context for research yet to come could not be a more powerful way to rivet everyone’s attention as she talked, and simultaneously to demonstrate the huge importance of the research topic.’ I do hoped she heard the local Portsmouth person in the audience saying ‘let’s have a very special Thankyou to the lady who told her story.
‘The case study’ was just one example of how you (Nafisa Bedri) (and everyone who helped) had assembled and woven together so very many compelling talks. Professor Amna Badri on the big screen was such a strong presence as if in the lecture theatre (although 1000s of miles distant) and such a great way of representing Ahfad University for Women’s key role in your work, plus its role standing institutionally with you. For her to do that (from the glorious gold chair and with such aplomb), in an understated way linking your work to current Ahfad Strategy and its Strategic Partnerships itself spoke volumes about Ahfad’s own status. And it felt not unexpected at all that an Ahfad staff member is a global professor, in fact just as it should be).
Strong Women Leaders in Sudan from History and Now (8th century BCE to 21st century initiatives )
The thread of Sudanese history woven through the presentations was an unexpected additional delight right from near the beginning when Dr Mohamed Sayed from Southampton first took us to the ancient Kingdom (or should it be Queendom) of Kush. His long list of ‘women leaders’ and ‘women firsts’ from the 20th century despite colonial times and then Dr Zeinab Badawi of SOAS picking up on this magnificent history from to the 8th century BCE to the modern day ‘kandakaz’ (Queens/queenmothers), the self-styled women in the vanguard of ousting the discredited government in recent times. Then Bakhit Samir delightfully weaving in too the 1907 start to girls’ formal non-religious schooling in the setting up by your grandfather of the first ever school that years later led to setting up the higher education that is now Ahfad University for Women, (again as in so many talks today understating the surmounting of the difficulties, the fight to get the girls’ school started after colonial refusal in 1904 and trying again in 1906.) It was great Magdalena Lagu wove in too her awe of the Babiker Bedri Scientific Association and its contribution over so many years to developing evidence based policy for Sudan.
Sensitive telling of sequelae of war, understated suffering, and amazing positive stories
The order you had organised the symposium seemed to be such a very good way to support the audience and to protect them from distress while gradually building a picture of the disturbing ‘conflict sequelae’ statistics that are the context of your research. Your ‘big numbers’ outline of people affected and at risk, your listing of pathways to further damaging sequelae from the absence of schools (closed due to war) and absence of men, (including the dead, those fighting, or simply trying to protect livelihood, land etc). You and others explained these sequelae of war include increasing FGM (to try to protect girls from assault), early childbearing, abductions, domestic violence, and putting girls and women into servitude. The fact the numbers were taken up again by Dr Zeinab Badawi was another great choice, (again the lecture theatre was filled by the presence of an articulate intelligent woman!). Her matter-of-fact mentions of rape and other sexual violence, affecting boys as well as girls and women, filled out the earlier numbers. In turn when Magdalena Lagu returned to the devastating numbers, the picture became fuller still by her including and naming the systematic terrorising through use of gender based violence, rape now specified as a tool of war and other atrocities. Then there was the valuable widening of the picture with people reporting their own ongoing work. Fathia Abdalla mentioning her LSHTM PhD studies within Sudan on survivor stories after sexual violence, her work with IDPs in one camp in Gezira. Also the lady researching in Syria ‘terrorism in gender based violence’.
Your start to positive stories was so helpful, the business startups , the counselling support, the (re-)building of cultural cohesion and social networks, the developing of personal resilience, then many more that came up in the questions, including the so important realisation there are others, you are not alone.
The Comments and questions brought up numerous topics that might possibly link as you explore further the rebuilding of positives and the factors affecting the process.
They included
-refugee child education
-helping adult refugees get their past qualifications recognised even if they have lost certificates, (was that particularly including Afhad graduates?)
-helping those ostracised following sexual assault in war
-going forward with action for preventing future gender based violence including FGM (not just looking back on specific trauma) in the war
Some suggested it was most important to assemble the causative factors contributing to the outbreak of war
– water shortages and other environment issues s an underlying cause of the start of the conflict) and thus examining building climate resilience as a positive response which may reduce the probability of wars in future
Others were clearly very keen to also mobilise your planned research for evidence around wider current contexts, including UK government policy changes such as
– assembling evidence you find of harm from the current UK pause in family reunions (the commentator said clearly family reunion is part of the Refugee Convention for daughters, mothers, wives, I’m not familiar with this so cannot vouch its accuracy, but I am well aware when there is visa denial for grandmothers it can be highly damaging (I can tell you a sad story from a Somali family in Manchester in the 1990s from our research with the Somali community at that time, in brief the single mum and children went to pieces when her mum, the granny, was refused a visa yet again despite the young mum urgently needing practical help and emotional support, within months this young mum became a long term patient in a mental hospital and the children taken into care, if the granny had been allowed to join this little family at their time of crisis the severe difficulties for all of them maybe never would have happened).
– another suggestion was to include assembling evidence found of harm from international aid funding cuts and use it to ask donors to increase
Quite a number of comments and questions were about extending the possibilities you already have planned in place for individual support to help deal with the war trauma suffering experienced by your respondents
-include psychologists to help trauma ( in the referral team?)
-include healing and empowerment (FCDO funding but risk of cut half way through?)
– use direct funding to address issues ( because of donor aid cuts)
Across the whole meeting it was so poignant to feel the underlying understated suffering even as it was clear that evidence of resilience was also being shown. Your brief passing mention of your own unexpected lived experience of becoming a refugee ‘and the accompanying trauma, the disbelief and the fear’ spoke volumes, as did ‘the case study’ in her ongoing ‘process challenges’ even when recognised as a refugee, with no professional health care staff currently on the ‘shortage occupations list’ (from which refugee recognised persons can then apply for jobs) , and the slow and expensive process required to get herself towards and on to the medical register despite being medically qualified and with many years of medical experience already.
A voice for the voiceless and ‘creating spaces for change’ as part of the research approach
With these sufferings it was magnificent (and highly emotionally charged) when the lady from Syria spoke up from the audience and asked about the emotional burden of researching sensitive issues saying effectively how on earth can any researcher on these war trauma subjects maintain their own well-being (even when looking for the positives and resilience building)? With this topic out in the open it should be possible to think fully round it not just for individual well-being but for ethics considerations for both the researchers and the participants (and likely you already included at least in part in applying for the award). But I loved your reply about giving a voice to the voiceless which can hugely help the researcher keep going, and also the fact that the process of listening and recording the story can help the participant start rebuilding. Also the idea that it’s ‘not enduring but creating spaces for change’.
The research methods issues alluded to were interesting, (obviously some folk had expected you to tell them what had been totally decided) not realising you are at the start of assessing options.)
-sounded like Kordofan University might have some useful on the ground experience?
-the 5 Ps sounded good as a framework, not sure if they fit or not?! (People, Profit ( is this livelihood?), planet (environment), partnership, and Peace.
-‘the reflective themes process in family therapy for giving back hope and confidence to families that had fallen into difficult situations (downtrodden and in prison etc) sounded an interesting approach
– drawings and art therapy experience
-extending field work to other countries where Sudanese have fled e.g. Chad
-Obviously the Research Vice Chancellor from University of Portsmouth focussed on research excellence and impact, it is his job, so thinking now which one journal will carry the highest impact factor for the subject will be useful even at this very early stage.
What fun it was as people expressed their congratulations and their pleasure in your Global Professorship British Academy Award. Portsmouth University itself from the Vice chancellor‘s Office onwards is clearly so delighted you’ve landed there not just with the prestigious award (2nd only ever to a UK post-1992 University,) but also with your already strong links ‘delivering’ with the local Sudanese community which maps so well to Portsmouth University’s ‘Civic Mission’. (Good words I thought from the new Dean explaining this as ‘empathy, kindness, bringing together, understanding better’). I had a smile as I noticed multiple folk from other academic institutions basking in your success, also wanting you to partner with them and sprinkle some stardust on their projects too!
Deep respect from the Portsmouth local community unfamiliar with Sudan
Did you fully realise the profound effect of the Symposium on those in the audience unfamiliar with individual refugees or with the Sudan? I happened to speak and listen for some time with the 3 sitting just behind me. The lady who spoke near the end is a local Portsmouth member of the public who knew little about the subject and had attended out of interest and she told me it was just by chance. She was visibly moved in saying how much she had learnt, how much she appreciated being with people in-person, and that she so much wanted to express her huge respect for the people who had spoken. She and her friends could not remember how they knew the symposium was on, but came because they wanted to find out more about the topic and their local community in Portsmouth.
A colourful tapestry of celebration with in-person and online Symposium participants
The tech moving us so smoothly to and from online and into the room again made it seem like each and everyone was present in-person even though maybe half the large audience were not. Then with many present from the local Sudanese communities wearing Sudanese clothes (and gold!) and lots of Arabic being spoken, it felt just like being at Ahfad and also something like a Sudanese wedding party! If I had looked up I would have expected to see , (just as at a special celebration in Sudan) a colourful tapestry lined marquee!’
What a day you created! Profound in its insights, deeply embedded locally and internationally, highly supportive in its relationships beautiful in its structure, its delivery and the amazing wonders of the accompanying Art Exhibition too!
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