LAGO-COLLECTIVE

THANK YOU 🙏🏽 Our Kantamanto fundraiser with THE REVIVAL and Yayra Agbofah has reached the £5000 target so we are no longer accepting donations as the purpose of this initial fundraiser was to support the rapid local response to this devastating fire. You have all made a MASSIVE difference ✨. Within three days your donations made it possible to provide: 🔸 2,000 nose masks 🔸 100 work reflector wear 🔸 400 packs of food 🔸 100 bags of water 🔸 80 shovels, 50 diggers, 50 chisels and 50 hammers 🔸 200 bags of cement 🔸 100 roofing sheets 🔸 Tent rentals: used as temporary shelters for rest and coordination hubs. 🔸 Medical assistance to workers and volunteers helping clear the debris 🔸 Transportation cost for volunteers and carpenters. All this was essential in the immediate aftermath of the fire. Many of you are keen to donate more and THE REVIVAL will soon set up a new fundraiser specifically to support the traders and workers of Kantamanto who have lost so much in the fire. Beyond immediate relief, this will help their efforts to start trading again and help secure their livelihoods in the medium to long term. With all eyes (and money) on rebuilding the market it will be crucial to ensure that the people of Kantamanto are at the heart of it. To get this started, the special edition t-shirts recycled and designed in The Revival workshop will soon be available to purchase in Accra 🇬🇭💪🏽 📸 Natalija Gormalova Sara Sozzani Maino Livia Giuggioli Firth Bernie Yates LAGO-COLLECTIVE https://gofund.me/7556d15a #kantamantofire #kantamanto #fundraiser

Blown away by this 🎈 Last Friday with Yayra Agbofah of THE REVIVAL we set up a fundraiser to support traders and help rebuild the Kantamanto market in Accra 🇬🇭 after the devastating fire of January 2nd. We thought we were ambitious by setting a £2.5k target. Fast forward to Saturday evening we reached the target and doubled it 💪. A reminder of how powerful direct fundraising can be with clear needs, a community on the ground who can get to work and trust between people who care 🙏 Kantamanto is one of the world largest second-hand clothing market with around 30,000 traders. Massive quantities of clothes end up in Kantamanto every year mostly coming from Western countries with an estimated 7 million items circulating every week. The fire will have a terrible impact: first and foremost on the local traders and communities as many of them have lost literally everything in the fire: trading stock, homes, their livelihood. The fire will also have a devastating effect on air pollution as well as on the beaches where so much fast fashion waste is dumped, given the much-reduced trading activities in the months to come. Fore more information and to donate ⤵️ https://gofund.me/9e695655 To learn about Kantamanto and how the trading of second-hand clothing affects local economies in Africa listen to this latest episode of the ODI Global podcast 'Think Change" produced with LAGO-COLLECTIVE ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/e3P9pA-g Alexis Akwagyiram David McNair David Pilling Sara Pantuliano Eka Ikpe Catriona Laing CB Tristram Hunt Sara Sozzani Maino Moleskine Foundation Yinka Adegoke FibreLab Daisy Harvey ReLondon Loom Fashion #kantamantofire #kantamanto #secondhandclothing #recycling #ghana #accra #upcycling

The story of Kantamanto 📯🛍️ On January 2nd a devastating fire destroyed much of the historic Kantamanto Market, in Accra, Ghana 🇬🇭. Kantamanto is one of the world largest second-hand clothing market with around 30,000 traders. Massive quantities of clothes end up in Kantamanto every year mostly coming from Western countries with an estimated 7 million items circulating every week. I was lucky enough to visit Kantamanto last October and to meet Yayra Agbofah, founder of THE REVIVAL a community of designers and upcyclers based in the market and now working around the clock to respond to this immense tragedy. So it could not be more timely that with Yayra and Eka Ikpe we recorded this latest episode of the ODI Global podcast ‘Think Change’ produced with LAGO-COLLECTIVE and hosted by Sara Pantuliano, discussing the economic and social impact of Kantamanto and the importance of second hand trading and recycling for the local economies in Africa. https://lnkd.in/e3P9pA-g The fire will have a terrible impact: first and foremost on the local traders and communities as many of them have lost literally everything in the fire: trading stock, homes, their livelihood. The fire will also have a devastating effect on air pollution as well as on the beaches where so much fast fashion waste is dumped, given the much-reduced trading activities in the months to come. For this reason we have set up a fundraising pager to support THE REVIVAL and local traders rebuild Kantamanto. Please donate generously 🙏 https://lnkd.in/eAq6sEpP #kantamantofire #kantamanto #recycling #fastfashion

The orange economy – spanning the cultural and creative industries such as fashion, film, music, and technology – contributes $4.3 trillion in revenue and creates 50 million jobs annually. But its profound influence in shaping political and economic landscapes often goes unnoticed. 🟠 As the new year begins, the creative economy agenda is more urgent than ever. These industries are pivotal to building resilient, sustainable cities and advancing global cultural diplomacy. A new paper from Prachi Agarwal (ODI Trade and Economic Development), produced in collaboration with LAGO-COLLECTIVE for the Africa-Europe Mayors’ Dialogue, explores how the orange economy is reshaping cities by driving growth, fostering innovation, and promoting inclusive development. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eCXGmUSe Special thanks to the Robert Bosch Stiftung for their support and Federica Fragapane for the visuals. #CreativeEconomies #CreativeCities #OrangeEconomy 

🧵✨ On Textiles – stories of movement, fashion and fabrics (2) On this International Migrants Day hear about the fantastic work of Aleksandra Lovric of No Nation Fashion and Yayra Agbofah of The Revival. These are the migration stories worth telling ✨ ODI Global Marta Foresti IOM - UN Migration Laura Lungarotti #InternationalMigrantsDay #TheBeautyOfMovement #Migration #TextilesAndMigration #IMD2024

🧵✨ On Textiles – stories of movement, fashion and fabrics (1) In our second post for International Migrants Day, we explore how identity and resilience are woven into materials and fabrics through creativity and innovation. At LAGO we see textiles as more than fabric - they are vessels of history, movement, and ideas. From shaping iconic fashion styles to playing a central role in garment production - moving, visiting and sharing is central to creative practices.  Here’s a highlight of some incredible work and collaborations showing how:  🌟 Yayra Agbofah The Revival, Accra, Ghana 🇬🇭 and FibreLab, London, UK 🇬🇧 In Ghana’s Kantamanto Market, textile waste from fast fashion finds new life. Skilled local makers and traders upcycle garments, transforming“waste” into pieces of value, beauty, and purpose. In the words of founder Yayra Agbofah “we see textile waste as a resource and as a blank canvass to express our creativity” 🌱. We met Yayra and The Revival in Accra, alongside London-based textile recycling start-up, FibreLab who have recently collaborated to create patchwork jackets made from 100% upcycled materials, sourced from Kantamanto Market with all manufacturing and production taking place in The Revival’ s studio. 🌟 Aleksandra Lovric, No Nation Fashion, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina 🇧🇦 Located in the migrant transit centre on the outskirts of the historic city of Sarajevo and powered by IOM - UN Migration No Nation Fashion brings together migrant designers and stylists with local tailors and creatives to co-create the most beautiful collections, seen on catwalks from the Balkans to Florence, Strasbourg and beyond. No Nation Fashion creates fashion that crosses borders – quite literally so - blending cultures, skills, and stories. 🧶 This builds on our work with ODI Global and the cities and mayors of Freetown, Milan, Durban and London supporting exchanges and collaborations between designers, creatives and city leaders: the movement of people and ideas requires new and different ways of working across borders. Swipe through for stories of fabric, movement, and creativity. Marta Foresti ODI Global Moleskine Foundation Laura Lungarotti IOM - UN Migration #InternationalMigrantsDay #TheBeautyOfMovement #Migration #TextilesAndMigration #IMD2024

📊 On Data - International Migrants Day 2024 In our first post for International Migrants Day 2024 we highlight the power of design and sound to bring the data on visa inequality to life. Visa restrictions create barriers to movement for too many people, in too many countries: a hidden yet pervasive issue affecting millions of lives: 🔹 Rejection rates for UK and Schengen visas disproportionately impact applicants from low and middle-income countries, with African nations among the hardest hit. In 2023, rejection rates for countries like Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria reached 40-50%. 🔹The cost of visa inequality is staggering: in 2023, non-refundable fees for rejected visas reached €130M, with money flowing from lower GDP to high-income countries. This is not just a financial loss, but also a loss of talent and opportunities. We all lose out. To amplify and tell the story behind these figures, we collaborated with friends whose work we continue to be inspired by: 📈 Data Scientist Otho Mantegazza and our founder Marta Foresti analysed the data to help better understand the harsh inequalities of global visa regimes. 🎨 Information Designer Federica Fragapane translated the data into beautiful visualisations, helping to tell the story of rejection rates and the reality of their costs. 🎶 Digital Artist & Behavioural Cartographer Tiziana Alocci made the data sing, producing a visceral audio experience on the sound of visa rejections. Why does this matter? Behind every statistic is a person - an artist, a student, a family member - who deserves to move, connect, and contribute. Our work aims to shift the narrative to one of beauty, something we should all be able to experience. 📰 Our data on visa inequality was profiled in global media. We are glad to see this important story finally being told and we look forward to doing even more in 2025 💡Swipe through the carousel to explore the data visualisations and click here the hear of inequality ⤵️ I’m https://lnkd.in/eQ43QXRY #InternationalMigrantsDay #BeautyOfMovement #VisaInequality #allotherpassports #IMD2024 #migration #data #datavisualisation

Going back to Syria 🇸🇾: what would it take? Visas. Yes, visas 🧐 It is only 9 AM on Sunday morning and I already heard two interviews on the radio asking members of the Syrian diaspora whether they will go back now that Assad has gone. Beyond individual assessments about the prospects for democracy and freedom, they all responded: we cannot go back. Because if we do, we lose our asylum status or we are simply not sure whether we would be allowed back to whatever country we have build a life in over the past 10 years. What would you do? This is something I discussed in relation to Ukraine with the great Steph Flanders in her podcast last year: https://lnkd.in/eT2VXQWw After conflict, especially in the transition phase when all is uncertain, unless people have the option of returning (which of course most displaced people want) without having to give up or even trade off their rights and all that they have built and achieved while away, they will probably stay. One of the many misunderstood facts about migration is that temporary and flexible rules allowing people to move legally when necessary, convenient and rational to do so is one of the most powerful strategy to reduce ‘irregular’ migration. And yet…. See data and analysis by LAGO-COLLECTIVE with Otho Mantegazza ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eYE2jRir #migration #syria #visas #asylum #diaspora

✨ ’I can’t imagine any person who lives outside the politics of movement’ 🌍 - Lwando Xaso opening ‘All Other Passports’, The Beauty of Movement 2024 edition. The too often toxic and polarising nature of the politics of movement requires bold new ideas and powerful, but also more honest, stories to be told. This is why we gathered the most creative minds two weeks ago in London: through their voices, images and sounds we all experienced what is possible to achieve, together. 🙏 Federica Fragapane Tiziana Alocci Agbofah Aleksandra Lovric Lemn Sissay Emilia Terragni Marta Foresti Eka Ikpe Sama Kai Sundifu Kenji Maghoma. 💌 Stay tuned for updates. 🎥 David Aragón and Kenji Maghoma #visas #migration #visainequality #inequality #allotherpassports

What a pleasure and honour to discuss the inequality of visas with friends at King's College London! ‘ Visa regimes are deeply unequal, and African applicants are disproportionately affected by the staggering and unjust costs that they are forced to bear. 📊 The rejection rates for temporary visas for some of Africa’s largest economies, such as Nigeria and Ghana, are 40% or higher. Overall, the data we have analysed suggests that the lower a country’s GDP, the higher the European visa rejection rate for its applicants. 💰 Each year, European visa rejections cost €130M in non-refundable fees, with citizens of African and Asian countries being the worst affected. This is a ‘reverse remittance’ that we rarely hear about. 📺 Visa inequality is an often-untold story hidden under headlines of ‘mass migration’ in most mainstream media. In this seminar, Marta Foresti, Founder and CEO of LAGO-COLLECTIVE and Visiting Senior Fellow at ODI Global, and award-winning Information Designer Federica Fragapane discussed their work in collaboration with Otho Mantegazza unveiling, monitoring, and analysing the data on visa applications to Schengen and the UK, the resulting costs and how they affect applicants from different regions, as well as their innovative approach to data visualisation and storytelling through lived experiences of those directly affected by visa inequality. 🎬 We screened ‘Stories of Visa Inequality’ produced in collaboration with Oroko Radio in Kumasi, Ghana 🇬🇭 🙏 Achieng Akena for your reflections on how these findings interact with ideas on the movement of people, focusing on Africans. 🙏 Eka Ikpe and African Leadership Centre for organising a very special evening! #visa #migration #inequality #pasaports #Africa #data #datavisualisation