PhD Thesis

Title: On the Brink of Development:  The Politics and Economics of Hope of Mtwara Youth in the Emerging Energy Frontier in Mtwara, Tanzania

PhD Supervisor, Co-Supervisor & 2nd Reader: Filipe Calvão and Graziella Moraes Dias Da Silva

Genevieve’s doctoral research explores the everyday lives of youth within the contexts of precarious and changing socio-economic realities wrought by the expansion of the extractive frontier, more specifically the commodity life cycle of the natural gas industry in Mtwara Tanzania. Through the ethnographic engagement of youth in different locales in Mtwara town, her research seeks to understand and explore youthhood and young people’s trajectories to attaining (new and old) socio-cultural markers associated with adulthood. In analysing and mapping of youth strategies, their imagined futures and selected paths to self-accomplishment, the study aims to explore what it means for youth to secure livelihood options, a key marker associated with adulthood, in the context of ‘unconventional resource extraction, the  economic transformation its brings and, more recently, political instability in the region. 
 

Profile

Genevieve Sekumbo is a Ph.D. Researcher in Anthropology and Sociology at the Graduate Institute and also serves as a Research Assistant on the ESRC project, "Synthetic Lives: The Futures of Mining." She holds a Master's degree in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Before commencing her Ph.D. program, Genevieve worked with Fundación Capital, a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Tanzania. In this role, her work involved providing technical support to the Tanzanian government's social protection program (Tanzania Social Action Fund), focusing on enhancing livelihood capabilities, financial literacy, and inclusion for vulnerable populations. Prior to that, she contributed to the initiatives of Twaweza, a civil society organization (CSO) advocating for good governance, accountability, and civic engagement in Tanzania. Genevieve's professional journey and educational background underscore a pronounced developmental focus evident in her qualification and research interests. Her ongoing Ph.D. research, building upon the findings of her Master's thesis, delves deeper into the protracted growth of the gas industry and its profound impact on the futures, aspirations, and livelihood strategies of young people during their transitions to adulthood. 

Research Interests
 

• Youth Labour
• Gendered Labour
• Informal Economies 
• Natural Gas Economies
• Youth Livelihoods and Transitions
• Future of work
• Economic Transformation
   

Publications and Works

Publication

• Sekumbo, G (forthcoming). Young Men’s Livelihoods in ‘Waiting’ – Navigating Youth Transitions amidst the Commodity Cycle of Natural Gas in Mtwara, Tanzania. . Boyhood Studies.

Works

• European Association for Social Anthropologists 2022 (EASA) Presented Paper: Suspended Futures: The Aspirations, Imagined Futures and (Re) Constructed Subjectivities of Young People in the Emerging Energy Frontier in Mtwara, Tanzania
• Policy Forum, Tanzania: Seminar on the Socio-economic benefits of gas investments in Lindi and Mtwara- 2022 Presented Paper: Socio-economic of young adults in an emerging gas frontier.
• International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Workshop Connectivity: Women experts and young experts’ inclusion-  2023 – presentation given to United Nations (UN) delegates and ITU staff on digital inclusive challenges for youth living in peri-urban areas
   

Work Experiences 
 

• Economic Empowerment Program Officer- FUNDACION (TANZANIA) ;
• Program Officer to Communications Unit and Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit - TWAWEZA (TANZANIA)
   

Fellowships, grants and awards

Emslie Horniman Scholarship Fund
 

Links

• LinkedIn

Email