4-7th January 2025
000 days 00 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds
Summit Program
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the struggle of the last colony in Africa, to meet activists, journalists, politicians and researchers from every corner of the globe and to celebrate the accomplishment of the first around the world bike tour for the freedom of Western Shahara.
4th of January
Participants arrive in the camps and settle into their Sahrawi homestays.
5th of January
10:00-13:00 Bike caravan
13:00-15:00 Celebratory lunch
18:00-22:00 Inauguration with live music and speeches
6th of January
10:00-12:00 Panel sessions
12:00-13:00 Lunch
13:00-16:00 Workshop sessions
18:00-22:00 Film screenings and music
The conference will be in English and there will be translations from Arabic and Spanish.
Recommended arrival
The refugee camps are located outside Tindouf, Algeria which has a domestic airport (routes).
We recommend to arrive in the evening of the 4th of January to have time to rest and acclimate before participating in the activities the next day.
Airport Pickup
You will be picked up at the Tindouf airport and taken to the Sahrawi refugee camps outside of Tindouf.
Settling in
You will be hosted by a local family who will provide you with food and accommodation through your stay.
It will give you the opportunity to learn about Sahrawi culture and community at close hand, experience their unique tea ceremony, the warmth of their hospitality and their stories.
The last 25km together
We invite you to cycle the last 25 km of our Bike4WesternSahara campaign together with us. We will start on the morning of the 5th of January around 10:00.
The participants who want to join, will be transported to the starting point which is a 25 km ride away from the finish line (camp Smara where the summit will be held).
Equipment provided
Bikes, helmets and flags will be provided to everyone who wishes to join the 25 km ride to the camps. We will bike together at a slow pace to accommodate everyone.
Celebration ceremony
The bike ride will be a celebration with music and crowds cheering us on as we arrive. Cameras will be there to film to record the final stage of the over two year long solidarity campaign. Those who can’t participate in the bike ride can of course join in the celebration and the rest of the summit.
Summit inauguration
The bike caravan will arrive in the early afternoon on the 5th of January. We will enjoy some live music and dancing before inaugurating the summit.
The summit will mix inspirational speeches and panels with live music, film screenings, workshops and time to get to know the other participants.
Speeches
We will be joined by Sahrawi leaders and activists who will speak about the cause, the challenges and ideas for the future, by world leaders such as Chief Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, and other inspirational speakers.
Participants
So far the participants registered are from countries such as Japan, Italy, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, Canada, US and many more.
Background
Origins
Sanna and Benjamin started biking from their hometown Gothenburg, Sweden in May 2022 and after over two years they have biked over 20 000 km through 24 countries and territories where they have given hundreds of presentations at universities and public forums, spoken to journalists, parliamentarians and people on the streets to make sure that everyone knows about the occupation.
Stronger together
After riding through villages, cities, parliaments and media houses, we realized that there are not enough people organizing around the topic of Western Sahara, that those who do often don’t know about each other and aren’t always coordinating and those who want to join the movement don’t know where to start.
That is how the idea of the summit was born. As a meeting point for interested people around the world, wanting to learn about the Sahrawi people, to connect in solidarity to end colonization, and to meet and learn from others already doing so.
Western Sahara is the biggest remaining colony in the world on the UN:s lists over non-self governing territories. After almost one hundred years of Spanish colonization it was illegally invaded by Morocco and Mauritania in 1975. What followed was a war between the Polisario, the independence movement and UN recognized representation of the Sahrawi people, and the invaders.
World’s longest wall
After a few years Mauritania withdrew while Morocco gained financial and military support from the US, France, Israel and Saudi Arabia. With that help they built the world’s longest active military wall which today divides Western Sahara into two parts; the occupied territory which constitutes 80% of the country and the liberated territory which the Saharawi themselves govern.
Torture and imprisonment
In the occupied territories hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis face regular arrests, torture and imprisonment for protesting, carrying their flag, organising and practising their culture.
The referendum
The liberated territory constitutes 20% of the country and was freed during the war that ended in 1991 when Morocco promised to hold a referendum overseen by the UN to let the Sahrawis decide whether they wanted independence or autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. That referendum has still not happened and in 2020 the war started again when Morocco breached the ceasefire agreement.
The occupation and human rights abuses continue and Western Sahara remains the biggest colony in the world today.
Forced displacement
When Western Sahara was invaded many Sahrawis were forced to flee the bombardments and ended up in the desert in southern Algeria. There they set up five camps named after cities in Western Sahara and have remained there since 1975.
Sahrawi persistence and ingenuity
It took time to build infrastructure but today they have roads, electricity, internet, water and food deliveries, schools and hospitals. Through many creative projects throughout the years there are even vegetable gardens in the sand, boxing gyms, a pizzeria, art installations and a film school.
Self-governance
The Sahrawis have set up their own government in the camps and they have been granted autonomy from the Algerians. They elect their own president and ministers every four years and every camp has its own mayor.
Before you arrive
Familiarise yourself with the information about the conditions in the camps as well as travel arrangements.
Temperature
Although the camps are in the middle of the desert, January has a mild climate during the day ranging about 15-20 degrees during the day. During the nights the temperature is very cool and it can be quite cold inside the houses.
We therefore recommend that you bring light but covered clothes for daytime and some extra warm trousers and sweaters for night time.
Security
The camps are very safe and there have not been any security threats in the past decades. Many foreigners visit the camps throughout the year and there are even big events such as a marathon and film festival there.
During your visit you will have locals escorting you so you don’t get lost, since all the houses look confusingly similar, and to make you feel safe.
Language
The first language in the camps is Hassaniya, a dialect of Arabic, although many Sahrawis speak Spanish.
Translators and drivers will be provided for those of you wishing to make field visits. The cost will depend on the size of the group and length of stay. This can be coordinated with the local Polisario representative.
We will provide you with the contact to your nearest Polisario representative who will coordinate with the Algerian government to make sure that you get a Visa to the camps without any issue.
You will have to pay for your own travel costs from your country to the camps.
If you wish to travel in a group we can provide you with contacts to people traveling from the same country as you so that you can coordinate.
You will be met at the airport of Tindouf and transported to the camps and your accommodation.
You will need to bring cash to the camps since there are no ATMs. The currency should be in euros or dollars.
Do not try to exchange Algerian Dinars at the airport or any other Algerian city since the chance of getting an unfair exchange rate is high.
You will stay with a local Sahrawi family who will provide you with meals and a place to sleep.
The conditions of the houses are very simple but there is electricity, water and sometimes working wifi.
If you have dietary restrictions and you are for example vegetarian or vegan we recommend that you buy and cook your own food (we have done it ourselves). In that case there are food stores in the camps where you can find basic things such as pasta, rice, vegetables etc.
You will have to pay around 20 euros per day to the families for accommodation & food costs.