Ghana: Following our e-waste

The Fondation Carmignac and the MRO Foundation presented the exhibition E-waste: Tracing Transboundary Flows from July 1 to September 29, 2024.

After long invading Asia, electronic waste (e-waste) from Europe and the United States is now arriving in large quantities and in violation of international treaties in West African countries, including Ghana. Despite its political stability, Ghana is faced with the proliferation of informal open-air dumps. It was against this backdrop that invetigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and photojournalists Muntaka Chasant and Bénédicte Kurzen (NOOR), winners of the 13th Carmignac Photojournalism Award, produced their report.

The exhibition explored the ramifications of e-waste trafficking from Europe to Ghana, revealing the opacity of this globalized circuit and highlighting the opportunities and environmental impact of this economy. Statistics from the latest United Nations report on e-waste completed this far-reaching investigation.

© Nicolas Brasseur / Fondation Carmignac

The exhibition was part of a wider exhibition entitled ‘Commitment’ presented by the MRO Foundation as part of a programme associated with the Rencontres d'Arles. It explored the complexity of commitment through the prism of migration, globalisation and identity crises. Through the works of various artists, it raises the dilemmas of the concept of legality and the tensions of belonging. The exhibition invited us to reflect on our own responsibility and commitment, while paying tribute to the work of reportage.

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