Pourquoi les campagnes de prévention sur les inondations sont inefficaces en France

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Fateh Chemerik, MCF en sciences de l’information et de la communication, Université catholique de l’Ouest

De plus en plus fréquentes et intenses, les inondations constituent l’un des principaux risques de catastrophes naturelles en France. Elles sont très coûteuses sur les plans humain et matériel. Une étude menée auprès de populations des zones concernées révèle pourtant que les citoyens sont mal informés sur ces risques, malgré l’obligation légale des communes d’organiser des campagnes de prévention. En cause, un risque souvent minoré et une communication inadaptée.


Le département du Var, en Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, a été frappé au mois de mai 2025 par des inondations qui ont engendré d’importants dégâts matériels considérables et la mort de trois personnes. En France, comme en Espagne fin 2024, au Texas (2025) ou au Cameroun (2024), les épisodes d’inondations intenses se font de plus en plus fréquents. Ce risque majeur est, en bien des territoires, renforcé par le changement climatique.

Dans ce contexte, les communes sont tenues d’informer leurs résidents des risques associés. Mais leurs campagnes de prévention se révèlent souvent peu efficaces.

Pour en comprendre les raisons, nous avons conduit une étude qualitative dans trois communes de la région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes particulièrement exposées aux inondations : Saint-Alyre (faubourg nord de Clermont-Ferrand), Cournon-d’Auvergne et Les Martres-de-Veyre, dans le Puy-de-Dôme. Ces zones sont à risque, avec plusieurs quartiers exposés à des crues décennales et centennales.

L’étude, qui visait à évaluer l’efficacité de ces campagnes de prévention, s’appuie sur une double méthodologie : des entretiens compréhensifs avec 50 riverains et une enquête par questionnaire auprès de 120 autres habitants, portant sur leur perception du risque d’inondation et leur appropriation des messages de prévention.

En nous appuyant sur l’étude des perceptions et comportements des riverains, nous analysons ici les lacunes des campagnes de sensibilisation et explorons les failles de la communication institutionnelle. Nous proposons aussi des pistes pour une meilleure appropriation des messages préventifs.

Des obligations légales d’information

Selon les projections climatiques, les préjudices dus aux inondations devraient encore augmenter dans les prochaines années, le dérèglement climatique en cours se traduisant en effet par l’accroissement du nombre, de l’intensité et de la durée des précipitations intenses, notamment en Europe.

Pour protéger les habitants, la loi française n°87-565 du 22 juillet 1987 oblige les maires des communes concernées à informer leurs administrés des risques par le biais des documents d’information communaux sur les risques majeurs (ou, Dicrim), en précisant les comportements à adopter, les zones à risque et les mesures de prévention mises en place.

Ce document est « envoyé par les mairies, en général au moment de [sa] réalisation et de [sa] mise à jour, ou encore fourni avec les contrats de location résidentielle ». Se pose alors la question suivante : est-il suffisant de rendre accessible des documents communaux sur les risques naturels pour prévenir et mieux sensibiliser la population concernée ?

Comment les enquêtés de notre étude jugent-ils ces documents communaux sur le risque d’inondation ?

Des riverains peu informés

Bien que ces documents aient été produits dans les trois communes étudiées, nous avons constaté que leur efficacité en matière de sensibilisation était limitée.

Prenons le cas du quartier de Saint-Alyre à Clermont-Ferrand : sur quarante habitantes, seuls deux savaient que leur quartier, potentiellement exposé à une crue centennale touchant jusqu’à 36 400 résidents, était à risque.

Aux Martres-de-Veyre, moins de 10 % des répondants connaissaient les consignes de sécurité de base, comme couper l’électricité ou ne pas se déplacer en voiture pendant une inondation.

Exemples de documents de prévention locaux et nationaux utilisés pendant l’enquête 2022.
Dicrim Clermont-Ferrand, Vigicrue 2022, Fourni par l’auteur

D’autres enquêtés mettent l’accent sur différents aspects dans le contenu du Dicrim, comme en témoignent les propos suivants :

« Il n’y a pas le terme : “Attention inondation !” Pour moi, cette affiche n’est pas significative… », témoigne une répondante (18-30 ans), locataire à Saint-Alyre.

« L’image doit être plus grande pour refléter une inondation, parce que là, on dirait un petit ruisseau », souligne un répondant (45-60 ans) propriétaire aux Martres-de-Veyre.

Ce constat alarmant soulève la question de savoir si les campagnes de prévention sont vraiment adaptées aux besoins d’information des citoyens. Plusieurs facteurs expliquent cette faible appropriation.

Des informations peu claires et peu concrètes

Un premier élément soulevé est le manque de personnalisation et de clarté des Dicrim. Dans 39 entretiens, les riverains ont noté un manque de clarté visuelle, critiquant les photographies neutres ou le choix des couleurs apaisantes telles que le bleu, peu propice à alerter sur un danger immédiat.

Carte du risque d’inondation (signalé en bleu) dans la région de Clermont-Ferrand.
Plan de prévention du Puy-de-Dôme, Fourni par l’auteur

Ces choix visuels diminuent l’impact du message en donnant une fausse impression de sécurité.

« Je pense que la couleur bleue, c’est plutôt rassurant. On n’a pas trop de raisons pour s’inquiéter. Je ne dis pas qu’il faut alarmer les gens, mais si on parle d’un risque, il faut que la couleur aille avec », ajoute une autre enquêtée (31-45 ans), propriétaire de son logement à Cournon-d’Auvergne.

Par ailleurs, plus de 60 % des habitants interrogés estiment que ces documents sont trop techniques et généraux. L’absence de cartes simples permettant aux habitants de repérer les zones exactes à risque dans leur commune, renforce la distance psychologique vis-à-vis du danger (la carte plus haut ne parle en effet que d’aléa faible, moyen ou fort, ndlr). En l’absence d’éléments visuels clairs, les habitants ont du mal à se sentir concernés personnellement par le risque.

Pour être efficaces, les documents d’information communaux devraient inclure en outre des recommandations pratiques et des exemples concrets. Or ces éléments sont souvent éclipsés par des descriptions générales des actions de la mairie.

Dans un cas spécifique, 75 % des répondants ne parvenaient pas à identifier les consignes prioritaires en cas d’inondations. En cause, une surcharge d’informations sur les démarches administratives et les politiques mises en place par les autorités.

L’ambiguïté des municipalités

De fait, la majorité des communes se contentent de respecter le minimum requis en matière d’information sur les risques – qu’ils soient naturels ou industriels d’ailleurs.

Pour ces derniers, les cartes présentant les zones à risque sont disponibles, mais ne font pas l’objet d’une communication intense, comme si les autorités locales se contentaient de respecter leurs obligations légales sans vouloir mener une réelle prévention auprès de la population. Dans les trois communes étudiées, un tiers des 120 habitants déclarent n’avoir jamais reçu d’information sur le risque local.

Ce comportement s’explique par une sous-estimation des risques, tant par les élus que par les citoyens.

Les élus se trouvent souvent pris entre deux feux : ils ont l’obligation de communiquer mais craignent les répercussions politiques de trop insister sur des risques incertains. Ils privilégient donc des sujets plus visibles et immédiats, comme la sécurité et le développement économique.

Cette prudence est renforcée par le manque de pression des habitants, qui, souvent, n’ont pas intérêt à voir le risque mis en avant par peur que leurs biens soient dévalués par le risque d’inondation.

Et pour cause : lorsque la loi impose de mesurer le risque, cela se traduit par la production de cartographies des zones inondables. Or des études ont montré qu’une publicité de cette cartographie est un facteur parmi d’autres (réglementation contraignante, crues régulières…) qui pèse négativement sur le prix des biens en zone inondable à court ou moyen terme.

Une information concrète et simplifiée

Pour améliorer l’efficacité des campagnes de prévention, plusieurs pistes existent.

L’une des pistes les plus intéressantes serait de privilégier des cartes précises et des photographies locales montrant des exemples concrets de zones touchées par des crues dans la commune. Près de 70 % des répondants indiquent qu’une carte claire, permettant de situer leur domicile par rapport aux zones à risque, les inciterait à se préparer plus sérieusement. Ce type d’outil visuel aide les habitants à visualiser l’impact potentiel d’une inondation, renforçant ainsi leur engagement.

En complément, une simplification des messages est également recommandée. Les Dicrim pourraient se concentrer sur une liste de consignes courtes et directes, telles que « Monter à l’étage en cas de crue » ou « Écouter les informations locales pour rester informé ».

Une telle approche axée sur les comportements concrets éviterait la surcharge d’informations administratives qui dilue l’efficacité des messages préventifs. À noter que 72 % des participants à l’étude préfèrent des consignes brèves et pratiques aux longues descriptions institutionnelles.




À lire aussi :
Lors des canicules, notre cerveau ne s’aligne pas toujours avec le thermomètre et peut nous mettre en danger


Une communication plus concernante

Par ailleurs, inclure des récits de riverains touchés par des crues contribuerait à humaniser la communication et à créer une proximité. Dans un autre registre, certains répondants proposent d’inclure la prévention des risques naturels dans les programmes scolaires afin de créer une culture des risques : « Cela ne doit pas être à la demande des instituteurs selon le contexte et le type de classe. Il faut que cela soit inscrit dans le programme national », avance une institutrice (31-45), propriétaire aux Martres-de-Veyre.

« Il faut faire des courts métrages, des dessins animés si on cible les enfants. Il ne faut surtout pas responsabiliser le public, mais le sensibiliser. C’est plus efficace si on veut avoir une culture de risques. Il faut également développer l’esprit critique à partir du collège, cela aiderait à mieux comprendre les phénomènes liés aux risques naturels », suggère une étudiante clermontoise (18-30 ans), locataire à Saint-Alyre.

Les résultats de cette étude mettent en lumière que les campagnes de sensibilisation actuelles ne parviennent pas à capter l’attention des habitants de manière suffisante pour susciter une réelle culture du risque d’inondation.

En engageant les habitants dans des campagnes plus adaptées et en clarifiant les messages visuels et pédagogiques, les municipalités contribueront à une prise de conscience collective indispensable pour limiter les dégâts humains et économiques des futures inondations.

The Conversation

Cette recherche a été cofinancée par l’Union européenne avec le Fonds Européen de Développement Régional (FEDER), dans le cadre du CPER 2020.

Fateh Chemerik ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

ref. Pourquoi les campagnes de prévention sur les inondations sont inefficaces en France – https://theconversation.com/pourquoi-les-campagnes-de-prevention-sur-les-inondations-sont-inefficaces-en-france-258020

Économie circulaire : les consommateurs, acteurs oubliés de la réglementation européenne

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Karine Bouvier, Chercheuse, Université de Strasbourg

Parfois présentés comme des victimes des actions des producteurs, les consommateurs détiennent pourtant un vrai pouvoir d’agir, au-delà de leur comportement d’achat. Les évolutions récentes de la réglementation en matière d’économie circulaire dans l’Union européenne le rappellent. Décryptage.


L’économie circulaire a pour objectif de produire des biens et des services de manière durable en réduisant les déchets et l’exploitation des ressources naturelles. Si l’on parle souvent des rôles des institutions, des entreprises ou des ONG dans cette transition, le consommateur reste un acteur trop souvent sous-estimé.

Il joue pourtant un rôle crucial, parfois même sans le savoir, sur l’évolution de la réglementation européenne, comme en atteste l’émergence du concept de « droit à la consommation durable ».

Un puissant levier d’action

Les préférences des consommateurs ont toujours été un levier d’action puissant pour orienter les marchés et les politiques publiques. Dans le cadre de l’économie circulaire, plusieurs évolutions réglementaires récentes en Europe illustrent cette influence indirecte.

Prenons l’exemple du gaspillage alimentaire, qui a fait l’objet d’une loi en France, dite loi anti-gaspillage pour une économie circulaire (Agec) (n°2020-105 du 10 février 2020). Cette dernière étend notamment l’obligation d’un diagnostic anti-gaspillage aux industries agroalimentaires et introduit un label national « anti-gaspillage alimentaire ».




À lire aussi :
La face cachée du vrac


Par ailleurs, l’essor de l’affichage environnemental, prévu dans le cadre du Pacte vert pour l’Europe, trouve ses racines dans une exigence citoyenne accrue pour la transparence. En choisissant de privilégier des produits plus durables ou issus du recyclage, les consommateurs ont progressivement orienté les stratégies des entreprises, qui, à leur tour, ont poussé à la création de normes harmonisées au niveau européen.

Accélérer les réformes

Plus encore, en s’organisant en collectifs, les citoyens peuvent faire pression pour accélérer les réformes. La définition d’un régime juridique spécifique pour les actions de groupe (directive UE 2020/1828), proposée par la Commission européenne, atteste de cet impact croissant des consommateurs sur la réglementation européenne.

Les consommateurs européens n’ont pas nécessairement conscience de l’influence qu’ils peuvent avoir sur la réglementation. Mais, lorsque des milliers de personnes adoptent des comportements similaires, comme acheter des vélos électriques ou se tourner vers les circuits courts, elles créent une dynamique de marché qui attire l’attention des décideurs politiques. Ces derniers, soucieux de répondre aux attentes de la société, ajustent alors les normes et les lois.

Des labels un peu flous

Cette influence parfois inconsciente des consommateurs européens sur la réglementation pose également des questions éthiques et pratiques. Les consommateurs disposent-ils réellement des informations nécessaires pour orienter efficacement les politiques ?

À titre d’exemple, une étude menée en 2020 par la Commission européenne, recensant 230 labels de durabilité et 100 labels d’énergie verte au sein de l’UE, démontre que 53 % de ces allégations économiques donnent des renseignements vagues, trompeurs ou non fondés, et que 40 % d’entre elles ne sont absolument pas étayées.

Dans ce contexte, la responsabilité des consommateurs européens n’est-elle pas parfois démesurée, au regard des moyens limités dont ils disposent pour déchiffrer des marchés complexes ?

Dimension démocratique

Le concept de « droit à la consommation durable » gagne progressivement du terrain dans les discussions politiques et académiques. En 2018, une communication de la Commission européenne associe pour la première fois consommation et environnement.

Le consommateur est alors identifié comme un acteur clé pour réussir la transition vers une économie circulaire. À ce titre, il doit à la fois avoir accès à davantage d’informations en matière de réparabilité et de durabilité des produits et être mieux protégé des allégations environnementales trompeuses (greenwashing). Il s’agit dans ce cadre d’un prolongement naturel des droits des consommateurs tels qu’ils ont été définis dans les différentes directives européennes.

Adopter une approche centrée sur ce droit renforce la légitimité des politiques publiques. En reconnaissant les consommateurs comme des acteurs actifs de la transition vers une économie circulaire, l’Union européenne pourrait accroître l’adhésion des citoyens à ses initiatives. Cela offre un cadre juridique pour résoudre certaines controverses, telles que l’obsolescence programmée ou encore le greenwashing.

Vers une responsabilité partagée

Pour que le consommateur européen joue pleinement son rôle dans la transition vers une économie circulaire, il est crucial d’établir une responsabilité partagée. Les entreprises doivent proposer des produits et services conformes aux principes de durabilité, tandis que les pouvoirs publics doivent créer un cadre réglementaire incitatif et équitable.

Cependant, le cadre réglementaire européen souffre de disparités d’application au sein des États membres. Plus encore, la multiplication des crises en cours et à venir (géopolitiques, climatiques mais aussi sociales) impactent parfois le calendrier des avancées réglementaires ou nécessitent un réajustement de la régulation. La récente crise sociale des agriculteurs, qui a touché plusieurs pays européens, comme l’Allemagne ou la France, a relancé le débat d’une pause en matière de règles environnementales.

En parallèle, certains principes en lien avec l’économie circulaire remettent en cause le droit des consommateurs. Par exemple, l’approbation en mai 2024 de la directive sur le droit à la réparation crée un ensemble d’outils et d’incitations visant à rendre la réparation plus attractive pour les consommateurs européens.

Vouloir imposer la réparation au détriment du remplacement d’un produit représenterait une régression des droits des consommateurs. Aujourd’hui, le consommateur peut choisir librement entre réparer et remplacer un produit défectueux. Mais l’Europe envisage d’imposer la réparation comme premier recours, ce qui limiterait la possibilité d’exiger un remplacement immédiat. Le consommateur devra alors attendre le retour de son produit réparé, quelques jours… ou quelques semaines.




À lire aussi :
Paradoxe de l’indice de durabilité : les écolos remplacent plus fréquemment leurs produits


Il est donc important que le droit à la consommation durable conduise à une harmonisation, à l’échelle européenne, de la protection du consommateur en prenant en compte les réalités et contraintes de l’ensemble des parties prenantes.

Un acteur incontournable

Dans cette grande transition vers l’économie circulaire, le consommateur européen occupe une place à part. Son rôle dépasse largement le cadre de ses achats : il devient un acteur influent, capable de façonner les politiques publiques et d’imposer des standards plus élevés de durabilité.

Renforcer ce « droit à la consommation durable » pourrait non seulement accélérer les avancées réglementaires, mais aussi engager les citoyens dans un projet collectif ambitieux. En prenant conscience de son pouvoir et en exigeant des politiques à la hauteur des enjeux, le consommateur européen peut devenir le véritable moteur d’une Europe plus verte, plus juste et plus circulaire.

The Conversation

Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.

ref. Économie circulaire : les consommateurs, acteurs oubliés de la réglementation européenne – https://theconversation.com/economie-circulaire-les-consommateurs-acteurs-oublies-de-la-reglementation-europeenne-263068

Comment le drapeau pirate de « One Piece » est devenu l’emblème mondial de la résistance pour la génération Z

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, School of Media and Strategic Communications, Oklahoma State University

L’emblème de l’équipage pirate de Chapeau de paille brandi lors d’une manifestation à Rome, en septembre 2025, en soutien à la Palestine et à la Flotille pour Gaza. Vincenzo Nuzzolese/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

De Paris à Rome, en passant par Jakarta et New York, un drapeau étonnant est apparu sur les places où se déroulent les manifestations. Avec son crâne au large sourire et son chapeau de paille à bande rouge, l’emblème issu du manga populaire « One Piece » est immédiatement reconnaissable et a été brandi ces derniers mois par de jeunes manifestants appelant au changement.


À Katmandou, au Népal, où la colère contre le gouvernement a atteint son paroxysme en septembre 2025, le drapeau issu du manga japonais très populaire One Piece est devenu une image emblématique du soulèvement alors que les flammes se propageaient à l’intérieur du palais de Singha Durbar, siège du pouvoir népalais.

Le « jolly roger », pavillon noir de l’équipage des chapeaux de paille dans One Piece devant un bâtiment en flammes
Le Jolly Roger des pirates de l’équipage de Chapeau de paille flotte devant le Singha Durbar après que des personnes ont incendié le siège du gouvernement népalais à Katmandou.
Sunil Pradhan/Anadolu via Getty Images

Ce qui était au départ l’emblème d’un équipage de pirates fictif né il y a près de trente ans est devenu un puissant symbole de la résistance menée par la jeunesse, apparaissant dans des manifestations en Indonésie et au Népal, aux Philippines et en France.

En tant que spécialiste des médias et de la démocratie, je considère la diffusion de cette image – qui est passée des pages de mangas aux places où se tiennent des manifestations – comme un exemple de la manière dont la génération Z est en train de redéfinir le vocabulaire culturel de la dissidence.

Des manifestants, dont certains portent des masques, brandissent un drapeau représentant un crâne coiffé d’un chapeau de paille
Des Philippins agitent un drapeau One Piece, lors d’une manifestation contre la corruption au parc Rizal, le 21 septembre 2025, à Manille (Philippines).
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

La culture pop comme mode d’expression politique

One Piece est apparu en même temps que la génération Z ; il a été créé en 1997 par le mangaka japonais Eiichiro Oda.

Depuis, il s’est vendu à plus de 500 millions d’exemplaires et détient le record mondial Guinness pour son succès éditorial.

Il a donné naissance à une série télévisée à succès, à des films en prise de vues réelles et à une industrie pesant plus de 20 milliards de dollars américains, les licences de produits dérivés générant à elles seules environ 720 millions de dollars chaque année pour Bandai Namco, la société surtout connue pour avoir créé les jeux vidéo Pac-Man et Tekken.

Dans ce manga, on suit le pirate Monkey D. Luffy et son équipage de Chapeau de paille, alors qu’il défie un gouvernement mondial corrompu tout en recherchant la liberté et l’aventure.

Pour les fans, le drapeau One Piece n’est pas anodin, c’est un emblème de défi et de persévérance. La capacité de Luffy à dépasser ses limites physiques après avoir consommé un fruit magique est devenue une puissante métaphore de la résilience, tandis que sa quête inébranlable de liberté contre toute attente trouve un écho auprès des jeunes qui évoluent dans des environnements politiques marqués par la corruption, les inégalités et l’autoritarisme excessif.

Lorsque les manifestants adoptent ce drapeau, ils ne se contentent pas d’importer un élément esthétique de la culture populaire, mais s’inspirent d’un récit déjà compréhensible pour des millions de personnes.

Le drapeau a commencé à apparaître dans les manifestations au cours des dernières années. Il a été brandi lors d’une manifestation « Free Palestine » en 2023 en Indonésie et la même année à New York lors d’une manifestation propalestinienne.

Mais c’est en Indonésie, en août 2025, que le drapeau a véritablement pris son essor politique. Là-bas, les manifestants l’ont adopté pour exprimer leur frustration face aux politiques gouvernementales et leur mécontentement croissant face à la corruption et aux inégalités. Cela a coïncidé avec les appels du gouvernement à faire preuve de patriotisme lors des célébrations de l’indépendance, accentuant le contraste entre le nationalisme officiel et la dissidence populaire.

Deux personnes sur une mobylette passent devant une fresque murale représentant le drapeau de One Piece
Le drapeau de One Piece est devenu le symbole des manifestations indonésiennes en août 2025.
Dika/AFP

Le mouvement a pris de l’ampleur lorsque les autorités ont réagi en critiquant vivement l’utilisation du drapeau, attirant ainsi involontairement davantage l’attention sur ce symbole. Les responsables gouvernementaux ont qualifié ces manifestations de menaces pour l’unité nationale, tandis que les manifestants les considéraient comme des expressions légitimes de frustration politique.

Un drapeau voyageur

La vitesse à laquelle le Jolly Roger de One Piece s’est répandu au-delà des frontières reflète l’éducation numérique de la génération Z. Il s’agit de la première cohorte à avoir grandi entièrement en ligne, immergée dans les mèmes, les anime et les franchises mondiales de divertissement. Leur communication politique repose sur ce que les chercheurs appellent « les publics en réseau », des communautés qui se forment et agissent via des plates-formes numériques plutôt que des organisations formelles.

Dans ce contexte, la solidarité ne nécessite pas d’appartenance à un parti ou à une idéologie. Elle repose plutôt sur des références culturelles communes. Un mème, un geste ou un drapeau peuvent instantanément véhiculer un sens au-delà des clivages linguistiques, religieux ou géographiques. Cette forme de connexion repose sur des codes culturels partagés qui permettent aux jeunes de s’identifier les uns aux autres même lorsque leurs systèmes politiques diffèrent.

Les réseaux sociaux confèrent à cette solidarité une portée et une rapidité exceptionnelles. Des vidéos d’Indonésiens brandissant le drapeau ont été extraites et partagées sur TikTok et Instagram, touchant ainsi un public bien au-delà de leur contexte d’origine. Lorsque le symbole est apparu à Katmandou, la capitale népalaise, en septembre, il était déjà porteur d’une aura de rébellion juvénile.

Au Népal, le drapeau était associé à la colère suscitée par le chômage des jeunes et à la richesse ostentatoire des dynasties politiques. En Indonésie, cela reflétait la désillusion face aux rituels patriotiques qui semblaient creux dans un contexte de corruption. Les deux mouvements sont motivés par des causes très différentes, mais, dans les deux cas, le drapeau fonctionnait comme un code open source : adaptable localement, mais immédiatement compréhensible ailleurs.

Une partie de l’efficacité du drapeau provient de son ambiguïté. Contrairement au logo d’un parti, le drapeau de One Piece trouve son origine dans la culture populaire, ce qui rend difficile sa suppression par les gouvernements sans paraître autoritaire. Lors des dernières manifestations en Indonésie, les autorités ont confisqué des banderoles et ont qualifié le fait de les utiliser comme une trahison. Mais de telles mesures répressives n’ont fait qu’amplifier la frustration des manifestants.

Un grand drapeau orné d’un crâne et d’os croisés est entouré de personnes
Le drapeau flotte au milieu des manifestations aux Philippines le 21 septembre 2025.
@rimurutempestuh/x

Quand la fiction envahit la réalité

Le drapeau One Piece n’est pas le seul à avoir été réinventé comme symbole de résistance.

Dans tous les mouvements à travers le monde, la culture pop et la culture numérique sont devenues des ressources puissantes pour les militants. Au Chili et à Beyrouth, les manifestants ont porté des masques de Joker pour symboliser leur colère face à la corruption et aux inégalités. En Thaïlande, les manifestants se sont tournés vers « Hamtaro », un dessin animé pour enfants mettant en scène un hamster, parodiant sa chanson thème et brandissant des peluches pour ridiculiser les dirigeants politiques.

Ce mélange de politique, de divertissement et d’identité personnelle reflète un environnement médiatique hybride dans lequel les symboles issus de la culture fan acquièrent du pouvoir. Ils sont faciles à reconnaître, à adapter et à défendre contre la répression étatique.

Cependant, la résonance culturelle ne suffit pas à expliquer cet engouement. Le drapeau « One Piece » a connu un grand succès parce qu’il reflétait les griefs réels de la population. Au Népal, où le chômage des jeunes dépasse les 20 % et où la migration pour trouver du travail est courante, les manifestants ont associé l’emblème à des slogans tels que « La génération Z ne se taira pas » et « Notre avenir n’est pas à vendre ».

En Indonésie, certains manifestants ont fait valoir que le drapeau national était « trop sacré » pour être brandi dans un système corrompu, utilisant le drapeau pirate comme une déclaration de désillusion.

La diffusion du drapeau reflète également un changement plus général dans la manière dont les idées contestataires traversent les frontières. Autrefois, les sit-in, les marches ou les grèves de la faim tenaient le haut du pavé dans l’espace médiatique. Aujourd’hui, ce sont les symboles, les références visuelles issues de la culture mondiale qui circulent le plus rapidement. Ils peuvent être adaptés aux luttes locales tout en restant immédiatement reconnaissables ailleurs.

Des passants devant une affiche représentant un crâne et des os croisés
Un drapeau One Piece, planté devant un lycée en France pendant les manifestations.
Pat Batard/Hans Lucas/AFP

Le parcours du drapeau, des rues asiatiques aux manifestations en France et en Slovaquie démontre à quel point la grammaire de la dissidence s’est mondialisée.

Pour les jeunes militants d’aujourd’hui, culture et politique sont indissociables. La génération numérique a donné naissance à une génération qui communique ses griefs à travers des mèmes, des symboles et des références culturelles qui traversent facilement les frontières.

Lorsque les manifestants à Jakarta, Katmandou ou Manille brandissent le drapeau Jolly Roger de One Piece, ils ne se livrent pas à un jeu de rôle, mais transforment une icône culturelle en un emblème vivant de défiance.

The Conversation

Nuurrianti Jalli est affilié à l’Institut d’études sur l’Asie du Sud-Est (ISEAS) Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore en tant que chercheur invité non résident pour le programme Médias, technologie et société.

ref. Comment le drapeau pirate de « One Piece » est devenu l’emblème mondial de la résistance pour la génération Z – https://theconversation.com/comment-le-drapeau-pirate-de-one-piece-est-devenu-lembleme-mondial-de-la-resistance-pour-la-generation-z-266172

Ecoball: how to turn picking up litter into a game for kids

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Solaja Mayowa Oludele, Lecturing, Olabisi Onabanjo University

Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Every year humanity produces nearly 300 million tonnes of plastic. Only a fraction ever gets recycled. Most ends up in rivers, oceans and soil, slowly breaking down into tiny, invisible microplastics that get into what we eat and drink.

Decades of recycling drives and policy bans have not altered the deep-rooted behaviours behind this crisis.
But what if the next big environmental solution isn’t a new law or technology – but a game?

I am an environmental sociologist and behaviour change researcher from Nigeria. I developed a game called EcoBall in 2023 as a social innovation that makes sport a tool for sustainability.

The concept is discussed in my peer-reviewed paper.

EcoBall reimagines football as a discipline of training for environmental stewardship. Instead of chasing goals alone, teams compete to collect, sort and creatively reuse plastic waste. Each match becomes a live demonstration of the circular economy – the idea that materials should be reused, not discarded.

Here I describe how the game works, why it influences people’s behaviour, and what we found when we tested it in Nigerian schools and youth clubs.

Three zones, one planet

An EcoBall match uses a real ball made from tightly woven recycled plastic bags – the “EcoBall” itself. Two or more teams compete across three timed “learning zones”, combining physical play with environmental tasks.

• Collection zone (10-15 minutes): To start play, the ball is placed at the centre of the field. Players pass and dribble it like they would in football or handball. The pitch or play area is scattered with lightweight, clean plastic litter. Teams race to gather the litter from the designated area and place it in a team bag or collection net along the sidelines before rejoining the game. Points are awarded for the amount and diversity of plastics collected.

• Sorting zone: Back on the pitch, players classify the plastics correctly (PET bottles, sachets, nylon wrappers and so on). Accurate sorting earns additional points and practical recycling knowledge. Teams earn points for goals and for the quantity or weight of litter collected.

• Creative zone: After each game, the collected plastics are sorted and delivered to recycling or upcycling partners. Using selected materials, teams craft new items – from art pieces to flower planters or even another EcoBall. Judges score on creativity, teamwork and utility.

Participants also engage in short reflective or educational sessions to discuss plastic pollution, sustainability habits, and collective responsibility.

The champion is not only the fastest but also the team with the most environmental impact.

What seems to be a game is really learning through doing. Participants learn sustainability not by being preached at but by doing it, competing and relishing their achievements together.

The psychology behind the game

EcoBall draws on two social-science ideas: the theory of planned behaviour and social capital theory. The first explains why people adopt sustainable habits. By making recycling fun, social and rewarding, EcoBall reshapes attitudes and perceived norms – the key drivers of behaviour.

The second highlights the power of trust and networks. EcoBall builds these bonds as teams collaborate and share victories, creating social momentum that keeps environmental action alive long after the game ends.

In designing and evaluating EcoBall, I combined these theories with research on sport-for-development and environmental education. Where I was both participant-observer and referee, the assessment compared data from questionnaires, focus groups and observation diaries. The design allowed for transparency, credibility, and contextual validity in interpretation of EcoBall’s impact on environmental attitudes and behaviours.

Tested on the field

Pilot sessions were conducted at several schools and youth clubs across Ogun State to ascertain the level to which EcoBall enhances environmental awareness, cooperation and pro-active participation in plastic litter removal.

The pilots were community-led and research-motivated and were supported by small donations from local NGOs and schools, and recycling businesses which provided gloves, collection bags and bins.




Read more:
Plastic pollution in Nigeria: whose job is it to clean up the mess?


Instructors reported increased cooperation and leadership. Players described being more responsible for their surroundings, and some of them formed neighbourhood clean-up clubs which extended weeks beyond the games. While the long-term effect is yet to be studied, these early findings show that EcoBall is likely to induce actual behavioural change.

From waste to wealth

EcoBall also shows that environmental action can create livelihoods.
In one pilot, students built benches and flower planters from bottles gathered during matches. Others began selling up-cycled crafts, while the organisation of events – coaching, logistics and recycling partnerships – generated new work opportunities.

Such experiences echo the circular-economy principle of turning waste into worth.

Uniting generations and communities

Because EcoBall requires little equipment – just gloves, bags and open space – it thrives in low-resource communities.

The design was intentionally simple, ensuring accessibility and inclusion where conventional sports infrastructure is absent.

Although EcoBall is inexpensive to initiate, its long-term delivery as a structured sport-for-development and environmental education programme requires sustained funding. Investment is needed for facilitator training, community engagement, and monitoring activities. This is typical of community interventions: low-cost to launch but funding-dependent to sustain and scale.

Children, parents, and grandparents can play together, bridging generations and backgrounds. This shared passion generates a feeling of ownership of public spaces and renewed pride in keeping them clean.




Read more:
Not sure how to keep your kids busy and happy these holidays? Here are five tips.


Schools are able to incorporate EcoBall into extracurricular activities, municipalities can organise tournaments tied in with cleanup initiatives, and corporations can make it part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Following early successes, two NGOs that work with youth development have begun using EcoBall in their environmental clubs, and discussions are underway with the National Youth Service Corps to introduce it into community services.

Challenges and opportunities

No innovation is challenge-free. EcoBall needs consistent funding, materials and cultural adaptation. Keeping players engaged may require creative incentives – such as mobile apps to track points or online leaderboards connecting communities globally.

Yet these hurdles create opportunities. A “World EcoBall Cup” could one day unite cities or nations, rewarding those who divert the most plastic from the environment.

Instead of medals, winners would boast cleaner beaches and thriving circular economies.

Play for the planet

The global plastic crisis demands solutions that move people, not just policies.

EcoBall does exactly that – bringing sport together with green purpose and demonstrating that climate action has the power to be human, inclusive and fun.




Read more:
Informal waste collection shouldn’t let plastic polluters off the hook: here’s why


It is not the sole responsibility of scientists or policymakers to fight pollution. It belongs to everyone willing to pick up a ball – or a bottle – and make a difference.

The Conversation

Solaja Mayowa Oludele does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ref. Ecoball: how to turn picking up litter into a game for kids – https://theconversation.com/ecoball-how-to-turn-picking-up-litter-into-a-game-for-kids-267888

Luxury tourism is a risky strategy for African economies – new study of Botswana, Mauritius, Rwanda

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Pritish Behuria, Reader in Politics, Governance and Development, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester

Mauritius led the luxury tourism trend in Africa with all-inclusive resorts. Heritage Awali/yourgolftravel.com, CC BY-NC-ND

How successful is luxury tourism in Africa? What happens if it fails to produce higher tourism revenues: can it be reversed? And does it depend on what kind of government is in place?

Pritish Behuria is a scholar of the political economy of development who has conducted a study in Botswana, Mauritius and Rwanda to find answers to questions like this. We asked him about his findings.


What is luxury tourism and how prevalent is it in Africa?

Luxury tourism aims to attract high-spending tourists to stay at premium resorts and lodges or visit exclusive attractions. It’s a strategy that’s being adopted widely by governments around the world and also in African countries.

It’s been promoted by multilateral agencies like the World Bank and the United Nations, as well as environmental and conservation organisations.

The logic underlying luxury tourism is that if fewer, high-spending tourists visit, this will result in less environmental impact. It’s often labelled as a “high-value, low-impact” approach.




Read more:
Why your holiday flight is still not being powered by sustainable aviation fuel


However, studies have shown that luxury tourism does not lead to reduced environmental impact. Luxury tourists are more likely to use private jets. Private jets are more carbon intense than economy class travel. Supporters of luxury tourism also ignore that it reinforces economic inequalities, commercialises nature and restricts land access for indigenous populations.

In some ways, of course, the motives of African countries seem understandable. They remain starved of much-needed foreign exchange in the face of rising trade deficits. The allure of luxury tourism seems almost impossible to resist.

How did you go about your study?

I have been studying the political economy of Rwanda for nearly 15 years. The government there made tourism a central part of its national vision.

Over the years, many government officials and tourism stakeholders highlighted the challenges of luxury tourism strategies. Even so, there remains a single-mindedness to prioritise luxury tourism.

I found that, in Rwanda, luxury tourism resulted in a reliance on foreign-owned hotels and foreign travel agents, exposing potential leakages in tourism revenues. Crucially, tourism was not creating enough employment. There was also a skills lag in the sector. Employees were not being trained quickly enough to meet the surge of investments in hotels.




Read more:
What cost-of-living crisis? Luxury travel is booming – and set to grow further


So I decided to investigate the effects of luxury tourism in other African countries. I wanted to know who benefits and how it is being reversed in countries that are turning away from it.

I interviewed government officials, hotel owners and other private sector representatives, aviation officials, consultants and journalists in all three countries. Added to this was a thorough review of economic data, industry reports and grey literature (including newspaper articles).

What are your take-aways from Mauritius?

Mauritius was the first of the three countries to explicitly adopt a luxury tourism strategy. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the government began to encourage European visitors to the island’s “sun-sand-sea” attractions. Large domestic business houses became lead investors, building luxury hotels and buying coastal land.

Over the years, tourism has provided significant revenues for the Mauritian economy. By 2019, the economy was earning over US$2 billion from the sector (before dropping during the COVID pandemic).

However, tourism has also been symbolic of the inequality that has characterised Mauritius’ growth. The all-inclusive resort model – where luxury hotels take care of all of a visitor’s food and travel needs themselves – has meant that the money being spent by tourists doesn’t always enter the local economy. A large share of profits remains outside the country or with large hotels.

After the pandemic, the Mauritian government took steps to loosen its focus on luxury tourism. It opened its air space to attract a broader range of tourists and re-started direct flights to Asia. There’s growing agreement within government that the opening up of tourism will go some way towards sustaining revenues and employment in the sector. Especially as some other key sectors (like offshore finance) may face an uncertain future.

And from Botswana?

Botswana followed Mauritius by formally adopting a luxury tourism strategy in 1990. Its focus was on its wilderness areas (the Okavango Delta) and wildlife safari lodges. For decades, there were criticisms from scholars about the inequalities in the sector.

Most lodges and hotels were foreign owned. Most travel agencies that booked all-inclusive trips operated outside Botswana. There were very few domestic linkages. Very little domestic agricultural or industrial production was used within the sector.

An aerial photo of a vast land of water and rocky. Small boats cross the water.
Guides take tourists across Botswana’s Okavango delta in boats.
Diego Delso/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

However, I found that the direction of tourism policies had also become increasingly political. Certain politicians were aligned with conservation organisations and foreign investors in prioritising luxury tourism. Former president Ian Khama, for example, banned trophy hunting on ethical grounds in 2014. He pushed photographic tourism, where travellers visit destinations mainly to take photos. But critics allege he and his allies benefited from the push for photographic tourism.

Photographic tourism is closely linked with the problematic promotion of “unspoilt” wilderness areas that conform to foreign ideas about the “myth of wild Africa”.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi reversed the hunting ban once he took power. He argued it had adverse effects on rural communities and increased human-wildlife conflict. He believed that regulated hunting could be a tool for better wildlife management and could produce more benefits for communities.

Since the latter 2010s, Botswana’s government has loosened the emphasis on luxury tourism and tried to diversify tourism offerings. It has relaxed visa regulations for Asian countries, for example, to allow a wider range of tourists to visit more easily.

What about Rwanda?

Of the three cases, Rwanda was the most recent to adopt a luxury tourism strategy. However, it has remained the most committed to this strategy. Rwanda’s model is centred on mountain gorilla trekking and premium wildlife experiences. It’s augmented by Rwanda’s attempt to become a hub for business and sports tourism through high-profile conferences and events.

A statue in a breen-leafed area of a male, female, and baby gorilla.
Gorillas are a key attraction for luxury tourists in Rwanda.
Gatete Pacifique/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Rwanda invited global hotel brands (like the Hyatt and Marriott) to build hotels and invested heavily in the country’s “nation brand” through sponsoring sports teams. The “luxury” element is managed through maintaining a high price to visit the country’s main tourist attraction: mountain gorillas. Rwanda is one of the few countries where mountain gorillas live.

After the pandemic, the government lowered prices to visit mountain gorillas but has also regularly stated its commitment to luxury tourism.

What did you learn by comparing the three?

I wanted to know why some countries reverse luxury tourism strategies once they fail while others don’t.

It is quite clear that luxury tourism strategies will always have disadvantages. As this study shows, luxury tourism repeatedly benefits only very few actors (often foreign investors or foreign-owned entities) and does not create sufficient employment or provide wider benefits for domestic populations. My research shows that the political pressure faced by democratic governments (like Botswana and Mauritius) forced them to loosen their luxury tourism strategies. This was not the case in more authoritarian Rwanda.




Read more:
Travelling in 2025? Here’s how to become a ‘regenerative’ tourist


Rwanda’s position goes against a lot of recent literature on African political economy, which argues that parties with a stronger hold on power would be able to deliver better development outcomes.

While that may be case in some sectors, the findings of this study suggest that weaker political parties may actually be more responsive to changing policies that are creating inequality than countries with stronger political parties in power.

The Conversation

Pritish Behuria is a recipient of the British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship 2024-2025 (MFSS24/240043).

ref. Luxury tourism is a risky strategy for African economies – new study of Botswana, Mauritius, Rwanda – https://theconversation.com/luxury-tourism-is-a-risky-strategy-for-african-economies-new-study-of-botswana-mauritius-rwanda-267877

Nigeria’s government is using digital technology to repress citizens. A researcher explains how

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Chibuzo Achinivu, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science, Vassar College

Digital authoritarianism is a new way governments are trying to control citizens using digital and information technology. It is a growing concern for advocacy groups and those interested in freedom and democracy. It is especially worrying for those who initially heralded digital and information technologies as liberating tools that would spread information more easily for citizens.

I have studied the rise of digital authoritarianism in Africa over the last two decades. My most recent study focused on Nigeria, and its turn to digital tools for control after the 2020 #EndSARS Movement protests.

I found that local conflict and development needs drive the Nigerian government’s demand for digital authoritarianism technologies. Foreign suppliers of these technologies are motivated by both economic gain and influence in the region.

The findings are important. Firstly, it signals that the trend of using digital spaces to control populations has reached the African continent. It also shows that the trend is facilitated by foreign actors that provide governments with the technology and expertise.

What is digital authoritarianism?

One way to understand the concept of digital authoritarianism is as a form of governance or set of actions aimed at undermining accountability. It is the use of digital technologies for this goal.

Technology is used to repress voices, keep people under surveillance, and manipulate populations for regime goals and survival.

It includes but is not limited to internet and social media shutdowns. It prioritises the use of spyware to hack and monitor people through their devices. There is mass surveillance using artificial intelligence for facial recognition, and misinformation and disinformation propaganda campaigns.

What drives it in Africa

In Africa these actions are popping up in democracies like Nigeria and in autocracies alike. Perhaps the noticeable difference between these two types of governments is the subtlety of their form of digital authoritarianism and the legal recourse when such actions are unearthed.

Both governance types make claims of national security and public safety to justify these tactics. For instance, former Nigerian information minister Lai Mohammed claimed the 2020 Twitter ban was due to “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

Autocracies are often cruder with their use of blatant tactics. They employ internet and social media shutdowns. This is often due to their unsophisticated digital authoritarianism apparatuses. Democracies often rely on more subtle surveillance and misinformation campaigns to reach their goals.

This all begs the question: what are the drivers of this trend? There are four clear ones:

  • regime survival/political control

  • security and counterterrorism

  • electoral competition and information manipulation

  • modernisation agendas (development).

On the rise

In the African context digital authoritarianism is on the rise. There’s a cohesive relationship between the foreign suppliers of the hardware, expertise and domestic demand. This demand stems from authoritarian regimes as well as regimes accessing digital systems to consolidate and modernise. There are also hybrid regimes, which are countries with a mixture democratic and authoritarian institutions.

States like China, Russia, Israel, France and the US supply both the technology and instruction or best practices to African regimes. Reasons for supply include economic gain and regional influence.

On the demand side, African regimes seek out digital authoritarianism tools mainly for development needs and for conflict resolution. Some of the largest consumers are Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana.

The study

I found there was evidence that Nigeria’s development goals and efforts to quell conflicts drive the use of technology to repress its people. Using the example of the #EndSARS movement, social media platform shutdowns and efforts to build a firewall akin to China’s great firewall serve as evidence for this.

In the days following Twitter’s removal of a post by President Muhammadu Buhari, Twitter was banned in Nigeria. The administration cited its use to further unrest, instability, and secessionist movements. There were claims that this step was taken to maintain internet sovereignty.

However, the ban also undermined social movements that were successfully holding the government accountable. Following domestic and international outcry over the ban, there were reports that the Nigerian government had approached China. The purpose of the contact was to replicate their “Great Firewall” in Nigeria’s internet control apparatus. (The focus of China’s project is to monitor and censor what can and cannot be seen through an online network in China.) This would allow the state to manage access to certain cites and block unwanted content from reaching Nigerians.

On the supply side, China’s economic commitments to the country and concerted efforts to cultivate certain norms in the country and region offer insights into the motivations for supply in this case and the broader continent.

Again, regime type dictates just how these technologies will be used. Interviews conducted with permanent secretaries and ministers of Nigerian ministries were particularly revealing. They confirmed that repressive government practices in the real world are informing their activity in digital spaces.

For instance, they intimated that the repression that occurs during protests in the streets in order to manage “lawlessness” is being replicated online. Its purpose is to ensure peace and stability.

For development needs, countries like Nigeria initially seek out foreign suppliers to furnish them with state of the art technology systems. The objective is to establish or refurbish their information and communications technology apparatuses.

These include but are not limited to national broadband networks) such as fiber optic networks, mobile telecommunications networks and smart city governance systems. Though these are often not repressive in nature, they are capable of dual use. Thus, these development needs provide technologies that are then utilized in an authoritarian fashion for state building goals.

There is also evidence that some suppliers provide instruction on how to use these technologies for repression. In some instances, under the guise of development needs, regimes seek out more repressive tools such as spyware alongside these infrastructural development programs. At this stage, the boundary between development and security blurs, as modernization becomes a vehicle for national security, cyber defense, regime protection, and information control.

What can be done?

I propose a three-pronged approach to address the three drivers. First of all, more has to be done on the international front to curb the sale of repressive tools to states. There must be a conversation about the norms of these technologies and their use for repression in both democracies and autocracies.

On the demand side, it appears those practices that have plagued the hopes of freedom and democracy in the real world have to be addressed. Naturally, no movement on the digital front is complete without a real world manifestation. It seems logical that eradicating digital repression necessitates addressing repression in general.

Finally, regulatory legal and institutional oversight alongside human rights benchmarks must be achieved. These will accompany digital and privacy rights in cyberspace.

The Conversation

Chibuzo Achinivu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ref. Nigeria’s government is using digital technology to repress citizens. A researcher explains how – https://theconversation.com/nigerias-government-is-using-digital-technology-to-repress-citizens-a-researcher-explains-how-267032

Renters’ Rights Act becomes law in England – here are six things to do before renting a property privately

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jan Wilcox, Senior lecturer, University of Westminster

Zhuravlev Andrey/Shutterstock

The Renters’ Rights Act has become law. This new legislation is intended to improve the experience of private renting in England by providing tenants with increased security and stability. Measures include abolishing Section 21 “no fault” evictions, enabling tenants to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction.

With private renting now accounting for 19% of UK households in England – double the share it was in the early 2000s – the pressures facing tenants have never been greater.




Read more:
How new renters’ rights could drive landlords out of the market


Recent figures suggest 21 people are competing for each rental property, with average monthly private rents rising by 5.8% to £1,403 in August 2025. At the same time, there is an exodus from the rental market by private landlords, with 31% of landlords reported as reducing the size of their rental portfolio by 2026, and 16% planning to sell all of their properties. This is intensifying demand for rental properties.

In such a competitive market, tenants often take on properties in haste, without fully understanding their rights or the responsibilities of their landlords. Yet the legal landscape is complex, with a raft of existing and forthcoming regulations. Some landlords struggle to keep up with their obligations, creating risks for tenants who simply need somewhere to live.

Here are the steps you should take before signing a tenancy agreement in England:

1. Check you can – and can afford to – rent

The government suggests that rent should be 30% or less of gross income, or 35% of take-home pay. You should also ensure that you have evidence of the right to rent, if required.

2. Ensure you know who your landlord is

They could be a letting agency, a private landlord or a company. Letting agencies should all be part of a redress scheme and you should check that they are members of a client money protection scheme. A private landlord, or company, should be asked to provide proof of ownership to avoid online rental fraud. You can check ownership with the Land Registry.

3. Check the terms of the tenancy agreement

The most common form of tenancy agreement is currently the assured shorthold tenancy, which lasts for a fixed period (usually six or 12 months). You may also have a periodic or rolling tenancy. The two will have different notice periods if you want to end your tenancy.

Check the start and end dates of the tenancy, landlord and tenant names, property address, level of rent, rent reviews and any additional bills you are responsible for.

4. Look out for fees

Do not pay fees for credit checks or setting up a tenancy agreement. You may wish to pay a refundable holding deposit which should not exceed one week’s rent. All other fees are banned. This is different to the security deposit that will be held by a government approved provider. The refundable holding deposit will normally be credited against your first month’s rent.

Request details of the tenancy deposit scheme before paying any money. Your deposit is only protected if held by a government-approved provider. The maximum deposit the landlord can ask for is capped, in most cases, at five weeks’ rent.

Row of identical English terraced houses
Private renting now accounts for 19% of UK households.
I Wei Huang/Shutterstock

5. Request documents

Ask for a copy of the How to Rent guide, a gas safety certificate (if relevant) and the energy performance certificate. The landlord is legally required to produce these documents. You should also be given a copy of your signed tenancy agreement.

6. Check the condition of the property thoroughly

Ask for an inventory which records the contents and condition of the property. Arrange to inspect the property with the landlord, to ensure that you have agreed the inventory, then both sign it. Take time-stamped photographs if there are areas of disagreement.

Ensure there are working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and that you are given an electrical installation condition report before you move in.

Once you are in occupation

Your landlord, or their agent, must always be your first point of contact. You should keep a detailed record of any requests or complaints made, and the response received. If problems persist, there are a range of organisations that can provide help, advice, or resolution, depending on the nature of the dispute. These include Shelter, Citizens Advice, Civil Legal Advice, National Trading Standards, the property ombudsman, the Property Redress Scheme,, the first-tier property tribunal and your local authority environmental health departments.

These bodies will advise on, or implement, penalties which are wide ranging, and depend on the intention, severity and repetition of offences. Currently, these may include ordering the landlord to carry out work by way of an improvement or prohibition notice, fines of up to £30,000, imprisonment for up to two years and rent repayment orders of up to one year’s rent.

Whether a new tenant or an existing tenant, it has never been more important to be fully informed and to keep abreast of new developments in the law. Although we cannot predict the full impact of the new legislation, there is no doubt that penalties for landlords will increase. All tenants, however long they have been renting, are able to obtain compensation for poor performance by the “rogues and chancers” that undermine good landlords.

The Conversation

Jan Wilcox does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ref. Renters’ Rights Act becomes law in England – here are six things to do before renting a property privately – https://theconversation.com/renters-rights-act-becomes-law-in-england-here-are-six-things-to-do-before-renting-a-property-privately-267464

Celebrity Traitors: why we sweat when we’re nervous – or lying

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University

This article contains spoilers for the current season of Celebrity Traitors.

When TV comedian Alan Carr was selected to be a traitor, his joy quickly turned to anxiety. He proclaimed he had a “sweating problem” – and that he wasn’t able to keep a secret. A less than ideal combination for him, but for viewers it’s TV gold.

Anyone who has ever been caught in a lie or found themselves in tense circumstances might have related to Carr. But why is it that so many of us sweat when we’re in stressful or uncomfortable situations?

Sweating typically happens for two reasons. One is when the body gets too hot. Sweating is our most effective method for reducing the body’s temperature. The other reason is emotionally driven and linked to psychological stimuli caused by anxiety, fear, pain or stress.

Humans have approximately 4 million sweat glands. There are two categories of sweat glands: apocrine and eccrine.

Eccrine glands make up around 90% of our sweat glands. These glands help cool the body. They respond to the release of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which plays a central role in involuntary body actions, such as sweating.

The body has far fewer apocrine glands. These are mainly located around the nipple, armpits, face and genitals. These glands respond to a neurotransmitter called adrenaline. This neurotransmitter only becomes active when we’re in a “fight or flight” mode. The reason our palms sweat during these moments is because there are a high number of eccrine glands located there – so they go into overdrive when activated by adrenaline.

Adrenaline can also activate eccrine sweat glands in these high stakes situations, which means we begin to sweat all over our body.

The amount a person sweats varies from one person to another and is determined by a huge number of variables, including the number of sweat glands they have, the amount of adrenaline produced, how hydrated they are and their emotional state.

The amount that a person sweats during a stressful situation can also be made worse if they have a “sweating problem”, like Alan Carr does – such as the condition known as hyperhidrosis. This medical condition affects approximately 1%-3% of people in the UK – though in some countries it’s higher, with approximately 5% of the US population and as many as 16% of people in Germany affected.

There are two types of hyperhidrosis: primary and secondary. Primary accounts for 93% of hyperhidrosis cases. The cause of primary hyperhidrosis is unknown but genetic factors are thought to play a role – particularly because many with primary hyperhidrosis report having parents with the same diagnosis. It’s also theorised that hyperhidrosis may be caused the nerves that make us sweat being more overactive than they should be.




Read more:
Hyperhidrosis: the excessive sweating condition that could ruin your life


Secondary is usually caused by medications, particularly those that affect nervous system function.

People with hyperhidrosis can sweat at rates far above what’s considered normal. This is why the condition can have such a huge impact on quality of life and health.

People with hyperhidrosis are at greater risk of dehydration due to the amount fluid a person loses when they sweat – up to 5.8L an hour in some people. In comparison, people without hyperhidrosis only lose about 2L an hour when exercising.

They’re also at greater risk of fungal infections (such as athlete’s foot), bacterial infections (such as impetigo) and bad body odour as their warm, moist skin provides the perfect environment for microbes.

Hyperhidrosis and stressful situations may act as a self-perpetuating spiral. People with hyperhidrosis say the condition causes high physiological strain. High physiological strain causes sweating for everyone – but for people with hyperhidrosis, this is amplified, resulting in more sweating.

Prescription antiperspirants may help with mild to moderate cases of hyperhidrosis. If these don’t work, iontophoresis may be tried. This is where hands are placed in water with a small electrical current passing through to stop the sweat glands from working.

When these fail, botulinum toxin injections are administered directly into the armpit. The effects typically last around six months. This toxin blocks the action of acetylcholine preventing it from activating the sweat glands – thereby reducing their activity.

Stress sweat

In the context of The Traitors, sweating when we lie is primarily driven by the body’s nervous system which activates the “fight or flight” response during stress.




Read more:
The Celebrity Traitors: psychologist explains how to defend yourself when you’re accused of lying


Lying often evokes thoughts that are negative, especially if the lie induces anxiety or fear of being caught – thoughts the brain perceives as a threat. This activates the hypothalamus (a brain region which controls automatic body functions), which signals the adrenal glands on top of the kidney to release stress hormones – such as adrenaline. These hormones of course stimulate the eccrine sweat glands – especially those in the palms, feet and underarms.

Sweating itself doesn’t confirm deception. Rather, it reflects the psychological stress that triggered it. This sweat increase causes the electrical conductance of the skin to change, which is why lie detectors (polygraphs) measure galvanic skin response as a proxy for stress.




Read more:
Polygraph lie detector tests: can they really stop criminals reoffending?


But even these are not without issue because they cannot account for a person’s baseline sweat levels or how they adapt in stressful situations. It’s also important to note that not everyone can sweat – a condition known as anhidrosis – so a polygraph would probably not work in these instances.

Sweating is an involuntary process that happens when we’re stressed or under pressure. So whether you’re a Traitor or Faithful, there’s not much you can do to stop the sweat when facing interrogation at the round table.

The Conversation

Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ref. Celebrity Traitors: why we sweat when we’re nervous – or lying – https://theconversation.com/celebrity-traitors-why-we-sweat-when-were-nervous-or-lying-267796

What Belfast’s changing murals can tell us about peace

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dylan O’Driscoll, Associate Professor in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation, Coventry University

One of the murals from the study. Author provided, CC BY-SA

The walls of Belfast in Northern Ireland are more than just brick and mortar. They are canvases for public communication, reflecting the city’s history of conflict and its ongoing journey towards peace.

From large murals depicting significant events to subtle markings, these visual messages offer a unique lens into the evolving sentiments and politics within local communities. They also reveal the unity and divisions that exist across communities in a society in transition.

Our research shows that by systematically tracking changes in murals over time and across different locations – what we call “spatio-temporal analysis” – we can gain profound insights into the dynamics of peace and conflict. The walls themselves provide messages that can be inviting or excluding, or even communicate shifts within a community’s own identity. For instance, if a mural with paramilitary associations is replaced by one featuring a symbol of peace, it sends a powerful message that attitudes are changing.

To understand these visual shifts, we built a unique dataset of murals from Belfast, spanning from 1998 to 2022. This period is particularly significant as it began with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, a pivotal moment for peace in Northern Ireland. Our approach leveraged open-access digital archives and Google Street View. This allowed us to track changes over time.

A map of Belfast showing points from the database
A map of the research sites that form our database.
Author provided, CC BY-SA

A broad trend emerged. Over the years, there was a significant move away from murals that glorify violence, weaponry and paramilitaries. For example, in the Unionist Shankill area, the murals we mapped showed a 75% decrease in depictions of paramilitaries and violence since 1998. They have largely been replaced by artwork honouring culture, heritage and community.

However, this shift is not necessarily a move towards reconciliation between communities. Instead, it often signifies a solidification of distinct identities.

In Unionist areas, new murals frequently portray Protestants as hardworking, alongside symbols of the monarchy and union jacks. Meanwhile, Nationalist areas show strong connections to socialism, resistance movements, Gaelic traditions and the Irish flag. While less violent, these murals still maintain a sense of “othering” (creating us and them). This contributes to the ongoing process of separate nation-building within each community.

Reading walls

The murals on Peter’s Hill, marking the entry to the Unionist Shankill Road, clearly demarcate territory. In 1999, a mural honoured Loyalist paramilitary groups such as the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). In the 2009 and 2021 versions, depictions of weapons and paramilitary groups were gone.

The 2009 mural explicitly claimed Shankill as “original Belfast”. The “i” was dotted with a crown in a nod to the monarchy. The 2021 version, while retaining this claim, shifted to celebrating community work. It depicted local community workers and young people. This showed a move away from glorifying violence, yet still reinforced a distinct Unionist cultural identity.

The Falls Road International Wall is a key stop for Belfast’s conflict tourism. It is used by the Nationalist community to express solidarity with globally oppressed groups, linking their struggle to international revolutionary movements.

Our analysis shows how dynamic this wall is, often changing in response to local and global events. A 2001 mural depicted Nationalists as victims of state violence. By 2002, it featured anti-war messaging after the invasion of Afghanistan. The wall has since shown strong affinity with the Palestinian cause, honoured Gerry Adams and even featured a mural for the National Health Service (NHS) during COVID. However, by 2022, it shifted back to strong Irish Republican ideologies, featuring figures like Bobby Sands and calls for a united Ireland.

On Whiterock Road in west Belfast, outside the main tourist routes, a mural set holds deep historical significance. The current mural, appearing during the Ballymurphy inquest (2018-2021), commemorates the 1971 Ballymurphy Massacre. It depicts the 11 victims and a scene from the event. Earlier murals in this spot memorialised the 1916 Easter Rising. The timing of these changes highlights how this site is used to remember and memorialise specific historical periods, reflecting the community’s ongoing engagement with its past.

The large mural network on Newtownards Road, known locally as “Freedom Corner”, has been a long-standing symbol of paramilitary territorial claim-making for the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). While it was refreshed in 2015 after damage, its message and style remained largely unchanged from the Good Friday Agreement to 2022.

In 2022 the murals were whitewashed and new ones commissioned without consulting the community. While the art style changed, the substance continued to link Northern Ireland to the British union and promote paramilitary activity. Interestingly, the new mural also includes the role of women, indicating a desire to break the perception of male-dominated Unionism.

Our research demonstrates that murals are far more than just art, they are a powerful, dynamic communication method. Murals offer invaluable insights into local perceptions of peace and conflict, societal transformation, and community positioning.

By systematically analysing these visual changes over time and space, we can better understand how communities express themselves, maintain their identities, and navigate the complex path of post-conflict evolution. This foundational method opens doors for further research, helping us ask deeper questions about the decision-making behind these murals, their funding, community buy-in and their true impact on local dynamics.

The walls of Belfast continue to tell a story, and by reading them we can learn a great deal about the complex journey towards peace.


Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.


The Conversation

Dylan O’Driscoll is affiliated with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Birte Vogel and Eric Lepp do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ref. What Belfast’s changing murals can tell us about peace – https://theconversation.com/what-belfasts-changing-murals-can-tell-us-about-peace-267887

Scary stories for kids: A Series of Unfortunate Events taught me that grief can’t be understood but can be managed

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Wynne-Walsh, Lecturer in Film, English and Creative Arts, Edge Hill University

Brett Helquist/HarperCollins

Sourcing family friendly frightening fiction can be a bit challenging. That said, while straightforward horror texts rarely serve family audiences, the gothic is a mode of storytelling that has a long history of delighting and disgusting parents and children alike.

Naturally, there is intellectual and stylistic value to both classic horror and the gothic. However, while horror interacts more directly with fear, the gothic favours observing the tension surrounding the source of fear.




Read more:
Scary stories for kids: these tales of terror made me a hit at sleepovers as a pre-teen


The stereotypical gothic heroine is not only trapped in the haunted house, she desires to understand it. Children’s books which use the gothic mode of storytelling encourage a similar investigative impulse in children. This is the modus operandi of the Scooby Doo gang, for example: research, exploration and answer-seeking rather than simply succumbing to fear.

Some iconic examples of children’s gothic literature include Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), Roald Dahl’s The Witches (1983), The Spiderwick Chronicles (Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, 2003 to 2009) and The Saga of Darren Shan (Darren Shan, 2000 to 2004).


This article is part of a series of expert recommendations of spooky stories – on screen and in print – for brave young souls. From the surprisingly dark depths of Watership Down to Tim Burton’s delightfully eerie kid-friendly films, there’s a whole haunted world out there just waiting for kids to explore. Dare to dive in here.


While these are all excellent tales, the spooky story which impacted me most as a child, and still does as an adult, is Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (1999 to 2006). This 13-book series follows three orphaned siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire as they are forced to navigate the homes of various (increasingly odd and occasionally villainous) guardians. All the while they try evade capture at the hand of evil Count Olaf who seeks their family fortune, and solve the mystery of what the VFD (Volunteer Fire Department) organisation is – the answer to which might hold the key their parents’ mysterious past.

I was five years old when I received a copy of the first book in the series, aptly titled, The Bad Beginning. That first foray into the dark world of the Baudelaires meant that for the next few years the days I got to go to the bookshop to get the next book were some of the most exciting I experienced.

Aside from being devilishly delightful tales full of mysteries, adventure, danger, songs and a surprising amount of food recipes, these books never shied away from the harsher elements of real life. Among many important lessons, Snicket also taught me that horseradish and wasabi are in the same family, that first impressions of new people aren’t always accurate and that grief may never be understood but can be managed.

As he writes in the second book, The Reptile Room:

[Grief] is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.

During many of the most challenging parts of my childhood (and now my adulthood), these books offered me agency, riddles to solve, new words to learn, puzzles to put together and complex histories to understand. This is the core joy of these books – Snicket treats his intended readers (children) like people, instead of talking down to them.

The quirky and interactive elements of these books are a major factor in their enduring popularity. In an era of ever decreasing attention spans, Snicket offers an interactive reading experience in which no two chapters, and even no two pages are the same.

In one of the books, the Baudelaire children fall down a broken elevator shaft, a plot point illustrated literally by the three pitch black pages which “narrate” their descent. Another book sees the children receive a coded message, this chapter must be read in front of a mirror to decipher the backwards text. And most, if not all the books, incorporate poetry, songs, plays and paintings – which the Baudelaire orphans, and the readers, must use to decipher the mysteries surrounding the titular unfortunate events.

From the outset the reader is presented with total agency, invited to “shut the book” in a manner which directly encourages child autonomy. Nonetheless, children and adults alike have continued to engage with this franchise in all of its forms. Whether that be the original books, the 2004 feature film, the Netflix series released in 2017, the audiobooks narrated by Tim Curry, the concept album based on the books by The Gothic Archies or the ever updated Lemony Snicket website with multiple extra materials.

In short, the spooky gothic fun never has to end. As someone who has read these books annually since their original release, I can confidently attest to this as I continue to try and solve the eternal mystery of the VFD and the reason why Snicket’s villains are so damn villainous.

If you have not yet had the chance to enter the wild, woeful and wonderous world of the Baudelaire children and the mysteries surrounding their series of unfortunate events, I encourage readers of all ages to ignore Snicket’s suggestion to shut the books. Indeed, look to these tales, in the words of Snicket, to find a “small, safe place in a troubling world”.

The Series of Unfortunate Events is suitable for children aged 8 to 14.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.


Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.


The Conversation

Rebecca Wynne-Walsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

ref. Scary stories for kids: A Series of Unfortunate Events taught me that grief can’t be understood but can be managed – https://theconversation.com/scary-stories-for-kids-a-series-of-unfortunate-events-taught-me-that-grief-cant-be-understood-but-can-be-managed-267786