After decolonisation and independence a new conservation document was needed, one that looks after the needs of the people. That’s what the Maputo Convention aims to do.
Why don’t people evacuate their homes when warned of impending storm danger? To save lives, resiliency plans must understand how locals in climate-vulnerable places assess risk.
Critical decolonisation means accepting risk of error. It means considering whether indigenous knowledge systems might contain truths that western science hasn’t accessed.
Phrases like “knowledge production” conceal the fact that knowledge answers to something beyond itself and beyond us. To produce knowledge is to find out about something.
It’s important that South African teachers, lecturers and professors develop curricula that build on the best knowledge skills, values, beliefs and habits from around the world.
Universities pay too little attention to the knowledge and experiences that students bring to their institutions from different cultures and backgrounds.
Knowledge is power. If you own it, you can control those without it. Since so much knowledge about Africa doesn’t sit on the continent, it’s apparent that Africa lacks power in this regard.
Decolonisation of the curriculum doesn’t have to mean the destruction of Western knowledge, but it’s decentring. Such knowledge should become one way of knowing rather than the only way.
Traditional knowledge that drives indigenous communities’ innovation in agriculture, medicine and conservation is not protected by existing international law.
The essence of Ubuntu can best be found in Africa’s informal economies. They are not dependent on western shareholders or donations, and certainly not subject to western management education.
If we’re serious about closing the gap in Indigenous education, our new research shows the value of building better bridges into universities and vocational education.