The British empire brought the practice of commons enclosure to Africa to claim land. Its effects continue today at sites like the Liesbeek River in Cape Town.
Where should we place Mugabe among the pantheon of African nationalists who led their countries to independence?
Daniel Günther, prime minister of Schleswig-Holstein, at the Swakopmund monument to colonial concentration camp victims.
Facebook/Germany Embassy, Windhoek
Germany praises itself for having declared a ‘special responsibility’ for Namibia since independence. But the relationship is viewed differently from Windhoek.
Conservative lawmakers in dozens of U.S. states have raised fears that Islamic fundamentalists want to impose Sharia on Americans.
Reuters/David Ryder
There is no inherent tension between Islam and democratic values. Like any use of religion in politics, the application of Sharia as law depends on who is using it – and why.
South Africa has been dubbed “the rape capital of the world”.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Africa needs a new strategy for mother-tongue based bilingual education, from primary through to tertiary level.
Ron Eland, at far left, in Great Britain’s 1948 Olympic team. The stories of Eland and other black athletes must be told.
Pic taken from Haliday, J. (1950). Olympic Weight-lifting with Body Building for all. London: Pullum & Sons
A focus on collaboration among African universities and research institutions is crucial in developing national policies that meet the principles of open data while keeping it safe from exploitation.
There are many different ways to approach the thorny issue of decolonising knowledge.
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Critical decolonisation means accepting risk of error. It means considering whether indigenous knowledge systems might contain truths that western science hasn’t accessed.
Afrocentric history emerged strongly during the post-colonial 1960s.
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A global approach to African history complements the radical post-colonial histories, while also asserting the role of the continent in the world’s global pasts and present.
A member of Ghana’s navy attends celebrations in Accra to mark the country’s 60th independence anniversary.
EPA/Christian Thompson
Ghana is very much the African rising star 60 years after independence with an exemplary record in health and education. But it’s struggling like many of its peers to meet social and economic targets.
Children at school in Mali, which is among the countries that’s prioritised mother tongue education.
United Nations Photo/Flickr
Over the years, our understanding of how language and learning are linked has shifted and changed. There is ample evidence about the value of mother-tongue-based multilingual education.
They might be certain, but they don’t have to be brutal.
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Tax systems in post-colonial Africa need to be reformed. For instance, there ought to be rebates for advancing moral good or educating future taxpayers.
Independence Square in Accra, Ghana. The country is indeed free but must improve at delivering justice.
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A key argument in support of the jury system is that it is a valued form of citizen participation in democracies. But the system has led to human rights abuses in Ghana.
One South African school issues ‘demerits’ if their pupils speak anything but English.
David Ritchie/Cape Argus
Schools and universities in post-colonial contexts still operate within the logic of coloniality. This is starkly illustrated by their language policies.
Riot police detain residents of Epworth suburb after a protest by taxi drivers turned violent in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
Zimbabwe has experienced another wave of discontent, manifesting in protests by its citizenry. This may well herald a change in the idea of citizenship in the country.