Research, Innovation and Indigenous Knowledge in Sub-Saharan Africa: In Search of a Nexus

2016 ◽  
pp. 99-114
Author(s):  
Chika Ezeanya
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

Embedding Indigenous Knowledge in Library and Information Science Education in Anglophone Eastern and Southern Africa

2017 ◽  
pp. 92-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ngulube
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
The University

There is need to re-examine the inclusion or exclusion of indigenous knowledge (IK) in the university curriculum in sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Western scientific knowledge on which the university curriculum in SSA is mainly based has proved to be inadequate in addressing developmental challenges. Using the curriculum of library and information science (LIS) departments in Anglophone east and southern Africa (AESA) as a case study, this chapter focuses on factors that influence the inclusion of IK in higher education in SSA. IK is recognised for its potential contribution to development by organisations such as the World Bank and African Union. Its inclusive ethos and accommodation of multiple realities also accounts for its popularity. In spite of that, IK has not established a stronghold in LIS curriculum in AESA. This study investigates the factors that influence its integration into the curriculum and makes recommendations based on the findings.

Embedding Indigenous Knowledge in Library and Information Science Education in Anglophone Eastern and Southern Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 255-278
Author(s):  
Patrick Ngulube
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
The University

There is need to re-examine the inclusion or exclusion of indigenous knowledge (IK) in the university curriculum in sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Western scientific knowledge on which the university curriculum in SSA is mainly based has proved to be inadequate in addressing developmental challenges. Using the curriculum of library and information science (LIS) departments in Anglophone east and southern Africa (AESA) as a case study, this chapter focuses on factors that influence the inclusion of IK in higher education in SSA. IK is recognised for its potential contribution to development by organisations such as the World Bank and African Union. Its inclusive ethos and accommodation of multiple realities also accounts for its popularity. In spite of that, IK has not established a stronghold in LIS curriculum in AESA. This study investigates the factors that influence its integration into the curriculum and makes recommendations based on the findings.

Interfacing Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Access to Healthcare in SADC through the Millennium Development Goals

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amos Saurombe
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Millennium Development Goals ◽  
Access To Healthcare ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sub Saharan

There are eight health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the mandate of which is to ensure access to affordable healthcare for poor countries, especially in Africa. These MDGs were supposed to be reached by 2015, but six years have now passed with little success being realised. The cost of affordable medicines remains the main predicament for poor African countries. The focus of this paper is limited to the poor countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a part of sub-Saharan Africa. I have previously written on other measures that have been employed to improve access to medicine, for example pooled procurement used by a number of SADC countries. Unfortunately the vast rural nature of SADC member states makes it prohibitively impossible to reach every citizen, let alone convince them of the usefulness of Western healthcare. A number of scholars have written about southern Africa’s riches in the area of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) that directly relate to healthcare. It is thus the objective of this paper to argue that both efforts of using IKS and the modern healthcare system can complement each other in the quest for the realisation of better healthcare and quality of life for the citizens of southern Africa. This paper starts with a motivation to indicate why IKS and access to healthcare are related. An analysis of the eight related MDGs follows as a way of measuring how far these have been realised post the anticipated date in 2015. In this analysis, it is critical to unearth how IKS can be used in the realisation of solutions to these shortcomings.

scholarly journals Indigenous Knowledge and Public Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munyaradzi Mawere
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Teaching Learning

The discourse on indigenous knowledge has incited a debate of epic proportions across the world over the years. In Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region, while the so-called indigenous communities have always found value in their own local forms of knowledge, the colonial administration and its associates viewed indigenous knowledge as unscientific, illogical, anti-development, and/or ungodly. The status and importance of indigenous knowledge has changed in the wake of the landmark 1997 Global Knowledge Conference in Toronto, which emphasised the urgent need to learn, preserve, and exchange indigenous knowledge. Yet, even with this burgeoning interest and surging call, little has been done, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to guarantee the maximum exploitation of indigenous knowledge for the common good. In view of this realisation, this paper discusses how indigenous knowledge can and should both act as a tool for promoting the teaching/learning process in Africa's public education and address the inexorably enigmatic amalgam of complex problems and cataclysms haunting the world.

scholarly journals Selective exclusion: the digital divide in the context of indigenous knowledge systems in South Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lotriet ◽  
M. Matthee ◽  
F. Mazanderani
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Alternative Systems ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Sub Saharan

This article provides an alternative view to questions of technological inclusion and exclusion in sub-Saharan Africa via an analysis of the South African governmental discourse on indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). The concept of 'selective exclusion' (SE) is developed in relation to the digital divide, highlighting that technology is not always perceived as neutral or universally beneficial, but rather is negotiated in relation to specific socio-political contexts and alternative systems of knowledge. The concept of SE highlights the following: (a) 'Western' rationality and technology can be perceived as threats to indigenous identity and knowledge and as a result treated circumspectly; (b) nevertheless the 'Western' domain is seen as promising economic benefits, which need to be accessed; (c) therefore, the 'Western' domain and its associated technologies are selectively excluded; (d) the existence of a digital divide is not necessarily seen as negative as it offers protection against globalisation; and (e) the agency of indigenous individuals and communities is considered central and the ability to appropriate technology in relation to this is stressed.

scholarly journals Integrating African Indigenous Knowledge in Kenya’s Formal Education System: The Potential for Sustainable Development

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenipher Owuor
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Education System ◽  
School System ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Western Perspective

The current paradigm shift toward promoting education for sustainable development gravitates toward alternative approaches to school curricula in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is argued that solutions to problems that currently plague the continent and with reference to the Kenyan context must proceed from understanding of local capacities such as the role of indigenous knowledge in promoting sustainable development. This can be achieved by integrating indigenous knowledge into the formal education system to address some of the knowledge deficiencies for development that is currently formulated from the western perspective. This approach challenges the dominance of western knowledge in Kenya’s school system that makes education disembodied from context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of indigenous knowledge, provide rationale for valuing indigenous knowledge in formal school system, examine the government’s efforts to indigenise curricula, and dilemmas to integrating indigenous knowledge in formal education with implications to teacher education programs.

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