After decades of colonialism, Africans are now beginning to question the effectiveness of inherited foreign languages, western development strategies including governance mechanisms, to generate much needed sustainable development, especially poverty eradication in the continent. Moreover, Africa lacks a continental platform to coordinate and promote its rich history of African indigenous science, technology and innovation for the Africa We Want (AU Agenda 2063). AIIKS will be a strategic continental tool in social and educational transformation by advancing a paradigm shift in knowledge production, utilization and sharing to develop, preserve, protect and promote African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS), as knowledge and science systems on their own merit, within and outside the continent.
As part of this new paradigm shift the AIIKS model will ensure the following:
- Use of African Indigenous languages and home grown philosophies as core elements in its multi- and transdisciplinary focus areas and cross-cutting themes, in research, human capital development, communication, marketing and community engagement
- Work with policy makers and other stakeholders, in both public and private sectors, within and outside the continent in mobilization of community-based knowledge systems and resources in responding to existing and emerging needs of the people including their shared aspirations for sustainable development
- Endeavour to enhance mainstreaming of marginalised social groups, including women, girls, disabled and youth in the promotion of AIKS in its multi- and transdisciplinary focus areas and cross-cutting themes, in research, human capital development, and communication, marketing and community engagement
- Harnessing the current post-colonial African political, democratic and leadership landscape as a conducive environment and opportunity for promoting and advancing intergenerational dialogue initiatives between the African youth and elders. This will build on the knowledge and lived experience of the Former African Heads of State and Government who left office democratically in the promotion of peace, security, stability and good governance for sustainable development
- Identify and develop appropriate institutions and structures within the continent including graduate students who will support the Former African Heads of State and Government to develop their memoires and other publications to enhance the content and objectives of the intergenerational dialogue in line with the aspirations of the AU Agenda 2063
- Documentation of the history of African ideas and home-grown philosophies pertaining to conflict transformation, peace-building and governance systems for sustainable development
- ensure that African Ubuntu values of solidarity, care, and reciprocity are embraced by all nations in the fight against global challenges, including pandemics such as COVID-19
- work with relevant national and international partners (public and private), at all levels, to advance the complementarity of knowledge and technology systems in the production of unique products and services for the local and global markets
- promote the role of African indigenous institutions in conflict transformation and peace building.
The AIIKS realizes that the restoration and promotion of IKS as a sustainable development tool in the continent is facing the following main challenges:
- Indigenous knowledge is always passed by word of mouth from one generation to another. Many of the bearers of indigenous knowledge are from the older generation and now find it difficult to communicate their beliefs and practices to the western educated younger generations; hence once the older generations passes away, the knowledge disappears with them
- There is still reticence in the use of IKS, which is considered anecdotal and not scientific, in the development process
- There is a real danger that IK Systems in Africa are being wiped out as a result of the rapid changes occurring from imported economic, cultural and political development models through globalisation
- The approaches in the efforts to preserve, protect and promote IKS are fragmented as different African countries are implementing their own initiatives
- There is waning global support of IKS promotion initiatives in Africa. In order to overcome these challenges, there is a need for a coordinated approach in the promotion, protection, documentation, and research of IKS in Africa. This will enable appropriate integration of IKS in the initiatives for achieving sustainable development in Africa. The established AIIKS will develop and plan initiatives for overcoming the identified challenges towards the restoration of IKS to its rightful position on the Continent
The AIIKS will specifically develop initiatives to address the needs for:
- A continentally coordinated approach in the promotion of IKS for sustainable development by using multilinguism in the teaching and learning of indigenous languages and home grown philosophies and sustainable solutions
- Promotion of the use of indigenous healthcare systems for health and well-being
- Intergenerational dialogues to facilitate the transmission of knowledge and experience on governance and sustenance from past leaders to the youth
- Articulation and intellectualization of the interplay between IKS and Pan Africanism in the decolonization of the mind and African confidence building
- Research in African countries to show the comparative contribution of IKS to developmental challenges such as nutrition and food security, health and well-being, poverty and environmental degradation including impact of climate change