African Knowledge Production Incubators.

 

 

For many years the academic environment has grappled with the (un)justness of the Eurocentric and Western curriculum content and knowledge systems used in higher education. We therefore thought a lot about how to give effect to a decolonised and indigenised curriculum in social work in South Africa.

 

The African Knowledge Production Incubators (AKPI) project was born of a desire to take action. Hence, based on the Participatory Action Learning Action Research (PALAR) approach the AKPI project is based on a collective co creation of African lived experiences from six social work academics across five South African Universities viz. Nelson Mandela, University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), Stellenbosch (SU), Univeristy of Fort Hare (UFH) and the University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN). Based on the methodology, all of us are researchers as well as participants in this project.

 

This project is designed on the concept of incubating. The term incubators refers to a safe, academic space created for developing and nurturing thoughts and ideas on what constitutes African knowledge. During incubation we retreat cognitively from familiar routines, interactions and power relations to question and rethink established sources of knowledge (Bergold & Thomas, 2012). We also read, appreciate and interrogate the works of decolonial and indigenous writers during the incubations. It is necessary to do this because critical consciousness requires a personal awareness of the political, social and economic contradictions which is most crucial for personal cognitive liberation (Freire, 1970).

 

We see this as preliminary work that will enable us to develop specific research foci pertaining to the curriculum, going forward. In this way, we aim to lay the foundation for indigenous content generation across the social work curriculum and across universities. The project unfolds in a phased way where all social work academics will be able to join and expand the work of the core group.

 

(Extract from African Knowledge Production Incubators pamphlet, 2023)