Shaping the Future: African Perspectives in Educational & Development work

Shaping the Future: African Perspectives in Development and Education Contexts

Introduction

For a long time now, the future of Europe can no longer be considered separately from the future of Africa. Not least because of the colonial past and its after-effects, which still have an impact today, both the present and the future of the two continents are closely linked. In order to shape a common future sustainably, future-oriented development and education policy work is also required that takes into account the future prospects on the African continent and in the diaspora.

Description

As part of the ongoing project 'Shaping the future: African Perspectives on Global Conditions', we have already very successfully captured and analysed African_diasporic future perspectives in the context of global inequality from various areas of society (economy, gender, LGBTIQ*, culture, politics and education) and made them accessible to the interested public and experts. In order to ensure a sustainable inclusion of the knowledge gained in Africa-related development and education policy work, we would like to make the information collected more participatively accessible to the public within the framework of the new project and support explicit actors and multipliers* in these fields of work in incorporating the knowledge gained into their work contexts. To this end, we would like to organise and implement four theme-specific 'Future Labs' with accompanying school programmes and publications.

Conferences

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ZukunftsLabor I: Economic Interdependence and Future Trade Relations between Africa and Europe

Since the colonial period there have been movements again and again which strive for a united, independent Africa and demand a fairer globalisation policy. Now currents of different African states are emerging against, for example, the IMF and the World Bank, which are expressed in the Cotonou Agreement and the EPA negotiations. However, this criticism is hardly visible here in Germany and is seldom included in sustainable educational contexts.

The laboratory should focus on African perspectives on global trade structures and explicitly critically examine the neoliberal dogma of trade policy and its effects on African states. Information work on current trade agreements will be carried out (e.g. EPA). By presenting alternative approaches, a multi-layered view of trade relations will be taken. Participants of the laboratory are to be given a differentiated view of existing processes and future plans and to present these in their functions to the public.

ZukunftsLabor II: African Art in German and European Museums

Numerous African works of art still exist in German museums, the acquisition of which is unclear and at least controversial. The fact that dealing with these objects must be viewed in a context of global inequalities and that critical reflection is indispensable is often ignored. Following on from the demands in the new coalition agreement to 'vigorously promote comprehensive provenance research in Germany in the future', we would like to deal with the topic of provenance research in the context of global inequalities within the framework of this 'Future Laboratory'.

In the forefront of this laboratory, provenance research is to be stimulated and a focus placed on the regions of origin of the works. The aim is to make the history of art public and to stimulate a new debate through a change of perspective. For this purpose, the laboratory will create a space in which an innovative exchange between actors* in the field of education policy and the curation of museums/exhibitions etc. can take place - in such a way that sustainable networking can be achieved.

In the future, one of the main concerns will be to achieve more transparency and reflection in the exhibition concepts in the curation of works of art. Furthermore, the laboratory is to bring to light pedagogical concepts used in development education and to make the knowledge accessible to a broad public.

ZukunftsLabor III: No future without reappraisal - the future of collective reappraisal of colonialism in the context of global inequalities

At the latest since the President of the Bundestag, Norbert Lammert, described the crimes of German colonial troops in today's Namibia as 'genocide' in July 2015, the reappraisal of German colonial history has repeatedly come to the attention of the public. The coalition agreement of the new German government also calls for Germany's reappraisal of its colonial history as a basic democratic consensus. Elisabeth Kaneza emphasised in her lecture (Zukunft I) that in order to better place the structural inequality between Africa and Europe in the context of development and education policy work and to find a future-oriented way of dealing with the past, it is indispensable to deal with it.

The effects of colonialism are to be incorporated into educational work to a much greater extent than in the past. Raising awareness of global inequality is often under-represented in today's educational work. The laboratory with educational actors*, politicians* and foundations aims to change this situation by showing participants new ways to disseminate under-represented knowledge.

ZukunftsLabor IV: Feminist Perspectives and Gender Relations in the Context of Global Inequalities

Although Afro-feminist perspectives often include a strong analytical approach to global inequality, they are rarely included in development and education policy contexts. In the few cases in which gender relations are addressed in the global South, women*/actors in the LGBTIQ* community are often portrayed as 'victims'. Their role as actors and thus their potential to shape the future is often not visible.

Afro_feministische Zukunftsperspektiven

(K)eine Utopie!? Afro-feminist perspectives in educational & development policies.

Afro-feminist perspectives often include a strong analytical approach to global inequality, but are rarely included in development and education contexts. In development and education policy work, too, cross-cutting realities play an increasingly important role, but are often only marginally taken into account.

The aim of this conference is to anchor feminist and intersectional realities more firmly in development and education policy and to cultivate a direct exchange with actors from these fields.

The conference will be held in German and English. Whispering interpreting into German will be offered. The venue and the toilets are wheelchair accessible.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2482009365153992/

Film screening: Ken Bugul 'Niemand will sie'

Film screening: 'Niemand will sie'

Ken Bugul is regarded as one of the most important Senegalese writers of French-language literature in recent decades. In her novels she succeeds in interweaving the French language with the rhythms of the basic conceptual structures of her mother tongue Wolof.

Swiss filmmaker Silvia Voser has Ken Bugul tell her story, which is marked by the historical events of Africa. Born in 1947, she was the first to leave her village to study in Brussels, where she received both recognition and rejection.

The return and the new beginning in the homeland succeed through writing. For more than 30 years Ken Bugul has been composing her novels as a picture of her life as a woman. Her love stories are always linked to the social and political relations between her continent and the West, which she analyses razor sharply.

Place: Workshop of Cultures - Wissmannstraße 32, 17h00

Ken Bugul - Niemand will sie

Directed by Silvia Voser
LENGTH: 62 minutes
GENRE: Documentary film
Language: OmU
Speech: OmU

https://www.ezef.de/publikationen/ken-bugul-niemand-will-sie/2869

Organized by - Africavenir International e.V. and Afrotak presents AfroFuturism 2019

Supported by Engagement Global on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, with the kind support of the Landesstelle für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit and Brot für die Welt.

Sensitization Workshop

In the course of this workshop, the question of how present and future relations between Africa and Europe can be improved and unconscious forms of discrimination in dealing with one another can be dismantled will be approached together.

How do we communicate with our partners in African countries? Who has the sovereignty to interpret and why, and how is knowledge produced and acquired? How can we develop concrete strategies for structural change?

Everyone is welcome! Please reserve a place at buero(at)africavenir.org. Please write us a short introduction of yourself by email.

Date and place: Saturday 13. April 2019 (10:00/18:00), Engagement Global - Trautenstr.5 / Pangeahaus 1st floor

Film screening: Supa Modo

Film screening: Supa Modo

There will be also a filmscreening for school children on 17th June at the centre-francais.de School events will take place directly after the laboratories, in which pupils will be taught the perspective new educational contents that were developed and processed in the laboratories. An overriding goal is to ensure that the contents developed find their way into the Berlin educational system and curricula in the long term and thus have a multiplier effect. In order to make the knowledge from the 'Future Labs' accessible to pupils, the experts from the Future Labs will also be involved in the school events. On the subject of 'African-European economic relations', for example, a school event is planned for the Edewa exhibition. On the subject of 'African art in German museums', a critical tour of the museum can provide a suitable setting for school classes. A creative photo workshop with school classes is planned on the theme 'No future without processing'. On the subject of 'feminism and gender relations' we would like to plan a film screening of the film 'Supa Modo

Supa Modo is a 2018 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Likarion Wainaina. It first premiered at 68th Berlin International Film Festival. It was selected as the Kenyan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. Supa Modo was produced as part of the One Fine Day Films workshop-project, which gives African filmmakers the opportunity to learn from mentors and create their stories for an international audience.