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Global Priority Africa Dialogue: The General History of Africa
Since its launch in 1964, the General History of Africa (GHA) has aimed to trace the history of Africa from the point of view of Africans themselves with the aim of ridding historiographical production on the continent of the infamous, deceitful and racist stereotypes that have marked it.
The first phase of this landmark project was completed in 1999 with the publication of eight volumes of the HGA, available in several languages, including Fulfulde, Hausa and Swahili. In response to the recommendation of the Heads of State of the African Union to teach GHA in African schools at all levels, from primary to tertiary education, UNESCO embarked on a new phase of the Project in 2009. Three new volumes (IX, X, and XI) of the HGA are being published in different languages (English, French, Chinese, Portuguese).
The speakers addressed several crucial themes:
Contextualizing the General History of Africa: Mr. Martial Ze Belinga, Economist, Sociologist, Expert for the General History of Africa program, stressed the importance of decolonizing knowledge by producing, sharing and using knowledge on the history of Africa and its diaspora.
Trends, Challenges and Promises of History Teaching in Africa and Beyond: Ms. Denise Bentrovato, Senior Researcher and Lecturer in Historical Education and Co-Director of the African Association for Historical Education, University of Pretoria, explored current challenges and promising opportunities for teaching and learning African history.
Key Initiatives of UNESCO's Flagship Programme on GHA: Interviews with UNESCO experts highlighted the organization's initiatives around HGA, particularly through the three components of the Flagship Programme: transforming education through HGA, strengthening knowledge production on African history and lifelong learning. Concrete examples from Kenya, Brazil and Ghana were shared by special speakers.
These interventions were followed by an open discussion on opportunities for engagement with UNESCO on GHA, highlighting the importance of the continued involvement of Member States and partners to support these efforts. The Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends for Priority Africa (Ghana and the United States) also shared their final perspectives, highlighting the renewed commitment to inclusive education and a fair understanding of African history.
At the end of the discussions, Mr. Mohammed Elfarnawany, Director of the Priority Africa Coordination Division, thanked all participants for their relevant contributions, highlighted the key points of the meeting and noted that further opportunities for exchanges on HGA will be organized.
Through the GHA, UNESCO reaffirms its commitment to support efforts to decolonize knowledge and promote epistemic justice-based education, which is essential for the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union's Agenda 2063.
