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Regional Conference on the Integration of the General History of Africa into School Curriculum
From 25 to 26 May 2021, UNESCO is organizing a virtual Regional Conference on stock taking and experience sharing on the integration of the General History of Africa (GHA) into school curriculum. The main focus will be on the need to renovate and innovate on the teaching and learning about Africa and its diasporas.
Join the conference on Zoom:https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mkUgGKWVQV2VGjNkgNqQ-A
The conference builds on the fact that the GHA is neither widely disseminated nor sufficiently used for educational purposes. In most African schools, few history textbooks respond to the initial political and educational commitment underlining the input of this collection. In many countries throughout the continent, curricula and textbooks on African History still reflect a Eurocentric perspective. A worrying trend also emerged in recent decades as curricula developers in some African countries started moving towards "nationalistic" drifts of History, overlooking the interactions between African peoples and their common heritage since earliest Antiquity. The reality outside of Africa is even more alarming.
The event will leverage the relevant work and achievements of UNESCO, including collections on the General History of Africa, and the elaboration of pedagogical materials for its integration into school curriculum. It will also show-case and share the experience of a country such as Kenya, that has successfully completed the integration of the GHA in its national curriculum, while also taking stock of other important initiatives at national and regional levels in Africa and beyond.
This conference is co-organized by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, in close collaboration with all UNESCO Regional Offices in Africa, the International Bureau for Education (IBE), as well as the International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA). It will gather historians, curriculum development experts, eminent members of the International Scientific Committee of the UNESCO General History of Africa and of its Pedagogical Use, experts from ministries of education, artists, specialists from museums, youth activists and Pan Africanists. They will share their perspective and insights on this important topic for the integration of Africa, as called upon by the Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want”.
One of the outcomes will be key recommendations for innovation in the promotion, dissemination and integration of the General History of Africa into school curriculum in Africa and beyond, so as to address the growing issues of prejudices, discrimination, xenophobia on African and people of African descent.
More information on the General History of Africa https://en.unesco.org/general-history-africa
Contact: Ngandeu Ngatta Hugue, Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi (hc.ngandeu-ngatta@unesco.org)
Join the conference on Zoom:https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mkUgGKWVQV2VGjNkgNqQ-A
The conference builds on the fact that the GHA is neither widely disseminated nor sufficiently used for educational purposes. In most African schools, few history textbooks respond to the initial political and educational commitment underlining the input of this collection. In many countries throughout the continent, curricula and textbooks on African History still reflect a Eurocentric perspective. A worrying trend also emerged in recent decades as curricula developers in some African countries started moving towards "nationalistic" drifts of History, overlooking the interactions between African peoples and their common heritage since earliest Antiquity. The reality outside of Africa is even more alarming.
The event will leverage the relevant work and achievements of UNESCO, including collections on the General History of Africa, and the elaboration of pedagogical materials for its integration into school curriculum. It will also show-case and share the experience of a country such as Kenya, that has successfully completed the integration of the GHA in its national curriculum, while also taking stock of other important initiatives at national and regional levels in Africa and beyond.
This conference is co-organized by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, in close collaboration with all UNESCO Regional Offices in Africa, the International Bureau for Education (IBE), as well as the International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA). It will gather historians, curriculum development experts, eminent members of the International Scientific Committee of the UNESCO General History of Africa and of its Pedagogical Use, experts from ministries of education, artists, specialists from museums, youth activists and Pan Africanists. They will share their perspective and insights on this important topic for the integration of Africa, as called upon by the Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want”.
One of the outcomes will be key recommendations for innovation in the promotion, dissemination and integration of the General History of Africa into school curriculum in Africa and beyond, so as to address the growing issues of prejudices, discrimination, xenophobia on African and people of African descent.
More information on the General History of Africa https://en.unesco.org/general-history-africa
Contact: Ngandeu Ngatta Hugue, Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi (hc.ngandeu-ngatta@unesco.org)
24 May 2021
Last update:20 April 2023
