Experience in Research
and Development in (rural) Africa
Towards an African Expression of Technology
Introduc)on • Gertjan van Stam,
[email protected] • Lives in Harare, Zimbabwe, with Janneke van Dijk, Merel van Stam, Beauty Mulobela, Elmo van Stam • Lived full-‐)me in rural areas: 2000-‐2003, Murambinda, Zimbabwe, 2003-‐2012, Macha, Zambia, 12 years research and Development in rural Areas in Africa • Affiliated with – Scien)fic and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC), sirdc.ac.zw – Macha Works, machaworks.org – Tilburg University, )lburguniversity.edu – IEEE, ieee.org
• Publica)ons at www.vanstam.net (abt. 40 since 2011) IEEE TV, Tryengineering “Careers with Impact”: van Stam. USA: IEEE TV, 2010.
Framing of Research and Development
Endogenous or Exogenous Perspec)ve?
Local or Foreign Orienta)on?
Condi)oned or Open Mind?
Local or Foreign Conversa)on?
Facts of Life • We see differently • We value differently • We judge differently
What is Real? • Mul)ple reali)es • Mul)ple memories • Mul)ple perspec)ves • Social Construc)vism • humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interac4on between their experiences and their ideas
• Hermeneu)cs • How meaning appears through the lenses of a certain discipline or from different contexts per )me and place
Example of (false) Labeling: Ebola and Africa
Orientalism • A view on dealing with the other • Commodifying ‘the other’, oeen by an afempt to ‘know others’ through academic inquiry confounded by essen)alism (u)litarianism) • Western style for domina)ng, restructuring, and having authority over a marginalised, powerless ‘Orient’ • 1st, 2nd and 3rd world: Africa being ‘the other of the other’ W. E. Said, Orientalism. New York, USA: Pantheon Books, 1978.
Imperialism Imperialism: ‘a dominance relaBon between collecBves, parBcularly between naBons’ • • • • • •
Economic Imperialism Poli)cal Imperialism Military Imperialism Communica)on Imperialism Cultural Imperialism Linguis)c Imperialism
J. Galtung, “A Structural Theory of Imperialism,” J. Peace Res., vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 81–117, 1971.
Colonialism Colonialism: ‘a pracBce of dominaBon, which involves the subjugaBon of one people to another.’ (Kohn, 2012) • Does Orientalism fuels Imperialism and legi)mates Colonialism? • Effects of colonialism are profound and affect all areas of life, both of the colonized and the colonisers
We are all subject to Coloniality Coloniality addresses colonial situa)ons in the present period. Colonial situa)ons are ‘the cultural, poli)cal, sexual and economic oppression/exploita)on of subordinate racialized/ethnic groups by dominant racial/ ethnic groups with or without the existence of colonial administra)ons’ (Quijano, 2000)
Experience in R&D in rural Africa Coloniality and Colonialism alive and kicking • Paradigm Clash (We, I, It –paradigms) – Clash results in pain of the heart
• Tools of contemporary Imperialism – Foreign framing of reality omirng • Diversity of languages and communica)on prac)ces • Universalist and essen)alist assump)ons • Power of flows versus locality
– Educa)on systems from colonial )mes – Systems designed for individuality-‐paradigm
Challenges (1/2) • Rela)onships based upon (posi)vis)c) calcula)on crowds-‐out rela)onship based upon humaneness • Rela)onships established and sustained based upon ‘proven need’ as reconised within economism and/or neo-‐liberalism • However, this leads to loneliness in the West.. hfp://www.theguardian.com/commen)sfree/2014/oct/14/age-‐of-‐loneliness-‐killing-‐us
• Superiority thinking crowds-‐out rela4ng to the other • Value of religion negated • The Moral Nature of the Universe virtually denied • Religious founda)ons weakened
• Weakened African will, and thus weakened African control
Challenges (2/2) • Descrip)ons or representa)ons of Africa that erode the chosen self-‐representa)on of Africa • New colonialis)c embodiment of imperialism, eg – Cyberspace – Graphocentric seceding voice, body and community
• (Digital) bubbles intervening ‘rhythm of life’ and limi)ng oral and aural imagina)ons • Commodifica)on through dominated marketplace N. J. Bidwell, “Moving the centre to design social media in rural Africa,” Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Communica)on, 2014.
Symmetric Partnerships? • Subaltern state of African voice results in – Challenges to travel – Challenges to publish – Challenges ‘to be heard’
• With
– Research agenda set by foreign funding (& agenda) – Fragmenta)on of efforts – Short term, goal oriented ac)on instead of rela)onship oriented ac)on
• Turmoil of Technical Experts flying in and out J. D. Holm and L. Malete, “ The Asymmetries of University Partnerships between Africa and the Developed World: Our Experience in Botswana,” in Going Global 4 -‐ The Bri)sh Council’s Interna)onal Educa)on Conference, 2010.
Towards an African Expression of Technology • Technology results from social construc)ons • African export opportuni4es from components of African Iden)ty – Ubuntu, Ora)o, Rela)o, Domina)o, Anima)o
• How can technology strengthen communi)es? – Technology: ‘the amplifier of human intent’ – What is our intent?
However, Imperialism Lurks • Presenta)on of (underrepresented) local views invokes dualism and orientalism • Triple consciousness (Africa, Europe, Theis)c): from which paradigm is one referring, which one is being addressed, how and when? • Local communica)on involves bidirec)onal/interac)ve orality and embodied knowledge: how to translate reality in academic English text that de-‐constructs and de-‐contexualises reality and connects (implicitly) to a Western epistemological loca)on that is foreign to the local, Zimbabwean reality • Demand for ‘value-‐independence’/numbers (eh, alignment with Western values) omits local knowledge enshrined in local morality and believe systems • Research and presenta)on ‘knowledge’ can be (or lead to) acts of appropria)on • Knowledge imperialism in establish (Western) academia demands referencing to extant (Western) texts/framing • Local contribu)on hampered by (Individualis)c) Intellectual Property rights arrangements • Non-‐alignment with imperialis)c hegemony impairs access to resources in Africa
Contribute to Body of Knowledge • From an African relevance, strength and iden)ty • With reconcilia)on of the past • While rejec)ng to be ‘othered’ • Aiming for symmetrical, mutual and symbio)c research rela)onships and terms of reference • Showing Ubuntu in dialogues to sustain peace, unity and coopera)on
African R&D Ideas • Contribute to the Global need of understanding of Reciprocity, Humaneness, and an understanding of Community => Peace • Contribute alterna)ve views for global community through Pan-‐ African cri)que of ubiquitous and invidious influence of Western values and research methods, and the implicit Western epistemological posi)onality • Contribute on rela4onal understanding of reality, including technological ar)facts => How does technology communalise? • Contribu)ng to the aspects of contextualisa)on and behavioral embodiment of knowledge, through de-‐colonialisa)on and de-‐ marginalisa)on – Local research providing input for understanding of African, local perspec)ve – Research and Development rooted in African, local worldviews
• (Interna)onal) coopera)on based upon mutual reciprocity
In Conclusion • African Research and Development involves contextualisa)on and communityship • In a contextualised, African research community, Africans lead on African issues, the African way • An African research culture and iden)ty sustains iden)ty and output unique innova)ons • Upscaling of research outputs through na)onal, regional, con)nental & interna)onal conferences • Fruivul partnerships include equality and respect
