African Ubuntu Research Articles

(Re)Positioning the Swahili Language in Cultural Diplomacy Under the Capacity of African Ubuntu In Tanzania

The article used the documentary analysis method guided by the Ujamaa Intersections Model in (re) positioning the Kiswahili language in cultural diplomacy through the Ubuntu Panorama. Ujamaa is among the core values of African Ubuntu that was integrated into Tanzania’s policy framework in the 1960s under the influence of the Kiswahili language. Kiswahili is among the oldest and major lingua franca in African history, despite being undocumented in Ubuntu capacity it has a direct linkage with African Ubuntu throughout the history of the continent. Tracing back, Ubuntu is an African philosophy from pre-colonial times that guides all the major aspects of the continent including social economic, cultural, and political. Dr. Julius Kambarage Nyerere (Ubuntu Champion 2014) (who preferred to be called Mwalimu meaning a teacher) embraced Ubuntu philosophy through the Kiswahili language as a soft tool to spread Ujamaa into cultural Diplomacy in Africa and beyond. Dr. Nyerere engaged existing Ujamaa intersections in the community to develop, maintain, and promote the Kiswahili language ultimately influencing the international platforms. In the African Ubuntu capacity, a community is made up of various Ujamaa Intersections comprising primary family, extended families, neighborhood, local leadership, ecology, spirituality, and wider attributions, etc. Over time, Kiswahili became a tool for the decolonization, unification of Africa, and related cultural diplomacy. To mention a few, Kiswahili was the first African language in the United Nations and later it secured various positions as a working language in international organizations including EAC, SADC, COMESA, AU, UNESCO, etc. Moreover, Kiswahili entails more than 200 million speakers Worldwide, several countries have established Swahili radio stations including Germany, Japan, the UK, China, and the USA, etc. To date, Kiswahili continues to render opportunities toward transmission, acceptance, inclusion, hospitality, humanism, peace, equality, love, and coexistence of cultural diversity relevant to nurture cultural diplomacy. It represents African Ubuntu in cultural diplomacy with the relevant capacity to speak about Africa's past, present, and sustainable future in international relations.

A sample ethics application to the African Independent Ethics Committee (AIEC) for research on social work with women victims of violence in Morocco

This article provides a sample of an ethics application to the African Independent Ethics Committee (AIEC). It is based on research with women victims of violence in Morocco, grounded in the African Ubuntu philosophy. Emphasizing interconnectedness and community respect, this ethical approach aims to enhance care for victims of gender-based violence through community-oriented and empathetic methods. At the end of this sample application, there are three appendices: the ethics application form of the AIEC, eight basic Ubuntu ethics in research and guidance on how to write an ethics statement. By sharing this sample application, and the appended information, authors intent to share knowledge of ethics planning in research with learners, academics, researchers, members of ethics boards, reviewers, editors and publishers in Africa and beyond. HOW TO REFERENCE USING ASWDNET STYLE Mrabti, L. & Belamfedel Alaoui, Z. (2024). An ethics application for research on social work with women victims of violence in Morocco. African Journal of Social Work, 14(4), 174-184. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v14i4.1 Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net

An indigenized framework for game design curriculum for African Universities

The aim of this paper is to reposition game design studies curriculum in Africa by modelling the African Ubuntu philosophy. This study utilized an inductive content analysis via transformative paradigm to identify relevant tenants that contribute to this conceptual paper. Furthermore, thematic approach was utilized to organize the are identified points int categories and subcategories. The utilization and introduction of the African ubuntu philosophy to game design curriculum follows 9 vital stages will be actualized. Researchers are motivated to conduct empirical and qualitative experiments on the African ubuntu philosophy for indigenized game curriculum. Utilizing indigenization as the game design curriculum will increase enrolment, programs easily accessible and help African content become global, as well as help African economies to grow. An indigenized policy will help many local talents and grow the south African economy.

De-coloniality and Trans-Modernity: Religion in African and Western Management

Part of the distinction between African and Western management theories lies in the positioning of religion. This analysis leads from the premise that reality is the outcome of a struggle between diverse interpretations of religions. Throughout history religions, as systems of meaning, construct centers and margins (Asad, 1983; Wijsen, 2017). The actuality of management sciences demonstrates a discipline in which power relations around the interpretations of management and religions are revealed. In this domain, the African Ubuntu management style has been marginalized by a Western colonial(de-)construction of religion. The central question here is: what is the role of religion in a de-colonial relationship between African and Western management? The paper seeks to argue that religion is a variable of trans-modern management, a connection which is needed for the de-coloniality of African and Western modern management concepts.

Reframing Global North–South Collaborations Through the Lenses of Aware, Connect, Empower (ACE) Principles

This article provides an analysis of how equitable, inclusive, and meaningful partnerships between the Global South and Global North, which have been characterized by challenges (Kumar 2019), can be established and enhanced by minimizing the power dynamics that undermine their intended goals. This article argues for a relook and disruption of the current models of partnerships and collaborations that have over the years not worked well for partners in the Global South by proposing a consideration and adoption of more responsive and mutually beneficial options through the ACE (Aware, Connect, Empower) principles. The ACE principles provide for new ways of action, including alternative strategies for equitable collaborations across cultures and regions. This includes the adoption of the African Ubuntu philosophy advocating for the creation of awareness amongst partners in collaboration with the need for transformations and empowerment to enable students to gain both intentional intercultural and international experiences.

The influence of ujamaa policy in realization of developmental social work in Tanzania – Ubuntu perspective

The study applied desk research method to analyse literatures to gain a broader perspective on the influence of Ujamaa policy in developmental social work; it was developed by the late Dr. Nyerere’s in post-colonial Tanzania in the process of decolonization and restore development approach relevant to African context. Review shows that Ujamaa became the social development model (Developmental social welfare or the developmental approach) with a broad approach that promoted collective and holistic well-being of a nation. Ujamaa embraced values that entail African history, cultural values and ecology, applicability of Ujamaa policy marked the essence and applicability of developmental social work in Africa. Despite of various challenges, Ujamaa succeeded to achieve collective development through strengthening people and their communities’ livelihood capabilities, ameliorate social and economic problems. The model integrated families, kinships and groups into community participation and empowerment to achieve collective development in human face. Ujamaa’s principle of universal welfare, communalism, interdependence, shared resources, human dignity and participatory development, is widely studied in the world today. Based on the success of Ujamaa model, in October 2009 the UN General Assembly named Dr. Nyerere ‘a World hero of social justice’ and August 2014 he was awarded as Ubuntu Champion by the National Heritage Council of South Africa for his practical contribution in African Ubuntu. Conclusively, application of Ujamaa model in realization of SDGs by 2030 is vital. It’s recommended for social workers to demonstrate how developmental social work could contribute to building a better Africa and a better world.How to cite this article using ASWNet styleLembuka M. H. (2023). The influence of ujamaa policy in realization of developmental social work in Tanzania – Ubuntu perspective. People centred – The Journal of Development Administration (JDA), 8(3), 83-90. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jda.v8i3.5
 Visit journal website: https://jda.africasocialwork.net

Uniting Divided Religious Leaders to Democratize Zimbabwe

Following the presidential announcement of Zimbabwe’s harmonized 2023 electoral date, most Christian, African Traditional, and other religious leaders commendably resumed advocating for peaceful, free, and fair elections. However, as history usually repeats itself, the tables eventually turned. Some of the leaders regressively became divided, submitted to political infiltration, aligned themselves with oppressive politicians, betrayed their fellow leaders as well as God and humanity, and inadvertently supported totalitarianism. By employing Richard Osmer’s practical theological methodology and engaging with the existing literature, this paper reviewed the (dis)unity and (dis)engagement between Christian and African Traditional Religious (ATR) leaders. It also endeavored to address the underlying (dis)connections in view of Jesus Christ’s all-encompassing servant leadership model, diaconal mission, and the African Ubuntu philosophy. Observing that Zimbabwean religious leaders are retrogressively divided by their varying spiritualities, leadership styles, and political orientations, it is recommended to embrace inclusivity and unity amidst diversity. This can be achieved by resisting selfishness and promoting selflessness, unconditional love, generosity, hospitality, tolerance, peace-making, justice, and social cohesion. These values collectively play a role in the democratization of Zimbabwe and are imperative for its advancement.

Ubuntu-based social work: what can social workers in Global South learn from Ubuntu to promote children welfare in communities?

ABSTRACT This article uses the Ubuntu paradigms to reflect on the ways in which community-level values and frameworks can be recognised, strengthened and used to promote children’s welfare. We present a literature review and documented practical examples from African Ubuntu communities in Global South that strongly emphasise the collectivist approach in their ways of life. With a further examination of the Ubuntu philosophy, we identify common values and patterns that can be instrumental in fostering child welfare. These are volunteerism, solidarity, vigilance, morality and hospitality. We underline these informal standards as not only crucial to social workers providing interventions for children that belong to families and communities that are interdependent in nature, but as well present an Ubuntu social work model that can be a benchmark for social work practice with children and families in multicultural communities in Global North. The result is the humanisation of child protection systems and the development and strengthening of informal community protection networks.

Medical students’ views on what professionalism means: an Ubuntu perspective

Medical training has become a global phenomenon, and the Physician’s Charter (PC), as a missionary document, is key to training those outside the Global North. Undergraduate and postgraduate students in the medical profession are sometimes trained in contexts foreign to their social and ontological backgrounds. This might lead to confusion and blunders, creating an impression of what might look and feel unprofessional to those unfamiliar with the local context. Understanding the cultural backgrounds of the trainees is crucial, and the reverse is also as important. It is essential for clinicians and trainees to understand the cultural backgrounds of their patients to avoid miscommunication. In this phenomenological study, we recruited participants in 2020 who were in their first to fourth year of study of medical training during the #FeesMustFall protests. We used data from this extensive study looking at students’ experiences during their training amidst protest and social upheavals in a South African tertiary institution. For this paper, we examined what professionalism means to the student participants using an African Ubuntu lens. Ubuntu and the Collective Finger theory were used to investigate what professionalism means to participants. The Ubuntu philosophy was compared to the PC. In the findings, the clinical space is hierarchical, silencing and the opposite of what Ubuntu means. In comparison to the PC, respect is overarching while compassion and responsibility are the most comparable to the Charter. This study adds an African voice to the professionalism discourse while showing African elements that could be aligned to the PC to challenge the current global discourses.

Becoming and Being a Person through Others: African Philosophy’s Ubuntu and Aquinas’ mutual Indwelling in Comparative Discourse

African Philosophy and St Thomas Aquinas have both been taught in African universities, but the engagement between the continent’s indigenous philosophical tradition and the Catholic intellectual tradition’s preeminent strand, has not been thorough. Presupposing that plural philosophical traditions contribute to the search to better understand, this research embarks upon a comparative analysis of the perspectives of the African ubuntu philosophy and Thomist philosophical conceptualisations of human becoming and being. Through analysis of dimensions of both traditions, it is contended that human fulness arises through relationality. It is argued that in centring on the interpersonal encounter and the consequent recognition of another’s being through mutual engagement, these philosophical traditions open to each other. Further, both traditions contribute toward the ontology of personhood in ubuntu and the good of mutual indwelling, respectively.

Rereading the story of Hagar in Genesis 16:1-16 as a narrative of prejudice in South Africa.

The present research is a rereading of the Hagar narrative in view of prejudice in South Africa. Some previous contributions on the Hagar narrative have tended to pursue either exegetical or hermeneutic route. The present research comprises an eight-tier structure. However, the Hagar narrative is explored in lieu of the following two foci. First, a critical exegesis of the Hagar narrative (Genesis 16:1-16) is given. The critical exegesis is a verse-by-verse analysis of the narrative. The analysis seeks to present clarity for the readership where some ambiguity and inconsistency occur in the narrative. For example, the study interrogates the flight of a pregnant Hagar from Sarah in Mamre and travels a journey of approximately 340km to Shur at the border with Egypt. Other misunderstood parts of the text include the enslavement, marriage and mistreatment of Hagar by Abraham and Sarah. Second, a rereading of the Hagar story as a narrative of prejudice in South Africa is explored. It is argued that the attempt is not to regard the narrative as a historical reality and that Hagar will not be discussed as a historical figure. On the contrary, the present study examines the concepts and themes in the Hagar narrative considering the perceived oppression and prejudice devastating post-apartheid South Africa today. The study argues that South Africa has not successfully dismantled apartheid policies by the dawning of majority rule; unemployment, poverty and abortion continue to depict the ‘rainbow nation’ in a bad light. For example, legalization of abortion contradicts the African Ubuntu philosophy. Hence, “…Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands” (Genesis 16:9) suggests a perpetuity of apartheid policies. However, a rereading of the Hebrew phrase translated as “The well of him that lives and sees” (see Genesis 16:14), portrays Hagar envisioning triumph and a dispensation of euphoria beyond her situation of deprivation and prejudice. The study is, therefore, poised towards a feminist discussion of Hagar as an African mother (wife) who was jettisoned to take care of the young children solely and single-handedly. The study utilizes a contextual content analysis as an approach in which secondary data analysis on the Hagar narrative will be explored in light of the biblical text as the primary source. The study revolves around a symbolic interactionism theory.

The Significance of the African Ubuntu Philosophy to Employee Productivity in Zimbabwe

The Significance of the African Ubuntu Philosophy to Employee Productivity in Zimbabwe

Comments on Margaret McLaren’s Women’s Activism, Feminism and Social Justice

Margaret McLaren’s ethnographic study that is ostensibly about Indian women’s activism also presents a nuanced critique of liberal human rights discourse and advances a relational cosmopoli­tanism. Her defense of Tagore’s decolonial worldview has much in common with an African Ubuntu ethics, which also eschews pos­sessive individualism in favor of a sociocentric social justice praxis philosophy. McLaren’s book provides an important contribution to questions of women’s empowerment, women’s rights, cultural rites, and situated knowledges.

The Politics of Emotion in Damon Galgut’s The Promise

The “affective turn” of Western literary criticism arose at the beginning of the 21^st century as a result of new discoveries in neuroscience, cognitive science, and other disciplines. As one of the main fields of Affect Studies, discourses of the emotion pry into the emotional dimensions of literary texts to reveal the embodiment, sociality, and politics of emotions. South African writer Damon Galgut constructs a series of affective scenes with both individuality and representativeness in his 2021 Booker Prize-winning novel The Promise and thus turns the fictional world into an affective field. The novelist focuses on the titular event “promise” and takes it as the thread running through four funerals of the white Swart family. Through the lens of Affect Studies, the author attempts to interpret shame, anger and compassion behind the Swarts’ making, breaching, and honouring of the promise and examines how those emotions are dictated by South Africa’s gender, racial and class politics. The author concludes that the compassion-based African Ubuntu philosophy may lead South Africa to the promised land of national reconciliation.

Compatibility Analysis of African Ubuntu Political Thought and China's "Common Prosperity"

Since the 1990s, the South African government has continuously promoted Ubuntu's political ideas, and Ubuntu has gradually exerted a wide influence in sub - Saharan Africa and even the world. This paper intends to study the political and ideological compatibility between Ubuntu and China's hotly discussed "common prosperity" in recent years, which is the basic principle of government governance and foreign policy in major African countries. Understanding Ubuntu Thought is of great significance for China to carry out diplomacy, economy and trade, and mutual learning of civilizations with African countries. At present, China is accelerating the development of China-Africa relations and promoting the construction of a "China-Africa community with a shared future." However, so far, China's domestic academic circles have lacked specialized research on Ubuntu Thought, which has a core political and ideological status in many African countries. This article intends to explain the main connotation and value system of the African Ubuntu thought, explore the compatibility with the idea of "common prosperity", and then analyze the prospects for the development of Sino-African relations.

The ethics of artificial intelligence, UNESCO and the African Ubuntu perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to demonstrate the relevance of worldviews of the global south to debates of artificial intelligence, enhancing the human rights debate on artificial intelligence (AI) and critically reviewing the paper of UNESCO Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) that preceded the drafting of the UNESCO guidelines on AI. Different value systems may lead to different choices in programming and application of AI. Programming languages may acerbate existing biases as a people’s worldview is captured in its language. What are the implications for AI when seen from a collective ontology? Ubuntu (I am a person through other persons) starts from collective morals rather than individual ethics.Design/methodology/approachLiterature overview on the African philosophy of Ubuntu as applied to artificial intelligence. Application of it to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) debates on establishing guidelines to the ethics of artificial intelligence.FindingsMetaphysically, Ubuntu and its conception of social personhood (attained during one’s life) largely rejects transhumanism. When confronted with economic choices, Ubuntu favors sharing above competition and thus an anticapitalist logic of equitable distribution of AI benefits, humaneness and nonexploitation. When confronted with issues of privacy, Ubuntu emphasizes transparency to group members, rather than individual privacy, yet it calls for stronger (group privacy) protection. In democratic terms, it promotes consensus decision-making over representative democracy. Certain applications of AI may be more controversial in Africa than in other parts of the world, like care for the elderly, that deserve the utmost respect and attention, and which builds moral personhood. At the same time, AI may be helpful, as care from the home and community is encouraged from an Ubuntu perspective. The report on AI and ethics of the UNESCO World COMEST formulated principles as input, which are analyzed from the African ontological point of view. COMEST departs from “universal” concepts of individual human rights, sustainability and good governance which are not necessarily fully compatible with relatedness, including future and past generations. Next to rules based approaches, which may hamper diversity, bottom-up approaches are needed with intercultural deep learning algorithms.Research limitations/implicationsThere is very few existing literature on AI and Ubuntu. Therefore, this paper is of an explorative nature.Practical implicationsThe ethics of Ubuntu offers unique vantage points in looking at the organization of society and economics today, which are also relevant for development of AI, especially in its tenet of relatedness rather than individuality (and practical use of AI for individuals), taking responsibility for society as a whole (such as analyzing the benefit of AI for all strata of society), and embodying true inclusiveness. Whether looking at top-down guidelines for the development and implementation of AI or the bottom-up ethical learning process of AI (deep learning), ethics of the Global South can have an important role to play to combat global individualist tendencies and inequity, likely reinforced by AI. This warrants far more research.Social implicationsApplications of AI in Africa are not contextualized, do not address the most pressing needs of the African continent, lead to cybersecurity issues and also do not incorporate African ethics. UNESCO’s work in this regard is important but expert inputs are largely centered around Western “universal” principles and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and EU precedence. African ethics have, so far, a small role to play in global ethics and philosophy and therefore risk to be overlooked in the discussion on AI and ethics. This is why the consultation process of UNESCO on ethics of AI was of paramount importance. However, it does not automatically lead to consultation of African philosophers or sages, as many are educated in Western (ized) education systems. See further details under practical implications.Originality/valueThis is a new area of research in which little work has been done so far. This paper offers the opportunity to widen the debate on AI and ethics beyond the conventional discourse, involving multiple worldviews, of which Ubuntu is just one.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF INTERCULTURAL ETHICS IN THE THEORY OF GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

The development of the global market has created a need for global management ideas that can be overcome in practice by solving complex problems. The formation and development of global management ideas is strongly influenced by different cultural traditions and values of Eastern and Western cultures, which determine different management methods. The ability to organize production and manage processes on a global platform is critical to creating and maintaining high living standards. The vital foundation on which sustainable decisions in the field of management are based can have a strong impact on the fulfilment of humanity’s expectations for well-being and prosperity. The reasonable question therefore is: what value system could become the universal ethical framework that integrates different cultural traditions and worldviews and underpins the field global management? Intercultural ethics is one of the most recent research projects to analyze a wide range of ethical issues arising from the multidisciplinary perspective of societies and cultures. Intercultural ethics seeks to identify the existing different cultural, value beliefs, to define universal ethical principles on the basis of which intercultural decisions and agreements on the development, implementation, management and use of digital technologies are made. Different cultures disagree on common universal moral decisions because they are based on unique worldviews and value systems, and there is no universally accepted epistemically sound way to resolve such moral disagreements. The question is, what are the basic assumptions underpinning the impact of intercultural ethics on the theory of global management that would enable the common development and application of a system of universal ethical principles governing the development of global management processes in different regions and cultures of the world? The article hypothesizes that a synthesis of classical Aristotelian virtue ethics, Confucian ethics, and African ubuntu philosophical ethics could underpin intercultural ethics, embodying the universal ethical values of Western and Eastern cultures in global management theory.

John Mbiti’s Ubuntu Theology: Was it Rooted in his African heritage?

This research article sets out on the premise that African theology, as was propounded by the likes of John Mbiti (1931‒2019), is historically seen as synonymous with African ubuntu (cultural-sensitive, humane and community-focused) theology. Mbiti is undoubtedly the father of Africa’s indigenous theology that puts much emphasis on societal concerns rather than individual concerns. He is a scholar who contextualised it as an academic discipline right from its formative stages to its current status in our theo-paradigmatic market. In his ubuntu (humane) theological articulation, he employs an inclusive model that demonstrates the three-fold approaches in African theology: oral, written, and symbolic theology. He also vouches for a symbiotic relationship between the gospel and culture, in an endless rhythm for their respective survival. While urging that Africa’s ubuntu theology cannot be excluded from the catholicity of the church, as it is kerygmatically universal but theologically provincial, one wonders whether he compromised the originality of the former. Through the use of historical-analytical design, this article attempts to retrace Mbiti’s contribution as it strives to understand his methodological considerations. Was it rooted in the Ibadan Conferences of 1958 and 1966, or is it a mere progression from the earlier initiatives by the works of Kenyatta (1938) and Tempels (1945)? In appearing dismissive of the Black theology of South Africa and other liberation theologies, did he miss out on his otherwise inclusive (ubuntu) approach? The material in this presentation was gathered through a critical review of Mbiti’s selected works and from interviews that were conducted with some people who came from Mbiti’s Mulago village, Kitui County, Kenya.

The agency of the church during COVID-19 and beyond: Koinonia and ubuntu in the context of poverty and unemployment in South Africa

The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disrupted, affected and changed human lives in many ways, namely: physically, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually. Apart from people losing their lives and the lives of loved ones, others lost their jobs in numbers. Poverty levels and unemployment increased during this period. In order to mitigate the devastating effects of COVID-19, the South African government introduced a relief grant. As we welcome this gesture of goodwill by government, it is argued in this article that the church in every given locality and from every denomination should serve as the agency of change in order to alleviate poverty and unemployment in South Africa. The research question that this article seeks to address is: What role can the church play as a change agent in the context of poverty and unemployment in South Africa? Whilst qualitative literature study is undertaken to unpack issues of COVID-19, poverty, unemployment and church agency, this article is also approached from a broader missiological framework. Tapping into the resourcefulness of the early Christian church koinonia and the African concept of ubuntu, the article locates the church as an agent of change not only as a way of ending poverty and unemployment in South Africa, but also as a way meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 1 (UN SDG1).Contribution: It is therefore the aim of this article not only to call for the agency of the church but to also demonstrate that Christian koinonia as a lived experience of the early Christian church and African ubuntu philosophy can serve as tools for the church to bring about transformation.

African Ubuntu and Sustainable Development Goals: seeking human mutual relations and service in development

It is generally assumed that ‘development’ is a universal concept, understood the same way in every culture. In Africa, progress is understood differently; human relations – including ancestors and future generations tied to the land – take precedence over development. The African concept of well-being is Ubuntu (I am a person through other persons), implemented in South Africa though truth and reconciliation, Ubuntu diplomacy, jurisprudence and People First (Batho Pele) policies. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are multilaterally negotiated and claim universality but are underpinned by European modernism (individuality, growth, separation of nature and humans, etc.). To be truly inclusive of Africa, they can do more justice to Ubuntu. However, official African positions on the SDGs emphasised industry and infrastructure, and overlooked restorative justice. Ubuntu prioritises the first five social goals, equality (SDG10), inclusivity (SDG16) and partnership (SDG17). Ubuntu would change the leading SDG theme into: ‘life is mutual aid’ (horizontal Ubuntu relationship) rather than the hierarchical ‘leave no-one behind’ (developed versus developing countries). Ubuntu would replace sustainability with the ‘community of life’ and individuality with ‘collective agency’; and knowing through measuring with ‘knowing through feeling engagement with others’. It prioritises process (strategies/now) over goals (abstract future).