Decolonizing Peace Education in Africa: The Role of Culture for Conflict Management in Multicultural Societies
Institutional Affiliation
Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti
Start Date
17-1-2025 11:30 AM
End Date
17-1-2025 1:00 AM
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Format
On-campus
Proposal Description
African countries, created as juridical entities by colonists, have failed to satisfy the objective dimensions for their existence as sociological entities, given the lumping together of disparate ethnic groups in the same country without regard to their ethnic identity. This has created incompatibility among ethnic nationalities despite efforts to create new national identities through education, new lingua franca, and new religion, thus fueling cross-cultural conflicts across the continent, a reflection of the divergent positions, interests, and needs of the various ethnic nationalities making up the country. Africa is seen as a theatre of fragility, conflict, and violence.
As a process of knowledge production and acquisition, colonial education in Africa promoted identity problems, alienating students and teachers from their cultural backgrounds while abhorring community-based systems. With various conflict resolution efforts yielding little or no results as most of the conflicts are rooted in ethnic culture and cultural boundaries, there is the need to rethink conflict management in Africa through peace education to educate for peace. Decolonization of Education presupposes the explication of the diverse nature of Africa's lived cultural and historical experiences.
But then, African folklore, tales, and various forms of cultural and religious activities such as weddings, and initiation rites among others, have always promoted human coexistence based on the African social and cultural systems which develop the relevant skills and knowledge to willingly engage for peace and strengthen the resilience to the influences of violence in the community for the promotion of peace. Contextualizing the role of folklore in conflict management in multicultural societies, we show how the Yoruba, like most traditional African societies whose culture and tradition drive their existence, have, over time, used proverbs and folktales to depict every aspect of their living. Be it during celebrations, when mourning, or in grave conflict situations, the Yoruba have used proverbs and folktales to explain the situation at hand and give bits of advice or admonitions for living peacefully together. Yoruba proverbs and folktales as metaphors are symbols of acceptable, tolerable, adequate, and appropriate behavior among members of the society as they willingly strengthen the resilience to the influences of violence in the community for the promotion of peace.
Decolonizing Peace Education in Africa: The Role of Culture for Conflict Management in Multicultural Societies
African countries, created as juridical entities by colonists, have failed to satisfy the objective dimensions for their existence as sociological entities, given the lumping together of disparate ethnic groups in the same country without regard to their ethnic identity. This has created incompatibility among ethnic nationalities despite efforts to create new national identities through education, new lingua franca, and new religion, thus fueling cross-cultural conflicts across the continent, a reflection of the divergent positions, interests, and needs of the various ethnic nationalities making up the country. Africa is seen as a theatre of fragility, conflict, and violence.
As a process of knowledge production and acquisition, colonial education in Africa promoted identity problems, alienating students and teachers from their cultural backgrounds while abhorring community-based systems. With various conflict resolution efforts yielding little or no results as most of the conflicts are rooted in ethnic culture and cultural boundaries, there is the need to rethink conflict management in Africa through peace education to educate for peace. Decolonization of Education presupposes the explication of the diverse nature of Africa's lived cultural and historical experiences.
But then, African folklore, tales, and various forms of cultural and religious activities such as weddings, and initiation rites among others, have always promoted human coexistence based on the African social and cultural systems which develop the relevant skills and knowledge to willingly engage for peace and strengthen the resilience to the influences of violence in the community for the promotion of peace. Contextualizing the role of folklore in conflict management in multicultural societies, we show how the Yoruba, like most traditional African societies whose culture and tradition drive their existence, have, over time, used proverbs and folktales to depict every aspect of their living. Be it during celebrations, when mourning, or in grave conflict situations, the Yoruba have used proverbs and folktales to explain the situation at hand and give bits of advice or admonitions for living peacefully together. Yoruba proverbs and folktales as metaphors are symbols of acceptable, tolerable, adequate, and appropriate behavior among members of the society as they willingly strengthen the resilience to the influences of violence in the community for the promotion of peace.