Afrocentric Mentoring Project (AfroME)

Full title

Enhancing the Capacity of Early Career Researchers (ECR’s) to Contribute to Afrocentric and Decolonial Social Work Knowledge Production

Rationale

Afrocentric and decolonial scholarship is lacking in mainstream social work. This collaborative project between universities from South Africa, Kenya, the United Kingdom and Australia seek to enhance African and decolonial knowledge production in social work by building the capacity of 15 early-career researchers (ECR) mainly from low-income countries in Africa.

Drawing on harambee which means pulling together for the improvement of society, we will promote contextually grounded knowledge production through collaborative multi-generational mentoring. Existing networks [Association of Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA), the Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDNet)] in Africa and globally (IASSW, IFSW and ICSD) will be harnessed to establish multi-generational mentoring teams. After the teams are established, a four-day research and writing clinic will be done in June, tentatively in Nairobi, Kenya to enhance publication skills of selected mentees. The post-workshop stage will include input from journal editors to enhance publication success. The outputs will be intensive publication training of ECR’s and journal articles ready for publication.

Project aim

Drawing on harambee (pulling together for society) principles, the project promotes contextually grounded knowledge production through collaborative multigenerational mentoring.

Overarching principles

• Co-creation of the mentoring programme with mentors and mentees
• Maintaining African philosophical (Ubuntu) and theoretical frameworks and locally relevant solutions
• Creation and sharing of mentoring programme resources

Project goals

• Capacity building: Build advanced research writing and publishing skills, and build skills to initiate, implement and evaluate mentoring programmes.
• Decolonial knowledge production: African theories for African problems by African researchers, shifting power dynamics in knowledge systems.
• Career advancement: Sustained multigenerational mentoring supporting long-term career progression.
• Network development: Fostering collaborative partnerships and lasting professional relationships.
• Inclusive participation: Enabling access, with gender equity and disability support.

Mentoring Vision and Philosophy

Being co-created.