Skip to content
  • Home
  • About|Join
  • Ethics
  • Events
  • Certificates
  • OwiaBulletin
  • Journals
  • DecolonisingCalculators
  • Mfundo|Training
  • FundiDictionary
  • Awards
  • Ushahidi
  • DACC
  • Bookshop
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Academia AJSW
Africa Social Work and Development Network | Mtandao waKazi zaJamii naMaendeleo waAfrica
Africa Social Work & Development Network | Mtandao waKazi zaJamii naMaendeleo waAfrika

Africa Social Work & Development Network | Mtandao waKazi zaJamii naMaendeleo waAfrika

We create, aggregate and disseminate information and resources to facilitate Social Work and Development Work in Africa.

  • ACADEMICS
    • Lecture Resources
    • Lectures
    • Fieldwork Resources
    • Types of University Assessments
    • Book Publishing
      • Book_Professional Social Work in Zimbabwe
    • ASWDNet Guide to Writing (Journals)
    • ASWDNet Guide to Writing and Publishing
  • PRACTITIONERS
    • Values and Ethics in Africa
    • Africa Social Work and Development Awards
    • Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
    • Templates, Models, Frameworks and Assessment Tools
    • African Theories
    • Supervision
  • STUDENTS
    • Social Work and Development Student Conference (SWDSC)
    • 12 Steps to Get Published
    • Tips for Prospective Doctoral Students
    • ASWDNet Guide to Writing (Academic Research Brief| Proposal | Thesis)
    • Writing a journal article could be as easy as making fufu, nsima, ugali or matoke!
    • Lectures
  • RESEARCHERS
    • Research Methods
    • African Independent Ethics Committee (AIEC)
    • Research Questions Bank
    • Publisher/Journal Checker
    • Research Strategies
    • Reviewers
    • Ubuntu Research Group (URG)
  • ASSOCIATIONS
  • TRAINING INSTITUTIONS
  • COMMUNITIES
    • Ubuntu Fundraising and Charity Principles
    • COVID-19
    • Social Work for Children
    • Funda KiSwahili
  • MEMBERS
  • Africa Philosophy
  • African Theories
  • Research Methods
  • Library | Databases
  • Social Work
    • Social Work Education institutions (SWEI) in Africa
    • Biography of Social Development in Africa
      • Charlotte Makgomo-Mannya Maxeke (1871-1939)
      • Zahia Marzouk (1906 – 1988)
      • Regina Gelana Twala (1908-1968)
      • Mai Musodzi Chibhaga Ayema (1885-1952)
      • Nnoseng Ellen Kate Kuzwayo (1914 – 2006)
      • Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999)
      • Jairos Jiri (1921 – 1982)
      • Kenneth Buchizya Kaunda (1924-2021)
      • John Samuel Mbiti (1931-2019)
      • Gibson Mthuthuzeli Kent (1932-2004)
      • Winnie Madikizela-Mandela 1936–2016
      • Ngugi wa Mirii (1951 – May 3, 2008)
      • Andrew Chad Nyanguru (28 Mar 1953-14 May 2014)
      • Professor Rodreck Mupedziswa
      • Edwell Kaseke (1954-2017)
      • Lovemore Mbigi
      • Selassie Seyoum Gebre (1936-)
      • Arega Yimam (-c1989)
      • Dr Noel Garikai Muridzo
      • Dr Edmos Mthethwa
      • Phillip Manyanye Bohwasi
      • Wassie Kebede
      • Gidraph G Wairire
      • Wangari Muta Maathai
      • Uzoma Odera Okoye, Dr
    • Social Work Journals and Other Serial Publications in Africa (ASWDNet Index)
    • Kuumba (Mentoring)
      • SURVEY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FOR AFRICA
      • Mentees
      • Mentors
      • Guidelines
    • Association of Social Work Education in Africa (ASWEA) – 1965 to 1989
    • Future of Social Work in Africa
    • Environmental Social Work
  • Development
    • Developmental Work Database
  • Ubuntu
    • Ubuntu Research Group (URG)
    • Ushahidi Platform
    • Ubuntu Fundraising and Charity Principles
    • Ubuntu Bibliography
    • Ubuntu Survey
    • Ubuntu Annual Lecture
    • Ubuntu Interview Guide Sample
  • Africa
    • African Anthem (African Union)
    • Umoja waAfrica (African Union)
    • Fundi – The African Dictionary and Encyclopaedia of Social Work and Development
    • Africa Religion (uAfrica)
    • maJina | Directory of Africa Names
    • Africa Research Ethics and Malpractice Statement (AREMS)
    • The San Code of Research Ethics (San Code)
  • Blog
    • Our Ubuntu-inspired Comments Policy
    • Become a Blogger
    • Admin ASWDNet
    • Babekazi
    • Professor Roy@Indigenous Social Work
    • Mutape J.D.S Sithole
    • Alemayehu Gebru from Ethiopia, Jimma City
    • Rugare Mugumbate
    • Decolonise
    • Writing and Publishing
    • Development
    • Toto
    • Ms. Alexandra Thokozile Mliswa (MSc,LLB, BA)
    • Environmental work
    • Africa religion | Spirituality
    • Kudzai Mwapaura blogger
    • All Posts Basket
YOU ARE HERE » Home » Future of Social Work in Africa

Like this:

Like Loading...
Africa’s Agenda 2040 for Children: Fostering an Africa Fit for Children elaborates on the vision of Agenda 2063 in respect of children Families
Njema Afrika Siku Africa Day
Until land colonisation is resolved in South Africa (SA), the country will remain the most unequal society on earth and the struggle will continue Babekazi

Future of Social Work in Africa

The future of African social work is shaped by decolonisation and indigenisation. For several years, decolonisation and indigenisation have been talked about in theory but action has been slow. To accelerate action, we have created a protocol that provides a process, principles and template to decolonise and indigenise.

DECOLONISATION PROTOCOL (DP) AND INDIGENISATION PROTOCOL (IP)

Decolonisation Protocol and Template (.docx)Download

A Decolonisation Protocol  (DP) is a plan to take action to remove colonial elements. Usually, this is done together with an Indigenisation Protocol (IP) – a plan that allows for maintenance and introduction of indigenous approaches, content or knowledge. The aim is to recognize and value local culture, histories and knowledge in our institution. The template is usable to decolonise:

  • The Library
  • The Syllabi/lecture
  • Practice and Fieldwork
  • Research and Publishing

PROCESS

Appoint a DPIP coordinator or committee. The coordinator can do most of the work alone but a committee is important to provide oversight. If a committee is not there, a current institutional committee can be used to provide oversight. The committee a 1-2 people knowledgeable about African social work, 1-2 family members who have experiences of African social issues, 1-2 who are community leaders, 1-2 people who are cultural leaders or activists and 1-2 people who are pan-Africanists and 1 person with knowledge of higher education.

Use the template below to create actions and when you plan to have them executed. Make sure actions and expected outcomes are clear. You can set a semester or annual plan. Review the plan at the end of each period.  

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The coordinator and committees must be guided by these principles:

  1. If found, any colonial material or practices must be removed immediately.
  2. Indigenous material and practices must immediately replace it.
  3. If the language is colonial, no matter how good a resource is, it should be removed.
  4. A book written by an African can be colonial if it does not utilise African philosophy, theory, literature, methods and examples.
  5. Valuing local languages and oral sources of knowledge.
  6. Training and education must be based on local people’s aspirations, histories, knowledge, needs, laws, environment, culture and spirituality.

TEMPLATE

Details

Name of institution
Coordinator
Committee members 
Date adopted 
Date of review 
Any other details 

Action Plans

Focus areaActionsTimeframe
LibraryLibrary team orientation or training on decolonisation and indigenisation
We will remove from shelves all content that was published before independence (almost all was colonial)
Literature with colonial language will be removed
Our online library will prioritise African resources, databases and publishers
The library will give each student orientation or training about decolonisation of the library and literature and the role of students  
Creating local sources of knowledge – making videos, documentaries, audios, songs, and inviting guest speakers for oral knowledge
Order literature including laws from the African Union and African institutions
Literature in local language
Creating a publishing unit
SyllabiSubject coordinators orientation or training
Remove and replace all syllabi borrowed from western countries immediately
Ensure subject aim and objectives respond to the aspirations of African people
Document and teach the history of African social services and social work not the history of American of European social services and social work
Change syllabus to be developmental, focusing on subjects that increase the productive capacity of families and communities and empower them to fight poverty and avoid donor or welfare dependency
Remove colonial content and language from syllabus
Use African philosophies, theories ethics, and literature including oral literature
Our assignments will be revised to remove colonial content
Lecturers will give each student orientation or training about decolonisation of syllabi, learning, teaching and literature and the role of students
Value oral sources – guest speakers who are users of social work, community members, cultural leaders, spiritual leaders, pan-Africanists, activists, law makers
Ensure subjects like psychology, sociology, history and anthropology that are heavily colonial are indigenised. These are often taught in other faculties.Using local language
Practice and FieldworkOrientation and training of alumni and practitioners in decolonisation as part of continuous professional development (CPD) and reskilling
Remove laws or processes that are colonial
Orientation and training of employers and agencies in decolonisation
Orientation and training of fieldwork supervisors.
Using local language
Research and PublishingOrientation and training of researchers and research assistants in decolonisation
Valuing African publishers, publishing in AfricaValuing oral literature
Valuing African methods of data collection, data analysisValuing
African ethics and ethics committees
Including community members, African cultural and spiritual leaders in Ethics Committees
Using local language
Create local publishers, local data bases, local research centres etc
 
OthersMake graduation process indigenous
Make graduation attire – hats/cap, hood and dress more suitable to local situation in terms of colours, meaning and symbols
Make names of institutions or buildings more appropriate
Value local people who contributed to the institution or to social services Use artwork, sculptures, artefacts and landscaping that is African
Institutional leaders leading decolonisation and indigenisation by exampleInvite cultural and spiritual leaders to events and graduations
Advocate and promote decolonisation of primary, secondary and high school education
When making slides, posters and any content that needs pictures, use local pictures not pictures of white people found on the internet
The African Union has a lot of indigenous content – policies, conventions, guidelines etc
International partnerships, participation and funding must not assume Africa’s inferiority.
Take note that Black American literature and views do not necessarily reflect decolonial ideas, their ideas are shaped by history of slavery, American ideals but also assimilation into white race and culture. They have changed the meaning of Black to include people who would otherwise not be included as Black in Africa.
Migration out of Africa to practice social work derails decolonisation, the practice is in itself colonial and leaves Africa without the experts it needs after training them.  
 

Suggested literature

Is it indigenisation or decolonisation of social work in Africa? Download

In this article the author presents the Decolonise First Model.

Cite as: Tusasiirwe, S. (2022). Is it indigenisation or decolonisation of social work in Africa? A focus on Uganda. African Journal of Social Work,
12(1),
1-11.

Share this:

  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram

Like this:

Like Loading...

AFRICA-WIDE INSTITUTIONS

ASWEA logo

ASWEA 1965-1989

Umoja waAfrika (AU) Former OAU Toto/Brief | Agenda63

ADF

Part of ADB

ASSWA logo

ASSWA

Since 2005

PAWO (AU Arm)

Facebook | X

COUNTRY INFORMATION (SOCIAL WORK & DEVELOPMENT)

  • Algeria 🇩🇿
  • Angola 🇦🇴
  • Benin 🇧🇯
  • Botswana 🇧🇼
  • Burkina Faso 🇧🇫
  • Burundi 🇧🇮
  • Cabo Verde 🇨🇻
  • Cameroon 🇨🇲
  • Central Africa Republic 🇨🇫
  • Chad 🇹🇩
  • Comoros 🇰🇲
    • Mayotte of Comoro
  • Congo, DR 🇨🇩
  • Congo 🇨🇬
  • Cote D’Ivoire 🇨🇮
  • Djibouti 🇩🇯
  • Egypt 🇪🇬
  • Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶
  • Eritrea 🇪🇷
  • Eswatini 🇸🇿
  • Ethiopia 🇪🇹
  • Gabon 🇬🇦
  • Gambia, The 🇬🇲
  • Ghana 🇬🇭
  • Guinea 🇬🇳
  • Guinea-Bissau 🇬🇼
  • Kenya 🇰🇪
  • Lesotho 🇱🇸
  • Liberia 🇱🇷
  • Libya 🇱🇾
  • Madagascar 🇲🇬
  • Malawi 🇲🇼
  • Mali 🇲🇱
  • Mauritania 🇲🇷
  • Mauritius 🇲🇺
  • Morocco 🇲🇦
  • Mozambique 🇲🇿
  • Namibia 🇳🇦
  • Niger 🇳🇪
  • Nigeria 🇳🇬
  • Rwanda 🇷🇼
  • Sao Tome and Principe 🇸🇹
  • Senegal 🇸🇳
  • Seychelles 🇸🇨
  • Sierra Leone 🇸🇱
  • Somalia 🇸🇴
  • South Africa 🇿🇦
  • South Sudan 🇸🇸
  • Sudan 🇸🇩
  • Togo 🇹🇬
  • Tanzania 🇹🇿
  • Tunisia 🇹🇳
  • Uganda 🇺🇬
  • Western Sahara (SADR)
  • Zambia 🇿🇲
  • Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
  • “Dongo”
  • ‘Wakanda’
  • Umoja waAfrica (African Union)
  • Afro-Caribbeans
    • Haiti
  • Afro-Latinos
  • Melanesia
    • Aboriginal Countries
    • Papua New Guinea
    • West Papua
  • Afro-Asians ‘Sidi’

COVID-19 FINAL UPDATE: Africa Infections: 12.3 million people. Deaths 260 000. World infections: 650 million. Deaths 6.7 million. Data aggregated by ASWDNet on 12 December 2022. View this COVID-19 references list for Africa.

Search

Timezone Conversion

Choose Date & Time:
- :
From Timezone:
To Timezone:
Converted Time:

Decolonisation Calculator (DECA). What is the rate of decolonisation of social work and development training, education and research in your country? Use this simple calculator.

  • Africa’s Agenda 2040 for Children: Fostering an Africa Fit for Children elaborates on the vision of Agenda 2063 in respect of children
  • Njema Afrika Siku
  • Until land colonisation is resolved in South Africa (SA), the country will remain the most unequal society on earth and the struggle will continue
  • Call for abstracts for Day of the African Child Students Conference 2025
  • Day of the African Child (DAC) 2025

Testimonials

Pride in becoming a member of the ASWDNet

Dear ASWDN,

I trust this message finds you well. I am writing to express my profound joy and pride in becoming a member of the Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDNet). The opportunity to represent my country and community within this esteemed network is truly exciting. Being a part of ASWDNet presents a unique chance to contribute to positive change and development. Read more
  • DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD (DAC): 16 JUNE 2022 Admin ASWDNet
  • Types of University Assessments – A Developmental Approach All Posts Basket
  • USAID dead aid: list of charges by its own people Admin ASWDNet
  • Welcome to the AFRICASOCIALWORK.NET All Posts Basket
  • World Social Work Day 2024 Admin ASWDNet
  • The Basics of Developmental Social Services Admin ASWDNet
  • Dedan Kīmathi of the Mau Mau – contribution to Kenya independence and how he was killed by the British imperialist forces during their colonial occupation of Africa Admin ASWDNet
  • Thousands of books on homosexuality banned in the USA to avoid indoctrination, Africa should do more Admin ASWDNet

Copyright © 2020-2030 Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDNet).

%d