Professor Catherine A. Odora Hoppers, South African Reseacher Chair in Development Education, University of South Africa, on Saturday said the information revolution that has greater significance for Africa was not a revolution in technology, machinery, techniques, software, or speed, but a revolution in concepts, which should affect the peoples’ way of thinking.

She said Africans need to move firmly towards acknowledging that knowledge primarily rests in people rather than in ICTs, databases or services, and Africa’s challenge has to be how to build on local knowledge that exists in its people.

“As we survey the wreckage and note the unprecedented evacuation of billions of people from the arena of substantive innovation essential to their existence, we need to turn with force to the task of redefining key concepts such as ‘innovation’, its link with the goals of building sustainable societies and cognitive justice as key to the attainment of the long-term, and sustainable development,” she added.

Prof. Hoppers was speaking on the topic; Lifelong Learning Accelerated National Development: Speaking the truth to African Society and Truth to Humanity,” at the 60th New Year School in Accra.

The New Year School, organized annually by the Institute of Adult Education, University of Ghana, Legon brought together over five hundred participants from the academia, trade unions, politicians, students and the business society.

For the next seven days, participants would deliberate over topical issues affecting the country and would make recommendations that would promote good governance.

Prof. Hoppers said the type of innovations needed in Africa goes beyond the formal systems of innovations done in universities and industrial research and development laboratories.

She said many societies in the developing world have nurtured and redefined systems of knowledge of their own, relating to such diverse domains as geology, ecology, botany, agriculture, physiology and health.

Within that, she said, the emerged terms such as ‘parallel’, ‘indigenous’ and ‘civilization’ knowledge systems which are also expressions of other approaches to the acquisition and production of knowledge.

She said indigenous knowledge and innovation systems needed to be sustained through active support to the communities who are the custodians of their ways of life, their languages; their social organization and the environment in which they live.

“The issue of value addition to innovations going on in local communities is key to authentic development. In the era of bio-diversity, value addition will help local communities co-exist with bio-diversity resources by reducing primary extraction and generating long term benefits.

“There is also the need to connect creative people engaged in generating local solutions, which are authentic and accountable, thus facilitating people – to – people learning,” she added.


Source: GNA