Dealing with legacies of colonization and changing narratives in decolonization processes in Burundi, Germany and Rwanda
Dealing with legacies of colonization and changing narratives in decolonization processes in Burundi, Germany and Rwanda, DeCoDe.
Despite the independence movements in the 1960s, the impact of colonization on both Western and colonized parts of the world including Burundi and Rwanda is still visible in political, social, cultural, moral and economic spheres of human life. The effects of political domination, economic exploitation and destruction of societies continue to shape interactions and perceptions between colonizing and colonized communities.
Research highlights that colonization has influenced self-understanding among young people through asymmetric and paternalistic perspectives. In many Western contexts, Africa is still represented mainly through poverty, wars and catastrophes. At the same time, many people in formerly colonized societies continue to experience feelings of dependency and helplessness linked to colonial legacies.
Limited knowledge about the legacies of colonization, asymmetric mutual perspectives and Eurocentric curricula continue to influence education, identity formation, social justice and intercultural relationships.
The civil wars and violence experienced in the Great Lakes region, including the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, have also been connected to colonial systems that promoted ethnic segregation and unequal access to education. Colonial education systems marginalized indigenous knowledge, promoted Eurocentric thinking and limited opportunities for women.
Although many African and European researchers have studied colonization and decolonization processes, knowledge production is still largely shaped by colonial models.
Educational systems in many African countries still reflect colonial structures through Eurocentric curricula and teacher-centered pedagogies.
Consequently, the DeCoDe project proposes collaborative dialogue among all stakeholders.
| Objective(s) | Indicator(s) |
|---|---|
| 1. A variety of perspectives on colonial legacies of teachers, students, youth from Civil Society organisations (CSOs) and church leaders as well as curricula in partner institutions in Burundi, Rwanda and Germany is made visible. |
1.1 By the end of the project, at least 80% Youth Population from CSOs, students, teachers and church leaders (30% women) use interactive spaces to reflect and share narratives.
1.2 3 sampled curricula are analyzed and used as teaching reference.
|
| 2. University teachers, students, youth from CSOs, church leaders change narratives about colonial legacies. |
2.1 70% demand adaptation of curriculum via debates and discussions.
2.2 70% initiate awareness via workshops, media and events.
|
| Target Groups | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Target Groups | ||
| University students | 45 | 45 |
| University teachers | 15 | 30 |
| Young People from Civil Society Organisations | 24 | 21 |
| Church leaders | 15 | 30 |
| Participants in the conferences | 44 | 56 |
| Total direct target groups | 143 | 182 |
| Intermediaries / Decision-Makers | ||
| Senior Church leaders | 3 | 5 |
| University top managers | 2 | 4 |
| Total intermediaries | 5 | 9 |
| Indirect Target Groups | ||
| University students | 45 | 45 |
| University teaching staff | 15 | 30 |
| Young People from Civil Society Organisations | 24 | 21 |
| Religion Leaders (Catholic and Protestant Church) | 15 | 30 |
| Researchers | 5 | 10 |
| Policy makers | 3 | 7 |
| Total indirect target groups | 109 | 141 |
Through baseline interactive workshops and document analysis (i.e., curriculum analysis). This process will help to get some perspectives of different categories of the target groups (see 3). Guiding questions will be prepared to stimulate perspectives and experiences about dealing with legacies of colonisation and decolonisation processes. Moreover, three selected curricula in Burundi, Rwanda and Germany will be analysed in the lenses of colonisation and decolonisation theories. The exploration will serve as a baseline for further steps of the project implementation.
Development of the guiding modules to facilitate the interactive workshop in regarding
to dealing with legacies of colonisation and sharing narratives about decolonisation
processes among the target groups. The module will be developed in such a way that it
facilitates and stimulates openness to share and reflect on narratives, perspectives,
experiences about dealing with legacies of colonisation as well as decolonisation
processes among target group in Burundi, Germany and Rwanda.
The results of the baseline
interactive workshops and curriculum analysis will inspire and guide the development of guiding modules.
Developped modules will be validated by experts in the field of history particularly in colonisation
and decolonisation.
After validation of the guiding module, face-to-face and hybrid sessions of interactive workshops will be organised in order of give target group share and reflect on their perspectives and narratives about impact of colonial legacies to their personal, social and professional behaviour as a prerequisite for possible changes. Moreover, they will be expected to organise sessions of interactive workshop to other categories in the form of initiation. Students will initaite other students for instance. This where the cascade approach comes in.
The experiences, knoweldge, changes occurred during the previous steps of the project will not only be disserminated via international conferences but also through innovative strategies to share knowledge and experiences about dealing with legacies of colonisation and changing narrative about de-colonisation processes by students, univeristy lecturers, members of youth in CSO organisations and church leaders in Burundi, Rwanda and Germany. This would be done through a diversity of communication channels including but not limited to social media, televisions, radio, flyers, youtube, etc. The latter serves for advocative strategies about overcoming challenges related to legacies of colonisation and sustatinable strategies of de-colonisation.