Since gaining political independence in the late 1950s, African countries have experimented with different models of development from socialism and capitalism to mixed and outright market -oriented economies. As the seemingly elusive search for the most appropriate models of development continues on the continent, scholars have raised concern about the proper contextualization of development and whether Africa has even started the journey of development at all. This question arises because of the obvious mimicry of development models from other parts of the world especially the West.

At the root of the crisis of development in Africa is the extraversion in its epistemology, design and practice, which to a significant extent has been framed with little consideration given to the history of how pre-colonial African societies were organized on the based on their Indigenous knowledge systems. Despite the challenges associated with silencing and othering African Indigenous knowledges, they have shown resilience, and relevance as evidenced in the continued use of herbal medicine, application of the various Indigenous knowledges in livelihood and entrepreneurial activities, agriculture, cattle rearing, food preservation, climate adaption and migration. The extractive nature of the capitalist mode of production that underpins economic growth and development in Africa requires a shift in ways that can be restorative to the society, people and the environment. Beyond the targets contained in the UN Sustainable Development Goals is the need for restorative development. Restorative development transcends personal accumulation to include consideration for the plight of marginalized people, preservation of nature and the environment, leisure and rest, inter-group harmony and reconciliation.

African Indigenous knowledge systems include the insights, memories, culture, histories and practices of African people that they have applied to their livelihoods, entrepreneurship, governance institutions, growth, reconciliation and harmony, across different generations. As the search for restorative development continues, Africa Indigenous knowledge systems provide useful perspectives that cannot only contribute to addressing the challenges of unemployment, poverty, environmental degradation, climate change, and conflict resolution but provide complementary approaches to Western knowledges that continue to define development processes in Africa. The need to rethink development in a way that makes it restorative and more inclusive necessitates recentering it in academic and policy discourses on Indigenous knowledge. With focus on the potentials inherent in Africa Indigenous knowledge systems to foster theoretical and empirical rethinking in entrepreneurship, livelihood, arts and entertainment, sports, dance, spirituality and healing, herbal medicine, commerce and industry, climate change, financial inclusion, natural resources governance, agriculture, traditional governance and institutions, scholars are invited to submit panels, roundtables and individual abstracts on any of the following areas:

Theoretical issues

● Theorizing Indigenous knowledge
● Africa Indigenous knowledge systems: Concepts and contexts
● Extraversion and Endogeneity in African Indigenous knowledge systems
● African Philosophy and Africa Indigenous knowledge systems
● African Indigenous knowledge and cultural epistemology
● African Indigenous knowledge and philosophy of education
● Endogenous knowledge and development

Empirical Issues

● Indigenous knowledge and entrepreneurship
● Indigenous knowledge and livelihoods
● Indigenous knowledge and finance management
● Indigenous knowledge and arts, music, dance and entertainment
● Indigenous knowledge and herbal medicine
● Indigenous knowledge, plants and the environment
● Indigenous knowledge and natural resources governance
● Indigenous knowledge and climate change
● Indigenous knowledge and governance
● Indigenous knowledge and social organization
● Indigenous Knowledge Systems and agricultural
● Indigenous Knowledge Systems and rural development

Methodological Issues

● Approaches to conducting research in Indigenous communities
● Building trust in community research and managing expectations
● Navigating gatekeepers in community research
● Data ownership and protection in community research
● Research and reporting back to Indigenous communities
● Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property rights
● Gender and data collection in Indigenous communities
● Customs, gifts and consent for research in Indigenous communities

Comparative Issues

● Comparative Indigenous knowledge and entrepreneurship
● Comparative Indigenous knowledge and methodology
● Comparative Indigenous knowledge, innovation and technology
● Comparative Indigenous knowledge and herbal medicine
● Comparative Indigenous knowledge and governance

The abstract which should be between 250-300 words should be sent to Laura Babika (LauraBabika@cunet.carleton.ca) with a copy to (info@africaindigenousresearch.com) no later than October 30, 2024. The conference will be organized as a hybrid and there are no registration fees. Authors whose papers are accepted after a rigorous peer review and who may not be able to afford the cost of participation may receive some support to travel to the conference. Members of the Africa Indigenous Knowledge Research Network, https://africaindigenousresearch.com/ especially students and early career scholars, will be given preference. Selected papers will be subjected to rigorous peer review and, if accepted, be published in edited book volumes and special editions of the AIKRN journals, after rigorous peer review.