Ubuntu

Ubumuntu is the the international sign of humanity. It is used in Rwanda as a symbol of healing as the country moves through it's years post genocide. Ubumuntu is a form of Ubuntu. Central to the development of indigenous knowledge is the concept of Ubuntu, a Nguni Bantu philosophy. Tutu (1999) explains that Ubuntu suggests that one’s humanity is inextricably bound up with another, where a person is a person through other persons, which allows us to reflect on a notion of humble togetherness (Swanson 2014). Ubuntu promotes teamwork and collaboration, meaning this principle promotes group cohesiveness and support (Mupedziswa, Rankopo, and Mwansa 2019). 

You can read more about my partnership here with colleagues in East Africa at the University of Rwanda.  Ubuntu is reinforced in our approach as our work on decoloniality develops. 

Ubuntu partnership

Building on global strategic priorities for social work and being informed by principles inherent in the Millennium and Sustainable Development goals (International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) 2018, International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) 2020, & Rice et al, 2022), there is much benefit in developing the call to indigenise curriculums, beyond decolonising, and this approach is one that has been advocated for across the globe, and many scholars explore the significance of utilising a globally diverse knowledge base. 

The current global knowledge base for social work, my discipline, is currently dominated by a White, Western, Eurocentric, and Global North perspective on how social work can be practiced effectively. Therefore, the need to indigenise social work and social work education is great. There is evidence that locally produced knowledge and home-grown solutions have been able to support collective recovery in the post-genocide context of Rwanda (King et al 2017). The relevance of supporting indigenous solutions is also shown in the global context in examples of Maori social workers in Aotearoa, New Zealand promoting methods of social work embedded in the ancestry and knowledge of indigenous populations which have been welcomed by the indigenous Maori communities and the wider population (Hollis-English 2017). The potential of changing curriculums to learn from indigenous knowledge and wisdom means culturally and contextually relevant knowledge is disseminated to support vulnerable people. The potential in doing so could mean, in future years, practitioners and academics will be empowered with contemporary, effective interventions that impact upon solving challenges set out by the Millennium and Sustainable Development goals, making higher education truly decolonised.

You can read more about  Using indigenisation to decolonise research here

 Hollis-English, A. (2017) Theories in Māori social work: Indigenous approaches to working with and for indigenous people, Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 27(4), pp. 5–15. doi: 10.11157/anzswj-vol27iss4id432 

 International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), and International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). 2018. Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: Third Report. Promoting Community and Environmental Sustainability. (Ed. David N. Jones). Rheinfelden, Switzerland: 

IFSW. International Federation of Social Workers. 2020. “2020 TO 2030 Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development Framework: Co-Building Inclusive Social Transformation.” Accessed 6 December 2022. https://www.ifsw.org/2020-to-2030-global-agenda-for-social-work-and-social-development-framework-co-building-inclusive-social-transformation/ [Google Scholar] 

 King, R. U., Bokore, N. & Dudziak, S. (2017) The Significance of Indigenous Knowledge in Social Work Responses to Collective Recovery: A Rwandan Case Study. Journal of Indigenous Social Development. Vol. 6 No. 1. 

 Mupedziswa, R, Rankopo, M and Mwansa,L, K. (2019). “Ubuntu as a Pan-African Philosophical Framework for Social Work in Africa.” Chap. 2 in Social Work Practice in Africa Indigenous and Innovative Approaches, edited by Janestic M. Twikirize and Helmut Spitzer, 21–38. Kampala, Uganda: Fountain Publishers 

 Spitzer, H, Twikirize,J and Wairire, G eds. (2014). Professional Social Work in East Africa: Towards Social Development, Poverty Reduction and Gender Equality. Kampala, Uganda: Fountain Publishing

Swanson D (2007) Ubuntu: An African Contribution to (Re) Search for/with a ‘Humble togetherness'. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 2(2), pp. 53-67. 

Tutu, D. (1999). No Future without Forgiveness. London: Random House. [Crossref], [Google Scholar] 

 University of Rwanda (2023) Experts in social work meet to revamp existing curriculum to fit for the future. https://ur.ac.rw/?Experts-in-social-work-meet-to-revamp-existing-curriculum-to-fit-for-the-future (accessed 23.6.23)