Name: How Africa can use its traditional knowledge to make progress
Uploaded: 2017-10-09T15:03:28Z
Duration: 13 min 59 s
Description: Chika Esiobu wants to see Africans unleash their suppressed creative and innovative energies by acknowledging the significance of their indigenous, authentic knowledge. In this powerful talk, she shares examples of untapped, traditional African knowledge in agriculture and policy-making, calling on Africans to make progress by validating and dignifying their reality.

Chika Esiobu wants to see Africans unleash their suppressed creative and innovative energies by acknowledging the significance of their indigenous, authentic knowledge. In this powerful talk, she shares examples of untapped, traditional African knowledge in agriculture and policy-making, calling on Africans to make progress by validating and dignifying their reality.

How Africa can use its traditional knowledge to make progress

Education that ignores local realities can create disconnection and self-doubt. When children in Africa learn from materials like alphabet sheets featuring apples—an unfamiliar fruit to many—their experiences are sidelined. Traditional agricultural methods like Tassa, which increased millet yields fiftyfold compared to imported techniques, prove that indigenous knowledge holds practical power. Celebrating and mainstreaming local wisdom is key to authentic development and dignity.