FRANKFURT. Strengthening
basic research in African countries – this is the goal of the new postgraduate
academy in the Mali city of Bamako – in particular in the humanities and social
sciences. The academy, which was financed by the Gerda Henkel Foundation and
conceived by scientists from Frankfurt and Mali, was ceremonially opened on 2nd
March.
Despite great progress, the francophone
African countries still receive scant consideration in the global production of
knowledge. Especially in the humanities
and social sciences, there is greater focus on the need for problem solving in
politics and development industries – to the detriment of the potential for
developing these fields. Professor Elisio Macamo from the University of Basel,
one of the two founding directors, described the situation during the opening
ceremony: “In politically-oriented discourses, science sees itself as obligated
to provide solutions for human problems, and practical utility becomes the
benchmark for determining the validity of knowledge." In fact, the debate about
the extent to which science is required to produce relevant knowledge leads to
a dilemma that has made the discussion very difficult. “Scientists, especially
in Africa, are caught between communicating useful knowledge while
simultaneously watering down scientific standards on the one hand, and
maintaining scientific standards while simultaneously risking irrelevance on
the other," says Macamo.
In a context which in public opinion is
particularly characterised by “seemingly obvious problem areas" which are to be
solved with the help of the scientific repertoire learned at universities, what
role does basic research play in the humanities and social sciences? This is a
question also asked by Professor Mamadou Diawara from the Institute for
Ethnology at Goethe University, who founded the new academy together with
Macamo and scientists in Mali. The conceptual and methodical development of the
disciplines themselves are often neglected in the process. It is of more
importance, however, to understand the problems thoroughly and formulate the right
questions. Unfortunately, this is far from being a given. According to the
scientists, the excess of “applied research" in the service of development
politics leads to Africa increasingly falling behind in the production of
global knowledge, a phenomenon particularly evident in francophone Africa,
which is the focus of the project.
The “Pilote African Postgraduate Academy
(PAPA)“ developed by Goethe University, the University of Basel and the
research centre Point Sud in Bamako explicitly does not see itself as
decolonial project. “We're not looking for an African science that does
everything differently than the so-called European science. On the contrary, we
want to free scientific vocabulary from these kinds of intellectual corsets,"
Macamo explained. PAPA intends to strengthen basic research in the humanities
and social sciences. Fifteen early career scientists from eight countries began
their work in research following the opening of the academy. Professors Mamadou
Diawara and Elisio Macamo are responsible for the scientific leadership. The
academy's training programme is designed to encourage scholarship recipients to
engage in a critical dialogue with their discipline, area studies, and their
identity as scientists to address fundamental epistemological questions. After
concluding the three-year PAPA cycle, the carefully selected junior researchers
will return to their native institutions to teach and research at a different
level. Twice a year, the fifteen selected early career researchers and up to
four established scientists in Bamako will take part in two-week workshops in
Bamako. A mentoring programme will connect high-level researchers and award
winners at their native institutions. In addition, a strong network is to be
created for scientists and teachers from francophone African countries who live
both inside and outside of Africa to exchange ideas and develop joint projects.
The project will be funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation for its first three
years.
The event was ceremoniously opened by the
Mali Minister for Education and Research, Professor Mamadou Famanta, and the
German ambassador in Mali, Dr Dietrich Fritz Reinhold Pohl. The renowned
Senegalese philosophy professor, Soulyemane Bachir Diagne from Columbia University,
New York gave a lecture entitled „La question de l'Universel et les Etudes
Postcoloniales“. Diagne also spoke in opposition to the radicalism of post- and
decolonialists: “Of course we don't want to burn down the colonial libraries –
we want to use and criticise them." He also spoke in opposition to “experience
science," in which research on certain segments of the population can only be
carried out by its own members, since all others are supposedly unable to
understand their life reality. “The idea that the everyday problems of black
women can only be studied by black women is absurd. This approach would quickly
put an end to science," says Diagne. The opening ceremony ended with his
brilliant lecture and a discussion with the fellows that lasted for over an
hour.
The event continued in the afternoon at
the research centre Point Sud which has been financed by Goethe University
since 2012 as part of a DFG-programme. There, participants met the early career
researchers who work at the centre. In the evening, the launch of the project
was celebrated to traditional kora music.
Images may be downloaded here: https://uni-frankfurt.de/86320819
Captions:
PAPA0001: Professor Mamadou Diawara (left) and
the Minister for Education and Research, Professor Mamadou Famanta, at the
opening in Bamako. (credit: Stefan Schmid)
PAPA0002: Presentation
of the research centre Point Sud by Vice Director Professor Tiéman Diarra. (credit:
Stefan Schmid)
PAPA0003: Group
picture with fellows and mentors. (credit: Stefan Schmid)
PAPA004: The
fellows of the new postgraduate academy. (credit: Stefan Schmid)
Further
information: s.schmid@em.uni-frankfurt.de; You can find further information on the PAPA project and the selected
scholarship recipients on the Point Sud website: http://pointsud.org/pilot-african-postgraduate-academy-papa/?lang=en , on the Goethe University website (https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/forschung/staerkung-fuer-grundlagenforschung-in-afrika/ ) and the website of the Gerda Henkel Foundation (https://www.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/pressemitteilung?page_id=120413#top
