CIARS 2025 Summer Institute in Ghana

Dates: August 9-24, 2025
Location: Accra, Ghana, West Africa
Deadline to register: November 1st, 2024 at 11:59PM (ET)

Theme: African Indigeneity and Elders' Critical Teachings

Given the urgent challenges in global social justice and human rights education, this Institute emerges as a crucial forum for envisioning new educational paradigms that address systemic inequities. Educational systems rooted in Euro-centric and colonial frameworks have historically limited educational possibilities. These systems perpetuate relational processes of educational violence, marginalization, dehumanization and assimilation, which force Black, Indigenous and Racialized students to conform to Euro-centric standards to succeed. Moreover, they manifest in social and economic inequality, reduced living standards, state violence, mental health issues, and stagnated development in Black communities. As Black/African, Indigenous and de/anti-colonial scholars, we ask: How can we creatively envision the world we desire and employ de/anti-colonial perspectives to critically analyze and actively pursue new futures?

Exploring these questions and the potential for transformative and subversive educational futures has involved extensive inquiry across diverse fields and scholarly domains. Yet, notably absent in our investigations are the insights and contributions of African Elders and their cultural knowledges. In collaboration with partners, the 2025 Summer Institute in Ghana catalyzes transformative educational practices rooted in anti-colonial and decolonial theories by centering African Elders’ cultural knowledge (or African ElderCrits’). By advancing de/anti-colonial pedagogies that validate Black and Indigenous students, the Institute aims to overturn entrenched Euro-centric and colonial paradigms, addressing systemic inequities rooted in anti-Blackness and anti-Indigenous racism. Participants are invited to envision educational landscapes that honour Indigenous African perspectives and contribute to genuine epistemic decolonization, exploring African ElderCrits’ as a tool for engaging critically with questions of Indigeneity and decolonization in African/African Diasporic contexts.

Program Description

The 2025 Summer Institute offers North American and African educators, researchers, parents, policymakers, and Elders a unique opportunity to engage deeply with African Indigenous knowledge and "ElderCrits," essential for de/anti-colonial educational transformations. It adopts a de/anti-colonial approach to education, guided by African Indigenous practices such as dialogue, oral storytelling, social relatedness, and intergenerational learning. Activities will include workshops, seminars, student presentations, and in-depth discussions at the university and in the local community, where participants will engage in intergenerational learning alongside Elders and participate in group excursions for cultural and land-based education.

Under the guidance of scholars Nana George Dei and Paul Banahene Adjei, along with a host of Canadian and US, as well as local African professors, attendees will explore Ghanaian educators' approaches to conceptualizing African Indigeneity and applying liberatory social justice and decolonial educational practices.

During the 2025 Summer Institute, participants will:

• Explore nuanced understandings of Blackness and Africanness guided by African Indigenous Elders' cultural teachings.
• Understand the relevance of African Elder teachings, customs, and traditions in resisting the violence of schooling and education, particularly regarding anti-Blackness and anti-Indigenous racism in North America.
• Conduct workshops at local institutions to integrate de/anti-colonial education with social justice, equity, and human rights in diverse cultural contexts.
• Engage in dialogues and visits to schools and colleges in Ghana to learn from students, teachers, and community Elders about African Indigenous philosophies in everyday life.
• Participate in educational excursions to key sites in Ghana, including Cape Coast and Elmina slave dungeons, Assin Manso River, Kankum Forest, Du Bois Cultural Centre, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Ghana Parliament grounds, Osu, and other educational attractions in Kumasi and local markets.
• Learn strategies to affirm Black students' identities, gaining insights into how cultural heritage fosters pride, respect, honor, and resilience among students, thereby enhancing educational outcomes.ep and transformative educational experience rooted in African Indigenous knowledge and de/anti-colonial principles.

These objectives aim to provide a deep and transformative educational experience rooted in African Indigenous knowledge and de/anti-colonial principles.

To apply, visit: tinyurl.com/CIARSGhana2025

Event Costs

We are currently negotiating group rates for round-trip flights from Toronto to Accra, Ghana in August 2025, estimated between $2,195 and $2,596. Participants should also budget for accommodation, meals, local transportation, and excursions to historical sites.

CIARS is currently pursuing institutional support to cover logistical costs for the Summer Institute in Ghana, including refreshments, honorariums for community Elders and consultants, local research assistants, and participant expenses etc. Pending successful fundraising, there may be opportunities to offer competitive small bursaries to students to help offset travel expenses.

For More Information

For more information visit: https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ciars/ciars-summer-institute-2025

For other inquiries, email the CIARS team at ciars.oise@utoronto.ca