Sankofa is the product of a collaboration of the UNESCO Tri-Chairs of ECD in Africa with next generation scholar Dr. Patrick Makokoro. See www.ecdinafrica.org for more information regarding the UNESCO Tri-Chairs, Sankofa and other work. Sankofa: Appreciating the Past in Planning the Future of Early Childhood Education, Care and Development (ECD) in Africa had several inspirations.
One was a question by a self-described ‘millennial’ leader: ‘why had he not
been told the history of ECD in Africa’ before undertaking such leadership. His
question resonated with the Akan people’s term Sankofa: ‘remember the past
to make progress in the future.’ His personal question is equally valid at the global level: ‘Why does the world not know about how ECD is understood in Africa’, and indeed in other parts of the Majority (Developing) World?’ This book seeks to address both questions: individual and global, with a hope to stimulate other regions of the world to tell their stories through their own, contextualized understandings.
The book does not claim to be exhaustive. It calls out for others in Africa, and in other parts of the Majority World, to tell their stories. Those stories, experiences, understandings and perspectives are not just important for those who live them, but for the world.
The stories of children’s care and development from around the globe is historically rich and diverse. The World of ECD has yet to write, yet to tell, its ‘full story’—Sankofa is one step in that direction.