Day 1: Opening Plenary

ACUSAfrica Conference 2024
(Advancing Critical University Studies across Africa)

"Leveraging Critical University Studies Towards the Practical Pursuit of an Afrocentric University"

DATE: 16-19 October 2024
VENUE: Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
HOST: East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development


Afrocentrism has been one approach to contesting European epistemological and ontological colonisation. It has also been notably critiqued. Within this paradigm, the concept of an ‘Afrocentric university’ has emerged as an ideal, but this raises both the need to critically engage with the very concept and to answer more practical questions: Beyond rhetoric, what is its deserving vision and mission? What is its structure, curriculum, focus, philosophical orientation, international outlook, relationship with the state, etc., and why? What forms might it take on in different African contexts? How close to achieving it are we? Why are we where we are relative to the ideal Afrocentric university? Which way forward?

This conference sought to establish the connections between African humanism and collaborative knowledge utilization within the African community. It did so through engaging with modes of collaborative knowledge generation and use, mostly termed ‘networks’ or ‘communities of practice’. In a practical sense, the conference was seen as a nexus point for connection between scholars and practitioners with an investment in the university in Africa to build the necessary collaborative relationships for change.

The full programme can be accessed here: https://tinyurl.com/ACUSAfrica2024