São Paulo – Tracing the history of Africa, not from an European perspective but from that of Africans themselves. Such is the objective of a school book to be written by specialists from all over the continent, under the coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and the Libyan government.
The publication will be based on General History of Africa, an encyclopaedia written from 1965 to 1999 under the guidance of historian Joseph Ki-Zerbo, from Burkina Faso. The work was written in three phases and published in eight volumes. "Until this day, it remains an extremely important reference for African peoples. Thus, the idea came about to turn this project into reference teaching material for basic education in African countries," says Marilza Regattieri, the programme officer at the Education Sector of the Unesco Office in Brazil.
The book’s contents, the languages it will be published in, and its editing and distribution will be discussed at a conference scheduled to take place in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, from June 10th to 16th. The event will be attended by 150 African specialists, including historians, educators, and government officials from all countries in the continent.
"The main purpose of this meeting is to set the content selection criteria for different age brackets, from children to 19-year-old youths,” explains Marilza. According to the Unesco’s officer, the book’s contents will be written differently for groups of up to 10 years of age, from 10 to 12, from 13 to 16, and from 17 to 19.
Marilza says that it has not been decided yet if the countries will use different approaches when addressing their own history in the book, but she believes that if so, the result should benefit students. "I believe this type of proposal is very interesting, as it provides a broader context for children to understand their history, but I am not sure that it is be feasible.”
The book has no set date of release yet. According to Marilza, this is another point that should be decided upon during the conference in the Arab country. "The project counts on important support from the government of Libya, which is making it viable."
Brazilian project
Even though it is not involved in the creation of the book for African children, Brazil is also going to participate in the Libyan conference. The reason is that in 2003, the Brazilian federal government passed a bill making the teaching of Afro-Brazilian history mandatory at the country’s public and private schools.
Marilza explains that from then on, "the Unesco has ascribed priority to the implementation of the bill." "Ever since, we have been working to have a Portuguese edition of this History of Africa, with one particular subject matter: the way in which the histories of Brazil and Africa overlap to give rise to Brazilian history."
According to her, the project is already underway, and the Portuguese edition, which started being created in 2009, is scheduled for release in November this year. The project also counts on support from the Secretariat for Continuing Education, Literacy and Diversity (Secad), the Brazilian Ministry of Education, and the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
