Glossary


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A

 

Afro Descendant

Refers to all persons who identify themselves as being of African descent and or of the diaspora contributing in their daily actions to the promotion of African perspectives of sustainable development. It is a personal and social construction, a choice, one whose aim is the valorisation and respect of territorial, generational, historical and cultural elements, which legitimize us as heirs of an invaluable heritage, which as part of our diversity, allows us to position ourselves as authentic Africans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B

 

Black Academy

is a project of MeineWelt in collaboration with PLACE e.V. and PLACE for Africa with the aim of making the knowledge and skills of black people around the world visible. The project participates in the construction of a new discourse that values the knowledge of Black people in the field of science, art, culture, literature, etc. For 2022 the Project is support-ed by Goethe Institut

BIPoC

BIPoC is an abbreviation that stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. It is a political term of self-description. It includes people who do not consider themselves as White. The term was created to include all non-White people but still account for their individualities and highlight the specific struggle of Black and Indigenous People in the world.

 

 

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Colonialism

is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their religion, language, economics, and other cultural practices. The foreign administrators rule the territory in pursuit of their interests, seeking to benefit from the colonised region’s people and resources. It is associated with but distinct from imperialism.

Colourism

Colourism is a form of discrimination where people are disadvantaged based on their skin tone. Globally and even within communities that are affected by racism, people with lighter skin are treated more favorably than people with darker skin. This has the effect that there is a big industry of harmful skin-lightening products.

 

 

 

 
 

 

D

 

Deconstruction

Prejudice gives rise to value judgements or preconceived ideas about a group of indivi-duals, attributing characteristics or behaviors on them that are not based on reality. Aware that the fight against discrimination and the promotion of equality require the deconstruc-tion of stereotypes, the actions of the Black Academy project are invested in a prevention approach. Through its literary, cultural and pedagogical activities, the Black academy project will open the way, in a unique and original way, to the denunciation and deco-ding of stereotypical images in the West to-wards Africa, its populations and Afro-descendants. Through its various events and educational outings, the Black academy will highlight the mechanisms of colonial propaganda and image creation, which still influence mental representations of Africa, its populations and its diasporas today.

Decolonialism/Decoloniality

Decoloniality is a way for us to re-learn the knowledge that has been pushed aside, forgotten, buried or discredited by the for-ces of modernity, settler-colonialism, and racial capitalism. Decoloniality reveals “the dark side of modernity” and how it is built “on the backs” of “others,” others that modernity racializes, erases, and/or objectifies. Therefore, as a method, it aspires to restore, elevate, renew, rediscover, and acknowledge and validate the the multiplicity of lives, live-experiences, culture and knowledge of indigenous people, people of color, and colonized people as well as to decenter hetero/cis-normativity, gender hierarchies and racial privilege.

Democracy

is a government by the people especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections 2 : a political unit that has a democratic government.

 

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Empowerment

Empowerment aims to enable people to shape their social environment and their lives themselves by using their own personal and social resources. In empowerment processes, hierarchical or paternalistic levels are abandoned and people’s existing strengths and resources are sought and emphasized. The results of successful processes are the elimination of powerlessness and a strengthened self-confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Feminism:

Feminism, understood as the fight against discrimination against women, is an old concept in Africa. Long before what the literature calls ‘the first feminist wave’, which corresponds to the recognition of some rights, notably the right to vote, for Western women in the 19th and 20th centuries, many African societies had already given women a real place of choice. In Africa, from ancient times to the present day, powerful women have ruled kingdoms, been warlords and thus led armies. The ancient African woman also had an economic and religious role.

 

 

 

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Global interdependencies

Global interdependence refers to worldwide mutual dependence between countries. In other words, mutual dependence at a worldwide level. One nation depends on another for something. That country also depends on another for either the same thing or something else. As more countries depend on other nations for things, especially key things like energy and food, global interdependence evolves. Global interdependence is largely the result of international trade, i.e., the importing and exporting of products and services. In fact, countries today cannot survive for long without each others’ imports and exports.

Global North:

The term global north is the pendant to the term global south. It refers to the parts of the world that were formerly the colonizers and are still in a politically and economically advantaged position.

Global South

The term global south describes a part of the world that is politically and economically disadvantaged on a global stage. The distinction refers to parts of the world that were formerly colonized in addition to parts of the world that have been and partly still are subject to exploitation by other countries. In total, it mainly includes countries from the continents of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. The term was created to avoid hierarchisation and eurocentrism and reflects that it is only partly geographical, but also refers to a global position.

 

Globalization

Globalization refers to the international interaction among people, companies, and governments of different countries through the exchanging of ideas, products, and cultural practices. Globalization is enhanced by the trading partnerships between different countries, as well as the use of the internet and mobile phones. Improvement in transportation systems like electric trains, container ships, and airplanes have made it possible for countries or people to access information about commodities offered in different places around the world.

 

 

 

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Intersectionality

is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person’s social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. The term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage. Examples of these factors include gender, caste, sex, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion, disability, weight, physical appearance, and height. It focuses on the fact that some people face multiple categories of discrimination at the same time, which makes them even more disadvanteged, compared to others.

 

 

 

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Mínɔ̀

is a group of women warriors whose bravery, courage, cunning and determination make women in Africa and beyond proud. Mínɔ̀ means ‘Our mothers’ in Fon. Indeed, these women soldiers are like mothers as they save the lives of the king and the kingdom by risking or giving their own. The incredible courage and daring of these women warriors was recognised by the French invaders.

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

N

 

Neo-colonialism

can be defined as the use of political and economic pressures by more developed nations, especially former colonial powers, to dominate and control less developed countries, which are often the former colonies. In that sense, neo-colonialism in Africa is the domination of African countries by more powerful states.

 

 

 

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Pan-Africanism

is an ideology and movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous and diaspora ethnic groups of African descent. The common goal of those movements is the elimination of colonialism and white supremacy from the continent.

Post-colonialism:

postcolonialism, the historical period or state of affairs representing the aftermath of Western colonialism; the term can also be used to describe the concurrent project to reclaim and rethink the history and agency of people subordinated under various forms of imperialism. Postcolonialism signals a possible future of overcoming colonialism, yet new forms of domination or subordination can come in the wake of such changes, including new forms of global empire. Postcolonialism should not be confused with the claim that the world we live in now is actually devoid of colonialism

Power Structure

a power structure is a hierarchy of competence or aggression predicated on influence between an individual and other entities in a group. A power structure focuses on the way power and authority is related between people within groups such as a government, nation, institution, organization.

 

Privilege

an advantage that only one person or group of people has, usually because of their position or because they are rich. It can also be defined as an advantage that is given to one person or group of people and not to others. For example, we have White privilege, which is a concept that highlights the unfair social advantages that White people have over non-White people. It is something that is pervasive in society and exists in all major systems and institutions that operate in society, as well as at the interpersonal level.

 

 

 

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Racism

Racism takes many forms and can happen in many places. It includes prejudice, discrimination or hatred directed at someone because of their colour, ethnicity or national origin. Racism can be revealed through people’s actions as well as their attitudes. It can also be reflected in systems and institutions. But sometimes it may not be revealed at all. Not all racism is obvious.

 

 

 

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Single story

The concept of the single story was raised by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her TED talk “The danger of a single Story”. She speaks about the problems with imbalanced information and the importance of diverse representation. A single story is a one-sided or stereotypical story about a place and its people. It creates a very limited image. Adichie Says: “Show a people as one thing only, over and over again, and that is what they become […] and that robs people of dignity”.
 
 

 

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