In 1964, shortly after many countries had gained independence, Unesco launched the General History of Africa, a project free from “racial prejudices ensuing from slave trade and colonisation, and promoting an African perspective”. It took more than 30 years to complete.
More than 350 historians (more than three-quarters of whom are African) contributed, leading to the publication between 1980 and 1999 of eight volumes. Translated into seven or eight languages, some have been published in abbreviated form.
But all this erudition was of little practical value. The political climate changed, with pan-Africanism being overtaken by hard-line nationalism, so the tomes gathered dust on the shelves of government offices. Now Unesco is determined to have a second try and find an educational use for the General History of Africa. With the political backing of the African Union and financial support of Libya, which has promised $2m, Unesco launched a new initiative in March 2009.
Last week an initial conference was held in Tripoli, Libya, bringing together historians, teachers and government representatives, under the aegis of a scientific committee with a dozen members including Professor Elikia M’Bokolo (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Professor Shamil Jeppie (South Africa). The aim, over the next two years, is to draft a set of curricula for primary and secondary schools integrating the pan-African history which currently receives so little attention.
At present South Africa is the only one using the General History as a basis for its teaching.
Source: Guardian