Afrika SIG Bantaba 2026: “The power of Afrikan languages in shaping minds and identity for the future of Africa ”

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Afrika SIG Bantaba 2026: "The power of Afrikan languages in shaping minds and identity for the future of Africa"

Proposal

Bantaba has been Afrika SIG’s signature gathering space since 2017—a place of critical reflection, dialogue, and collective imagining for Afrikan education futures. Each year, it centers on urgent issues shaped by Afrikan contexts, histories, and aspirations. This year, we gather to reflect on the legacy of our founding leaders and envision what Afrikan education must become in a digital society.

Our past years consisted of the following:
2017 – Focused on Education in Agenda 2063.
2018 – Reimagined North-South relationships through post-colonial lenses.
2019 – Decolonizing Education for Sustainability.
2020–2021 – Pandemic reflections on education beyond human and social responsibility in Africa.
2022 – Revisiting the persistent call to break from Eurocentric education systems.
2023 – Africa at the Crossroads: claiming the 21st century through transformation.
2024 – Sankofa: Regenerating power through collective action.
2025 – Reflecting on the legacy of our founders to Envision Afrikan Education in a Digital Society


In 2026, we are focusing on “The power of African languages in shaping minds and identity for the future of Africa ” Our theme is influenced by the death of Ngugi Wa’ Thiong’o on March 26th, 2025, at 87 years of age and by the Honorary Doctorate of Letters awarded to Professor Sinfree B. Makoni for his contribution to academia in June 2025 by the university of Edinburgh. These two events provide Afrika SIG with an opportunity to pause and celebrate the contributions of two of her sons to the development and understanding of language and its power.


For the field of linguistics and literature, Ngugi was a writer whose influence on African literature is unquestionably very massive. From his book decolonizing the mind, to his play with Kenyan actors, Ngugi lived through colonialism and political imprisonments. For Kenyans, he was “the towering giant of Kenyan letters,” whose courage shaped thoughts around social justice and abuse of political power. For president Ruto, “His patriotism is undeniable, and even those who disagree with him will admit that Prof. Thiong’o’s discourse always sprang forth from a deep and earnest quest for truth and understanding, devoid of malice, hatred or contempt. For scholars in the field of political science and history, Ngugi is also a “true reflection of society. Even though Ngũgĩ didn’t receive the Nobel Prize for Literature despite several nominations, his impact on literature worldwide is not questionable.

As Ngugi, Makoni’s work spans beyond the field of linguistics to include politics, history, and literature just to name a few. His recognition by the university of Edinburgh shows the interdisciplinary contributions of Makoni,which can also be captured through the Global Virtual Forum (GVF), a platform he established and is leading, that brings together scholars from various fields from around the world. GVF seeks to decenter hegemonic epistemologies and to decolonize the Western canon to facilitate other ways/waves of knowing. Through a series of online conversations, participants in the forum challenge the notion of the “universal truth” and discuss how the only truth that is universal is the truth of complexity.

This year, with the focus on language, amongst the many questions we will explore in our Bantaba are the following:

What place are we given to language?
What is language and Afrikan language (s)?
What role does language play in our research as Afrikan scholars?
How do we identify ourselves as researchers vis-à-vis Afrikan languages?
How can education play a role in the preservation or disappearance of Afrikan languages?
In an increasingly globalized world, what and how will the disappearance or preservation of Afrikan languages inform the future of Afrika, its research, and its identity?


The 2026 Bantaba will be held in person in San Francisco, California, and will follow a four-part format:
Introductory Remarks – By the chair and presentation of the synthesis
Roundtable Discussion – Moderated by the chair
Breakout Sessions – Small groups explore guiding questions
Reporting Back & Plenary – Audience engagement and commentary from invited discussants

Authors

• Rebecca Y Bayeck, Utah State University

• N'Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba, Cornell University

• Sinfree Makoni, Pennsylvania State University