Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu: How Africa can use its traditional knowledge to make progress
Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu: Como a África pode usar seus saberes tradicionais para progredir
Working across disciplines, Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu explores homegrown and grassroots approaches to the sustainable advancement of Sub-Saharan Africa. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I was visiting this East African city,
uma cidade da África Oriental,
approaches my window
se aproximou da janela
e pensei na minha filha,
e brincar com ela em cima daquele cartaz
to spread it on the floor
and I quickly grabbed a copy,
rapidamente comprei uma cópia,
the alphabet sheet
to teach my daughter.
para ensinar minha filha.
reminded me of the fact
out of a similar alphabet sheet.
o alfabeto num cartaz parecido.
I struggled for years.
with the formal education I received
com a educação formal que tinha recebido
I looked at my lineage with disrespect.
na minha linhagem, com desrespeito.
for what my life had to offer around me.
ao meu redor me ofereceu.
in that part of the world
que vive em lugares do mundo
with her mom and sees red,
de todas formas, cores e tamanhos.
of all shapes and colors and sizes.
education to this child
functions of education,
funções da educação,
of the learner's environment
in order to add value.
de modo a agregar valor.
with brown dots, you know,
com manchas marrons,
warehouses, sorting --
viajados, estocadas em depósitos,
financeira confortável,
would not regularly feature
ou "ugali" não eram comuns
chinesa ou indiana,
alfabetizada com "M de maçã"
with "A is for apple,"
to constantly and perpetually seek
de forma constante e perpétua,
às quais isso pertencia,
within it and with it.
it would be tough for anyone.
e seria difícil para qualquer pessoa.
e avancei academicamente,
from my education.
mais distante da minha educação.
discovered the Niger River.
descobriu o Rio Níger.
of the Niger River.
thousands of miles from Europe
de milhares de quilômetros de distância,
right under their nose?
debaixo do nosso nariz?
was preparing me to go somewhere else
estava me preparando para ir a outro lugar
environment that it belonged to.
o que lhe pertencia.
where and when I grew up.
and some studies
muitas experiências e alguns estudos
a change of mindset.
meu modo de pensar.
of the remarkable ones with us.
alguns dos mais importantes com vocês.
in Washington, DC
dos EUA, em Washington,
with the World Bank Africa Region.
na superintendência da África,
a conversation on some project,
World Bank project,
específico do Banco Mundial,
that cost millions of dollars
de milhões de dólares,
wasn't so sustainable,
não era tão sustentável,
that instituted the whole package.
que instituíram o pacote todo.
a particular project,
that was hugely successful
que era um sucesso,
where the World Bank project was failing.
onde o projeto do banco estava falhando.
and 20- to 30-centimeter-deep holes
25cm de profundidade por 25cm de largura
around the field,
é construído ao redor do campo
across the surface area.
ao longo da superfície.
that the plant needs the water.
da necessidade da planta.
as much water as needed
apenas a quantidade de água necessária
that is a life-or-death situation,
de uma questão de vida ou morte,
were used in the experiment,
de terra semelhantes,
não se usou o método tassa.
No outro, ele foi usado.
constructed on it.
also were planted on both plots.
sementes semelhantes de painço.
of millet per hectare.
of millet per hectare.
and I looked at myself.
e olhei para mim mesma
agriculture for 12 years,
as we say in East Africa,
como dizemos na África Oriental,
ou terceiro ano do Ensino Médio.
de cultivo tradicional africana,
African knowledge of cultivation --
and actually succeed,
e que funcionasse bem,
would struggle to succeed.
do Ocidente desse certo.
to dedicate my life, concern my life work,
de dedicar uma vida de trabalho
on Africa's own knowledge system
o sistema de saberes africanos
for its mainstreaming
and experience I had at the bank
e experiência no banco
of where I was going to go,
que rumo a tomar,
research to go into,
mais lucrativa a ser feita,
no que eu acreditava.
that he likes to go to Africa
que gostava de ir à África
and to work on World Bank projects.
e trabalhar em projetos do Banco Mundial.
and my project proposal in Washington, DC,
e minha proposta em Washington,
just get signed.
todos eles são aprovados.
e volto para minha base.
"I hate going to Asia or ..."
"Mas odeio ir para a Ásia ou..."
Asia and some of these countries.
Ásia e alguns países.
conseguir o melhor acordo para seu país.
to get the best deal for their countries.
that clause will not work for us
para nosso contexto.
It's just so Western.'
é ocidental demais'.
we have enough experts
aqui para cuidar disso.
Conhecemos nossa realidade'.
through all these things.
sim, eles conseguem o melhor acordo,
yes, they get the best deal,
o melhor acordo para o banco,
the best deal for the bank,
a loan negotiating session
de negociação de um empréstimo
positions during summer,
nas minhas férias,
with the World Bank team,
with organizational matters.
com questões organizacionais.
the negotiating session.
with me from Washington, DC.
e eu de Washington.
at my African brothers and sisters.
para meus irmãos e irmãs africanos.
they had anything to offer
tinham nada a oferecer
of Mungo Park --
"Oh, just give us, let us sign.
"Ah, me dê aqui para assinar.
Show us, let us sign."
eles não acreditavam em si mesmos.
They didn't believe in themselves.
on Africa's knowledge system,
sobre o sistema de saberes da África,
traditional knowledge.
autênticos, tradicionais.
has been implemented in Africa,
sido implementados na África,
successes recorded.
judicial system
tradicional de Ruanda,
de Ruanda estava em farrapos:
was in shambles:
hundreds of thousands of genocide cases.
milhares de casos de genocídio.
came up with this idea
judicial system known as Gacaca.
tradicional conhecido como Gacaca.
judicial system,
baseado na comunidade,
de reconhecida idoneidade
within these communities.
dentro dessas comunidades.
its trial of genocide cases in 2012,
dos casos de genocídio, em 2012,
had tried approximately 1.2 million cases.
julgado cerca de 1,2 milhão de casos.
Rwanda's traditional philosophy
a filosofia tradicional de Ruanda
punitive and banishment idea
that it really emphasized
que isso realmente valorizou
desenvolver as pessoas.
desenvolver por si mesmas.
Africa's advancement,
e o avanço da África
validation and mainstreaming
validação e institucionalização
original, indigenous knowledge
autênticos, originais e nativos da África,
in policy making and across sectors.
na elaboração de políticas e nos setores.
used to being told how to think,
acostumadas a ouvir como pensar,
to the intellectual guidance
à orientação intelectual
to make progress.
de enfrentar para progredir.
of Joseph Shabalala,
pelas palavras de Joseph Shabalala,
Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
can never, ever be greater
nunca pode ser maior
olhando para nós mesmos.
on our reality and our knowledge.
à nossa realidade e aos nossos saberes.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu - Indigenous knowledge expertWorking across disciplines, Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu explores homegrown and grassroots approaches to the sustainable advancement of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Why you should listen
Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu is convinced of the ability of Africans to transform the continent by acknowledging the significance of its indigenous knowledge in all fields of human endeavor. A researcher, fiction and non-fiction writer, public intellectual and teacher, Ezeanya-Esiobu has published several research papers on aspects of Africa's indigenous knowledge. She has also been commissioned to conduct indigenous knowledge-based research by the International Development Research Center Canada, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research,(UNU-WIDER) United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and The Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), among others.
Ezeanya-Esiobu is the author of the historical fiction book Before We Set Sail. In its manuscript form, Before We Set Sail was one of six shortlisted out of over 250 submissions, made to the Penguin Publishers Award for African Writing in 2010. Following her TEDGlobal 2017 talk, Ezeanya-Esiobu shared an alphabet book series she had written for her daughter: Dr. Chika's ABC for the African Child (2017).
Ezeanya-Esiobu has lived and worked in four countries across three continents, and through her travels she has learned to value integrity, dignity, respect for self and others ... to be open to knowledge, to be happy and to smile a lot with her heart. Her lifetime passion is to contribute to efforts that would see to the unleashing of the suppressed creative and innovative energies buried deep in the hearts and minds of all Africans. She blogs at chikaforafrica.com.
Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu | Speaker | TED.com