CIARS Summer Institute 2025
2025 CIARS Summer Institute: African Indigeneity and ‘ElderCrits’ [Elders’ Critical Teachings]
In collaboration with The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) | SDA College of Education, Asokore-Koforidua | Mountcrest University College Accra, Ghana | College of Education, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra
Dates: August 9-24, 2025
Location: Accra, Ghana, West Africa
Deadline to register: November 1st, 2024 at 11:59PM (ET)
The Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS) at the University of Toronto, in collaboration with its partners, will host a transformative two-week Summer Institute in Accra, Ghana from August 9-24, 2025 (with flexibility to travel to Ghana between Aug 1-31).
Given the urgent challenges in global social justice and human rights education, this Institute emerges as a crucial forum for envisioning new educational paradigms that address systemic inequities. Educational systems rooted in Euro-centric and colonial frameworks have historically limited educational possibilities. These systems perpetuate relational processes of educational violence, marginalization, dehumanization and assimilation, which force Black, Indigenous and Racialized students to conform to Euro-centric standards to succeed. Moreover, they manifest in social and economic inequality, reduced living standards, state violence, mental health issues, and stagnated development in Black communities. As Black/African, Indigenous and de/anti-colonial scholars, we ask: How can we creatively envision the world we desire and employ de/anti-colonial perspectives to critically analyze and actively pursue new futures?
Exploring these questions and the potential for transformative and subversive educational futures has involved extensive inquiry across diverse fields and scholarly domains. Yet, notably absent in our investigations are the insights and contributions of African Elders and their cultural knowledges. In collaboration with partners, the 2025 Summer Institute in Ghana catalyzes transformative educational practices rooted in anti-colonial and decolonial theories by centering African Elders’ cultural knowledge (or African ElderCrits’). By advancing de/anti-colonial pedagogies that validate Black and Indigenous students, the Institute aims to overturn entrenched Euro-centric and colonial paradigms, addressing systemic inequities rooted in anti-Blackness and anti-Indigenous racism. Participants are invited to envision educational landscapes that honour Indigenous African perspectives and contribute to genuine epistemic decolonization, exploring African ElderCrits’ as a tool for engaging critically with questions of Indigeneity and decolonization in African/African Diasporic contexts.
Program Description
The 2025 Summer Institute offers North American and African educators, researchers, parents, policymakers, and Elders a unique opportunity to engage deeply with African Indigenous knowledge and "ElderCrits," essential for de/anti-colonial educational transformations. It adopts a de/anti-colonial approach to education, guided by African Indigenous practices such as dialogue, oral storytelling, social relatedness, and intergenerational learning. Activities will include workshops, seminars, student presentations, and in-depth discussions at the university and in the local community, where participants will engage in intergenerational learning alongside Elders and participate in group excursions for cultural and land-based education.
Under the guidance of scholars Nana George Dei and Paul Banahene Adjei, along with a host of Canadian and US, as well as local African professors, attendees will explore Ghanaian educators' approaches to conceptualizing African Indigeneity and applying liberatory social justice and decolonial educational practices.
During the 2025 Summer Institute, participants will:
- Explore nuanced understandings of Blackness and Africanness guided by African Indigenous Elders' cultural teachings.
- Understand the relevance of African Elder teachings, customs, and traditions in resisting the violence of schooling and education, particularly regarding anti-Blackness and anti-Indigenous racism in North America.
- Conduct workshops at local institutions to integrate de/anti-colonial education with social justice, equity, and human rights in diverse cultural contexts.
- Engage in dialogues and visits to schools and colleges in Ghana to learn from students, teachers, and community Elders about African Indigenous philosophies in everyday life.
- Participate in educational excursions to key sites in Ghana, including Cape Coast and Elmina slave dungeons, Assin Manso River, Kankum Forest, Du Bois Cultural Centre, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Ghana Parliament grounds, Osu, and other educational attractions in Kumasi and local markets.
- Learn strategies to affirm Black students' identities, gaining insights into how cultural heritage fosters pride, respect, honor, and resilience among students, thereby enhancing educational outcomes.ep and transformative educational experience rooted in African Indigenous knowledge and de/anti-colonial principles.
These objectives aim to provide a deep and transformative educational experience rooted in African Indigenous knowledge and de/anti-colonial principles.
Partners include: Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity, New College, University of Toronto; the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement; The Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute, Halifax; The Institute for Educational Research and Innovation Studies (IERIS) & The Centre for School and Community Science and Technology Education [SACOST], of the UEW; Vice President Research of Memorial University, St. John’s Newfoundland; The Rector, Mountcrest University College, Accra; and the Office of the Principal, SDA College of Education, Asokore, Koforidua, Ghana; College of Education, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra
Event Costs
We are currently negotiating group rates for round-trip flights from Toronto to Accra, Ghana in August 2025, estimated between $2,195 and $2,596. Participants should also budget for accommodation, meals, local transportation, and excursions to historical sites.
CIARS is currently pursuing institutional support to cover logistical costs for the Summer Institute in Ghana, including refreshments, honorariums for community Elders and consultants, local research assistants, and participant expenses etc. Pending successful fundraising, there may be opportunities to offer competitive small bursaries to students to help offset travel expenses.
Academic & Scholarly Participation
CIARS Summer Institute invites participants across Canada, the US and Africa to engage and promote their academic and scholarly work by submitting abstracts in the following categories:
- Individual papers
- Group panel sessions
- Workshops (aimed at enhancing Graduate Student learning)
Students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States of America (USA) are strongly encouraged to apply.
Submission Details
Proposals will be peer-reviewed and should clearly connect to the Summer Institute theme, and contribute to the advancement of Indigenous and de/anti-colonial studies, social justice and human rights praxis, and/or community political resistance.
Submission Portal
Applications NOW OPEN
Deadline for Abstract Submissions
November 1, 2024 at 11:59PM (ET)
Notification of Accepted Proposals
Will be released by December 15, 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can attend? Do I have to present a paper to attend the Institute?
The CIARS Summer Institute welcomes participants from Canada, the US, and Africa. The program is opened to students and others in the community such as faculty, administrators, policymakers, K-12 teachers & community educators etc. All are welcome to attend the Institute with the option to share their scholarly & academic work by submitting an abstract (optional).
What is the cost of attending? Will there be bursaries available?
We are currently negotiating group rates for round-trip flights from Toronto to Accra, Ghana in August 2025, estimated between $2,195 and $2,596. Participants should also budget for accommodation, meals, local transportation, and excursions to historical sites. CIARS is currently pursuing institutional support to cover logistical costs for the Summer Institute in Ghana. Pending successful fundraising, there may be opportunities to offer competitive small bursaries to students to help offset travel expenses.
I want to attend but am not sure yet whether I want to submit a proposal. Can I still submit the online form?
Yes, you can still submit the online form if you're not yet ready to share your abstract or are unsure about the type of abstract you'd like to submit. If this is the case, please select the response "Unsure" on our application form. By submitting the form, you can express your interest to attend on the form now and return to the editable form at any time before the deadline. The CIARS team will send you a reminder before November 1st just in case.
For other inquiries, email the CIARS Summer Institute Organizing team at ciars.oise@utoronto.ca.
Join us!
To attend or submit a proposal, complete our online form using the registration link below!
Deadline: November 1st, 2024 at 11:59PM (ET)