Category Archives: ARTCoP

Terms of Reference Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice (ARTCoP)

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ARTCoP logo text

Background

A Community of Practice is defined as: “A group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” CoPs often focus on learning, sharing best practices and knowledge as well as creating new knowledge to advance a domain of political or professional practice.

To that end, the purpose of the ARTCoP is to provide a much-needed reparations movement supported space for critical reflection as a basis for taking more effective strategic action by supporting members of the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations (ISMAR) and their allies to strengthen and improve their movement-building activities enabling them to learn from, compliment and collaborate with each other to achieve common reparations-related objectives and goals.
Rather than seeking to privilege what academics and those located within formal institutions of education ‘know’ and can ‘teach’ activists about how to wage successful reparations campaigns, the ARTCoP seeks to learn from and build upon the thought, lived experiences and activism of reparations workers, advocates, activists, campaigners, the ISMAR and Afrikan and Afrikan Diaspora communities at large, as co-producers of practical and theoretical knowledge relevant to effecting and securing reparatory justice.

ARTCoP Learning Methodology

ARTCoP It is being conducted within the action learning paradigm i.e. an approach to learning through experience and by doing in the quest of bringing about social change or solving or addressing real problems that involves taking action and reflecting upon the results. This means that the outcome of learning in relation to any reparations focused issues or cause is action, not simply learning and knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

Since learning takes place through taking action (to redress a situation or problem), action learning utilises tools and methods which are not only relevant to, but also promote the empowerment of Afrikan Heritage Reparations Communities of Interest. Action learning is an integral aspect of action research which seeks to change or improve a condition, system or practice and learn about this through changing or improving it. ‘Changing practice’ includes utilising the knowledge being co-produced for advancing reparations goals by improving and strengthening existing reparations campaigning and social movement-building initiatives and processes.

It is important to note that (1) there is a clear structure to the set meetings, and (2) that the ARTCoP group meetings are only part of the process. The other part is the testing out of the ideas in action, which happens in the time between the meetings. ARTCoP members help each individual in turn to reflect on the outcomes of their recent actions and develop ideas for overcoming obstacles to further progress.

Objectives of the ARTCoP

1. To help people organise around purposeful actions that deliver tangible results in advancing the ISMAR.

2. To enable participants in the ARTCoP to develop a shared understanding of the history, purpose and goals of the ISMAR;

3. To increase culturally competent and proficient reparations literacy amongst and between members of the ARTCoP.

4. To facilitate the learning and the sharing of ideas, collectivised knowledge, information, experiences, expertise, research, strategies and resources among participants in the ARTCoP pertaining to the history and heritage of reparations thought, advocacy and activism;

5. To gain recognition in mainstream academia and amongst policy-makers of the knowledge and pedagogical practices being produced outside of formal educational institutions on reparations and to bridge the gap between these various knowledges;

6. To stimulate dialogue among and between members about the ISMAR’s past, present and future in order to explore new possibilities, solve challenging problems, and create new, mutually beneficial opportunities for advancing the goals of the ISMAR;

7. To report on progress and provide updates of reparations related projects, programmes and activities;

8. To support participants in the ARTCoP to develop various resources such as tools, documents, vocabulary and symbols that in some way carry the accumulated knowledge of the ISMAR.

The priority concerns of the ARTCoP are to:

1. Counter fragmentation amongst constituencies within the community of Afrikan reparations interest and reparations groups, networks and organisations by promoting understanding of the common grounds and shared goals between many reparations groups, organisations, campaigns and other social justice movements;

2. Promote open and honest discussions on the obstacles to integrating a reparations framework in the work of other social justice causes and movements;

3. Promote open and honest discussion of the obstacles to building a more inclusive ISMAR and existing reparations advocates, activists and allies working together more constructively.

Membership

The scope and purpose of ARTCoP shall be explained prior to inviting members to join so prospective members can self select on the basis of its relevance to them

The ARTCoP will include representatives from Communities of Afrikan and Afrikan Diaspora Reparations Interest, ISMAR members, participating organisations and any other stakeholders that have reparations interests, goals, and or objectives.

Role of Members/Participants

• To develop (negotiate) common perspectives, approaches, practices
• To share reparations related information
• To develop reparations focused methodologies
• To share insights on reparations related practice
• To consult each other on reparations related tasks, projects and programmes
• To collaborate on key reparations related tasks, projects and programmes
• To discuss their approaches
• To explore common reparations related issues
• To go beyond current practice to explore the cutting edge of reparations theory and praxis, to innovate
• To create reparations focussed tools, methods, articles, online presence,
• To create reparations related publicity, promotional and educational documents
• To develop trust, mutual recognition of contributions and understanding.
• To develop processes for harnessing, generating and sharing reparations related knowledge outside the ARTCoP.

Operating Principles

The following operating principles indicate the conduct of the ARTCoP and are intended to assist members to clarify their expectations of each other and the community of practice.

1. Co-production of knowledge on or related to the cause of reparations is a fundamental operating principle of the ARTCoP
2. Every member is both a learner and teacher of reparations related knowledge in their respective field of experience, expertise or practice.
3. ARTCoP will promote Afrikan heritage knowledge systems, epistemologies of justice and repair in seeking to contribute to the building of the ISMAR and advancement of its goals.
4. Members can expect to encounter at least one new learning from each meeting.
5. Members will contribute regularly to the ARTCoP.
6. Appropriate levels of privacy and confidentiality will maintained within the ARTCoP.
7. Views expressed are those of individual/organisational practitioner members.

Coordination and Support

The ARTCoP will be Chaired by Jackie Lewis

Roles and Responsibilities (serves as a guide only)

Core group of up to 15 members.

Co-facilitators
• To provide oversight and guidance in steering the affairs of the ARTCoP and catalyse proactivity in steering the ARTCoP
• To be the Chief Spokespersons for the ARTCoP
• To ensure the ARTCoP is meeting its stated objectives
• To attend and normally chair ARTCoP meetings
• To facilitate group discussion to ensure that communication is appropriate and respectful
• To develop the agenda and objectives for each ARTCoP meeting.

Steering Committee (Up to 20 members) Including

1. Co-facilitators: (not more than 4), Esther Stanford-Xosei, Kofi Mawuli Klu
2. Secretary: Simeon Stanford

General Members:

3. Cecil Gutzmore
4. Nana Kojo Bonsu
5. Kwame Adofo Sampong
6. Maatyo Dedo Azu
7. Mawuse Yao Agokor

Send out regular messages to ARTCoP members about the next meeting/activity.

• Recruit new members and manage membership
• Maintain various forms of learning and ARTCoP records
• Provide official statements on behalf of the group
• To manage and direct representation of the ARTCoP including media work and other public relations
• To post ARTCoP session recordings on nominated site
• To take and keep records as well as manage ARTCoP archives
• To plan and direct the organisation of various ARTCoP events
• To complete an attendance list of members and participants
• To develop an index of members identifying their areas of reparations related interest, knowledge and experience.
• To develop and publicise a community calendar of reparations related events.
• To identify training needs arising from community of practice meetings.
• To ensure that a summary of the ARTCoP meeting discussions are circulated to members within a reasonable time after each meeting.
• To ensure that meeting dates are publicised at least one month in advance.

The ARTCoP will be largely self-supporting as this is an indicator of their value to members and the wider ISMAR.

In this regard:

• Members will be encouraged to take an active facilitation role at meetings and other activities, and to share information and expertise and capture knowledge.
• Meetings and information sharing can draw from wherever the expertise lies, including within the group, from non-members and/or other agencies, and share this information as appropriate.
• An email discussion group will be set up to encourage member’s engagement and share expertise and information.

Unless otherwise agreed, any costs arising from activities under the ARTCoP will be borne by the Member or participant that incurs them, and will be subject to the availability of funds, personnel, and other resources.

Activities and Frequency of Meetings

Bi-Monthly in addition to any other events which advance the aims and objectives of the ARTCoP.

Evaluation of the ARTCoP

The ‘health’ and relevance of the ARTCoP will be evaluated by seeking regular feedback from members and periodically evaluating outcomes. Such evaluation will also facilitate identification of emerging issues. Evaluation will be timed to feed into planning cycles to ensure relevance to member’s needs and ISMAR priorities.

Evaluation will include:

• the level of participation in email discussion, presentations and meetings;
• the range of members involved;
• attendance at meetings;
• outputs achieved, such as better practice checklists and toolkits;
• how the above feed into reparations goals and outcomes.
• evaluation of the uptake and usage of these checklists and toolkits; and
• member satisfaction.

The ARTCoP Terms of Reference will be reviewed by members every 2 years, (last updated March 2019).

For Further Info:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARTCoP-For-Reparations/532289696917403

Twitter: @artcop4repairs
Email: artcop.edu@gmail.com

Posted in: ARTCoP

Learning and Education for a Post (Afrikan) Reparations World-Order

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P1050461


What is Social Movement Learning?

According to Canadian adult educators Hall and Clover (1995):

Social movement learning refers to: a) learning by persons who are part of any social movement; and b) learning by persons outside of a social movement as a result of the actions taken or simply by the existence of social movements. Learning by persons who are part of a social movement often takes place in informal or incidental ways because of the stimulation and requirements of participation in a movement. When one becomes involved in a movement to counter homelessness, statistics about how many people are homeless or the impact of living without fixed shelter are learned quickly simply through interaction with others in the movement or through the literature of the movement or the movement’s opponents. What we all know as facilitators of learning is that nothing is as powerful a stimulus to learning as the necessity to teach or inform others. The organisational or communicative mandate of all social movements is a necessarily educational concern. And while much of the learning within social movements is informal or incidental in nature, organized or intentional learning also takes place as a direct result of educational activities organised within the movement itself. [1]

Although research has been done on the importance of learning in social movements along with the importance of learning from experiences of participating in social movements, no such research exists on the experiences of activists participating in the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations (ISMAR). The interviews that I have been conducting, with reparations movement activists in the UK, are actually the first of its kind to probe into this issue of learning that is being done within the process of struggling to bring about Reparatory Justice for Afrikans and people of Afrikan heritage. The learning that I am referring to is the two way process of contesting, producing and acquiring knowledge as well as skills in order to take action more effectively, and learning through reflecting on the experiences of social action that follow engaging in reparations-movement building and activism.

The case for these type of two way learning processes are becoming more urgent in the current economic, social, political, environmental and policy context; in addition to, the need for evaluating whether reparations campaigners are making gains and/or coming up against barriers in the movement to effect and secure holistic reparations. It goes beyond a simplistic understanding that it is enough to just be on liberation road for an x amount of years, to reflecting on what has worked and is not working, so that improvements and changes of tactics can be made towards securing the overall objectives of reparations social movement organisations and social movements which are contributing to the goals of the ISMAR. This is not to disrespect or not recognise the contributions that have been made by stalwarts in the ISMAR but to utilise tried and tested methodologies that are proven to further the attainment of the goals of movements for social, economic and global justice, such as the ISMAR. It is also important to deepen our understanding of the rich interaction of education, learning, information-sharing, teaching and action; i.e. the wealth of reparations social movement learning that builds on: the ideas of all the various freedom and liberation movements, our community’s treasure house of community knowledge, as well as the contribution of scholar-activists and organic intellectuals who have gone before us, in the pursuit of a Post-Reparations world.

Some of the key points to note about learning in the ISMAR:

• Learning and action are dialectical processes
• Learning is multidimensional (for example, formal, informal, situated, activist, experiential, practical, spiritual, cognitive, ethical, emotional, socio-economic, political and cultural)
• When a reflective (self, organisational and group) educational dimension is incorporated into a social movement, the membership are more effectively mobilised to take action especially action which builds on, learns from the strengths as well as weaknesses of past efforts.
• Such learning can be evaluated by its impact and ability to transform frameworks of thinking, knowledge and action.

The ARTCoP (Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice) exists as a network to promote, advance learning and scholar activism on and for reparations. A Community of Practice is commonly understood to be a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. ARTCoP’s mission is to enhance grassroots community academic spaces for reparations scholar-activism.

For further info about ARTCoP see:

https://reparationsscholaractivist.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/450/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARTCoP-For-Reparations/532289696917403
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARTCoP4Repairs
Email: artcop.edu@gmail.com

References

[1] Hall B.L. & Clover D. E.(2006), ‘Social Movement Learning’, in R. Veira de Castro, A.V. Sancho, & P. Guimarães (Eds.), Adult Education. New Routes in a New Landscape, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, pp. 159-166.

Posted in: ARTCoP

Terms of Reference for the Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice (ARTCoP)

By reparationsscholar on | 1 Comment

ARTCoP logo

Background

A Community of Practice is defined as: “A group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” CoPs often focus on learning, sharing best practices and knowledge as well as creating new knowledge to advance a domain of political or professional practice. [1]

To that end, the purpose of the ARTCoP is to provide a much-needed reparations movement supported space for critical reflection as a basis for taking more effective strategic action by supporting members of the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations (ISMAR) and their allies to strengthen and improve their movement-building activities enabling them to learn from, compliment and collaborate with each other to achieve common reparations-related objectives and goals.

Rather than seeking to privilege what academics and those located within formal institutions of education ‘know’ and can ‘teach’ activists about how to wage successful reparations campaigns, the ARTCoP seeks to learn from and build upon the thought, lived experiences and activism of reparations workers, advocates, activists, campaigners, the ISMAR and Afrikan and Afrikan Diaspora communities at large, as co-producers of practical and theoretical knowledge relevant to effecting and securing reparatory justice.

ARTCoP Learning Methodology

ARTCoP It is being conducted within the action learning paradigm i.e. an approach to learning through experience and by doing in the quest of bringing about social change or solving or addressing real problems that involves taking action and reflecting upon the results. This means that the outcome of learning in relation to any reparations focused issues or cause is action, not simply learning and knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

Since learning takes place through taking action (to redress a situation or problem), action learning utilises tools and methods which are not only relevant to, but also promote the empowerment of Afrikan Heritage Reparations Communities of Interest. Action learning is an integral aspect of action research which seeks to change or improve a condition, system or practice and learn about this through changing or improving it. ‘Changing practice’ includes utilising the knowledge being co-produced for advancing reparations goals by improving and strengthening existing reparations campaigning and social movement-building initiatives and processes.

It is important to note that (1) there is a clear structure to the set meetings, and (2) that the ARTCoP group meetings are only part of the process. The other part is the testing out of the ideas in action, which happens in the time between the meetings. ARTCoP members help each individual in turn to reflect on the outcomes of their recent actions and develop ideas for overcoming obstacles to further progress.

Objectives of the ARTCoP

1. To help people organise around purposeful actions that deliver tangible results in advancing the ISMAR.

2. To enable participants in the ARTCoP to develop a shared understanding of the history, purpose and goals of the ISMAR;

3. To increase culturally competent and proficient reparations literacy amongst and between members of the ARTCoP. [2]

4. To facilitate the learning and the sharing of ideas, collectivised knowledge, information, experiences, expertise, research, strategies and resources among participants in the ARTCoP pertaining to the history and heritage of reparations thought, advocacy and activism;

5. To gain recognition in mainstream academia and amongst policy-makers of the knowledge and pedagogical practices being produced outside of formal educational institutions on reparations and to bridge the gap between these various knowledges;

6. To stimulate dialogue among and between members about the ISMAR’s past, present and future in order to explore new possibilities, solve challenging problems, and create new, mutually beneficial opportunities for advancing the goals of the ISMAR;

7. To report on progress and provide updates of reparations related projects, programmes and activities;

8. To support participants in the ARTCoP to develop various resources such as tools, documents, vocabulary and symbols that in some way carry the accumulated knowledge of the ISMAR.

The priority concerns of the ARTCoP are to:

1. Counter fragmentation amongst constituencies within the community of Afrikan reparations interest and reparations groups, networks and organisations by promoting understanding of the common grounds and shared goals between many reparations groups, organisations, campaigns and other social justice movements;

2. Promote open and honest discussions on the obstacles to integrating a reparations framework in the work of other social justice causes and movements;

3. Promote open and honest discussion of the obstacles to building a more inclusive ISMAR and existing reparations advocates, activists and allies working together more constructively.

Membership

The scope and purpose of ARTCoP shall be explained prior to inviting members to join so prospective members can self select on the basis of its relevance to them

The ARTCoP will include representatives from Communities of Afrikan and Afrikan Diaspora Reparations Interest, ISMAR members, participating organisations and any other stakeholders that have reparations interests, goals, and or objectives.

Role of Members/Participants

• To develop (negotiate) common perspectives, approaches, practices
• To share reparations related information
• To develop reparations focused methodologies
• To share insights on reparations related practice
• To consult each other on reparations related tasks, projects and programmes
• To collaborate on key reparations related tasks, projects and programmes
• To discuss their approaches
• To explore common reparations related issues
• To go beyond current practice to explore the cutting edge of reparations theory and       praxis, to innovate
• To create reparations focussed tools, methods, articles, online presence,
• To create reparations related publicity, promotional and educational documents
• To develop trust, mutual recognition of contributions and understanding.
• To develop processes for harnessing, generating and sharing reparations related knowledge outside the ARTCoP.

Operating Principles

The following operating principles indicate the conduct of the ARTCoP and are intended to assist members to clarify their expectations of each other and the community of practice.

1. Co-production of knowledge on or related to the cause of reparations is a fundamental operating principle of the ARTCoP
2. Every member is both a learner and teacher of reparations related knowledge in their respective field of experience, expertise or practice.
3. ARTCoP will promote Afrikan heritage knowledge systems, epistemologies of justice and repair in seeking to contribute to the building of the ISMAR and advancement of its goals.
4. Members can expect to encounter at least one new learning from each meeting.
5. Members will contribute regularly to the ARTCoP.
6. Appropriate levels of privacy and confidentiality will maintained within the ARTCoP.
7. Views expressed are those of individual/organisational practitioner members.

Coordination and Support

The ARTCoP will be Chaired by Jackie Lewis

Roles and Responsibilities (serves as a guide only)

Core group of up to 20 members.

Chair (one member)
• To provide oversight and guidance in steering the affairs of the ARTCoP and catalyse proactivity in steering the ARTCoP
• To be the Chief Spokesperson for the ARTCoP
• To ensure the ARTCoP is meeting its stated objectives
• To attend and normally chair ARTCoP meetings
• To facilitate group discussion to ensure that communication is appropriate and respectful
• To develop the agenda and objectives for each ARTCoP meeting.

Steering Committee (Up to 20 Members) Including:

1. Chair
Jackie Lewis

2. Co-Vice Chairs (not more than 4)
Esther Stanford-Xosei, Kofi Mawuli Klu (2 vacancies remaining)

3. Secretary
Simeon Stanford

4. General Members

1. Cecil Gutzmore
2. Olajumoke Sankofa
3. Kojo Bonsu
4. Jendayi Serwah
5. Prophet Jah B
6. Dr Barryl Biekman
7. Althea Gordon-Davidson
8. Oleye Gege
9. Kwame Adofo Sampong
10. Maatyo Dedo Azu
11. Mawuse Yao Agokor
12. Ametsitsi Kwasi Agoko
13. Anatina Abbasey
14. Xolanyo Yawo Gbafa

• Send out regular messages to ARTCoP members about the next meeting/activity.
• Recruit new members and manage membership
• Maintain various forms of learning and ARTCoP records
• Provide official statements on behalf of the group
• To manage and direct representation of the ARTCoP including media work and other public relations
• To post ARTCoP session recordings on nominated site
• To take and keep records as well as manage ARTCoP archives
• To plan and direct the organisation of various ARTCoP events
• To complete an attendance list of members and participants
• To develop an index of members identifying their areas of reparations related interest, knowledge and experience.
• To develop and publicise a community calendar of reparations related events.
• To identify training needs arising from community of practice meetings.
• To ensure that a summary of the ARTCoP meeting discussions are circulated to members within a reasonable time after each meeting.
• To ensure that meeting dates are publicised at least one month in advance.

The ARTCoP will be largely self-supporting as this is an indicator of their value to members and the wider ISMAR.
In this regard:

• Members will be encouraged to take an active facilitation role at meetings and other activities, and to share information and expertise and capture knowledge.
• Meetings and information sharing can draw from wherever the expertise lies, including within the group, from non-members and/or other agencies, and share this information as appropriate.
• An email discussion group will be set up to encourage member’s engagement and share expertise and information.

Unless otherwise agreed, any costs arising from activities under the ARTCoP will be borne by the Member or participant that incurs them, and will be subject to the availability of funds, personnel, and other resources.

Activities and Frequency of Meetings

Bi-Monthly in addition to any other events which advance the aims and objectives of the ARTCoP.

Evaluation of the ARTCoP

The ‘health’ and relevance of the ARTCoP will be evaluated by seeking regular feedback from members and periodically evaluating outcomes. Such evaluation will also facilitate identification of emerging issues. Evaluation will be timed to feed into planning cycles to ensure relevance to member’s needs and ISMAR priorities.

Evaluation will include:

• the level of participation in email discussion, presentations and meetings;
• the range of members involved;
• attendance at meetings;
• outputs achieved, such as better practice checklists and toolkits;
• how the above feed into reparations goals and outcomes.
• evaluation of the uptake and usage of these checklists and toolkits; and
• member satisfaction.

The ARTCoP Terms of Reference will be reviewed by members every 2 years, these TOR were last reviewed in March 2015.

For Further Info:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARTCoP-For-Reparations/532289696917403

Twitter: @artcop4repairs
Email: artcop.edu@gmail.com

References

[1] Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, & William Snyder, Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge(Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002).

[2] Reparations action learning literacy and development is about developing the ability to get something done rather than developing the ability to talk about getting something done. It is about moving from diagnosis and analysis to experimentation, action and implementation.

Posted in: ARTCoP

Self-Reflexive Questions for Researchers Working on and For Reparations

By reparationsscholar on | Leave a comment

who what (2)

1. What are your own motives for doing research on reparations?
2. Do you have a political affinity with the cause of reparations?
3. What is your own track record of working on or for reparations?
4. How do you as an academic, activist-researcher or a scholar-activist go about your research on reparations, what are the research methods you are utilising?
5. How do you determine the priorities/aims/goals for your work/research on reparations?
6. How are African heritage community perspectives included in your research? Do you have a participatory research design process?
7. What is the relevance of your work/research on reparations to African heritage communities?
8. What is the relevance of your research on reparations to the International Social Movement for African Reparations (ISMAR)?
9. What is your own knowledge about the history, purpose and goals of the ISMAR?
10. How do you know what you know about the ISMAR, whose knowledge/s and voices have informed your own?
11. How does your research encompass ISMAR goals, needs and priorities?
12. How does your research address the concerns of reparations movement activists?
13. What networks are you building with community organisations championing reparations causes or issues?
14. How is the knowledge that you are developing being constructed, disseminated and mobilised as a tool for effective reparations social action/community organising?
15. How is your work/research being used to support and inform reparations goals and outcomes/social change through popular organising?
16. Who owns your research on reparations and how?
17. Who/which organisational networks in the ISMAR are involved in vetting, monitoring and evaluating your research?
18. How are developments in your research being communicated? Is this being done in a way that is relevant or useful to the networks within the ISMAR?
19. How is your work/research being utilised or how can it be utilised by proponents of the ISMAR?
20. How do you know your research is making/will make a difference?
21. Are there researchers/ research projects at your place of work or operation that looks at the learning which takes place in ‘social movements’?
22. In your research methodology, do you assess the learning that is a result of participating in “social movement”?
23. In the research design is there a section that evaluates the learning of the participants in the social movement?

Prepared by Esther Stanford-Xosei for the ARTCoP (Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice. ARTCoP enhances grassroots community academic spaces for reparations scholar-activism.

A Community of Practice is commonly understood to be a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARTCoP-For-Reparations/532289696917403

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARTCoP4Repairs

Email: artcop.edu@gmail.com

Posted in: ARTCoP

ARTCoP- UCL Co-Production for The International Day for Reparations Related to Colonisation

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This is a link to the web page for the co-produced event by UCL in collaboration with ARTCoP (the Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice) which took place on 12th October 2014, the EU Day for Reparations Related to Colonisation

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/events/2014-15/empowering-african-people

Posted in: ARTCoP, Reparations Co-Production

Enriching Public Discourse – Empowering African People

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This Link provides a project summary of the ARTCoP (Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice) collaboration with the UCL (University College London) ‘Enriching Public Discourse – Empowering African People Project’

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/research/grants/2013-14/reparation

Posted in: ARTCoP, Reparations Co-Production | Tagged:

The ARTCoP: An Innovative Development in Community Engaged Research and Scholarship on Reparations

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ARTCoP logo text

An Introduction to the Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice
(ARTCoP)

The Afrikan Reparations Transnational Community of Practice (ARTCoP) was officially launched in February 2014. A Community of Practice is commonly understood to be a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

The ARTCoP is inspired by the groundbreaking PhD study undertaken by Esther Stanford-Xosei on ‘The Role of Afrikan Contributions from the UK in Charting the Historical Trajectory of the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations (ISMAR)’ as part of research in history at the University of Chichester. This research seeks to recover the marginalised histories and herstories of Afrikan and Afrikan Diaspora reparations thought, advocacy and activism in the UK. It is being conducted within the action research paradigm i.e. essentially research through action which uses research tools and methods which not only relevant to, but also promotes the empowerment of, the African reparations community of interest. Action research therefore seeks to change or improve a condition, system or practice and learn about this through changing or improving it. For the purposes of the research, ‘changing practice’ includes utilising the knowledge being co-produced for advancing reparations goals by improving and strengthening existing reparations campaigning and social movement-building initiatives and processes.

The aim of the ARTCoP is to provide a much-needed reparations movement supported space for critical reflection as a basis for taking more effective strategic action; by supporting members of the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations (ISMAR) and their allies to strengthen and improve their movement-building activities enabling them to learn from, compliment and collaborate with each other to achieve common reparations-related objectives. Rather than seeking to privilege what academics and those located within formal institutions of education ‘know’ and can ‘teach’ activists about how to wage successful reparations campaigns, the ARTCoP seeks to learn from and build upon the thought, lived experiences and activism of reparations workers, advocates, activists, campaigners, the ISMAR and Afrikan & Afrikan Diaspora communities at large, as co-producers of practical and theoretical knowledge relevant to effecting and securing reparatory justice.

Building on the intellectual tradition of scholar-activist and historian the late Walter Rodney, the ARTCoP advocates for an intellectual and political leadership of the ISMAR that is dedicated to the aspirations and empowerment of the masses; ‘grounds’ with the people on reparations; and that such ‘groundings’ will, as Rodney asserted, embrace the first and major struggle – the struggle over ‘ideas’ on reparations. One way in which ARTCoP seeks to achieve this is to harness and utilise the knowledge, expertise and researches of reparations focused grassroots intellectuals, academics and activist to challenge Eurocentric ideas, theories and visions of ‘repair’ in the process of advancing the goals of the ISMAR.

In addition, the ARTCoP seeks to bridge the divide between knowledge produced by establishment academics and policy-makers, which is more often than not, disconnected from realising the self-determined goals of the ISMAR, and the rich intellectual work and wisdom generated by those who have been involved in reparations social movement-building and organising processes at all levels. Despite the marginalisation of this knowledge and resultant prescriptions for action in educational institutions, such work has indeed laid an excellent political and intellectual foundation for the next phase of the movement for reparations.

This list of objectives and priorities are taken from the ARTCoP terms of reference:

Objectives of the ARTCoP are to:

• Enable participants in the ARTCoP to develop a shared understanding of the history of the ISMAR;
• Facilitate the learning and the sharing of ideas, collectivised knowledge, information, experiences, expertise, research, strategies and resources among participants in the ARTCoP pertaining to the history and heritage of reparations thought, advocacy and activism;
• Gain recognition in mainstream academia and amongst policy-makers of the knowledge and pedagogical practices being produced outside of formal educational institutions on reparations and to bridge the gap between these various knowledges;
• Stimulate dialogue among and between members about the ISMAR’s past, present and future;
• Support participants in the ARTCoP to develop various resources such as tools, documents, vocabulary and symbols that in some way carry the accumulated knowledge of the ISMAR.

The priority concerns of the ARTCoP are to:

1. Counter fragmentation amongst constituencies within the community of Afrikan reparations interest and reparations groups, networks and organisations by promoting understanding of the common grounds and shared goals between many reparations groups, organisations, campaigns and other social justice movements;
2. Promote open and honest discussions on the obstacles to integrating a reparations framework in the work of other social justice causes and movements;
3. Promote open and honest discussion of the obstacles to building a more inclusive ISMAR and existing reparations advocates, activists and allies working together more constructively.

ARTCoP has already built good links within other sites of knowledge production in academia by contributing to the University College London (UCL) ‘Preparation for Reparations’ Project led by Dr Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman http://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/research/grants/2013-14/reparation

Since the ARTCoP also operates a virtual network, participation is open to those who are outside of the UK. For further information about participating in and contributing to the development of the ARTCoP please email: E.Stanford-Xosei@chi.ac.uk or artcop.edu@gmail.com

For further info:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARTCoP-For-Reparations/532289696917403

walterrodneybust

“Black people are here in these institutions as a part of the development of Black struggle, but only as a concession designed to incorporate us within the structure. I use the term ‘guerrilla intellectual’ to come to grips with the initial imbalance of power in the context of academic learning. Going beyond the symbolism of the building, I’m thinking also of the books, the references, the theoretical assumptions, and the entire ideological underpinnings of what we have to learn in every single discipline. Once you understand the power that all this represents, then you have to recognise that your struggle must be based on an honest awareness of the initial disparity. And that’s how the guerrilla operates.”

Walter Rodney Speaks: The Making of an African Intellectual, 1990. pp. 111-112

Posted in: ARTCoP

Preparation for Reparations ???

By reparationsscholar on | Leave a comment

This is the text for an article that was written by Professor Alfred Brophy about the co-productive collaboration by ARTCoP and University College London.

The European Institute at the University College London is soliciting papers for a workshop scheduled for March 2015 that aims “to explore what political theorists can contribute to … preparation” for reparations claims.  They are looking for 1500 word essays by July 1 that will address one of three key questions:

  1. What is in need of repair? (‘Problems’)
  2. What is the case for repair / the reply to the case against repair? (‘Principles’)
  3. What should repair look like? (‘Policies’)

Cribbing now from their webpage:

This workshop is part of a longer-term, experimental project, aimed at the co-production of knowledge, by academics and activists who collaborate in their work on reparations. In this way, this workshop contributes to the recently established African Reparations Transnational Community of Practice (ARTCoP).  ARTCoP will help UCL develop its engagement with, and its accountability to, African heritage communities in London.  For this reason, a representative of UCL will provide ARTCoP with a monthly report on this project. This workshop is the first of three events helping to prepare this Community of Practice to engage with CARICOM’s claim for reparations from Europe.

The structure of this one-day-long MANCEPT workshop is to invite six ‘scholars’ and six ‘stakeholders’ to discuss the ideas of each participant and to air ideas about how, in future, we can work together. Following this MANCEPT workshop, if the participants are interested in continuing this work, they will be paired up to produce joint, or complementary, presentations, to be presented to the public, in December 2014, at a meeting funded by UCL’s European Institute. In March 2015, UCL’s Equiano Centre will host a one-day-long workshop, where the work—now revised in light of public scrutiny—can be presented to an academic audience, and where we can reflect critically on the process and methodology of the co-production of knowledge. We will seek to publish the results of this experimental process, in an online, open-source volume, with UCL Press.

More details are available at the webpage, “No reparation without preparation.”

As long-time readers of faculty lounge may recall, I am interested in the resurgence of reparations claims and I think this is yet another sign that there is a great desire to talk about the moral case for reparations.  It’s time, again, to reconsider reparations as well as some conceptual and legal problems in reparations.

http://www.thefacultylounge.org/2014/04/preparation-for-reparations.html

Posted in: ARTCoP | Tagged: ,

Are you interested in being part of an African Reparations Transnational Community of Practice?

By reparationsscholar on | Leave a comment

copdrawing

What is a Community of Practice? Communities of practice and issues of identity are universal and have always they have existed for as long as human beings have learned together. However, according to popular conceptualisations, a community of practice (CoP) is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share a cause, interest, profession or vocation. In a nutshell communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. They are held together by a common interest and are driven by a desire and need to share problems, experiences, insights, tools, and best practices. Communities of Practice can exist online, such as within discussion boards and newsgroups, or in life settings, such as at work, in a community group, or elsewhere. Rather than looking to learning as the acquisition of certain forms of knowledge by individuals, Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger maintain that learning is a process of social participation which takes place through a connection of interactions and understandings with others. It is also important to remember that a CoP is a strategy or approach, it is a way of participants working together with various stakeholders to achieve common and agreed goals in a manner that can be more beneficial than each member working in silos.

What are the advantages and benefits of working as part of a community of practice?
• Map knowledge and identify gaps in existing knowledge • Encourage knowledge sharing; open to both explicit (published) knowledge – articles, reports, websites, protocols and guidelines – and tacit (personal) knowledge gained through experience and reflection;

• Promote learning from previous mistakes and correction of movement-building weaknesses; • Support members to identifying solutions to key issues and challenges;

• Prevent duplication of reparations organising and campaigning efforts; • Facilitate connections and collaboration among reparations advocates, activists and allies.

Why an African Reparations Transnational Community of Practice (ARTCoP)?

As part of ensuring that my research is relevant to the ISMAR, in association with research participants, I am co-facilitating an African Reparations Transnational Community of Practice (ARTCoP). The ARTCoP is essentially an informal network for research participants and other interested stakeholders who share a an interest or passion for African reparations advocacy or activism and can be supported to share information knowledge and learning in order to strengthen or improve their reparations advocacy, campaigning or organising actions as they interact regularly. In fact, the pedagogical, understood as knowledge practices and learning processes, often takes a pivotal role in the emergence, development and sustainability of social movements and community struggles. Notably, building the ARTCoP consciously critiques the assumption that ‘knowledge’ is only generated only in academic institutions of learning such as universities. The purpose of developing the ARTCoP is to give recognition to all those involved in co-producing knowledge relevant to African reparations and then to facilitate processes for the effective use of this knowledge in the service of the International Social Movement for African Reparations (ISMAR).

What are the aims of the ARTCoP ?

• Provide a much-needed space for critical reflection as a basis for taking more effective strategic action by supporting members of the International Social Movement for African Reparations (ISMAR) and their allies to strengthen and improve their movement-building activities enabling them to learn from, compliment and collaborate with each other to achieve common reparations-related objectives;

• Enable participants in the ARTCoP to develop a shared understanding of the history of the ISMAR; • Facilitate the learning and the sharing of ideas, knowledge, information, experiences, expertise, research, strategies and resources among participants in the ARTCoP pertaining to the history and heritage of reparations thought, advocacy and activism;

• Gain recognition in mainstream academia and amongst policy-makers of the knowledge and pedagogical practices being produced outside of formal educational institutions on reparations and to bridge the gap between these various knowledges;

• Stimulate dialogue among and between members about the ISMAR’s past, present and future;

• Support participants in the ARTCoP to develop various resources such as tools, documents, vocabulary and symbols that in some way carry the accumulated knowledge of the ISMAR. On the basis of learning being gleaned and constructive engagements from research participants thus far there is a need for the creation of a reparations movement-related education, learning and reflection space which accompanies efforts to mobilise and organise constituencies within the community of African reparations interest, builds a clear reparations social change agenda, and prepares the constituencies to choose their targets, strategies and actions to bring about the changes or improvements sought.

In light of the above, the following have been proposed as priority concerns of the ARTCoP:

1. To counter fragmentation amongst constituencies within the community of African reparations interest and reparations groups, networks and organisations by promoting understanding of the common grounds and shared goals between many reparations groups, organisations, campaigns and other social justice movements;

2. To promote honest discussions on the obstacles to integrating a reparations framework in the work of other social justice causes and movements; 3. To promote honest discussion of the obstacles to building a more inclusive ISMAR and existing reparations advocates, activists and allies working together more constructively.

For further info about how you can contribute to building the ARTCoP please email: artcop.edu@gmail.com or E.Stanford-Xosei@chi.ac.uk ________________________________________ [1] Lave, Jean; Wenger, Etienne (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42374-0.; first published in 1990 as Institute for Research on Learning report 90-0013

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