Philosophy and worldview

To get a good idea of Education4All, it's helpful to first look at the name. Education4All, education for all. You can therefore conclude from the name that it is a project that focuses on education and the transfer of knowledge. In addition, it is important that it actually transfers knowledge to everyone involved in the project. Since 4Watoto is active in both DR Congo and the Netherlands, Education4All focuses on exchanging knowledge and experiences in the two worlds. Precisely because 4Watoto is active in two countries, it is a great opportunity to make a connection here. 

Something that goes hand in hand with 'education for all' is making it available to everyone. Education is something that does not belong to any particular group, class or religion. Education and knowledge is universal and no distinction should be made in this regard. Whether this occurs directly or indirectly. 

Education therefore stands for knowledge, and there is more to it than that. Think for example of independence, self-reliance and self-reflection. By using education as a tool, certain systematic social problems can be tackled. Instead of temporary, dependent solutions, you are dealing with a permanent, independent approach through education. It is therefore an investment, which can take a long time. Once these change processes have been set in motion, we can speak of a snowball effect. The knowledge gained is passed on to the next group of youth and young adults. After which they do the same again. This makes a community independent. 

Education and knowledge means broadening the consciousness. As mentioned above, we are talking about themes such as self-reflection, independence, etc. But also a greater awareness of the surrounding world is incredibly valuable. The more you learn about that which is outside you, the more you actually learn about yourself. 

Nothing can be set up one-sidedly, this has to do with the lack of perspectives and insights. And for this reason, as many relevant groups and people as possible are involved in the project. The most important group of all are the children for whom programming is ultimately done. By involving them as actively as possible in the developments, we hope to produce relevant and recognizable educational material, which really fits and is not based on assumptions. Assumptions create noise, lack of clarity and unfounded assumptions. 

According to the Universal Rights of the Child, every child has a right to education. Whatever your background, story or situation. And this is where 4Watoto completely concurs.

At Education4All there are a number of core themes from which we work, and which are therefore also very important for the vision of the project. This will also give you a better idea of the actual motivations of the organisation and of this project in particular. 

Something that is very much in the foreground, and also fundamental to this project, is the creation of a greater awareness of various themes. One of these is understanding another person's world. Although we may be very different from each other, and may end up in a polarization because of this, we can also recognize and celebrate these differences. We believe that if this step is taken, we can focus together on further cooperation in which we can grow closer to each other. This growth can provide a lot of knowledge transfer. 

So this has a lot to do with making connections between different groups of people. And perhaps these different groups of people are not so different at all. After all, we are all human, with the same palette of emotions and feelings, whatever the external circumstances. 

Raising this awareness also causes people to look at each other with different eyes. This mutual understanding, cooperation and transfer of knowledge will influence the degree of equality we feel for another. 

To further promote these developments, we use education, as indicated earlier. Something that is universal, since no one stops learning and learning about life since the very first step. 

This education will be through what is called interaction, or interaction. In other words; reciprocal influence. For this project, this means that no one does anything for the other, but that we all work together. The department in DR Congo works together with the department in the Netherlands to promote this interaction and connection. We believe that this will lead to a greater understanding for each other. And what can come out of this, is that certain stigmas are broken, because we don't just look at the other from a distance, but work together.

A broader human and world view makes for a broader self-image. The more empathy and understanding you have for another, the more you will have for yourself. And vice versa, of course. The participants will reflect on themselves and their ideas and images about the world from the starting point of the group, as it were. And to what extent these ideas are conditioned by unfounded stereotypes.

At Education4All we are very focused and busy with education, but that does not mean that we only deal with theoretical themes. Topics such as self-development, collaboration, curiosity and even spirituality come into play as well. We are talking about the collective as well as the individual. A project with more than one perspective, as each participant and those involved bring their own ideas and emotions. And all of those are just as important as the other. 

Starting with yourself is very important. We believe very much in working from the bottom, up. And so this comes back to everyone involved. In Congo, the starting point will always be DR Congo itself, after which you reach out to the rest of the world. In the Netherlands we ask a great deal of self-reflection from the participants, which is both personal and environment-related. To achieve this, we want to work a lot from the philosophy of Pan-Africanism.

Pan-Africanism

Pan Africanism or Pan Africanism. The literal definition of the word, is as follows: 

"Pan-Africanism is a philosophy that gained ground during the African struggle for independence. Pan-Africanism holds that the African nation-state is a construct of the colonial powers and that all African countries as well as Africans living in the rest of the world must stand together to defend their interests in the world.''

Pan-Africanism, then, is, as it were, a philosophical movement that stands up for the African people. And that is not only those who live in the continent of Africa, but also outside of it. One word that we can actually link directly to Pan-Africanism is decolonization. 

Decolonization, in short, is freeing yourself from the European colonies. It was therefore a counter-reaction to colonization. Something that emerged at the end of the 18th century, and which we are still busy doing today. Decolonization is both a metal and physical process. Ultimately, it is a struggle for equality. 

It is important that we do this at all times in cooperation with the Congolese community. Without filling in things for each other, but by entering into an open dialogue together, we hope to further promote this connection. Exchanging knowledge and experiences are also very important here. 

And in this way we can also learn from each other, in an interaction. We do it together, in solidarity, and not only for ourselves, or only for the other. 

"No one can provide better solutions to our problems than ourselves," believes Oluwafèmi Kèmet Kochoni, national coordinator of the World Council of Pan Africanism for Benin. 

What is also said here is that Africans cannot fight this battle alone, given how big it is. So here we come back to solidarity again. Decolonisation and Pan-Africanism concerns us all, and is not a struggle designated to a specific group or part of the world.

Want to know more? 

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