WAKAFRICA

WAKAFRICA is an international space for exchange, mutual learning, and co-creation between African civil society actors and their partners. Each year, it brings together around thirty participants — representatives of member organizations, popular education activists, technical and institutional partners — around a program combining training sessions, participatory workshops, community immersions, and cultural activities.

The project is rooted in a decolonized approach to Global Citizenship and Solidarity Education (GCSE), one that values African endogenous knowledge, strengthens South-South cooperation, and promotes more balanced and equitable partnerships between organizations from the Global South and the Global North.

The name WAKA comes from the Mooré language and means “come” — an invitation to gathering, dialogue, and collective action. The project is designed as an annual event hosted each year in a member country of the Urunani Network. This itinerant format reflects the very essence of the network: traveling across the continent, grounding exchanges in diverse local realities, and showcasing the cultural and intellectual richness of each host territory. Each edition is coordinated by Urunani’s national focal point in the host country.

Each edition combines thematic workshops (social and solidarity economy, social entrepreneurship, South-South cooperation), self-managed spaces proposed by national delegations, field visits to local initiatives, as well as cultural activities that encourage the discovery and promotion of the host country’s heritage. The gathering systematically concludes with a collective capitalization session aimed at consolidating learning outcomes and outlining future perspectives for collaboration.

Objectives

General Objective
To contribute to strengthening equitable cooperation dynamics and Global Citizenship and Solidarity Education practices among civil society actors through a shared space for exchange, learning, and co-creation.

Specific Objectives

• Strengthen the capacities of member organizations in decolonized GCSE approaches and methodologies adapted to African contexts.

• Promote intercultural dialogue and the sharing of popular education practices among civil society actors from different countries.

• Collectively analyze the power relations that shape international cooperation dynamics, and promote partnership models based on equity and reciprocity.

• Encourage the emergence of collaborative initiatives and joint projects between member organizations of the network and their partners.