“What exactly are we talking about when we talk open access? Open access to what knowledge? Open access to whose knowledge? To think through those questions, to ask those difficult questions, decoloniality therefore provides a necessary framework. It provides an overarching frame within which we can think how universities can reclaim ownership of knowledge that they generate. In thinking about that, it is therefore important for us to recast the research agenda.”
These were the probing words of Professor Innocent Moyo, Deputy Dean: Research and Internationalisation in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering during his opening remarks at the Open Access Week Seminar.
Held recently at BON Hotel, Empangeni, the seminar was hosted by the University of Zululand (UNIZULU) Library. The event took place under the thought-provoking theme: Who Owns Our Knowledge?
The event brought together leading scholars and researchers to interrogate questions of intellectual ownership, accessibility and the decolonisation of knowledge in higher education. Among the dignitaries in attendance were Prof Siphamandla Zondi, Director of the Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Prof Sipho Seete, Higher Education Consultant and Prof Setono Ntwape, from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
Delivering the keynote address, Prof Zondi posed a series of thought-provoking questions to the audience.
“What do you mean by access? Access by who, for whom? Why should there be special access to certain people, not complete access to everybody, anywhere? Why is this subject to certain limitations? Who decides to do limitations? Neither the writer nor the reader for knowledge. There’s somebody in-between who decides. Who gave them power?”
Expanding on this, Prof Zondi highlighted the contradictions of open access. He noted: “The digital [commons] that we use for open access are owned, so when we talk about this open access and then you realise that the platforms that you use for opening access belong to the one who closes the access, then you realise we have been dispossessed of our knowledge.”
He further urged scholars to invest in community-based platforms and to invent systems that serve African realities, arguing that without such innovation “we are affirming that only Europeans can invent”.
After Prof Zondi’s keynote address, Prof Seepe further developed the discussion by exploring how decolonial education can empower Africans to challenge inherited systems of thought and reclaim intellectual sovereignty.
Expanding on the discussion, the professor spoke about the deeper connection between education and liberation, noting that decolonial education must encourage critical questioning of systems and motives. He explained that genuine transformation requires asking who benefits from concepts such as equality and affirmative action, and in whose interests they operate.
Prof Seepe warned that the struggle for cultural independence will be far more challenging than past political struggles, arguing that many of Africa’s challenges stem from the lingering influence of colonial education systems. Quoting Steve Biko, he reminded the audience that “the greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”, stressing that true emancipation begins with reclaiming the African mind.
Adding to the discussion, Prof Ntwampe, emphasised the need for African scholars to take an active role in designing systems that ensure the credibility and visibility of their research. He highlighted that open access should not only focus on availability but also on maintaining integrity in the review process and ownership of data.
As the seminar drew close to an end, participants revisited the core questions— Why open access? How do we uphold the integrity of the review process? The consensus was that universities ought to think critically about how openness can coexist with quality and authenticity.
– Ntombezinhle Zwane
Pictures: Xolani Ncube
Captions
Pic 1: Prof Siphamandla Zondi, Director of the Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg.
Pic 2: Prof Sipho Seete, Higher Education Consultant.
Pic 3: Professor Innocent Moyo, Deputy Dean: Research and Internationalisation in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering.
