Workshop:

The relationship between tradition and modernity has been a central theme of postcolonial African philosophy. While African philosophers have examined this theme from many angles, several basic questions have become the focus of ongoing debate and discussion: What is the relevance of indigenous African traditions to the challenges of contemporary life? Do traditional modes of thought and behavior constitute resources or impediments to the projects of development and modernization in Africa? What, precisely, is meant by the terms “development” and “modernization” when they are used in reference to African countries?

Author: Jay A. Ciaffa, Gonzaga University, USA

First of all, even though the context is different from the African one, Haiti still need to be inspired by the « African Renaissance » approaches that could impact positively the country.

African languages promotion in the « african renaissance » perspective should stimulate a real promotion of Haitian creole associated with many international languages fluency as it is practiced in Africa with french, english, portuguese and spanish.

However the « African renaissance » success will allow Africa to become a world actor and then impacting Haiti fundamentaly: in fact this will help overcome complexes in Haitian soul and Haitians will be proud to see the continent moving forward. And this will help Haitians overcome past embarrassment for coming from a poor and wild continent.

Ecological concerns appear recently as a fashion phenomenon moreover a later conscience expression about humanity progress. To control nature in the benefit of economic growth was considered as the condition for human societies development and this was also allowing scientific and technological progress. But with the universal awareness about the necessity to protect environment, this euphoria will experience a decline. In fact degradation of the planet major natural balances, genetic diveristy erosion, scarcity and disparition of living species, mineral resources overexploitation and other are pushing mankind to a reactive awareness in order to generate a new problematic in its relationship to nature; in short a fundamental approach open in an econsystemic relation perspective between subject and object.

In Africa local representations about environment include social, human and legal issues that make western distinctions between nature and culture inadequate to understand african conceptions of relationship between people and environment.The current reflexion is based first of all on the failure report we already underlined briefly but is also based on a new approach regarding sustainable development which is explaining first the scientific foundation of environmental law and secondly african cultural representations of environment management.

The tradition-modernity greffe did produce only hybrid outcomes and do not even satisfy those who have mostly access to material properties. What ones wins is it worth than what ones loses? There is a permanent social off balance caused by the stacking of two different civilizations who despite multiples bridges are not very well integrated. Apparently there is no posssible symbiosis. While in the same field one is moving up, the other is receding despite a strong resistance. We are going to observe how traditon is surviving in modern cities. This is the « values ruse » which is trying express itself in many types of social and religious organizations (mbootay or Dahira). Needs of reunions or simple nostalgia of cummunity life which foundations were destroyed? Is our world going to change its foundation? As it is said in Senegal if culture is at the beginning and at the end of development, we need to create adequate structures to our life, society and community development conception. Is there any strategy to cut off with status quo and lead to an indigenous and community development?

The article is proposing to analyze law reappropriation manners used by populations in Senegal by focusing on land access in urban area, in the city of Saint-Louis. Reappropriation of urbanism law codes and city space management goes hand in hand with french legal system reception. State model legitimation has started during colonial period when individual and exlcusive land use has been implemented by colonial authorities. Even though traditional conceptions still have a great importance in land access in the city, populations are also using state legal system for official approval of their right to occupy land. Then the senegalese legal system model is competing traditional modes of land access.

Joking relationships are a social phenomenon that characterized human relations. As we have in many societies and civilizations exchanges and hierarchies between family members, we also have relationships between members of different clans. These types of relationships have been experienced in many african societies for many puposes. Most of them are expressing religious, military, economical and judiciary relations inside families, clans or between allied groups.

The paper is advocating for a comeback to a usual practice of joking relationships as it was in ancient african societies.

1- What is the historical area covered by this type of conflict resolution in the african continent in general and especially in West Africa.

2- Joking relationships constitution and their evolution in the long run.

The document is published after a workshop organized in 1998 in the city of Kankan(Guinea Republic)by traditional communicators mostly known as the « griots ». It is presenting the 44 articles of the Mande Charter, the so-called Kurukan Fuga charter create in 1236 after the Kirina battle.

It is a kind of declaration regarding citizens rights and responsabilities in a new political order.

This article summarizes the desirability of the emergence of a rule of law that recognizes the need to create consensus among « the formal     » and « informal     »,diverse African cultures.This article is inviting us to a law invention exercise.

How to rebuild african state by learning lessons from the blindness caused by the homogenizing temptation of the imported nation-state model also by the colonisation implemented state perpetuated by postcolonial powers and international institutions. Lessons need to be learned too from the consubstantial deficiencies of decentralization policies conception during the 90s.

How precisely can the african state be institutionalized? Answering to these questions is the ambition of this notebook of propositions.

The Alliance for Rebuilding Governance in Africa is explaining its vision of the nation-state in Africa identity as a citizens community but also as peoples community; statehood truly characterized by a social diversity historically resisting to postcolonial states frontiers. This diversity commands pluralism to be the principle that gives sense to quest of unity; and it express itself and thrive particularly at the local level.

The identity of the Nation-State, the principle of pluralism and local territories are brought together in an approach to governance that hopes to rebuild the African State through three major proposals :

accept pluralism and translate it into a new engineering of local institutions that reflects the diversity of powers and their foundations ;

accept pluralism and allow the diversity of local territories and powers be reflected in a reconstructed constitutionalism

and, finally, put pluralism to work organising law and justice by creating bridges between State and extra-State normative orders. In particular, and by way of example, social mediation could be accepted as an official system for resolving conflicts.