Decolonising technology in digitizing indigenous games

Abstract

This paper aimed to conserve and digitise indigenous games, making them accessible online, in order to harmonise cultural traditions with modernity. The majority of contemporary youth are exposed to Western entertainment that contradicts African values and traditions. Certain games have had a detrimental impact on society, leading young people to engage in acts of violence, sexual promiscuity, and even self-harm. African youth in pre-colonial times acquired moral principles through instruction from communal elders, who imparted these lessons through the use of moral games. This study contends that the process of digitization can be employed in conjunction with conventional means of knowledge dissemination and conservation to address the void in a societal context where cultural customs are diminishing. The significance of elders, relationships, and the corpus remains paramount. The study aimed to find an Afro-centric approach to digitise traditional games for educational entertainment. The study centred on the Sankofa and Diffusion of Innovation theories. The study employed qualitative case study research methodology to achieve its objective. Information was collected through a document survey. The data underwent thematic analysis. The paper investigated decolonial approaches to safeguard games via social media, applications, and websites. The study concluded that qualitative methodologies are necessary for determining the optimal and economically efficient technologies. Additionally, it emphasised that decolonization necessitates the establishment of alternative knowledge systems to challenge the dominance of Western and Eurocentric epistemology.