Young Families

Gender, sexuality and care

Capital cities today remain central to both nations and states. They host centres of political power, not only national, but in some cases regional and global as well, thus offering major avenues to success, wealth and privilege. For these reasons capitals simultaneously become centres of 'counter-power', locations of high-stakes struggles between the government and the opposition.

Dominant narratives of philanthropy often portray Africans as mere recipients of aid, usually from well-endowed, Western almoners – the West distributing charity to impecunious Africans. The contributors to this volume turn this argument on its head and ask: what about the beneficent spirit of multitudes of Africans whose acts of generosity sustain millions of their compatriots?

This volume is unique in that it illuminates research on philanthropy in Africa by using case studies and ethnographic material to examine a number of themes: cycles of reciprocity among black professionals, social justice philanthropy, community foundations, ubuntu and giving in township and rural settings. Leading thinkers on normative aspects of philanthropy in Africa also critically explore the theories, perspectives and research on philanthropy. This well-researched book will be an invaluable resource to foundations, civil society organisations, researchers, policymakers and students of patterns of giving in South Africa.

This book discusses the contributions of African thinkers and actors to what Paul Tiyambe Zeleza calls recentering Africa in discussions about major African phenomena. It makes an input into ongoing debates about what it means to decolonise knowledge; the university; the school; the library; the archive; and the museum.

With increasing numbers of computers and diffusion of the internet around the world, localisation of the technology and the content it carries into the many languages people speak is becoming an ever more important area for discussion and action. Localisation, simply put, includes translation and cultural adaptation of user interfaces and software applications, as well as the creation and translation of internet content in diverse languages. It is essential in making information and communication technology more accessible to the populations of the poorer countries, increasing its relevance to their lives, needs, and aspirations, and ultimately in bridging the digital divide. Localisation is a new and growing field of inquiry. This book identifies issues, concerns, priorities, and lines of research and is intended as a baseline study in defining localisation in Africa and how it is important for development and education in the long term. Techies, geeks, P2P experts, etc. as well as researchers and development organizations, this book is for you.