“This volume brings together many thoughtful essays on one of the most important issues of our time: how can the almost 8 billion inhabitants of our diverse world, which has been largely shaped historically by European notions of competition, individual freedom, and capitalist power relations, can come together in more constructive, cooperative ways to build a better world society. The authors focus on the African concept of uBuntu as a useful philosophical structure on which to develop this new approach. The book poses a multi-faceted challenge to traditional Western globalist thinking.” – Martin Carnoy, Stanford University, USA“Decolonization demands epistemic, political and philosophical shifts in how we frame and practice education. uBuntu principles capture the foundations of southern theories and decolonizing methodologies, and justifies their relevancy for a world confronted by global pandemic, environmental catastrophes and nationalistic geopolitics. Through uBuntu, this text delivers a cogent framework for moral and values-based education. This is a recommended read for educators, students and leaders who pursue a socially-just and sustainable world.” – Juliana McLaughlin, Queensland University of Technology, Australia“The world is getting increasingly globalized stressing that one nation cannot prosper while others suffer. Peace and prosperity should prevail collectively in the entire world. This principle articulated as vasudhaiva kutumbakam in Vedic philosophy and as uBuntu in African culture is of paramount importance today. Towards this goal, education systems have to prepare children to become not just good citizens, but to become global citizens imbibed with rich eternal universal human values, taking the concept ‘global citizenship’ to an altogether higher pedestal than what is being commonly interpreted. The volume edited by N’Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba et al., consisting of fifteen chapters, is a rich, timely contribution on this theme and I am sure, scholars around the world would immensely benefit from reading it.” – Jandhyala B. G. Tilak, Council for Social Development, India“Comparative Education for Global Citizenship, Peace and Shared Living through uBuntu is one of those gemlike books distilled from a lifetime’s research and study. It brings together twenty leading scholars (most of them from Africa) to present a provocative and timely reckoning with what remains one of the central challenges of the modern world: how to live together in a rapidly changing, often divisive world. UBuntu’s core philosophy, ‘I am because we are’, is central to every chapter in this book. Whether they are discussing the rights of women, inclusive education, indigenous systems of knowledge, or life skills development, the authors acknowledge one’s humanity through the recognition of ‘the others’ in their unique and different selves. Drawing on the inaugural WCCES symposium held at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies, University of Johannesburg, in 2018, the book is dedicated to the memory of its Director, Professor Michael Cross. We miss and honor this scholar of remarkable intellectual power and social insight, who was a great friend of WCCES and UNESCO IBE. The WCCES remains a home for engaging many voices are still kept from fully entering the dialogue, and who lend the field a weight and force consistently informed by intellectual savvy and enlightening writing. I am happy to support the publication of this important book and to continue to grow our partnership.” – Yao Ydo, Director, UNESCO International Bureau of Education, Geneva, Switzerland
