The voices of African children

Abstract

African children exhibit immense creativity in overcoming the challenges of digital participation. Those children who go online embrace many opportunities but also face specific cultural risks. These include ‘cultural amnesia’ (Mazrui, 2013) and ‘homelessness’ (Khosravi, 2011). Some children can find it difficult to reconcile their cultural identity with their digital identity. This chapter explores how African sociocultural theories and principles of Ubuntu and Asuwada influence the way children participate in online environments. Examining how socioeconomic and technological challenges limit African children’s engagement with information communication technology, the chapter concludes with a range of suggestions to support African children’s digital agency.