Otchiwo, Ondjango and Culture Circles: From Ovimbundu and Freirian Vital Experiences to Angolan Education. Experiencing Intercultural Dialogue as a Revitalisation of Action Research

Abstract

"This paper aims at reflecting on vital perspectives to think about the contemporary world, mainly the world of Education. Paulo Freire’s vision, expressed by the Culture Circles, has been analysed in this text in the light of complex challenges posed by the African/Angolan culture, namely the ondjango and the otchiwo. From this perspective, this study aims at detailing different pedagogies that are found in the three visions so that interfaces can be identified, and ways to a liberating Education in Angola can be proposed. Freire, Lukamba, Nunes, Kavaya and Altuna enable us to suggest dialogue as one of the vital perspectives exposed by this text: the Freirean, the ondjangian, and the otchiwian ones. All look at the world we face in everyday life, and at the world we face in schools; the task refers to reading the world and the word in search for freedom. Therefore, the dialogue, which is the core reference, is not only understood as a methodological perspective, but also as an ontological dimension of the human being." (author's abstract)