Memory Kachambwa on knowledge justice in Africa

What would a decolonized internet look like in the African continent? How do African feminists reimagine and want to rethink what the web feels, sounds, and reads like?

In this conversation with Kerubo and Youlendree, Memory Kachambwa, executive director at the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), reflects on the erasure of African women’s perspectives and contributions, what decolonization means, and the need to center African stories and imaginations in the digital space.

As Memory points out, the internet as we know it is far from neutral.

We need to start really thinking: what are we consuming? Why are we being fed what we’re being fed? Where are the women? Where are the African women, where are the women of color? Where are the voices – who are they?

She brings some of her learnings and musings from the sessions held at Decolonizing the Internet, East Africa, and what the convening meant for her.

For me, what I like about it is: we’re doing something. You know, it’s beyond just doing a protest, but I think it is how we move forward saying ‘yes, we’re going in, we’re going into Wikipedia, we’re going in, we’re going to change’ [...] If we want to have solutions, this is what the solution should be like, and then we code it, and then we use it.