Sankofa Political Studies
CCAF’s programme of lectures and study on African identity, history, philosophy and consciousness, since 2017/2018.
The Kheperian Awakening Programme
Know yourself. Reclaim your history. Transform your future.
Join CCAF on a journey into African identity, history, philosophy and consciousness. Explore ancestral wisdom, Ma’at and Sankofa while developing the knowledge and sense of responsibility needed to shape Africa’s future.
- Dates
- 13 November 2026 – 24 March 2027
- Course material
- The Kheperian Awakening Handbook
- Themes
- African history · Sankofa philosophy · Values and leadership · Personal agency
About Sankofa Political Studies
Sankofa Political Studies (SPS) is the foundation’s cultural and teaching programme. It offers courses and study materials on African history, philosophy and cultural practice, and on the founding documents of the African Union. SPS began in the 2017/2018 academic year in Rome.
Each edition is called a season and is organised in units, usually twelve lessons. Classes are taught in English, French and Italian, mostly by video conference, so that participants can join from anywhere.
The name comes from Sankofa, the Akan principle of going back to fetch what was left behind: learning from the past in order to build the future.
What SPS has studied
- Season I: Pan-Africanism, history and philosophy. The movement’s origins, thinkers and ideas.
- Season II: Principles and foundations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
- Season III: Bio-PANAF (2020/2021). The lives and works of African figures.
- Season IV: Pan-African Philosophy 1 (10 November 2021 – 25 May 2022). Lectures included “The so-called dependency complex of colonised peoples”, “The fact of Blackness”, and “Black music and the politics of authenticity”.
- Season V: Maatian Anthropology (2022/2023). With French lessons on the thought of Cheikh Anta Diop.
- 2023/2024: General History of Africa, volume II. Reading the UNESCO history of ancient Africa.
- 2024/2025: Epistemologies of the South. The Rome season opened on 25 October 2024 with a keynote by Prof. Mahougnon Sinsin, “Epistemologies of the South and the fading of knowledge: a cross-reading between Africa and Latin America”.
- 2025/2026: African Identity Lecture Series. Including “The power of the word: Nommo and creative utterance” (13 February 2026).
- 2026/2027: The Kheperian Awakening Programme. Registration open.
Lesson manuals and documents
Training manuals (PDF)
- Lesson 1: Maatian Anthropology
- Lesson 2: The Divine Images of Humans, part one
- Lesson 3: The Divine Images of Humans, part two
- Lesson 4: Perfectibility of Humans
- Leçon 1 : La pensée de Cheikh Anta Diop. Regards croisés
- Leçon 2 : La pensée de Cheikh Anta Diop. Regards croisés
- SPS timetable 2022/2023
- SPS programme 2018/2019
Founding documents (official sources)
- African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Union)
- Charter for African Cultural Renaissance (African Union, in English and French)
- The Manden Charter, proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga (UNESCO)
More books and records are in the Maktaba, the digital library.
Further reading in the library
- Kemet: ancient Egypt and the Nile Valley
- African philosophy and thought
- Pan-Africanism and liberation
- CCAF publications, including the Kheper Handbook
The organisers
Aleakwe OdiorCoordinator
Prof. Mahougnon SinsinProfessor of Philosophy and African Studies
Diarra BertinFinance
Aneke ChinosoSecretary
Register
Tell us which languages you can follow and we will send you the timetable and the link to each session. You can also write to sps@ccaf.africa.
Prefer to learn at your own pace? The Sankofa Academy offers self-paced courses with progress tracking.