Changes and crises in West Africa: what if culture was the solution?

Faced with the political crises and profound changes that are shaking West Africa, Professor Mamadou FALL of Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar proposes a bold way forward: Move culture from mere scenery to a key driver of societal refoundation. A powerful vision to rehabilitate endogenous knowledge and build a sovereign future.
As West Africa goes through decades of turbulence marked by political crises, identity tensions and persistent marginalization globally, a nagging question remains: Where is the key to true sovereignty?
For Professor Mamadou FALL, the answer lies not only in the political or economic spheres, but in an area that has been underestimated for too long – Culture. During the inaugural conference on “Political changes and crises in West Africa – What can culture do?” “, held on December 1, 2025, as part of the first edition of the West African Festival of Arts and Culture (ECOFEST), he delivered a top-notch lecture rich in impactful messages.
Addressing a discerning public including the Senegalese Secretary of State for Culture, Creative Industries and Historical heritage, Mr. Bakary SARR, the Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), PR Fatou sow SARR, and Mr. Mamadou Diakité, in charge of Human development Department at UEMOA Commission, professor FALL called for a true Copernican revolution, urging people to “move out of the Western sponge” to rehabilitate the creative power of African heritage.
Alienation as a fact
Professor FALL’s diagnosis is uncompromising. For too long, African cultures have been perceived and studied through the distorting lens of Western perspective.
He laments the fact that “our languages, rituals, myths, proverbs and arts have been reduced to ethnographic documents, objects of study rather than legitimate sources of knowledge, rights, philosophies or sciences”.
This vision not only shaped the dominant narrative on the continent, but was also internalized by some of its elites, leading to a form of alienation. By neglecting their own production of meaning and values, African societies have deprived themselves of an essential lever, fueling “underdevelopment, marginalization and conflicts.”
The Senegalese academic emphasizes that “a cultural tradition is not a subject museum, but a movement in three stages: An initial creative action, a collective commitment that becomes institutionalized, and a cumulative interaction”.
To reverse this trend, Professor FALL insists on the need to redefine culture itself. Far from the static image of a backward-looking folklore, he conceives it as a dynamic process, a “three-stage movement”.
It all begins with a creative spark, which then spreads within a community to finally become the foundation of new creations. It is this creative interdependence that gives culture its power to act profoundly “on chains of meaning, on shared values and on imaginations”.
The three levers of the refoundation
To move from vision to action, Professor FALL identifies a mission for what he calls the ” generation of the refounders of cultures “. This new generation must rely on three strategic levers to re-anchor Africa in its own historical and cultural trajectory.
First lever – refocus cultural production on everyday life. This consists in valuing the places where meaning, sacredness and beauty are created in the life of communities, considering West African cultures as a living heritage and not as a mere scenery.
Next lever – reinstall the shared history dimension. The challenge is to write the history of the continent from its own temporal perspectives, not as a succession of episodes linked to European history. This means recognizing myths and cosmologies as legitimate thought frameworks when conceiving the future.
Final lever – build intercultural skills. This third lever consists in articulating science, arts and modern technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, to give universal visibility and validity to knowledge produced in Africa. The goal is for the continent to become a “ coproducer of meaning ” on the world stage.
Concrete tools for a connected future
Professor FALL’s proposal is not just an intellectual manifesto; it is accompanied by concrete and resolutely modern tools. It advocates the creation of “large historical and cultural databases” in each country, compiling archives, manuscripts, life stories, epics and hard and soft heritage. These massive corpuses would serve to train “ digital tutors ” or chatbots, capable of making this knowledge accessible to all, in both local and international languages.
Artificial intelligence is no longer seen as a threat, but as  an “instrument of hermeneutics”, a means of making all voices audible, mapping social dynamics and reopening the paths of the past. This alliance between tradition and cutting-edge technology is at the heart of his vision.
” It’s about building strong bridges between academic knowledge, endogenous knowledge and community reality,” he says.
Beyond digital tools, Professor FALL highlights the contribution of powerful legal and economic instruments. “Collective marks” and “geographical indications” are presented as strategic tools for transforming cultural identity into a shared economic power.
By protecting the origin and quality of products or knowledge anchored in a given territory (whether pastoral products from the Sahel, artisanal techniques or ritual practices), these labels reinforce community identity, create value and rebuild historical ties fragmented by colonial borders.
Cultural tourism structured around these brands then becomes a driver of sustainable development, creating authentic “itineraries, festivals, markets and community experiences”.
The return of the vernacular
In conclusion, Professor Mamadou FALL’s message sounds like a vibrant call for optimism and action. He asserts that ” the great revolution of our time is the unexpected return of the vernacular to public sphere .”
Languages, aesthetics and local references are regaining dignity and visibility, driven by new technologies that enable their widespread dissemination.
In a world searching for meaning, the richness of West African cultures is no longer a relic to preserve, but a vital resource to invent the future.
A future where West Africa, strengthened by its rehabilitated heritage, no longer suffers history but co-writes it, in full control of its means and imagination.