1st Edition

Ubuntu and Youth Studies in Africa

Edited By Motsamai Molefe, Paul Michael Copyright 2026
218 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book considers how the African philosophy of Ubuntu can contribute to the study of the youth in Africa.   Reports from the United Nations indicate that by 2050, more than a third of young people in the world will be in or from Africa. However, most existing youth studies remain framed by Global North paradigms, creating a risk of generalising or globally universalizing the stage of life... Read more

Chapter 1: Introduction to Ubuntu and Youth in African Studies

Motsamai Molefe and Paul Michael

 

Chapter 2: An Ubuntu Conception of Youth as Becoming

Paul Michael

 

Chapter 3: Bildung and Ubuntu in Youth Development: Cultivating Relational Understanding Across Cultures

Zep Postma and Pius Mosima

 

Chapter 4: Youth Instrumentalism, deficit of Agency and Ubuntu in Africa

Dennis Masaka and Jonathan O Chimakonam

 

Chapter 5: Terrorism And Youth Vulnerability in Nigeria: The Imperative of Ubuntu Philosophy

Solomon Eyesan and Wesley Osemwegie

 

Chapter 6: New Youth Movements and the Rebirth of Ubuntu, Ujaama and Asuwada in Africa

Dorine Eva van Norren and Philip Ademola Olayoku

 

Chapter 7: Ubuntu and Asuwada Initiatives in Africa: Youth Crisis and Hopeful Antidotes

Dorine Eva van Norren and Philip Ademola Olayoku

 

Chapter 8: Social Order as Role Definition, Ubuntu as Interconnectedness and the Social Identity of the Youth as Nature or Nurture

Philip Ogochukwu Ujomu

 

Chapter 9: Ubuntu, Youth Employment, Capabilities and Vulnerabilities in the Dominant Liberal Socio-Political Order

Abieyuwa Ohonba

 

Chapter 10: Young graduates embracing an ubuntu ethic through giving back and leadership

Alude Mahali

Biography

Motsamai Molefe is an Associate Professor, University of South Africa, Graduate School of Business Leadership, South Africa, specialising in African philosophy, Ethics, and Governance. He serves as the Chair of Department: Intra-Africa Trade and Responsible Leadership.

 

Paul Michael is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Higher Education and Human Development (HEHD) Research Group, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He specialises in youth studies and their intersection with migration, education, cultural and decolonial studies from an African philosophical perspective.