From Orality to Digital Assets: Managing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa in the Wake of the Open Science Movement

Abstract. "A need to manage and preserve indigenous knowledge is widely recognised. This is because it is understood to have the potential to promote sustainable development while also preserving indigenous peoples' rights, interests, and cultural identity. To understand the challenges of preserving and integrating digitized indigenous knowledge into open science platforms, a qualitative study was carried out. The study's theoretical underpinnings were based on the ideas that data must be discoverable, accessible, interoperable, and usable (FAIR) and that indigenous people have the power to control their data and the duty to disclose how it is used to advance and defend their rights and general well-being (CARE). The data were analysed thematically. The results demonstrate that indigenous knowledge is stored in separate databases at institutions in various countries. Additionally, there was no standardization in the organizations that were collecting the metadata. Because of a lack of metadata, the digital divide, and poor digital and indigenous librarian abilities, indigenous knowledge and data were practically inaccessible and unfindable. In the aftermath of the digital revolution and open research, this article brings a new viewpoint to the conversation about maintaining indigenous knowledge in sub-Saharan Africa."