The African Child as a Technological Citizen

Abstract

This paper examines the philosophical, political, and pedagogical foundations for conceptualizing the African child as a technological citizen. It proposes that the African child is not merely a beneficiary of technological advancement but a potential architect of Africa’s technological future. Drawing from African Technological Nationalism, Science and Technology Studies (STS), and postcolonial pedagogy, the paper advances a theory of childhood that imbricates innovation, speculative imagination, and civic scientific agency. The CHILD-AUTHOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (CADP) is presented as a pioneering institutional response to this reconceptualization. The paper situates the African child’s technological citizenship within broader debates in the philosophy of technology, global epistemic justice, and educational reform. It interrogates the colonial residue in African science and technology education, while proposing new institutional pathways for embedding speculative authorship and invention literacy into early childhood development. The work also critically engages with the political economy of African development, showing how child-centered technological citizenship can serve as a counter-hegemonic force against technological dependence. In doing so, it deepens the theoretical underpinnings of African Technological Nationalism while proposing practical mechanisms for its institutionalization through pedagogy, literary creation, and public policy.