For newcomers

Questions, answered plainly.

The questions most often asked on first encountering the Alliance — answered in the institution's own words, without persuasion.

The institution

What is the Sankofa Africa Alliance?: A permanent African institution built to recognise, connect, and compound African capability. It holds a Constitution, a Method, and a Canon, and it practises through seven Capability Domains.
Why 'Sankofa'?: Sankofa names the discipline of returning for what is already ours in order to move forward. The Alliance takes it literally: the future is built from capability that already exists on the continent.
Who governs the Alliance?: The Constitution is the highest authority; Stewards carry it in practice. A Steward Council responsible for admissions, editorial judgement, and the Canon is in formation, and its composition will be published when seated.

How is the Method different from a development framework?: A framework organises an intervention. The Method organises attention first: Listen, then Reclaim, Reorganize, and Multiply. It is applied without variation, and a programme is judged by what continues after it ends.
How does Sankofa measure success?: By multiplication: whether the pattern travels and continues without Sankofa present, and whether the community holds more capability, ownership, and evidence than when the work began.

Can our organisation work with Sankofa?: Yes, where the partnership leaves community ownership intact. Partnerships begin with a conversation about the question being asked, not the budget being spent. Write to the Alliance through the contact page.
Does funding shape what Sankofa studies?: No. A funder may support the work but may not set the question a programme asks. Where that boundary cannot hold, the funding is declined.
Why are some texts only in the Commons?: Summaries of every reading are public, so anyone can see what a work claims. Complete texts live in the Commons because they are read in dialogue — contested, annotated, and answered by Stewards.

How does someone become a Steward?: Stewardship is invitational. Sankofa invites those in whom it recognises the disposition the work requires. Anyone may register interest through the stewardship page; entry to the Commons is by invitation.
What does stewardship ask of a person?: To read before speaking on the institution's behalf, to test proposals against the Lens before agreeing to them, and to hand ownership back to the community — including the ownership of ending a programme.

A question that is not answered here is worth writing to us about. The Alliance keeps one institutional address.

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