5 THRIVE Edition 2 NAVIGATING THE JOURNEY OF BECOMING AN AFRICAN TOURISM SCHOLAR Prof. Tembi Tichaawa, Academic Head, Tourism “I am passionate about research that focusses on sport tourism events and tourism developmental issues in the pan African context”. An inaugural lecture represents a significant milestone in an academic’s career. On 16 August 2021, the University of Johannesburg hosted the Professorial Inauguration for STH Academic Head for Tourism, Professor Tembi Tichaawa. Prof Tichaawa’s ultimate strength lies in his ability to generate knowledge in the field of tourism development. He has managed to build bridges among continental universities where tourism development is promoted as an academic discipline. Since 2015 his focus has shifted towards turism related issues in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon and Botswana. These are all geared towards adding a pan-African dimension to tourism epistemologies, as well as to the UJ decolonisation agenda. Below is an exceprt of his lecture, titled: Navigating the Journey of Becoming an African Tourism Scholar Who is an African scholar? The past two decades has seen a major transformation in higher education and learning. Primarily, this transformation has been related to the need for increased African scholarship and the need to understand, and present, the African context. Indeed, there is an urgent need to move away from Eurocentric knowledge production and a Eurocentric worldview, which prevails on the continent as a consequence of the region’s colonial past. Additionally, it is essential to address and challenge the misconception of indigenous knowledge production as backwards, or primitive. According to Makgoba and Seepe (2004), the African scholar is one who addresses African concerns and aspirations, holds a sense of social responsibility and incorporates diverse views. When examining what, or who an African scholar might be, a simple explanation could be that they are African born, or an academic who has focused on decolonizing and reconfiguring knowledge (or disciplines) in order to reflect the African experience. This latter description is of particular significance within the tourism discipline owing to the importance of the sector for many African economies, and the positioning of tourism for economic growth and development. I believe that in order to truly grow and develop tourism in Africa, it is crucial to understand how the sector works within the African context, taking into consideration its social, economic and political dimensions. Quality African-centred tourism research is therefore imperative to inform policy and development. I pride myself on being an African scholar and contributing to the broadening
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