This summer, Lagim Tehi Tuma/Thinking Together, the action research program Bryn Mawr co-leads, will celebrate its tenth anniversary with special projects and a new partnership
Lagim Tehi Tuma (or LTT) facilitates an international threshold across various higher education institutions and grassroots organizations in the Northern Region of Ghana to reconceptualize education with global Black liberation at its center. Working with university partners including Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, the University for Development Studies, and Lincoln University, LTT sustains a platform for collaborative thinking through inquiry research, critical language and cultural arts engagement, and internships within community-powered organizations, and through engaging Black studies to open questions about intervening in the colonial frameworks of dominant education systems and fostering movement toward just and thriving futures.
This summer, as student fellows intern in early childhood education, computer literacy, and community radio, they will connect this work with language and cultural learning as they carry out personal research projects. These inquiries will be published in a tenth anniversary yearbook as students also collaborate with LTT’s Scholar-in-Residence on pieces for a range of audiences. A new collaboration with Community College of Philadelphia’s programs in Black Studies and International Education will create additional thought partnership among students in what is emerging as a Philadelphia-area and Ghana-based Black Studies consortium. 6 students based in Ghana will participate in LTT in person, while US-based students, 4 from Bryn Mawr and 3 from Lincoln University, will participate remotely, using a mix of media in what has been a successful model for the past two summers. Hopefully, next summer in-person work across the board is ahead!
As part of the tenth year observances, LTT has been engaging program alum, now numbering 80, in reflection on its path and way forward. This summer, that discernment process will continue, as program alum consult with current students and program leadership on the vision to sustain this work. It is noteworthy that the alum group is itself such an international group, with capacity to connect with shared purpose across Ghana, the US, and a range of countries they call home, including Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, aChina, Indian, and Pakistan.
LTT grew out of one of the first 360 clusters, “Learning and Narrating Childhoods,” back in 2012. The original 360 cluster allowed the seed of the program to germinate by providing interdisciplinary and global approaches to the subjects of education and child development, and their bases in language, literacy, and culture. The program has since upheld these interests, working to balance academic research and perspectives with experiential learning and expertise.
