Cultural heritage tourism is a vital sector that fosters cultural preservation, economic development, and intercultural exchange. However, the industry faces significant challenges, including sustainability, authenticity, and visitor engagement, necessitating innovative approaches to remain competitive. This paper explores the nature of stakeholder collaboration in driving innovation within cultural heritage tourism, with a specific focus on Zimbabwe. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as Stakeholder Theory, Collaboration Theory, Innovation Theory, Sustainable Tourism Theory, and Institutional Theory, the study highlights how multi-stakeholder engagement can enhance site management, visitor experiences, and sustainable development. Through a systematic literature review of 100 peer-reviewed journals published between 2000 and 2025, the paper identifies key stakeholders, including local communities, government agencies, private sector players, and international organizations, and examines their roles in fostering innovation. The review prioritized studies focusing on cultural heritage tourism, stakeholder collaboration, and innovation. The findings of this paper illuminate the transformative potential of digital technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), in overcoming infrastructural deficits and enhancing visitor engagement. It also underscore the importance of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and inclusive policy frameworks in mobilizing resources and ensuring equitable benefits for local communities.

Background: The escalating frequency and severity of climate extremes, such as floods and droughts, are projected to exacerbate the burden of malnutrition. This issue is particularly pronounced among vulnerable populations, including children under five years of age and pregnant women, wherein malnutrition may be further aggravated by the prevalence of culturally ingrained food taboos. While food taboos are often instituted with the intent of safeguarding the health of specific demographic groups, they may also restrict the impose restrictions on the consumption of essential nutrients, thereby impeding optimal growth and development. Aims: This study aimed to explore the relationship between culturally ingrained food taboos and the nutritional status of mothers and children. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted across a range of electronic databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Semantic Scholar. Following the removal of duplicate entries and the application of pre-defined inclusion criteria, a total of 45 articles were selected for comprehensive analysis. The methodological rigor of the included studies was appraised using the AMSTAR checklist. Results: The earliest article identified within this review was published in 1994. The majority of the studies were conducted in African countries (24), followed by Asia nations (15). Food taboos predominantly involved plant-based sources (13 articles), with animal-based food sources also frequently subject to prohibitions. Of the reviewed articles, 62.2% focused on women of childbearing age, while six articles specifically addressed children. Notably, only two studies incorporated anthropometric measurements to establish a direct association between food taboos and nutritional outcomes. Conclusion: Although scholarly inquiry into the intersection of food taboos and maternal and child nutrition has witnessed expansion in recent years, there remains a critical need for more exhaustive studies that employ anthropometric measurements to elucidate the impact of food taboos on nutritional status. Such research would yield more definitive insights into the effects of food taboos on nutritional well-being and inform the development of targeted interventions to address this issue. Keywords: Culture, Taboos, Women, Child nutrition, Malnutrition.

This paper discusses the reasons behind the popularity of hadza lezembgwe (pearl millet thick porridge) among the Kalanga people. It explains what the product is and why some urban restaurants fail to produce it in the way it is preferred by the Kalanga people. The study was done within the dictates of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Therefore, the studyaims to raise awareness of this important intangible cultural heritage elementwhile alerting the impacted community to the need to ensure its survival for their benefit and that of future generations. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The researchers travelled to two districts, Bulilima and Mangwe, in the province of Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe, where most Zimbabwean Kalanga are found. Analysis was then done within the framework of the critical heritage theory, a theory that demonstrates how rethinking heritage beyond fixed monuments opens up avenues to challenge structures of power and promote living cultures. It was established that the processing of pearl millet into gwisa (pearl millet flour) and setje (finer pearl millet samp) is the most important part of producing this special type of hadza. The study concludes by making recommendations that these traditional preparation skills be documented and safeguarded in line with the requirements of the 2003 UNESCO Convention.

This chapter argues that there is a sustained onslaught on epistemologies and identities of the inhabitants of the Global South through the hegemony of Western ways of knowing through the promotion of globalization. It posits that peddling this myth sustains Western epistemological hegemonies that have perpetuated and sustained the extirpation of those of the Global South. Through these subtle weapons of mass destruction, the researchers observed that most formerly colonized Indigenous communities have lost their identities and cultures. They further contend that scholarships by the countries in the Global North, including the new geo-political arrivants China and Russia continuously pummel and destroy indigenous identities under the guise of building relationships. Through these observations, the chapter accentuates the observation that while people are not being decimated physically, this occurs subtly. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of embracing and harnessing all epistemologies to build better more sustainable and resilient communities.

This research explores the integration of Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) into Community-Based Tourism (CBT) strategies in Botswana, emphasising the critical role of sustainable tourism practices in preserving natural resources while enhancing social well-being and economic benefits for local communities. By evaluating current CBT initiatives, the research identifies key ESG principles that can enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of these programs. Through case studies and stakeholder interviews, the research highlights successful examples and challenges in implementing ESG frameworks within the tourism sector. The findings suggest that a process management-oriented approach to governance that incorporates community involvement, environmental stewardship, and socio-economic development is essential for the long-term success and resilience of tourism in Botswana. This approach significantly contributes to developing a community participatory framework for sustainable tourism development in the country, ensuring that local communities are active participants in decision-making processes and benefit equitably from tourism activities

The study investigates the impact of Indigenous data governance principles on managing Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous communities possess rich knowledge systems that are crucial for sustainable development and community well-being. However, managing this knowledge faces challenges, including inadequate data governance frameworks that fail to align with Indigenous values, protocols and ownership rights. This research explores how integrating Indigenous data governance principles into knowledge management practices enhances cultural autonomy, strengthens community resilience and fosters sustainable development. Drawing on a qualitative methodology including web content analysis, document analysis and personal experiences, a case study of the Southern African Intangible Cultural Heritage Project was carried out. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) and CARE (collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, ethics) principles were utilized as the guiding data governance principles. The findings highlight the importance of culturally sensitive data protocols, community-driven decision-making processes, and reciprocal partnerships between Indigenous communities and database managers. This research offers insights into transformative approaches for advancing Indigenous knowledge sovereignty.

European colonialism was a well-thought-out enterprise aimed at exploiting the natural resources of the colonized. As this paper notes, it was also meant to exploit the human capital—the colonized themselves as a source of cheap and readily available labor. The paper further argues that to successfully exploit the colonized, they expropriated land and other resources under the guise and myth of the terra nullius. They also renamed the appropriated spaces and the colonized people themselves. Such naming, the paper posits, was meant not just for easy referencing but also as memories of home for the new settlers. It was also a seal and stamp of archived material, for through naming they were indicating their presence, indicating that they came, conquered and named. It is on the basis of renaming, the paper argues, that while in theory, they have left, from a records and archives perspective, these people’s presence is still very much alive and kicking because of the names they gave that most Black Zimbabweans still carry and take pride in. The paper laments that even some of the loudest exponents of what it means to decolonize, carry these colonial labels. What the paper concludes is that the names that the formerly colonized carry, and those given by colonialists in some of their places speak to the success of the colonial enterprise, at least as far as onomastics are concerned because, through them, archives of colonial memories are kept and sustained.

The purpose of this study was to establish university students’ foreign language preferences. It was motivated by the observation that, in Zimbabwe learners’ foreign language preferences are not included in the curriculum. This study was guided by the pragmatist philosophy which sought what works in a given context. The research design was a linear combination of document analysis, survey and focus group discussions. Data was collected from a stratified sample of 279 adult learners at a university of technology in Zimbabwe. The study found that, Zimbabwe school curriculum is limited by the foreign language policy to offer the following foreign languages: English, French, Portuguese and Chinese mandarin. Learners’ foreign language preferences include Japanese and Chinese to facilitate trade and commerce. Zimbabwe imports computers and vehicles under the “Look East policy.” These technical appliances bring with them repair and maintenance manuals which are in Japanese or Chinese. Consumers who are illiterate in such foreign languages operate and repair them on a trial and error and trial and success basis. The utility value of foreign goods dictates the need for foreign languages in the school curriculum from primary school. Schools limit their foreign languages because there is not compulsory policy. They have no teachers for other foreign languages besides English. The study encourages foreign bilateral relations for the promotion of language teachers’ from Zimbabwe to learn foreign languages and how to teach it within the appropriate context. Foreign embassies canthe teaching of foreign languages by supplying videos which can be played and discussed in the context of the foreign culture. The few lecturers and teachers of foreign languages can be sponsored to write or translate stories from Zimbabwe’s context into any foreign language that they are competent in to enhance the utility value for foreign languages in Zimbabwe.

Background The increased frequency of climate induced natural disasters has exacerbated the risks of malnutrition in the already vulnerable regions. This study was aimed at exploring the effects of Cyclone Idai on nutrition outcomes of women of child-bearing age and children under 5 years. Method The household-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Eastern Zimbabwe. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews to determine food consumption score (FCS) and household dietary diversity (HDDS), minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) and minimum dietary diversity for children (MDD-C). Severity of Cyclone Idai was grouped into five categories based on the extent of damage to infrastructure and loss of human lives. Association between continuous and categorical variables was tested using Pearson correlation test and Chi square test, respectively. Linear and binary logistic regression was performed to investigate determinants of food security. Results A total of 535 households were interviewed. There was a significant correlation between severity of Cyclone Idai and MDD-W ( p = 0.011), HDDS ( p = 0.018) and FCS ( p = 0.001). However, severity of Cyclone Idai was not a determinant of any nutrition outcome, but gender of household head was a negative predictor of HDDS (β = − 0.734, p = 0.040), and marital status of household head was a positive predictor (β = 0.093, p = 0.016) of FCS. Conclusion The findings provide a good baseline to inform future programming of food aid activities during disasters. More so, our findings call for evidence-based policies regarding composition of a food aid basket and targeting of beneficiaries. The main strength of this study is that it is the first to investigate the effects of cyclones on food and nutrition security indicators and is based on a large sample size thus making our results generalisable.

No AccessGrappling with Education 5.0 Curriculum development in Zimbabwean higher education. The Case of Chinhoyi University of Technology Simbarashe Munikwa and Jacob Mapara Simbarashe Munikwa1 and Jacob Mapara2 Affiliations 1Chinhoyi University of Technology, Quality Assurance Directorate 2Chinhoyi University of Technology, Director Institute of Lifelong learning and Development Studies Published Online:1 Aug 2022https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-aa_jae_v3_n2_a8SectionsPDFView Full Text ToolsAdd to favouritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditGMailOutlookCopy LinkMendeley AboutAbstractThe study sought to explore the crafting of the Education 5.0 curriculum recently introduced by the minister of Higher Education in Zimbabwe as a guiding philosophy in higher and tertiary education. The Process Model of curriculum development and constructivism informed the study. A qualitative approach with a case study research design was employed for the inquiry. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was employed to choose 20 experienced lecturers. Qualitative data was coded and catergorised into thematic areas. The main findings are that CUT academics depicted a sound appreciation of the Education 5.0 doctrine. The strong university management support and the positive attitude of lecturers were instrumental in the crafting of the Education 5.0 curriculum. The crafting of Education 5.0 curriculum was characterised by lack of expertise in curriculum revision activities, superficial understanding of the Education 5.0 doctrine, limited stakeholder consultation, inadequate capacitation of lecturers and the limited time given to the exercise. The study concluded that academics had a superficial understanding of the Education 5.0 principle, management was committed to the Education 5.0 crafting exercise, the lecturers were positive about Education 5.0 curriculum and that the Process Model was applied in a narrow sense. The study recommends that lecturers be capacitated in curriculum development and that relevant curriculum development practices be employed for an effective and sustainable curriculum product.Akker J.V.D.2013 "A European Perspective on Curriculum Development and Innovation" Law E.H.F.Li C.Curriculum Innovations in Changing SocietiesSense Publishers Google ScholarAlsubale M.A.2016 "Curriculum Development: Teacher Involvement in Curriculum Development" Journal of Education and Practice 79106107 Google ScholarAnakin M.Spronken-Smith R.Healey M.Vajoczki S2017 "The contextual nature of university-wide curriculum change" International Journal for Academic Development 233206218 Google ScholarAndrade M.A.2018 "A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation" Parrish D.Joyce-McCoach J.Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing PracticeIntechOpen DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80443 Google ScholarBain A2020 "Addressing the challenges of Program and Course Design in Higher Education with Design Technologies" The Journal of Applied Instructional Design 92 DOI: https://dx.doi.org Google ScholarBajada CKandlbinder P.Tayler R.2019 "A general framework for cultivating innovations in higher education curriculum" Higher Education Research & Development 383465478 Google ScholarBrau B2022 "Constructivism" Kimmons R.Education ResearchEdTech Books https://edtechbooks.org/education_research/constructivismy Google ScholarCreswell J. 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The authors confirm that they have given due consideration to the protection of intellectual property associated with this work and that there are no impediments to publication, including the timing of publication, with respect to intellectual property. Ethical conduct of research The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. A signed informed consent document has been obtained from all participants included in the study.

The increased frequency of extreme climate-induced natural disasters (floods, cyclones, mud slides, heat waves, droughts), attributed to climate change, is causing stress to already vulnerable livelihoods by affecting both tangible and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) assets. There are limited studies that have established how the climate-induced disasters have impacted the ICH elements of food. As such, there is need to first establish the ICH elements or components of food and then how these ICH elements of food are being affected by climate change-induced disasters. This review was therefore aimed at identifying based on the literature the different ICH elements of food and how these can be affected by climate-induced disasters such as floods, cyclones, and droughts. This review paper shows that food is not only considered an ICH because of it being specific to a territory or ethnic group, but there are several dimensions or elements of food that makes it qualify as an ICH, which we grouped into six categories or domains. These domains of food as ICH are (i) food traditions and customs, (ii) food production, processing, and storage, (iii) dietary culture, (iv) eating and social practices, (v) culinary, and (vi) geographical indications. These ICH domains of food as ICH we created them based on the similarity of the different characteristics of the ICH elements are identified in the literature. This new insight is useful in assessing the impact of climate-induced natural disasters on intangible cultural heritage in food systems. More so, the identified categories of ICH elements of food can be viewed as constructs in a framework that can be used to assess the impact of climate-induced disasters on intangible cultural heritage in food systems and the ultimate impact on nutrition outcomes. Further research can be directed toward the development of a framework or tool to enable the assessment of the impact of climate-induced natural disasters on intangible cultural heritage in food systems.

The drive to mainstream indigenous knowledge into student leadership development in Zimbabwean higher education has recently gained currency. Student leadership development has a Eurocentric historical background and it has continued on this paradigm in the post-independence era. Framed on decolonial theoretical framework this study interrogates the challenges that are faced by student affairs practitioners in their efforts to include indigenous epistemologies into student leadership development programmes. The research was designed as a case study that employed qualitative methods of data collection and analysis focussing on student development practice at three state universities in Zimbabwe namely Bindura University of Science Education, Chinhoyi University of Science Education and Great Zimbabwe University. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with student Affairs practitioners and analysed through NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Research findings indicate that student affairs practitioners face a myriad of problems which hinder the mainstreaming of the knowledge of the local indigenous people into leadership development. These problems include lack of training to empower them with skills to include indigenous epistemologies into student leadership training, lack of funding and policy guidelines. Theorising on this complexity the research recommends the designing of leadership programmes that imbue indigenous epistemologies of the local people in student development such as hunhu/ubuntu values.

Framed in the context of decoloniality, this study advocates for the embedding of African indigenous epistemologies into student development in university education in order to emancipate it from the pervasive Eurocentric hegemony. The thesis of this paper contends that student development in higher education has remained firmly anchored on Eurocentric ways of knowing at the expense of other epistemologies especially those from the Global South. Indigenous epistemologies are interiorized and marginalized. Efforts to Africanize the curriculum have largely been piecemeal and student development theory has continued to be underpinned by Eurocentric epistemology with a devastating impact on student identity and character development. This study employed the qualitative research paradigm in which three state universities in Zimbabwe were purposively selected as research sites. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with student affairs practitioners and were analysed qualitatively through coding of emerging themes and this was complimented by the use of the NVivo qualitative data analysis software. Results revealed that Eurocentrism is largely the dominant epistemology in student development while African indigenous epistemologies are marginalized, invisibilized and interiorized. The findings also exposed several challenges that are faced by student affairs practitioners with the major ones being; inadequate institutional funding, unavailability of Afrocentric literature on Student Development as well as well as lack of space on the timetable. The study recommended the inclusion of African indigenous epistemologies into student development through the adoption models that imbue cultural values and ways of knowing of indigenous people.

Unhu/ubuntu is one of the important mainstays of black communities in Southern Africa. It emphasizes the connectedness of people and the need for them to work together and sustains families thus ensuring their continued existence. This paper thus argues that the vanhu/abantu (people) of the sub-region have employed proverbs among other ways to ensure that unhu keeps people going even when faced with daunting challenges. It asserts that through the use of some of these aspects of living heritage in the form of expressions like proverbs, unhu has been, and continues to be affirmed. Through an analysis of some proverbs of the Manyika, especially those of the Tangwena people on the border with Mozambique, by employing the speech act theory, this paper discusses how through proverbial lore the Manyika have buttressed and affirmed unhu in their communities, primarily among their children. The paper concludes by emphasizing that such gems of intangible cultural heritage need to be vigorously preserved, promoted and safeguarded through various means that include radio and online interactive platforms.

This chapter contends that there is as yet a future for indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) notwithstanding the presence of disruptive innovations. It advances the assertion that IK is in itself an innovation that is equally disruptive and challenging. In a similar vein, it further brings up the idea that IK has likewise upset matters related to what constitutes knowledge as well as some issues that speak to cognition and knowledge generation. This submission furthermore posits that the reality that IK is now being debated and embraced in the scholarly world is evidence that it is indeed disruptive. It also confers on how IK can profit regarding its future survival from other disruptive technologies through several examples of technologies such as computer applications that can be utilised to this end. As the chapter develops it additionally examines a few cases in point where some applications that contribute to warrant that some IK practices continue to exist are highlighted. The chapter nonetheless notes that notwithstanding the existence of potential ways through which some IK practices can survive, there are also familiar technologies that have contributed to disrupting IK activities and ways of life and persist to do so by contributing towards the possible death of some identified IK activities.

The World Health Organisation has made recommendations for partnerships between indigenous healing (IH) and biomedical therapy (BT) in the delivery of health services as a way of creating cultural sensitivity in mental health care (Bank, 2001). Yet, literature on prevalence, distribution, burden, and unmet needs for treatment of the mental disorders often exclude the role played by indigenous healing practitioners (IHPs). This study aimed to analyze mental health care from the perspective of communities on mental health care by IHPs to reveal their possible role in the surveillance studies of mental disorders in a settlement north-east of Harare in Zimbabwe through an exploratory qualitative methodology. Thirty in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions with key-informants were conducted to gather community perceptions of the nature of mental disorders treated by IHPs in Zimbabwe. Gathered data were coded using Constant Comparison Method with multiple members of the research team, enhancing validity and reliability. The results of the study reveal that while some patients presented with some mental disorders that were consistent with the BT diagnoses such as schizophrenia (Chirwere chepfungwa), depression (Kufungisisa), anxiety (Buka), post-traumatic stress disorder (Kurotomoka) somatisation (shungu), etc., other patients reported the disorders that were not recognised from a biomedical point of view such as the supernatural, cultural or social problems in IH. The findings were similar to the results of the first 17 world mental health surveys which show that the mental disorders are commonly occurring in all participating countries. This implied that the IHPs were treating common mental disorders reported in the low-income countries. More importantly, the IHPs treated a unique category which affected the majority of Zimbabwean patients. This study highlights the importance of the IHPs as complementary to BT in the management of the mental disorders. The IHPs should be included in mental health surveillance with the BTPs in order to obtain realistic figures that enable proper planning and management of mental health disorders. Policies on integrating IHPs’ work into mental health care must be drawn and published in national guidelines. More research is needed on integration guidelines.

Literary texts are at times anchored in others that have come before them. This article thus notes that the relationship that exists between written works as well as oral works has been an abiding phenomenon since the emergence of the written word, whether it is Sumerian, Greek or Roman. This practice, also called intertextuality, is prevalent today in African literature. Informed by this tradition of intertextuality, the authors analyse Ignatius Mabasa’s novel, Mapenzi, and argue that the use of direct and indirect references to other creative works by the writer goes a long way in enhancing the text’s thematic and stylistic development. The article further observes that the intertextual references found in Mabasa’s novel evidence that he is a well-read artist who sees intersections between what he writes and what others before him have also written about. The article concludes by delineating the differences between plagiarism and creativity, in that an intertextual reading of Mapenzi reveals that as a creative work, besides connections to prior works, the novel has a life of its own, and has in fact carved a space for itself within Zimbabwean Shona literature. The article sums up such intertextual play as hochekoche (“interlinkages”), the creation of catenae between literary texts.

The main purpose of the paper is to analyze the role that proverbs play as signposts for the introduction and embedding of biblical intertextual elements in some Shona literary texts. It does this by closely reading Patrick Chakaipa’s 1961 novel Pfumo Reropa. The paper notes that while proverbs are oral texts that serve as behavioral and moral conductors in diverse cultures, they are transferred to the written realm as part of the creative and literary act. The poetic nature of proverbs makes them attractive to most narrators who use them to entrench their main themes. This paper also proposes to read them in their function of interconnecting among others biblical literary texts by Chakaipa as these intertextual linkages can either appear by explicit reference to an earlier text usually known to the reader; or, implicitly, in the form of faint echoes of biblical texts, themes, motifs, traditions or events. Hence, the proverbs in Chakaipa’s novel resonate with biblical allusions and echoes, something he does to subtly preach Christianity.