Reflective Practice in the African Space Sector: The Importance of Cadre Formation

Reflective practice, most simply, is thinking about what one does professionally, how one does it, and what one can learn from experience. It is commonly found in a diverse range of disciplinary fields, including education, nursing, and social work, but rarely (if at all) in the space sector. As such, this chapter presents a reflection on practice from the perspective of an African scholar engaged in the continent’s space sector, with the primary goals of elucidating new insights of self and practice, calling on other space sector practitioners to do the same, and calling for greater solidarity, dialogue, and collaboration within Africa’s space sector. The argument is made in this chapter that Africa’s space sector practitioners are ideologically motivated revolutionary cadres, engaged in a struggle against, among others, misconceptions, lack of support, shortage of scientific and research skills and output, and an underappreciation of the role of space in supporting Africa’s developmental aspirations. The proposed ideology of the cadre is outlined as a system of organised beliefs framed by, among others, various continental and national developmental policies and strategies. The space sector cadre formation and the African cadre ecosystem for space models are also presented. This chapter thus proposes a first step towards a greater inclusion of reflective practice in the African (and global) space sector, motivated by the goal of seeing all participants becoming not just consumers but also producers of knowledge.