For this first varia issue of Global Africa, the editorial team offers a wide range of disciplines, delving into epistemology, literature, political science, AI and the evolution of law, as well as varioussecurity concerns. If the aim of Global Africa is to promote scientific research in Africa, this first varia is no exception. Although the continent has been the subject of many studies (and continues to be so), studies have very often been carried out for pre-determined results; D. Graeber and D. Wingrow insist on this at length in their book The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. Although things are changing, let's be clear: we urgently need to continue renewing the way we look at Africa, its people and its practices. And it is precisely this orientation that forms the basis of this issue's reflections, whose texts are both highly topical and deal with subjects that require urgent reconsideration. Usually, the succession of articles in a varia is arbitrary; however, we are deliberately proposing an order, as we have identified a general pattern once the whole has been put together. This varia is a way of epistemologically reconsidering some of the challenges - with concrete case studies - specific to this continent, which is just waiting for one thing: to reinvent itself in a different way.

As a result, this issue opens with Boubacar Diallo's text outlining the contours, the contributions and pointing out the limitations of the Malabo Convention's entry into force. By adopting this convention on cybersecurity and the protection of personal data in 2014, the African Union intended to strengthen legislation on electronic transactions, the protection of personal data, the promotion of cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime. The author points out, however, that the late entry into force of this common legal framework, combined with the accelerated and permanent evolution of technologies such as artificial intelligence, means that community and national actors need to be constantly updated in the face of the emergence of new forms of cyberthreats. According to the author, this also means that the convention needs to be constantly updated, in order to effectively identify emerging phenomena.

Cilas Kemedjio's article, which follows, takes Ferdinand Oyono's Chemin d'Europe as a starting point for questioning colonialist knowledge as a prerequisite for cultural renaissance. The author questions the conditions of access to knowledge by the colonized, the biases to overcoming them, and the obsession with being " évolué " (integrated). Literature is presented in this work as an immense network of knowledge that is bound to transform itself.

In a similar trend, Abdoul Karim Saidou, in his article entitled "Democracy and Insecurity in the Sahel: An impossible Cohabitation?", puts forward the idea that democracy can accommodate insecurity by developing adaptation strategies, and that it can play a part in regulating the crisis in the Sahel. In this sense, the cases of Nigeria, Mali (organization of elections in times of crisis) and Burkina Faso (the Situation Room mechanism) reveal a capacity for resilience on the part of states, even in times of crisis. The author insists however on the variables that undermine the existence of cohabitation between democracy and insecurity.

John Ayotunde (Tunde) Isola Bewaji's article is part of this continuum, focusing on the position of knowledge as a tool for controlling reality. The author questions "epistemicide" and its role in the institutionalized demise of endogenous African knowledge. His demonstration shows how the mechanisms of epistemicide have contributed to the destruction of African heritages, humanity, civilizations and knowledge. The author explains that by relying once again on endogenous knowledge, Africa will be able to truly embark on its development and better envision its relations with the rest of the world.

More specifically, Jacques Tshibwabwa Kuditshini addresses the need to reactivate endogenous knowledge in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, using a theoretical-epistemological approach. To this end, the author insists on the reconstruction of endogenous knowledge through concrete case studies. This involves correlating them with so-called "scientific" knowledge, against the backdrop of the plurality of human thought.

For his part, Cheikh Cissé explains the unlikely link between climate impacts and security issues in the greater Sahel region. Empirical data reveals that economic backwardness exacerbates the effects of the climate crisis, and clearly raises real security issues.

Mamadou Diouf and Felwine Sarr are also invited to speak candidly about Senegal's democratic crisis. They both emphasize the role played by the university in the recent political turmoil in the country. In a second interview, Mame-Penda Ba asks Toussaint M. Kafarhire about the nature of the March 23rd Movement in Congo, the issues at stake and its impact on the region and its populations.

Finally, Toussaint M. Kafarhire's article revisits the subject of the fifth biennial conference of the African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA), entitled " Repatriating Africa: Old Challenges and Critical Insights ". The focus is on an epistemological renewal based on the repatriation of African heritage, stolen during the colonial period. This idea is explored through the following concepts: the "restitution" of African cultural heritage, around which revolve the concepts of "repair", "restoration" and "repatriation". All of these concepts function as a systemic and inextricably linked whole. As the author points out, the conference also produced a number of recommendations.

This editorial cannot end without a word about the cover of this issue. The choice of a work by Baye Mballo Kébé on Gorée island is not arbitrary. This artist, with his many facets and generous talent, has painted this piece depicting a place where collective memory faces a world in the making. We find this collective memory in the wear and tear on the steps, the depth of the colors and the weight of the atmosphere; the world in the making is the staircase that has led bodies and souls laden with uncertainty and incomprehension, towards an unknown world. Some might question the link between the choice of cover and the articles in this varia. Let's put it bluntly: this issue is a reflection of that canvas, in the sense that, despite all past work, Africa is not a subject that has fallen into a state of obsolescence; on the contrary, it's a subject that offers and exposes new perspectives. This is our first issue as a space of thematic diversity, problematic complexity and methodical investigation, but also as a space of change.

Global Africa’s commitment to multilingualism in scientific publication remains constant. We are delighted to welcome an article translated into Portuguese and three abstracts in Yoruba, Haoussa and Wolof.

We wish you a pleasant reading!