Scholarly Engagement

Presentations and Talks

Plenary keynotes, refereed conference papers, invited lectures, and public talks across North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Selected Conference Papers & Presentations

Refereed Presentations

2026

  1. Women’s Narratives as Living Theory: An African Womanist Reading of Bemba Indigenous Leadership Refereed

    Panel: What is African Feminism? Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English (ACCUTE) Annual Conference, 2026

  2. Feminist Adult Education Across Contexts: Exploring Theory and Practice in Different Spaces, Places and Communities Refereed

    CASAE-AERC 2026 — Accepted Symposium. With Butterwick, S., Dobrich, E., Etmanski, C., Krishnan, S., Sarkar, R., & Walters, S.

  3. Leadership, Power, and Collective Resistance: Ubuntu and Abolitionist Frameworks Invited

    SJE DSA Colloquium Series 2026 — Transnational Solidarities: Forging Abolitionist Communities (Session 2), Department of Social Justice Education, OISE, University of Toronto, March 27

2025

  1. Ubuntu Womanism: Strengthening Leadership Pathways for Girls in Zambia Plenary

    Research and Policy Symposium on Gender Equality in and through Education, Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, December 2–4

  2. When Girls Lead: Toward an Indigenous Approach to Engaging the Leadership of Girls in Rural Zambia Plenary

    Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC  ·  Watch recording

  3. Co-creating African Women Leadership Discourses Using Feminist and African Indigenous Perspectives Refereed

    Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. With D. Miller.

  4. Ubuntu Feminism and Community Leadership: Reframing Women’s Leadership Practices in Zambia Refereed

    Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) Conference

  5. Digital Ubuntu: Engaging Gender Justice, Research, and Technology Through an African Indigenous Perspective Refereed

    Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference, Chicago, USA. With P. Chikondenji.

  6. Ubuntu Hackathons: Empowering Gender Equity in Technology and Education — A Case Study of the ZAMWILL Girls Hackathon Refereed

    Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference, Chicago, USA. With C. Okudu.

2024

  1. African Feminisms and the Ubuntu Framework: Redefining Leadership Identity among Zambian Women Refereed

    African Studies Association (ASA) 67th Annual Meeting

  2. Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Tradition: Advancing Women’s Leadership in Zambia Refereed

    African Studies Association (ASA) 67th Annual Meeting. With C. Kalaba.

  3. Co-Convener and Presenter, Black/African Feminisms Conference 2024 Co-Convener

    Department of Social Justice Education, OISE, University of Toronto, April 19–20

  4. Decolonizing Power: Integrating Afro-feminism and African Indigenous Leadership Frameworks Refereed

    Decolonial Dialogues International Conference, Mauritius

  5. Harnessing Ubuntu: The Impact of Reimagining African Women’s Leadership using Ubuntu Lenses

    Student Speaker Series, Indigenous Educational Research Centre (IERC) & Deepening Knowledge Project, OISE, University of Toronto, January 18 [Recorded]

  6. How to Fight Racism in Canada Invited

    Africa Descent Ontario Speaker Series  ·  Watch recording

  7. Re-imagining African Women’s Leadership as Protest using Afro-Feminism and Ubuntu Refereed

    Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference, Miami, USA

  8. African Women’s Community Leadership as Protest Refereed

    Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference, Miami, USA

  9. Women’s Leadership Mentoring using the Ubuntu Framework Refereed

    Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference, Miami, USA. With E. Dobrich.

2023

  1. Examining the Impact of Women’s Community Leadership in Zambia using Decolonizing Lenses Refereed

    Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) Conference

  2. Women’s Leadership Mentoring using Ubuntu Refereed

    Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) International Conference

  3. Decolonization in Comparative Education and International Development

    Poster presentation, Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference

  4. Negotiating Patriarchy while Dismantling Narratives of African Female Leadership

    Rosa Bruno-Jofré Symposium in Education, Queen’s University

  5. Women’s Community Leadership in the African Context: Decolonizing with Ubuntu

    Student Research Seminar, OISE Centre for Leadership and Diversity, University of Toronto, June 8

  6. Research Presentation

    J.P. Farrell Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) Student Research Symposium, OISE, University of Toronto, February 10

  7. Dialogue with Racheal Kalaba – Founder of ZamWILL and PhD Student, University of Toronto Invited

    Zambition Speaker Series, hosted by Martin Kalungu-Banda  ·  Watch recording

2022

  1. The Impact of Women-led Organizations in Africa: A Case Study of Zambia

    Black African Feminism Conference, OISE, University of Toronto

  2. Centring African Indigenous Knowledge in Comparative Education and International Development

    Korea Association for Multicultural Education International Conference

Invited Public Talks & Media

Public Lectures and Media

Selected Print & Online Media

Ubuntu Womanism: Strengthening Leadership Pathways for Girls in Zambia

Invited policy essay, Echidna Global Scholars Series, Brookings Institution, September 19  ·  Read article

From Idea to Impact: How ZAMWILL is Cultivating Zambia's Next Generation of Innovators

The Varsity, University of Toronto Student Newspaper, June 5

ZAMWILL Girls Hackathon

Featured story  ·  University of Toronto News, February 18, 2025

Selected Video & Speaker Series Appearances

  1. A Heartfelt Message on How Donor Generosity Empowered Racheal’s Journey Invited

    Donor appreciation feature  ·  Watch recording

  2. Rooted Futures: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Indigenous-Led Sustainable Development Invited

    Master of Development Practice Speaker Series, University of Winnipeg  ·  Watch recording

  3. When Girls Lead: Toward an Indigenous Approach to Engaging the Leadership of Girls in Rural Zambia Invited

    Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC  ·  Watch recording

  4. Panel Discussion on Youth Entrepreneurship and Socioeconomic Rights Invited

    Young Canadian Entrepreneurship Program (YCEP), Ontario Provincial Legislature. Organised by Woman Focus Canada Inc.  ·  Watch recording

  5. Harnessing Ubuntu: The Impact of Reimagining African Women’s Leadership Invited

    Student Speaker Series, IERC, OISE, University of Toronto, January 18  ·  Watch recording

  6. How to Fight Racism in Canada Invited

    Africa Descent Ontario Speaker Series  ·  Watch recording

  7. Dialogue with Racheal Kalaba – Founder of ZamWILL and PhD Student, University of Toronto Invited

    Zambition Speaker Series, hosted by Martin Kalungu-Banda  ·  Watch recording

Dr Racheal Kalaba, PhD  ·  Scholar  ·  Founder  ·  Leader

Ubuntu: I am because we are.