While the digital transformation of cultural heritage and research infrastructures has opened up new avenues, it has also given rise to ethical concerns, particularly with regard to Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). African cultural artefacts and knowledge are often scattered across fragmented digital silos with limited interoperability and provenance transparency. This refined and contextually aligned description explains the need for integrating Digital Object Container Identifier (DOCiD) as a use case for universities and Indigenous and cultural heritage institutions, grounded in FAIR and CARE principles and emphasizing interoperability.

Integrating DOCiD as a use case within universities and Indigenous and cultural heritage institutions addresses the urgent need for structured, ethical, and interoperable management of digital knowledge assets. As institutions increasingly digitise research outputs, oral traditions, and cultural materials, there is a critical gap in systems that can ensure both technical discoverability and community sovereignty over data.

Positioning DOCiD as a site for the diffusion of innovation establishes it as a living laboratory where open science practices meet indigenous data governance. This process fosters co-creation between academia, communities, and technology developers, demonstrating how emerging digital infrastructures can evolve responsibly to accommodate plural knowledge systems. Through this integration, DOCiD becomes not just a technological solution but an innovation-in-the-making—a catalyst for redefining interoperability, inclusivity, and equity in the digital knowledge economy.

DOCiD provides a persistent, metadata-rich identifier framework that connects digital objects—such as datasets, recordings, artefacts, and publications—to their contextual relationships and provenance. This enables alignment with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), ensuring that institutional knowledge is globally visible and reusable through interoperable metadata standards.

Librarians and curators play a pivotal role in this process—as stewards of metadata quality, provenance, and ethical data governance. Their involvement ensures that DOCiD implementation aligns with institutional data management policies, supports community consent, and embeds traditional knowledge labels or protocols where appropriate. By involving these professionals, institutions can foster a responsible and inclusive data ecosystem that balances openness with cultural sensitivity and ownership.

At the same time, DOCiD integrates the CARE principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics), embedding mechanisms for ethical stewardship, attribution, and community governance of Indigenous and cultural heritage data. By doing so, it balances the openness encouraged by FAIR with the protections and respect required by CARE.

For universities, DOCiD supports transparent research management, metadata harmonization, and open science infrastructures. For Indigenous and cultural heritage institutions, it safeguards traditional knowledge through controlled sharing frameworks, acknowledging cultural protocols while enabling participation in global knowledge ecosystems.

Through interoperability with existing PID infrastructures (e.g., CSTR,ISNI,ORCID, RAiD, ROR, DOI, ARK, Handle), DOCiD ensures that African and Indigenous knowledge systems are digitally represented, contextually linked, and ethically governed—contributing to a more inclusive and equitable global research and data landscape.

ALL APA Launching partners and advisory board are now committed to make persistent identification and registration of digital objects in and from Africa a reality and an open call to contribute in building a secure future for our past knowledge. We would be very much happy if you join the discussion and support our mission. By rallying worldwide support for this project you will find a great open network and space to share and contribute with your knowledge