The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda(CCFU) in
cooperation with Humanistic Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries(HIVOS),
The Kosmopolis Institute of the University of Humanistic Studies in the
Netherlands, the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society(CSSS, India) and
Kampala International University(KIU) offered a week long school labeled the Uganda
Summer School. The school run from 5th -9th November
under the theme, Managing Diversity in
Uganda: Theory and Practice.
To get a feel of how much could be achieved in one
week on this core subject, I reached out to three of the participants, all
professionals in their respective fields to share their insights and
perspectives regarding diversity.
Anne Agwango, Development Worker,Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations(DENIVA)
Uwineza Mimi Harriet , Administrator at KACE Sudan
Olutayo Kadmiel
Osunman ,Lecturer College of Economics
and Management, Kampala International University.
Many of the Summer School
students applied and attended the week long school in a hope that among various
reasons, they would understand people
and their differences, broaden their understanding of culture;
appreciate who they are and manage diversity
around their day to day life among other reasons.
True to the theme of the
school, diversity was well reflected in the 18 participants that attended with
among others, one from a Nigerian background and another from a Rwandese one. Over
5 religions were represented not to mention the different tribes not only from
Uganda but Rwanda and Nigeria as well.
The differences did not end
there and cut across the different professions represented from lecturers,
social workers, human rights activists, development workers to business men.
As the several
workshops/lectures coupled with the sharing of personal experiences went on,
the different discourses from which we all approach things before we make
choices were rubbed in together with a lack of knowledge or misconception on
the richness of diversity.
Three days brings about great
changes as seen on day four when I
interacted with some of the participants, they had not only acknowledged the
validity of the cultural expressions of different people but recognized the
richness in diversity that any given society is blessed with.
According to Anne Agwango a development worker with DENIVA, the last 3 days had helped her not only
understand herself but others too. “The more I understand me, the more I understand
and appreciate others.” So to speak, understanding might be the key word
for managing differences.
Olutaya K. Osunman , a
lecturer at Kampala International University a Nigerian who has lived in Uganda
for almost half his life emphasized that the 21st century demands a
citizenry that is culturally sensitive and internationally focused. He shared
how as a Nigerian he had been a victim of stereo-type that comes with being
associated to the West African nation but had learnt to oversee the negative
and embrace the positive. “Where you stand determines what you see as reality,
as a victim of stereotyping, I have learnt that you don’t have to be like
everyone else to be accepted.” Osunman added that diversity is a rich thing if
properly managed in a society where as opposed to dominance; there is mutual
respect and understanding.
Raised in various multi-cultural
backgrounds ranging from Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria and Uganda, you would
think the course had nothing to offer for Osunman. As a matter of fact he said
Managing diversity is an on-going process that unleashes something new for even
the most plural of people to learn daily. Thus far his greatest lesson from the
course was it takes it every individual to create a wholesome, inclusive
environment that embraces differences. Asked about his stand on homosexuality,
he said prior to the course it was a hard subject that he was closed up on,
however in the last three days ,he had learnt that they, homosexuals, were
humans too who had rights that needed to be respected. “I can no longer hide
behind my culture and other beliefs because I have knowledge now, I am not
about to openly embrace these people, but when there is a need I will respect
them and focus on their other attributes.”
Anne Agwango who had been
listening in ,quickly added that much as they had knowledge now ,their
traditional perspectives originating and based on their culture, religion and
society among other factors were not about
to go away entirely. She added, “Each of us has a discourse from which we
approach things; culture and religion will keep coming up in how we make our
choices. Knowledge is thus still boxed in the sense that other factors override
it when making decisions.” Both Anne and Osunman agreed Managing diversity is a
daily journey and not a one off project as they had realized with the different
issues that kept emerging with the different discourses during the lectures.
My last interaction of the
day was with Uwineza Mimi Harriet, a human rights activists working with KACE
Sudan an organization that works
on issues of Human Rights, Identity, Conflict Resolution and
Culture related projects . For Mimi,
Managing Diversity today is not only about ensuring fairness and respecting
human rights but an imperative in today’s changing and complex world.
Long before attending the
Uganda Summer school, Mimi’s diverse
background had forced her to accept diversity
not only as a right in today’s world but as a necessity. “The minority are
quickly taking over as they are increasingly demographically significant in
most parts of the world.” This heavy allusion comes from the fact that though
raised in Rwanda; Mimi is living in Uganda but working with Sudanese in Uganda.
Surprisingly the week long
school had something to offer to Mimi too. Top on her list was that it had
reinforced in her that education is the key to understanding and managing diversity.
As she says, the first step in putting a person on the right track is in
understanding and managing diversity by providing information. “Before this
course I was indifferent to people of different opinions and took no interest
in them save for work, however now I know that everyone in their own way
contributes to an alternative,” she adds.
My own take after
interacting with some of the participants of this week long school as seen above,
is that stereotyping is the main barrier to a positive diverse climate. Almost
all of the participants prior to the school didn’t think much of pluralism and
had taken the root of indifference embracing different perspectives per the
need.
This is not going to go away but training programmes like this one make people
more aware of pertinent issues in diversity making them more open to change.
Josephine Nakimuli Kigozi
Communication's & Advocacy Officer
CCFU
