Neliswa Fente, Mandela Washington Fellow 2015, interviewed by Mark Turpin

Communities of Practice for Young Professional People in Joburg

In Johannesburg, we are setting up our 2nd Community of Practice for Young Professionals - due to public demand! We have been running one group every few weeks since last August last year, and the interest has now led us to formalise this exciting way of working with young professional people, and our 2nd group will kick off in May.

The Community of Practice is tightly facilitated, and enables young professionals to explore their questions in a safe and non-threatening environment, and for the participants to share their own experiences and ideas about what works for them. Usually we work with 5 or 6 people for 2 hours at a time, and use the opportunity also to build good listening and questioning skills. After a while we move into deeper skills development, exploring the art of facilitation, issues of transference etc.

What is a 'community of practice'?  This description comes from Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger.  Wenger writes: "Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly".

Contact me for more information!

The changing world of work

Here is a link to a very interesting article on the changing nature of work.  I am intrigued by what this means in terms of our understanding of what organisations are, how they will be structured and designed, and what people will be doing with their time in the next 30 years.

The article reminds me of my earlier posting from last year (No people - just screens, terminals and handsets...)

South Africa's elections 2014 - what next?

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Picture: Gisele Wulfsohn, Alexandra, 27th April 1994

Basically the ANC has won the election, albeit with a slightly reduced overall percentage vote.  It is still unassailable as the majority party and will remain so until there is a fundamental realignment and reorganization of the opposition parties.  While the DA states that it is working for such a realignment, the option has been on the table since 2009 and the DA has failed spectacularly to achieve this so far – the very recent failed merger with Agang being the obvious illustration.

At a time when the ANC has potentially been vulnerable (Marikana, Nkandla, EFF etc) the opposition has totally failed to provide any kind of alternative vision for the country that can capture the imagination of the population has a whole.  Ultimately this is a failure of leadership – the country has been failed by leaders of all parties.

The achievement of the (Economic Freedom Fighters) EFF in getting 6%+ of the national vote is also a reflection of leadership failures in the ANC and the DA.  Julius Malema is a dangerous populist.  While some EFF leaders have spouted left-wing rhetoric to appeal to the masses the party is by no means a socialist one.  Their ‘economic policies’ are designed to win broad support, with big increases in social grants etc and no articulation of how they will be funded or how the economy can be stimulated to grow so as to meet the needs of a growing population.  And Malema’s flirtations with reintroducing the death penalty and destroying the e-Toll gantries betray his populist nature.  It will be interesting to see, now that he has some kind of mandate, if he is the first to take the pneumatic drill to the toll roads…

More importantly, we must be aware of the dangers of populism, opportunism and nationalism – ultimately political concepts that do no favours for poor, marginalized people anywhere in the world.

The final results show yet again (see my earlier post after the previous national elections in 2009) that a coherent unified opposition could potentially challenge for around 30% of available votes (leaving aside the millions who are either not registered or do not vote):

DA (22.23%) + IFP (2.4%) + NFP (1.57%) + UDM (1.0%) + VF Plus (0.9%) + COPE (0.67%) + Agang (0.28%) = 29+%

I am assuming that this picture would not include the EFF, ACDP or any of the former liberation parties (PAC or Azapo).

This would require a calculated strategy to unify a range of smaller parties (and egos!) under a single banner, and the DA-Agang debacle shows that this may not be easy, but would make coherent political sense.  The work to do this should start now.  If it can be done, there is a possibility of creating an opposition that from a base of around 30% support could potentially challenge the ANC in a real sense in the next national elections.

Of course this would require some radical shifts in thinking within the DA, which would have to really shake off its image as a white middle-class party, adopt some radical new policies and promote real transformation within its leadership.  It would need particularly to develop economic and social policies (and an associated rhetoric) that have broad appeal to ‘the ordinary South African’ (if this is still possible with the DA’s underlying neo-liberal agenda).

This kind of transformation, coupled with the populist critique from the EFF (now in Parliament), could also force some new thinking within the ANC about what kind of leadership it needs if it is to remain relevant in South Africa in the next 5-10 years.

Oscar Pistorius and the path to redemption

Oscar Pistorius killed his girlfriend. Whether by accident or thinking it was someone else, or deliberately intending to kill her, we do not know. The judge will decide in due course. Only he knows exactly what happened – the whole truth. This truth has not emerged in the trial, and did not appear to emerge during his testimony either. During his testimony, Oscar gave various explanations for how things were that night as he was able or willing to put on the court record, and where other evidence seemed at contradiction or variance with his story he suggested that evidence had been fabricated, or that (many) other people had lied, or that he did not understand how things could be (eg. how the gun in the restaurant had fired itself). 

Our fascination with the trial is partly because many of us suspect strongly that he may actually have intended to shoot Reeva Steenkamp, suspect that he is not telling the full truth at the moment, and are intrigued as to how his defence will unfold when there are so many unanswered questions and contradictions in his version. He will be found guilty of some offence, as he has admitted shooting Reeva, even if acquitted of murder. He may be convicted on other charges as well. All will emerge in due course. 

It seems therefore that, barring some very strange new developments, Oscar Pistorius will be sent to prison - and possibly for some time. He is still a young man, and may have some kind of further life as a free man in his middle age. Innocent or guilty of murder, he has an opportunity to redeem himself in the public eye and lay the basis of some degree of public acceptance for the future. I suggest that this is only possible if he uses the opportunity of his trial to tell the truth about what happened, and in a convincing way. 

Can he redeem himself? This is Oscar’s big question. Can he find it in himself to go into what will seem to him to be a very dark place, and stand up in court to tell the whole truth. It will involve more tears and retching – no doubt. But if he were to stand up, acknowledge the truth and start to tell the whole story of himself (and his fascination with guns, difficulties with relationships etc), his relationship with Reeva, (and what went wrong), and what exactly happened that night, then I for one would be willing to give him the benefit of some doubt and accept that for the first time he was trying to take responsibility. It might lead to his conviction on the murder charge, but he is going down anyway. And he will lay the basis for his eventual redemption in the world, and the opportunity for him to move forward as a human being, on the basis that the truth can set us free.

Building Peace

The Institute for Economics and Peace last year published a report (Pillars of Peace Report), which is based on empirical research and identifies 8 key factors that underpin peaceful societies.  It speaks for itself.

The DA, fighting apartheid, and reinventing history

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I have to admit to some astonishment at the ‘Know Your DA’ campaign, which suggests that the Democratic Alliance (DA) was somehow involved in the struggle against apartheid.

Maybe it is worth repeating that apartheid was declared by the United Nations to be a crime against humanity.  It was not just a mildly aberrant policy that could be changed as a result of white parliamentary opposition.

As such apartheid needed to be fought against.  And not just ‘fought’ by way of a few newspaper articles and some opposing voices raised in the illegitimate parliament of the time, but fought by way of an armed struggle and international isolation and sanctions.

It should not be necessary to repeat what this struggle involved and the huge sacrifices made by people across South Africa.  Many thousands of people were forced into exile and many were away from their homes and families for decades, while some never came home.  Hundreds of others were imprisoned, again many for decades, tortured and killed in the apartheid goal.  Many were detained without trial and held in solitary confinement for long periods.

The ultimate price was paid by people of all races and backgrounds – Bram Fischer, Jeannette Schoon and her daughter Katryn, Ruth First, Solomon Mahlangu, Steve Biko, Neil Aggett, Andrew Zondo, Chris Hani, Phila Ndwandwe, David Webster, Hector Peterson, and many others, including of course people protesting against the pass laws at Sharpeville in 1960, and school children shot by police in 1976.

Many thousands more were forcibly removed from their homes and dumped in so-called homelands – something I covered in an earlier blogpost dealing with De Klerk’s amnesia.

Many organisations struggling against apartheid were banned, as were many individuals.  Generally, people who did not fit under the apartheid classification of ‘white’ were required to carry passes and suffer countless other indignities and bureaucratic abuses simply on the basis of their skin colour.

Now the DA of course was not in existence during the apartheid years.  But it’s ‘predecessor’ organisations were.  Especially the Progressive Federal Party (PFP), with leaders such as Helen Suzman and Colin Elgin.  The PFP opposed apartheid policies in the white’s only parliament of the day, as did the earlier Liberal Party – although the Liberal Party took a decision to disband after the government passed a law disallowing parties from having a multiracial membership and it was not a predecessor of the PFP.  (although I am not sure if the SA Liberal Party actually ever had any MPs - someone may enlighten me...)

Of course, even earlier, the South African Labour Party under the leadership of Alex Hepple, who was an MP in the late 40s and 50s, also spoke out in Parliament against apartheid but failing to win significant white support closed down in the 1950s (and was also not in any sense a predecessor of the PFP).

The fact is that, while there were brave voices who used the white parliament to oppose apartheid, including Helen Suzman, these white voices were most solitary, and attempts to organise across colour lines and to make common cause with organisations like the ANC were mostly doomed. 

It was the fate of many white people and organisations that opposed apartheid to be harassed, imprisoned, banned or driven into exile.  On the liberal side - Peter Brown, of the Liberal Party, was detained for 98 days after the Sharpeville massacre and in 1964 was banned for 5 years under the Suppression of Communism Act.

Peaceful opposition to apartheid did not work and did not bring about the changes desired by the majority of people.  It was this realisation by the PAC and ANC in the late 50s and early 60s that led to the formation of the PAC’s military wing Poqo in 1960, the ANC’s military wing Umkhonto weSizwe in 1961, and Mandela going to Algeria for military training.

Mandela’s words from his speech in the dock:

"At the beginning of June 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the South African situation, I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force.

This conclusion was not easily arrived at. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle, and to form Umkhonto we Sizwe. We did so not because we desired such a course, but solely because the government had left us with no other choice. In the Manifesto of Umkhonto published on 16 December 1961 … we said:

'The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom.'”

The Progressive Federal Party was never banned and its members were not imprisoned or driven into exile.  Nor did the PFP align itself with the struggle as defined by Mandela.  While some of its members may have spoken out against aspects of apartheid, it was not involved in the broad sweep of extra-parliamentary struggle against apartheid, nor in the worldwide opposition to the South African regime, which was led by the ANC in exile and numerous banned underground organisations, trade unions and civic organisations inside South Africa.

This is not to minimise the significance of Helen Zille writing with Allistair Sparks about the death in detention of Steve Biko, or her membership of the Black Sash, or the individual efforts of a few other current DA members.

And it is important, now, that the DA plays its role as a leading opposition political party in a free and democratic South Africa.  As the realignment of opposition political formations continues, it may well be that the DA is able to make common cause with others, move beyond its white leadership and support base, and create new formations that will one day allow it to contest realistically for political leadership in this country on the basis of winning mass support.  It is worth recalling the worlds of Aime Cesaire:

“For it is not true that the work of man is finished,
That we have nothing more to do in the world,
That we are just parasites in this world,
That it is enough for us to walk in step with the world,
For the work of man is only just beginning and it remains to conquer all,
The violence entrenched in the recess of his passion,
And no race holds a monopoly of beauty, of intelligence, of strength, and,
There is a place for all at the Rendezvous of Victory.”

And so let us not pretend when it comes to South African history.  The struggle involved killings, torture, detentions, bannings, exile, military training in camps in the frontline states, parcel bombs, cross-border raids by the SADF, proxy wars fought in Mozambique and Angola, international sanctions and boycotts, and much more.  It was an armed struggle that required solidarity.  The DA’s predecessors in parliament were at best minor irritants to the apartheid government and were not involved.  So be it.  And now let us move forward, recognising that there is a place for all.

Penny Plowman's Qualitative Diary Method

My good friend Penny Plowman has undertaken qualitative research on the use of a diary methodology as one aspect of an integrated approach to organisational analysis and change. One of the beautiful things about this method is that it enables organisational participants to articulate truths about their organisation - truths that often otherwise remain hidden!

 

Interesting themes that have arisen for Penny in the course of her research include how diarists address issues of 'silencing' that happens in organisations, as well as how to address issues of inclusion and exclusion from centres of power (the 'boys' club'), and issues of emotion and feelings at work. An important question that arises with this type of organisational research is whether an organisation is ready to address issues that arise from the research. One of the exciting opportunities that arises from this type of research is the participative nature of the research - in that the diarists become 'co-researchers' into the life and culture of the organisation. You can listen to Penny's full University of Johannesburg presentation here.

No people - just screens, terminals and handsets…

On arriving recently at the new Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport I was struck by the car hire place - no people, just screens, terminals and handsets.

And in the parking terminal, machines that will tell you where you car is parked, just swipe your picking ticket or enter your car registration.

EU passport holders have since 2006 been issued with biometric passports with microchips in them, enabling them to pass seamlessly through automatic gates at border controls.

These new developments all reduce the need to employ people who do routine and repetitive jobs involving scanning, searching, paying and recording.

Supermarkets too are able to dispense with cashiers as customers scan items from their trolleys themselves into one device and pay (cash, credit or debit cards) into another:

And scanning devices are already being introduced in South African supermarkets – here is a ‘price-checking’ scanner at Checkers in Emmarentia:

Increasingly banks will exchange ‘brick and mortar’ branch networks for apps and cellphone-enabled technology as the safest and most secure customer offering, and banks of the future will look very different.

In case you think these developments are a long-way off for South Africa, here is the FNB branch in Hyde Park Shopping Centre:

I imagine that if banks and supermarkets in Europe are replacing recurrent employment costs with expenditure on technology then it is only going to be a short time before it happens here as well.  My local Checkers supermarket in Emmarentia employs probably well over 100 people, and we have no social contract in this country that says we need to preserve these jobs because of the social benefits of the incomes of the employees to them and their families, and of course our wider society.

These changes will not just impact on service sectors of the economy.  In mining, too, there are new developments that will enable remote-controlled mining, in which the rock face can be drilled by machines controlled from the surface:

  

What is driving these changes?

A nanometer is very small – a billionth of a meter long.  The world’s smallest microchip, unveiled in 2010, is just about nine nanometers in length.  Scientists are experimenting with ‘stacking’ microchips so as to be able to make faster and better cellphones (and military technology).  The problem is that they get very hot, so now they exploring how to use tiny amounts of fluid to keep them cool.

Microchips are unlikely to get much smaller, so now the innovation space is more concerned with how to expand their use.  More and more devices will become available with a multitude of uses that will change our lives.  And it is happening already.

We face the loss of perhaps hundreds of thousands of relatively low-paid, repetitive and relatively unskilled jobs as a result of new technologies in a short number of years – unless we can think very creatively and create a new social dispensation that has buy-in and active support from government, business and trade unions to address this question.  Currently there is little indication that this is understood by government and the trade union movement.

Government plans to create new jobs will be undermined by the impact of this technological transformation.  New jobs will have to be created in sectors that require skilled knowledge workers, in sectors such as tourism, beneficiation, information technology and so on.  Opportunities exist, arising from developments such as the Square Kilometer Array, chemical industry beneficiation etc, but these opportunities will critically require skilled people.  The loss of large numbers of relatively unskilled and low paid jobs cannot be countered easily and speedily by new job creation without a new and significant skills development plan coupled with an imaginative economic development strategy that has buy-in from all social partners.  The current National Development Plan may not be enough, especially in the context of our current conflictive political discourse.

Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography - update!

Since my last posting we have selected the first recipient of the Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography. Her name is Sydelle Willow Smith and she is originally from Cape Town.  The Mentorship Programme is managed by the Market Photo Workshop, and they announced the news here.

Sydelle's project is entitled 'Making Neighbourhood - Experiences of conviviality between African Nationals and local South Africans', and she describes her project as follows:

"Visually, immigrant stories in South Africa and in other parts of the world aremostly marked by daily experiences of discrimination and exclusion. I am investigating the other sideof the coin to understand the complexities of relationships formed across porous boundaries, negotiatedin the everyday. The xenophobic attacks of 2008 in South Africa revealed widespread localizedprejudices towards “foreign” Africans, sparked by a lack of resources and job insecurities that are stillprevalent today. Yet, it is important to focus on ways people live past these stereotypical prejudices. My anthropological training has informed my view of diasporic identities and the malleable nature ofculture and nationality...'Making Neighborhood' deals with convivial relationships between African nationals and SouthAfricans. I use the term conviviality to describe experiences of social inclusion and togetherness... The topic is complex, but an important one tobreak down and capture in the form of photographs."

Sydelle is tackling a critically important theme in South Africa - how we build a welcoming society in which people from different backgrounds and nataionalities can integrate effectively and with welcoming support to build their lives and make a contribution to building our new, peaceful democratic dispensation.  She will be producing a body of work over the coming year and we are looking forward to seeing how her project unfolds.

My intention is to sustain the Mentorship Programme for a number of years and to do this I am establishing a capital fund from which the annual costs can be met.  As part of this fundraising effort I have been running an online photographic auction through which I am selling prints donated by South African photographers who were part of Gisèle's professional and personal network.  You can view the prints that have been donated on my Facebook page.  Anyone who wishes to bid in this auction can contact me directly.  The auction closes on Friday 21st December.  

More details about Gisèle's life and the Mentorship Programme, as well as the auction, can be seen here in this Business Day article..

THE GISÈLE WULFSOHN MENTORSHIP IN PHOTOGRAPHY

The Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship is dedicated to the life and work of Gisèle Wulfsohn. To summarise her life in a few short paragraphs would be impossible. Gisèle was loved by many, including a wide and global network of friends and acquaintances. Professionally she was a photographer who was committed to making a difference in the world. Gisèle was diagnosed with Stage IIIB lung cancer in 2005. She characteristically turned her diagnosis into a project ‘Dear Diagnosis – Still Alive’, and never surrendered to the illness. Gisèle passed away on 27th December 2011.

The mentorship programme aims to sustain Gisèle’s commitment to social documentation, including her seminal contribution to ‘putting a face onto HIV’ in South Africa and the region. Her commitment to humanising the pandemic and to her profession generally was realised through her technical ability as a photographer coupled with her empathetic approach and warm connection to the people she worked with. The mentorship programme has been conceptualised and developed with the Market Photo Workshop and the Centre for the Study of AIDS – both organisations that Gisèle worked closely with over many years. Together with the family, these two organisations will oversee the whole programme and make decisions about its future.

The first programme will commence later in 2012. The programme will support a young photographer each year to produce a body of work in line with established criteria. Apart from financial support, the photographer will receive mentoring support from an established photographer and will have access to the resources and facilities of the Market Photo Workshop. It is anticipated that the work produced will be published and/or exhibited in due course. In addition to the material support provided, the young photographer will participate with others in regular forums as a mechanism for reflecting and learning about the work being undertaken, as well as exploring issues that arise and creating a body of learning that can be disseminated and carried through into subsequent years.

It is planned to capitalise the programme through Gisèle’s estate, and also to raise an equivalent sum through this appeal to Gisèle’s network of friends. We wish to mobilise sufficient resources to provide an investment that will support the programme in perpetuity. A Bursary account has been established with the family accountants into which donations can be made. Donations can be made until the end of December 2012. All donations will be acknowledged in publicity relating to the mentorship programme. Anyone wishing to obtain further details can email Mark Turpin at gismar@iafrica.com .

Mental Capital and social well-being

Vuyo Jack has made a useful contribution on what is needed to build our society in South Africa. In an article published in Business Report (‘Mental capital, well-being key to better SA society’) recently, he refers to work done in the UK on mental capital and well-being. Mental capital is here defined as encompassing:

“a person’s cognitive and emotional resources. It includes their cognitive ability, how flexible and efficient they are at learning and their ‘emotional intelligence’, such as their social skills and resilience in the face of stress” This could be summarised as the ability of people to engage effectively with people and the world around them, and to cope with and learn from what life throws at them.

This can broaden our thinking on the concept of social capital, which focuses mainly on the networks and relationships that we create and sustain. It also poses a challenge to our education systems, which tend to focus primarily on developing cognitive ability. And also to our workplaces, which are really where people have to learn to work, solve problems and be innovative together for the first time.

Jack points to 5 imperatives that can be a personal manifesto: build and maintain personal connection; keep physically active; stay aware, be reflective and understand our feelings; keep learning; and give more than what we get.

Forced removals and crimes against humanity

Some further thoughts on my previous post:

The Surplus People Project - an NGO that has been in existence for many years - has produced extensive documentation on forced removals in South Africa.

Apartheid was defined a a crime against humanity by the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid - adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1973.

Article II of the Convention provides as follows:

For the purpose of the present Convention, the term 'the crime of apartheid', which shall include similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination as practiced in southern Africa, shall apply to the following inhumane acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them... 


[including]
...any legislative measures and other measures calculated to prevent a racial group or groups from participation in the political, social, economic and cultural life of the country and the deliberate creation of conditions preventing the full development of such a group or groups, in particular by denying to members of a racial group or groups basic human rights and freedoms, including the right to a nationality...

...any measures including legislative measures, designed to divide the population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos for the members of a racial group or groups... 

These latter provisions apply specifically to the legislation that deprived people of the South African nationality and to the creation of the so-called 'homelands'.

De Klerk, lies, apartheid, memory, and the destruction of social capital

Virtually worthless stamps from the old Transkei

FW De Klerk has absolutely no understanding of apartheid and that it was what the United Nations categorised as a crime against humanity.  His recent reported comments on CNN, which his Foundation states have been ‘twisted’ and taken ‘out of context’, deserve little attention in themselves – De Klerk is no longer particularly politically significant – and can be dismissed as a feeble attempt at revisionism and bolstering his fading reputation.  The unfortunate consequence of his naïve, misplaced and incorrect remarks is that they will serve to confirm the perception that white leaders and ex-leaders in South Africa still display racist attitudes, and indeed have no real understanding of what racism actually is.  As such, his comments weaken attempts to build trust and social capital amongst and between communities in South Africa.

Racism as a form of oppression and exploitation cannot be reduced to simple incidents of ‘behaviour’ that target different race groups unfavourably or treat people different on arbitrary racial grounds – with no distinction between behavior of whites targeted at blacks and vice versa.  Racism as it has been practiced throughout history takes the form of institutionalised and state-sponsored oppression and exploitation, generally introduced, perpetrated and sustained by governments and peoples that work from a sense of racial superiority over the ‘other’ groups or peoples.  In this sense, racism and racist policies have supported colonialism and economic exploitation throughout the history of imperial conquest and domination. 

It is this, perhaps, that De Klerk does not really understand, and which shows how out of touch he is with people in South Africa – who know well how the racist system of apartheid was used to exploit and disenfranchise people systematically and supported by hundreds of laws.  It is untrue when De Klerk asserts that the ‘homeland’ system did not disenfranchise people (because they supposedly ‘voted’).  People were, by being forcibly removed to these artificial homelands (he refers to them as ‘self-governing territories’ and ‘independent states’) systematically deprived of any remaining possibility of citizenship in their own country – South Africa.  Indeed, the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970 legally deprived people of their South African citizenship.  De Klerk was just 34 then and still a young man, and had only just become an MP.  He might however remember voting for this Act and that it disenfranchised people…

Of course, the Venda, Boputhutswana, Transkei and Ciskei bantustans were never recognised as independent states by the international community, and although they produced their own stamps (or did they?) they were not in any sense ‘independent’ from Pretoria.

De Klerk also repeats the lie that the ‘homelands’ established under apartheid were historical lands (a lie promoted by his party leader HF Verwoerd) and that people were not put there.   Of course, even before the rise of the Nationalist government in 1948, previous colonial administrations had established ‘reserves’ for black people and regulated land ownership (Native Land Act of 1913).  The policies of forced removals under apartheid have been systematically documented and it is absolutely astonishing that De Klerk can assert anything about the ‘homelands’ without acknowledging what happened.  Indeed, De Klerk was Minister for Internal Affairs between 1982 and 1985 when many removals happened, so either he was actually responsible for forced removals, or he was negligent in that things happened without his knowledge.  He was not such a young man then of course (mid-late 40s).

For anyone who has doubts about the policies of forced removals, I would highly recommend ‘South Africa – The Cordoned Heart’, edited Omar Badsha, Gallery Press , 1986 – prepared for the Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in Southern Africa – and David Goldblatt’s ‘The Transported of Kwandebele’, 1989, Aperture & the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.

In South Africa it is a truism that apartheid was a unique and evil form of institutionalised racism – perpetrated by a white minority government seeking to exploit other race groups and particularly black people.  Forced removals and the creation of the ‘homelands’ was an integral part of the apartheid system, and not just a failed attempt at creating distinct nations via partition.  A consequence is that black people in South Africa have a unique experience of racism that can perhaps never easily be understood by white people in this country.  If white people are to aspire to real and effective leadership positions in this country in the future it is perhaps important to acknowledge this difference of experience as a first step in trying to understand where we have come from as a country.

Incidentally, De Klerk appears, via his Foundation, to endorse policies of partition in trying to retrospectively justify the ‘homelands’ policies, and cites examples of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia (where the break-up of the country along 'ethnic' lines led to various wars), and points to support for a ‘two state’ solution to the problems of Israel and Palestine (which has not been implemented) and makes no mention of other support for a ‘one-state’ solution.  He doesn’t mention the partition of Ireland in the 1920s, and the years of conflict that followed.

The FW De Klerk Foundation appears to justify De Klerk’s naiveté as a young politician by affirming that he grew up in an Afrikaner society that was deeply aggrieved by defeat in the Boer War, and that the central theme of Afrikaner politics was a desire for self-rule.  Fortunately there were a few brave Afrikaners who came out of the same tradition, such as Bram Fischer, who took a different route.  Bram Fischer died in 1975 after being cruelly treated in the apartheid goal - when De Klerk was of course still a young man (39) and only an MP.  Perhaps he never heard of Bram Fischer and how he was treated, or, if he did, did he care?

A separate question that arises now again is whether De Klerk deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.  Terry Bell has reported De Klerk's admission that he ordered a massacre of supposed Azanian Peoples' Liberation Army fighters shortly before going to Oslo in 1993.  In fact, teenage children were killed on De Klerk's orders.  Little known, and deeply shocking.  I won't go into the lingering question about whether De Klerk was completely honest with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission except to refer people to Antjie Krog's 'Country of My Skull'.

Perhaps the best contribution that FW De Klerk could now make to South Africa would be to retire completely from public life.

Walmart again...

Disinvestment by Dutch company as Walmart breaches global ethics code:

www.iol.co.za/business/companies/pic-to-scrutinise-massmart-1.1211537

Gisele Wulfsohn, Rest In Peace

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2011/12/31/obituary-gisele-wulfsohn-indomitable-spirit

Walmart, poverty and social capital

Walmart's merger with Massmart in South Africa has been opposed by the trade union movement on the basis that it is likely to lead to a net reduction in jobs and an increase in imports from abroad.

What has been highlighted less is research that shows that poverty increases as a result of Walmart's presence, and a study also indicates that Walmart has a negative impact on levels of social capital.

Do we need Walmart in South Africa?

The Geneva Convention

Article 13:

"Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. ...no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.

Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity."

The Johannesburg Moment – “a fractious and turbulent set of social contestations”

At the recent Mail & Guardian Johannesburg Literary Festival Professor Karl Von Holdt presented an important paper on ‘The Johannesburg Moment’ – a concept for exploration and debate that he is working on and that will form an aspect of a forthcoming book.

What is the ‘Johannesburg moment’? The first idea is that Johannesburg, and indeed South Africa more broadly, can be viewed as a place, in time, that is characterised by a comprehensive contestation of ideas and power for influence and control – over spaces, organisations, institutions and sectors. The contestation can be defined in different ways, and manifests itself in many guises, and impacts on all our lives and forms of organisation in different ways. Perhaps the essence, however, is that previously accepted certainties do not prevail and every issue or idea, large or small, is open for debate, review or conflict.

This can be seen as a wonderful manifestation of a new democratic society, as well as being characterised by what Von Holdt refers to as “a historic rupture, the end of white political domination”. So may sacred cows are upended in such a moment – what are the new ways to organise and run a society as the old order comes to an end and a new one struggles to be born?

Von Holdt argues that the second aspect of the Johannesburg moment is an “intellectual and cultural project” to interrogate and reconstruct the Western lenses through which we understand and make meaning of our situation and context.

Bringing together these two ideas offers the opportunity to create new ideas about how we design and construct our spaces of engagement – not drawing on existing models and frameworks but creating new, socially connected and democratic spaces where work and art can co-exist, where politics and business become integral together to how we think and work, and where new conceptions of society and power can lead to a re-drawing of our idea of ‘organisation’ that can integrate ideas of productivity, learning and playfulness. Real progress.

Critical to this process will be the establishment of a shared sense of our history and identity as a people (a history that itself has been contested) and a new sense of where we want to go. In this sense the political changes that took place in the early 90s represent just a starting point, rather than an ending or a solution.

Exciting new Learning Workshops in Johannesburg

Together with my colleagues in Kessels & Smit, we have planned an exciting new series of learning workshops over the next couple of months. All the workshops will be facilitated with a participative and engaging methodology, in which participants will work with their questions and real issues pertaining to their work, and their professional growth and development. Workshops will be limited to 12 participants each. Each workshop will offer some theoretical perspectives (with reading material) as well as practical opportunities to work with and practice new approaches. The interactive nature of the workshops will attract participants who are open to trying new ideas and who are comfortable with ambiguity.

The workshops are 3 hours long and will take place on Thursdays (either afternoon or evening) at Unit 7, The Rosebank Fire Station, Bath Avenue, Rosebank. Afternoon workshops will start at 2pm (coffee and biscuits from 1.30pm), and evening workshops will start at 6pm (coffee and biscuits from 5.30pm). Bookings and payments can be made by contacting Kgomotso Ratswana at kratswana@kessels-smit.com or on 011 447 9898.

Details of the workshops are as follows:

1. Working with Appreciative and Integral Perspectives
Facilitator: Mark Turpin
Date: 4th August 2011
Time: 1:30 pm

This workshop will introduce the thinking behind ‘appreciative inquiry’ and ‘integral thinking’, drawn from the work of David Cooperrider and Ken Wilbur respectively. These perspectives will be contrasted with more common problem-centered and deficit-based approaches to working in organisations, and to how larger ‘wicked problems’ are addressed in society.

Participants will be encouraged and supported to apply these new approaches to organisational issues that they face, and also to think about how these approaches can also be used in their personal lives, with the objective of uncovering new perspectives that can support personal empowerment and liberate new energy for solving problems and resolving conflict.

2. Designing Learning Processes: Exploring Different Paradigms on Learning
Facilitator: Paul Keursten
Date: 4th August 2011
Time: 5:30pm

Learning is of critical importance, and there are many ways to learn. But it’s not so easy to know which approach works for what and when. Over the past 50 years, various paradigms on learning have developed, each with its own strengths and pitfalls. Every paradigm has a different vision and definition of learning and how learning can be best supported. Every paradigm uses its own language. Understanding these paradigms and the language and approach that comes with it helps us to navigate the field of learning and development. It helps to understand the often implicit views of key stakeholders and why some discussions never get solved. Most importantly, it enriches the way we can create the powerful learning interventions that are so needed in organisations.

3. The Intelligent Conversation
Facilitator: Mark Turpin
Date: 11th August 2011
Time: 1:30 pm

This workshop introduces the idea of a productive and generative form of dialogue that can be utilised when important outcomes are desired and when a building conversation is needed. A number of simple rules are introduced that can easily be learned and internalised by groups and teams that need to work effectively together.

Participants are then encouraged to practice a real dialogue utilising these new ‘intelligent conversation’ rules and to hold each other accountable in using the rules. They are then given an opportunity to reflect on the experience and develop plans to use this new dialogue format in their day-to-day work.

4. Managing Complexity through Simple Rules
Facilitator: Andrea van der Merwe
Date: 11th August 2011
Time: 5:30 pm

This workshop will explore concepts of complex systems and the relevance and value of this frame for individuals and organisations today. Drawing on the work of amongst others Senge, Stacey and Snowden (Cynefin model), this workshop will explore some of the foundations of complexity thinking and useful frameworks for personal, business and organisations that can help us manage challenges in ways that create more simplicity and meaning, while creating results.

Participants will be encouraged to apply the frameworks and properties of complexity thinking to challenges they face, while creating their own ‘simple rules’ to manage and thrive in complex contexts.

5. The Brain at Work: Using the skill of Reframing to Increase your Effectiveness
Facilitator: Andrea van der Merwe
Date: 18th August 2011
Time: 1:30 pm

The savvy use of our most important tool, the brain, plays an important role in our success in the work and relationship environment. In his book, The Brain at Work, David Rock describes the skill of reframing or reappraisal as the brain’s ‘killer application’. Using this skill effectively can become one of your most important tools for social intelligence. Reframing is about changing your perception by understanding something in another or different way, and the ability to do this in highly charged or emotive situations can change the course of the situation and your ability to shape it. Being able to think about things in a variety of ways, builds a spectrum of understanding and responses for individuals and especially leaders.

Drawing on the growing field of neuroscience and behavioural psychology, participants will have the opportunity to learn how the brain can be used for reappraisal and have the opportunity to apply a number of practical methods on their own challenging situations or relationships as the start of a practice.

6. The Odyssey of the Young Professional
Facilitator: Neliswa Fente
Date: 18th August 2011
Time: 5:30 pm

This workshop is aimed at young professionals who have just entered into a new working environment - maybe you have moved to a new organisation or have just entered the cooperate world. The workshop will focus on the individual journey as well as how to incorporate this journey into that of the organisation. What makes this workshop special is that it is led by a young professional who understands the journey and has experience in both large and small corporates.

The workshop introduces the Heroic Journey framework, a way of understanding, describing and planning for processes of change at the personal, organisational or community level. It is an archetypal story of transformation found in cultures around the world – in myths, fairy tales, ancient stories, legends, books and movies. It is a way of understanding the lives of great leaders – such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. A successful journey is a transformative experience, where basic attitudes and assumptions are often challenged, and we are frequently different at the end from when we set out.

7. The Logical Levels Framework
Facilitator: Mark Turpin
Date: 25th August 2011
Time: 1:30 pm

This workshop introduces the thinking framework of Bateson & Dilts as a structured way of developing effective responses to complex social problems and individual/societal relationships. The framework can be used for problem-solving and conflict resolution, as well as for finding purpose.

Participants will be supported in applying the framework to particular questions or problems that they are concerned with as a logical and systemic way of developing effective strategies. The framework will create clarity and insight on issues of purpose, identity and values as tools for guiding thinking and decision-making that is aligned with what is desired.

8. Social Capital and Learning
Facilitator: Mark Turpin
Date: 1st September 2011
Time: 5:30 pm

The idea of ‘social capital’ has recently been popularised by Robert Putnam though his book ‘Bowling Alone’, which deplores the decline of social and collective activities in American society. This workshop examines the idea of social capital as a very real form of capital that can brings returns to individuals and society. Social capital in the workplace can also be seen as the basis for powerful learning that can unleash innovation and creativity, as well as stimulating happiness. Participants will be encouraged to explore their own social capital and how it can be developed and exploited.

9. Learning to Innovate: Facilitating Breakthroughs
Facilitator: Paul Keursten
Date: 8th September 2011
Time: 5:30 pm

Innovation and learning are strongly linked: without learning there is no innovation. But it requires a special kind of learning: learning that creates new knowledge, that results in answers and practices we did not know before, that creates a breakthrough in thinking and in doing. How do you organise this kind of learning processes? What are some ways to create such breakthroughs? These fascinating questions prompted us to start a research programme in 2002, in which we investigate many innovative practices to uncover principles and methods that work.

Participants will gain access to the main outcomes of this research and are invited to link these to their own practices. We will focus on finding ways to deal with issues and challenges where more of the same is not enough and breakthroughs are needed.

10. Learning to change: Exploring Paradigms on Change
Facilitator: Paul Keursten
Date: 15th September 2011
Time: 5:30 pm

As the saying goes: change is the only constant. But change is such a broad concept and there are so many visions on change. Ask people ‘what is needed to create change’, and you will hear many different answers - often rooted in strong beliefs. In many companies there are heated debates on how to achieve the desired change. De Caluwé and Vermaak conducted extensive research into various approaches to change and discovered five basic worldviews on change. Their conclusion is that the best chance to achieve change is to balance these five views and include elements of all five.

Participants will explore these five different worlds of change. Through a self-assessment participants will learn their own view on change in thinking and in practice.

11. Leadership for Learning
Facilitator: Amanda Barnes
Date: 22nd September 2011
Time: 1:30 pm

It is said that organisations that have developed the capacity to learn are more able to adapt to the fast rate of change. Too often in organizations, the responsibility for learning is limited to the learning and development manager.

Drawing on the work of authors such as Peter Senge and Michael Fullan, this workshop will explore how organisations can develop a learning culture that permeates the organisation and the leadership required at various levels of the organisation to sustain such a learning culture.

12. Performance Management as a Learning and Progressive Process
Facilitator: Kholiswa Menemene
Date: 22nd September 2011
Time: 5:30 pm

Most articles on employee performance management deal with the basics of the process. They provide managers with guidance on how to: measure and track performance; give feedback effectively; conduct a performance appraisal meeting; and coach to sustain performance throughout the year.
However, there are a number of other highly effective and sustainable practices that can enhance your process but often get overlooked. At this workshop we will go beyond the basics by looking at:
• helping employees improve and succeed with Development Plans;
• aligning the individual goals with the organisational goals;
• conducting self assessments to get the individual’s perspective.


We plan that this series of workshops will become a continuing rolling programme, and also to offer workshops by other professionals in different fields. Watch this space...