'Born frees' complete primary school

Today the first of the ‘born free’ generation in South Africa completed their primary school education. I attended the final assembly at my twin boys’ primary school. It was moving to see the children, many in tears, bidding farewell to each other as they all depart to go their separate ways to high school in January. These children, now teenagers, are the children born in 1995 – the first full year of democracy in our land.

They entered primary school in 2002, and, then, it was hard to predict what kind of children they would turn out to be. Now we can tell! Different generations have been broadly categorised over the years in terms of their values, ideas and characteristics. These categories are based mainly on middle class urban generations over the past 100 years or so, and have been broadly defined (in American/European terms):

GI generation (born 1930-1945), Baby Boomers (born 1945-1960), Flower Power (born 1960 – 1975), Generation X (born 1975 – 1990), Millenium Generation (born 1990-2005). In South Africa, the millenium generation are seen as ‘born frees’ – those urban, generally middle class children growing up after the end of apartheid.

So what can we say about this generation? They very much represent the future of our country. From 2015 onwards they will be entering the workplace, bringing with them new ideas as a result of having come through a (relatively) non-racial education system. The exciting thing is that these young people are generally free of the prejudices and perverse norms that were encouraged in the apartheid education system. They are comfortable with diversity and cherish the values of our Constitution that support non-racism and non-sexism.

Further, they value strongly their individual identities as people, their unique talents, and their distinct but frequently overlapping cultural and religious identities. They see themselves first as South Africans, whether Indian, Muslim, Jewish, Afrikaans, Zulu, Chinese or whatever.

They are courteous and polite, and respectful to their teachers and to each other. At the same time they are not afraid to ask questions, be critical and to assert their own ideas. They are ingeneous and very computer-literate - indeed when they enter the workplace they will be the first employees to have been using computers since they were 5 years old! They are AIDS-aware and can become an HIV-free generation.

These teenagers appreciate the history of their country, although they cannot fully understand what it would have been like to go through an apartheid education system and not to have friends and school mates from different backgrounds. They do feel privileged to have been alive in the time of Mandela.

They are incredibly brand-aware (Ama Kip Kip!) and mediate their relationships via Mixit and Facebook - for the most part doing so responsibly.

So what does this mean? Perhaps my overriding sense is one of huge hope and optimism for the future. Our country will be safe in their hands as they grow up and take their responsibility as citizens and leaders of the future. There is no doubt that they will face huge challenges in continuing the process of rebuilding and developing the country. They will also have to play a leading role in ensuring that the whole continent of Africa is able to move beyond poverty and conflict, and walk the world stage in addressing global challenges, particularly relating to the environment.

What a day for a day dream!

Well it has been quite a day. 5th November is my mother's birthday (happy birthday Mum!) and we also celebrated Guy Fawkes Day when I was growing up in England - an odd celebration in which the English celebrate the man who tried to blow up the House of Parliament.

And this morning we wake up to the news that Obama has won the US Presidential Election! Apart from the significance of electing a black President, it appears that a new spirit and consciousness has awoken in the American people. It was amazing to watch on our TV screens the images of Americans in tears hanging on every word in his victory speech. And how different his words from the cynical, mocking, arrogant and sarcastic language of George Bush as he led the US into the war on terror during the past 7 years.

So for now let us celebrate for America and her people!

I hope Obama's words of humility will soon be translated into policies and strategies that take the US away from an aggressive and militaristic foreign policy. For now, US warships and gunboats patrol the seas, and her young men carry guns in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. US embassies are targets, and much of the world lives in fear. A lot needs to happen.

And maybe we can find some learning in all this about leaders and politics. How fickle it all is. Bush was very popular - just a short time ago. Some people who voted for Bush now voted for Obama. Many people who voted for Obama would really have preferred Hilary Clinton. Some Hilary supporters voted for Palin. Obama got the breaks this time around. He had four times as much money to spend as McCain. Let us hope we are lucky and that something substantial and real can be created this time. If not, then I fear the world will descend to new lows of cynicism.

I attended another lecture this evening. My Professor (I like to think of her as "my" Professor!) - Adele Thomas - delivered her inaugural address at the University of Johannesburg. Her lecture was entitled "What questions would Socrates ask? Universities and their internal governance". Adele gives a devastating critique of the internal governance of Universities in South Africa and elsewhere from an ethical perspective, and highlights the need for imaginative leadership in stimulating the development of what she calls 'institutional moral responsibility'.

This moral responsibility, she argues, is "founded in institutional integrity" - meaning an understanding of the institution's morals, values and commitments that is based on a rigorous and continuing process of internal dialogue and introspection about what the role of the university should be.

The address was by its nature admittedly discomforting to an academic audience. The question arises whether university institutions can rise to the challenge of critical self-reflection, which might mean descending from ivory towers!

SoL comes to SA, fun and games in the ANC

Yesterday I attended a meeting about setting up a South African ‘fractal’ of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL). This is an exciting initiative, aimed at bringing together people (consultants, researchers and practitioners) who are passionate about organizational learning, and who wish to share this passion with organizations in this country. A small group of people are leading this process, and it is planned to have SoL established by early next year. In the interim, interest is being sounded out with local companies and organisations, and a number of learning events are happening in which interested people are starting to share ideas about learning. One of the interesting things for me is that SoL recognises the idea that learning is a social process, which is consistent with how we see learning in Kessels and Smit The Learning Company.

We continue to live in interesting times in South Africa. It appears very likely that a number of high profile ANC figures will establish a breakaway party in the next few weeks. Mosiuoa Lekota (formerly referred to by ANC people as ‘Comrade’ Lekota, but now offered the designation ‘Mr’ Lekota) has declared his intention to call some kind of national convention in 3-4 weeks and sees this as a process of ‘serving divorce papers’ on the ANC. What does this mean? Is this the long predicted spilt?

The real question is whether any new party will offer a new or different set of policies to the electorate. Mere difference of style or leadership will not be enough to win significant political support, however disillusioned some sectors of society may be with the pace of service delivery. There is little sense yet that a breakaway faction will offer an alternative set of policies or a different programme from the current government, even while Lekota espouses a core allegiance to the ideas of the Freedom Charter. What is more likely is that the breakaway group will make alliances with the United Democratic Movement – led by former ANC member Bantu Holomisa – and other opposition elements. In this sense, my feeling is that the significance of the breakaway is that it will ultimately represent more of a continuing realignment of smaller opposition groupings, rather than establishing a real and credible alternative government.

But then, I may be wrong (as we know from previous blogs)!