The rich and diverse African heritage can make a considerable contribution towards addressing many political, economic and socio-cultural challenges that the continent, and even the world, faces today. African cultural heritage, passed on from generation to generation, has been a source of guidance for African communities in times of peace, uncertainty, birth, life and death.
The rediscovery of the under-appreciated and under-utilised heritage has significant implications for development and capacity building. The failure of so many development interventions over the past half-century can be partly attributed to their lack of rootedness in the society they were designed to change.
Development has been perceived as synonymous with taking on a Western-world identity. For development interventions to catalyse fundamental change, they have to engage with people’s identity and values, whether they be individuals, communities, organisations or indeed nations. Such identity-based development is needed to elicit the required understanding, motivation and passion to change. Capacity building needs to be grafted onto pre-existing foundational values, not simply importing another’s value base.
This Praxis Note illustrates how one aspect of African heritage can support this goal. It shows how the traditional wisdom contained in African proverbs can be applied both to understanding organisations and to improving their performance.
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Praxis-Note 6 - Using African Proverbs in Organisational Capacity Building - Chiku Malunga Rick James
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Praxis-Note 6 - Spanish - Using African Proverbs in Organisational Capacity Building - Chiku Malunga Rick James
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Praxis-Note 6 - French - L’utilisation des proverbes africains - Chiku Malunga Rick James
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Praxis-Note 6 - Russian - ПОСТРОЕНИИ ОРГАНИЗАЦИОННОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА - Chiku Malunga Rick James
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Praxis-Note 6 - Chinese - Using African Proverbs in Organisational Capacity Building - Chiku Malunga Rick James
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