Unlimited & Unleashed: Visualizing the gaps in African movements...and my own career

Comparing Africa to the United States is like "comparing a 300-year-old man with a 50-year-old child".  A highly fragmented and ever evolving child at that.

During the opening address of the 2012 Africa Gathering DC conference (which I had the pleasure of attending), Her Excellency Tebelelo Seretse, Ambassador of Botswana made it a point to demonstrate that the constant "contradiction" of glossing over every African nation as an entire conglomerate country rife with war, famine and poverty hurts the advancement of the region. It also hinders nuanced perceptions of African stories/history as well as ignores the goal of creating customized development solutions.

Africa Gathering DC was a series of break-out sessions and discussions driven by critical thinking. Ambassador Seretse, herself used the case of her own Botswana's history with democracy. "Botswana is the only country in Africa that has stayed democratic since Independence". This "kgotla" system is made-up of community-based traditional democratic councils. As a result of this system, Botswana even has a Global Peace Index higher than the United States. I wonder how many people know that!

Just a snapshot of issues covered at the gathering:

• Who really benefits from the arising "Tech Boom"?
• Can we move production through technology?
• "Pitching Traditional African Media is particularly important".
• "Men need to engage other men [in health and wellness of women]".
• What rifts do the African Neo-Diaspora (most recent immigrants) have with countrymen back home?

Underneath all of these ideas and well-founded concerns, there lies a quite penetrating issue that seemed to gather. This issue could shape the future socio-economic development of the African region if it is to take advantage of its' steady growth. And that is the organizational development of inclusive, innovative African-grown organizations and social innovation movements. Upon my own research, it seems that the concept of organizational development can take quite fluid definitions:

“Organization Development is the attempt to influence the members of an organization to expand their candidness with each other about their views of the organization and their experience in it, and to take greater responsibility for their own actions as organization members. The assumption behind OD is that when people pursue both of these objectives simultaneously, they are likely to discover new ways of working together..."-- Neilsen, “Becoming an OD Practitioner”, Englewood Cliffs, CA: Prentice-Hall, 1984, pp. 2-3.

"Organization Development is a body of knowledge and practice that enhances organizational performance and individual development, viewing the organization as a complex system of systems that exist within a larger system, each of which has its own attributes and degrees of alignment. OD interventions in these systems are inclusive methodologies and approaches..." -- Matt Minahan, MM & Associates, Silver Spring, Maryland

Photo from Angola “Woman carrying books”

An attempt to put it simply: organizational development could be described as the "management of change". This practice may seem quite naive and less-than-pragmatic for an entire region but at its' core it is really precisely what I overhear most people emphasize regarding African-based organizations, especially African governments. However, in recent years the focus has shifted away from government but instead to African-led movements in the larger community. With all of these ideas generating and springing up, in what ways can they be efficiently integrated for the benefit of bridging gaps between societies of people? I think this is where access to information and knowledge can play a role. A simple library book challenged a boy by the name of William Kamkwamba of Malawi to build a windmill in his backyard despite having limited English language skills or engineering training. Of course these stories are treated as exceptions to the rule like here but are they really all that surprising in the developing world? I have recently thought about the possibility of constant streams of “transformative” information that can lead to stable, progressive change. Furthermore, the role that information access has on the fostering of entrepreneurship is quite penetrating. Looking from a the angle of information and communications technology alone: "the benefits range from giving small businesses the ability to access new markets, obtain knowledge and skills they need adopt more efficient cultivation of crops and increase their competitiveness by offering better goods and services" (Sajda Qureshi, As the global digital divide narrows, who is being left behind?). Moreover, as the title of Qureshi's article suggests, those who are left behind can also benefit from being connected. It is therefore imperative that the innovative thought processes coming out of the hubs and incubators of urban Africa are reaching those who can benefit the most because widespread entrepreneurial activity depends on the intersection of technologies and culture in its' surrounding environment.

Personally, I hope to become a "curator" of such information which I believe can give the poorest and most underserved the freedom to express themselves SUCCESSFULLY (so that can provide for their communities) and without fear. Whether that information is big data or vibrant visuals: KNOWLEDGE is power.

-N. R. M