South-South movement born in Moshi
Sustaining local knowledge, initiative and continuity
In November 2009, EASUN and IACD (International Association for Community Development) organised a three-day consultation to put a Southern perspective on the North-South dialogue event held in Moshi, Tanzania (see our eNews of 25 November 2009). The South-South consultation was also held in Moshi, from 29-31 March 2010, attended by 22 civil society leaders from 15 organisations.
One of the lessons learnt from the November North-South meeting was about the role that "Northern funding" has played in edging out Southern civil society from shaping the development agenda and capacity building practices in the South. The meeting itself was a classic absence of dialogue in North-South "partnerships". Thus, an important innovation in the March South-South meeting was to take stock of the resources resident in the South while deliberately excluding "money" from the list. What was identified included: knowledge and information about the local situation, (our) will or spirit, culture, social capital, time as power, organisational infrastructure, the "self" for personal and leadership development, and awareness.
To recognise such resources is one thing - putting them to work however, requires active emphasis on sustainability and empowerment. This enables an examination of "interdependence" between North and South in new ways, with an interest in strengthening mutual benefit as basis for all partnerships. One-sided power that is mostly bolstered by financial resources causes initiative, knowledge and continuity from the receiving side (Southern CSOs) to collapse with shifts in interests of the (Northern) funder. It was further noted that action based on awareness of innate resources will become viable only when we in the South can develop the competence for building institutional linkages.
Sustainable development in Africa demands that we are able to construct structures and relationships that support personal and institutional transformation, beyond incremental improvements. This calls for more emphasis on creative, long-term, internally driven and vision-focused strategies that are aligned to the pressing questions of the South. Based on this understanding, an East African South-South movement for sustainable development was born in Moshi, on 31st March 2010.
The movement is initiated with the expressed intent to be proactive and inclusive in strengthening the abilities and capacities of CSOs in the South to develop collective synergy for action. Some of these actions will include: (1) developing and documenting the South agenda; (2) documenting and disseminating best practices; (3) lobbying and advocacy for the interests of the South; (4) capacity development in leadership, research and policy analysis; (5) joint programming and knowledge exchange. Three organisations represented in the founding meeting (EASUN, EMESCO and IACD Africa) were asked to carry out focal point functions of the movement for a period of one year. A review meeting to assess progress and emerging questions will be held in 2011.
For those wishing to engage with the South-South initiative or join its development process, contact: nyantito.machota@easun-tz.org, wangui.karanja@iacdglobal.org, or emesco@iwayafrica.com
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Ten years of "creating spaces"...
The challenge and possibilities for developing new ways of thinking and approaches to problem solving are embedded in EASUN's mission statement: "Creating spaces within which individuals, groups, organisations and communities creatively learn to build a better history and new ways of thinking about and taking ethical action to transform lives and livelihoods."
An example of how this vision and mission is employed includes "movement building" (i.e., the stimulation of networks to emerge from shared learning processes and become alive with specific issues that they are able to take forward). In fact, the South-South consultation was an example of this type of "space" created by EASUN, in collaboration with IACD Africa. Other networks currently emerging from EASUN's work include the Association for Practicing OD in East Africa (APODEA), established in October 2009.
It is only through movements that we are able to build an ideological basis for developmental practices and action. An important aspect of movement building in Africa is to develop transformational leadership in order to facilitate the sustainable growth of individuals, organisations and institutions. In this way EASUN has taken OD further to a particular developmental space that enables leaders, organisations and communities to embark on conscious processes of building better histories.
New ways of thinking
A conversation with Richard at the recent (East Africa) South-South dialogue in Moshi (March 2010) shows how he is consciously walking a particular trajectory of professional and personal development since his first encounter with EASUN through the FOD (Facilitating Organisation Development) course in 2003. He says:
"I am now willing to listen openly to other points of view and "let go" of my own. This is different from the past when I always believed I was right, and had to be right. I would agonise over my own mistakes for extended periods of time. I always looked at things in terms of right and wrong. I was never inclined to help people who made mistakes, even from my position of leadership. I simply judged them. I was less trusting. I conducted myself as if it was my responsibility alone to ensure that we succeed. Now I can forgive even myself when I make a mistake. In the organisation I lead in Eastern Uganda (Safe Neighbourhood), I am more comfortable now to let others take responsibility, and make decisions, even in my absence. If they make a mistake, we can learn from it and reflect on what to do better or differently."
Building better history as a leader:
"Seven years of engaging in professional and self-development through the EASUN Learning centre has brought me to a point where I am not so much paralysed by the possibility that I may make a mistake. Now the organisation I lead from the position of Executive Director can move in particular directions that I do not necessarily agree with. I have learnt to build consensus as a way of leading and this quite often requires that I keep my own ego in check. Things often turn out fine anyway. I am now more concerned about the success of others than 'me being right', and I have really seen people grow. It is extremely important to me that I am now experiencing more ownership and support from the people I lead."
Transforming lives:
"For 10 years, I have consistently been ready to pick up my bags whenever I am invited to an activity of the EASUN Learning Centre. This is because I feel renewed every time I am here. I am touched not only at the head knowledge level but also at the heart, and feet levels of the will. Here I am party to a transformational agenda that we develop together and commit to, through reflective learning."
"I am happy to have become a part of this community of practice, where I find growth. I would really have to work hard to find a reason not to come to an invitation by EASUN. It is like I am going to fellowship, not only about important issues such as South to South as we did this week in Moshi, but also fellowship with development practice. It is an identity of purpose. I feel a bond that we are creating a new path even as we walk it."Ethical action:
Similar to Richard above, stories shared by many other civil society leaders who have attended EASUN's consultations and training activities are increasingly converging on questions of leadership, particularly the ability of leaders to take ethical action to build institutional continuity. Alex Ruhunda looks back on his fourteen year experience at Kabarole Research and Resource Centre (KRC) in western Uganda and ponders seriously about the challenges of building an institution:
"For one who has built or started an institution, the temptation of wanting to go on and on is very high, especially given our context that provides very limited space for alternatives, and is worsened by working with people who are ruled by the culture of submission."
A conversation with Alex during the March 2010 South-South meeting in Moshi offers a glimpse of practical steps that a facilitative leader can take to enable empowering transition and change of leadership at executive position levels. Alex was the founding director of KRC, which has been in existence since 1996. As he prepared his departure from the organisation, the following specific steps were initiated:
- Announced retirement from the organisation in 2007, three years before his exit as Director.
- Through consultation with the Board (as stewards), Alex relinquished management of the organisation to the Senior Management Team (SMT) in 2007. The process included developing new ways of decision-making to ensure that the team made decisions through consultative and shared learning processes.
- Established processes of sharing all information (technical and financial) in the broad KRC system and ensured these became standard practice within the organisation.
- Put mechanisms in place to build the leadership pipeline, including promotion of staff to new positions.
- Former Deputy Director took up the role of Executive Director in 2009.
- Ensured the start-up of a project that would generate income for the organisation in case of a reduction in donor funding (KRC has acquired 100 acres of commercial farmland).
Since December 2009, Alex no longer holds any position in the organisation, not even as a Board member. Alex remains available however, to play symbolic, promotional and advisory roles for KRC upon request, without being involved in decision-making.
Transforming organisational history
The specific steps shared by Alex are yet another lesson and challenge for founders of CSOs wishing to have lasting impact on the institutional growth of their organisations after they have moved on to new initiatives.
It is significant to note that Alex attended a "Transition Challenges for Pioneer Leaders" workshop organised by EASUN in 2007 where 30 CSO leaders from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania shared insights, questions and plans related to their planned departures from organisations they had founded and whose energy and identity they had shaped quite prominently. Alex had deliberately encouraged fellow civil society leaders in Uganda to attend the workshop because, as he noted then, there was need to compare the learning and experiences on how pioneer leaders can put in place formidable institutions that can outgrow them as individuals.
For a conversation on EASUN's interventions to build capacities for civil society institutional development in East Africa, contact: mosi.kisare@easun-tz.org
For OD interventions to support leadership transitions, including board training, contact: atieno.olwal@easun-tz.org
For further information on the KRC leadership transition, contact: alex.ruhunda@iacdglobal.org or krc@iwayafrica.com
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