As secure as the mountains...

The Nepalis have a saying: "No matter what happens, tomorrow the Himalayas will still be there." 

This is how I felt when, amidst all the bad news in the media—worries about strikes, corruption, poo-protests, abuse of power, poverty, the deteriorating situations in Syria—I drove along the False Bay coast between Gordons Bay and Kleinmond, South Africa the other day: The rocks, sea and mountains will still be there. 

But will everyone be able to enjoy them when lives are snuffed out because of poverty, violence and abuse of power?  

Beauty and suffering exist side by side. They are watching each other. And they are watching us. We can't be bystanders.  

Twenty Reasons Why Citizens Call for Dialogue

During the recent Finding Ways to Walk Together Dialogue Initiative in South Africa, four regional and a national dialogue event were held. Here is a summary of the key messages, translated into needs and aspirations with regards to dialogue:

1. The right thing to do
   To engage in dialogue is absolutely necessary for the survival of the nation 
2. Inclusion and participation
   To access, convene and participate in relevant dialogues with the right people (especially the youth), about the right issues at the right time
3. Breaking the silence about conflict
   To speak out and get to the root causes of conflict
4. Language of courage
   To speak the truth to those in authority and one another in authentic and constructive ways
5. Inspiration and vision
   To unite behind a vision that inspires citizens to shift from prisoners of the past to pioneers of the future, from passive recipients to active citizens
6. Leadership
   To foster wise, visionary and moral leadership that listens and responds to valid  concerns and aspirations
7. Dignity and Equality
   To recognise, affirm and value one another’s human dignity in spaces where people are treated equally
8. Connectedness and alignment
   To know that people are not talking in isolation of one another and that the results of dialogue are shared across the country 
9. Cohesion
   To create a society that is free from prejudice, polarization and factionalism which are often linked to tribe, race, political affiliation or class differences
10. Protection
    To be able to meet in safe spaces that are free from domination or coercion especially when uncomfortable discussions take place; and to be free from persistent confrontation, blaming and attacks
11. Good process
    To participate in well-facilitated processes instead of senseless and fruitless talking
12. Meaning
    To be confident that everyone’s  contributions are valued
13. Creation
    To contribute in creative ways to ideas and actions towards a better life for all, instead of focusing on problems all the time
14. A development agenda
    To participate in a development agenda for the country 
15. Freedom from poverty
    To join hands to overcome the shared problem of poverty, which is the real enemy—not people
16. Listening and understanding
    To access and learn from reliable information; to listen, to understand and to be understood
17. Healing
    To heal relationships and to overcome our common woundedness, shifting from a mentality of victims to that of victors
18. Non-violent alternative forms of expression
    To counter violence, which has become a dominant language 
19. Capacities
    To build and support capacities of structures and facilitators to engage and sustain in dialogue
20. National mechanism for dialogue
    To establish a national framework and structure/mechanism, without which dialogue will not automatically happen

The Accra Agenda for Action -- one further step towards aid effectiveness

In my work with politicians, business, civil society and international organisations I'm often struck by how few people know about agreements between developing countries and donor countries and organisations on how to ensure that aid is delivered more effectively.  In some cases people say "I have heard about the Paris Declaration, but they cannot recall ever using it in their work.  A new chapter has now been added to this process in the form of the Accra Agenda for Action.  "Ministers of developing and donor countries responsible for promoting development and Heads of multilateral and bilateral development institutions met in Ghana on 4 September 2008 and endorsed the Accra Agenda for Action, to accelerate and deepen implementation of the Paris Declaration

on Aid Effectiveness (2 March 2005)." 

The signatories of the Accra Agenda for Action say they are committed to eradicating poverty and promoting peace and prosperity by building stronger, more effective partnerships that enable developing countries to realise their development goals. Progress has been made, but not enough as more than "1.4 billion people—most of them women and girls—still live in extreme poverty,1 and access to safe drinking water and health care remains a major issue in many parts of the world." But one of the most important reasons why aid is not effective is defragmentation.  In Scramble for Africa the Economist provides chilling evidence of how ineffective aid is, despite all the "generosity of the West" -- a questionable statement, to say the least. The article is a must read.