6: Conflict and Partnership Building (John Bryant Collier; Simone Noemdoe)
Social dynamics:
Lively discussion. Only 2 participants. Discussion was largely about other topics, yet information and experience was shared. Positive feeling around the table
Concrete Issues:
Lack of confidence amongst black South Africans, even when educated: cultural issues
Stakeholder engagement and capacity building is vital to instill confidence in all sectors i.e. from the rural farmer right up to the government officials.
Other Matter:No follow up action discussed, likely due to lack of interest in the topic!
FULL NOTES:Who instills confidence?
Does skills transfer instill confidence?
- asking the right questions and listening can create a confidence
Nile perspective:
(i) identify the target audience
(ii) work with them to get them involved
(iii) What are the benefits for the different stakeholders?
a. For themselves
b. For their institution / country
c. For their people
(iv) Have to bring people ‘to the table’ and engage them
(v) Time factor: long term process
(vi) Applied learning builds confidence (South African experience)
All these factors play a role in building and maintaining confidence in individuals as well as partnerships.
Women in the Nile Programme – there is an imbalance in institutions.
Need to get locals to speak up at meetings
Government and EIA Projects:
(i) Government don’t want processes that delay development
(ii) However, EIA can be used as a tool to convince e.g. a better design for the road will reduce its environmental impacts as well as lower its maintenance costs in the long term. Thereby instilling confidence in the system and its results
Activist Approach: South Africa
Need to act as an intermediary between the government and local farmers. To drive development there needs to be action!
Issues relating to and affecting confidence:
(i) Confidence in appearance
(ii) What do I know? What knowledge do I have?
(iii) Challenge to respond (when questioned)
(iv) Confidence that is inherent in an institution and therefore “rubs off” onto members/employees
(v) Confidence due to no longer being able to deal with a certain situation/ lifestyle conditions
(vi) Building confidence at tertiary institutions vs. what happens at home
(vii) In South Africa, there is a hierarchy of confidence relating to:
a. Classc. Gender
d. Ethnicity
e. Culture
(a)-(e) Perpetuates a lack of confidence amongst black students in South Africa. Need to acknowledge the ‘baggage’ carried by certain people when negotiating partnerships!
We then discussed the different meanings of ‘confidence’, both positive and negative and discovered over 50 synonyms.