today's stew

In my new position I find myself doing a lot of hopping between themes and projects. This gives me a sometimes fascinating and sometimes bewildering opportunity to connect together different sets of concepts in different parts of my brain. For example, one minute I am finding spaces for the application of elements of social network theory to community development and linking this with theories of empowerment, leadership, social change and even monitoring and evaluation; the next i am trying to figure out how an editorial team for a local newspaper can function better, or youth can be enticed to get involved in a youth resource centre without us having to sell the place as a career service centre; then I am making a comment about why prohibition of alcohol will not cause an end to violence (especially against women) - a decision taken by a committee of elders in a tribal village; or trying to figure out what threats are being faced by the Balwadi (full day pre-school centre) progamme and how we can start acting today to address them whilst simultaneously enhancing our contribution to the programme's vision; or maybe trying to help a 6 year old state-level network (working on young people's sexual and reproductive health - and now several other issues) articulate its vision and strategies for the next 5 years...

Today out of the general muddy puddle, the following thoughts and questions bubbled to the surface:

1. Use the connectors that are available in the optimal way
2. The most powerful change force is the inter-personal socialisation process based on values that connect and strengthen common aspirations (this doesn't always have to be 'positive' change)
   
3. How does one draw the line between commitment and foolishness?
4. How does one identify the optimal balance between local and global (distant) in one's interactions with others in order to secure high quality understanding of the totality of things?
5. There is a very big difference between providing people with a set of options and enabling people to formulate new options themselves

Fantastic. I also really enjoyed sharing some issues of leadership that have been nagging me for a while. Leadership can be looked at in two ways (or rather, I'm only going to mention two). One is about a person, an individual; the other is about a process involving people. Leadership is about finding a road that leads to common aspirations, making that road visible and walkable by many people and helping them travel it together. Why should responsibility for finding this road be placed in the hands of any select group of individuals? Would it not make more sense to systematically create space for all those who are motivated and able to contribute to finding the road so that they could all participate in the leadership process? The reaction was positive. I think it struck chords with a lot of latent thinking amongst the people present. Now how to operationalise this concept through a workshop? That will be another major challenge, if it is possible... For some reason I get the feeling that it can't be an easy job to work in a profound way on process-oriented localised connective leadership in a workshop conducted in a non-local place. Then again, this might have to be the challenge. Time to think of some fun games!

It would obviously have to be at the level of values - how does one person convince someone of something else... how does one person identify connectors (things, events, concepts, emtions, world-views, tastes, etc.) in another person and use these to establish a relationsihp upon which collaboration in achievement of goals can be based? Hmmm... my next personal research topic?!

Hmmm... i now return to the puddle; a small dilemma aluded to in the first paragraph of today's blog. The context is a 'youth resource centre' whose objectives remain imprecise but broadly relate to providing youth with the skills, capabilities and attitudes required for them to be able to look after themselves and also to contribute to the development process as responsible citizens so that they can secure a better future/society for their own children. This overarching aim is to be unpacked and applied in myriad ways according to the particular opportunities and constraints being offered in different locations/contexts. In this sense, the project is highly innovative because it is designed to be locally adapted. However, the balance between adaptation vs. conformity is something to be considered across various levels. Perhaps the deepest and most fundamental level is that of the values upon which the project is based.

I won't be cryptic any more. The idea that is being put forwards is to provide computer trainings (including provision of a diploma) at the centre as a means for getting youth to come on a regular basis. Despite the logistical limitations (waaaay to few computers) there is a more fundamental objection (on behalf of several key stakeholders within the project) to the idea as it would project an image of the centre as a place for youth to get employment skills and it is feaed that this would cause its deeper social objectives to become obscured. For the person running the centre, this is ok because it will get people coming (the logistical issues don't seem to be getting full attention) - social objectives can be introduced later - and anyway, the youth in the area are demanding computer training. The alternative strategy instead aims to get the youth using the computer as a means for preparing all kinds of work (reports, research, stories, etc.) that would form part of a deeper social learning and transformation process more fully integrated into the other development objectives of the project of which the YRC is a part. The youth will learn but only on condition of participating in 'plus' activities that add value to the overall village development process. The question before us then is whether the youth will get involved without the promise of a diploma (although we can, of course, offer them a certificate)... Personally, I don't see why not. But today left me with the funny feeling of having burst someone's bubble by arguing on the basis of a value-system or set of principles that were not their own. I may be a fool but I still believe that patience is a virtue (albeit a very complex one).

Good night and thank you!