The salient role of culture in our development

Most recently, this column explored various aspects of the Rwandan culture, the possibility espousing the same and benefits there from. From the onset, it must be understood that culture talk is no idle chatter; we will see why. Good leadership and governance, in both corporate and public sectors, consider culture central to success of enterprise and/or society. It is an iceberg of sorts. However, many a leader or manager mistakenly insist on the formal aspects of culture such as organisational goals, technology, policies and procedures, financial resources, products and services among others. This superficial focus on ‘the way we say we do things’ overtly misses how we really feel about the way we get things done. Put it another way; if you deploy the same resources under identical conditions to a group of bankers, with similar education and training in Germany and Rwanda; you will, almost always, get different outputs. This is mainly because beliefs, attitudes, informal interactions, group norms and the like are different between these two groups. That is the power of the culture. Like the iceberg that it is culture, ours included, has the habit of being hidden below the surface most of the time. ‘Culture’ is derived from ‘cultura’ in Latin which means “cultivation” According to Hoebel, it is an integrated system of learned behavior patterns which are characteristic of the members of a society and which are not a result of biological inheritance. The fact that it is integrated means that if affects just about every aspect of the society. It is the character and personality of our organisation or nation. The above being the case, there are tendencies that Rwandans and, indeed, Africans need to desist from. Every time we refer to our culture, we think and talk about it in past tense. We think of traditions and dances of years gone by. We thus isolate ourselves as a modernized lot, far removed from these. Conversely, when confronted by modernist cultural practices that we find repugnant, we cringe and say it is against our culture and customs. It is almost comic if it weren’t so tragic. Cultural understanding, awareness and practices enhance our unity. Culture would also, if used properly, enhance productivity and marketability of Rwanda as a tourist destination. If we had for example a Cultural Heritage Day when everyone dressed and lived Rwandan to work and school, it would be a sight to behold and very lucrative if marketed properly. Cultural awareness will improve the quality of our lives and the way we manage our homes and jobs; our work ethic and philosophies and how we communicate. Many a company visions and missions are but empty slogans to employees of those organisations. This is because they neither reflect nor affect the workplace culture of the same. Culture is organic, it is changeable. Mostly, it responds and adjusts automatically through human interaction. The change can also be engineered through leadership and legal framework. These can be tailored to be in line with our aspirations. This should be based on our situation and needs. We must know and appreciate it first though. Sociologists will tell you that every cultural practice has its raison d’être. What we must avoid is blindly abandoning ours to ape foreign stuff. All the efforts put into reinvigorating our cultural awareness and sensitisation in Rwanda cannot be gainsaid. There are various sectors that are doing work that is worth mention. There are the foundation ‘pillars’ of ‘Agaciro’ and ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda’ which promote dignity and unity among our peoples. These are laudable. The Ministry of Sports and Culture (MINISPOC) has also worked towards the revival of the ‘Umuganura’ (harvest) fetes that are now on the national calendar of events. I trust that this will carry on and improve even more. All in all it is a good effort. We especially laud MINISPOC for bringing cultural issues to the fore. Our holidays have been almost exclusively political or religious. It is refreshing to have a cultural break in all this. Further, there is the now famous Rwanda Day fetes that have been successfully organised abroad that have done a lot to bring together the Rwandan diasporas and to showcase to the world the real Rwanda. Indeed, the Rwanda Day that just concluded in Netherlands early this month is a testimony to this. May be we should have a Rwanda Day right here too? There is a Kiswahili saying ‘mtoto umleavyo ndivyo akuavyo’. As you raise up a child so will they turn out. Culture cultivates who our children turn out to be. We need to embrace our culture more and unlock our potential. Fata umucyo! Sam Kebongo is a Project Management and Entrepreneurship Development Consultant based in Kigali. E-mai: sam.kebongo@gmail.com

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The salient role of culture in our development