San Diego forms part of the boundary between Mexico and the USA. With its close proximity to another country, it is clear that diverse cultural realities have a deep impact on the true heartbeat of this city. Our excursion to Chicano Park – known for its murals and seen as the emotional melting pot of Barrio Logan, San Diego’s oldest Mexican-American neighbourhood – revealed both the artistic beauty and pain of generations of sacrifice and search for belonging by so many Mexican Americans.
With this backdrop in mind, the location of our globalisation seminar in San Diego was not lost on us – for it was these very same diverse realities and experiences (cultural, geographic and lived) that was palpable in our respective seminar rooms and represented the very essence of the week.
Reflections and recollections: Leila Davids (San Diego Group 1)
The globalisation seminar exceeded my expectations. It was a golden opportunity to reflect deeply with Fellows from across the world – from India to Abu Dhabi to El Salvador, on topics that affect us all. At a time when leadership across the world feels in short supply, it showed us the necessity to step up and to step forward. Importantly, it also encouraged us to consider when to step back and make space for others. There were powerful moments in seminar, and exquisite moments outside of it too. I will never forget dancing in the parking lot at midnight under an almost full moon to music pounding out from a parked convertible rented by a fellow from the other side of the world (Fellows know how to make a plan!) while other Fellows rapped to Biggie Small around a fire pit. We debated and discussed, we danced and sang. We demonstrated the twin powers of friendship and community. San Diego provided a beautiful venue to consider the complexities of borders and the realities of migration. A Henry Crown Fellow spoke to our group about UNESCOs classification of Mexican Food as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. It made me wonder what South Africa’s gift to humanity could be. Looking at the group I was privileged and proud to travel with (Andile, Delphine, Jerrod and Nozipho of Class Akani,) I would say that it would be an unwavering commitment to and drive for social justice, combined with an abiding sense of hope that the future can always be shaped and built for the better. Especially if we step up and step forward.
Reflections and recollections: Nozipho Tshabalala (San Diego Group 1)
The seminar on “leading in the era of globalisation” had me experiencing quite a bit of cognitive dissonance. Everywhere one looks, every news piece one reads, and every conversation one overhears points to a de-globalising world. By the final check out, I was clear that globalisation lives or dies with us. It depends on the extent to which we choose to care and act beyond our own community and in the intentional moments of humanity. This clarity was a direct result of the experience of the week. I observed a global group showing up courageously in every conversation. Not only sharing, but continuing to listen and staying even when one didn’t like what they were hearing. My personal takeaways were two-fold. I left deeply affirmed of my own activism as a South African and its importance in shaping and agitating for the country we are building. I was deeply moved by the Vu Le reading and left with a conviction to be clear about the things that I will sit out as a privileged black woman to make and expand space for others.
Reflections and recollections: Jerrod Moodley (San Diego Group 2)
I went into the Global Leadership seminar feeling like the week will be a distraction to my life. My mind was frazzled with all things personal and professional (many positive) and the delivery of the readings had been severely delayed. I also can’t discount the renewed load shedding, the water issues and the next negative local news article. This left me in an insulated space, largely focused on local solutions for local challenges. Our week in San Diego had a profound impact on me. Access to global knowledge, experiences and abilities is now more important than ever. I received an amazing gift by spending a week with leaders from the USA, India, the Middle East and South Africa. Each person brought with them experience, resilience, hope and possibility – the moderators were excellent and getting everyone to share this. I left realising that there is a global network available for me to connect to – to leverage when considering the ideas and solutions to problems impacting my daily communities. I wasn’t alone, there was a tangible feeling in the room that everyone was leaving with more than they expected. I know now that global ideas need to be embraced if we want to build steps that take our communities not just forward but upward as well.
Reflections and recollections: Andile Makunga (San Diego Group 2)
My reflections are largely positive from an experiential point of view. The key was that both moderators were extremely good at facilitating participation and soliciting different views. The Fellows were very open and reflective, which enhanced the learning experience. I felt welcome and that made me open to sharing my thoughts too, and we all had ample opportunity to do so. Having said that, I feel we only scratched the surface due to time constraints, so I was left longing for more. I wish we could have one more seminar with the same group. I also felt that the venture didn’t get much attention, Fellows from mostly USA have access to funding to take their ventures forward, which is not the case for us South Africans. I have made some friends for life. I wish we had more diversity from the American point of view. That is, more Latino Hispanics, sports people, etc. This would have enhanced the experience even more.
In closing
We were divided into groups on Day 1 – primarily as ALI Fellows, but we left at the end feeling connected to a far more impactful and palpable global network. As South African based Fellows, we were all particularly heartened and indeed surprised by the incredible response, acknowledgement and respect our contributions garnered (as expressed towards us during checkouts). We had a sense that our participation was disproportionately greater than our representation on the panel – especially in relation to the size of our country and our economy, and our presence was felt Perhaps it was simply a case that in being the change we wish to see in the world as Africans we unhesitatingly lived Madiba’s words: “There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
As Akani Fellows, we also take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the sponsors and organisers who made our attendance in this globalisation seminar possible. Its impact will be felt for years to come. And perhaps the brainstorming, the subconscious push, the invisible pull and echoing call of surfacing a meaningful Akani class venture will eventually be heeded. Time will tell…
