Dialogue in Pursuit of Development - Are you looking for one of ...

ing to our own situation, but in partner countries we make an impact also as
a group, which we often forget.
In development co-operation there is a considerable production of documents,
reports, studies, planning papers, evaluations, information materials,
magazines, strategies and research reports. We try to acquire information
about as much as possible, but there is always more to read. Perhaps we
should ask ourselves whether all documents are effective in relation to results.
Less production of documents might create more space for dialogue
and learning. Could the number of the many deadlines be reduced or be
made more flexible? Most of them are donor driven and perhaps not always
in the interest of partners. There is much room for improved planning, time
management and rethinking of what is really important. More activities in
the form of conferences and seminars, and document production are not
always needed.
Complexity of roles: attitudes and relationships
Within the dialogue between development partners, at times we are also
frustrated because of attitudes. Out of respect for those who organised the
meeting, and perhaps also because we do not know how to make the process
constructive, we often keep quiet and do not raise criticism, although it
does happen that someone breaks the ice which can stir up quite a number
of emotions. I will never forget when a prominent leader from an African
country rose up at the very end of a major meeting and said: “I thought I
would not be humiliated after independence, but this meeting has proved
me wrong. I am shocked by the attitudes that some donors have towards
Africans.” After that he walked out and there we were left in the room, all
with different views on what had happened and why this man reacted in
the way he did.
There are of course less dramatic examples of people’s frustrations. After
a workshop participants wrote: “we were very happy with the facilitator
since she treated us as grown-ups”, which shows that paternalistic attitudes
are still common.
With a more healthy and trustful relationship, there would be less ‘hidden
communication’ and dialogue partners could concentrate on the content
of the discussion. Therefore we should not be surprised that the dialogue
between benefactors and intended beneficiaries has failed in many
ways, since one partner has dominated the discussion and focused primarily
on concrete results and less on relationships.
This focus is a reflection of the Western culture, which values highly people’s
actions and is not very process-oriented. This can be contrasted with
the traditional African society, where relationships are the centre of life. A
South African Xhosa proverb goes “Ubuntu ungamntu ngabanye abantu”
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