How can a society break out from the shackles of divisiveness, prejudices and small-mindedness? How do we build upon unique strengths and establish new foundations upon which our civilisation will thrive more harmoniously than today?
Given diversity of race, religion and politics, and the greed in human nature, it is unrealistic to expect that people would live in total harmony. There will always be disruptions. Nevertheless all civilisations throughout time engaged in research, science, and innovation to advance cultures. We see their achievements in architecture, scientific discoveries, laws, and timeless literature. Spirituality underscored psychological and cultural growth.
Civilisation is about progress. It is a continuum of societies advancing toward higher ideals for socialising and thoughtfully engaging the future. It has much to do with how we synchronise human expertise to bring about cohesion, and that takes leadership with critical thinking capacity.
Regrettably, it appears that we have found ourselves in a state of social regress, and that is characterised by coarseness in how we engage each other and the relentless tearing down of independent institutions. The quality of service has declined both in the public and private sectors.
On the balance, we have made strides since Independence in the percentage of the population that own homes, vehicles and other assets, and more people have access to education and healthcare. But, it may be stretching the mind to interpret material improvements as evidence of improvement in the overall quality of life, if we use the gauges of blood crimes and corruption.
What about the future? How do we use national strengths to solve the many challenges in health, education, security to mention a few areas? Apart from abundant natural resources and human expertise, the legacies of achievers are significant strengths.
In paying tribute to the late Michael Mansoor, speakers mentioned his leadership skills. The University of the West Indies (UWI) said he had an interest in seeing the "university diversify its source of income and becoming a more independently sustainable institution." Maybe there are examples of his business strategies that could help UWI's management achieve that goal.
Others mentioned his excellent negotiating skills and integrity. UWI knows how to bring into the classroom events that brought out those qualities. Through academic case studies, the sound examples of leaders in professions across all sectors can find space in the curriculum. The case methodology of teaching will stimulate critical thinking about our civilisation and opportunities to advance it. It can inspire young professionals to emulate good examples of political and corporate behaviour.
Examples of how achievers had worked their way to the top echelons of industry and commerce and added value to their businesses may help graduates to understand the hill they must climb to achieve their ambitions, and that a degree is not an automatic visa to the top.
Educational institutions are at the centre of civilisation. UWI rightly prides itself on producing leaders who were Nobel Prize winners, entrepreneurs, academics, artists, and country leaders. Its list of honorary graduands is impressive.
The core values guiding its policy and decision making are integrity, intellectual freedom, excellence, civic responsibility, accessibility, diversity and equity. Significantly, the members of its alumni and its honorary graduands aptly demonstrated these values, but its thousands of students don't benefit from learning about their stewardship?
What were the teaching methodologies used by educators Bro Michael Samuel and Dr Anna Mahase in sustaining institutional and student excellence, and how relevant are these today?
Mr Michael Mansoor once asked students of a graduating class, "Why do we have a world famous Cocoa Research Unit with a world famous International Cocoa Genebank and we rank nowhere among the cocoa producers of the world?" That said all we need to know about our resourcefulness and priorities, more so considering the quest for economic diversification.
He asked another question, "Have we thought about the impact of having people now dependent on unemployment relief programmes exchanging their ten-day assignments for the higher paying jobs in the information industry?"Mansoor sent the message that we shouldn't put boundaries around human potential and stigmatise people because of social circumstances. These boundaries are the shackles of prejudice and ignorance.
Shouldn't the universities collaborate and produce case studies on regional corporations with the objective of engaging students in critical thinking about the state of leadership, organisational culture, and the transformation needed for global competitiveness? This will complement international case studies.
Most discussion in academia on leadership focuses on foreign entrepreneurs and foreign country leaders. That's fine, but keeping in the minds of future generations the contributions of local and regional achievers would serve to strengthen and continue traditions of excellence, build esteem, and give depth to the culture of local civilization?
The focus now should be on building the future and not on devaluing institutions of excellence that have served us well. Communication is the bedrock of civilization that could unshackle us from divisiveness, prejudices and small-mindedness.