We often come in as intruders into their on-going world of discovery and rediscovery, then we enrol them in our activities, dictating the rules of par ticipation, without allowing them to enrol us in their style of participation. The Empathetic Learning and Action (ELA) framework tries to come to grips with these parallel realities. Negotiation, consensus building, and establishing of dialogue are the objectives within the ELA framework.
From Carolyn Logan's TRADITIONAL LEADERS IN MODERN AFRICA.Africa in modern times, when it comes to governance has found itself at crossroads, a choice in between modern democracy through elected leaders and traditional tribal leaders.
The question of how traditional authorities “fit” into a modern political system becomes particularly acute
at the local level, where these leaders exert the most influence on the daily lives of Africans, and where
the contest with government authorities for resources and responsibilities is most intense.
In my opinion this a false dichotomy, traditional and modern CAN coexist and also complement each others needs.
Our findings are clear: positive attitudes toward chiefs are not incompatible with democracy – and vice versa. Even more startlingly, far from being in stark competition for public esteem, local traditional leaders appear to draw their sustenance and legitimacy from the same well as elected officials. We see strong evidence that African individuals tend to have an orientation toward leadership – a leadership affect – that shapes their perceptions of both elected and non-elected leaders similarly.
Africans use their history and storytelling as a form of explaining the reason why humans exist and the path they should follow; in the same way conflicts in the African societies are revealed.
African folktales are stable, self contained, they can be trustworthy vehicles of the immense weight of values they carry from generation to generation without being tainted by present reality.
WOMEN'S role has become an important one in Africa's oral history. By sharing an insight of their lives they communicate to other women around the world their attitudes towards their oppression.
By voicing their thoughts and way of life they're becoming a tool in modernization of social and economic system.
These African women are presenting an alternative social vision through their storytelling.
