Cross Cultural Exchange through Education!

A Cisco Engineer Explains Routing/Switching

Algorithsms .

17 ICT Engineers from the Developing World were hosted by the United States Telecommunication Training Institute, Washington DC and later descended on San Jose,CA at the Cisco Headquarters for an IP Security and Traffic Engineering Training which was turned out to be the most enriching experience for many.

This Tech Cross-Cultural Interaction re-enforced a few aspects about humanity and the modern challenges facing most of the developing world. Many of the Engineers under going training were always earge to share information about experiences back home. Their discusisons were multi-directional rainging from policy regulatory issues in their home countries, limited ICT infrastructure, lack of skilled human resource, political instability etc.

ICT Engineers tour Stanford University

Education remains the key structural requirement that will help intergrate Africa in the world economy through improved communication, acquisition of technical skills that are relevant to national, regional and global market demands. One of the principle benefit of globalization has been the cross cultural influences that have opened Africa to models that have worked and that can be replicated without necessarily subjecting our valued heritage to damaging distortions.

The conservatives have argued that indeed western culture is not good for us albeit with alot of vagueness. Culture evolves due to human interactions, through information exchange, through education, the mass media and now the super-highway. It is imperative to note the influences of global intergration in almost all aspects of life. The industrial revolution did not impact Africa fundamentally since we remained agrarian as a society. The land distribution system has been grossly fragmented and used for subsistence agriculture. Mechanization which brings economies of scale has not been part of us. The consequence has been poverty. Poverty breeds insecurity, disease and conflict. This continent is not poor in natural resources and comparatively we have more resources, a better climate, a more undistabilized ecological system than other land masses. In otherwords, we have comparative advantages that we must take advantage of.

Shaka at the Cisco Headquarters San Jose,CA.

Our most important resource though is not the oil or diamonds that we are now striking in many part of Africa since these are exhaustible. It is our human capital. But this human capital must be of high quality and this comes with an education of worth. And education and a cultural orientation that has a broad outlook of the past, the present and the future. We have what the world needs and they have what we need. Meaning we are supposed to be partners in a mutually symbiotic relationship. But we have to identify what we can offer to the world. So far we do not seem to know what we can offer to the world. The political leadership is still in the mud with feet of clay thus the glaring intellectual paralysis. We have the fauna and flora. We have fresh water sources, we have tropital forests, we have organic foods in diversity, we have the most awesome culture and languages. But we need to have capacity to identify our comparative strengths. We need to exploit our heritage to our advantage in full knowledge of the global forces that impact us positively and negatively.

A Nigerian Engineer Tests Vidoe Conferencing.

We need to invest in education infrastructure that embrases a global culture to address the demands of a global market. We need to look at the future of our continent and the African society in relation to the world. The leadership needs to lead by humility and sacrifice for country. We need leaders who can sit and talk, strategically plan for the long term. We need leaders who can admire with inspiration. Many of our leaders have travelled but seem to have let their heads back home and did not benefit from the visible functional urban transport, financial and other public systems. Cross cultural education does help young people learn, admire and get inspiration from functional systems. It helps people learn how to replicate technology to our local needs. It broadens our scope of experiences and sharing and this what I found out at the United States Telecommunications Training Institute, Washington DC. http://ustti.org/ .

My interaction with Albanians, Bulgarians, Russians, Kenyans, Phillipinos, Papua Guineans, Americans extendend my horizon that societies world over have peculiar problems and sometimes these intersect. That tested models that have solved challenges in other places can be replicated sometimes with minimal modifications rather than going to first principles. This was a Technology grounding training which brough Engineers from 17 countries in the developing world. I was inspired by the strong sense of insitutional response to public issues by Information age governments. I was inspired by the sense of nationalism among the people in expressing their love for country. I was amazed by the respect for the law and sheer functionality of systems. The culture of documentation of protocols was revolutionarizing. I made up my mind to try to be an ambassador for the good. Yes we can fix our society for the future of our children.

Shaka Robert.

Strikes &Demonstrations Exhibit Policy Contradictions!

Makerere Universitiy has been closed due to a sit down strike by lecturers over pay. Kyambogo University until recently saw its lecturer go on strike and in all these seemingly "unruly and unpatriotic" demonstrations of resentment by our academics, students are the most affected and therefore justified to support those who impart knowledge in the future leaders. Gulu University has threated to follow suit just like the Medical Doctors in all National Referal Hospitals.

The motivation of the growing resentment is just one:Public Irresponsiveness. The Ministry of Finance, Dr.Ezra Suruma recently confirmed that his ministry has budgeted for the comfort of our members of Parliament who have already hinted on their expectations to the tune of shillings 20bn to share among themselves. Each member of parliament expects a minimum of shs.60million for the purchase of a powerful 4WD car to ease transport on our very bad roads. The minister is a potential beneficiary as an Ex-Official of this parliament like many pot-bellied politicians and other Presidential appointees. This is tax payers money in a very banana country with banana people. The fact that the state is strongly fused and almost homogenous in function means there is unity by the political elite to exclusively sit on the national dining table. The Public Service of Uganda today is diverting alot of develoment resources to nurse the egos of its redundat human resource because the services we expect from the state/government as a mandate are not forth-coming. It means the government cannot deliver services to the people but has money for politicians to share among themselves. Ugandans hate this buffoonery and are watching. Imagine what shs.20bn can do amidst this energy crisis.

MUK Students carry an injured Colleague.

I read in the media recently that an Indian firm TATA was planning to set up a $20m plant to manufacture instant coffee from our organic coffee. This is just twice the money MPs want to share among themselves just for their comfort. How about using the same money and investing a fruit processing plant? How many university graduates would get jobs? Farmers in Busoga or Teso would find market for their agricultural produce?

So far,the strikes are exhibit of a clash between those in the civil service and the public service of Uganda. Uganda today has a huge Public Administration structure which is so expensive to support economically. Politically, this structure can deliver in electoral terms but has serious limits and is predatory.

So strikes and demonstrations from the civil service might be a tip of the ice-bag. The civil service is saying look you say you have money for the luxury of MPs, you must have money for us to afford the increasing cost of living due to inflation. Meantime, the business community which has been hit badly by the enery crisis amidst a sky rocketing taxations regime is still watching,definately with a plan. The energy sector coupled with wrong political decisions are pointing us in a very gloomy direction.

Where the President has reached, he has very few options on his hands. He can't dismantle his political structure to redirect resources to strategic sectors that will calm the public nerve by lowering the cost of doing business because this is political sucuide. It is the most strategic option but requires a total reconfiguration of the political spectrum and therefore a radical shift. This means carrying out surgery on on the constitution of Uganda that grants the legal instruments that legalize the political octopus feeding on the resources meant for service delivery.Almost unaffordable!!!! The possibility of this is founded in the political will and pragmatism of the President and his policy adivsors. If the intentions of the NRM political regime is purely political rather than strategic re-aligment back to the foundation of the revoution it will be very hard for it to come back should the peasants run out of any hope. The political cadreship built on financial incentives does not appreciate the ideological bondage between the peasants and the authors of the rebellion. It is this growing sloppiness that characterizes the bulkiness of the political infrastrcuture. The cost of maintining all political members financially is eating up resources away from sectors that would galvanize and consolidate the support from NRM's most strategic allies.

The other option is to crack hard on demonstrators with the police and military which will technically fault the CHOGM and the country's cartoon democratic credentials in the international community. Good Public Relations does not support this direction except in extreme conditions which still point to a strain in the economy which statistics show but politics deny.We might be headed in the evening days similar to the Mzee Arap Moi's days in Kenya as forces try to take advantage of public slopiness. Everyone wants their share if the government behaves like it has "alot" of money to waste but these simple harmonic motions of having and not having will generate further public resentment. President Museveni, has lots of work to do in these 5 years my dear friends.