Botswana

DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2004 SEMINAR

Bjørn Førde
UNDP Resident Representative
VENUE: UB LIBRARY AUDITORIUM
09TH AUGUST 2004

Prof Otlhogile, Vice Chanceller, University of Botswana
Prof Nundu, Director Centre for Continuing Education

Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen

I would have loved to be with you in the University of Botswana Library Theatre today, participating in the seminar on Human Development Report 2004: Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World. Unfortunately I could not make it, because I have committed myself to being with my family in my home country of Denmark for the next three weeks.

I nonetheless felt obliged to prepare a short statement in lieu of my participation in person, to add just a few reflections on the importance of the theme you will be dealing with today – one I feel strongly about, and one I consider to be huge importance for humanity in the 21st Century.

We launched this report on 15th July 2004 and were satisfied with the discussion that ensued. As it became apparent at the launch and in the press coverage that ensued, cultural liberty is a controversial subject, in part because of its proximity to issues of ethnicity and tribalism and the extent to which it has been exploited to promote tribal or ethnic politics.

When we took the decision to launch this report in Botswana and to have a seminar on it shortly thereafter, we were aware of the controversies around the issue of cultural liberty. Still, we felt that the material in the report provides a platform for Botswana to interrogate its aspiration to become the moral and tolerant society it envisages for itself in Vision 2016.

In launching the report and in co-sponsoring this seminar with the University of Botswana, UNDP promotes no other agenda than what the essence of every HDR is about: To provide a platform for a discourse on a theme of global significance – this year on issues of cultural freedom.

As I read it, the agenda of the HDR 2004 is generally speaking very constructive, although not always very precise and explicit with regard to conclusions and solutions. And it can be no other way when dealing with cultural liberty. This is about urging countries to recognize the role of cultural freedom in development, for instance, how a policy on language may influence educational and life outcomes for particular groups in society, or how respect for a people’s way of life – their customs, their institutions, their religion, their language etc. - may promote access to justice. But calling for thinking about this is different from presenting specific solutions.

I find one aspect of particular significance: Even as it urges cultural freedom, the report rejects cultural conservatism, i.e. the tendency to hold on to cultural practices that have outlived their usefulness. It rejects any notion of cultures that deprive other people of their rights. Reverend Mpho Dibeela explained this better than I ever could when he argued that not all cultures or religions are innocent, and that a responsible society must interrogate new cultures seeking to take root in their midst.

Why should a democracy such as Botswana’s, seeking to empower women, children and minorities, accept cultures that dehumanize women, children and minorities?

HDR 2004 affirms, as did many speakers at its launch, that cultural identity and cultural freedom are fundamental human rights. It is precisely for this reason that the quest for cultural freedom is irrepressible because it is a quest for human freedom. Individuals must be free to be who they are and to live the lives they enjoy without fear of forfeiting any entitlements enjoyed by others in society.

I salute Botswana, a multicultural society that is engaged in discourse on issues of cultural liberty and is committed to becoming a moral and tolerant society.

I salute you ladies and gentlemen for playing your part in taking Botswana towards this goal by being part of this seminar.

I thank Prof. Otlhogile and the University of Botswana community for cosponsoring this seminar.

And, finally, I wish to express my most sincere gratitude to Dr David Tsiane for his very substantial role in organizing this seminar.

As you discuss during the day, I will be trying to link up to my ‘roots’ in Denmark. A country where less than 1% of the population belonged to a different culture or ‘tribe’ when I grew up, but where this figure has increased to more than 7% today, creating a lot of tension. I mention this to remind you that the HDR 2004 is not only a report that has to be taken seriously by developing countries. The challenge is there for all societies and humanity at large.

Pula

As Mr Foerde was away on leave the above statement was read on his behalf by the then Acting Resident Representative, Mr R Moaneng