international conference on migration in africa_opening address_prof b o'connell
TRANSCRIPT
UWC Institution for Social Development
andThe Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa
MIGRATION IN AFRICA
3 December 2014
Caravel
Conquistador Decimation 1492 AD
Africa: The Cradle of Humankind?
Adam and Eve?
Us?
Across Mediterranean To China Cultures Deeply Challenged
Ways of Knowing• Science (experimental approach to the physical universe) • Philosophy (the abstract mind) • Rational/Scepticism (not accepting realities that are not
immediately evident) • Religion (faith in divine revelation and social tradition)• Mysticism (experiences based on spiritual techniques)• Esotericism (intuitive speculation on cosmological world-
views) • Occultism (using psycho-physical techniques to access
hidden realities) • Gnosis (innate wisdom and understanding)
THE AFRICAN RENAISSANCE
Humankind’s Great Intellectual Leaps
• Classical antiquity• Renaissance• Agricultural revolution• Scientific revolution• Industrial revolution• Digital Revolution/Technological Revolution
Dalin’s 10 Revolutions • 1. The knowledge and information revolution• 2. The population explosion• 3. Globalisation• 4. The economic revolution• 5. The technological revolution• 6. The ecological revolution• 7. The social/cultural revolution• 8. The aesthetic revolution• 9. The political revolution• 10. The values revolution.
Looking Ahead
Dennis Meadows
Water Scarcity 2025
HUMANKIND’S
Majestic Quest
7
6
3
2
1
5
4
Service
Internal Cohesion
Transformation
Making a Difference
Stage 1: Personal MasteryDevelopment of a healthy
positive ego Need to overcome
deficiency perspectiveSurvival
Relationship
Self-Esteem
The I in relation to the We
Stage 2: Internal CohesionFinding meaning in existence
Balancing self-interest with group interest
Stage 3: External CohesionServing humanity and the planet
Collaborating with partners
7 LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
BarrettBarrett
Our Record Under Stress Not Good
When populations grow and food is scarce and drinking water is scarce and energy is scarce and housing is scarce and jobs are scarce and money is scarce and medical attention is scarce and land is scarce we humans have consistently descended into barbarism.
Xenophobia Attacks in Gauteng
How Will We Behave?