More than likely we will find ourselves working together with people who have similar interests, even if their disciplines are different, towards a common objective.
These collaborative endeavors are usually driven by the need to inspire some sort of change. It could be a change in attitude, perception or more practically a change in social and/or economic conditions.
Any collaborative group shares a set of similar non-inherent qualities, essentially making them interconnected ‘tribes’ of individuals whose association is not based on shared lineage or language but on shared interests; a fact noted by Swedish professors Ridderstrale and Nordstrom in their book Funky Business Forever.
The culture of sharing has been promoted in large part by modern communication technologies and systems which have facilitated a shift in the position of individuals from mere users into producers and from passive receptors of information into active contributors to public discourse.
With this rise in the culture of sharing, we can thus more realistically envision a future in which whatever work we do for a living is not only something that earns you a paycheck but also something you enjoy or something you can combine creatively with your whatever interests you.
In an atmosphere of shared ideas innovation becomes the norm, thereby making the task of problem solving much easier. Sharing increases our catalytic potential to successfully deal with challenges. It’s not about one person with an idea; it’s about collective intelligence. Sharing ideas has already begun to create new ‘tribes’ of trendsetters and innovators. You know who you are.
The potential of our shared energy to effect real and positive change on the continent is unlimited. To all the change agents out there, here’s to a collaborative future.
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Seun Aladese is a student of Communication and Media at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Albert Dorman Honors College and can be reached at saladese@gmail.com
Indeed, innovative and transformative 'tribes' are the features of the scientific revolution that we have seen in the information/computer Age of the past two decades. Consider any internet open source community as a 'tribe' of people with shared interests and see how much innovation and transformation they have achieved in the internet world. Even... See More online communities of individuals and groups from different works of life but organizing around issues of common interest, be it awareness about global warming or the need for sustainable use of the earth's resources. They are all tribes in the innovative and transformative sense of the world.
ReplyDeleteWe need innovation and transformation to change the status quo in Africa. In the African context, reconceptualizing tribe/tribalism based on Seuns's Culture of Sharing demands that young Africans, regardless of their organic tribes, nationalities, ethnicities, religions and professions/specializations, organize and galvanize around a common interest, which is the realization of a more stable, peaceful, prosperous, and united Africa.
Thanks for sharing this, Seun! We need a culture of sharing and a new idea about tribe to transform Africa!